"On a team, it's not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together."

- Bill Belichick

<>

Sakura felt Yugito grab her by her shirt collar, lift her up, and throw her aside. Sakura hit the floor hard, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Kakashi was there immediately, feeling for broken bones. Sakura shook her head and sat up, and Sasuke also appeared at her side. He narrowed his eyes at her, and that's when Sakura realized just how far she'd been thrown. Kakashi and Sasuke up down a hill by a tree, a good eight meters away. Sakura was now laying down by their feet. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw the panther leap on top of Yugito, knocking the older girl over. She was just seventeen, and was apparently about to be overpowered by a cat.

Sasuke offered her a hand, and heaved her up, and Sakura leaned heavily on Kakashi and Sasuke, as she was having trouble breathing. She was still breathing, but she felt like her lungs had been shaken around inside her ribcage. She was going to bruise up big time from that landing. Sakura noticed Kakashi take out a kunai, and start running down the hill to the stump Sakura and Yugito were just sitting at, then stop. The panther and Yugito were wrestling on the floor, and Kakashi didn't have a clear shot.

"What are you doing, Kakashi? Help her!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura's breathing became shorter than it already was, thinking Yugito was already dead. At that point, Sasuke was basically carrying her.

Kakashi looked at them, and shook his head, pointing at them with his kunai. Sakura squinted, getting off Sasuke and stumbling closer to the scene. There didn't appear to be blood anywhere on the scene, and Yugito wasn't getting her face torn off. She was being licked. By the panther. It was licking her, and Yugito was laughing, not screaming.

"Tōketsu-sama!" Yugito shrieked, hugging the big animal by the neck. The panther let out a deep laugh, a female by the looks of it. It had a voice smoother than Yugito's, even, and deeper as well. "Get off me!"

The playful animal obliged, and Yugito sat up. When she saw the confused look, she laughed, pointing at the large animal. "This is Lady Tōketsu, she's the Queen's helper." The panther looked at them, blinking at the three intruders. "Lady Tōketsu, these are my friends, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi."

The panther, who was apparently named Tōketsu, turned her head to Yugito. "You're friends with an Uchiha boy, a dog summoner, and a pink haired girl, Yugito-chan?" She asked. Sakura marveled at the beast of an animal.

Tōketsu-sama was a lean, muscled black cat. She wasn't unhealthily thin, but she hadn't a single bit of flesh on her. It was all pure muscle. She had deep blue eyes that one wouldn't normally find on a panther, and she was roughly twice Sakura's size. She was as tall as Kakashi's abdomen. One massive panther, she was. Her voice had an interesting accent, and it was rough. It reminded Sakura a little bit of Lady Tsunade. There was no weakness in her voice, no submissiveness. This cat was the man in charge. Well, she was a cat, but you get the idea. Sakura wasn't sure how she could tell, but there was a hint of playfulness in the panther's eyes that made her seem less threatening. Somehow Sakura knew that was a ruse. If she made one wrong move, the cat could tear her apart in seconds. She was no joke.

"Tōketsu-sama," Yugito whined. "We thought you were someone else, trying to attack us. I threw Sakura-chan because of you. How are you doing, by the way?" She asked the girl. Sakura shrugged. She wasn't doing bad, she'd begun self healing when she realized there was no threat.

"My apologies." Tōketsu dipped her head in Sakura's direction. "I wanted to make sure that really was Yugito-chan I smelled. When I discovered it was, I simply had to do this."

Sakura hadn't seen anything more beautiful than this animal before. But it was leaning heavily on one foot, and her fur was matted and darker on her left leg. She was injured, and that was blood. "Are you okay?" Sakura asked, ignoring the question. The panther's great head turned to the young girl.

"I smell blood." Kakashi pointed out.

Yugito's brows furrowed. "Now that you mention it, I do too."

The large cat let out a sigh, lifting her left leg. "I cut it on a particularly sharp shard of rock as I was climbing down. It's nothing the healers can't handle."

Sakura tilted her head. "Mmm, I don't know. That looks like it's been bleeding for a little while. Do you feel lightheaded?" She asked, walking forward. She tried not to feel fear as she walked over and picked up the giant cat's paw. "I've got it from here."

"Young one, it's nothing my healers can't fix-" Tōketsu said, her words stopping the minute a green glow emanated from the little girl.

"With all due respect, it's already infected, my lady." Sakura said, avoiding looking in the interested blue eyes. "You'd have to be in a cast of sorts for a few weeks to keep herbs on it, and you'd have to stay off that foot for a couple days. I can fix this now, easily." Sakura said, raising the hand that wasn't healing Tōketsu's leg. It glowed green.

"That's amazing." Tōketsu said, looking down at the girl. She watched, interested, as Sakura's chakra cornered the infection, disposed of it, and then sealed up the wound. Her leg was going to be fine.

Sakura nodded at the giant cat. "Thank you." She stood up and backed away, standing next to her teammates.

"Tōketsu-sama, I was wondering if you'd escort us to Tsukinoyo." Yugito said, nodding her head in the direction of the place. "This little girl- Sakura- wishes to be a part of a summoning contract with your species, and we have to get the queen's permission."

Tōketsu looked down at the short girl again. "She's so young... are you sure?" She asked, her deep blue eyes meeting Sakura's sparkly green ones.

"Yes, my lady." Sakura replied respectfully. She was getting pretty damn tired of people commenting on her age every time she said she wanted to do something. At the same time, she was considered a prodigy now, but five was still much too young for that. She really was so young. In body, anyway. She couldn't really be mad at them.

Tōketsu frowned. "Are the hidden villages back to training children to be killers? Is not the way of Lord Hashirama holding up?" She asked this directed at the two older people there.

"It is, Sakura and Sasuke are just too far ahead for the way of Lord Hashirama." Kakashi replied. "They're natural prodigies, and are already growing in the ninja arts. It would be a shame to not harvest their potential."

Tōketsu sighed, and shook her head. She turned around, gesturing with her tail for them to follow.

Tōketsu turned her great back to them. "My people are up here for a reason. You don't think we could go down and overpower the human civilians and ninja easily? It is only pity and suspicion keeping us up here, you see." Tōketsu said. Then she turned he head. "Of course, people like Yugito-chan, Killer Bee-san and Raikage-san would be more of a challenge. But the point is, I pity you humans. All you do is kill, kill, kill, with no remorse. And the ones that do feel remorse are killed off, like Shodai Hokage-san."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? Shodai died young because of the stress of running a village."

Tōketsu laughed bitterly. "That's what you think." Kakashi's mouth fell open, and Sakura let out a strangled gasp. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I've met Shodai himself, and he never mentioned anything to me about being killed." Sasuke spoke up, arching a skeptical eyebrow. Explain that.

"Maybe he didn't know he'd been killed." Sakura shuddered at the idea. Those eerie words spoken by Tōketsu reminded Sakura of the reason why she was here- as she mentioned before, panthers know things. But she couldn't stop her now, things were just getting interesting. "There is an evil force behind the shinobi world, something else is pulling the strings. Can't you foolish ninja feel it? The world leaders think they're making their own choices, but in reality, they're being set up and manipulated. I believe the human phrase, 'see between the lines' represents this very well. Hashirama-sama's death proves this- he was the one man powerful enough to make his own choices. The one man who couldn't be manipulated. So he died for it. This explains the death of the Fourth Hokage in the original time, too, yes?"

That time, literally everyone gaped at her. She was aware of their time travel... the panthers were on a whole new level of smart- a smart even Shikamaru would need to think to understand. They knew things, but they were also philosophically smart.

"Sandaime Hokage could be controlled. Lord Fourth could not." Tōketsu finished with that strange accent of hers. She turned to Yugito. "Lord Third Raikage was also one of those people who couldn't be manipulated, but Lord Ay can be."

Sakura was in utter shock, staring at the floor. This only made her want to have panther summons more. "My lady... I want to know the things you and your kind know. But I can't know these things without panther Summons. In my group, I'm just the healer. If... well, having you guys would be more efficient for my team, and our mission."

Tōketsu sighed quietly, as if she was disappointed no one had quite grasped what she was really trying to say, then nodded. She, of course, had probably figured out the situation the time travelers were in. "You three have a touch of destiny about you, don't you? I suppose I can't deny you, Sakura-chan, if you're going to save the world."

<>

Sakura hadn't seen anything like Tsukinoyo before. She'd thought the view from the mountain was magnificent, but the pink sunset on the top of the mountain beat it hands down. Birds and all sorts of animals were walking around, Sakura noticed a deer watching them curiously from the shadows of a tree. So beautiful. The cave entrance was, coincidentally, shaped like the head of a cat. Stalactites hung from the mouth of the cat, looking like fangs. Sakura marveled at the carving. It was impressive, just as impressive as the carvings of the Hokage, and just as impressive as the statues of the Kazekage in Suna.

They walked in, and there were two beams of light reflected in the cave on the floor, from the cat's eyeholes. Those beams of light guided them as the panther lead them inside the dark cavern. Tōketsu's soft footfalls were the only things that could be heard. The humans were so used to walking silently, their feet couldn't be heard on the rock floor.

Suddenly, there was the sound of laughter behind them, and two more bodies appeared, walking side by side. They were each lugging different animals. The one on the left was dragging an eagle, the one on the right was dragging a rabbit behind it.

When they saw the humans and the panther behind them, they dropped their prey and gasped.

"T-Tōketsu-sama," they each stuttered.

Tōketsu didn't even turn around. "Haruhiko, Kikuchi. What did I tell you about leaving home after noon?"

One of the young panthers gulped audibly. The other one answered, "... to not to?"

"Precisely. Now, I can either tell your mother, and the two of you will be grounded for who knows how long, or we can keep this quiet, and you never do it again." Tōketsu said sternly, but not unkindly. In fact, there was a hint of amusement behind her words.

"Yes ma'am!" The two young panthers said.

"My sister's kits." Tōketsu explained. "Adorable, but disobedient." She said, nudging one.

"Tōketsu-obaa-sama..." they both whined at being called adorable in front of the humans. They were supposed to be big terrifying cats to them. They were walking alongside them for a while until they broke off deeper in the cave. They looked like they wanted to question Tōketsu for bringing humans into the cave, but knew better.

Tōketsu lead them into a deeper cavern. This one was much, much wider. It was like a living space. Gorges in the wall made for a good place for the giant cats to rest, and there were quite a few sleeping in them. A bunch of kits were in the corner of the room, closely protected by one of the older cats at all times.

In another corner, multiple younger adults sat, conversing and laughing. In the middle of the room, a giant hole was in the ceiling. There was a hole in the ceiling, and moonlight streamed into the room, reflecting off the pools of water that were directly below it. One or two panthers stood above the pools, tongues flicking out, lapping up water. In the third corner of the room, beside the entrance, there was a large food pile. The two young panthers walked over there, and dropped their kills off on there, pulling something off for themselves. They sat near the other young adult cats and ate their food.

However, the minute Tōketsu entered the room, all movement and conversation stopped. All the panthers in the room instantly dipped their heads respectfully, chorusing a greeting to Tōketsu. The four humans looked at Tōketsu confusedly.

"Welcome back, my queen." Another young panther padded up to them, dipping her head in greeting.

"'Queen'?" Yugito asked, shocked. "What happened to Mizūmi-sama?" The young panther looked at Yugito in surprise.

"Yugito-san!" She exclaimed, nuzzling up to the girl. Yugito grinned, apparently recognizing her.

"Kagami, my friend, how are you?" Yugito asked, wrapping her arms around her head. She turned to the humans. "I came here a decade ago, I was seven at the time, and this one here was still young, my age, I think. She was my playmate while I was here, weren't you, Kagami?"

Kagami let out a deep chuckle. She looked a lot like Tōketsu, just a little shorter. She saw the confused looks on the outsiders' faces, and nodded towards Tōketsu. "She's my aunt, Mizūmi is my grandmother. Hitojichi is my great, great grandmother."

"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked, looking between Tōketsu and Kagami.

"My little niece is next in line for the throne." Tōketsu clarified. "My mother stepped down four years ago, around six years after Yugito left, meaning I had four years to train, since I started around two years after Yugito left. I've done the same with Kagami here. She's the next queen."

"Only if Tōketsu-sama doesn't have a kit first, like I've been encouraging her to do," Kagami frowned playfully. "I want a cousin eventually."

"You already have two brothers. You'll have to be content with them." Tōketsu said. "But that isn't what we're here for. Kagami, our dear Sakura-chan here wishes to make a contract with us."

Kagami's lighter blue eyes widened. "My lady!" She gasped. "She's so young, she's basically a kit! We haven't had a summoning contract with anyone since Lord Indra."

"Indra?" Sasuke asked, suddenly paying close attention. In fact, all three of the future people leaned forward.

"Lord Indra was the first and only person to start a summoning contract with us. My great grandmother Hitojichi was his summon when she was young, and she was until he died. She and him did battles together." Tōketsu said, once again having to explain things to the newbies.

Kakashi's jaw was dropped behind his mask. "But Queen, Indra was alive millennia ago. How could your great grandmother have been alive so long ago?"

Tōketsu blinked, as if silently wondering what to say. "Well, I suppose you four won't be telling anyone, will you? Everyone thinks we're extinct anyway, so even if you do tell, no one will believe you. The way my great grandmother stayed alive so long is because of the Nine Life method."

Sakura's eyes widened. She'd always heard cats had nine lives, but this was totally new to her. Basic biology said this was incorrect, but apparently it wasn't, and the first Queen proved them wrong.

"The Nine Life method is the practice of only the strongest warriors in our tribe. Anyone who can beat or incapacitate the Queen in a fight gets granted Nine lives, no more, by the cat goddess. Right now, there aren't many panthers that have such a priviledge. In fact, to my knowledge, there are only six. Myself, my youngest sister Keiko, three warriors named Hideko, Matsuyo and Azumi, and my niece, Kagami. That's not to say others haven't tried, but none of them were able to beat me, I'm happy to say. In fact, out of this crop, only two were able to beat me. The other three beat my mother."

A few of the panthers started laughing. Others poked each other, and began playfully attacking each other. They'd all been listening intently.

"And how does this work?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. "None of the losers get jealous of the power and rebel?"

"Nah!" One of the young panthers shouted from across the room. "We don't need that kind of power, we aren't in a war. Plus, we like Tōketsu-sama. Overthrowing her isn't on our agenda."

Multiple echoes of agreement came from nearly every panther, except for the ones who were sleeping, and the ones who were too young to talk. Tōketsu laughed, then went back to business. "Those six, me included, are the ones you would be able to summon should you start a contract with us like you said you wanted to. You could summon a few more of us," she gestured towards the young adult side, "if you wish, but the basic number is us." Tōketsu said. She looked at Kagami. "To answer your question, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi have a mission to perform, and this mission will affect us. We need to side with them, or not at all."

Suddenly, Sakura and Sasuke doubled over at the same time, both holding their heads. Kakashi ran to their side, putting his cool hands over their foreheads, surprised. They were both burning up. The panthers shifted uncomfortably, the queen and Kagami stepping forward to help. But before anything happened, they were fine.

"Are you two okay?" Kagami asked worriedly when Sakura stood up, clutching both Sasuke and Kakashi's shoulders.

Sakura panted heavily, but the color was returning to her face. "I'm peachy. The headache went away."

Sasuke nodded from where he was recovering, hands on his knees, bent forward. "I'm okay too."

Tōketsu's eyes widened in recognition, then wrinkled in amusement, then she nodded her head towards a small group of cats hovering nearby.

The four cats stood up and walked over to them. Each of them looked different, yet the same in their own ways. They all had different personality types, too. "Keiko, my little sister," Tōketsu gestured towards the one that looked just like her but younger. She was looking at Sakura with curiosity. "Azumi is a good friend of Kagami's." The smaller, more lithe looking one stepped forward, giving Sakura a kind look. "Matsuyo, my cousin's son." He looked at her like she was somehow beneath him (she was considerably shorter than she was) but Sakura knew he could be won over easily. "Hideko, a friend of Matsuyo's." Hideko stepped up, looking at Sakura with wonder in his eyes. He probably had never seen a human before. "And you know Kagami." Kagami gave her a friendly wave with her tail.

All the panthers suddenly looked at Sakura as the queen lead her to a darker part of the room. It lead to another opening, and Sakura would've been freaked out if it wasn't for Yugito, Sasuke and Kakashi following her into the room. It looked like a library of sorts. There was a giant scroll leaned in the corner, and it looked older and dusty.

Tōketsu took care of the dust, and the scroll opened on her command. A quill was fastened on the side of the scroll, and inside it, there was but one name. In fancy, scrawly handwriting Sakura recognized as cursive, sure enough, the name 'Otsutsuki Indra' was written in the contract. It was, like Kagami said, the only name.

Sakura's eyes widened in awe.

"Sakura Haruno," Tōketsu said legally, beginning the swearing in of the young pink haired girl. "Do you wish to be the second sole summoner of the panthers?"

"Yes." Sakura said, ignoring how nervous she was. She was going to have so much fun with this. Hopefully none of them hated her.

"Then you have the permission of the current Queen, Tōketsu. Please write your name down beneath the name of your predecessor." Tōketsu said. Sakura complied, trying not to mess up her name with her shaking hands. Literally right above her, one of the most powerful people to ever have lived had signed his name.

And Indra's animal summons were hers, now.