"That went surprisingly well," Sakura breathed out after bidding farewell to the clan heads. "Well, if it weren't for those perverts not-so-subtly checking you out, I would've agreed," Haruna scoffed as he crossed his arms. "It's natural that any guy would want to look at the only friendly face amidst a sea of faces that look like wet concrete," the pinkette replied sagely. "Are you somehow implying that I'm not good-looking?" the Haruno clan head teased as he began walking back to their compound. Rehabilitation had already started and he was quite pleased with the efforts of his clansmen. In a matter of a few months, their clan compound would be back to its former glory. The meeting had been held on Haruno lands as it was neutral territory for the all the clans.

"You are good-looking but only to the ladies. Naruto would prefer to look at a sloth as long as he isn't staring at your 'ugly mug'," she told him with air quotes. "Speaking of which, what happens Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san now?" Haruna asked. "Sasuke went back with Madara. He told me that he will be serving as Izuna's bodyguard until he's in good health," she replied easily. The evening was slowly approaching as the sky was colored different shades of red, orange and pink. "Naruto came by this afternoon before he left saying he was going back to the Uzumaki to introduce himself. He said he'll tell them that he's a time traveller," she spoke. "Is that wise?" the older man asked as he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"I think it might be our best option considering he has to explain how he is an Uzumaki and has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. We don't want to raise any suspicions so I think it's best if he did," she retorted with a far away look. "Do you miss your friends in the future?" he asked as as they arrived at the his house. They stood at the porch facing each other. "I do but I've come to terms with my situation. Plus I'm merging with Inner so it doesn't hurt that much. Naruto and Sasuke are with me too," she smiled though he could see the tears in her eyes. Instant regret filled him. "Sakura, I know that you had a life you lived in the future but you also lived in the past. I can't make you forget your future but I hope we can make memories together," he said as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sakura sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "I'm so ugly when I cry," she whimpered miserably as she looked at the ground. "That much is true." This earned him a wet finger in his ear from the pinkette.

An emissary arrived from the Senju clan exactly hundred days after the meeting. They wanted to talk about Harumi's parentage and her kekkei genkai. "I should've seen that one coming," Haruna commented as his eyes skimmed over the scroll. "Is that all?" Sakura asked as she looked up from her desk. She had been in the process of designing the hospital layout as much as she could remember from her future when the letter had arrived. "It also says that the Uchiha and Senju have agreed to form an alliance. Technically, we're the ones who started it so we have be present for the official ceremony between the Uchiha, Senju and Haruno clans," he told her as he set the scroll down.

"Have you received any word from the Uzumaki?" he asked as he took his seat opposite from her. "None at all. I'm curious about what's happening outside but I don't want to dive into something I'll regret knowing. Let's just wait," she crackled her knuckles before continuing with her design.

"How's Harumi by the way? I haven't seen her since she passed out," the Haruno clan head spoke as he finished off signing a few scrolls. "Oh, she woke up a few days ago. But her body is weak, the influx of chakra was too much for her small body. But she's recovering at a fast pace," Sakura replied. "Well, it's to be expected for someone with the Mokuton."

The kunoichi watched Haruna as a thoughtful look crossed his features. He had a certain beauty to him that she didn't see often. It's not that his face screamed handsome like Sasuke or Neji or even the one time she had managed to sneak a look at Kakashi's face. But there was something about him that was attractive that she couldn't put a finger to. Was it her or was it Inner who was making her see things she never bothered to pay attention to?

"You're staring."

"I am. You seem to have something on your mind."

Haruno looked up from his scroll, the sun hitting his face just right that she let out a swoon as she covered up with a sigh.

"Harumi's a Mokuton user. Almost all the shinobi witnessed her powers. And I can't say she can control them but what if it's used against the formation of our alliance? What if in the future, it becomes a disaster much like the Tailed Beasts? There are too many things to consider with Harumi alone."

Sakura finished up with her designs before furling it and putting it away. "I know. The Mokuton is a very rare kekkei genkai. In my timeline, children were experimented upon in order to recreate it. Madara used Hashirama's cells to create White Zetsu who was very influential in this war. It's a dangerous tool," she spoke. "Denji clearly expressed his distaste towards Harumi. Who knows what lies he'll spread to stop the formation of an alliance between all the clans? This war will keep going on forever!" he exclaimed as he threw his hands up.

"Hey, don't be so negative! Look on the bright side. She avenged an Uchiha, that's a plus for us in their books. Her father is Tobirama Senju, no one could turn a blind eye to that," Sakura reprimanded him. "I guess, I wish I could be so optimistic. But when you're the clan head, you have to be realistic," he said as he looked at a messenger hawk which had arrived.

The trip back to the Uchiha clan was a quiet affair for Sasuke. Many of his clansmen had already gone before he followed after with Madara, the unconscious Izuna and several others who had remained. He could feel Madara's eyes on him almost every second. Being used to have eyes on him ever since he was born, courtesy of his fangirls, he could ignore the clan head's ogling.

He had left without getting a chance to talk properly with his teammates. They had been busy since the aftermath of the battle, it was only until that he went to bid Sakuea farewell that he realized he hadn't found time with his team. Sakura had brushed off his worries saying he needed to get back to the Uchiha and blend in as one of them. He also had to persuade the Uchiha to join hands with the Senju and Haruno, though there wasn't much persuasion required as Sakura's kind acts of bringing back Izuna to the land of living was enough.

He realized that in the past (of their future), Madara had spiralled down a path of hatred in order to avenge his brother. It had also been one of the reasons he had joined hands with the Senju. Though he wondered how Izuna would take it if the textbooks served justice to how much he hated the Senju.

Lost in his silent musings, he had not taken notice of the girl who sombered up to walk beside him. "Excuse me." He turned his head to the side to watch who had dared to engage in conversation with him as no one had bothered to do so to the unknown Uchiha. Sasuke sent her a look with a single eyebrow raised in question. "My name is Naori Uchiha, what about you?" she asked him with the dignified air of an uninterested Uchiha, though it was anything but such. "Sasuke," came the detached reply. Silence seemed to stretch between before she finally spoke again.

"Are you an Uchiha?" she asked. At Sasuke's blank stare, she chuckled sheepishly in embarrassment. "Sorry, I guess it's obvious since you look so much like Izuna-sama," the purple haired girl berated herself. "If you don't mind me asking Sasuke-san, but where have you been? I've never seen you around before." Sasuke could see her curiosity shining in her dark eyes which were still youthful, though it was obvious she was anything but a kid. His clan was one heck of a chivalrous clan, so to see a girl who looked barely past eighteen walk amidst an envoy of consisting of their strongest clansmen, he supposed that there was more to her than what meets the eye.

"I was injured during the battle of Bei. All of my closest comrades perished in that battle. I was saved by Sakura Haruno, the medic who treated Izuna-sama and have been travelling with her since," he told her with a change in his tone. "But that battle was over five years ago," she muttered to herself. True to Sasuke's story, that had been the most bloodiest battle between the Senju and Uchiha since the beginning of their feud with great losses on their side. In that battle, she had lost both her parents which left her with her great grandmother who was still alive after so long. "I'm sorry. I lost my parents in that battle too," she spoke quietly.

Sasuke remained silent as he stared ahead. They would be arriving at their clan compound soon.

The ninjas were received with a much welcome celebration of their return. As Sasuke watched his clansmen happily conversing with one another, his heart swelled. He had been robbed of this at a tender age of seven. Though he understood why his brother did it, it didn't make it any less painful. It was that night that he made a resolution to protect his clan and prevent their demise with everything in his power.

He had been called to meet the elders immediately after the party to discuss the integration of their lost clansman back into the clan. His story was believable, his missing left arm being evidence of that. He had been given his own house close to where Madara stayed. He had been made Izuna's bodyguard until he would be able to take care of himself. His days mostly consisted of checking up on Izuna to make sure he didn't die in his sleep and training to keep up in shape.

Naruto had assisted him in making a seal that covered up the chakra surrounding his Rinnegan and added a genjutsu to make it appear as though his right eye was missing. He had also styled his hair to cover his right eye. They had done this as soon as they had arrived in the past so as to not raise any suspicion as the Rinnegan was still a myth.

He was also called a month later to discuss a treaty between his clan and the Haruno. By then, Izuna had been well enough to attend the meeting. The two hadn't communicated with each other except the occasional Uchiha glare from both sides. But there was no going about it, sooner or later, they would have to confront each other through a much needed fist fight.

"We have called you here to ask of your advice pertaining to a treaty between the Uchiha and the Haruno. Having been in their company for over five years, we'd like to hear your input on this matter," Nori, the eldest man in the room whose face was wrinkled beyond imagination spoke.

Sasuke allowed a full minute of silence to gain everyone's attention before he finally spoke.

"The Haruno are a very neutral clan. They have no affiliation to any clan and haven't been involved in war between us and the Senju since time immemorial. However, they welcome any clan with open arms as they hold a festival every year to celebrate all the clans as they came from the same ancestor, the Sage of Six Paths. They are descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki, the brother of the Sage of Six Paths, long distance cousins of the Hyuga clan and by default, cousins of the Uchiha, Uzumaki and Senju," he narrated. "How do you know all this? It's classified information even to our clan," Mebu, an old woman spoke.

"They're a very trusting clan and considered me one of their own during our stay together and indulged me with such information. The Haruno who saved me, Sakura is a remarkable ninja amongst her clansmen and well favoured by all. She has pink hair, a trait possessed by members of the clan's main family," he told them. "Isn't she the one who healed Izuna-sama?" one of the old croons spoke. "Yes, her daughter is the Mokuton user who Izuna-sama almost died protecting," another said. "She also avenged him by killing the Kaguya clan leader."

By now, all the elders were discussing Sakura and Harumi but Madara raised his voice to silence them. "Continue," his ancestor spoke.

"Despite that, they're a very powerful clan with a large arsenal of elemental ninjutsu and precise chakra control. If they were to join with us, it would be very beneficial. If we were to intermarry, very powerful shinobi would be produced. Not to mention they're on good terms with all of the Daimyos, have access to trade routes and supplies. They are able to grow their own food by using element ninjutsu to alter the weather to their liking, something which we severely lack.

All in all, it would be wise to form a treaty with them."

They thanked Sasuke for his input and dismissed him for the rest of the day.

As he walked back to his house, he hoped that he had somehow managed to change the future for the best now that the Haruno were in place.

I lasted updated this story like 6 months ago! Sorry, I've been suffering a writer's block but I'm back on track. The following chapter will focus on Naruto and Sasuke, showing how they adapted to life when their ancestors were still present.

I have no beta reader so forgive me for the mistakes. Don't forget to leave a review, I thank you for the support!

Tozoonana

AfricanFire