A few days later, Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha with a bounce in her step, wildly looking around, marveling at every little thing. No ruins, no fires, no blood, just people in familiar places, civilians and shinobi going about their daily lives and chores and missions.

She had spent her entire morning at the library, reading, researching Konoha 's history and political landscape, and brushing up on some medical ninjutsu and chakra theory. The latter was what interested her the most. Even though her chakra ' and, thank Kami, her perfect chakra control ' ' had mostly traveled back with her, her pathways were badly impaired, if slowly healing, and they had shrunk to her five-year-old body 's equivalent. Sakura

needed

to deal with that as fast as possible.

She picked up her pace, her small arms struggling to hold on to the veritable mountain of books in her grasp, but her excitement only grew. It was strange since she would tire herself out every single night since she'd woken in her past, with training and studying and meditation, to the point where she 'd have to drag herself up to her window to return to her room before dawn. And yet, somehow she still had energy to spare for something as inconsequential as enthusiasm.

Making her way out of the boisterous marketplace with several anatomy books and half a dozen packed yakitori from her favorite stand, she skipped towards the park. She had caught a glimpse of Naruto there the previous day, but since her parents had been dragging her around, she hadn't had a chance to go to him.

Her step faltered when she saw the Academy and the Hokage Tower above it. She stood still, watching in silence as shinobi came and went, probably picking up their missions from the Assignment desk. Her mind took her back to when she freely walked around the premises, first as one of the Academy students and later on as the Godaime 's apprentice, barging into Tsunade 's office unannounced, helping with her paperwork, and aiding Shizune in hiding the various sake bottles from their shisho.

Her reverie was interrupted when a group of what seemed to be first-year students burst out into the yard, cheerfully chatting with one another about their classes and clans and training. Sakura stifled a gasp when she realized she knew some of them. Or rather, she'd known them in her past life, and would probably meet them again in this one as well at some future point.

The thought was of little help to her when her eyes landed on a boy with long dark hair and hauntingly pale eyes.

Neji

'

Once again, Sakura had to fight off Inner 's protests and her own unbearable grief as her eyes stayed glued to her stoic friend. Former friend. As he was a year older than her, he'd obviously already started attending the Academy, and she hadn 't been able to save his father, who had died about a year before she'd landed back in time.

Turning her pensive face to her feet, she willed her legs to take her to the park, towards Naruto. Her mind brimming with worries and what-ifs and Inner's screaming, she was too distracted to take notice of the approaching chakra signature, and then she was gracelessly stumbling forward before she dropped down on her knees painfully.

'Kami, I 'm so sorry! '

'Are you sure you 're the same war veteran from a few days ago? '

Ignoring Inner, Sakura raised her head to meet a pair of all-too-familiar brown eyes, set in a face framed by dark hair tightly secured into two beautiful buns.

'Here, I 'm so sorry, again, I was in a rush to go home and train... ' the girl explained, handing Sakura the scattered books she hadn 't even realized had slipped from her grasp.

Swallowing hard and barely restraining herself from fiercely hugging the girl, Sakura simply smiled. 'It 's fine. And I 'm sorry too, I wasn 't paying attention. '

The girl hummed, still gripping Sakura 's arm. 'You should be more careful around here. My name 's Tenten. '

'Haruno Sakura, ' she said, her smile widening. 'You attend the Shinobi Academy? '

Tenten grinned and nodded, 'Just started this year! What about you? '

'Ah, well, not yet. I 'm still trying to convince my parents. They 're civilians, you see, but next year I 'll be a student here for sure! '

'That 's great! ' Tenten laughed and squeezed Sakura 's arm, 'We 'll become kunoichi together, and I'll be your senpai! '

Oh Tenten, you have no idea how much more than just that you 'll turn out to be.

'I 'll see you around then, Sakura-chan! '

'See you! ' Sakura waved as Tenten walked away.

Kami, how am I going to do this...?

Finally reaching the park, Sakura sat down on an empty bench, glancing around. There was no sign of bright blond hair, but she knew Naruto would make his way here at some point. With a sigh, she opened her book and started reading about various high-level healing techniques she was obviously no stranger to. Having her fellow nin and other adults see her do this out in public would help in not raising too many questions about her advanced abilities once she got her chakra reserves back in order.

As she was finishing the second chapter, an angry voice broke her focus. Looking up, she saw a civilian man, perhaps in his forties or fifties, standing a little ways away, arm outstretched, face red and snarling.

'You! Get lost, you demon brat! '

Standing up and moving closer, Sakura's stomach fell to her feet. A painfully familiar, immeasurably dear boy was sitting on one of the swings, hands gripping the chains tightly, a single tear making its way down his whiskered cheeks. Some of the people in their vicinity looked over, their expressions colored by the same disdain, while others were clutching their children in fear.

Hot, bubbling, rising fire spread through Sakura, and she couldn 't stop herself from running straight to the man who was dangerously close to her best friend, her brother, her Naruto.

'Get away from him! ' she screamed. 'Don 't talk to him like that! '

She quickly positioned herself between the grown man and the young boy, donning her scariest scowl. It had many a time driven her enemies away before they'd even had the chance to become acquainted with her chakra-powered fists.

The man seemed taken aback for just a moment, before directing the brunt of his own anger to Sakura herself. 'And what the hell do you think you're doing, girl? ' he yelled. 'You dare defend that monster? '

Sakura wasted no time in retaliating: 'The only monster I see here is you! ' she spat. 'Verbally abusing a young child? Do I need to report you to the police or the Hokage? '

Sakura could sense the ANBU stationed above them in the trees, observing the confrontation closely, but she knew they wouldn 't step in unless it got physical,

and boy

, did she want to punch this asshole.

'I suggest you leave now, sir, ' she growled again, inching closer to the man, who suddenly seemed so pissed at her she expected him to hit her any second now.

And he tried to, raising his hand in what she assumed he thought would be an effective attempt at a slap, but a voice from behind him stopped him.

'What 's going on here? '

Shikaku-san!

The man muttered a few curses under his breath and quickly scurried away after meeting the Nara's cool glare. Shikaku-san stayed silent until his target was a good distance away from them, still watching him from the corner of his eye.

'You two okay? ' he asked, kneeling in front of them. Behind her, Naruto flinched slightly, but Sakura only smiled at the Jonin Commander.

'Yes, shinobi-san! Thanks for taking care of that brute! '

Shikaku gave an amused huff, eyeing Sakura for a moment, before briefly glancing at the boy still gripping the swing chains. 'Well then, I better get back to work now. Take care, yeah? '

'Bye-bye, shinobi-san! And thanks again! ' Sakura chirped with all the cheer of an actual five-year-old. The stark shift in her mood and expression didn 't go unnoticed by the jonin, but he chose not to comment. With a lazy wave, his shunshin carried him away.

Sakura wasn 't sure if this encounter with Nara Shikaku would turn out to be for the best. She knew Shikamaru 's father well and had worked with him on numerous occasions. To say he was too smart and observant for most people's good was the understatement of the century. If he decided she was worth the investigation, he 'd find out her secret sooner or later.

Maybe it would be for the best?

At least I trust Shikaku-san, and he could help me with all the strategies and schemes I'll need to implement.

With the Nara gone, for the time being, Sakura finally, finally turned around, her heart breaking at the sight of the scared little boy she was so used to seeing happy and excited.

'Hey, ' she called, standing directly in front of Naruto, wincing slightly when he flinched again. 'Um, what 's your name? ' she asked as softly as she could.

'N-Naruto, ' the boy whispered, still looking down at his lap.

Sakura sighed and carefully reached out to touch his shoulder. He twitched as though her hand had burned him, but she held on to him firmly, yet gently all the same. 'Well, Naruto, do you want to come to play with me? ' Sakura pointed behind her, 'We could make a sandcastle. '

Naruto slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, his look of utter disbelief and hidden hope striking something deep within her. 'You don 't hate me? You 're not afraid of me? '

'Nope, ' she replied, busting out her warmest smile, 'Friends aren 't supposed to be scared of each other, silly. '

'Friends? ' he asked, his jaw dropping along with his hands, which instantly fell from the swing chains.

Sakura took his trembling fingers into hers. 'Well, if you 'd like, we could be friends? '

'Really? '

She only nodded, not trusting her own voice when he looked and sounded so indescribably affected by her simple gesture of kindness.

Oh, Naruto, you went through so much. I 'm sorry, I 'm so sorry, but this time I 'll be by your side.

Sakura led him to the sandbox, still holding on to his hand, gracefully ignoring the fact that every single child was pulled away by their parents. She couldn 't exactly ignore Naruto 's confused, guarded, and ridiculously hopeful look, though.

'What? ' she asked as she began combing sand between her fingers, suddenly remembering another lonely boy, with hair as red as blood and eyes as blue as turquoise, far away from Konoha.

'Why are you so nice to me?" Naruto asked in turn. "Why do you want to be my friend? '

'People were making fun of and saying bad things about me as well, some time ago. I was always crying and couldn 't stand up for myself, but a friend helped me, ' she shrugged and smiled again, urging Naruto to play with her. 'Say, what do you want to be when you grow up? '

He still seemed to be contemplating her previous statement, but then he stood up, suddenly overcome with his trademark energy. 'I 'll become a great ninja and the best Hokage ever! Believe it! '

'Wow, ' she laughed lightly, urging her happy tears to stay still. 'That 's a really big dream, Naruto, but I do believe you. When you become Hokage, I 'll be your best medic ninja. '

Naruto sat back down, startling Sakura. 'You really mean that? You believe me and you 'll be my medic? ' Sakura could swear that stars were dancing inside his eyes.

Another smile, another nod, 'Of course. '

That sunny afternoon, Sakura forged her friendship with Naruto anew, played and laughed as if she truly were five years old and not seventeen, shared her yakitori with him, and bid him goodbye with the promise of seeing him again the next day.

Later that day, she trained herself to the point of exhaustion, but the thought of a better future, for her, her friends, Konoha and the rest of the world, spurred her on, and when she finally tucked herself in for the night, it was with a smile devoid of sadness.

Sakura was deep inside one of the forests bordering the village walls from where the Naka River flowed; for the last month or so, it was where she went to train in the dead of night, practicing her kunai and shuriken throwing, and adapting her stance and agility to accommodate her significantly smaller and slower body. A few weeks ago, she had started wearing weights in the form of seals to help her with muscle formation and speed. Of course, she'd have to increase the amount of weight contained within them gradually, since her five-year-old body was still too weak to take the additional strain in one go.

The sound of metal embedding itself into the thick tree bark echoed throughout the silent clearing, occasionally punctured by the sounds of running water, owls hooting and deer scuttling out of sight in the distance.

Her day had gone well. She had spent her morning practicing her medical ninjutsu by herself, and then she had met up with Naruto for lunch at Ichiraku 's, and after that...

She had met Ino for the first time in her new life.

Once again, her brave, brilliant friend had come to her aid when she noticed Ami and her group teasing Sakura. Of course, this time around, Sakura hadn't broken down crying; mostly, she had just stood there, staring at Ami, snorting and struggling not to burst out laughing, because she quite frankly almost couldn't believe this was happening to her again. That hadn't stopped Ino in the slightest, though. She'd marched herself between Ami and her cronies and told them all what was what, and where they could shove their flowers. By that point, Sakura hadn't been able to contain her borderline hysteric cackles, and Ami and her hangers-on had made themselves scarce.

Once more, Sakura was gifted with a beautiful red ribbon and gained her other best friend.

Whenever she was at home, she 'd review her notes about what she could and had to change in her new time. She would try to prevent the Uchiha massacre at all costs, and if she succeeded, Sasuke would hopefully never need to go chasing after Orochimaru or opt to later join forces with Madara.

The problem was the

how

of it all. How was she supposed to do it? She still had about three more years to come up with a viable plan, but it still kept her up at night, inevitably.

Another issue she 'd have to deal with far sooner was Danzo and his ROOT division, and all the fucked-up shit that would inescapably entail.

She had to save Sai and give him a chance at a more normal life, along with his brother and all the other kids like them; not to mention exposing the three Elders' crimes and bringing them to justice. It would be extremely difficult to get anything on ROOT, and the idea of becoming a member did cross her mind, but she quickly discarded it. ' Danzo would monitor her closely if she ever came to serve him, and she 'd have to leave Naruto, Ino, Sasuke, and her family behind. She also doubted that she 's be able to prevent the massacre if she were to become a ROOT operative, even if that 'd give her access to inside information. The whole idea was overall too risky, dependent on too many unknowns.

Sakura knew she 'd have to make a move and become closer to Sasuke and maybe the rest of Konoha 12 sometime soon, but she didn 't think she needed to rush it. They 'd be classmates next year anyway.

And then there was the issue of not actually seeing any Uchiha out in the village at all unless they were members of Konoha 's Military Police.

Letting out a long sigh, she packed up all her weapons and made her way to the river. Sitting on the cool, smooth stones lining the bank, she willed her mind to slow down, her breathing to match it in its pace and pattern, and fell into a meditative state, which helped with her chakra expansion. She wouldn 't be able to use the amount of chakra she was used to anytime soon, even though the chakra itself was still there. Her pathways had been utterly fried by the time-jump but were beginning to recover and expand steadily, much to her delight.

Meditation tended to tire her mind quickly in her current state, but she usually still had enough energy for a few laps. Fortunately, no one had caught wind of her nightly regimen, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

ANBU were practically breathing down her neck ever since she had befriended Naruto, and no doubt the Hokage had become aware of her unusual fondness for the boy on day one. Sakura hadn 't seen anyone else she knew since that day at the park, but she knew Genma was actually one of Naruto 's ANBU guards.

She hadn 't heard from or caught so much as a glimpse of Kakashi at all, either, and that was probably for the better. She could keep her cool around her parents and friends on most days, but Kakashi ' her sensei, who had died right before she had traveled back in time, whose death she had never gotten a chance to mourn, well, she didn 't think she could handle meeting him now without enduring another panic attack.

Deep in her meditative state, Sakura tried to sense the natural energy around her and gather it inside her body. Senjutsu was something that had already interested her in her previous ' future? ' ' life, but she had never had the chance to really learn how to harness natural chakra inside her.

Gathering such energy was an exacting task. Too much and you 'd turn into an animal or tree, or even solid stone; too little, and senjutsu simply couldn 't be used. It wasn 't ideal she was trying to accomplish this with her smaller reserves, but her chakra, or rather the amount of it she was used to, was still there, if temporarily 'hidden ', and so was her almost perfect control. She had only practiced this once or twice, still unable to completely get the hang of it. But once her reserves went back to normal and her pathways were able to fully accommodate her chakra, Sakura believed she 'd have a shot at becoming a proper Sage.

'Maybe ask the Pervy Sage when we meet him again? '

Inner offered, completely ruining her concentration.

Sakura gave an exasperated huff, already feeling a little worn out from her training and meditation.

'He 'll be too busy with Naruto 's training, '

she replied in her head,

'but maybe I 'll ask for some pointers if I still can 't do it by then. '

Gathering her things, she made her way back hurriedly. It was a lot later in the night than her training sessions usually ran, and she was starting to worry. Right as she neared the edge of the forest, she sensed a rapidly approaching chakra signature. With no time to panic, she immediately lowered her own chakra volume making it resemble that of a squirrel, and leaped onto a tree, hiding behind the leaves of a thick branch.

Her frantic eyes ran back and forth in the direction she knew the person ' a shinobi, they had to be with chakra reserves of that size ' was coming from. She wouldn 't have time to weave a good enough concealment genjutsu, that she knew, and in her current body, she wouldn 't be able to run fast enough or fight a high-level opponent.

While Sakura was busy formulating and discarding various plans of action in her head, a silhouette took shape amidst the moonlight filtering through the trees. Once they drew near to the clearing by the river, their pace visibly slowed, before they landed soundlessly on the ground. A boy, Sakura saw. A young teen.

Something in his chakra felt familiar, but Sakura was positive she had never met this person before. She still couldn 't see him all that well from so high up and in a space so dimly lit, but she could make out the glint of a hitai-ate amidst his dark curls. The cloudless night illuminated his fair face then, and Sakura could finally confirm with certainty she had never before seen him. But there was something, something that reminded her of someone or '

Sakura tried to stifle her gasp when the boy turned his back to her. There, halfway up his dark shirt, rested an all too familiar red-and-white uchiwa.

An Uchiha?

Next thing she knew, there was the whooshing sound of weapons being thrown, and indeed, she barely had the time to duck and dodge two perfectly aimed kunai. She hadn't even seen the boy move.

'Show yourself. ' His voice reached her ears, clear and cold, and when she looked back at him, she could see the eerie red glow of his Sharingan eyes, sharply focused in her direction.

Cursing herself internally for her fucking rookie mistake, her brain quickly barfed up a maybe-believable excuse, and she carefully dropped to the forest floor, keeping a good amount of distance between them. There was a strange feeling of triumph inside her when she saw the young Uchiha 's eyes widen momentarily as she landed on the ground with all the grace and silence her true age afforded her.

Sakura raised her hands slowly, showing him she was unarmed. 'Um, hi? ' she said, though it came out squeaky and overcautious.

The boy 's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his kunai remained raised. 'State your name and purpose here, ' he ordered.

His chakra felt... odd to her from this close-up, and not just because of its inexplicable familiarity. There was a measure of fear in him, beneath the hostility, and a well of terrible grief beneath the fear. He was trying to rein it in desperately, with only partial success. Nothing of his simmering inner turmoil showed on his face.

Sakura was surprised by how acute her chakra-sense was proving to be, though she supposed the Uchiha's heightened emotions served as an unusually potent beacon for her in this case. He felt to her senses the way a strange mirror image would to her eyes, the way she felt after a long and all-consuming nightmare.

Swallowing thickly, more for show rather than out of honest nervousness, she replied slowly: 'Haruno Sakura, daughter of civilian merchants. My business here was training, but now I 'm going home. '

'Your chakra doesn't indicate a civilian. Try again. Are you a spy under a seal-enhanced henge? Or possessing the body of a young child to sneak into the village undetected? ' He lost no time countering her words with his own, taking a step towards her.

'If I were a spy, do you honestly think I 'd tell you? ' she didn 't mean to, but her sarcastic side came out unbidden. Cursing herself again when she noticed the spinning tomoe of his Sharingan, she sighed. 'I am not a spy, nor am I possessing anyone, or a civilian, per se. Well, I am, but I want to be a shinobi and I 've been training hard in order to do that. '

Well, she wasn 't exactly lying.

'Are you a student at the Academy? ' he asked, more neutrally this time, Sakura noticed, though he was still suspicious.

'

Time for the pitiful act, Outer! '

Inner suggested, and Sakura agreed.

'Ugh! ' she exaggeratedly exclaimed, falling to the ground with a pout worthy of a real five-year-old. 'No! My parents still don 't let me, ' she whined, even though she could see the way the boy tensed at her sudden movements. 'I 've tried everything,

everything

, I tell you! And they still say it 's too dangerous and all that, and they just won't hear me out! '

Sakura took a deep breath after her 'outburst ' and went on, forcing some tears to her tired eyes. With the sheer amount of pain and panic she spent her days bottling up, it wasn't hard. 'But I want to, you know! I really, really, really do! I want to be strong and I want to protect my precious people and my village. I need to! '

She gulped, letting the tears spill down her cheeks ' Ino would be so proud of how far she had come in the acting department! ' before turning to stare straight at her audience's glowing red gaze. 'They don 't get it and always refuse, going on and on and on about how I 'm too young and they 're afraid I 'll die, so I 've been training in secret for almost a year. '

The boy slowly started lowering his kunai, and Sakura mentally high-fived Inner.

'I was pitiful at first, ' she said honestly, remembering how useless she had been the first time around, always in need of her team's protection. 'I couldn 't even stand right, or throw a kunai, and even though I have good chakra control, well, I am a civilian in that respect. ' She was almost whispering now, letting real sadness lace her voice. 'I don 't have a clan to show me how to train and fight. '

'And then? '

'Gotcha. '

Sakura smiled. 'I went to the library and read everything on chakra and meditation first. Then, I, um, ' she shyly tilted her head, 'I watched some chunin spar out on the training grounds. Don 't be mad, shinobi-san! '

'You went to the library and read about chakra to increase your own? ' he asked slowly. Sakura dutifully nodded. 'You spied on chunin and applied what you saw to your training? ' another nod. Sakura observed the boy as his hold on his weapon loosened. For a moment they stayed silent. 'How old are you? ' he finally asked.

'I just turned five a couple of months ago. I wore the prettiest dress, but it was

pink

! I don 't think I like pink that much now that I 'm five, though. '

'Lower your energy levels, Outer. '

'Oops. Right. '

'Five! ' He exclaimed incredulously. Sakura stared at the young Uchiha, who was looking at her with wide eyes. 'A prodigy? ' he mumbled, so softly Sakura almost didn 't hear him over the river's burbles.

Slowly, Sakura rose from the ground, dusting her pants off. 'How old are you, shinobi-san? Oh, and I believe you didn 't tell me your name. It 's rude to ask for someone 's name and not provide yours, you know, ' she airily chastised him, slightly unsure if that was the right way to get on his good side.

Well, she 'd had to improvise a lot thus far, so surely it wouldn't hurt to keep it up.

The teenager simply stared at her silently, but his eyes soon faded from ruby to obsidian. He took a few steps towards her, stance more relaxed. 'My name 's Shisui and I 'm thirteen. I'll be fourteen later this year, in October. '

Sakura was slightly taken aback. Shisui? Uchiha Shisui '

Shunshin no Shisui?

'Well, ' she started, a wide grin spreading across her face. 'It 's really nice to meet you, Shisui-san! Um, Uchiha Shisui, right? '

Now he was the one taken aback. 'How do you know that? '

'Oh, I noticed the Uchiha clan emblem on your back, ' she shrugged.

'Right. '

Silence.

'What do I say? '

she asked Inner, but she was also at a loss. She hadn 't met him in her other life. Sakura only knew he was one of Sasuke 's cousins, though she had no idea how close they were related. And of course, she 'd heard about his unique shunshin, which had elevated him to somewhat of a legend, even though he had still been a teen when he'd died.

Shisui was the first to break the silence between them. 'What can you do? Shinobi-wise, I mean. '

Sakura took a brief moment to think about what she should say. 'Well, not much. I 'm getting better at kunai and shuriken throwing, and my chakra control is pretty good, so I can walk on buildings and trees, ' he had already seen her hiding in one and sticking a landing with no difficulty, so she couldn 't leave that out.

When he didn 't say anything, Sakura continued.

'Honestly, my strength, speed, and stamina are pretty lacking, but I 'm training with some store-bought seal-weights to increase all of them. I haven 't tried ninjutsu, because my chakra reserves won 't allow it. Yet. '

He nodded, eyes scanning her petite form. 'What about taijutsu? ' he finally asked.

Sakura pouted, 'I 've memorized some taijutsu combinations from the chunin I ' watched, ' she wouldn 't say 'spied on ', even if it was already out in the open. 'But I don 't really have anyone to practice with. '

'I see, ' he said slowly. For some reason, Sakura started to feel a little anxious under his scrutinizing gaze. She knew that if he didn 't believe her and went for an attack, she wouldn 't be able to fight him properly. 'Do you come here every night? '

His question caught her off guard, but she pulled herself together quickly. 'Unless it 's raining or I 'm really tired, yes. '

'Come tomorrow, ' he said and turned around. Sakura was suddenly baffled.

'What? W-Why? '

'I 'll train with you, ' he announced, before turning back to face her. 'Do not say anything about this to anyone. Make sure no one finds out about the fact that a five-year-old can do all the things you can. You could be in danger if that happens. Do you understand? '

She could only nod, reeling. With a wave of his free hand, Shisui disappeared from sight. He didn't even make a sound as his infamous shunshin took him away into the night.