"I said I didn't feel nothing, but I lied. I almost cut a piece of myself for your life."

- the weeknd

<>

"Sakura." Sasuke ground out evenly. He looked really unimpressed. The one time Sakura had seen him this angry in this timeline was when some stupid gang hired a contract killer and tried to assassinate Itachi when they were five. Sakura knew instantly that if Sasuke hadn't been mad at her earlier that night, he most certainly was now.

Naruto rounded the corner running, saving Sakura the awkwardness of having to say Sasuke's name back at him guiltily. She knew how paranoid Sasuke was, and she'd snuck out. Oops.

Naruto skidded to a stop when he saw her, his face contorting into a smile at the sight. "Sakura-chan!" He groaned, running a hand through his hair, before pouncing on Sakura in a hug. "Thank GOD."

Sakura hugged him back, but remained confused.

We found her, Kakashi.

Sakura was startled by Sasuke's cold voice coming through in her head. She looked at Sasuke in surprise. He met her eyes, then looked away quickly.

Thank God! Is she okay?

She's fine. Just a little drunk.

Naruto whirled around and frowned at him. "Oi! Teme! You could be a little nicer, she's probably having the longest night ever. She doesn't need your emo-ness right now." Sakura appreciated that, because right now the world was spinning, and she really didn't need Sasuke's emo-ness.

When Kakashi rounded the bend, he stopped too, looking at Sakura. He looked like he'd aged a couple hundred years. All three of them did.

My being missing affected them all so much? She thought with mild surprise. Except maybe Sasuke. He looks more mad at being woken up to have to look for me than my leaving.

Naruto left her in front of the bar, walking over to Kakashi to break the situation to him gently. Now they'd have to take over a hungover angry girl and a moody boy. Sakura snickered a little at that.

"Stop laughing." Sasuke snapped, eyes flashing. They appeared red for a second, making Sakura pause in surprise. "Just... stop." He shut his mouth after that leaving Sakura gaping at him. He looked in Naruto and Kakashi's direction, watching them debate over who would watch their drunk teammate at what times.

"I'm sorry..." Sakura said, a little slowly but steadily. She was metabolizing some of the alcohol, so she still retained her motor skills and sight. She hadn't drank as much as she thought, apparently. "Why am I not allowed to laugh again?"

Sasuke briefly looked at her, before setting his jaw and looking back at their friends.

Sakura raised her eyebrows defiantly. "No, now I want to hear what you have to say. Why can't I laugh?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"Because I told you not to go anywhere. I specifically said for you to not do that again. And you did it again." Sasuke said quietly, not once looking at her. "And you aren't even taking this seriously."

"Sasuke, I thought I'd seen Tsunade in a bar, and figured it would be easier to talk to her if I was alone! I was helping the mission."

"You should've waited for us, Sakura. You have a powerful aura. What if Orochimaru had come for you?!"

"Then I would've taken him down! Have more faith in me, will you?!"

"It's not that simple!" Sasuke threw up his hands in irritation. "He's got jutsu that could paralyze Naruto!"

"And I have the strength of a thousand men! I can withstand all paralysis jutsu- I've trained myself using paralysis jutsu! You know that!"

"I won't have you putting yourself and all of us into danger again without telling us, Sakura."

"I'd have you make me."

Sasuke's eyes glinted. Sakura knew that he might've been mad enough to take her up on that, but she knew he'd never hurt her. "Nobody said you had to be conscious when we brought you back to the hotel," he pointed out, taking a step forward.

But before anything could happen, someone had stepped in front of Sakura, blonde pig tails flying in the wind. Arms crossed over her chest, Tsunade stood facing Sasuke with a frown on her face. "This is them? The teammates you love so much?" Sakura nodded, and somehow Tsunade seemed to tell, even though she wasn't facing Sakura. "This one seems like a chauvinistic asshole, to me."

"He's not usually like this." Sakura confessed. "I don't go missing all the time. We have a bad history with missing teammates."

"You do, now?" Tsunade asked. Naruto and Kakashi were hovering in the sidelines, watching, but Tsunade's eyes never left Sasuke's. Sasuke stared up at her with defiance, but no one had ever out-glared Tsunade. "Well, I think I should probably make one thing clear, then." She said, walking closer to Sasuke. Sakura shifted so she was on the side, watching them both with Kakashi and Naruto. She leaned on Naruto and Kakashi, because her legs were starting to fail her. "You are not to underestimate my student. You are not to mistreat my student. And you definitely are not to try to tell her what to do." Tsunade hissed. Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened. "Try any of those things, and you'll lose your little Uchiha jewels."

Oh my God, she's accepted me as her student!

Good going, Sakura.

Yay, Sakura-chan!!!

Nice job, now get her off my case, please-

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura interjected, walking up to the older woman and laying a hand on her arm. "Shishou," she tried out, making the woman's hazel eyes sparkle. "I'll deal with him, my lady. I'm sure we can work something out." She gave Sasuke a pointed look.

Sasuke nodded briskly. Tsunade eyed him threateningly one more time, before nodding in reply. "Alright. I'll let Sakura deal with you. But my words still stand. If I ever hear that you did something to hurt this girl's feelings, I'll be on you like glue."

"Granny!" Naruto finally couldn't keep quiet any longer. The biggest smile grew on Tsunade's face, and she turned to face Naruto for the first time in a long time.

"Brat," she teased, her face absolutely glowing. Before anyone could stop him, Naruto lunged, giving Tsunade a big hug. Tsunade laughed, and actually hugged him back, to everyone's suprise. Sakura's eyes briefly filled with tears, but she blinked them away.

"I haven't seen you in so long! Why haven't you visited me?!" Naruto asked, pulling back.

Tsunade's smile faltered. "Well, you know how it is."

Naruto lost the childish happiness and nodded sagely. He knew exactly how it was. Tsunade loved him and Kushina and Minato, but it hurt too much to come back to the village too often. "Do you think you can come back to the village?" He asked, putting every ounce of pleading he possessed into this question.

Tsunade winced, just the idea bringing her pain. "How long does Minato have before his situation is fatal?" She asked Sakura.

Sakura, doing some quick mental math, replied, "roughly two weeks."

"Will you give me three days to think about it?" Tsunade asked Naruto, understanding the severity of what she was asking him.

"Sure, obaa-chan." Naruto said, frowning. He would've liked for the answer to be an immediate, resounding yes, but he understood that Tsunade would be having troubles.

"Who are you?" Tsunade asked, eyes meeting Kakashi's.

"I'm their genin sensei." Kakashi rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Hello, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade quirked a smile at him. "You have a good group of kids." She told him, before her eyes went to Sasuke. Kakashi's eyes followed her, and he raised an eyebrow, wondering what Tsunade would have to say about that. "Even him, I think, though the first impression was bad." He looked at her with a surprised expression. "I'll see the lot of you for lunch tomorrow, at this tavern." She looked at Sakura. "Except maybe you. I have a feeling you'll want to sleep in."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, but didn't combat that.

Kakashi fell into a bow, and Sakura followed suit. Sasuke sized Tsunade up, and she rolled her eyes at him, muttering something about how he was a brat. Naruto beamed at Tsunade, which lifted her mood a little. Tsunade waved at them once, then whirled around quickly, her blonde pigtails and green jacket flying with her. In a few seconds, she vanished from sight.

Sasuke turned to her, and leveled a glare at her. "Surely you'll want to get some rest now." He murmured, voice sickly sweet. He pushed ahead of his teammates, leading the way back to the hotel. The four of them snuck in through the window, because it would look weird if they carried their drunk, female teammate back in through the front doors in the wee hours of the morning.

Sakura allowed herself to be hoisted onto Kakashi's back, and she rested her chin on his left shoulder, arms encircling his neck. Kakashi followed Sasuke, and Naruto tailed behind them, watching their backs. They made it back to the hotel in no time, and Sakura was relieved. She changed back into the comfortable outfit, but Sasuke just climbed into bed without even looking at her, shut his eyes. Sakura huffed indignantly, before her stomach lurched, and she ran back for the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and locked it, and made it to the sink before she unloaded the alcohol she'd consumed. Sakura gagged at the smell of her insides coming up, and washed it down as soon as she was able. She rinsed out her mouth, and sat on the rim of the shower, her face in her hands.

Boy did she regret drinking that. At least she hadn't drank too much, so her hangover wouldn't be as bad as she remembered they were when she was seventeen in her past life.

Someone knocked on the door, and Sakura lifted her head out of her hands uneasily. She cautiously unlocked the door, peering outside. She saw the smiling eyes of her blonde teammate, and best friend. Her own face softened, before her stomach roiled again, and she disappeared back into the bathroom. Hunching over the sink, she hastily rinsed the waste down as she heard Naruto step further in.

She'd nursed her brother-figure to health when he had the flu, and was no stranger to his vomit, but he always maintained that naivete that Sakura was the unbreakable one in the group- she was never sick anymore, and so no knew expected her to be. She hated being sick, it was like she was disappointing Naruto.

She kept her face close to the sink, but smiled at him through the mirror. He matched her grin, taking a seat on the closed toilet, and keeping her company without her even having to ask.

He'd probably sensed her loneliness. She was again punched in the gut with affection for her blonde teammate, wanting nothing more than to reach over and hug him, but she knew she could hurl at any second, and that was a risky move.

"Hey," she murmured weakly to him, crossing her legs as she hunched over the sink, putting more pressure on her left foot. She crossed her arms on the edge of the sink, prepared to lean at a moment's notice.

"Hey." Naruto's ever-present grin was blinding, but welcome. "You look like shit."

"Love you too, you asshole." She rolled his eyes at him, before wincing and leaning forward. She assumed Naruto would recoil with disgust or make faces, but he just watched her patiently, like a good friend.

He stood up, and stood behind her, his presence mildly startling, but comforting all the same. He rested both of his hands on Sakura's shoulders, massaging them, working out the knots as she hurled her guts out. Her genin body was rejecting the alcohol, as expected.

When Sakura finally stopped, she rinsed her mess down the sink and washed the dry feeling out of her mouth.

"Why is Sasuke mad at me?" Sakura asked Naruto weakly, leaning a little bit on him as he held her hair back. She swayed a little bit, so Naruto moved them both to the toilet so she could kneel, flipping the cover up.

"Because you disappeared in the middle of the night again, like he told you not to, and scared the shit out of him. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to wake up to find one of the people you care about the most is missing?" Naruto asked gently, one hand resting on her shoulder, subtly massaging it. The other one held her hair away from her face.

"Yes," Sakura said honestly, because waking up on the day after Sasuke knocked her out and left her on a bench was pure hell.

Naruto smoothed her hair, pulling it into a bun and rubbing her scalp soothingly, mimicking what Sakura used to do for him. He effortlessly eased her headache. "Well, imagine that, but Sasuke's fifty times as overprotective because he's already lost everything before. He doesn't want to lose anyone anymore, yanno?"

Sakura digested this information after leaning over the toilet to throw up again. Naruto, to his credit, never made one comment on her misery. "I can never understand how you know him so well." Sakura's throat was scratchy, but she wanted to tell him that. "I've never understood him."

"No, sometimes I think you know him better than anyone, yanno?" Naruto said, pressing her pink hair down as his fingers threaded through them, massaging her head. Sakura's head ached like crazy, but Naruto was definitely helping.

Sakura shot him a puzzled look, flushing the toilet and standing up. She rinsed her mouth out with water, waiting for his response.

"I don't know..." Naruto drawled, standing up and rubbing his hands nervously up and down his arms. "It's just... the little things. You two always seem to read each other's minds. You knew Sasuke was going to be leaving the village before anyone else." He began listing all the instances where Sakura had gut feelings about Sasuke, and they had turned out right. Then he listed times where Sasuke had gut feelings about her, and they were right. "Sasuke woke up and noticed you were gone right away. Then he got Kakashi up, then me. He was all snappy and grumpy and screamy, but he knew what direction you'd gone in. He found you first." Naruto finished. Sakura brushed her teeth, spitting out the remainder of the minty toothpaste.

Her chakra circulated through her, relieving most of the nausea, but she and Naruto sat in the bathroom still. She sat next to him on the edge of the bathtub, looking at their reflections in the mirror opposite them.

It had been a while since she'd just sat with Naruto, she realized. And just relaxed. Naruto was one of the only people she felt really comfortable with, and she felt better when she was around him.

But she was selfish, because she wasn't the only confused one. She slung an arm around her friend's shoulder, pulling him close and offering him comfort. "Your dad's going to be okay." Sakura promised. She'd sent Kagami, her panther summon, to check on him earlier that day. "He's pulling through, getting better. The sword messed with his insides a bit, but most of the damage is done. He just needs to rest and recuperate, and kick this coma in the ass." Sakura said, her voice coming out strong. "Tsunade can come back and monitor things for him while he's out of it, then things can go back to normal."

Naruto bit his lip, looking guilty about something. "I think Dad should retire." Naruto confessed to Sakura quietly.

Sakura blinked in shock. "Really? How come?" She asked, not letting him go, but watching his eyes through the mirror.

Naruto shook his head, leaning back a little, but staying within Sakura's reach. "I don't know. I just... feel like he's running himself to the ground. Have you noticed how exhausted he seems to be all the time?" Naruto asked.

Sakura pictured Naruto's father in her mind, and nodded, understanding what he meant. She'd spotted signs of fatigue in Minato. He was so tired. She let out a long exhale. "He's been Hokage for a long time. And a really, really good one at that." The Sandaime hadn't been able to single handedly stop the Uchiha massacre, and make an ally out of Suna. Along with that, Minato had updated the curriculum for young ninja, giving them more useful classes. Orochimaru hadn't been spotted near the village in a long time, before the exams. The civilians were peaceful and happy, and really, so was everyone else. He'd enforced some really, really good policies. As far as influential Hokage went, Minato was at the top of the list. He was beloved by his people. The whole village was well aware that Minato would willingly give his life for them.

Kakashi gave him a few nudges occasionally, but Minato was brilliant, and mostly figured out what needed work before Kakashi needed to even open his mouth. Sasuke likely hadn't gotten the curse mark much earlier due to Minato's ANBU. The village was well protected.

Sakura thought about how Naruto was feeling, trying to put herself in his place. If it was her own father, she'd want him to retire too. "Do you still want to be Hokage after Tsunade?"

Naruto blinked owlishly. "Of course. I promised Tsunade-no-baa-chan I would." Sakura's heart clenched, because he'd promised the past Tsunade he would. Naruto was still keeping his promises, it seems.

Sakura laughed. "I'm glad." She punched him in the shoulder. "You'll be a great Hokage one day."

Naruto smiled, before he frowned. "I... well, I'm definitely still going to be Hokage, but I do want to wait my turn, first." He commented, catching Sakura's attention. "I think there are some people who deserve to go before me."

"Really?" Sakura asked, her heart warming. Naruto had grown and matured more than words could express. Even though he could occasionally be childish, he was so even tempered and humble now. He always had been, but it was even more now that he realized that life was not to be taken for granted.

She hugged the selfless boy before he could elaborate. His arms wrapped around her in return, and be rested his face in her shoulder. "You're the best, Naruto." She told him, because her friend didn't hear it nearly enough.

Naruto beamed. "'Course I am, Sakura-chan, I know that."

Sakura threw her head back and laughed. "Sure." She stood up, and extended a hand to him, and opened the door to the bathroom. Sasuke lay on his bed, back facing her. Kakashi was seated on the couch, reading his book with the lamp still turned on. Sakura looked at Sasuke, and knew that if Kakashi kept the lamp on, Sasuke would probably have a headache when he woke up. Sakura walked over to the futon on the floor beside Sasuke, slipping under her covers. Naruto walked over to his bed, sprawling on it like he had been in the beginning of the night.

"Feeling better, Sakura?" Kakashi asked from the couch, looking at her curiously, a little bit of a mischievous look on his visible face.

"Just peachy, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura deadpanned, pulling the covers up to her neck and glaring at him.

"Don't look at me, you were the one that decided to get drunk." He shrugged innocently.

"Whatever, sensei, it's been a long night. Just turn off the lamp so I can sleep." She said, turning to face The wall. Kakashi's arm extended over the couch, shutting the lamp off. He settled back down, and got comfortable. "Goodnight, everyone, I love you." Sakura murmured, and they muttered their affectionate yet exhausted replies.

Sasuke didn't, and Sakura wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, but she sat up and leaned forward a bit and whispered. "Goodnight to you too, you overprotective asshole."

She thought she saw a chill go down Sasuke's spine, but she was probably mistaken. She lay back down below Sasuke's bed, closed her eyes, and let the sleep pull at her.

<>

The sky was dark, the moon invisible, she thought. Her shoulders were tense, because he hated that kind of moon. He would be in a bad mood during their meetings. Sneaking into the Leaf Village was no easy feet for either of them- there was always the ANBU prowling around. The Uchiha police had people everywhere too. Not to mention, there was a large shinobi population in the leaf village. But still, he insisted on meeting there. In the ancestral place of the Uchiha- the Nakano shrine. Beneath the seventh tatami mat on the right, in the Uchiha clan's secret meeting room. She thought he did it out of spite, but later thought that maybe he missed being a part of his clan.

It was a risk. Fugaku Uchiha could've been here, even though the Uchiha gathered under the Full Moon, not the New Moon.

And she wasn't an Uchiha. She'd be noticed immediately. If she was spotted. But she has ways to disappear- to make it seem like she hadn't been there in the first place. Not as fluid as Zetsu, but more effective. After all, that was a coveted skill for a spy. Either way- there are also ways for her to get caught. She was not perfect, and she didn't want to make a trip to Ibiki.

But she complied, because when he raged, he raged.

When she made her way down the stairs, she saw the person she'd been looking for standing before the shrine, those powerful eyes of his on and reading the script. Again and again, he read it. Every time they came. It freshened his thoughts of revenge. She fell to the floor in a bow facing his back. His dark hair tumbled over his shoulders as he turned around to look at her.

"My lord," she said. "The Hidden Rain village has given us their support in destabilizing the 5 Great Nations."

"I thought they might." His powerful eyes disappeared, leaving only thoughtful black ones. She supposed she had miscalculated about his mood. He seemed calm. "They want revenge for the 5 Great Nations using them as a battleground during the San-ji Nin Kai Taisen." He murmured. "And Orochimaru?"

"He is working on the things you requested, sir, but he is angry about the first, failed attack on the village." She said, still facing the floor. Orochimaru was a strange individual. A loose canon. She wished her master would kill him- that would be so much easier than worrying about him betraying them.

"The first attack was destined to fail. We were simply feeling out our enemy. The children and Kakashi are every bit as wonderful as Madara told me they would be." He turned around, facing the shrine again briefly, before leading the way out of the shrine. It was unspoken that she was to follow.

"I've always wondered- how could Lord Madara have known, my lord?" She asked curiously, following close behind him. "Surely he was born generations before them." She hoped her curiousity would not spark his anger.

The man turned around, his black eyes gleaming wickedly. "Time travel, my dear girl."

The girl was curious, but did not ask. After all, knowledge is power, but a massive burden. She learned quickly in her dealings with her shishou that sometimes it was better not to know, lest that bleeding heart of hers decide to rebel. She'd been fighting the bleeding heart for years now, and had succeeded. She refused to succumb to weakness now.

She ducked her head, instead. Her master waited for her to clear the stairs, before settling the tatami mat over the staircase again.

"Madara was weak. He allowed them to change him." Her shishou said, eyes piercing hers. "He was a bleeding heart. Much like you." The terrible onyx looked behind her, at the public shrine in the temple. "We will move beyond his meager attempts in the other life, and we will succeed at what he failed to do."

The girl fell forward into a respectful bow. "Of course, master."

"What have you learned?" He asked her, crossing his arms. She winced. The full pressure of his eyes on her was not an easy cross to bear.

"The Yondaime is weak. Soon, a new Hokage will be elected." She murmured. "The team you asked me to monitor is hard to understand- they make spontaneous choices that change everything without saying a word out loud." She thought about it. "Beware the eldest- Kakashi." Her mind thudded at the name, and she cursed her bleeding heart. "He is more powerful than he appears."

"Hm." Her shishou thought about it, his eyes falling to the floor in thought. She thought she could breathe easier now that his attention was not on her.

"My lord..." She asked, dragging his attention to her again. "What would you have me do with the children? We need the Jinchuriki, yes?"

"Don't do anything to them yet." A sadistic smirk crawled onto his face. "We shall watch them carefully, but I have my own plans for them." He closed his eyes. "After all... they took down Danzo."

Then he was gone.

<>

Tsunade had been correct, of course, Sakura had opened her eyes with a splitting headache. Her teammates' beds were empty, and a note had been left on the table, along with a cold cup of tea. They'd gone to meet Tsunade and probably Shizune as well. Sakura sighed loudly, but got to work on getting ready, swallowing some non-drowsiness-inducing pain medicine for her headache. She showered and got herself together before looking around for the place she guessed they'd be meeting at.

The tavern was apparently a restaurant by day, bar by night. She stepped in, and heard and oddly familiar booming laugh. Her eyes scanned the area, and saw all of them crammed into one booth- Shizune and Tsunade on one side, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi on the other. But not facing Sakura, someone had drawn up a chair to the table, and was talking with them excitedly. Naruto looked over the moon.

Sakura frose when she recognized the white locks. Then the laugh clicked. It appears the forces that be wouldn't keep Jiraiya away even in another universe. Sakura was happy. She approached the booth, and was greeted by multiple people. She slid into a both by Shizune, introducing herself as Sakura. Shizune gave her a weary, but pure and friendly smile. Sakura hadn't realized how much she'd missed Shizune-senpai. Tonton was in Tsunade's lap, oinking indignantly at Sasuke, who was eyeing her in confusion.

"So! You're the teammate!" Jiraiya asked, his loud voice catching her attention.

"And my new apprentice." Tsunade intervened, taking a sip of her early morning sake. "I suppose Shizune will have a hand in bringing her up too." Sakura couldn't resist her happy grin at the idea, and Shizune looked pleasantly surprised at her enthusiasm.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing." Jiraiya said, mock appreciatively. Sakura winced, having forgotten this side of the beloved Sannin. "Naruto, she's a keeper!" Jiraiya announced.

Sakura effortlessly reached over and slapped him over the head, making him double over in pain. She heard both Naruto and Tsunade howl with laughter. Shizune and Kakashi let out matching sheepish laughs, the latter rubbing the back of his neck, while Sasuke just looked reproachful. Sakura supposed that it was a natural reaction. He'd never met the Pervy Sage, so this was his first impression of the geezer.

The seven of them, and TonTon, sat in the booth and ate, then began talking about their plans. Tsunade had apparently informed Shizune that she was considering coming back to the village to help out with Minato. Shizune smiled in affection when she talked about how she also missed Kushina and Minato.

Jiraiya was pleased about this. "It just so happens- I was heading to the village myself. I had some things to report to Minato, but hearing what happened..." he tapered off solemnly. "Well, there will be a time and a place." He sighed. Naruto gave him a sympathetic look. No one really knew what would be happening at home- no letters had been received during their time away. The only news they had on Minato was the information Sakura's summon Kagami occasionally reported. Kushina and Minato's council would be running it until the Hokage recovered, or stepped down for a new one. "Of course, I'll travel with you to the village anyway."

"That's only if I'm going." Tsunade reminded him, taking another sip of her sake.

"Tsunade-sama, it's not even noon yet!" Shizune protested, frowning in bemusement.

Tsunade's eyes wandered the room before they landed on a wall clock. Exactly one second passed before the second hand passed over the twelve, and the minute and hour hands landed on the twelve too. "Ha. Now it is." She took a victorious swig of her drink. Shizune shook her head, looking at Sakura despairingly. The girl giggled behind her hand, already falling right into the comfort of her two teachers.

"Oh, come on, Tsunade, don't be so dramatic. Of course you're going." Jiraiya exclaimed, throwing back some of his own drink. Kakashi looked at Sakura.

Are Shizune and I the only non-alcoholics here??

Hey! I resent that! I don't drink.

Tell that to that one time during the war, Naruto.

Just that one time! Never again.

I don't drink either, old man, speak for yourself.

I'm betting ten ryo Sasuke's a closet alcoholic.

I'll see that ten and raise you twenty.

She speaks! There you go, Kakashi, it's your actual alcoholic student.

At least I'm not the surly, egotistical piece of crap student... I'll raise to thirty, Kakashi-sensei.

She makes a valid point. And I'll take that bet too.

The others watched with confused expressions as Sakura randomly reached across the table to shake Kakashi's hand outstretched hand firmly.

HAHAHA TEME YOU'RE SURLY
What's surly again?

Mean, basically.

You're so clever. Now answer Tsunade, she's talking to you.

They went on to discuss Naruto's progress, and the happenings in Konoha. Tsunade asked about a lot of people, including Mikoto Uchiha.

"You know my mother?" Sasuke asked, eyebrows raising.

"You're her kid?!" Tsunade asked, sounding scandalized. "Mikoto's manners are impeccable. Something must be wrong with you." She teased Sasuke, who rolled his eyes. "I'm just kidding. Of course I know Mikoto, Kushina was always hanging out with her. They trained together. She had a lot of potential- she was going somewhere, someday. Maybe I would've taken her as my apprentice if I wasn't leaving the village."

Sasuke winced. His mother was probably one of the most skilled female Uchiha in the clan, Itachi's girlfriend Izumi being up there as well. Mikoto had unlocked her Sharingan and progressed it to three tomoe, which was rare. She was incredible at genjutsu and shurikenjutsu, and her fire was the strongest and highest quality Sasuke had seen since Madara Uchiha. But the clan elders - mysoginistic pigs they were - demanded that the wife of the leader retire from the shinobi life and raise the heirs, therefore effectively stopping her climb to power. Plenty of women in the clan did that, because Uchiha men were sexist, prideful, jerks. Or they just didn't want to be shinobi, which was also fine. She had known that would happen when she married Fugaku, but she did love him, so she went through with it. She retired a Jonin. She'd started doing missions again, occasionally, with Kushina before Orochimaru's attack. They had a high success rate. Sasuke always thought that was an injustice. When he complained about this to his mother, she gave him a soft smile.

"I miss the shinobi life," she'd confessed, a wistful look in her eyes. Then she came back from the look and smiled widely at Sasuke, squeezing his cheeks affectionately. "But I don't regret being able to watch you grow up. I can't imagine what I'd do if I died before seeing you get married." Sasuke had whined, and complained, before going to his room, sitting on his bed, and thinking. She truly deserved better.

They left the building after eating, Team Seven retreating to the training grounds. Tsunade, Shizune and Kakashi separated with Sakura so that the medic-nins could see what Sakura knew so far jutsu wise, and find out basic chakra nature things. Tsunade decided she'd wanted a hands on lesson.

That left Sasuke and Naruto with Jiriaya.

Naruto was excited. Seeing Jiraiya again had been like a breath of fresh air. He'd been really down about his dad today, and like a miracle, Jiraiya had run into them at the tavern and dragged up a chair. Of course, his godfather had his own faults, but that hadn't stopped Naruto from missing Jiraiya more than anything.

"So, kid, how's your training going?" Jiraiya asked, sitting them down. Sasuke had separated himself a little bit, going through the moves of Kata with his Kusanagi alone in the field. His eyes were closed and he looked to be at peace. The chokuto was like an extension of his arm as he performed the ancient sword-master practice. Sometimes Naruto wondered when his friend had gotten so graceful, but he knew that it had been there all along. Even as genin in their first life, Sasuke never made a wasted movement.

"Well..." Naruto ran him through his training regimen while Jiraiya drank his tea, explaining how he'd learned the Rasengan from his father as a gift for graduating from the Academy. He'd explained his natural affinity for shadow clones, and walked him through a ton of other wind jutsu that Kakashi had taught him. "And I came up with this new thing!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up and grinning. "Kakashi taught me about the change in chakra nature and change in chakra form, so I made a new jutsu!"

Jiraiya paused mid-swallow, looking impressed. "You made a whole new jutsu?"

"Yep! It's called the Rasenshuriken!" He'd always known how to do it- this time he'd pretended to be working on it for a couple of weeks, then he'd shown his father and fried his arm using it, and his mother had banned him from using the jutsu once her friend Hizashi told her that it had severed chakra pathways. His father had been so impressed, though. He was so proud of his son that managed to come up with an entire new jutsu as a genin. Naruto explained what the Rasenshuriken was, before telling him about what happened to his arm. He did his best to look downcast. "It's such a cool jutsu, Ero Sennin! I wish there was some way I could use it without getting hurt."

Jiraiya hummed pensively, and Naruto crossed his arms behind his back, biting his top lip. "Kid, this is gonna sound crazy, but I think there is a way."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya like he was crazy, ignoring the urge to grin in excitement because everything was falling into place. "Whaddya mean!?"

"Have you ever heard of Sage Mode?"

<>

Incidentally, Orochimaru also found them. Tsunade faced the temptation of Orochimaru's offer of returning her lover and brother, Nawaki and Dan again. But it was still a resounding no from Tsunade, who was incredibly strong no matter how tempting it was. She did drug Jiraiya again, but Naruto was awake and able to shake him out of it since he knew what happened while he was there the last time.

The Legendary Sannin faced off once again, but Orochimaru was outnumbered. There were seven people against him, all of which with considerable power. (Orochimaru had not forgotten the extents of it based on what Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke exhibited during the Chūnin exams. And Kakashi was well known for being incredibly strong on his own.)

Maybe he would've had more of a fighting chance if he was up to his full capacity, but he was easier to fight off, because he was still weak from Shisui's Kotoamatsukami (which was the reason why he'd wanted to seek out Tsunade), he was up against both of his fellow Sannin and Naruto, with Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi there to back them up, so the fight was pretty much useless.

But what he lacked in power, he made up for in manipulation.

"What do you see when you look at them, Tsunade?" Orochimaru asked, eyes flicking to the Chūnin kids, who watched the fight excitedly. "Mere children? It's a ruse. They are lying to you about their power levels. They exude power- it oozes from them. Don't tell me you don't recognize it."

Tsunade shook her head. "I recognize their potential- what power they can be, if given the chance. The only liar here is you, Orochimaru."

Sasuke and Sakura's face when Tsunade kicked Orochimaru's ass off his snake was awesome. Naruto was just happy he'd gotten to see it twice- Tsunade had made WORK of Orochimaru.

Tsunade was still afraid of blood, but while she had her episode, Sakura and Shizune nursed her back while Sasuke defended them. Kakashi and Naruto temporarily took her place, fighting with Jiraiya until she was well enough to continue.

Eventually Orochimaru, who was still weak from the Mangekyo Sharingan effects, backed off.

When the three days passed, Tsunade did make her decision.