Sakura was extremely excited. She could barely contain her bubbly attitude and it was clear her lovely teammate was amused with her actions-- even if he denied it. He didn't understand fully why she was acting like a spazz and she knew that. But that didn't stop her from babbling as they walked from the Hokage Tower to the gates.

"Sakura-nee-chan!" Konohamaru yelled, running up to the pair. His teammates were close behind, greeting them both. "Wanna hear about the lame mission we were on?"

Sakura giggled and raised a hand to the boy's scratched up face. Moments later the marks were completely gone. "I can take a guess. Tora?"

"Yeah!" Konohamaru confirmed, blushing when she pulled her hand away. "It was totally intense and all, but I wish they'd give us a mission so we can really showcase our skills. Like you guys!"

Sakura and Sasuke shared a look. "We also chased down Tora. Remember, Sasuke-kun?"

He rolled his eyes. "It was a waste of time. The cat is still running away."

"Can't blame the poor creature," Moegi said, shuffling her feet when they all looked towards her. "That woman is. . . an acquired taste."

They all had the decency to agree in silence.

"Want to deliver documents with us?" Sakura invited, pointing to the stack in Sasuke's hands.

"Yeah!"

The group walked to the gates, the three young genin chattering about their missions and how boring they were. Sakura could sense the familiar chakra this time around, completely aware of it unlike the last time she experienced this day.

But she still had to deliver papers.

They reached the gates, with both Kotetsu and Izumo grinning as they handed them the papers.

"You should head back to the village," The former told them, sharing a look of amusement with his partner.

"You might find something interesting," Izumo agreed and Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"No way," She breathed out, tugging on Sasuke's arm as she dragged him back into the village. The three genin trailed them in confusion.

"Sakura, stop pulling," Sasuke grumbled and she did so only when she saw her best friend atop a telephone pole. She hurried to its base, the kids now just as excited as she was.

"Naruto!" She yelled up, waving her arm. "Naruto, is that really you?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted in response, dropping from the pole and throwing his arms around her. "I missed you so much!"

Sakura giggled when Sasuke scoffed, saying something along the lines of "You're both ridiculous."

"Teme, don't think you're getting out of a hug," Naruto threatened when he finally pulled away from her.

Sasuke's eye twitched and his lips fell into a flat line. "I will murder you."

Naruto waved off his friends threat. "You've been saying that for years. And you've never gone through with it."

Fortunately, Sakura didn't need to break up any brawl in the streets. Konohamaru gained Naruto's attention and when he performed a certain jutsu, Sasuke held back her wrist. The look of betrayal must have been blatantly obvious, because he raised both his eyebrows.

"If I can't murder him, you can't punch him," Sasuke said, and she frowned. "If you do, the idiot won't live long enough."

Her frown turned into a pout and he only let go of her hand when she swore she wouldn't do anything today. Just today.

"What was that, teme?" Naruto dropped back into the conversation. "Threatening my life again? I would have thought you'd miss me."

"I miss the silence your absence brings," Sasuke stated bluntly, before looking back to her. "We should head back to Tsunade's office."

"Oh, right!" Sakura agreed, looping her arm through both of theirs. "You still need to report to Tsunade that you're back."

Sasuke mumbled out a complaint as they headed towards the Hokage Tower after bidding goodbye to the genin. But he never attempted to take his arm back from her grasp. Naruto ended up taking his back, but that was so he could clearly emphasize how strong he's gotten since they last saw him. Sakura watched her best friend with a a large smile.

She knew that in this life, they had a very different beginning relationship. The first time around, she found Naruto extremely annoying and didn't particularly care for him. She still found him annoying when they became teammates, but she found herself wanting Naruto to succeed and become the Hokage like he's always dreamed. And Sasuke's abandonment of Konoha only tied the two closer together and she absolutely missed her best friend.

And this Naruto was resembling the one she fought in a war with, albeit not as mature as war made Naruto, but he was growing into that charming knucklehead. She hadn't realized how much she missed Naruto. She didn't needlessly worry about his return because she knew he would, unlike with Sasuke where she feared something would happen and he would be lost to them yet again. But having Naruto here, by her and Sasuke's side, just made her feel complete.

When the arrived at the Hokage Tower, Naruto and Jiraiya reported in and the three were called together for their first assessment. The scene played out much like her old life, the only exception this time being Sasuke's mutter that they were idiots when Naruto handed Kakashi the newest novel in the Makeout series.

Sakura nudged Sasuke's side. "Be nice."

Sasuke simply gave her a raised eyebrow.

Then, Tsunade revealed that they'd be facing off against Kakashi in another bell test to assess all of their skills-- and to see if they'd continue forward as a unit. When they left, Naruto was loudly complaining about the mere thought they'd be separated.

"We just reunited!" Naruto yelled once they got outside. "What's Tsunade-baa-chan's big idea? Team 7 is a family! They can't separate us! I thought we were over that like ages ago!"

"Things are a bit complicated," Sakura told him gently, glancing over at a frowning Sasuke.

"My clan still wants me to be removed from Team 7," He said bitterly. "They need me to advance as quickly as possible. And they think being saddled to a single team will take too long."

"That's dumb," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "It's almost as if they don't have faith in Team 7."

"They don't."

Sakura cut off anymore of Naruto's protests. "It's not a personal attack at us, even if it feels like it is. It's just difficult to understand from our perspective. But, you've got new tricks, right? Or do you not have faith in us?"

"Well, well, of course I do, ya know!" Naruto spluttered out. "You're right, Sakura-chan! We just gotta show 'em the true power of Team 7! Then, they won't even dream about separating us!"

"You're the reason I'm going to be separated from this team, dobe," Sasuke shook his head, infuriating Naruto once again.

Sakura didn't bother interfering this time-- her boys would always be her boys. Competitions and fighting were just the fundamentals of their relationship. And now she relished in it. Maybe once she got used to it, things would be different. But for today, it was music to her ears.

By the time it came to actually fight with Kakashi, she found out a few things about her comrades.

Kakashi was seriously underestimating them as genin. It was incredibly difficult for them to even get close to the bells this time around, even with a solid plan. Sakura would run in with chakra laden fists, keeping him well occupied with avoiding her moves. Sasuke would use his speed to land behind their sensei, forcing him upwards where Naruto and a number of his clones awaited with a rasengan ready.

Kakashi would worm his way out of it-- a substitution, pulling Naruto forward with a wire and sending him towards his teammates, and anything else up his sleeves. He saw their moves before they even made them, thanks to his Sharingan. Unlike her old life, they had a Sharingan on their side too. It made it much more evened than the time in her old life, but it was still extremely difficult.

"We need to regroup," Sakura muttered to Sasuke, landing beside him a Kakashi fought off Naruto's clones with ease. "We're going about this expecting Kaka-sensei to underestimate us. He's not."

"I know that," Sasuke responded, a grimace forming once Naruto landed beside them as well. "Let's go."

He placed a hand on her back and one on Naruto's shoulder, taking them with him as they landed further into the forest.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, nodding their surroundings. He nodded immediately.

Sakura's skills with genjutsu advanced drastically over the two and a half years since she was a genin. She could create them so strongly, only someone with a Sharingan could break free from it. Unfortunately, Kakashi was a part of that group.

But what Sakura didn't normally have was Sasuke's chakra helping her form the genjutsu. He didn't care for them as much as his other jutsus, but he could easily mold his chakra to match hers and create a stable genjutsu covering their chakra and locations. This way, Kakashi would have to actually try to dispel the genjustu and by that time, they'd already be prepared for him.

"What did you two do?" Naruto asked, a slight frown forming as he looked at his two teammates.

"An advanced genjutsu to keep us hidden from Kaka-sensei," Sakura answered with a smile and Naruto's features morphed into excitement.

"Really? That's so cool, Sakura-chan!"

"We have to be smarter," Sasuke cut in. "We got the bells before. We just have to do it again."

"Easy to say, teme, but not that easy to do," Naruto retorted. "Unless, you haven't noticed we're totally getting beaten out there."

"Then let's come up with a plan," Sakura decided, leaning back on a tree before dropping to the ground. "And be prepared for Kakashi-sensei's counter."

"They're doing well, aren't they?" Shisui asked Itachi, appearing by his cousin's side.

"Mhm," Itachi hummed, pointing to their right. "It looks like training Sasuke and Sakura-chan together really amped up their genjutsu abilities."

"Oh?" Shisui said curiously, glancing to where Itachi was pointing. He could barely sense the alteration to reality, and had to actually concentrate for a bit to break it with his Sharingan. "That is impressive. I'd say that rivals any of your regular ones, Tachi."

"They're a good pair," His cousin stated, sparing a glance towards him. "And despite being separated from Naruto for so long, the three of them work seamlessly together. Even seasoned teams would need to work out a few kinks at first. They work as though they've done it for over a decade."

"For Sakura-chan, that's basically true," Shisui pointed out with a shrug. "Naruto and Sasuke have always worked well together, even when they're facing against each other. Sakura-chan knows them through and through, too. It's not surprising that they're a force to be reckoned with even this early on. The elders are too stubborn to see that."

"You know why they're hesitant in allowing Sasuke to stay on Team 7," Itachi said with a raised brow. "If their teamwork wasn't as phenomenal as it is, I'd agree with them."

"Yeah, yeah, they think Sasuke's too emotional and will just sacrifice himself for Sakura-chan and Naruto if things go south during a mission," Shisui responded with a wave. "They're afraid of having an heir with a death wish."

"They're afraid Sasuke will put them first over the clan," Itachi corrected, then looked thoughtfully at the trip currently brainstorming ideas. "Though, they might only succeed in having him relinquish his title if they choose wrongly."

"You think he'd give up being clan heir?" Shisui inquired.

"I think he will if they try to shape his future even more so than being clan hair already does," Itachi said thoughtfully. "He's going to be more troublesome to deal with than if they never removed my title."

"They would have to find someone else to do it regardless," Shisui said, leaning against the tree. "But I suppose you're right, like usual. It's a good thing Fugaku is as fond of Sakura-chan as he is. Otherwise, I'd have to marry Sakura-chan to fulfill Aunti Mikoto's wish for her to be an Uchiha."

Itachi gave him a disapproving look. "You should really stop teasing him with that-- I've seen you injured more times in the past seven months than I have my entire life."

Shisui laughed. "Jokes on the squirt-- I just get Sakura-chan to heal me. But he shouldn't take it so personally. I just want him to realize that she's got her own fan club now."

"He doesn't care for things like that," Itachi reminded his cousin. "He barely noticed his own fan club growing up. And he's much like my father in the regard of emotions. A bit clueless, really."

Shisui snorted. "You think? He didn't even mention to Sakura-chan that the elders wanted to scout her out as the future matriarch before they compiled a list for him to choose from. And they only did that because even your father recognized that something was different between them and requested she be considered."

"It's very romantic," Itachi commented in a dry tone. "Letting someone you have at the very least an interest in know that while nothing has been established between you two personally, the clan elders are deciding whether you'd make a good pair."

"Izumi did perfectly fine with her assessment," Shisui said, before hitting his shoulder lightly. "Sasuke just better get a move on before Naruto proposes to her. He's at least got the right idea and-- oh! They're moving!"

The three were indeed scattering from their spot, the genjutsu around the area fading away. He caught Sakura and Naruto's movements first, the two charging in with a combined force of hits. Kakashi avoided Sakura at all costs, remaining a safe distance away from her fists and only taking hits from the clones Naruto was producing. It almost looked like Sakura got a punch on Kakashi's back, but when he wasn't sent flying backwards, Shisui assumed it hadn't landed at all.

Sasuke appeared in the midst, taking Sakura out of the fray before the two appeared above their teammates, showering explosive kunai with what looked to be like smaller tags drifting throughout the air. Kakashi jumped out of the vicinity immediately, allowing for all of the Naruto clones to disappear into the cloud of smoke already forming. Shisui saw both of the boys then landing within the tree line, allowing Sakura to charge in.

Shisui almost didn't catch it, but he saw the level of smoke remain present for a bit longer than it normally would. He looked over at his cousin.

"Did Sakura-chan just poison the battlefield?" He asked and his cousin shrugged.

"I doubt it's poison," Itachi answered vaguely. "Sakura-chan uses a variety of medical based bombs to infect the immediate air. She's crafted cures to everything she's created and their joining antidote."

"So poison," Shisui repeated but Itachi shook his head.

"Not necessarily," He said, then nodded towards Sasuke and Naruto. "They're forcing him into it, though."

Shisui watched as Naruto and Sasuke charged into the fray from behind, forcing Kakashi to jump back after an attack from the boys. But when he got too high up, Sakura appeared with a pulled back fist.

Shisui knew this tactic wouldn't work on Kakashi, but that's when the smoke cleared and they saw Kakashi forced back onto the ground. He looked a bit caught off guard, especially when he was forced to jump back up as Sakura's fist met the ground and the entire field erupted.

Kakashi was immediately surrounded by Naruto's clones, only to be kicked into disappearing. Shisui didn't realize something was off with Kakashi was off until that moment.

"He can't use his arms," Shisui breathed out, looking at the smirking pink haired medic as the defeated clones merely transformed into wire. Sasuke appeared above his sensei, pulling the cords tightly until Kakashi's hands were pinned to his hands.

"Sakura-chan loves to apply paralytic seals if she knows her opponent is too fast for her to properly hit," Itachi told him with an approving nod. "We decided that while the majority of her attacks work, they're mostly useless against anyone with a Sharingan."

"And there's still someone out there with one that actually poses a threat to her," Shisui inferred, whistling lowly. "So she's working on way to physically incapacitate them from using what the Sharingan gives its users."

"Sasuke's been paralyzed at least once every week or so since she developed the seals," Itachi told him with a smile. "She's started throwing a genjutsu into the mix to make her opponent believe the threat is the illusion, not the tag she stuck onto their person."

"Impressive," Shisui whistled, watching as Kakashi got out of the trap, only to be surrounded by Naruto's clones. Without his hands, it made it much more difficult to kick them all away in an instant, and then one of the clone's landed a hit and Kakashi went flying.

Shisui almost questioned the power of a single clone when it poofed into Sakura, fixating on Kakashi as he flew backwards. It must have been a genjutsu she cast, because Kakashi's Sharingan was blazing to undo her illusion when Sasuke appeared behind his flying figure. He swiped the bells and disappeared back to his teammates.

The three of them stood together, grinning widely and totally overconfident with their victory as Kakashi landed on his feet-- despite the blow he endured and not having access to his arms.

"Kaka-sensei, did you really think we'd let you keep the bells now when you gave them so willingly the first time?" Sakura teased, only sparing her teammates a triumphant smile before she walked over to Kakashi and peeled something off his person. She waved the used tag in her sensei's face as she sang about their victory.

Sasuke rolled his eyes when Naruto yelled out that this win meant Kakashi would pay for Ichiraku and Shisui shared the sentiment.

He's had Kakshi as a captain on an ANBU mission before. He didn't do treat dinners. Then again, these were his favorite kids ever, so they might stand a chance.

"They're a good team," Itachi stated, pointing over to the other side of the clearing. "They'll end up surpassing their masters."

Shisui stretched his arms. "The day Sasuke surpasses me, I want you to put me out of my misery."

Itachi merely smiled. "You'll be proud."

"Of course, I'll be proud," Shisui agreed. "But I remember when he got winded using my jutsu a single time. If he surpasses me in that, just take me out, Tachi."

"No."

"You're going to be a horrible Hokage one day," Shisui shook his head. "Can't even make your people happy."

"I'll become a Hokage without an advisor if I do what you want," Itachi said with a small smile. "We can't change the shinobi world if you leave it, Shisui."

"Yeah, okay, guilt trip me into living, I get it," Shisui muttered but then began to wave as Sakura caught their presence and beamed towards them. Sasuke scowled when he saw who she was smiling at. "You're right, Tachi. Even if the squirt surpasses me, I'll still be Sakura-chan's favorite."

"Her favorite is actually my mother."

"Just put me out of my misery, Tachi."