The next chapter awaits! Enjoy.

Inari looked at her in shock.

"You... believe me?"

"Yes."

The next thing she knew she had her arms full with a crying child. The tears dripping onto her neck were itchy and unpleasant, but she knew he needed this so she suffered. Sakura rubbed his back until he calmed down, and when he cried out all his tears he sat back and looked at her.

"Why? Why do you believe me?" He asked.

"Let's just say something similar happened to me too. So, you saw your Dad?"

He held his hands to his chest and nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, it was after Mom and Grandpa started acting weird. One day at breakfast Mom said that the town leader wanted everyone to meet down in the market, but I was sick so I couldn't go. Mom and Grandpa went. When they got back they started acting weird, saying it was ok to cry."

"Is that when they told you your Dad died?"

"Uh huh, and then when I asked how, Grandpa convinced Mom to tell me. That's when they said he was murdered by Gato, but Dad was still out to sea so it couldn't have happened! After that I spent every day at the pier, waiting for his boat to come in, and when it did I told him what they said."

"So you saw him come back to shore, where is he now?" Sakura tilted her head in thought.

"I don't know. He said he would take care of it but he never came back. I thought I saw glimpses of him in the warehouse district, but I could never find him." He sniffled and rubbed his eyes.

Sakura processed the information she heard, and pieces were starting to fall into place. Something happened during that meeting, but what? That old man might know, Toya was it? She would have to find him, and maybe check out that warehouse district.

"Thank you for telling me Inari, what you said helped me out a lot."

"So you'll find my Dad?" He looked up, his eyes overflowing with hope to the point Sakura had to look away.

"Yes, among other things."

Inari flung himself at her again.

"Thank you Big Sis, thank you!"

"Of course, let's go back now hmm? Oh, and keep this conversation a secret until I can find your Dad. Now, can you show me what he looks like?"

"Ok Big Sis, I can do that!"

Inari darted in front and tugged her hand all the way back to the house.

.

Sakura woke up early as usual, and trudged downstairs. No one was up yet so Sakura headed outside to get some training in, since Kakashi-sensei was most likely going to send her to the bridge again.

She forwent her normal morning training, and instead brought out a few fish to practice her medical ninjutsu. If she had enough time before breakfast she wanted to try out that new genjutsu as well.

Sakura repeated the process of healing and reviving a fish before she took a short break, laying back in the grass. She placed her hands on her face and sighed. There was so much to do, and not enough time. The situation here in Wave had escalated and Sakura had no idea what she would be walking into when she went to search for Inari's father. Would there be more missing nin the level of Zabuza? If so then there wouldn't be much that she could do, but if Kakashi-sensei was letting her guard Tazuna on the bridge alone, then he must not think so. Still, she would feel better if she were able to heal herself, should she try? She still had more than ninety percent of her chakra left, that was enough for the rest of the day.

Sakura sat up and took out a short knife and hovered it over the palm of her hand. She paused, taking the time to run through the signs for the genjutsu and let it settle over herself and the surrounding area. Once in place, Sakura sliced a thin cut along the palm of her hand, just like Higurashi-sensei did all those weeks ago. Discarding the kunai Sakura hovered her other hand over the cut and concentrated. The green chakra appeared and Sakura carefully began her healing, making sure step one was complete before attempting step two. She went slow and methodical, and as a result of her efforts the cut slowly knitted itself back together.

She flexed her hand once, twice, before looking at her palm again.

It was a perfect job.

'Inner, I'm a genius.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Bask in my glory.'

'Oh, I'm basking.'

'You don't sound like you are.'

'Sorry Sakura, I'm a little... busy right now. I won't be around for a bit.'

That caught Sakura's attention.

'Wait what? You're going deeper on me now? I need you, we have to find Inari's father.'

'Sorry Sakura I have to, don't worry you can do it, it will be simple for you Haruno.'

Sakura grumbled.

'You're me, so you're a Haruno too you know.'

'I won't be too long, I promise. Sha?'

'...Na'rro, hurry back.'

'I will, don't hold that genjutsu too long, you do need chakra.'

'Yes, yes.'

Sakura dispelled her genjutsu, mood low from the news and the subsequent flare of the Burning. It would have been different if they were back in the village and Inner disappeared for a bit, but Sakura was feeling a little hesitant having her gone outside the village. If she was going to truly be on her own, then she needed to train more.

Especially with that new genjutsu.

Maybe Naruto was up by now? Perhaps he could lend her a clone before breakfast. Sakura walked back into the house and crept upstairs. She poked her head in on Sensei and saw him awake reading. He gave her a little wave that she returned and slid the door shut heading back to her room. Uchiha was getting ready for morning training, she gave him a small nod before focusing on Naruto where she encountered a small problem.

He was still sleeping.

Should she wake him?

Medically speaking he had slept enough, and her practicing the genjutsu could be the difference between life and death, her life and death, so Naruto would understand right? She would expect him to do the same if the situation was reversed, so it should be fine. Sakura approached the sleeping blonde. Ignoring the Burning Sakura went up to him and nudged him in the side with her toes.

"Naruto, wake up."

He didn't stir.

How deep did he sleep on missions?

"Naruto!"

Sakura nudged a bit harder this time, still nothing. Sakura felt a little annoyed, this was prime training time she was wasting, it seemed more force was needed. Sakura placed her foot on his stomach and stood on it.

"Naruto! Wake up!" She yelled as she did a small bounce.

"Gah! I'm up!" He yelled, flailing his arms in surprise.

Sakura jumped off.

Finally.

"What was that for Sakura-chan? I was having a good dream." He whined, stretching a bit.

Now how to make it sound good.

"Uchiha is already up and training outside, are you just going to let him beat you? Also, can I borrow a clone for a bit? I have something I want to train."

"What! The Teme is already training!" Naruto attempted to stand up fast but got tangled in his blanket and fell on his face.

Yep, that's her friend alright.

Naruto hurried to put on his jacket and gear, but took a moment to summon a clone.

"Thanks for waking me Sakura-chan. Here's the clone, you can do whatever you want to him, I don't care."

"Hey!"

Naruto and Sakura both ignored the outcry.

Sakura passed Naruto and gave him his morning tap and walked towards the door.

"Thanks so much Naruto! Let's go clone."

The clone followed, sulking.

"Where's my tap, how come only Boss gets a tap?"

Ugh, so needy.

Sakura did a quick spin, tapped the clone on the head and continued on.

"Let's go, there are many options to try and so little time."

Oh, this was going to be fun.

.

Sakura was correct in her earlier prediction, Kakashi-sensei did in fact stick her on guard duty. She trailed Tazuna on the way to the bridge, and though she didn't like being forced to guard by herself, she would make sure she did her job well and not break the trust Sensei had in her abilities.

It still sucked though.

They were almost to the bridge when Sakura directed a question at Tazuna.

"Hey Tazuna, do you mind if we head into town after work for the day? I want to buy Inari a little present, and stimulate the economy a bit." As well as dig into what's going on around here, but she didn't need to say that part out loud.

"Ah you don't have to Shinobi-chan, but thank you. He has been having a rough time and it would be a good thing. Sage knows the town needs it."

"It's Sakura Tazuna, Sakura. I'm a merchant's daughter, I understand how it works." She replied, waving him off.

"Still Sakura, thank you."

No, thank you.

.

The day went similar to the day before, though without people quitting which was a lucky break. A fair amount of progress was made on the bridge, if only they had another week before Zabuza recovered it could have been finished. Once the sun was setting and the orange and pink hues made themselves known on the horizon, Sakura and Tazuna made their way into town.

Sakura browsed from shop to shop, her attention half on the items and the other half scanning for Toya. She hadn't found him yet, but she wouldn't stop looking. The information he potentially had was too important to pass on.

"I'm sorry Sakura, trade has all but stopped so we don't have much to look at." He fiddled with his hat as he watched her travel from shop to shop.

"It's fine Tazuna, I'm just looking for something specific that's all. It's pretty common so I'm sure I will find it somewhere."

"If you say so."

It took another thirty minutes for Sakura to hear the faint yelling in the distance. Was that Toya? She casually made her way closer when she spotted him, his bellows echoing off the buildings towards anyone who would listen. Sakura looked back, Tazuna was still following. She didn't want him to see her conversing with Toya, but knew he couldn't be out of sight because she was on a mission.

So she compromised.

If Tazuna saw her shopping at one of the stalls when in reality she was talking to Toya well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him right?

Sakura went through the signs and laid out the False Surroundings Jutsu. She really had to work on it more, maybe drop another sign, then she would only have two signs to go before she had it seal less. The genjutsu spread out over the area and Sakura showed an image of herself in a location where Tazuna in reality would have his back to her. Once she was convinced the genjutsu settled over the surrounding villagers she approached the old man, making sure she kept Tazuna in sight.

"Toya-san? You had a warning to share, do you mind explaining it a bit for me? Maybe something about the gathering that happened within the past few weeks?" She asked, approaching the jittery man as if he were a frightened animal.

He looked around him a few times before edging closer.

"So you will hear the truth stranger? For those who will listen, I will tell. The gathering was a lie!"

He gripped his boney hands around her arms and she suppressed her urge to punch him.

"Everyone was in the square when that man appeared. Red eyes spinning and trapping their very souls in an illusion. A demon I say, black hair, pale skin, red eyes. The red clouds he wore a warning of what was to come, but he couldn't trap me, I'm blessed."

Spinning red eyes? The only spinning red eye she knew was the Sharingan that Kakashi-sensei had. Uchiha said that was a clan thing, so was there another Uchiha alive? She thought her teammate was the last. That's even if the red eye was the Sharingan, perhaps it could have been a different bloodline limit, or a tailed beast like Kurama. As for the illusion... was it a mass genjutsu? It seemed possible, would make sense why Inari wasn't affected since he didn't attend, but were there people really strong enough to cast on an entire village? And if it was a genjutsu should she break it? Or leave it so they don't know that she knows? So many choices.

"You mentioned last time about a man being taken. Who did they take?" She questioned, breaking his grip.

"Aye I did stranger. It was sometime after that meeting when that sweet boy Kaiza came back. I saw him poking around, but I couldn't reach him because the demon appeared. Kaiza looked into it's eyes and collapsed, and not a moment later they both were gone! I didn't see him again until a few days later. He was walking towards the old ship yard in the warehouse district, but his eyes... they were soulless stranger. He didn't even seem like a man anymore."

Old ship yard in the warehouse district... perhaps Inari could give her some insight on how to get there.

"So leave while you still can stranger, don't let them take you too. You are not like me. The sirens couldn't get me and neither will this demon!"

Sakura gave her thanks and bowed before returning to Tazuna. She dropped the genjutsu, and gritted her teeth at the flare. Now all she had to do was find a 'present' and head back. Sakura looked over the merchandise at the shop her illusion self was at and picked up a pack of playing cards. That would work.

"You spent that much time looking over everything to pick up cards in the end?" Tazuna asked, the look of disbelief very much on his face.

"I am a very thorough person Tazuna, though I do apologize for taking so much of your time. Let me buy some more food for dinner tonight to make up for it."

"Oh no, I couldn't ask that of you."

"I insist."

He sighed.

"If you must... thank you. Don't tell the others, but I think your my favorite shinobi."

She snorted.

As she should be.

.

When the two returned to the house Sakura gave Tsunami the food, who professed her thanks. They boys were still out training and Kakashi-sensei was nowhere to be found. There was still time left before dinner, thanks to the additional food she brought, so she searched around the house for Inari.

Sakura found him in his room, sulking, but when he caught sight of her he immediately perked up and ran in for a hug.

"Big Sis! Did you find my Dad?"

"Maybe, I have an idea where he is, but who knows if he is still there. Do you know where the old ship yard is in the warehouse district?"

Inari thought about it for a moment before responding.

"Yeah I do. It's by the big tree."

Big tree? That's it?

"Do you know what street it's on?"

"Uhm, I can't remember, but I could take you there!" His eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing his Dad.

"That might be a problem, remember my job is to guard your Grandpa remember?"

"Oh."

She would have been able to sneak out if it was just her with Uchiha and Naruto, she was the superior genin on her team, but there was no way Sakura could disappear in front of Kakashi-sensei. Even if he didn't see her leave he would notice if she was not around, and the last thing she wanted was an angry jonin. She would just have to get his permission somehow, and looking at the down turned head of Inari she had just the idea.

She placed her palm on his head and tilted it up.

"Inari, could you run away for me?"

He wrinkled his nose.

"Run away?"

"Yes, I need you to run away before dinner to a secret spot that only you and I know. Then I will get permission to track you down and we can go to the ship yard."

"Ok! I'll go hide by the fountain in the village square!" He ran out before she could say another word, it was lucky that she knew where that was.

She waited a minute before heading downstairs to find a distraught Tsunami and Tazuna.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked.

"Inari... my son... he said he was running away because he couldn't live in a house full of liars. What if he gets hurt, or Gato takes him?" Tsunami squeezed out between sobs.

Tazuna rubbed the back of his daughter before heading towards the door.

"I'll go look for him."

"No." Sakura held out her arm in front of him.

"I'll go, it's better for you to stay here Tazuna, you were already out for a long time today. I will go find him, I have an idea where he is anyways. Let me go tell Kakashi-sensei."

"Thank you Sakura." Tsunami said with a bow.

"Of course."

The plan was coming together.

Sakura went out towards her two teammates and saw Kakashi-sensei lounging under a tree reading his book. She was lucky he decided to reappear so she didn't have to go searching for him and Inari.

"Kakashi-sensei."

He hummed.

"Inari ran away, I offered to go look for him since Tazuna was going to go himself. I'm afraid if he is left out too long by himself he may end up as a hostage, but I think I know where he is."

Sensei lowered the book to his nose.

"That would be a problem wouldn't it."

He tilted his head and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I guess you could go, but not alone."

Not alone? The plan was no longer coming together. She could still save it, if it was Naruto or Uchiha at least.

Sensei laid down his book and pulled out a kunai and sliced his finger. After placing his book in his pocket, he quickly wove his hands through various signs. Once he was done he placed his palm on the ground and a small dog wearing a hitai-ate appeared.

He looked familiar, where had she seen him before?

"Pakkun this is my student Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan this is Pakkun, he will be assisting you in tracking down Inari. Don't take too long otherwise I won't save you a plate." Kakashi-sensei picked up his book and walked over to the boys.

"Weird that he introduced us, but you did end up becoming a shinobi like your brother in the end eh? Why did you stop wearing the nice smelling shampoo? We would be matching if you still did."

He hopped up onto her shoulder and Sakura had to prevent herself from stumbling under his weight.

Her mind short-circuited.

Brother?

He remembered her brother?

He remembered Ren?

"You remember my brother?" She whispered.

"Why wouldn't I? We worked together enough times, it was a shame when he passed. Konoha lost a good shinobi that day."

Equal parts joy and sorrow were fighting for control in her body and Sakura stiffly started walking. Though she hoped, the rational side of her never thought she would find anyone who would remember her brother. The conflicting parts of her overrode whatever filter she previously possessed.

"Do you know that you are the only one who remembers besides me? My parents don't remember, Sensei doesn't remember, his name isn't even on the memorial stone anymore. But you do, how?"

She felt a tongue lick her cheek, she didn't even realize she was crying.

"Boss doesn't remember?" Pakkun voiced, Sakura could hear the surprise.

"No, weird things are happening in Konoha Pakkun, and I just learned on this mission that weird things are happening outside of Konoha too. In fact Kakashi-sensei almost died because of it."

Pakkun gave a low growl.

"Tell me everything."

So she did.

Pakkun blindsides Sakura with that confession. Thanks for reading!