"My summons?!"

Bunko nodded in affirmative. "It's come to my attention that you're currently in need of one. And from what I've seen, me and my kind would be more than pleased to come to your aid if you need it."

"That—That'd be great!"

Bunko flew off Sakura's shoulder and landed on the ground next to a large scroll that suddenly appeared. It opened, showing a series of unrecognized red names. Sakura kneeled down on to the ground, bit her thumb, and wrote her name in the next blank space. She suddenly felt a twinge of regret as she remembered Katsuyu at the other slugs, but this was for the best. She couldn't afford to leave a trail where Konoha shinobi could find her.

'The trail is what you're worried about? What about what you've done to everyone that loved you?'

When the scroll disappeared, Bunko returned to her perch on Sakura's shoulder.

'Think about them. Don't you even realize what happened?'

"Where to next, Sakura-san?"

'Especially Naruto. He didn't deserve what you're doing to him.'

"... Benisu Island. It's northeast of Uzu no Kuni; among the cluster of islands."

'How can you live with yourself?'

::

They had absolutely no leads.

The way she disappeared was like she had never existed. Her apartment was barren and void of anything like a scent or chakra residue. The Inuzuka, the Hyuuga, and Kakashi had been ruled out of finding her. The last person to have spoken to her inside the village had been Shizune, and she the only think she knew was that one day she was here, and the next she was gone. Sakura hadn't been her normal self the last day anyone had seen her, but other than that, there was nothing. And Tsunade was starting to get frustrated.

"Dammit! Where they hell could she be? It's been over a month!"

She missed Sakura. Everyone did. It just wasn't like her to leave like out of the blue like that. All she wanted to do was bring her apprentice home, yell at her for making everyone worry so much, and reprimand the hell out of her for doing something. And the sooner she got back to Konoha, the more lenient the council would be on her punishment.

"Tsunade-sama, maybe you should summon Katsuyu-sama," Shizune suggested as she poured some tea. "Maybe she knows where Sakura-chan is."

"It's well worth a shot." the Hokage sighed. She bit her thumb and formed a series of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Katsuyu appeared in her average form, taking up a good middle portion of Tsunade's desk. "Tsunade-hime," she greeted softly.

"Good afternoon, Katsuyu-sama," Tsunade said as she crossed her arms. "I don't know if you're aware, but Sakura's gone missing and we have absolutely no clue where she could be. Do you know anything about it?"

Katsuyu's feelers pointed down tentatively. "I regret to inform you that a little over a month ago, Sakura-chan officially revoked her contract with the slugs."

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Tsunade was silent, eyes shadowed and hands clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white. She was so engulfed in her refusal to accept what was told that she didn't notice the door open. Katsuyu solemnly continued.

"Sakura-chan isn't coming back—"

"LIAR!"

Naruto stood in the entrance of the office, Sakura's hitai-ate tight in his grip. "You're lying! Sakura-chan isn't like that!"

He stomped in, glaring heatedly at the slug summon. Sai and Kakashi rushed in after him and tried to keep him restrained.

"Naruto! Stop!"

"Sakura-chan wouldn't leave the village! Not in a million years! I know her and she's one of the best people I've ever met! Yeah, she can get a little mean sometimes, but what's wrong with that?! After everything—after all the bullshit we've been through together—she wouldn't leave!" he shouted. Katsuyu turned around.

"...I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I truly am."

"NO! I'll show you! I'll show you that she isn't gone! I'm gonna find her right now and you can't do noth—!!!!!"

Suddenly, he slumped forward into Sai and Kakashi's arms. Kakashi withdrew his hand from his student's neck without a word, then turned his gaze down. Sai looked at the summon in hopes that everything she said was merely a cruel joke.

"Katsuyu-sama... are you sure that she said that?"

"Yes. 'I'm breaking all ties with Konoha'," she recited mournfully, "'and that means I must break ties with Tsunade-shi—Tsunade as well.'"

::

It was actually quite easy to bring the people of Benisu Island over onto her side. There was a small shinobi village, the Merchant Village, that made profit of their exceptional medicinal plant gathering skills. Once she explained her situation to their leader, he gratefully accepted her request of a future trade system of herbs for money. He even made and signed their treaty within the hour.

Afterwards, he gave her directions to Nanakusa Island. He understood her struggle with her village and that she didn't have the funds to begin their trade system at the very moment, so told her about the neutral land just east of their current location. It certainly didn't have all the medicinal plants she needed, but it was a fine start.

So the following morning, she set off to Nanakusa. The crew that sailed her over promised to pick her up at noon, giving her a good handful of hours to gather all the herbs she needed. Sakura summoned a large group of owls.

"Hello, good morning!" she chirped. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I need some help collecting these medicinal plants and gather as much as possible. The ones I have my eyes set on are Mandra Grass, Elixir Mud, Energy Carrots, Giant Mato, and Crimson Newts. I'll take care of the Elixir Mud and Crimson Newts myself, but could the rest of you get everything else? Here—I circled them on this map..." She pulled out a blue map from her back pouch and laid them out for the owls to see. "You can find those three in these areas. Oh! And make sure that you don't take everything so the herb population doesn't become scarce. Luckily it doesn't snow here and that the plants grow year round. Could you guys do that for me?"

"Yes, Sakura-san!" they chorused. The owls chattered amongst themselves to divide up the work, committed the map layout to memory, and flew off to their designated locations, Bunko being amongst them. Once the owls were gone from sight, she took the map and gazed at the layout.

"Well... I guess I could get the Elixir Mud first," she murmured. Elixir Mud was great for healing bruises, cuts, and sprains but was such a pain to gather. It was found in gas filled underground caverns that could turn toxic if one breathed the air for too long. Sakura walked over to where the ship dropped her off and hefted a sack of jars over her shoulder before proceeding to find the entrance of the cavern.

::

"Gone to collect allies, you say?"

"Aa. Haruno Sakura went out on her own to gather allies for her village. Who the hell goes out and does that? You know, you're being real strange. This is the first time I've seen you so interested in someone that doesn't concern either Ame or Akatsuki."

Pein smirked as he looked out at the rain. "On the contrary, Haruno Sakura will become someone important to both Amegakure and Akatsuki, so I suggest you get used to her."

Zetsu gaped at him. "Her? The Kyuubi's friend? What good'll she do?"

"In due time, Zetsu."

::

"Ugly ass lizard!! Shannaro!!!" Sakura leapt in the air and drove her heel down on a gigantic reptile's head, smashing it down into the floor and rendering it unconscious. "CHA! Why didn't anyone tell me these things lived underground?!"

The cavern home to the Elixir Mud was full of geysers that spat out boiling hot gas that could poison her if she stayed there for more than an hour. It also littered the path towards the mud making it difficult to discern a safe path towards her goal. For ten minutes, Sakura observed the pattern at which the geysers went off, and once she was able to read it, rushed down the path and made it to the mud. And just before she was about to lower in a jar to collect what she needed, an enormous lizard appeared and tried to slam her with its tail.

She caught it and sent the lizard through a cavern wall. A second one came dashing after her, but she was able to subdue it easily with a dropkick to the skull. Not wanting to risk a third one coming after her, Sakura quickly filled sixteen jars, rolled them in cloth so they wouldn't break, stuffed them back in the sack, and high tailed out of there.

"Eh... What a pain in the ass..." she sighed. Next, she walked over to the the rope bridge and slid down to the running river below. But what would be a bigger pain would be gathering enough Crimson Newts. They were often found under rocks in the river and liked to wiggle out of one's grasp if they ever got caught. Sakura sighed again and set down the sack. She proceeded to unbutton her cloak and, slip off her shoes, and take off both her pants and her shirt, leaving her with spandex shorts and a sports bra. She stepped into the water.

"Ack! It's ice cold!!"

Of course it was cold. It was still winter.

For three hours she was in that river, upturning rocks and trying not to get too angry at the little amphibians who always seemed to be able to evade her grip. It wasn't as fun as it sounded. Alongside the frigid waters was Inner-- very vocal and very much inclined to tell her everything she did wrong.

'Tsunade. What of her? She trained you. Devoted time for you. Gave you all your abilities to who the world knows today as Haruno Sakura. Who would you be without her? Oh, that's right. The same person you are now. The disappointment who left the village.'

Sakura silently cursed as another Crimson Newt slipped from her fingers.

'Sasuke-kun this. Sasuke-kun that. You used to love the Sasuke-kun who didn't spare us a glance. Who called you annoying. Who hurt Naruto. Who left the village. Who became scum. You had to rely on Naruto to bring him home. All you've managed to do was become the exact same as that Uchiha. I never imagined someone could ever reach that level of trash. But I guess you've managed the impossible. Kudos, Sakura. Really. I'm so proud.'

She twitched.

'And Ino. Oh, Ino. You were such good friends. Were being the keyword in that sentence. After the years you spent as friends you leave for your own selfish reasons. Can you see her now? Imagine her tears and her broken heart. Her best friend has gone without a single word. "Was she kidnapped? Forced out? Gasp! What if she left on her own? No! Sakura-chan would never!" Wait until she finds out. Wait until she realizes that you left to embrace the enemy.'

Sakura stood up straight.

'Oho! What about—'

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I DON'T NEED TO HEAR IT FROM YOU! ESPECIALLY FROM YOU!"

All was silent. Sakura fell back onto the riverbank with a wriggling newt in her hand. She reached over to the side, grabbed a jar, and dropped the creature in before twisting the lid shut. Six jars were full, each holding ten newts. That should be enough.

"Sakura-san!" Bunko flew over to her location and landed on one of the boulders. "We were able to gather the plants you wanted. They were quite bountiful, actually. We were able to... fill..."

The owl trailed off as she saw the look on Sakura's face. She looked even more tired than when she first saw her leave Otogakure.

"Sakura-san? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine! So you were saying something about the plants?" she asked, forcing a smile onto her face. After Bunko explained how they were able to collect a couple bushels of every herb, Sakura carefully stored the jars of newts with the Elixir Mud and bounded off to where the boat left her. She evenly separated the jars and plants and placed them into bundles and strapped them to each owl's back.

"Please take these to Otogakure and to a man named Yakushi Kabuto and tell them they're from me. He should understand."

The owls gave a collective hoot before taking to the skies. Bunko, of course, stayed behind to keep Sakura company on the rest of her journey.

"So, where are we off to next?"

"Takumi Village. I believe we can get some weapons from them."

It was over a week's worth of travel to Kawa no Kuni, because she took the long way around to avoid stepping foot in Fire. Takumi Village lay near the border between Kawa and the country that housed Amegakure, and Sakura was thankful that it was rather far from the main shinobi village.

The thing about Takumi Village was that it was an entire community dedicated to the Arts. Or more specifically—battle craft. They once were widely renowned for their skills in making weapons and had one point in time sold to many shinobi villages around the world. But as time crawled by, their clientele began developing weapon making skills of their own, thus making their work obsolete. If Sakura could convince them into selling Otogakure weapons, not only would she have tools of the finest craftsmanship, but she'd have another village to support her. So once she was granted an audience with the leader, he heard her out and nodded.

"Sure."

Sakura furrowed her brow. "Sure...? That's it? No conditions? No questions? No... No nothing?"

"Nope."

When he saw the look of utter confusion cross her face, he gave her a bitter smile. "I've been a leader for many years, Haruno-san. I know what it's like to have a struggling village. We were like that once. Not too long ago, Takumi suddenly went under. We asked every single village we used to sell weapons to. Every single one. But we were ignored and left to suffer in silence. I don't want to see that happen to another village. So we'll help. I understand that you don't have all the money now, but you can pay in the future," he said. Sakura openly gaped at him for a few moments before regaining her senses and offering a deep bow.

"Thank you so much! I promise you, I will send you all the money I owe you for all the tools and weapons!"

He quickly waved her up, his smile turning warm. In all his years, he'd seen his fair share of good people. They came in all shapes, sizes, and ages, but this young woman that stood in front of him had to be one of the top ones on the list. Haruno Sakura seemed oddly familiar to him. She was like that one kunoichi, what was her name, the current Hokage? Very confident in herself with a determination that shone like no other.

"Actually... there is one thing I request."

Sakura's eyes glimmered. "Of course! Anything you ask of, sir!"

"If ever in the future we need help and we ask you, please come to our aid. For as long as this treaty stands, please don't ignore us."

She saluted and flashed a bright grin. "You have my word."

Jomae Village was the next and last place on her list. Their shinobi specialized in espionage and were quite the force to be reckoned with. The minute she stepped up to the village gates, she was regarded with high suspicion and immediately brought to the village head. He was far older than she was with gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and a hanging mustache of equal color.

"So you've come to ask of an alliance, you say?" he mused. Sakura nodded.

"Yes. My name is—"

"Haruno Sakura. Yes, I know. A village that thrives on espionage, remember?" he said. "A sannin's former apprentice who has also been on Konoha's red alert list for quite some time now. And now you're Oto's leader, hm... Are you aware how much money's on your head? It's quite a lot. A very hefty bounty, if I must say."

Sakura's fingers twitched over her kunai pouch. "Is that going to be a problem?" she questioned slowly. He gave a hearty laugh.

"Good heavens, no! Do you have any idea how much the Jomae Village hates the Five Great Shinobi Nations? They think they're better than everyone else—casting us smaller countries and villages aside and ignoring our pleas for help. But you are quite the interesting case. You left one of the strongest villages in the entire world for Otogakure. The place that no one cares about. And you know what they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend," he grinned. He laughed again. "So, what is it that you need from us?"

"Some of your shinobi," she began. "The chuunin and jounin of Otogakure do own up to their titles, but just barely. I can't enough ANBU to train all of them, as they're outside the village cashing in bounties. And really, I only have fifteen ANBU. So I request that you lend me some of your shinobi to train mine. I'll pay you back for their services, I assure you."

He mulled over her plan. "You have an odd request. I don't think I've ever heard of a leader being so open with other countries, much less their villages... I'll send you the shinobi you need."

::

The shock Sakura kept giving him never really seemed to settle.

First came the flock of owls that arrived to the village. Marisu herself said that the amount of plants and mud that was delivered was astounding. She wasn't expecting so much, and what they were delivered could last up to an entire years. Next came four large crates, each stamped with the Takumi Village symbol.

One crate was filled completely with kunai and shuriken. They weren't made of the usual dark gray metal, but something that gave it a mirror effect. The kunai hilts were wrapped in taut purple bandages, and the shuriken with a purple lining in the center. The second box had senbon, files, chakra wire. Next, the third box was filled to the brim with eggplant purple hitai-ates. Lastly, the fourth box held all the basic medical supplies. There were needles, scalpels, forceps, surgical staples... There were so many supplies. Weapons. Instruments. Surely, Sakura couldn't have done more.

Kabuto was proved wrong a couple of weeks later. A group of shinobi in brown flak jackets appeared at the village gates with an order to retrain all chuunin and jounin. After Kabuto introduced them to Otogakure's forces, he walked to the top of the Otokage Tower and gazed at the village below.

It was getting better. With everything Sakura had done, Otogakure's road to recovery had been paved and assured. It would take time, yes, but for once this village had hope. A small sliver; attainable and brighter than everything he had ever seen before. He looked up to see a Great Horned Owl flying towards him and landing on the railing.

"A message," she said.

He untied the slip of paper on the owl's leg and unrolled it.

To anyone who receives this letter,

I'll make my return in three days. Once I'm back, I'll attend to every and all situations.

Haruno Sakura

Kabuto sighed and raised his eyes once again, gaze zeroing in on the gates. This was the decision he was going to make.

And honestly, he didn't think he'd have it any other way.

::

When Sakura stepped into Otogakure, she was greeted with respectful bows and cheerful welcome backs from everyone she passed. She was spoken to so many times that her face remained a dark red until she made it to her office. She was thankful for finally being able to take in a familiar sight, but the office was organized for once. Papers were stacked in neat piles atop her desk and books and scrolls were well arranged on the shelves and floor space.

'Heh. But look who failed to make an appearance.'

Sakura shook her head. She wasn't expecting him to stay anyways.

She made her way over to the desk chair and sunk down. She supposed that she could start with the paperwork that made itself plentiful in her absence. It was going to be just like the work Tsunade dumped on her, wouldn't it? It couldn't be that bad. Straightening up, Sakura took a pen from her drawer and started to read the first document.

There were a couple of knocks on her door.

"Ah. Come in."

"Sorry I could greet you when you first came back. I was dealing with a situation in the hospital," someone said as they entered with a tray of tea in one hand and an envelope in the other. "And I thought you'd like some lemon balm tea. It'll help you get through all the work that's cut out for you today."

Sakura couldn't contain a smile as Kabuto set down a cup in front of her and poured some tea. He then handed her the envelope.

"This came for you a while back. It appeared on your desk one day and no one seems to know who it came from," he informed.

"Oh?"

She slit the side open with a kunai and out came a note and a check. She picked up the check first, noting that it was anonymous and—

"One—One BILLION ryo?!" she exclaimed incredulously. "Did someone just donate one billion ryo to us? Who the hell would do that?!!"

Sakura quickly read through the paper that came with it.

Please accept the small donation, Haruno Sakura. Do what you will with the money, and I will watch Otogakure grow. And once it has, I'll pay you a visit and give you an offer.

Keep in mind that it would be a mistake to refuse.

::

Nearly all the information used in this story is found on either naruto.wikia.com or leafninja.com.

::

EDITED 2.16.18