Hello, welcome to chapter two.

I just wanted to get a few things out of the way before diving straight in.

This is cross-posted in AO3 with the same title under DreamsOfJoy.

I don't own Naruto.

I've read a wide variety of reincarnation/SI works so have taken inspiration from all around in creating this story so if you do spot similarities then that would be the reason why. This particular work is probably going to be mostly based off of the anime since I don't know enough about the manga.

Once again, any feedback is greatly appreciated and if anyone is interested in being a beta-reader then please let me know. I'm not too sure how the beta-reading system works so please get in touch if that's something you'd be interested in.

Please enjoy.

They arrived in Konoha shortly after her fourth birthday and to say she was overwhelmed would've been the understatement of the century. Sakura had to stop herself from gaping like fish at the sight of everything. Nausea clawed at her stomach and while she managed to combat the urge to vomit with well timed breaths, the tight knot of anxiety refused to release its hold on her. It was real, she was in Konohagakure, she was Sakura and it was real.

'Holy shit I'm doomed.'

While they had been traveling she took time to come to terms and mourn over the fact that she, Hannah, had died. It hadn't been a sudden death so there were no tears or feelings of injustice, Hannah had been sick for a long time and had been fully aware of the fact that she was dying as it was happening.

Hannah was the second youngest of five children and the only daughter in her family. Her parents were high-school sweethearts and had gone into farming for a living. Her brothers were your typical country hooligans who liked to roughhouse any chance they got and being a girl didn't excuse her from their shenanigans. She held her own for the most part but that was only if it was one on one and only when her brothers weren't really trying. It was game over when they decided to gang up on her though. Despite their constant squabbles and her intense desire to strangle them, they were family and she loved them fiercely.

When she first got sick they all reacted in their own ways, either treating her like glass or avoiding any conversation involving her condition. Her parents didn't fare any better. Her father was a man who worked with his hands, he could fix car engines, rewire the house and build an entire deck from scratch but there was nothing he could physically do to help her. Her mother was equally if not more devastated. Hannah was her only daughter and there she was slowly dying and she couldn't accept it. Refused to accept it. She'd go on about the trip they were going to take together as a family when Hannah got better, how she still had to decide what career path she was going to pursue and if there were any cute boys she had her eye on.

In the end Hannah died of leukemia at the ripe old age of twenty-one.

Now she was living in a world where the impossible was possible and death lurked around every corner. So, she said a prayer and bid farewell to her previous life. It wasn't done as an effort to shove it aside or block it entirely from her mind. She didn't want to forget them, didn't want to forget that life and she knew she'd probably never really forget but she had to be practical. She couldn't allow herself to be paralyzed with emotion every time she smelled bread and cinnamon that reminded her of Christmas mornings or be taken aback by nostalgia when the rain reminded her of mud fights. Dying young was an all too common occurrence for shinobi so if she wanted to survive long enough to attempt making changes then she'd need to keep her wits about her.

So saying goodbye to Hannah and embracing Sakura would be better in the long run. At least she hoped it would be.

The next few days passed without much fuss. Her parents had set up their shop and Sakura had finally been allowed to explore. They were in the civilian district and it looked fairly ordinary but she couldn't stop herself from staring when she saw figures running along the rooftops.

'That looks kind of fun.'

The village buildings were what she was expecting but her mind was thoroughly blown at the size of the village. She wasn't really sure why she'd thought it to be smaller and it certainly wasn't the biggest when compared to the cities of her old world but neither the anime nor the manga had truly explained the size of it all. Had Kakashi been an ordinary man then she wouldn't be able to find that much fault in his chronic tardiness.

'I'm going to end up getting lost at some point.'

She was able to gather a rough idea of where things were but it would be some time before she would be able to navigate the streets without having to think twice about it. She had come across a playground and was truly thankful that none of the kids had paid her any mind. She wasn't quite ready for social interaction just yet and wanted to avoid the inevitable bullying for as long as possible.

'Would it come though?

Sakura had been bullied for her unusual hair and her supposedly larger than average forehead but honestly it wasn't even that big. Of course it was going to look huge with her hair styled the way it had been. While the middle part was fine the fact that no one had thought of layering her hair in order to frame her face should have been a crime.

Anyway she doubted that her future tormentors would pass up the opportunity to try making fun of her so once again she was faced with the dilemma of whether or not she would do anything about it. The bullying itself was the whole reason Sakura and Ino became friends but now it was different. Sure she was a little shy and had her own insecurities like the original Sakura had but she was far from being an easy target. Especially not for an entitled little girl who resembled a potato and thought an asymmetrical haircut was a good idea. Ultimately she decided to cross that bridge when she got there. She could always approach Ino first when the time came.

Future social interactions aside, she had given a little more thought into her plan of action regarding the 'Fall of Danzo.'

It was complicated.

The whole thing was just complicated.

Currently she was a nobody civilian with no resources at her disposal. No one was going to take her seriously and she would be accused of treason or worse; absorbed into Root if Danzo so much as caught a whiff of her snooping around.

'No thank you.'

After a lot of deliberation she had concluded that the easiest way for her to expose Danzo was by collecting evidence that children had been going missing. One would think that after Orochimaru, the village would have been more mindful of their child population, especially orphans or academy students that suddenly went missing. The fact that no alarms were being raised meant that Danzo had people in both the academy and the orphanage covering his tracks. There was no other way he would be able to obtain his Root operatives otherwise. No clan kids obviously, only civilian born or orphans, kids no one would think to look for beyond perhaps a missing person report. It made her stomach turn at how easy it was for him and the fact that people just somehow accepted multiple kids going missing without explanation was even more nauseating.

Nevertheless, she had a starting point, now she needed to figure out how to get the records of academy students who had dropped out and gone missing. The police headquarters would have all missing persons reports but the chances of her being able to sneak in without getting caught were about as high as an Uchiha getting a tan.

Negative zero.

So the academy was her best bet. If she could find a pattern there then connecting the dots would be simple. All she had to do was gather enough evidence to spark an investigation and somehow give that evidence to Fugaku and Shikaku without them realizing who sent it to them and hope they'd handle the rest. If she even made it that far to begin with.

Regardless, she'd need to hit the ground running on asking the local kids if there had been any strange disappearances. If she got the timeline right then she had roughly three years to get her ducks in a row. And while that seemed like a lot of time she knew it would fly by faster than she could blink if she wasn't proactive.

'No naps for me.'

In between her information gathering she'd also need to begin training. Even the original Sakura, who had shinobi parents, was at a severe disadvantage compared to the rest of the Rookie Nine. With her parents now purely civilian, that disadvantage increased tenfold so she'd need to do everything she could to prepare herself. At least with what was available to her.

'Still need to break the news to the parents.'

A heavy sigh escaped her, it wasn't going to be an easy conversation but it was unavoidable. Her biggest obstacle was Mebuki. She entered the house that evening with the same amount of nausea that had hit her when they first arrived.

Slowly making her way to the kitchen, she saw Kizashi sitting at the table reading the newspaper and Mebuki diligently preparing dinner. "Chichi-ue, Haha-ue I'm home." Kizashi gave a nod in acknowledgement while Mebuki turned towards her, "Sakura, please clean up and set the table for dinner." She did as she was told and soon they were all sitting down for dinner. Her appetite was nonexistent while she poked at her food, trying to gather as much courage before she 'rocked the boat' so to speak.

"Sakura, that behavior is not becoming of a lady. Hurry up and finish eating." She took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"Chichi-ue, Haha-ue. I've made a decision."

Kizashi looked up at her, his expression inviting, a silent encouragement to continue while Mebuki raised a well defined eyebrow. Her expression was less welcoming at Sakura's disruption of their evening meal, "And what might that decision be Sakura."

She cleared her throat before responding, "I've decided to become a ninja." Kizashi's eyebrows shot up at the declaration but Mebuki's expression remained the same, her eyes conveying immediate distaste though and Sakura had to refrain from flinching.

"And what makes you think we'll allow that."

Despite herself, Sakura hesitated, taking a moment to swallow her rising anxiety, "I'm not asking you to allow me to become one, I'm requesting you allow me to enter the academy and if I-," Her breath faltered a little, "-If I fail then I'll commit myself to your teachings Haha-ue." It was a gamble, she had no idea if it would work nor did she have a backup plan ready. All she knew was that she needed to get into the academy to expose not only Danzo but also the effects of the corruption that spread through the curriculum itself. She didn't see a way of achieving that goal if she remained a civilian.

There was a moment of silence and she had to force herself to steady her breathing. The urge to pick at her fingernails in order to alleviate her ever increasing anxiety became overwhelming. What would she do if they said no? What were her other options? Why hadn't she made a backup plan?

'Deep breaths.'

Much to her surprise, Kizashi snapped her out of her internal panic, "I believe that's a reasonable agreement."

Mebuki's eyes widened as she directed her scathing gaze towards him but it didn't seem to inspire the same response it had in her and for a moment Sakura was jealous. "Think about it, Mebuki. You've always been frustrated at Sakura's half-hearted interest in your teachings and becoming a merchant's wife. She's never asked for anything before so I believe it's best we humor her in this."

The initial delight she felt at Kizashi's support quickly became bitter as she caught the meaning behind his words. He wasn't expecting her to succeed. Like this was just some childish phase she needed to get out of her system. She couldn't blame him but the realization still stung. Regardless, she wasn't about to complain.

Mebuki seemed to have caught the hidden meaning as well, "Very well." Sakura thanked them with as strong a voice as she could muster before Mebuki continued. "Just know this, we will not offer you any support regarding this. If you require books, equipment or anything involving the academy then you will have to procure it yourself." That was both fair and unfair at the same time but she would take it. This was her only opportunity.

After dinner finished she helped clean the dishes and headed up to her room for the evening. When the door was closed she slumped onto the ground. The whole thing had taken a surprising amount out of her and it was possibly the scariest thing she'd ever done which was saying a lot considering what the future held.

Nevertheless, she got what she wanted, now she just had to make sure she didn't screw it up.

'No pressure.'

Thank you for reading.