Old and new beginnings

by Arisoandra

Summary:

The founding clans of Konoha, the Uchiha and the Senju, from the Warring States Era are suddenly transported into the future, landing in post-Fourth Shinobi War Konoha, with Kakashi as the Sixth Hokage. Chaos, clashes, and drama ensue.

Chapter 1: Hime

Sakura didn't really know what to expect from the letter. She suspected it was something serious, albeit not that urgent, given the scroll's method of delivery.

She knew that Kakashi-sensei often used his summons to send messages to Sasuke-kun during his travels or missions. It was safe, as fast as a messenger-nin, and more importantly, personal. Because Sasuke-kun was one of his important people, and also not very sociable. Sensei believed that having a cute dog deliver his messages would do wonders for the boy's loneliness.

He sometimes used them to contact Naruto as well, during his diplomatic missions as part of his Hokage training, although not as frequently. Naruto preferred to use his toads for correspondence, so the only times Sensei even did use his ninken with him were when he knew Naruto had messed something up during a mission and was trying to hide it.

As for Sakura, she couldn't even remember if Kakashi-sensei had ever used his ninken to contact her since the war. She had focused more on hospital work and medical research since then. Alongside Ino, she was busy establishing the first mental health clinic for children, which kept her away from the usual assault missions. She didn’t have a team for them anymore, anyway. Sasuke-kun was on his redemption journey, Naruto was caught up in Hokage training, Kakashi-sensei was the Hokage, Yamato-taichō had taken up the task of guarding the snake, and Sai had surprisingly become responsible for reintegrating former Root agents — and children — into Konoha's forces.

She occasionally went on missions with Team 10 or the girls, but by now, they were mostly just excuses to hang out outside the village. The only other times she even left Konoha were for foreign medical exchanges with the other shinobi villages. And Sakura had the privilege of being one of the few people who outclassed Kakashi Hatake in a particular field : medicine. He never needed to contact her during these missions, because he trusted her to do right by Konoha and the people who needed help.

Also, it went without saying, but… she was his favorite. (Well, she was now.)

So really, seeing Bisuke, tail wagging and a scroll attached to his back, was a surprising sight. Still, she didn’t think much of it at first, ordering the dog to sit and taking the scroll with a scratch behind his ears.

"Is that a ninja dog?"

Sakura looked up at her cousin, lounging on the transat next to hers, watching the dog sniff around their table with the drinks.

Sakura was on vacation with her parents outside the village. They had gone to visit the main house of the Haruno family in the Land of Hot Water, but her cousin had convinced her to go to the Land of Waves for a short girls' trip.

After the incident with Gato, the Land of Waves had struggled for a few years to get its economy going. But things picked up when they began investing in tourism, promoting their beautiful beaches and unique vegetation. After the end of the war, the industry boomed — visitors came in droves to see the Great Naruto Bridge, named after the war hero, and luxury resorts had started popping up along the eastern beaches, including the one where they were staying.

That morning, Sakura had convinced her cousin, Reika, to trek with her up the mountain where Team 7 had buried Zabuza and Haku to pay their respects. Now, they were lounging by the pool in their bikinis when Bisuke had come barreling toward her with a bark and a happy yip.

"Yeah, he's my sensei's summon."

"The Hokage’s?" asked Reika curiously, sitting up to pet Bisuke, who wagged his tail happily at the attention.

"Mmm-hmm," Sakura nodded as she began unfolding the scroll.

The words on the message didn’t really register the first time she read them. They were that unbelievable.

The second time she read it, she started laughing. Not because it was particularly funny, but because she could just imagine Shizune berating Kakashi-sensei for this. Let it be known that the Rokudaime was often bullied by his executive assistant because of his antics. Sending a scroll to prank his student on vacation because he was probably procrastinating on paperwork was classic Kakashi.

The third time she read the letter, her eyes caught the small scribble at the bottom of the scroll — unmistakably Shikamaru’s lazy strokes :
"This is not a prank, which is fucking troublesome for everybody involved. Especially me."

The color drained from her face. Naras don’t joke. Like ever. It takes too much effort.

"Are you okay?" Reika asked, a worried edge to her tone. 

Sakura looked up at her cousin but couldn’t find the words to describe what she had just read.

Seriously… how the fuck is someone supposed to react to this?

Sakura-chan,

I hope this letter finds you well and that you’re having a good time on your vacation. Hot Water, was it? Some of my favorite Icha Icha scenes were written there, did you know?

I don’t really know how to say this, so I think I’ll just say it :
The Senju and Uchiha clans from the Warring States Era appeared out of thin air a few miles from the village border.
Don’t ask me how or why. They’re just here.

I’ll tell you more once you’re back (with a special edition Icha Icha merch for your favorite teacher from the Bamboo Library near the shopping district), but I wanted to let you know in case you heard rumors and started imagining crazy things. Like, say, the founding clans traveling forward in time to appear decades later.

I’ll see you soon.

Your favorite teacher
[Seal: Rokudaime Hokage]
[Print of Pakkun’s paw]

 

---

 

After trying very hard not to freak out externally, Sakura decided she needed to get back to their room to regroup. Reika, concerned, followed close behind with Bisuke in her arms, tail wagging like he had no idea he'd just been the bearer of absolute nonsense.

Once in their suite, Sakura began pacing back and forth, trying to think. Kakashi wasn’t summoning her back, he had just wanted her to know. So technically, she didn’t have to return to the village immediatly.

Which wasn’t so bad, honestly. She wasn’t exactly eager to throw herself into that shit show. She really didn’t envy Sensei right now.
And poor Shikamaru.

Instead, her thoughts drifted to Sasuke-kun, and Shishō. Wondering how they must feel after hearing the news. There was no doubt that if she had received this letter, then they both had too. What must it feel like, to suddenly hear that a whole group of people who share your blood had just appeared out of nowhere… when for so long, you thought you were the only one left?

“Is it really serious?” Reika asked gently, handing her a glass of water. “Maybe I can help, if you tell me what’s wrong.”

Bisuke, blissfully unaware of the existential crisis unfolding around him, was happily drinking water from a bowl near the balcony, with some beef jerky on the side like a true five-star guest.

Sakura sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Do you need to go back to the village?”

“No, but…” She paused, trying to untangle the knot in her chest. “I don’t think I can stay.”

“Aww.”

Reika pouted. She was a petite woman — all Haruno women were — but where Sakura was athletic and slim, Reika had a willow-curved figure that turned heads wherever she went. Her chin-length wavy brown hair framed her face softly, and her green eyes were as the same shade as Sakura's. 

They hadn’t grown up together — one raised as a shinobi, the other now studying law in college — but they had always been close. During those trying days when Sakura had no friends after her fallout with Ino-pig, she’d always looked forward to the big summer breaks, when she could spend time with her cousins.

“Go then,” Reika said, leaning on her, their elbows intertwining in a kind of side hug. “If you’re in a rush, you can go. I’ll tell Aunt Mebuki and Uncle Kizashi when I get back home tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Sakura asked, concerned. Though really, there wasn’t much to worry about. Ferries ran daily between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Waves. From the port, a train would take her into the hillside city south of the Bamboo Village, where their family house was built.

Reika rolled her eyes. “I know I’m not a badass kunoichi who can punch mountains in half, but I can take care of myself. Plus, I’ve done this a hundred times.”

She sighed dramatically, flopping back onto the couch. “Don’t worry. The only danger I’ll be in is from Aunt Mebuki the moment she realizes that the reason you didn’t come back with me is because you didn’t elope with some hot piece of ass.”

Sakura snorted. Loudly. No one could save her from that.

 

---

 

It took her one hour to shower, get dressed, and prepare her bag. After that, she sat down to write a response to Kakashi’s letter, telling him that she wouldn’t be back now, but she might return sooner than originally planned.
She didn’t mention where she was going, not because she was hiding it, but because she knew he probably already expected it.

After sending Bisuke away with more head pats and extra treats, she said goodbye to Reika and went on her way.

At first, she considered checking on Sasuke-kun, but decided against it.
One: it would take too long to locate him.
Two: she knew Naruto was probably already on his way to him.

So instead, she set her sights on the Land of Stone, where she knew Shishō was currently spending her “retreat” losing her family fortune on gambling and sake.
She told herself she was sprinting there because it made sense to stop Tsunade before she wasted what was left of the Senju fortune, what with a whole bunch of newly-appeared relatives who’d probably need it soon.
It definitely wasn’t because she was worried. Definitely not.

The journey from the Land of Waves to the Land of Stone usually took five days for chūnin and jōnin. Four for ANBU, who bypassed some checkpoints.

But Sakura Haruno, ero-sannin and war hero, apprentice of the Godaime Hokage and student of the Rokudaime, bypassed everything. Patrols and frontier guards simply saluted as she breezed by.

At a full sprint, it took her two and a half days to arrive.

She took a break near the Fire Temple the day before, popped a couple of soldier pills, and summoned Katsuyu-sama to relay a message to Tsunade. Surprisingly, the blonde agreed to wait for her once she heard she was coming.

She arrived in Ishi around 8 p.m., heading straight for the Plaza Hotel in the main square after the gate guards who recognized her instantly pointed her in the right direction. They also correctly deduced who she was here to see.

Sakura didn’t stop to check in. She headed directly to the casino behind the great hall.

She could feel the heavy stares as she passed through the lobby and into the casino, too used to them by now to care.

As she entered, the usual chatter dipped to a murmur. All eyes followed her as she made her way through the tables, clearly heading toward the VIP section where a very loud, very angry blonde was currently playing.
And losing.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! That was clearly a red. A RED!! Do I need to spell it out for you?!”

Sakura slid into the seat beside her, dropping her pack with a quiet thump and arranging her coat around her.

“Shishō.”

“Brat,” Tsunade replied without even looking at her, then cursed again as the wheel landed on black.

Sakura got comfortable as the Senju princess placed her next bet. She ordered a drink of her own while the rest of the room gradually resumed its business. She still felt the occasional lingering stare. Some subtle, some less so.

She could feel two men by the bar watching them. Shinobi, most likely. From where, she couldn’t tell nor could she be bothered to find out. For now, she was going to enjoy her drink and make sure Shishō didn’t go too overboard. Again. Which would probably end with a broken table.

They made it back to Tsunade’s suite around midnight, which honestly was pretty reasonable. If Sakura said so herself.

After tucking the Godaime into bed and leaving water and pills on the nightstand for the hangover she was definitely going to have tomorrow, Sakura took a long, hot shower.
She could’ve insisted they talk tonight, but something in the stubborn set of Tsunade’s jaw earlier had made her change her mind. They had time.

It’s not like their unexpected guests were going anywhere, not until their resident Rinnegan user was back in Konoha, at least.

Changing into a matching shirt and shorts set, she grabbed a spare duvet from the other room and got comfortable on the couch in Tsunade's bedroom.

She wasn’t leaving Shishō alone tonight. Even if she wasn’t conscious.

 

---

 

At 10 the next morning, Sakura woke up to the sound of the shower running. Stretching with a yawn, she sat up, leaving the blanket as it was on the sofa. On the side table, the pills were nowhere to be found, and the glass of water was almost empty.

Padding out of the room barefoot, she made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water before calling the restaurant to order room service for breakfast.

Five minutes later, it arrived with that day’s newspaper.

Tsunade emerged from the bedroom not long after, dressed in her usual green yukata with her pigtails freshly done and her lips painted red, not a single smudge in sight.

“How are you feeling?” Sakura asked as she put down the paper and laid her napkin across her lap. Her mentor mirrored the action across from her.

“Like shit.”

“Well,” Sakura hummed softly as she poured the coffee, “at least you lost all night.”

An eyebrow twitched. “How is that supposed to be a good thing?”

Sakura shrugged. “It means there’s no disaster coming our way.”
Tsunade stared at her blankly.
“I mean, yeah, this is insane but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing, right?”

The blonde frowned and downed her bitter coffee in one go. “Doesn’t mean it’s a good thing either.”

Sakura didn’t have an answer for that. So she didn’t try.

“I thought you’d go see that Uchiha brat instead,” Tsunade said flatly. “He’s worse at dealing with emotions than a teaspoon.”

“To be fair, you’re just slightly better,” Sakura replied around a mouthful of toast, ducking just in time to avoid the fork Tsunade threw at her head.

“But anyway,” she continued casually, “I can be worried for both you and Sasuke-kun at the same time. And since Shizune isn’t here, I wanted to come.”

“Cute,” the blonde snorted, just to be petty, probably. Even at her big age. Still, Sakura noticed the slight softening around her eyes as she passed her the eggs, which Tsunade accepted without complaint.

“So—”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the older woman interrupted, stabbing her eggs with unnecessary violence.

“We’ll have to, though.”

Instead of answering, Tsunade tossed a scroll across the table. Sakura caught it mid-air and unrolled it immediately. The first word alone said more than she expected.

“He called you Tsunade-hime.”

“He called me Tsunade-hime,” Tsunade echoed, downing her second cup of coffee, not even wincing at the bitterness.

“Well… shit.”

The rest of the letter was almost identical to her own, save for the absence of Kakashi’s requests for Icha Icha merchandise and Pakkun’s pawprint.

It had to be noted : Tsunade Senju hated the title “Hime.”

It was a name inherited from her roots, her family, a legacy she never chose, but was forced to carry. For the woman who clawed her way to the top as a sannin, the mother of modern medical ninjutsu, and became a model for Kunoici from every background aroud the world, Hime felt like an insult. A slap in the face to every broken bone, every lost and won battle, and every ounce of blood that she bled for herself.

And yet, it was a title she could never escape.

One of the few small mercies of becoming the Godaime was the shift in title. Yet the village elders, those crusty old council members, still clung to it. Tsunade-hime, granddaughter of the God of Shinobi and founder of Konoha. Heiress of the Senju Clan.

The fact that Kakashi used that title in a letter that wasn’t supposed to say much in case it fell into the wrong hands said a lot. Too much for the woman who has spend half of her life running from that title and the responsibilities attached to it. 

Konoha needed Tsunade to officially take her position as head of the Senju Clan.

The newly arrived Senju couldn’t be left on their own, not if the village’s interests were to be preserved.

And if that was the case with the Senju… it was likely the same would be expected of the Uchiha.

And wasn’t that just a ticking time bomb?

Because for all her faults, Tsunade could be trusted to keep a clan in line. Hell, she ran an entire village. She was the best Hokage in history from a list with the founder of the village in it and a man called The Professor, and no one with a brain would deny that.

But Sasuke?

Sasuke couldn’t even take care of himself.

He didn’t have the mental or emotional capacity to carry that kind of responsibility, not with all the trauma he still hadn’t unpacked. He was a second son, never meant to lead. Then he became the only survivor. The heir of a slaughtered clan, with no training in politics or administration.

And the council? They still didn’t trust him. A missing-nin who once stood at a Kage Summit and vowed to destroy Konoha wasn’t exactly anyone’s idea of stable leadership material. War hero or not.

Sakura exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples.

She really didn’t envy Kakashi-sensei right now.

 

---

 

It took them three days to reach Konoha, although they only left the morning after their “talk” over breakfast. They had found the closest training grounds that wouldn’t risk damaging the nearby city.But clearly it still wasn’t far enough. Within an hour, they could already feel chakra signatures hovering at the edge of the plain, watching them like a spectacle. Two hours in, a team of firefighters showed up to ask about the tremors.

They stayed until mid-afternoon, only heading back to the hotel for a late lunch. After a well-earned nap, Sakura accompanied her mentor back to the casino for the night. The next morning, they left before dawn, after handing out some hefty tips to the staff for all the collateral damage.

At the village gate, they were greeted by Shizune and the chunin who always trailed after her. As Tsunade took Tonton from her, Shizune immediately started fretting and scolding, listing every complaint and call she’d gotten from hotels and casinos over the past month.

The group made their way to the Hokage Tower. As dusk settled in, they decided to travel by rooftop, avoiding the crowds. Not ten minutes later, Tsunade stormed into Kakashi’s office, Shizune’s indignant shout echoing behind her, as if it were her own.

“Ah, you’re here. You too, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi said pleasantly, his eye creased in a smile behind literal towers of paperwork. Shikamaru was perched on the windowsill with his own stack in hand, looking like he hadn’t slept in days.

“Hey, sensei,” Sakura greeted with a little wave, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. It was always good to see one of her boys.

“Naruto and Sasuke arrived yesterday. I thought you’d beat them here.”

“Be happy I even deigned to come back, brat,” Tsunade replied, and wasn’t that just the truth.

“So,” she continued, already heading toward the couch by the wall. She reached underneath and pulled out her secret stash of sake. It said a lot about the situation that Shizune didn’t even comment. Instead, she barked orders at her assistant to bring some files and sealed the door behind him.

“What do we have?”

“Well, as I said in the letter,” Kakashi started, folding his hands over the paperwork, “Konoha now finds itself two clans richer.”

“How many are we talking?” Tsunade asked, already uncorking the sake.

“Exactly 478 Uchiha and 601 Senju,” Shikamaru answered. He looked like he’d aged five years in a week.

“The Senju haven’t had numbers like that since before the Second Shinobi War,” Tsunade noted, her tone unreadable.

“There were around 150 Uchiha before the massacre,” Kakashi added thoughtfully.

Sakura leaned forward, concern tightening in her chest. “How’s Sasuke-kun?”

“He’s been quiet,” the Rokudaime admitted. “But… he hasn’t met them yet.”

That caught them all off guard.

“I offered,” Kakashi continued, “but he insisted on waiting for Tsunade-sama.”

Which was… unusual.

Tsunade had always loved Sakura and Naruto like they were her own, but when it came to Sasuke, she’d never minced words. The fact that Sasuke clearly has a problem with authority doesn’t help things either, they’d never really gotten along. The fact that he wanted to wait for Tsunade to start anything says a lot. 

“Where is he?” Sakura asked.

“He’s been staying at my place. Naruto’s with him right now.”

“You said these clans came from the Warring Clans Period,” Tsunade said, eyes narrowing. “Have you managed to pinpoint when exactly?”

Kakashi and Shikamaru exchanged a glance.

It didn’t go unnoticed.

“…What was that look?”

“Actually,” Shikamaru started, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “it wasn’t that hard to figure out. We’ve dated their origin to exactly four years before the founding of Konoha.”

Silence.

Not a breath. Not a word.

“Four years before the founding of Konoha…” Tsunade echoed slowly. “Butsuma Senju was the acting clan head.”

“And Tajima Uchiha is the head of the Uchiha,” Kakashi said cheerfully, too cheerfully. As if he hadn’t just confirmed they were absolutely neck-deep in shit.

Chapter 2: nepotism

Tsunade couldn’t sleep that night.

Both Shizune and Sakura had insisted that she shouldn’t stay alone, and Tsunade hadn’t argued, mostly because she just wanted the nagging to stop. But after retiring as Godaime and handing the Hokage compound over to Kakashi, she had moved to a house at the edge of the Senju grounds. Now that those grounds were occupied again, she wasn’t eager to return anytime soon. The blonde was not amused to find out the Uchiha brat had been right to wait.

Since Shizune was living with her new boy toy, Tsunade had agreed to stay with Sakura for the time being. The young doctor lived in downtown Konoha, just east of the hospital. She rented a high-end civilian condo five minutes from the hospital, with a view of the Hokage Monument.

Tsunade nursed her tea —with a heavy splash of liquor in it— as she gazed out at the Hokage faces, lit by the nightlife of downtown Konoha. It was Saturday, and the streets below bustled with vendors, civilians, and shinobi enjoying the evening’s entertainment. But her thoughts kept circling back to the conversation she’d had in the Hokage’s office.

 

“Where did you put them?” Tsunade had asked.
“In the old Uchiha and Senju district. We smuggled them in through the old Root tunnels. Not fun.”

“Word is already starting to spread,” Kakashi had added with a sigh. “We couldn’t contain it. Even with ANBU and chunin placing them all under house arrest, it’s just too many people.”

“Everyone’s too freaked out to talk to them—but that hasn’t stopped people from talking about them,” he went on.

“This is going to be a massive problem for us. Never mind the fact that we’ve suddenly displaced people from another time into our village—they’re not even technically citizens of Konoha. The village didn’t exist yet in their era.”

“Our foreign allies won’t like this either,” Kakashi continued. “Since the only tool capable of this kind of time-space nonsense is the Rinnegan, they’re going to suspect we did this on purpose, to boost our forces. And who would blame them ? But I’ll have to send Naruto to Kumo by the end of the month”

“And I probably don’t need to say this,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck, “but having a healthy and alive Madara Uchiha right now is really, really NOT good.”

“A genin team returning from a mission found the Uchiha north of here,” Shikamaru had explained. “Some guards chased them off, thinking they were trespassing. An ANBU helped the genin get back safely, while their sensei stayed with the rest of the platoon to observe the camp. We were debriefing them when another agent burst in to say that another ANBU squad had found a second camp, this one down south. Two hours later, a group of Senju showed up at the gates, led by Tobirama fucking Senju, trying to infiltrate the walls.”

“Obviously, no one’s had the guts to tell them their clans are basically extinct,” Kakashi muttered. “I didn’t have the courage—and I refuse to be bullied for it. I think you and Sasuke should explain it. They’ll be more receptive to you both.”

“They know about each other,” Shikamaru added. “But we’ve been keeping them apart. They’re still in a war mindset, and no one wants to see that bloodbath.”

“We also had some… problems with a kunoichi,” Kakashi added.
“What do you mean?” Tsunade had asked.
“As you know, back in their time, kunoichi -or even just women who used chakra- weren't that common. It was believed that only men, being stronger and all the usual gender crap from that era, were capable of producing and wielding chakra. The few women who did were considered unnatural. In extreme cases, they were called witches. And a few days ago, a couple of Senju attacked a guard on duty, cursing her in the name of every god they know. It was a total shitshow.”
“It was a Yamanaka chunin,” Shikamaru had sighed, tugging his ponytail. “So Ino got involved.”
Sakura had made a sympathetic noise at that.

 

Tsunade sighed for the hundredth time just thinking about it. Kunoichi weren’t even legal in Konoha until five years into the First Shinobi War. Other villages had started training women only after Kumo set the precedent. But even then, the sexism in the profession had never truly gone away. The women had just gotten better at hitting back.

How the fuck was she supposed to lead a bunch of people who don’t even believe she has rights outside the bedroom? The thought alone made her want to punch something. Maybe she should just punch them all until they fell in line.

Still, she wished she were dead.

She thought she had left this kind of political headache behind when she passed on the hat. But now she had to take on even more, leading a clan that would drag back all the ghosts of her past.

She wished her drink were stronger.

Tomorrow, she would meet the Uchiha brat in the Hokage office. Then both of them would go to meet their respective clans.

And she had no fucking idea what to do.

With any luck, maybe she’d die tonight.

 

---

 

"Alright" started Kakashi, with that stupid cheerful voice of his 

"How are we going to do this ?" 

Fed up with the bullshit, Sasuke snapped back. 

"Aren't you the fucking Hokage ? why are you asking us" 

"Sasuke-kun, language" chided Sakura 

"Thank you Sakura-chan" 

"You should keep it out of the office, if you want to fight Kakashi-sensei, do it outside"

"Sakura-chan" whined Kakashi, which Sakura responded childishly by showing her tongue.

"Obviously this is delicate" interupted Shikamaru, who Sasuke remarqued for once, wanted to get shit done."I think the biggest problematic we have right now is trying to explain to both clans that Konoha is a village that was founded by bopth of them, for peace" 

"For that you'll have to explain to them how the heir of the Senju clan killed the heir of the Uchiha's, years after the actual acting clan heads -and father- killed each other" 

"I didn't say it was going to be easy" grumbled the Nara. 

"Dont forget the part where then the same Senju heir made everything in his power possible to outrast the Uchiha” 

“my my, Sasuke. You are pretty talkative today” mused in Kakashi, just to be annoying. 

Sasuke glared at him, this old man really would never take anything serious. Although seeing the tension his his shoulders, and the fact that he hasnt even seen him once with that awful book in hands tells him a different story. 

The Uchiha suddenly remember that fateful encounter with Zabuza ages ago. How Kakashi was acting like everything was alright when the missing nin appeared, figure slutched, eye crinkled in a smile. He was trying to reassure them even with the killing intent polluting the whole clearing. 

Years later, and now they are dealing with resurected goddesses and decimated clans popping ouf of the woods. 

He could feel a headache coming in. It may surprise some but he didn’t want this. What he wanted was Itachi telling him that he will always be there for him, his mom holding him and saying that she loves him. He wanted his father so he could shout at him to get his act together. His little cousins, Katsuki and Naioa, who always follow him around after they started to walk. Aunt Rina and Uncle Misa. Shisui. 

He does not want some ancestors that he knows nothing about. A bunch of people that will share the same features as his ghosts, but not the same faces, not the same memories. He really didn’t want to bother with this. 

But years before he became a missing-nin, and before he was just the sole survivor of a tragic clan, Sasuke was taught duty. As a son of the Uchiha main house, second son to Fugaku Uchiha, today he has to do his duty to his clan.

And to Konoha too, he supposes. Even if he hasn’t felt one ounce of loyalty for this village in years. Sometimes he stills wishes it to burn. But he can do this for Sakura and Naruto. And Kakashi. And as the yielder of the Rinnengan, this was his responsibility. 

Sakura’s hand on his shoulder brought him back to the conversation, and the tension in his own shoulders bled in. Naruto, Kakashi ans Shikamaru were locked in some kind of debate on what to tell the two clans. Well, Naruto was arguing loudly, Shikamaru was replying with sentences sometimes too sarcastic just to humor the dobe’s stupid ideas, and Kakashi chiming him here and there with something equally retarded. 

At his left, Tsunade have been quiet since they have all come into Kakashi’s office. He wondered what she was thinking about all of this, if she wanted to do this as much as him. They have never gotten along, mainly because Tsunade didn’t like him. And Sasuke never shies away from reciprocrating negative feelings. But he respects her. Unllike Sarutobi -that useless piece of shit- she gets shit done. 

Plus, she has taught Sakura how to be strong. Although not quiete. Sakura has always been strong. She has taught Sakura not to be scared. 

“I think that you should just go for it” interumpted the rosette, as Naruto rubbed his head after getting a noodgie from their sensei. The attention of the whole room turned to her. In response, she didn’t shy away from their gaze. 

“There is no point in hiding things from them, they’ll find out everntually and we’ll have to do damage control again when that time comes. No need to sugar coat things either, Konoha have to take control of the situation” 

“I agree” continued Tsunade, getting ahead of Kakashi. “You have called me here for a reason, to take in charge of them. I’m not thrilled to do it but if i have to then the sooner they get on the program, the better.” 

Then she turned to Sasuke, adressing him for the first time. 

“What says you” 

He just wanted to get this over with, but instead of saying that he turned to Kakashi. 

“What do you need from me” And the Uchiha is grateful when his mentor keeps it serious for once.

“We can’t let them without supervision. The council doesn’t trust you, and they don’t trust them. But to stay as diplomatic as possible, they’ll offer the two parties the same conditions. Which is, the two surviving heirs of our time as clan heads until we can find a more suitable solution” 

“And you think they’ll just accept us” asked Sasuke, already knowing the answer.

“Probably not,” answered Shikamaru. “But you’re both powerful enough to keep them in line, and we can present the argument that having you represent the clan’s interests within the village will work better, because we trust you.”

Cue a glare from Sasuke.

“Mostly,” the Nara added quickly.

“Although I appreciate the faith in our abilities,” said Tsunade, “how do you suggest I fare when they both send Hashirama and Tobirama Senju to kill me? And Madara and Izuna Uchiha to kill him?”

“Of course, you’ll have Tenzo to shadow and assist you for the time being. I already asked him to come back,” answered the Rokudaime. “As for Sasuke, he could just transport them into another dimension, I suppose,” he joked, earning another glare from Sasuke.

“Just kidding. Naruto will help you. I’m sure between the two of you, you can handle them.”

“Naruto?” exclaimed Sakura, incredulous. “You’re going to send an Uzumaki to help convince them to accept Sasuke-kun as clan head?”

And Sasuke was pretty inclined to agree, it was a shitty idea. Surprisingly, Shikamaru intervened in its favor.

“We need to show them that times have changed, so they understand that any threat to the peace Konoha was built on will not be tolerated. This isn’t their time anymore, and for the duration of their stay here, they’ll need to accept that and act accordingly.” He looked at Tsunade. “That’s why they’ll be led by a woman while here.” Then he turned to Naruto, who had moved to Sasuke’s left while Sakura remained on his right. “And an Uzumaki will broker peace in the name of his friendship with their new leader.”

It took them another hour to finalize a course of action, which could be summarized as “rip the band-aid off and kill whoever objects.” Kind of.

Sasuke and Naruto then headed for the Uchiha district, but before leaving the tower, Sakura held them back.

“Sasuke-kun,” she started, by the stairs. It was around 11 in the morning, and as he watched her tuck a wayward pink strand of hair behind her ear, Sasuke wished they hadn’t gotten up that morning.

After installing Tsunade in her apartment, Sakura had rushed to Kakashi’s to look for them. And she’d found them in his living room playing poker Mostly, they were trying to beat Sai, who was (un)surprisingly annoyingly good at the game.

They ordered takeout, played some more, and didn’t talk once about the situation waiting for Sasuke in the morning. When they went to sleep, he found himself squished between Sakura and Naruto while Sai slept on the other side of the blond.

He woke up with Naruto’s smelly foot on his stomach and Sakura’s hair in his mouth. But after months of being alone on the road, he was grateful for the company. That didn’t stop him from shoving Naruto,hard, though.

“You realize that by agreeing to this, you’ll have to stay in Konoha for a while.”

He realized, yes. And the thought made him want to jump off the Hokage Monument. He barely stopped himself. But only because he refused to die in this village. He wasn’t giving them that satisfaction.

“I just don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do,” continued the rosette.

“Yeah, teme,” agreed Naruto, uncharacteristically serious. “We’ll find another way if you don’t want to do this, believe it.”

And Sasuke felt something light and soft flutter in his chest. Which was disgusting. And also made him want to hit Naruto in the face and melt into one of Sakura’s hugs.

“I’m fine.”

He was not.

“I’m just helping out.”

Sakura was still watching him with worried green eyes, so he poked her softly on the forehead, which made her pout.

“If I’m sick of it, I’ll just dip. Won’t be the first time, anyway,” he joked lightly. It made Naruto laugh and eased the frown on Sakura’s face. She reached for a hug, and he’d finally grown enough that he didn’t have to pretend to loathe them anymore.

“Okay,” she said softly. “If you need anything, just tell me, even if it’s to fight someone. I’ll punch them for you.”

“Noted,” he said as they separated.

She sent them a little wave before hurrying up the stairs of the Hokage Tower, probably to give Tsunade her own pep talk before she made her way to the Senju compound with the newly arrived Yamato.

Sasuke and Naruto made their journey in silence, both lost in thought and heavy with the duty awaiting them. Passersby greeted them as they went, Naruto more than Sasuke, but neither of them noticed, too lost in their thoughts.

Sasuke never wanted to be clan head. He never even wanted to be the clan heir. He envied Itachi, yes, but for having their father’s attention, not because of his status. If anything, he loathed his aniki’s title as clan heir. Even at a young age, he understood that it was what kept his beloved brother away from him.

And now he was supposed to lead and be responsible for an entire clan. A bloodthirsty, war-driven clan that was also without a doubt fucking bigoted.

People started to thin out as they got closer, and too soon, the gates of the Uchiha district came into view. They both stopped at the edge of the quiet road.

“We should be thinking of ways to send them back instead” Naruto started, tone serious.

Sasuke unexpectedly felt like thanking the blonde for his support.

“What are they thinking, putting you in charge of a clan?”

Never mind. He’d get his revenge by kicking his stupid ass later .

“We need to get close enough to gather chakra samples. We won’t figure out a way to send them back right now. So in the meantime, we have to contain them.” he explained instead. And he didn’t know about the Senju, but “containing” the Uchiha clan felt like an impossible task.

This mission was shit. At the risk of repeting himself.

“What if they attack us the second we step in?”

“Then we attack back. Kill them all if needed.”

“ Wait, what? ”

But Sasuke had already resumed walking toward the gate, leaving Naruto no choice but to follow.

“Sasuke, you can’t just kill them!” the blonde hissed.

“It’s the only language they speak. If I want to be heard, I need to speak the same.”

“Because that’s all they’ve known! You have to teach them—”

“That’s all I’ve known too.”

That shut him up real quick.

“The council doesn’t trust me. And for all his… care for me, Kakashi doesn’t either.”

“Teme—”

“But he knows me,” Sasuke cut in, wanting the blonde to understand. Sasuke wasn’t well-versed in politics, he didn’t have the head or patience for it. Just like Naruto, he was straightforward, said things and reacted to things as they were. They just expressed themselves differently.

But he wasn’t an idiot —unlike Naruto, goes without saying— and he understood Kakashi in the same way all the members of Team 7 understood each other.

“Kakashi knows I’ll do what needs to be done. And unlike the council, who think I might be loyal to the clan and betray Konoha, Kakashi knows I don’t give two shits about them.”

The idiot was quiet, clearly contemplating his words. It might’ve been unnerving, if Sasuke wasn’t busy holding off what felt dangerously close to a panic attack as they neared the gates.

He could feel the chakra signatures inside the district.

Here, in this ghost town that had haunted his nightmares since childhood, suddenly full of life, full of chakra so acheingly familiar it made his skin crawl.

He wanted to throw up.

“Sasuke—”

He was so sick of hearing Naruto be serious. Sick of this village. Sick of everything .

“Let’s get this over with,” he said instead, stepping through the gate.

He could feel the ANBU squads posted along the walls. Naruto shuffled in after him.

As expected, they were stopped immediately. Two Uchiha guards in traditional armor blocked their way. Young, probably seventeen at most, yet they glared at them with vitriol older than they were. The short-haired one even hissed at Naruto when he noticed the Uzumaki armband.

“This is a forbidden zone. Leave now if you don’t want to be put down.”

“I’m here to see Tajima Uchiha,” Sasuke replied.

Both guards bristled at the lack of honorific. Naruto shifted closer to him, trying—and failing—not to laugh.

“Tajima- sama ,” emphasized the long-haired one, “does not see random weirdos who turn up at the gate. Get back before I make you.”

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, keeping his Rinnegan hidden beneath his bangs. The two guards flinched.

“You—!”

“I’m Sasuke Uchiha, acting clan head of the Uchiha under the Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha,” he said as his eye bled into Mangekyō, killing intent leaking from his body in waves. He was putting on a show, more for the crowd watching in the back than for these two.

Still, it was effective.

The long-haired one gulped. The other clutched his spear tighter.

“S-Sasuke-sama… we…”

He walked past them without another word, taking the familiar path to the head house. The guards and the bystanders might’ve wanted to say something about Naruto’s presence, but they were too intimidated to speak. The stares, though, weren’t shy. Surprised. Confused. Wary. Some were outright hostile.

And not just toward Naruto.

Sasuke kept his eyes on the road. Didn’t look at the house in front of where Mika-obaa used to sell tomatoes. Didn’t look at the park where Neko-baa brought her cats out to play. Or at Nori-san’s old antiques shop.

He couldn’t tell if it was better or worse when they arrived so quickly at the head house, his childhood home. The place where Itachi had slaughtered their parents.

This was fucking hell.

He didn’t notice one of the guards had followed them until the kid darted ahead and knocked on the shoji doors. Sasuke stopped just before the stairs, Naruto close behind, hands stuffed casually in his pockets, letting the stares bounce off him like rain. He was used to it. He grew up with it.

Another guard answered. They spoke in hushed tones, glancing repeatedly at Sasuke before slipping inside. More seconds passed —quiet voices, movement— and then the door slid open again.

A mirror of Sasuke’s own face stood in the doorway, glaring.

“Damn, teme,” Naruto muttered. “It’s like they copy-pasted you, dattebayo.”

They were ushered into the large room beside the interior courtyard. Tea was served by silent attendants, and Izuna Uchiha bid them to wait before leaving with his ever-present scowl.

Neither of them touched the tea.

They waited in silence—surprisingly so, for the hyperactive blond. Minutes ticked by.

And then  chakra signatures approached. The doors slid open.

And in walked the man of the hour, with his entourage.

 

---

 

Naruto just didn’t know what he had done to deserve this. It had been at least 15 minutes since everyone sat down, and not a single word had been spoken.

Among the men in the room, Naruto could only recognize Madara. Younger and more alive than he had ever seen him, but with his signature mane of big hair and dark glare. Next to him, leading the group, was a man who looked older than Kizashi-ojī and bore a striking resemblance to Madara—likely his father and the clan head: Tajima Uchiha. To his left sat the teme’s twin, who Naruto knew was Madara’s younger brother: Izuna. Around the table, there were six other old geezers whose names they didn’t know. No one had introduced themselves yet.

And, seeing as they were all just glaring in silence at each other, Naruto wasn’t sure if they were going to start anytime soon. He shifted slightly, receiving a glare from one of the elders, which he returned. That sparked the old man to speak.

“Has no one taught you manners? Show some respect to your elders,” he snapped snidely at Sasuke, although the teme didn’t even look at him, keeping his eyes fixed on Tajima.

“And what is an Uzumaki doing in Uchiha territory? Both of you should be killed for this disrespect,” chimed in another one. At that point, Naruto had had enough. He didn’t care if it was disrespectful or not, his butt hurt from sitting there, dattebayo!

“Listen, old man,” cue gasps from all the elders, “I didn’t choose to be here. I’m just here to accompany the teme, alright? Also, this is not Uchiha territory or whatever, this is Konoha, dattebayo! I have rights to these lands too!”

“Te...me?” one of them muttered, a hand to his chest, clearly offended.
“What is dattebayo?” murmured another one to his neighbor.

“Is that why you’re here?” Tajima asked, speaking for the first time. Though he clearly addressed Sasuke, everyone in the room quieted and shifted to listen to him.

“You come here with the eyes of our blood and the face bearing my lineage, yet you speak for our enemies.”

“The Uchiha founded Konoha,” Sasuke replied. Naruto didn’t need to be a genius to realize that this was news to them all. Some of the old men actually gasped, while Izuna looked at his brother in surprise. Madara remained stoic, while Tajima narrowed his eyes at the revelation.

“Although not alone,” Sasuke continued, this time looking at Madara, who glared even harder, if that was even possible. There was no mistaking the tension in his shoulders, he had an idea of what Sasuke was alluding to.

“If the Uchiha founded Konoha, then why are we treated like prisoners in our own home?”

“Because you can’t be trusted to behave.”

Damn, teme, you couldn’t have said that better , Naruto thought, scratching his head. The movement caught the eyes of Izuna who gave him he stink eye, which the blonde gladly returned. 

“And you can?” Tajima snapped back with the same tone, although there was something mocking in the tilt of his mouth. “We know for a fact that there are no Uchihas in this village that we supposedly founded. And here you come like some dog with that Hatake holding your leash, trying to control us?”

“There are no more Uchihas because the clan was massacred years ago. By one of our own, if you must know. Well, two actually. But that was only discovered recently.”

Naruto wanted to facepalm. The teme really didn’t know the meaning of tact. You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed Sasuke’s declaration.

“If the Uchihas were all massacred, then how are you here?” Izuna growled.

“My brother thought it was mercy to spare me when he slaughtered the rest of our family.”

“Your… brother?” Izuna breathed, incredulously staring at Sasuke. Then, as if to confirm that they had heard the same thing, he looked again at his own brother.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just explain to you what happened to the clan from your time until now. You can ask your questions when I’m done, but don’t interrupt me, because it’ll be longer than it has to be.”

“How can we trust anything you say to be the truth, especially when you come in here with a son of the Uzumaki? A clan that has helped our enemies and spilled the blood of our family,” Tajima pressed.

“Don’t mind the idiot,” Sasuke shrugged. “He’s just here to help me kill you all if you can’t be reasoned with.”

Naruto choked on his tea.

“He’s joking!!” the blonde was quick to deny, waving his hands in front of his face. “We are not here to kill you! We’re just here to help, I swear! This is a diplomatic visit, diplomatic ! And I’m only here because we’re actually best friends, and he needed the emotional support—”

He couldn’t even finish before he received a kick from Sasuke. He would’ve gone flying if he hadn’t dodged in time. Still, he tripped and hit his head on the table.

“OW, OW, OW!” he cried, holding his head, the tension in the room bleeding away as the Uchihas watched the poor blonde rub his pain away. Sasuke continued without even batting an eye.

“I have no interest in lying to you. I don’t even like Konoha, so unlike what you may think, I’m not here to help them.”

The other clan head narrowed his eyes.

“But anomalies involving time travel, and everything related to these kinds of events are my responsibility. That is why I am here. And since the anomaly shares my blood, you are my duty. It’s my job to make sure you don’t do anything to jeopardize this timeline while you’re here.”

“So you’re here to watch us,” Tajima said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

Izuna scoffed. He was clearly a very opinionated Uchiha, it was Naruto’s first time seeing one like that in person.

“We don’t need babysitters.”

“As you may know, the Senju are in the same predicament as you,” Sasuke replied instead. “A couple of days ago, two of them attacked a Konoha kunoichi because they claimed it was unnatural for women to wield chakra.”

“I hate agreeing with the Senju dogs, but it is,” huffed one of the elders. “Women can't use chakra, those who do are witches”

“That is just not true,” Sasuke countered. “That, among many other things, is part of the new progress that have been in place since the founding of Konoha, and even beyond it.”

“No one wants to keep you locked inside these walls,” Naruto interrupted, drawing the attention of the room. “We’re going to do everything in our power to find a way to send you back home. But while you’re here, we don’t want you to feel like prisoners. You founded Konoha. This is your home as much as it is ours.”

Despite all their proclaimed hatred for his name, Naruto was grateful that none of them interrupted him.

“But we have to make sure that while you live here, everyone stays safe. Your people and ours. We can’t have you attack women you meet at the market or killing children in the streets because they bear the crest of a clan you fight in your time. Because then, we will have to control you, or worse to protect our own. And from then on, it will lead to more blood shead”

At that point, Sasuke felt the need to chime in—probably because he was jealous he wasn’t getting all the attention. the bastard.

“I don’t want to be your clan head, although that’s what the Konoha council is hoping for. I have no interest in leading you. Take care of your own clan, your own people. But I’ll be here to help you broker a deal with Konoha. The council can go to hell for all I care, but Kakashi can be reasoned with. You’ll have a better chance of getting what you want from him if you’re willing to let me represent you.”

“And why is that?” Tajima asked, eyes narrowed.

“Kaka-sensei is our sensei, dattebayo. So you could say… it’s nepotism, I guess.”

Sasuke turned to him, unimpressed.
“You know the meaning of that word?”

Naruto pouted.
“Sakura-chan taught me,” he muttered.

“What a strange world. The Uchiha wiped from the face of the earth, and its last son befriends an Uzumaki and studies under a Hatake. And we’re supposed to trust you?”

“I don’t trust you,” Sasuke replied bluntly. “And you don’t have to trust me. But we do have to work together to make sure you get back home safely, all of you. And that this timeline suffers the minimum consequences from your stay. So we’ll work together to make that happen.”

Naruto scratched his head as the teme and old man Tajima locked into another intense staring contest. After what felt like an eternity, the clan head finally sighed, casting a quick glance toward Naruto.

“Very well,” Tajima acquiesced. “Tell us, then.”

And Sasuke did.

Notes:

So this is Chapter 2!

I know we haven’t seen much of Sakura yet, but I promise she’s coming soon! I’m just having fun setting the scene and doing a bit of world-building, if you can even call it that.

By the way, I’ve seen some of you asking about the next chapter of Second Chances. It’s coming, I promise! I’m just struggling a bit to translate the vision I have into words. But it is on the way, so please be patient with me.

As always, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review, it really inspires me.

Love,
xoxo
Ari 💖

Edit notes : This chapter was edited for reasons that will be addressed in the notes of the upcoming Chapter 4

Chapter 3: prostitutes

Tenzo could use a break.

After spending the last few months babysitting Orochimaru, he was grateful to have received a summon back to Konoha.

And yet, after being briefed on the situation by Kakashi-sempai, he almost wished he had stayed to watch over the mad scientist instead.

Now, he found himself following Tsunade-sama into the Senju compound. A guard had tried to stop them at the gate, but the Godaime simply flared her chakra in warning, and the brown-haired man had stepped back with a fearful look on his face.

He couldn’t blame him. Tsunade-sama was terrifying.

As they delved deeper into the neighborhood, everyone stopped to watch them. Tenzo could see people murmuring among themselves and pointing. Some wore offended expressions toward the Godaime; others glared at them both. And yet, no one approached. Not even the armored guards who looked like they wanted to apprehend them. All they did was follow from a distance.

Halfway to what he remembered as the main house, they were stopped by a group of five armored guards, all armed and wearing matching scowls. At their head stood none other than Tobirama Senju.

Tsunade-sama halted before them, face hard as stone, arms folded under her heavy bosom.

“You don’t want to do this,” the Godaime said flatly.
“Who are you?” asked the Nidaime.

Tsunade tilted her head and smirked, and thanks to years of dealing with Kakashi-sempai, Tenzo instantly recognized the warning signs. Whatever she was about to say, it was meant to get a reaction.

“I am Tsunade Senju, acting clan head of the Senju and the Godaime Hokage of Konoha. It’s nice to see you’re as serious as ever, Granduncle.”

Tenzo shivered as the temperature seemed to drop around the Nidaime. The rest of the courtyard stared at Tsunade-sama as if she had just dropped a bomb—which, to be fair, she kind of had. It didn’t take a genius to understand the implications of her words.

Unaffected, the Godaime simply waved the tension away with a flick of her wrist.

“Take me to your father and the clan elders. The sooner we get this over with, the better. I’m sure there’s plenty you’re curious about, and I’ve come to answer your questions.”

Tobirama-sama narrowed his eyes in response. After a tense minute of silence, he shifted his attention to Tenzo, who tried very hard not to gulp.

“And who is he?”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just here to make sure I don’t do anything I might regret later,” she replied, not even glancing his way.

Still, Tenzo couldn’t just stand idle as the Nidaime examined him. He stood at attention as if reporting to his Hokage—which, in a way, he was.

Tsunade-sama, not one to wait around for permission, took matters into her own hands — as she often did — and resumed her walk toward the main house. The guards, too stunned to stop her, looked to Tobirama-sama for instruction. He simply watched her go before falling into step behind her.

Tenzo hurried to catch up, keeping a respectful distance behind the Nidaime as the rest of the guards followed in formation.

Feeling the occasional shove on his back, he really, really wished he had stayed with the snake bastard.

---

Hashirama knows what power feels like.

He knows how it runs through his veins, how it pulses in the trees that grow beneath his hands. He knows the power his father inspires, blended with fear. He knows the fire of Madara’s strength, the intensity in his eyes, the weight of his love. He even knows the power of his brother, a quiet force that waits in silence until it’s time to strike.

But Hashirama has never encountered power like Tsunade Senju.

Her power was loud, not only in her actions but in her chakra. She let it fizzle freely, as if she were tasting the world without the slightest regard for those around her. Her power was unapologetic, just like her.

Hashirama had never met a woman like her. Of course, he had seen female shinobi before, even despite the laws forbidding it. But they always hid themselves, trying to conceal their identity as women to survive.

Tsunade Senju was nothing like that.

The Senju heir noticed, embarrassingly, that she dressed in a very... loose manner. He’d even heard one of the elders mutter under his breath, calling her a vulgar woman with a grimace. And yet, the elder hadn’t dared say it aloud.

Because for all that her power was unrestrained and loud, it also screamed danger. Everyone in the room was experienced enough not to underestimate her, regardless of their beliefs about a woman’s place among men.

The last few days had been, frankly, insane if Hashirama had to describe them. Waking up one morning to find your entire clan thrown into the future was not a scenario he had ever prepared for.

At first, the joy of discovering the village — their village, their dream, that he built with Madara — had lit a fire in him. But that flame had been dimmed by the growing uncertainty of their situation. Once they learned that the Uchiha had also been transported here, his first instinct had been to go find Madara.

But after they were “invited” to stay on what Hatake-san referred to as their ancestral land, their father had forbidden anyone from leaving the Senju grounds. The only one allowed outside was Tobi, who went around gathering information and materials from the surrounding area.

And what they’d learned was... horrifying.

They had chosen to use the council audience room for the meeting. He and Tobi had joined their father and the clan elders to receive his supposed granddaughter.

Hashirama had been stunned when his brother told him. Of course, he’d heard about her. One of the strange printed sheets they called “newspapers” had a section that mentioned her. Although the article didn’t include pictures, it was an titled “criteria for being nominated Hokage,” and one of the first points had been “nepotism.” They had gone on to explain her connection to him.

But hearing about her and seeing her were two very different things.

“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll just say it straight,” she began, not waiting for any ceremony, not even for the tea to finish being served. One of the elders bristled at the lack of manners, while his father’s scowl deepened. The woman continued, completely unbothered.

“Konoha has dispatched a team, our best, to figure out how you ended up here and how to send you back. In the meantime, your clan will need to contribute to society. And I’m here to make sure of that.”

“You- you crazy woman!” exclaimed Hanatake-sama, the same elder who had muttered about her earlier. “How dare you speak without being addressed?! And dress like this- and-”

“Excuse you?” Tsunade cut in, her voice ice-cold. Hashirama actually felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He saw the young man who had accompanied her feel the same.

“I’ll say this only once. I don’t give a fuck if you think I have no right to speak, breathe, or live because I’m a woman. Get that shit out of your head, or I’ll beat it out of you. You will show me the respect I am owed. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to send your corpse to keep company with the one already occupying the tomb with your name on it.”

Hanatake huffed indignantly, but said nothing more. The other elders glared, but none of them dared refute her words.

To Hashirama’s right, his father folded his arms, a sign Hashirama recognized well.

He was finally going to speak.

“You are my granddaughter?” asked the clan head, though it wasn’t really a question.

“Great-granddaughter,” the blonde corrected, her honey-brown eyes locking onto him. “I’m his granddaughter. He even chose my name when I was born.”

The Mokuton user felt his ears burn, though he couldn’t say why. Being confronted by your own future was... disorienting.

“And he didn’t teach you manners?”

She waved his comment away, reclining further against the tatami wall. Someone muttered Clearly not under their breath.

“My manners are fine. I’m in my own home.”

“That may be true, but you should still be respectful toward your elders.”

“You’re not my elders,” she replied coolly. “My elders are buried in the forest south of here, next to the temple, if you want to go look for them.”

She straightened slightly. “Let’s make something clear.” Her tone shifted, sharpened.

“We don’t know what triggered your arrival in this time. But until we figure that out, you are guests in my home, and my responsibility. The Hokage has agreed to let your clan roam freely in the village, so long as you respect its laws and its people.”

“The Senju founded Konoha,” argued his father, voice heavy with finality. “We don’t need some Hatake dog’s permission to live in it. My sons’ faces are carved into the history of this village, as its founders.”

If Tsunade was surprised that they knew this, she didn’t show it. Instead, she took a sip from her cooling tea, then grimaced like the drink had offended her.

“Hashirama Senju founded Konoha with Madara Uchiha, became its first Hokage, and did a shit job of it.”

The room went utterly silent. Hashirama felt heat creeping up the back of his neck. He could feel the weight of the stares now focused on him.

“The economy was in shambles. Clans fought over land and resources. It took the First Shinobi War just to get everyone to stop bickering, and he kind of started that too.”

So he was a terrible leader? What a great way to find that out.

“Then Tobirama Senju succeeded him, an improvement I’ll give you that. In the middle of a war, he managed to build the administrative structure we still use today. Revolutionized warfare with the introduction of shinobi arts in the dark. And yet, if you trace back the roots of the discrimination that nearly destroyed Konoha decades later, you’ll find his bigotry at the center of it.”

The blonde paused to take another sip, still unfazed by the growing tension.

“After that came a Sarutobi. Good for the economy, sure, but to this day, we’re still picking up the pieces of what his leadership did to our children. Kids broken beyond repair after being subjected to horrors no one should face.”

She didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.

“Then a Namikaze. Civilian kid with a story straight out of a fucking fairy tale. Inspirational, sure. But he died too young. At least his death was good for Konoha’s PR.”

Hashirama had no idea what PR meant. But it didn’t sound like it was really a good thing.

“So Sarutobi came back. That’s how corrupted the system was. And when he died, I -Senju heiress, granddaughter of the great Hashirama Senju- took the hat. A drunk and a gambler.”
She smiled grimly.

“And then I passed it to a Hatake. Because I was sick of it.”

She paused again, lifting her eyes to scan the room. One by one, slowly. Measuring reactions.

“So. What’s the lesson here?”
Her voice was deceptively soft. Like a teacher, asking her students.

No one answered.

He glanced at his brother, seated to their father’s right. Tobi was scowling. But knowing him, he probably understood. Unlike him, Tobirama didn’t flinch at failure. He studies it. Absorbs it. Plans around it.

“The lesson,” Tsunade said, “is that your name doesn’t mean shit.”

Her words dropped like a blade.

“Three Senju have worn the hat. All three sucked. Another Hokage was the student of two Senju, and he sucked too. So Konoha had to become something more than the clans who founded her. And now? She’s outlived them all.”

She leaned back again, gaze lazy—but there was something else there too there. Amusement. Pity.

“Now there’s only one Uchiha left. After they finished killing each other.”

Hashirama’s heart clenched at that. He had read about the Uchiha Massacre, and it had felt like bleeding through the pages. His clansmen had celebrated it.

“And there’s only one Senju left,” she added, a strange smugness in her tone.

“How is that possible?” another elder, Bikako-sama asked, voice brittle with disbelief. “The Senju clan numbers are no joke.”

Tsunade only hummed in response. Her casualness in the face of their extinction chilled him.

“There was a saying,” she mused, tapping a finger to her lips. “I think it was an uncle, or maybe an older cousin, who used to say it whenever they argued against me becoming a shinobi.”

She snapped her fingers.

“Ah, that’s it.” She leaned forward, her gaze sharp with a quiet kind of cruelty.

“The clan dies with its women.”

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

Of course they knew the saying. They had lived by it. Protected their women in order to protect themselves.

“After Grandfather died,” Tsunade continued, her voice even, “other shinobi villages started putting anonymous bounties on Senju. They didn’t want to risk another Mokuton user being born. They couldn’t figure out how to steal the bloodline, so they tried to erase it instead. Through two wars and in the years between, our clan was hunted to near extinction.”

She didn’t look at any of them as she said it. Her gaze was fixed ahead.

“Only I survived,” she added, tone lighter now, almost mocking. “Because I was taught to be harder to kill. Then became almost impossible to kill.” A smirk tugged at her lips. “Turns out, the clan dies with its men too.”

Cruel, Hashirama thought. The words were cruel.

But cruelty, he had come to understand, was sometimes just the mask pain wore. It couldn’t have been easy, watching your family die around you.

“Then it was your duty to ensure our line continued,” Chichu-e said after a long silence. A silence that most seemed grateful for.

Looking around, Hashirama could see the impact of her words. The elders, shaken. His great uncle’s hands trembled on his lap.

“Don’t lecture me about duty,” Tsunade replied flippantly. “It died with my brother. And so will the continuation of the Senju name.”

“You come here talking to us about responsibility,” the clan head snapped. “Yet you act like a child. You don’t even understand what it means.”

Tsunade only raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Don’t get sassy with me, brat. I’m closer to his age than yours,” she said, nodding toward Hashirama’s great uncle.

The man who accompanied her, her guard, choked on his drink. The rest stared at her like she had grown a second head.

Only Tobirama narrowed his eyes, lips pursed, one fist resting on his knee.

His thinking pose.

“That’s impossible!” Hanatake-sama burst out. “Do you think this is the time for jokes?”

“Chakra is life,” Tsunade said simply. “You wouldn’t believe what you can do with it when you stop using it just to kill people and children.”

Hashirama wasn’t the only one who felt subtly chastised.

“Anyway,” she added, suddenly standing up. Her guard followed hastily, startled. “I think we’re done here.”

The shouts of protest began immediately. She didn’t flinch.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet with the Hokage and the Uchiha party to discuss your futures. Send me your demands by the end of the day, and I’ll decide which ones I’ll approve.”

The murmurs turned into full-blown outrage. The idea of sharing a room with the Uchiha was enough to send several elders into furious disbelief.

Hashirama’s father was now visibly scowling, a vein bulging at his temple. His hands clenched into fists as he struggled to contain his temper.

“We didn’t agree to anything,” he growled.

Tsunade met his anger with a rising tide of her own. She flared her chakra, not wildly, but with terrifying control. Sharp. Lethal.

A warning.

“This isn’t a negotiation,” she snapped.

“Also, you’ll need to learn the laws. All clans must abide by them. My student will bring them to you. Every member of your clan is required to understand the laws and the rights of Konoha citizens.”

Then, unexpectedly, she turned to him.

“Can everyone in your clan read?”

“U-um,” Hashirama stuttered, earning a sharp glare from his father. He straightened quickly.
“One member of every family is required to know how to read.”

Tsunade blinked. Then sighed.

“Fucking fantastic. Of course you're all illiterate.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Fine. It’ll be read to them. Assemble everyone in the courtyard, one hour before dusk. One of you will read the laws aloud. I’ll supervise. And I may as well address them while I’m at it. Make time for that.”

No one said a word. They just stared, dumbfounded.

“That’s it, then. I’ll be at my house. The one on the hillside, next to the east watch post. You’re welcome to stay in the main house.”

Then she turned. To Tobirama.

With a smirk, she asked, “Did you manage to break the seal on my front door?”

The entire room stilled. Tobirama’s eye twitched—just slightly. A tic.
Hashirama knew what it meant.
Despite his brother’s best efforts to cancel them, some tics always slipped through when his emotions runs too high. Surprise. Frustration. Defensiveness.

Tsunade caught it instantly. And grinned. She knew exactly what that tic meant.

“Yeah, I thought you wouldn’t,” she said, something almost fond flickering in her smile.
“Fun fact: you designed those seal layers yourself.”

And with that mic-drop revelation, she turned toward the door just as the noise in the room picked back up. Everyone speaking over one another again, frantic to regain control of the conversation.

“Wait,” Tobirama called, voice calm but commanding enough to cut through the chaos.

Even Tsunade paused, hand already on the shoji door, turning back to glance at him over her shoulder.

“You said you were going to answer our questions,” Tobirama reminded her, cool and composed in a way that always seemed beyond Hashirama’s own capabilities.

“Right. I did say that,” Tsunade admitted, sighing. She turned to her guard, who had stepped up to follow her.

“Tenzo. Stay.”

“What?” he blinked, confused.

“They have questions. Answer them. I’ve got to go drink.” She looked at the room again. “He’s a very reliable source of information,” she added dryly.

“Tsunade-sama??!” Tenzo looked borderline panicked, clearly not prepared to be left behind as a sacrificial lamb to this prideful crowd.

“And for your information,” she continued, voice now intentionally casual, “Tenzo has Mokuton.”

The silence that followed was instant and absolute. The man himself looked horrified.

Hashirama’s father actually stood up in shock, his gaze snapping to the younger man. A flicker of hope sparked behind his eyes, probably wondering if Tenzo was another miraculously surviving Senju.

But Hashirama couldn’t shake the question running through his own mind: Why wasn’t Tenzo’s chakra singing like the trees?

“Hold your horses,” Tsunade snapped, somehow reading their collective thoughts. “He’s not a Senju.”

Her expression darkened slightly, just for a moment.

“Like I said, there are people out there trying to replicate the Mokuton. One madman came dangerously close, by experimenting on hundreds of children using Grandfather’s cells.”

The room went still. Horrified.

“Only Tenzo survived,” she said, “and he got the gift… after years of torture.”
Her tone was razor-sharp now.  “So if any of you bully him, I will personally kick your ass.”

And with that, she was gone, leaving a stunned Tenzo behind, who was immediately swarmed by a dozen Senju elders like a pack of starving wolves descending on a cornered rabbit.

Hashirama winced. The noise level surged again, and for a second, he actually thought he might pass out from the headache blooming behind his eyes.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his father standing near the doorway. His gaze was fixed on the Senju clan crest stitched into the back of Tsunade’s robe as she disappeared into the corridor.

---

Kanahe Uchiha had lived a long, hard life.

He had grown up on the battlefield, just like his brothers, and somehow survived it. Survived with nightmares that never truly faded, and a left eye that barely saw anymore.

He never imagined he’d live long enough to put down the sword and pick up the quill. To become a counselor to his clan’s head. To witness the rise of Madara and Izuna, two warriors who, Kanahe believed, would carry the Uchiha name to new heights.

He also never imagined he’d live long enough to see its fall.

Hearing the boy, Sasuke Uchiha, speak about the clan’s downfall had been like a knife to the chest.

The rest of the council called him rude. Cold. But Kanahe saw him for what he really was.

A sad, lost boy. One who had lost too much, too young. One who had nearly drowned in the dark.

Tajima-sama , bless the old man, seemed to understand this too.

“If you’re going to be helping the clan,” Tajima had said thoughtfully, “then you should stay in the district. I’ll have the servants prepare a room for you in the west wing.”

The west wing. Reserved for the main family. The honor was not lost on anyone.

They’d listened earlier as Sasuke explained that the next morning, the Uchiha would meet with the village’s Hokage, alongside the Senju. A conversation that would determine their fate.

Of course, they'd spent far too long debating the idea of sitting down with their enemies, but in the end, Tajima-sama agreed. Negotiation, he’d reasoned, was an opportunity. A chance to secure their future within the village.

The Uzumaki boy, who was unlike any Uzumaki Kanahe had ever fought, claimed the Hokage’s office would be sending over a list of laws they’d have to study and follow.

“I will not stay.” The words came flat. Distant. Not defiant, just tired.

At first, Kanahe had thought the boy was tense because of nerves. But as the hours passed, it became clear : Sasuke simply did not want to be here.

“Then at least stay for dinner,” Tajima offered. “Meet the rest of your clan. Everyone eats together on the plain beside the river. Come. Tell them who you are.”

The boy hesitated. He frowned, clearly readying another refusal.

But then his friend nudged him.

“You should listen to old man Tajima, dattebayo.”

Izuna visibly bristled at the lack of honorifics, but Tajima-sama only chuckled, more amused than offended.

“They must be scared,” the blond continued. “They probably don’t understand what’s going on. You should be there. Let them know you’re here to protect and help them. No matter what happens next.”

Rough around the edges as he was, the Uzumaki boy clearly had a knack for diplomacy. Clumsy, but honest. Oddly enough, it seemed to be a trait that all the Uchiha in the room had come to find… endearing.

Kanahe watched as Sasuke Uchiha considered the words. And in that moment, he thought their friendship was nothing short of extraordinary.

It was… reassuring, somehow. That despite the crushing loss of his entire family, the boy hadn’t ended up completely alone.

Strange, though, to feel gratitude toward an Uzumaki.

“Alright,” Sasuke finally said, nodding. “I’ll stay for dinner.”

Dinner was a strange affair . Tajima-sama introduced the boy and explained his identity to the clan at large. There was outrage, there was anger, and there was definitely sorrow. Kanahe could relate, he didn’t know how he was going to sleep tonight with the fate of their clan plaguing his thoughts. After the clan head’s speech, Sasuke-san introduced himself and, in a surprising show of humility, bowed before the clan to tell them they would be under his care from now on.

Kanahe remembered Madara as a mischievous and hyperactive boy who grew into a formidable warrior. But he had always been unruly, hot-tempered, and followed his own rules. He was the life of the party, so unlike his current self. Solemn and brooding. Which was pretty much everyone’s mood after the revelation. Yet the elder suspected that the heir was probably beating himself up for his alleged role in the clan’s fall from grace.

Dinner was a simple dish of fish, with sides of green soup, onions, and rice. Afterward, some members of the clan approached young Sasuke to comfort him. Kanahe saw tears, pats, and encouraging looks. He even witnessed some aunties crowding around him, scolding him for not eating enough. One of the older grandmothers even pinched his cheek with tears in her eyes, telling him he was too skinny and needed to stop by tomorrow to get some food.

The clan had clearly adopted him without resistance, likely seeing the same abandoned boy Kanahe and Tajima-sama had seen. The Uchiha's love ran deep, and their strength lay in their bonds.

Still, Kanahe could tell the attention was too much for the boy. He was so tense you could snap him in two. Sasuke skillfully detached himself from the crowd with polite goodbyes, and with a last reminder to Tajima-sama that he would be at the gate at 7 a.m. to escort them to the meeting, he disappeared a moment later.

And indeed, he was at the gate the next morning, already waiting. Dressed the same way as the day before and without a clan crest anywhere on his person.

They would be five today accompanying Sasuke-sama to the meeting: Tajima-sama, with his heir and second son, Kanahe himself, and elder Miu-sama, the late clan head’s younger brother. Together, they made their way through the streets of Konoha.

Kanahe had never seen anything like this village. And yet, he had been to the capital before. There were shops all along the streets, and as the passersby stopped what they were doing to watch them pass, he couldn’t believe his eyes at what they were wearing!

He saw a man with some sort of circles perched on his nose. Another wearing white shoes that closed entirely around his feet. And the women, absolutely presumptuous!

As they left the busy square, they began walking along some open fields. Training grounds, if the young ninjas practicing there were any indication.

Eventually, they made their way into one of them, heading for what appeared to be a table set in the middle, with some servants preparing tea a little farther away. As they neared the meeting point, they spotted another group emerging from the treeline, heading the same way.

Kanahe tensed, as did the rest of their party, save for Sasuke-sama. He could recognize that revolting earthy chakra, dense and muddied. It was the Senju party.

As they got closer, Izuna-sama, never one to hold his tongue, let out a curse.

“What the hell is that?”

And as if to complete his brother’s thought, Madara-sama made a strange strangled noise. It was only after a few more meters that Kanahe finally saw what the fuss was about, his eyesight wasn’t quite what it used to be.

A blonde woman, dressed like a lowborn courtesan, was leading the Senju party. Half her chest was exposed, her green haori didn’t even close, and she wore pants like a man - ones that didn’t even hide her ankles. Her sandals had high soles that added inches to her height. She wore red on her lips, and strange markings on her forehead. She looked like one of those prostitutes from the fishing towns bordering the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

This couldn’t actually be the woman they said was the last Senju. Then again, it wouldn’t surprise him. The Senju were, after all, degenerate maggots. Of course they would produce this kind of woman in the future.

The woman was scrutinizing them as both parties came within five meters of each other. He could see the Senju sizing them up as well. Surprisingly, Sasuke-sama was the one who broke the staring contest first. As soon as they stopped before the long table, he inclined his head toward the woman in a small bow—a clear sign of respect, to the shock of their party.

It was the first remotely polite act the boy had made since they had known him.

“Brat.” The audacity! Izuna-sama actually choked on his spit. 

Kanahe could see Tajima-sama glaring at her and opening his mouth to speak, probably to berate her or remind the Senju dogs to control their women better. Yet she didn’t give them the chance, turning instead to address the attendant who had come to welcome them.

“Where is Kakashi?” Wasn’t that man the leader of this village? How was she addressing him so disrespectfully? Kanahe noticed the Senju party stiffen as well, even they seemed appalled by the behavior of this... this…

To everyone’s surprise, the attendant actually straightened up, as if he were about to respond to his superior, not some low-class woman.

“Hokage-sama hasn’t arrived yet, but Shikamaru-sama confirmed that the Rokudaime will be here just in time.”

“There are five minutes until the start of this meeting,” she said, pulling out a chair to sit, without even waiting for the men! Was there no end to this woman’s madness? “If he doesn’t show up in five minutes, I’m starting this. I don’t have the time or the patience to wait for him to finish scooping his dog’s shit, or whatever.”

“Agreed.” They all watched, dumbfounded, as Sasuke-sama agreed with the vulgar woman and sat down across from her.

The rest of them stayed frozen for another minute before they all slowly took their seats on each side, carefully avoiding eye contact to prevent any further conflict.

Attendants came forward to pour the tea. And as one of them actually served the woman first -before the men!- Kanahe saw her frown and address him again.

“Tea?” she snarled. She clearly lacked any sense of decorum. “You expect me to do this sober?”

“I—well—” Kanahe could not understand why all the servants acted so terrified of her. “There will be sake at the end of the talk, my lady.”

A strange tension seemed to spread across the table as the woman simply stared at the servant without replying. Finally, the attendant seemed to deflate and hurried away with a quick promise that he would get her some sake right away.

What madness is this?!

“So, did you kill anyone?” The woman’s question cut through the silence as they all sipped their tea, pretending the other party didn’t exist.

“No. You?” replied Sasuke-sama, clearly the only one she deemed worthy of her disdainful attention.

“Surprisingly, no. Though it came close.”

The boy inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment, which was all she deserved from Sasuke-sama anyway. Still, the blonde didn’t seem bothered, continuing to drink in silence.

Kanahe suddenly felt Izuna-sama tense next to him. As he looked across the table to see what he was glaring at, he spotted the Senju heir watching Madara-sama in a rather challenging way, if he said so himself, though the Uchiha was clearly ignoring him.

“Is he fucking serious right now?” The woman’s angry question startled Kanahe after so much quiet.

“He used to do the same to us during our genin team training,” responded Sasuke-sama, who seemed equally annoyed for some reason. The woman’s eye began to twitch.

“Well, I don’t have all day.” With that, she turned toward them for the first time since sitting down. The tension was palpable as she looked at each of them in turn.

“I’ll start the introductions, since the Hokage is too busy playing mind games.”

“Do you actually have no manners, woman? How dare you speak before a man addresses you!” Kanahe agreed wholeheartedly with elder Miu.

But then, one of the servants dropped the tea set he was carrying in surprise, and the entire table stilled as one of the most terrifying killing intents Kanahe had ever felt began to spread like mist, seeping into his pores. He could feel his Sharingan activating instinctively in response to the threat, every Uchiha at the table doing the same except for Sasuke-sama. In response, the Senju reached for their weapons. Everyone was tense, ready to strike.

"I thought they were going to be taught about modern times, brat," the woman said, calm as a tree, as if completely unaffected by the storm brewing around her. She still held her sake cup in hand and looked each of them in the eye, unafraid of their bloodline limit. With chilling realization, Kanahe understood that the killing intent was coming from her.

"They’re still learning." Sasuke-sama was now glaring at them, though he hadn’t activated his dōjutsu or reached for any weapon. He was almost too nonchalant.

Kanahe could feel his chest beginning to ache from the pressure. Elder Miu was actually gasping for breath. He saw the Senju heir turn toward the woman with wide eyes, clearly intending to calm her down, even though he himself was visibly pale.

"My, my… everyone’s so lively this morning."

They all startled as the man who had come to their camp that first night appeared with a Nara in tow. He seemed rather cheery, in Kanahe’s annoyed opinion, completely unaffected by the tension in the air. The killing intent hadn’t abated one bit.

"You’re late," Sasuke-sama snapped at the so-called Hokage of Konoha.

"I am not. There are still two minutes left," the man replied as he took a seat at the head of the table, the Nara standing behind him.

"You made your elders wait. You are late, boy," barked the woman, glaring at him next. Her killing intent dissipated into thin air, and it was only then that Kanahe realized he had stopped breathing.

"Right. Sorry," the Hokage squeaked. Kanahe could not believe this was the leader of the village trying to suppress them. Ridiculous. In response, the woman downed the drink in her cup in one go.

"So, shall we start with introductions?" Hatake began, looking around the table. "We’ll go around. I'll start, then the clan representatives, the clan heads, and our respective entourages will follow. Does that work for everyone?"

No one responded. He seemed to take the silence as an affirmative.

"Great. I’m Kakashi Hatake, Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha. Tsunade-sama, if you would?" He turned to the woman, and if anyone had anything to say about her going next, they wisely kept their mouths shut, still remembering the terror from just minutes ago.

"Tsunade Senju, acting clan head of the Senju clan and Godaime Hokage of Konoha."

"Sasuke Uchiha, representative of the Uchiha clan," Sasuke-sama continued, not even giving them time to react to the revelation that this woman had once led the village.

"Butsuma Senju… clan head of the Senju clan." There was clearly conflict within the Senju, if two people claimed to be clan heads. Yet, no one seemed bothered by it, least of all the current Hokage, who next turned toward Tajima-sama.

"Tajima Uchiha, acting clan head of the Uchiha clan."

The introductions continued until everyone at the table had spoken.

"Well then, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”  Hatake said it with a smile.

Notes:

Hashirama *puppy eyes attack Madara*
Kanahe and Izuna: He’s threatening him!!

Honestly, it wasn’t very smart of Kakashi to send two people who don’t know the meaning of tact to talk to clan elders. Like??? What did he think was gonna happen?

I’m literally just writing nonsense, y’all. Legit. When I started that whole Tsunade vs. the Senju elders convo about Hokage history, I had a point I promise. It just kinda... got lost somewhere on the road of life. So uh, hope it still made sense?

The Uchiha saw Tsunade and got scared of a baddie.

Hashirama also didn’t know the meaning of nepotism.

Also, can we talk about how Naruto is such a loveable idiot but somehow still the most emotionally intelligent person in every room?? Bestest boi.

And can you tell everyone’s a super unreliable narrator? I'm having way too much fun with the multi-POV / shifting narration style. What do you guys think of this format ?

Sorry again for the delay on this chapter. Easter was a wild time (I work during the holidays, and it’s actually our busiest season 😅).
But I know y’all have been waiting a hot minute, so here’s your heads-up: ✨ Sakura is finally making her appearance next chapter! ✨

Chapter 4: kitten heels

“I think we’ve covered all the major points for today’s meeting. That just leaves the matter of your medical exams.”

Kakashi leaned back slightly, watching with mild amusement as both clan heads opened their mouths, clearly ready to argue for the umpteenth time. He resisted the urge to sigh. Was it even still morning? He’d stopped checking a while ago.

Honestly, he was glad he saved this topic for last. Every other item on the agenda had been contested like it was a matter of life and death. Which, knowing these two clans, it probably was. The only moments of actual progress had come when he casually noted how interestingly like-minded the Uchiha and Senju seemed. That phrase worked like a charm. Shut them up real fast.

“What medical exams?” Butsuma asked first, suspicious.

“Why would we need medical exams?” Tajima followed, predictably.

Kakashi shrugged. “Well,” he began, lazily searching for words that wouldn’t spark another explosion, “despite all our data and theories on space-time ninjutsu, we don’t exactly have hands-on experience with, you know—actual time travel. We don’t know what brought you here, or what it might’ve done to your bodies. If we ever try to reverse it, we could make things worse. So... we need to know.”

Tajima narrowed his eyes. “You expect us to let your people examine us? Do we look like fools to you? We won’t let outsiders get anywhere near our dōjutsu.”

Butsuma didn’t say anything, but his not-so-pleased face clearly agreed. Instead of voicing his objections directly, he looked at Tsunade. As if willing her to defend the clan.

Kakashi found the whole thing mildly entertaining. The clans had spent the first half of the meeting calling Tsunade everything but a witch, only slightly behind her back. Now, somehow, they were treating her with something that looked almost like respect, especially the Senjus. Funny how that worked.

He’d been the first to arrive, hidden in the trees. The fact that Tobirama hadn’t sensed him had been a nice little ego boost. He’d even been flattered. More surprising was how quickly Tsunade and Sasuke noticed him before he stepped out. Clearly, he’d have to step up his game if he wanted to sneak past Tsunade. And Sasuke—well, Sasuke just knew him too well these days. Kind of sweet, really. He remembered when they were all kids, accusing him of being late while plotting to ambush him. Now they could read his intent before he even moved. They’d grown up fast.

Before he dropped in, the clans had barely been holding back from calling Tsunade a snake, a liar, or worse. Now they couldn’t quite hide their grudging respect. Even if they didn’t realize it yet.

Because if Tsunade had pretended not to care about her clan’s fate before the meeting, her actions during said otherwise.

When the matter of funding came up, Tsunade didn’t even let him get a word in.

The moment it was mentioned, she launched straight into demands that all Senju properties, confiscated and repurposed by the village over the years, be returned to the clan immediately.

Ironically, she’d been the one to let the Third do as he pleased with them when she left. She hadn’t even bothered reclaiming them during her own time as Hokage. But now, apparently, it was a hill worth dying on.

Then came taxes. Technically, since both clans were living on Konoha soil, they were expected to contribute like everyone else. Kakashi had generously offered a 60-day grace period, just enough time for them to sort through the chaos of their clan finances, formerly managed by the two heirs who now sat at this table.

But Tsunade, had countered that no clan should be taxed until their shinobi members were officially integrated into the village forces.

Which was clever. Too clever. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon -if ever. So she’d effectively secured a tax exemption for both clans for the foreseeable future.

Surprising, from someone who, according to Tenzo’s field reports, had threatened to kill every single one of them at least five times in the past 24 hours.

Kakashi had expected Sasuke to grow attached eventually. The kid was sentimental under all that brooding. But Tsunade being this protective? That had been a surprise.

Sweet, sure. Heartwarming, even. From one old softie to another.

But as Hokage? It was a damn nightmare. They were making it annoyingly difficult for him to take advantage of the situation for Konoha’s benefit.

The council was going to throw a fit. Oh well. Not like he cared. As long as no one was actively trying to murder each other -or him- it was fine.

He was just the placeholder until Naruto was ready anyway. Let the kid handle this mess if he wanted the job so badly.

“I’ll have to agree with the medical exams,” Tsunade said suddenly.

All eyes turned to her. The Senju elder who’d been loudly arguing against the exams actually looked betrayed. Butsuma simply folded his arms.

“Tsunade-hime!” the elder exclaimed.

They’d started calling her that after Kakashi had oh-so-accidentally let it slip during the meeting. Tsunade had glared at him like she wanted to flip the table onto his face. Meanwhile, the Senju had basked in the honorific, delighted by the reminder of their higher standing over the Uchiha.

Her eye twitched again at the name. Then she turned her glare on the elder, like she wanted to flip the table onto his face this time.

“At the risk of repeating ourselves,” she said, “we have zero experience with time travel.”

Kakashi winced internally. He’d been deliberately avoiding that phrasing to keep Konoha from looking incompetent. Not that Tsunade seemed concerned.

“That means there are a lot of unknowns, especially regarding your bodies. Theoretically, traveling forward in time would involve moving faster than the speed of light to surpass time itself. For all we know, that could’ve accelerated your aging process. You could be aging exponentially and keel over dead at any moment.”

Huh. He hadn’t thought of that. Judging by the way Shikamaru sat up straighter, neither had he.

It was actually a solid theory. Not that most people at the table had understood half of it. But they didn’t need to. The message had landed.

Silence settled over the table.

Butsuma turned to his second son.

Tobirama, the forefather of space-time theory, seemed to be the only one who truly grasped the implications. Oddly, throughout the entire meeting, Butsuma hadn’t spared so much as a glance at Hashirama, the so-called God of Shinobi. He seemed to esteem the Nidaime’s political opinion more than his heir’s.

Tobirama studied Tsunade for a long moment, watching her refill her sake cup like she hadn’t just dropped a theoretical death sentence into casual conversation. Then his eyes shifted. To Shikamaru, then to Kakashi.

Evaluating. Calculating.

Definitely suspecting foul play.

Which, well... there was. Both clans weren’t wrong to suspect ulterior motives. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Konoha to access long-lost founding clan DNA.

And technically, under current constitutional law, Konoha was entitled to it.

Kakashi wasn’t proud of that part. But being Hokage wasn’t so different from being on the battlefield. You made hard calls. Dirty ones. Always staying one step ahead to keep the village safe, whatever that meant.

Tobirama turned back to his father. Butsuma frowned, clearly displeased by whatever he’d seen on his son’s face.

“You don’t seriously expect us to let strangers probe our bodies and expose clan secrets?” he snapped at Tsunade, ignoring everyone else.

“In normal circumstances,” she replied evenly, “I would be the one conducting medical examinations for the Senju.”

That caught everyone off guard. Even her ancestors, apparently.

Huh. So they didn’t know Tsunade-sama was a medic-nin. Or at least, a healer. After all, medical ninjutsu hadn’t even existed back in their time. She’d invented it.

“But,” she continued, “as acting clan head, there’s a conflict of interest. So it’ll have to be someone else.”

Which was exactly what they’d been counting on.

And Tobirama, sharp as ever, caught on.

“Why not?” he asked.

It was directed at Tsunade, but his glare stayed firmly on Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled and gave a little wave.

Tobirama’s frown deepened.

“Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy under Konoha civil law,” Tsunade said. “That includes full medical confidentiality between patient and doctor. A law I implemented during my tenure as Hokage.”

Indeed, it hadn’t been well received when Tsunade passed that law.

The clans had hated it. It stripped clan heads and elders of their access to their clansmen’s medical histories. Access they had long considered a right. But Tsunade hadn’t let them vote on it. She hadn’t even given them the chance to argue. She’d sent the petition straight to the Daimyō, bypassed the council entirely, and had Sakura hand-deliver the message.

“I can’t be your doctor and your clan head at the same time. It would be unethical and against the law,” she stated now, voice as flat as ever.

“That doesn’t make sense,” an Uchiha elder interjected. “A clansman has no secrets from his clan head.”

“Well, in this time, they do,” Tsunade replied smoothly.

“Be that as it may,” Butsuma cut in, “we will not allow strangers to have access to our blood.”

Naturally, the Uchiha side agreed. Of course they did. They're so damn similar it was almost funny.

“I assure you,” Kakashi said with practiced calm, “we have highly competent and professional medical personnel. Every citizen of Konoha, clan members included, is under the care of our medical corps and protected under civil law concerning body autonomy. That includes both your clans. We can dispatch a team of elite medics to—”

He didn’t finish. No one was listening. The room had erupted again in overlapping objections, and Butsuma had already turned toward his sons, speaking low and fast. On the other side, Tajima turned to Sasuke, saying nothing, but clearly preparing a counter.

Across the table, Kakashi caught Tsunade’s eye.

Her gaze was unreadable as she sipped her sake, but he knew she knew what he was trying to do here. Even though she hadn’t attended the council meeting the night before.

As a former Hokage and a Sannin, Tsunade held a seat on the Council of Elders, after all. But Kakashi could count on one hand the number of times she’d bothered to show up since he’d become Hokage.

People remembered Tsunade for a lot of things: her revolution in the medical field, her legend on the battlefield. But what they didn’t talk about enough was how shrewd she was in politics. Ironic, considering her temper. But maybe that was what made it work. Tsunade didn’t use flowery diplomacy or veiled threats. She used facts—and real threats.

And with her level of education, she was almost always the most knowledgeable person in the room. Which made it nearly impossible to outmaneuver her.

Although she had spoken in favor of the medical exams, he had a feeling she didn’t agree with Konoha’s plan regarding them. And he knew she was too smart to do that just for sentimentality.

Kakashi was also pretty sure Tsunade didn’t like him much.

At first, he’d chalked it up to her protectiveness over Sakura. Everyone knew he’d been… negligent after Naruto left with Jiraiya. It was only after the war that he and Sakura had really started to reconnect.

But it wasn’t just that. It was deeper. And Kakashi couldn’t help but wonder if some of her moves during this meeting were motivated by more than just clan duty.

“We will not allow it,” Butsuma declared, cutting through the noise. “Perhaps we might have considered it if you were the one conducting the exams.”

“The Uchiha have no need for your assistance in this matter,” Tajima added coldly. “We will take care of our own.”

Predictable. Kakashi had hoped for some concession, but it looked like even Tsunade’s airtight argument hadn’t moved them.

“I’ll allow it,” Tsunade said suddenly, and Kakashi’s head snapped toward her.

She hadn’t raised her voice, but the silence that followed was deafening. Butsuma looked at her like he was about to leap over the table and snap her neck. The Senju elders immediately burst into loud protests, but the weight of Tsunade’s words had already settled.

“You don’t need to dispatch a team, Kakashi,” she continued, eyes calm. “It’s true I can’t perform the exams myself, but my students can handle it.”

That, surprisingly, seemed to pacify Butsuma slightly. He didn’t agree, but his eyes narrowed with interest.

And then Sasuke spoke.

“I want Sakura.”

Kakashi blinked.

Well, obviously. If he remembered correctly, they had some sort of thing goi—

Oh.

Oh . He didn’t mean it that way.

Sasuke must’ve realized how it sounded, too, because his ears started turning red. Still, he didn’t shy away from the attention. He cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and clarified.

“I want Sakura to be in charge of the Uchiha’s medical exams.”

Tajima was quick to respond, his voice icy. “I just said we’re not doing it.”

Sasuke didn’t even look at him.

He kept his gaze locked on Tsunade, whose lips twitched around the rim of her sake cup, visibly amused.

“Oh? Alright. Shizune will take charge of the Senju, then. This is convenient, too, since she will assist me in my duties.”

“I thought you didn’t have heirs. But you have students,” Butsuma commented, voice heavy with insinuation.

“Whatever that means,” Tsunade muttered with a sigh, brushing him off. She turned to Kakashi, ignoring the question entirely. “I’ll rearrange the hospital’s schedule for the next few weeks. Shizune and Sakura can each choose their own team for the assignment.”

“We are not letting a Senju into our territory,” Tajima snapped, his voice low and full of menace. “And certainly not to examine us, or go anywhere near our blood.”

Kakashi wasn’t the only one who tensed. He noticed the flicker of Sharingan activating among some Uchiha. It was subtle, but undeniable. The air in the room shifted. 

“Sakura is not a Senju,” Tsunade said plainly, locking eyes with Tajima like she dared him to argue. Her tone was calm, deadly calm.

“She’s your student. That makes her a Senju,” Izuna snapped.

The venom in his voice sent a chill down Kakashi’s spine, and he wasn’t the only one. On the Senju side, several shoulders stiffened. He caught Tobirama shifting slightly in his seat, adjusting for leverage. Preparing to spring, if needed.

But Sasuke spoke before anyone else could.

“Sakura is my teammate,” he said, frowning slightly at his clansmen, as if confused by their hostility. “We grew up together. Fought together. I would trust her with my life.”

“And you’d trust her with your clan’s life?” Tajima asked. Sharp, doubtful.

“I would trust her with the fate of the world, if I had to,” Sasuke answered without hesitation.

Tsunade cut in then, understanding the root of the Uchiha’s concern in a way Sasuke didn’t seem to. “Sakura is civilian-born,” she said. “She doesn’t have a drop of Senju blood in her. And the old tradition of apprentices taking their master’s clan name died out long ago. Yes, she’s my student. But all that means for you is that she’s the best damn medical ninja you could hope for to handle your clan’s care.”

She glanced toward Sasuke. “Her loyalty to me isn’t more—or less—than her loyalty to him.”

“She will not betray me,” Sasuke added, voice low but firm. He turned to Tajima, gaze steady. “I trust her.”

“We don’t.”

“Then trust me.”

And as the noise picked up again—Uchiha voices rising, stubborn and sharp—Kakashi sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.

He really hoped Naruto wasn’t getting killed by A during his diplomatic mission over this bullshit, because he was so getting rid of this fucking hat the second he got back.

---

The smell of antiseptic clung to the air as Sasuke walked down the hospital corridor, the overhead lights humming quietly above him. He could feel the eyes on him, nurses and patients alike parting wordlessly as he passed, but their whispers still followed him like shadows.

He ignored them.

Sakura’s office wasn’t far. Her name was neatly engraved on a brass plate affixed to the door— Haruno Sakura, Associate Medical Director —and something about it grounded him. Like it always did.

Inside, she was perched behind her desk, her office phone balanced between shoulder and ear, a pen dancing in her hand as she marked up a patient chart. Her pink hair was swept up, loose strands framing her face, and she wore her green scrubs with the same casual ease as her shinobi gear. Over them, her white doctor’s coat hung like a second skin.

She looked up as he entered, and smiled.

That small, familiar curve of her lips pulled something in his chest taut. She motioned toward the couch and returned to her call. He sat, trying not to fidget. Her office was exactly how he remembered it, organized chaos. Bookshelves crammed with texts on chakra theory and modern surgery. A desk cluttered with paperwork and post-its. A tea station by the window that smelled faintly of lemon grass and cinnamon. And the plants, those little green survivors scattered everywhere, thriving in their small corners. Naruto had once mocked them. And she’d lectured them about their medicinal uses.

“...yes, send the lab results to my office as soon as they’re in. Thanks,” she said, hanging up. Then she was on her feet, arms wrapping around him in a hug before he could stop it.

He let her. It was stupid, but he didn’t know how to say he’d needed it.

“How have you been?” she asked as she pulled back.

“Good,” he lied.

He had dreamt of blood again. Of his family dying twice—once at the hands of the now alive clan, once by Itachi’s. He’d woken up with the taste of iron in his mouth and phantom screams in his ears.

But there was no point in saying all that.

She looked at him, quiet, eyes too perceptive for his comfort. Of course she didn’t believe him. She never did. She didn’t push, though. She just waited.

“You called for me,” he said, redirecting the conversation.

At the reminder, she stepped back, giving him space again. She returned to her desk.

“I wanted to talk to you about your clan’s medical exams.”

“Kakashi told you.”

“Shishou did,” she corrected. “She also told me that you specifically asked for me. Any reason why?”

“I trust you.”

“I know. But there’s more to it, isn’t there?” Her voice was gentle but steady, her eyes fixed on him. “You know I would never let another Orochimaru or Danzō get near your clan’s dōjutsu. I would burn the hospital down first.”

“I know Kakashi’s trustworthy,” Sasuke murmured, his voice low but his tone almose defensive “It’s the council I don’t trust.”

“Kakashi-sensei is Hokage. He serves Konoha.”

“And you don’t?”

“I do,” she said. “But I’m lucky enough to be more than that. And you know it. That’s why you asked for me.”

Sasuke didn’t respond right away. His hand curled into a fist on his knee. He stared at it like it might offer answers.

“I know you’ll do the right thing. You probably even know what that is,” he said eventually. “Because to be honest, all this political crap, it’s too much. Everyone wants something different. Everyone expects something from me. I don’t know who’s right. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

His voice had dropped to a whisper.

“I just want to keep them safe.”

It cracked something open in him, saying it out loud. The words tasted like ash in his mouth, brittle and dry. He couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t bear to let her see the weight he was carrying. His hand was shaking and he clenched it harder, like he could force the tremor back into his bones.

“I want to meet your clan,” she said softly.

He blinked, looking up. She hadn’t moved from her desk. Her fingers were laced gently in her lap, and her eyes met his without flinching.

“What?”

“That’s the real reason I called you. Tsunade-shishou said your elders haven’t approved the exams.”

“They’re... wary.”

“I’ll convince them,” she said, matter-of-fact. “I’ll meet with them tonight. Then I’ll speak with the rest of the clan, explain the process. Maybe stay for dinner. Naruto said you all eat together. That’s nice.”

Sasuke stared at her. He wasn’t sure what part confused him more. Her confidence, or the fact that she wasn’t hesitating.

She stepped down the desk and sat beside him. She didn’t ask permission. She didn’t need to. Her hands found his. Warm, steady. Anchoring.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“They won’t trust you. You’re an outsider.”

“I’ve made outsiders trust me before,” she said with a small smile. “Fixing things is what I’m good at.”

He looked at her then, really looked. There was no fear in her. No doubt. Only that unwavering strength she always seemed to have when he needed it most.

“I’ll take care of it,” she repeated, softer now. “All of it.”

And for the first time in what felt like weeks, Sasuke let himself breathe. Just a little. Just enough to believe that maybe… maybe it would be alright after all.

---

It took Izuna longer than he liked to find Madara.

That fact alone set him on edge. Madara was many things, but elusive was not supposed to be one of them - not with him. And yet, lately, it felt like Madara was always slipping through his fingers, retreating further into himself.

When he finally did locate him, it was by the Naka River.

Izuna didn’t want to believe it was intentional. Didn’t want to think his brother -his proud, sharp-eyed, battle-hardened brother-  would let himself be drawn to a place soaked in that kind of memory. The riverbank where, as boys, Madara used to meet that Senju dog. The one who will apparently drown their world in blood and call it peace.

That the Naka now fell within Uchiha clan territory in this village felt like a cruel joke.

Madara sat by the river’s edge, legs pulled up, hands idle. His gaze was locked on the water, unblinking. Haunted.

“Aniki.”

“Izuna.”

“We have a council meeting this afternoon,” Izuna said, stepping into view, though he knew Madara had sensed him long before. “Sasuke says he’ll bring the-” He hesitated. The word Senju felt too sharp in his mouth, and doctor felt dishonest. “-woman.”

“Father hasn’t agreed to the medical exams.”

“No,” Izuna confirmed, “but Sasuke wants us to meet her anyway.”

Madara hummed in acknowledgment. He reached down, picked up a flat stone, and flicked it across the surface of the water. It skipped three times, then vanished into the current. Izuna leaned against a nearby tree, watching his brother more than the river. There were ghosts here, clearly, ones Madara saw more clearly than he ever voiced.

The silence dragged, until Izuna couldn’t hold back anymore.

“We should leave,” he said quietly. “Our clan isn’t safe in this village.”

“We’re not safe anywhere else.”

“Maybe not,” Izuna agreed, “but don’t forget—it was them who killed us.”

Madara didn’t answer right away. His jaw tensed. His next words were barely audible.

“You mean I did.”

Silence.

“You know that’s not true.”

“That’s not what Sasuke said.”

Izuna’s eyes narrowed. “I like the guy,” he said, trying to ease the tension with a smirk. “It also helps that he’s quite handsome.” That earned him a ghost of a smile -barely there, but there. “But let’s be honest, he’s not to be trusted. He’s already halfway swallowed by their lies.”

Madara’s smile faded. He bowed his head, hands threading into his hair.

“Izuna… I have dreams,” he said hoarsely. “Of you dying. Of me alone, in some cave… There’s a monster there, inside me, I think. I wake up choking on screams I don’t remember making. I can’t sleep. I can’t… look at them, our people. I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

Izuna swallowed hard.

He had known, of course he had known, that none of this had been easy for Madara. But hearing it like this, raw and shaken, made it real in a way that even he wasn’t ready for.

“Madara,” he said, quietly but firmly. “You can’t let yourself be manipulated by these people. Sasuke, the Hokage, the village’s council—none of them care about us. Not really. They just want to use us. They fear us.”

“Father likes him,” Madara said, voice thin.

“He pities him,” Izuna snapped. “There’s a difference. And it won’t last. Once chichūe and the elders make up their minds, they’ll do what’s best for the clan, protect it. And Sasuke will be discarded, or married off, or whatever they decide he’s good for. That’s all.”

Madara didn’t respond. His shoulders hunched further, as though the very air pressed down on him.

“No one in the clan believes you’d hurt them,” Izuna added, trying to pull his brother back from wherever his mind had gone.

“You died though.”

“I died, Madara. And that was war. It wasn’t you. I got bested by that bastard Tobirama.” He offered a smirk again, this one more bitter. “Can’t say I’m shocked. I always knew it would be on the battlefield. Still… seeing it written down like history makes it harder to stomach.”

The silence stretched between them again, this time gentler.

Izuna looked at his brother, and beneath the stoic face he could see a man fraying at the edges. A man buried under a lifetime of loss and betrayal and choices that has yet to come.

So Izuna did what he always did. He decided for him.

Later that afternoon, he made his way to the council chambers.

Madara had mumbled something about training, another excuse to disappear, but Izuna hadn’t pressed. He’d made him promise he’d show up for dinner. That would have to be enough, for now.

For once, Izuna was the last to arrive.

Predictably, the meeting was already in full swing. The clan head and elders were deep in discussion, their voices low but their expressions stern. The air was thick with distrust, tension, and something colder: resolve.

Izuna didn’t need to be told what they planned. This wasn’t a real meeting. It was performance. They’d let Sasuke speak, maybe listen to the doctor , and then send her away. It wouldn’t matter what she said, how competent she was. She was an outsider. And outsiders didn’t get to touch Uchiha blood.

Not again.

Izuna settled into his seat and folded his arms.

He’d listen. He’d watch. And if anything threatened his clan, or his brother, he’d burn it to ash.

---

Sakura Haruno has loved long and hard her whole life.
She has loved many, and she likes to think it’s from that love that she found the drive to become better, stronger.

“You have your father’s heart and your mother’s mind, Sakura-chan,” her aunt once said. At five years old, she hadn’t understood what that meant.

Her first love was her parents. It was easy, effortless. They were, arguably, the most important people in her life. The first people to love her unconditionally, the first who would do anything for her. And it was true the other way around as well. They taught her what love was.

Her second love was Ino. Her first and best friend, her sister, her soulmate. Ino was the first person to teach Sakura how to be strong, how to be independent, how not to be afraid. Loving Ino had been easy, then hard, and now, mostly trying. On her nerves, mostly.

Sakura’s third love was Sasuke Uchiha. He was also her first heartbreak, and featured in many more. 

The first was when she thought he had died on that bridge in the Land of Waves. Sakura was not stupid. A lovesick teen, sure, but not stupid. She knew that for all the pre-teen drama her crush had caused in her life, it was just that, a crush.

And yet, when she saw him on that bridge, needles sticking from his body, pale as a corpse, heartbeat gone… she had felt like dying. That stupid crush hadn’t felt so stupid then.

After that, Sasuke broke her heart in a thousand different ways. But Sakura had thought that when they parted ways last year, it would be the last time.

And yet, seeing Sasuke struggle in the village now, burdened with the expectations of his dead clan’s ancestors, it broke her heart all over again.

She couldn’t believe Kakashi would do this to him. She understood the reasoning, but she also knew there could have been other ways to handle the Uchiha. This felt cruel. Counterproductive.

And she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Before the end of her shift, Shishō had come to her office to talk. (And probably to hide from her duties.)

“You need to go see the Uchiha brat.”

“Sasuke-kun?”

“I’m not even going to get into the disaster that is his mental health right now—spacing out during meetings, so tense you could snap the boy in two—but he’s getting completely walked over. By the Uchiha. And by Kakashi.”

“What?”

“He’s stuck in the middle of two storms. Konoha wants to use him, and before long, the Uchiha will catch on and do the same. He’s not equipped to deal with this.”

And damn it all. Damn it all to hell. Because Shishō was right. Sasuke’s reaction in her office that morning had been proof enough.

Sakura couldn’t care less about the Senju or the Uchiha. And while she loved Konoha dearly, she knew she was selfish: she loved the village only because the people she cared about lived in it. She wasn’t patriotic. She had no interest in helping the council push their political agenda.

Not like Kakashi.

“Kakashi is a lot like a dog,” Shishō had once said.It had sounded mean, Sakura had thought—until she heard the rest. “Loyal to a fault. Trained to obey his master. He was raised to be a shinobi above all else, following Hiruzen-sensei without question. Even when it came to Naruto after his own sensei’s death. Ironic, considering all his talk about not leaving comrades behind. And look at what he did to you too.”

Yeah. Sakura definitely understood what she meant then.

She still didn’t understand why Tsunade-shishō had passed the hat to him, though. Then again, the blonde had probably just been that sick of the job.

Sakura, perhaps not so secretly, thought Shishō had been the best Hokage Konoha ever had. Especially after reading the previous Hokage journals.

So no, Sakura had no interest in playing Kakashi-sensei’s game or meddling in ancient clan affairs that her civilian-born ass had no business getting involved in.

But she still loved Sasuke. Always would. 

Loved him enough to let him go a year ago, because staying would have destroyed him. And loved him enough to now walk straight into the lion’s den to protect him.

And if there was one thing Sakura Haruno was always good at, it was protecting the people she loved.

She even made an effort with her clothes, to appease the elders. She had no illusions about being welcomed. One: she was an outsider, as Sasuke had so eloquently put it. And two: she was a woman.

Still, as a gesture, she ditched her usual short skirts and dresses in favor of her favorite red qipao top paired with matching red flared pants. Sober. Professional.
Although she’d left her shinobi sandals in the lab and wore white kitten heels instead. No one said making concessions meant looking like a mess.

She arrived at the Uchiha district gate around five in the afternoon.

She smiled at the guards, young enough to be teens, who looked at her like she had two heads.
With her pink hair, maybe it wasn’t far off.

“Hello, gentlemen,” she said, keeping her tone polite. “I’m Sakura Haruno. I’m here for Sasuke Uchiha.”

“Um…” The one with short hair stuttered. His face turned so red, Sakura worried he had a fever.

“Er… excuse us, my lady,” the other began. “We didn’t receive notice from Sasuke-sama, but fear not—we’ll go find him and—”

“Sakura.”

The three of them turned toward the voice. Sasuke was approaching.

“Sasuke-kun,” she greeted, smiling. “I’m not late, am I?”

He shook his head with that quiet, easy confidence.

“Just in time.”

Then he turned to the guards.

“She’s with me.”

The guards gawked as she passed them and came to stand at Sasuke’s side.

“See you later,” she waved at the guards as she followed her teammate in. They weakly waved back, eyes still wide as they watched them go.

Sakura could feel the stares of the clan members as they passed. Some even stopped what they were doing to openly observe them, whispering, pointing at her hair and clothes. She had made an effort, though!

Still, she didn’t let them deter her. It wasn’t the first, and certainly wouldn’t be the last time people stared at her.

But she didn’t shy away either. She met the district with an open gaze, watching it come alive around her. She smiled and waved at some passing children and even spotted a bolt of silk fabric being hung out of a window, gorgeous, rich colors catching the light. Ino would love that. she thought absentmindedly.

Walking these streets felt surreal. Back when Sasuke was still with Orochimaru, she used to come here after training. Why, even now, she couldn’t quite say. But those silent, dead streets were full of life again. It felt like walking through a museum, except now, the artifacts had come alive at the moment of their creation.

As they reached a crossroads, Sakura stopped to take in the row of cherry trees lining the river. Sasuke paused beside her.

The trees were lush and green, like every summer. But she knew that during sakura season, they would bloom just as pink as her hair.

“The first time I saw you at the Academy,” Sasuke said, voice quiet, “you reminded me of them.”

She blinked up at him, surprised. He was looking at her too, a softness in his gaze that made her throat tighten.

“My mom used to take us on picnics when the cherry blossoms were in bloom,” he said. “As a kid, I shared her love for them. I thought you were pretty.”

Sakura was momentarily speechless. She turned her gaze back to the trees, watching Uchiha children play beneath their branches.

“The first time I saw you,” she said quietly, “I fell in love at first sight.”

It wasn’t a secret between them anymore, but saying it aloud still made her cheeks warm. She looked back up at him with a smile.

“As much as an eight-year-old knows about love, anyway.”

They shared a quiet smile. And when the moment passed, they resumed their walk toward the main house.

Inside, they were greeted by an attendant in the hallway who bowed at their arrival—or more precisely, bowed toward Sasuke.

“Sasuke-sama, the esteemed elders await you and your guest,” he said, straightening up. Then he turned to Sakura, and she could practically see the disdain in the angle of his jaw and the way his eyes narrowed at her outfit.

If her mother had been there to see a servant behave like that, she would’ve bought the whole house just to burn it down.

“You will speak only when spoken to,” the man continued, “and you are not to make eye contact with any of the men present. Since you did not have the foresight to dress appropriately for this meeting, servants will assist you in changing into more suitable attire.”

Two young girls stepped forward, heads bowed, avoiding eye contact as they waited for her.

Sakura looked at the attendant. Then at the girls. Then at Sasuke, who stared back in equal confusion.

And then, Sakura Haruno did what none of them probably expected her to do.

She burst out laughing.

She laughed so hard she had to clutch Sasuke for support. The three Uchiha in front of them stared, stunned into silence. And that only made her laugh harder.

After a few long minutes, she finally caught her breath, still leaning against Sasuke, who was holding her steady.

“Oh my,” she wheezed. “Sasuke-kun, you should have told me your clansmen had such a bizarre sense of humor.”

Sasuke blinked at her. The attendant turned crimson, visibly flustered.

Sakura didn’t wait for any of them. She strode directly toward the door pulsing with chakra behind it and slid it open without hesitation.

Sasuke followed behind her, the sputtering attendant trailing like a broken wind chime.

Inside, the elders looked up at her, clearly surprised by her bold entrance.

Sakura gave them a composed smile. She folded her hands in front of her and bowed just deeply enough to be considered respectful.

“Esteemed elders of the Uchiha clan,” she said calmly. “I am honored to be standing before you today. Thank you for having me.”

As she rose, still smiling, she added, “I am Sakura Haruno. Sasuke-kun’s teammate.”

A few elders gaped at her. She only smiled wider.

She knew this wouldn’t be easy—but that had never stopped her before.

After all, she was her mother’s daughter.

And Tsunade-shishō’s student.

Notes:

This chapter took longer to write because Kakashi’s POV was a bitch to deal with. One, because I don’t like him. And two, because I really don’t like him—but I didn’t want to be biased and accidentally fall into Kakashi-bashing lol. But yeah, fuck that guy.

As promised, Sakura finally makes her appearance. FINALLY, I know, right?! Writing her feels so effortless—my shaylaaaaaa.

Sakura’s coming in to handle business because everyone is bullying her baby. And she’s doing it in heels, okay? Yeah, my Sakura is a fashionista, idgaf. Taking away the side of her that likes feminine and girly things just because she started training seriously is stupid. You can punch a crater into the earth and wear kitten heels, let’s be serious.

Also, I have a confession to make: I used to be a big SasuSaku shipper. They actually took my fanfiction virginity—(that’s a lie, it was The Winx Club, Musa/Riven to be exact—but they were a close second). Canon kind of ruined it for me, though. Not surprising. So yeah, even though I’m grateful to Kishimoto for the universe and the characters, I also kinda hate that guy. I hate everyone who hates women, basically.

That said, for me, Sasuke and Sakura will always love each other—but that doesn’t mean they have to or should stay together. Because love isn’t enough to make a relationship work. This ain’t Netflix or Disney, baby.

But if you enjoy indulging in the occasional SasuSaku like I do, I highly recommend RoseShower’s fics. She writes their canon selves so well, especially the AOT crossover ones—chef’s kiss >>>>>>

Now, something not-so-fun to address: I’ve edited Chapter 2. Specifically, I removed the part about “women being sealed during the Warring Clans era.” I think some of you might’ve seen the discussion, but I was accused of stealing that concept. I won’t go into details, but the other author and I talked—publicly and privately—and we came to a kind of resolution.
At first, I didn’t want to edit it out—mostly because I was lazy, tbh. Here I was, struggling with Kakashi’s stupid ass, and now I had to edit a chapter I’d already finished? Dude. Hence why I hoped we could come to a mutual understanding. But in the end, I decided to remove it. Because as a creative myself, and an avid reader in the fanfic community, I don’t want anyone to feel cheated out of their work. And since that bit wasn’t a crucial part of my worldbuilding, I let it go.

Let’s be absolutely clear: I do not condone stealing anyone’s art. In case that wasn’t clear enough the first time. Which also means that anyone with a Ghibli pfp made with ChatGPT will get BLOCKED!!!

See you next chapter, guys. Thank you so much for reading!

And as I always say, reviewing inspires me to write. As in: it guilt-trips me into slaving away to give you the next chapter asap😭

Love you,
xoxo,
Ari.

Chapter 5: dango

She was not what Izuna expected. She wasn’t what any of them expected.

They had sensed them coming the second they passed the compound gates. Heard the attendant’s voice as he laid out the rules to her. And they all braced themselves when the woman’s laughter rang out in response.

They were still exchanging glances, trying to figure out what was so amusing, when the tatami door slid open. And standing there was the most bizarre woman Izuna had ever laid eyes on.

His first thought was that she didn’t look like a Senju . Not even close.

She was petite, unusual for the Senju, a clan known for their broad, powerful builds, even among the women. And unlike their muted, earthy coloring, she was vibrant in every sense of the word: from the pink of her hair, to her bright, almost festive clothing. None of their overwhelming chakra presence either. If anything, she had the signature of a servant girl. Civilian-born, he remembered. That checked out.

The only thing linking her to the Senju at all was the rhombus-shaped seal on her forehead, the same one the Tsunade woman bore.

While the elders continued to gape, she took their staring in stride and calmly seated herself in front of his father.

Bold, Izuna noted, intrigued despite himself. No doubt more than one elder wanted to comment on her lack of propriety, but they were simply too stunned to speak.

Sasuke followed right after her, silent and composed, seating himself by her side like a shadow. The contrast between their appearances was striking, his cool darkness only emphasizing her bright colors.

And then she met their eyes. All of them.

Izuna frowned. Was it ignorance? Has no one told her about Uchiha’s eyes? Or was it naivety, did she think they wouldn’t strike a woman, especially one tied to Sasuke? 

(It never even occurred to him that she might just be confident in her own strength.)

“You are the… Senju,” his father began, and Izuna didn’t even question the confusion in his tone. It also lacked the usual venom associated with the name. She didn’t look like a Senju. She didn’t look like the threat they’d all entertained to imagine being the student of the blonde Senju woman, who radiated danger with every step.

(A mistake, they will soon come to find out)

“I’m the doctor,” she replied with a smile. “But if you’re referring to me being Tsunade Senju’s student, then yes. I am. But I am not a Senju.”

“That is the same thing,” Miu-sama huffed.

“Not here, it isn’t. And I happen to take pride in my civilian name. So I would appreciate it if you’d refrain from calling me a Senju, my lords.”

Polite words, yet it didn’t feel like a request.

Izuna tilted his head slightly. That… was interesting. Most civilians would fall over themselves for the chance to be associated with a clan name as old and powerful as the Senju. Yet here she was, discarding it like it didn’t mean anything. Not that he was complaining.

“I see,” his father said after a short pause, the room still trying to recalibrate around this strange creature. “So that’s your plan to endear yourself to us, deny the Senju name.”

“I’m not trying to endear myself to you.” One of the elders actually spilled his newly poured tea at that. Izuna could feel his eyebrows rise on his forehead.

“Then what are you trying to do?”

Izuna was honestly impressed by his father. How is he keeping his composure is anyone’s guess

“I’m trying to do my job.”

“Which is to obey the Hokage’s orders like a dog, I presume?”

She didn’t respond.

Instead, her smile widened and she turned to Sasuke, who was glaring at their father with enough heat to melt stone.

“Sasuke-kun, could you please go to my office and bring the binder I forgot on my desk?”

“I—what?” Sasuke wasn’t the only one confused.

“It’s blue, with a white stripe across the middle. You won’t miss it.”

Sasuke leaned toward her, encroaching on her space with the ease of long familiarity.

“I’m not leaving you here alone with them,” he murmured.

It was quiet enough that only trained ears picked it up, but every Uchiha in the room did.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered just as quietly. “It’ll take you five minutes at most. I can take care of myself for five minutes.”

The implication, that she would stay alone in a room with men she didn’t know, unchaperoned, was insanity.

But after a tense, silent exchange, Sasuke left. Not before directing one last glare at the room.

The woman didn’t wait long after Sasuke’s chakra signature faded before turning back to them.

“I don’t give a damn about your clan. Or the Senju. And despite what you seem to believe, I’m not here because of orders or some noble sense of duty. I don’t care about you. Both your clans could vanish tomorrow, and it wouldn’t change a single thing in my life. So let’s drop the entitlement and have a real conversation. Because this little game you’re playing, insulting me like it somehow scores points against the Hokage, the Senju, or God -I don’t know-, is honestly petty and pathetic. And I’d like to think it’s beneath a clan as honorable as yours.”

Silence fell, heavy and stunned. Even Izuna found himself blinking, unsure of what he was hearing.

“How dare you—!” an elder spat.

“With everything you’ve said,” Tajima said coldly, “I’m confused as to why you’re even here.”

“I’m here to make a business deal, Tajima-sama.”

“And what,” Tajima asked, his tone openly mocking, “could you possibly offer us that we’d find useful?”

“There’s a list, actually,” she replied, unfazed. “I could be in charge of the health of your clansmen, as was already suggested. Not that you seem to care, of course. I could help with trade, connect you to the right people to make your stay here more comfortable. I could also do what Sasuke was supposed to help you with : establish a foothold in the village, for your  protection and for your interests. I can even recommend you the best hairdresser in the village, if that’s something you would be interested in.”

“You certainly don’t watch your words,” Tajima warned.

“I can’t help it,” she said with a tight smile. “I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’m actually really angry right now.”

“Are you?” his father asked, a thin thread of amusement in his voice.

“What’s the plan for Sasuke-kun?” she asked instead. “Let me guess, marry him off to a clan girl to control him? Make him procreate so you can take his bloodline back with you? Or maybe that’s too romantic. Maybe you were planning to trap him. Manipulate him into staying here with you. Then drug him, restrain him, and sic a woman on him to take advantage of him and steal his seed. Humor me, I’m curious.”

Goosebumps rose on Izuna’s arms. How could she know ?

“I don’t understand it,” she continued, and there was real frustration now, real disbelief. Even as she keeps her smile on “A clan that claims to draw strength from love, from bonds. And yet, this is how you treat your own?”

“Don’t presume to speak about things you know nothing about,” Tajima snapped.

“I have held Sasuke after nightmares,” she said, eyes hard. “I watched him claw at his own skin, begging to get out of his body. I am his family. And I know exactly what I am talking about.”

A silence fell around the room at her bold statement. 

“You’re certainly protective of the boy,” Tajima said, voice low and calculated.

“If I don’t protect him, who will? You ?”

Her scorn was louder than any shout.

“You are treating him as if you were punishing him. Sasuke didn’t choose for you to come here as much as you did. He is a victim too. He did not choose to feel responsible for your well being as much as he didn’t choose to be the only survivor of a massacre orchestrated by your own heir.”

Izuna felt fury surge like ice through his chest.

“It’s not Madara’s fault,” he said sharply. “How dare you come into our home and speak lies-!”

“You’re right. It’s not just Madara’s fault,” she said, her voice calm, cutting. “It’s all of yours.”

He stared at her, speechless.

“Madara. Sasuke. Hashirama. Naruto. They’re all just inheritors of the fate that was thrust upon them because of the curse of your endless thirst for blood. Yes, Kaguya and Zetsu manipulated the world for their agenda. But you’re not children. At what point does the responsibility shift from some ancient being who was dormant to the people who kept choosing to murder each other for centuries? At what point does it fall on you?”

“You need to learn to shut your mouth, girl,” someone snapped.

“I will not.” she responded with the same tone.

“This is not how deals are made. Especially since we’re not interested in anything you just offered.”

“Oh, that?” she said, tipping her head. “That wasn’t the deal I came to offer.”

“Then why would you—”

“That’s what you can get if I happen to like you. Those are the perks of my friendship.”

Izuna saw the elders bristle. He keeps being more and more incredulous at the woman.

“Then what deal do you want to make?” Tajima asked.

“Stop scheming against my teammate, and I won’t have to destroy you.”

Tajima laughed. The others followed. Izuna could feel his lips turn up in amusement. It was amusing, it was like watching a kitten threatening a pack of lions. 

Izuna almost laughed too, but something in her expression held him back. A tension, coiled and real.

“You’re brave, little girl.”

“I am. But this has nothing to do with that. You just don’t know me. But you know Sasuke by now. And you do know what his position in the village is.”

The laughter was dying down, though the mirth still lingered.

“The village put him in charge of you to appear fair, since Tsunade-shishou was given authority over the Senju. But you know he doesn’t share the same honors. Tsunade Senju is a war hero, twice over, and a former Hokage. Sasuke hates the village and its leaders -excluding the current Hokage-, and the feeling is very mutual. They certainly don’t trust him. He’s a traitor, after all. One who once declared war on Konoha. And with him and Madara in the picture ? They will never trust you. It wouldn’t even take much effort to destroy any chance you have of forming any alliances here. And that’s before I even begin bragging about my very, very long list of political connections.”

No one was laughing now.

It was strange, everything she said about the relationship between the Senju, the village, and the Uchiha mirrored what Izuna had been thinking all along. And yet, the way she laid it out didn’t make him feel smug at all.

“I’m not here for politics.” she said, following the quiet. “I’m here for Sasuke-kun. But if politics are what it takes to protect him, I’ll play the game.”

“You may not trust that I can help you,” she went on, “but allying with me won’t make your situation any worse than it already is.”

“We can take care of our own,” came the stiff reply.

“I don’t doubt that. But how long will that stay true, I wonder?” A pause. “Don’t you? This isn’t your time anymore, and that means a lot of things. One of which is that clans are no longer the most powerful players on the map, Tajima-sama. The map has widened, and so has the number of players. You cannot afford to underestimate what they can do to you, or for you.”

“Whether you like it or not, coming here has already changed the future of your clan. This is your opportunity to learn from your mistakes, and from Konoha’s, to build a better, greater destiny for your children. But you won’t be able to do that alone. You have to change, and adapt. Because if you don’t, then you’re walking the same road that led your counterparts in this world to ruin.” She went on.

“You want to protect your clan,” she said, into the silence that followed. “I want to protect my teammate. Let us make common cause. Let me help you. Let me show you another path, one that doesn’t involve turning a potential ally into an enemy. The Senju may have Tsunade-shishou’s prestige giving them a head start, but your clan founded this village too. No one will turn you away if you’re willing to reach out.”

“Your speech has certainly changed,” Tajima observed.

“I’m adaptable.” she shrugged.

Before his father could respond, Sasuke’s heavy chakra signature made itself known as the door opened and he stepped inside. He scanned the room briefly, suspicion flickering in his gaze before he returned to Sakura’s side and handed her a blue folder, thick with papers.

Izuna assumed it was the “bind” she had requested.

“Thank you, Sasuke-kun.” She flashed him a smile before turning to his father. “These are the forms for a medical exam. As you can see, they’re pretty standard. No questions asking how to transplant the Sharingan,” she added dryly as she pulled a sheet from the folder and handed it to him.

Tajima accepted the paper, probably out of curiosity.

“A normal check-up generally starts with the nurse recording your age, height, and weight. Blood is drawn for lab work to check for diseases or genetic disorders. We can skip that part. I know you’ll never agree to it, so I won’t waste time explaining why it’s important. That said, the nurse will ask about your vaccinations.”

“Vaccinations?” Kanahe-sama asked, looking over the paper.

“They’re preventative measures taken to avoid epidemics. Diseases like the flu, or the plague. I’m sure you’re familiar with those.”

“You can prevent the plague?” asked his granduncle quietly. Izuna knew he had lost his wife and two daughters to the disease.

“Yes. Medicine has evolved in leaps and bounds since your time.” She replied. “After that, your blood pressure will be taken, to make sure your heart is functioning normally. Once all this information is filed,” she gestured toward the form now back in Tajima’s hands, “I’ll come in and take over. It’ll be more like an interview. I’ll ask questions like: Do you exercise? Do you get dizzy often? Has anyone in your family died of a heart attack? Things that help me assess whether your body is functioning normally. I’ll listen to your heartbeat. And normally, I’d finish with a chakra diagnosis. But since I doubt you’ll allow that, I won’t insist. The interview responses will usually be enough to tell if there’s something wrong with your metabolism.”

“I’ll prescribe treatments, supplements, medications—nothing you can’t verify through publicly available medical documentation. Your own healers are welcome to review them. But I have to warn you: I will uphold the patient’s right to body autonomy to its fullest. I will not disclose any of my patients’ medical information to you.”

“How will we know you’re not doing anything... you shouldn’t be doing?”

“As the doctor, you won’t get anything from me. But I can’t control what my patients choose to share. You may ask them directly, if they want to tell you, that’s their decision.”

“What is a chakra diagnosis?” Izuna asked, surprising himself. Something in him made him want to wash away the rudeness from earlier. 

“We use medical ninjutsu to assess the state of the body. We can detect torn muscles, broken bones, anywhere in the body. We can even identify foreign agents in the cells.” 

“Poison. Viruses,” she clarified following the confused silence.

“You’re right, then,” his father said coldly. “I would never allow that. If I’m understanding correctly, it would give you access to our eyes as well?”

“Yes, it would,” she nodded. “And I could help with those, too. I have no doubt more than half your men are already going blind from overusing the Sharingan.”

The silence that followed was instantaneous. The tension skyrocketed. She had just casually voiced one of the clan’s most closely guarded secrets.

"How?" his father demanded.

“The eyes are an organ like any other, Tajima-sama, though more fragile,” she said evenly. “Prolonged exposure to chakra, as they’ve been subjected to, will wear them down eventually. It’s simple biology, even if your genes have evolved to support your kekkei genkai. And, perhaps you’ve forgotten, but my teammate is an Uchiha.” She gestured toward Sasuke, who still hadn’t said a word.

His father seemed to be reminded of that as well.

“You wanted us to consider these exams,” he said, now addressing Sasuke. “What do you think?”

“If you agree to the medical exams,” Sasuke said at last, his voice calm but firm, “Sakura is the only person in this village I would trust to conduct them.”

“Because she’s your teammate?”

“Because she’s the only one who will make sure Uchiha genes don’t end up in some deranged scientist’s lab, trying to extract our kekkei genkai.”

“And what’s stopping her from doing just that?”

The woman scoffed. Offended, perhaps, though the accusation is legitimate, in Izuna’s opinion.

“If I wanted to ‘steal’ your eyes, I wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble,” she said with a smirk. “I’d just sleep with him and have his babies.” She nodded toward Sasuke.

Izuna felt his ears burn. To his left, an elder choked on his tea. Sasuke glared, predictably. But not at her, at them. As if their reaction was the real offense.

“Bottom line is,” she continued, her tone dry, “I’m really your best, and only, option.” Her gaze settled on his father meaningfully, clearly alluding to the conversation they had before her teammate walked in.

“Agreeing to this... you understand it would be a tremendous leap of faith on our part,” Tajima said.

“And it will be rewarded. Your clansmen will be well taken care of.”

Chichū-e looked at her, visibly weighing the risk. Izuna didn’t like it. As far as he was concerned, they shouldn’t take the risk at all. Yes, she didn’t look like she could hurt a fly, and no, she wasn’t really a Senju. She had made good points. And it was, admittedly, heartwarming to see someone so protective of the last Uchiha. But still. She was an outsider. She couldn’t be trusted.

Next to her, Sasuke seemed to sense that there was more at stake than medical exams. His eyes flicked between his teammate and the clan head.

Tajima looked to Kanahe-sama at his right, then to Izuna. He tried to convey his doubts through a steady gaze, but he wasn’t surprised by the resolve he saw in his father’s expression.

Tajima turned back to the woman.

“You’ll have to prove to us that you can be of help.”

She didn’t respond immediately. But when she did, it was with a smile.

Izuna wasn’t sure why, but something about that smile made the hair on his neck stand on end.

“No problem,” she said. “Let’s start with me meeting your clansmen. I can explain what the exams involve and answer any questions they might have.”

---

Sakura was pissed.

How dare they?

What did they mean she had to prove herself to them? She was literally offering them help. And somehow, she was the one who had to prove she deserved the “honor” of helping them?

Narcissistic bastards.

The fucking audacity.

Still, she smiled and kept her emotions in check. But she already knew she was going to waste at least thirty minutes of her next therapy session venting about this. Well, better than throwing a table out the window, at least. That would probably get her kicked out and banned.

She was now in a part of the inner courtyard garden, having just come back from the bathroom. One of the servant girls -assigned to help her “get a more appropriate outfit”- was shadowing her. Her presence was the only thing keeping Sakura from destroying every tree in the vicinity.

She stopped next to the koi pond. Empty. The fish were probably stolen after the grounds were vacated following the massacre.

Staring into the still water, she took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down.

Tiny victories , she reminded herself. Tiny victories would lead to bigger ones. Now that she had piqued the Uchiha’s interest, she could start steering them in the direction she wanted. And bonus: she could read their intent as clearly as day.

It seemed that, being the warring clan that they were, they weren’t all that versed in the subtle, less straightforward kind of fighting. The kind that happened around diplomatic tables.

They could get by, sure. But they had nothing on the games and machinations she was used to seeing in the Hokage’s council room, or in her grandmother’s board meetings.

The sooner the Uchiha clan was settled in, the sooner Sasuke could get out of the village. She just needed to have a word with Kakashi next.

A small pang of guilt settled in her chest. She knew she might be a bit hard on him.

No one had asked for this mess. And they were all doing their part.

Kakashi and Shikamaru were working tirelessly to put out the fire that was the Elders' greed. Naruto had left that morning on a diplomatic tour to try and prevent a war from breaking out over the situation. And she knew it made sense to ask Sasuke to handle this, as Tsunade-shishou had also been asked the same. She knew.

Still.

Still .

There were other ways.

Looking up toward the veranda next to the council room, she saw her teammate standing quietly under the light, waiting for her to return. He was glaring at nothing in particular, adjusting his bandanna. The rest of the council had already left for dinner. But Sakura watched as Izuna approached him.

Uchiha genes were really no joke. It was surreal to see two people with almost the exact same face, decades apart.

Thirteen-year-old Sakura would have squealed in excitement at the prospect of watching two Sasuke-kuns talk to each other.

“Is everything alright, my lady?” asked the young girl beside her, probably thinking Sakura was insane, standing silent in the middle of the path.

She nodded to the girl and started walking toward her waiting teammate again.

But Sakura’s blood froze as another silhouette joined the two Uchiha on the veranda. A figure she would recognize in a sea of people. As she had two years ago on the battlefield.

Madara Uchiha.

Her feet kept moving, but her whole body felt paralyzed.

She could feel her chakra coiling inside her, her fists flexing, ready to strike at the first sign of danger.

And yet, the white, godly monster hadn’t spotted her yet. He was still talking to the two Sasuke-kuns on the veranda.

Was he going to attack them? She could feel his glinting purple eyes on them- and on her -!

She stopped as the monster turned to face her. She felt nothing but the ice-cold rush of blood in her veins.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw both Sasukes turn to her as well.

“Sakura?”

But all she heard was the ringing in her ears. And she saw him, with that cruel, mad grin stretched across his lips. 

She could see him reaching out?, creating a chakra rod.

She needed to stop him—She needed to—

Snap out of it, girl!

Inner’s voice cut through the fog and snapped her back to reality.

“Yes?” she said aloud, blinking.

“Are you okay?” Sasuke asked, frowning with concern as he approached her.

Sakura kept her attention on him, ignoring the two Uchiha figures behind him.

“Yes,” she said, the last vestiges of her hallucination disappearing in the warmth of his presence.

She swallowed and closed the distance between them, placing her hands on him, grounding herself in his heat, the feel of his heart beating under her fingers.

“Sakura,” Sasuke murmured again.

She looked up at him and smiled.

“I’m fine, really. I just had some kind of dizzy spell or—” she added quickly, “I’ll be okay once I eat something. It’s been a long day at the hospital.” she lied. Or… not really. It had been a long day at the hospital. Even if it was just paperwork.

She turned to the other Uchiha then. She wasn’t sure if she was smiling, frowning, or doing something completely incoherent with her face, hopefully not crying.

All she was aware of was her fist clenched in Sasuke-kun’s cloak.

“Hello,” she said, inclining her head slightly toward Madara. “I’m Sakura Haruno, Sasuke-kun’s teammate.”

As she looked at him, she saw his eyes : dark as night. Something uncoiled in her chest at the sight.

Not red. Not purple. 

She took a deep breath.

He nodded toward her, his gaze never leaving her face as he introduced himself.

“Madara Uchiha. Heir to the Uchiha clan.” His voice was different, but disturbingly familiar.

Sakura felt a chill crawl down her spine. Sasuke did too; she could feel it in the way he suddenly urged her forward.

“Let’s go eat,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and steering her toward the corridor.

Seconds later, two more sets of footsteps fell in behind them. The Uchiha brothers, Madara and Izuna, followed silently.

Sakura could feel every hair on her body stand on end as Madara’s chakra signature burned against her back like a warning.

She stopped abruptly.

“Is something wrong?” Sasuke asked, concern in his voice.

“No, I—” she swallowed, “I think I dropped something back in the garden. I should go check—”

“I’ll accompany you,” Sasuke said immediately, cutting her off.

“No, it’s fine. It’ll just take a minute. You guys go ahead—”

“I’ll accompany you,” he repeated, this time firmly.

Then he turned to the other Uchiha heirs.
“Go ahead. We’ll be right behind you.”

They nodded silently and moved past them without a word.

Sakura didn’t wait for their silhouettes to vanish down the next corridor before turning on her heel and heading back the way they came.

As much as she hated turning her back on her enemy, putting physical distance between them made it easier to breathe.

She didn’t stop until she was back on the veranda again.

Leaning against the balcony, she turned to Sasuke.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just—” She sighed deeply. 

“I still have nightmares about him,” she confessed, massaging her temple. “He’s different now, completely. But all I keep seeing is the white maniac who stabbed me.”

She looked up at him and asked quietly, “Don’t you?”

“Of Madara? Not really.” He paused, then added, “I think it’s because I see his other versions more often than the fourth war him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dream about him sometimes. About his life. Sometimes I’m just watching, like a spectator. Other times, it’s like I am him, living his life. I know that the dobe experiences the same thing with Hashirama. Something to do with our chakra being tied to Indra and Ashura, I think.”

Sakura nodded slowly.

“Chakra has memory. Like water. That would make sense.”

They stood like that for a moment, Sasuke now leaning beside her, both gazing out into the quiet night.

“Are you cold? You’re shaking,” Sasuke asked gently.

“No, I’m just—” She shook her head. “We should go back. They’re going to think we’re plotting or something.”

She pushed away from the balcony.

“Sakura—”

“I’m fine. Really,” she reassured him, though he didn’t look convinced. “I’ll be fine once I get something to eat.”

“Alright. I heard they made dango for dessert. I know it’s your favorite.”

Sakura smiled up at him, willing her heart to stop hurting for this man she had chosen to let go of a year ago.

“It is,” she said softly, accepting the arm he offered her.

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

Soon enough, they arrived near the large lake behind the main house.

They’d had countless dates here. Some of her favorites were the ones where Sasuke told her stories, about his father, his brother, his childhood. Others… had been quieter, more intimate. Nights when the stars were their only witnesses, and she rode him with his hands gripping her hips until they came in a breathless shudder. 

Now, the space was transformed. Tables and chairs filled the lawn, lit by bonfires to warm the evening. And Uchihas were everywhere.

As they passed through, the tension became almost unbearable. Every gaze locked onto them. The murmurs trailed behind them like smoke.

As they approached the main table where the clan head and his closest entourage were seated, Sasuke stopped, then looked around.

But everyone was already staring at them.

Sakura locked eyes with Tajima Uchiha, who continued sipping his tea as if nothing unusual was happening.

Her lips twitched despite herself. So he wasn’t going to introduce her.

Not going to make this easy for me at all, I see.

Likely realizing the same thing, Sasuke turned back to her.

“I’ll introduce you—”

“No, it’s okay,” she said quickly, letting go of his arm with a slight shake. “I’ll do it.”

Stepping forward, Sakura met the wall of judging, hostile faces without flinching.

“Hello. I’m Sakura Haruno, and I’m Sasuke-kun’s teammate.”

More silence. More staring. But she didn’t let it deter her.

She’d spoken to tougher crowds in her life. She’d addressed Kumo citizens after the war, despite the blood between their nations. She’d taken questions at an Iwa conference, in a village that had bombed the land of fire’s border once.

This? This was nothing.

“I’m also a doctor,” she went on, voice steady.

“And I’d like to start by saying how sorry I am that this has happened to you. I know this situation is difficult. Being stranded in a different world, surrounded by strangers who claim to know who you are, living in a place that looks like home, but isn’t... it’s terrifying.”

The silence remained, but something shifted. The tension wasn’t as sharp anymore. Some of the faces softened, if only slightly.

“I want you to know I’m only here to help, in whatever way I can. I’m here as support.”

“Konoha has dispatched teams to investigate what happened. Sasuke-kun is part of that effort. My role is to make sure that whatever caused this... didn't leave any impact on your bodies.”

“The main concern is that the phenomenon may have affected your chakra systems or cellular structure. The good news is, if anything were going to happen, it would have started within the first seventy-two hours.”

She took a breath, watching their expressions carefully.

“So what I’ll be doing is a general check-up to make sure nothing is lingering. Nothing invasive. Just some simple questions: height, age, allergies—basic stuff.”

She noticed the confusion flicker through several of their faces. And she saw more than one of them asking around what “allergies” are. Great, she forgot that they were uneducated.

“If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them, now or later, if you prefer privacy. And just to be clear: anything you tell me stays between us. You can tell anyone about our sessions if you want but on my end, the doctor-patient confidentiality will be maintained.

Cue more confused staring.

Sakura was beginning to suspect that half of what she was saying was flying over their heads.

“Anyone have questions for me?” she offered, as a last-ditch effort to open dialogue.

They looked around at each other, clearly waiting for someone brave, or foolish, enough to confront the “witch”.

Finally, a hand went up.

“Yes?”

“Which clan are you from?”

Sakura resisted the urge to sigh.

“I’m not from a shinobi clan. I was born a civilian.”

That caused more murmuring.

Another hand shot up.

“Do we have to do these... exams?”

“It’s your choice,” she said carefully. “I won’t force anyone. That being said, I do advise it. Even beyond the dimensional incident, the medical capabilities of our time are... significantly more advanced than what you’re used to. We can help with any chronic pain or undiagnosed illnesses, even minor things. Pregnancy. A child with a runny nose-”

“You want to examine our children?” a voice suddenly shouted.

Others rose with it, more joining in agreement.

“No !” she had to shout to be heard. “It is your choice. I already said I won’t force anyone. I’m just here as a support. That’s all . ”

The crowd continued murmuring, until a woman finally raised her hand.

The first woman to speak, Sakura noted.

“Yes?”

“Where will these exams take place?”

“Here, in the Uchiha district. I’ll be setting up a small medic station nearby. You’ll be free to come and go as you please.”

“Will you be the one conducting the exams?”

“Yes.”

“Even the men’s?” the woman asked sharply.

That’s when Sakura noticed her tone. Defensive. Accusatory.

“Excuse me?” Sakura asked, trying to keep her voice even.

“How will we know you’re not trying to seduce our husbands during your ‘medical examinations’?”

That set off another round of murmurs. Several women echoed her suspicions, while some men laughed or smirked, leering at her. More than one made a suggestive face at her.

Sakura could feel her temper spike. Her chakra surged in a sharp wave of killing intent, slamming into the crowd like a thunderclap.

The murmuring stopped instantly.

Some reached for weapons. Others activated their Sharingan.

She felt Sasuke move in closer, protective of her. But she didn’t look away.

Her gaze remained fixed on the Uchiha woman, who had now taken two steps back, retreating toward a tall man who was probably her husband.

Sakura gave her a polite, professional smile. The one she gave the difficult and stubborn patients before punishing them.

“Trust me, Uchiha-san,” she said sweetly. “If I wanted a man, I wouldn’t need to steal someone else’s husband to get one.”

Before anyone else could speak, Sasuke stepped forward.

“I think that’s enough questions,” he said firmly. “If you have more, you can approach her individually later. Let’s proceed to dinner.”

He turned to her and lowered his voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, looking up at him with a tight smile. “It’ll take more than a backward-thinking question to destabilize me.”

Thank Kami she was taking her meds regularly, Inner would’ve gone ballistic.

“Come on.”

Under the weight of a hundred staring eyes, Sasuke guided her toward the main table.

Tajima Uchiha sat at the head, his two sons flanking his right. Sasuke’s seat was on his left, and he pulled the chair beside him out for her. Sakura was quietly grateful she wasn’t directly across from Madara, though she was still in his line of sight. Evidently, since the moment they sat down, she could feel his gaze on her.

Around them, soft conversation resumed at other tables, but their own remained silent. The only sounds came from utensils scraping against porcelain.

Sakura didn’t lift her eyes. On any other day, she might’ve cracked a joke or offered small talk. But Madara’s presence rattled her more than she’d expected. 

She knew he’d be here, had prepared for it. And had welcomed his absence during the earlier confrontation, but something about the reality of his presence left her unsettled.

Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks placed a fried zucchini on her plate. She blinked and looked up at Sasuke.

“I know you like them,” he said quietly.

Despite herself, and despite the way every Uchiha at the table seemed to glue their attention to them, Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips.

“You mean you don’t like them,” she corrected, remembering old Team 7 dinners, when Sasuke and Naruto would both push vegetables to the side like petulant kids. Naruto was just louder about it. And back when she and Sasuke were living together, he was never allowed near the stove, unless you wanted rice and meat for every meal.

Sasuke only shrugged, not denying it. He kept transferring more zucchinis from his plate to hers.

When he reached for the carrots, she batted his chopsticks away with her own.

“That’s enough. You need to eat your vegetables,” she scolded lightly.

“I have tomatoes.”

“They hardly count,” she hissed, shaking her head. Why are all the men in my life like children?

Still, she was grateful. The exchange lifted the weight off her shoulders, just a bit. She could breathe easier now. With her mood lightened, she finally glanced around, and locked eyes with Izuna Uchiha.

She nodded politely. He inclined his head, not looking away even as she returned her attention to her food.

“The white circle on your outfit, is that a clan crest?” Tajima asked suddenly.

She turned her head toward him. “It’s a family crest, yes.”

“I wasn’t aware civilians had crests,” cut in an elder she didn’t know, and wasn’t in any hurry to get to know. His tone was mocking, clear as day.

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“My family works in trade,” she said, putting it mildly. “It’s common for merchant families to use a crest to represent their business.”

Before anyone could respond, a sharp, foreign sound cut through the air.

The entire table froze. Confused looks. Several Uchiha reached instinctively for weapons, eyes scanning for threats.

Sakura quickly pulled out her medical pager and checked the screen, flashing red code.

“I have to go,” she said, rising to her feet.

Sasuke stood as well. “Is something wrong?”

“There’s an emergency at the hospital,” she said, already half-turning before remembering the etiquette. She pivoted back toward the head of the table, all eyes still fixed on her.

“I apologize, Tajima-sama. The hospital needs me for a surgery.”

She gave a short bow. “Thank you for having me. I’ll coordinate with—uh—with Sasuke-kun to finalize the planning.”

Sasuke nodded beside her.

“I see,” Tajima said slowly. “We look forward to seeing if you can fulfill your promises, Sakura Haruno.”

Sakura smiled, sensing the challenge behind the words.

“I look forward to exceeding your expectations, Tajima-sama.”

The clan head huffed, something almost amused flickering in his expression.

Turning back to Sasuke, she leaned in to give him a quick hug. She felt him freeze slightly, but his hand touched her back, gently.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. We still have to talk about something,” she murmured before stepping away.

“Aa,” Sasuke replied.

And under the incredulous eyes of the Uchiha clan, she vanished in a swirl of chakra.

---

She had been in surgery for 3 hours and 56 minutes.

And all she had to show for it was a lifeless body and platitude-laced apologies that rang hollow in the face of a mother’s grief.

A genin had been bitten by a venomous snake during a mission. He’d already been in surgery the day before due to complications with his heart caused by the venom. They’d stabilized him and placed him under observation. But then, he’d had another reaction, this time to the antivenom.

His heart stopped twice on the table as they worked desperately to repair the damage. The third time, it didn’t start up again, no matter what they did.

Sakura wanted to crawl under her desk and drink until the only thing she could think about was why the room was spinning.

But her day wasn’t over yet.

After changing back into her usual clothes, she left the hospital and made her way to the Hokage Tower, just a three-minute walk away. She took the stairs two at a time and arrived quickly at the office. After Kakashi’s quiet acknowledgement, she stepped inside.

The room was empty except for the Rokudaime and his ever-growing mountain of paperwork.

“Hey, Sensei,” she greeted, voice tired.

“Hey, Sakura-chan,” he replied with a smile, glancing up. She slumped into the seat across from him.

“Rough day?”

Sakura chuckled. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

“I heard you went to see the Uchiha today,” he said casually, flipping through a file.

“You heard?”

“A little birdy told me.”

“Right,” she muttered, sighing as she sank deeper into the chair.

“That bad?”

She laughed hollowly.

“Meeting the Uchiha was actually the easiest part of my day.”

“Oh,” Kakashi said, jotting notes on a form.

“But you know why I’m here.”

More scribbling.

“Of course. Although I thought you’d be here earlier to berate me.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t for lack of trying.”

A pause. Then, finally:

“You need to send Sasuke-kun away.”

Flip. Scribble.

“Can’t do. The council wants him here to babysit the Uchiha.”

“A stupid, loaded idea. And lazy. You could’ve come up with something better. You have Shikamaru’s big brain at your disposal.”

“True,” Kakashi admitted. “But we were a bit short on time. No one warned us that two founding clans would time-travel into the future and ruin our summer. Possibly our entire lives. For my part,”another file flipped“it has definitely ruined my Hokageship.”

“Come on,” she pressed. “We both know this will never work.”

She shifted forward, placing her hand on the stack of papers he was writing on, forcing him to meet her eyes.

“The village council will never trust them. And after just two hours with them, I can already tell, they’re planning something. The Uchiha wil l make a move. And when they do, the council will jump at the chance to pin it on Sasuke.”

“They can’t do that,” Kakashi said. “Even with a not-so-stellar record, Sasuke is still a war hero. Plus, the eldersl doesn’t want their involvement in the Uchiha massacre exposed. And right now, Sasuke is technically on a mission from the village. It’s in our best interest to show a united front.”

“Oh! That reminds me” she exclaimed “I’ve got something to say about that, too. We keep mocking these clans for being old-fashioned, but what about us ? Huh ? What year are we in?  We have to be better than our predecessors who sent untreated, traumatized ninja on missions. Like the Sandaime did. With Itachi. With Yamato-taicho. With you.”

“Geez, thanks, Sakura-chan.”

“You know I’m right.”

“And you know my hands are tied. You said it yourself, the council doesn’t trust the Uchiha.”

“And they trust Sasuke-kun?”

“Point,” Kakashi admitted with a sigh. “But he’s the only one the clan will even consider listening to. I told you, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. A hard place full of scowling people with murdering red eyes.”

“I know. Which is why I’m here, with a better idea. A way to get a grip on the situation without leaning on Sasuke’s shaky political appeal.”

He looked at her, curious now. She leaned forward.

“I have... the concept of a plan.”

His expression made it very clear what he thought of concepts.

“But it’ll work!” she said quickly.

“The problem is: the village has no leverage over the Uchiha. But the reverse is true, too. While they’re here, they’ll try to change their future. They want influence. Power. Justice. They’ll say it’s their right, as the village’s founding clan. That the village owes them. If we give them a little, just enough to feel heard, we can control the direction they go in. It's like fishing!”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

“Which you love!” she added. “Except, you don’t kill them. Or eat them. After” she finished lamely.

“If we give them power, they’ll want more.”

“They will,” Sakura agreed. “And we make them believe they’re getting more.”

They held each other’s gaze in silence. Sakura earnest and determined. Kakashi, skeptical, his expression unreadable.

“This is literally what you wanted Sasuke to do,” Sakura added, leaning forward. “But the difference is, I can actually get it done.”

At last, Kakashi sighed. Long and deep.

“Fine. What do you need?”

“I’ll have Sasuke ready to go by the end of the month. You won’t even have to lift a finger. I just need your promise that you’ll let him go when the time comes.”

“How? I—” Another sigh. “Fine. I can assign him a mission—intel gathering, related to the time travel. But I’ll need guarantees that the Uchiha will behave on their own before then.”

“You will,” Sakura said firmly.

“So far, the intelligence division has no leads on how this happened. The next step might actually be to integrate the clans back into the village. No one’s excited about that. But when the time comes, and if the village still doesn’t have any leverage over the Uchiha, I’ll be forced to appoint Sasuke as their clan head.” Kakashi warned.

“I know,” Sakura whispered. Her throat tightened.

If Sasuke became clan head of the newly revived Uchiha, he’d be permanently anchored to the village. It would be a gilded cage, one watched over by the village council and the clan alike. He’d be expected to marry. To take a proper Uchiha wife. To have heirs.

The thought curdled in her gut.

And Sasuke, the guilt-ridden, ever-sacrificing Sasuke, would stay. He would endure. Until he couldn’t anymore.

Then he’d run.

And when he did, he’d leave behind another disaster. Like he always did.

“You know,” Kakashi said suddenly, pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts, “if Tsunade-sama had more time, she would’ve made you her successor.”

“I am her successor,” Sakura replied flatly.

“You know I’m talking about the hat.”

“It’s Naruto’s dream. I don’t want it.”

“That doesn’t make you any less qualified.”

“He’ll be perfect for international relations. That’s what we need most, after the war.”

“And you’d be perfect for domestic affairs. Economy. Policy. Stability.”

“So what you’re saying is, you want to bury me in paperwork.” she joked.

“I’m saying,” Kakashi said, leaning back with a smirk, “that if you were my successor, it would take far less time to train you. I could be out of this chair by the end of the year.”

“God forbid you actually get put to work, sensei,” she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled and gave her that familiar, crinkly-eyed smile.

“You know me, Sakura-chan. I just want a little time off to read my novels.”

“You mean your porn.”

“Novels. Icha Icha is fine literature.”

Somewhere during the banter, Sakura felt her eyelids grow heavy. She rose to her feet carefully, hands gripping the chair for balance.

She suddenly remembered, she hadn’t even finished her dinner.

“Let me walk you home,” Kakashi offered.

She shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. You know it’s close by. And you just want an excuse to escape your paperwork.”

Kakashi grumbled at that, making her smile.

After a short goodbye, she slipped out of the Hokage Tower and headed toward her apartment. She took to the rooftops this time, wanting to avoid the streets below. Even past 11 p.m., they were still buzzing with people.

Some minutes later, Sakura unlocked her apartment door and found Tsunade-shishou sitting in the dark, watching TV with a bottle of wine in hand. The only light came from the flickering screen.

The blonde turned her head lazily as Sakura stepped inside, kicking off her sandals—the same ones she'd kept on after surgery because she couldn’t be bothered to change back into heels.

“You look like shit.”

“I lost a patient today,” Sakura sighed.

“You know how it goes. It happens. Tomorrow’s another day,” Tsunade replied, turning back to the screen.

Sakura walked over and slumped down beside her. Tsunade passed the bottle wordlessly. She took a long gulp, the wine burning down her throat.

“I thought you were staying in the Senju compound,” Sakura murmured after a few quiet minutes, the TV’s chatter the only sound between them.

“If I have to endure Tobirama’s glare one more time, I swear I’ll develop an ulcer. Beloved granduncle or not, his younger version is a pain in the ass.”

Sakura laughed, hoarsely. She passed the bottle back.

Then, thinking of the impossible task ahead of her, she asked, “How do you… How do you control them? Convince them?”

Tsunade hummed. “I threaten them,” she said, taking another swig.

Sakura nodded, dryly amused. That tracked. Unfortunately, that kind of blunt force wouldn't work on the Uchiha, not for her. She doesn’t have the hold on them like Tsunade has over the Senju.

“Though I do wonder how long they’ll keep pretending to be docile,” Tsunade continued. “I can see them plotting behind those polite smiles. Subtle as a kunai to the face.”

“Same with the Uchiha,” Sakura admitted.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Are you in charge of containing that mess now?”

“For now,” Sakura muttered. “Main goal is getting Sasuke-kun out of the line of fire.”

“Mmm,” Tsunade hummed knowingly. “You realize they’ll try to marry that boy off to one of their own as soon as possible, right?”

Sakura nodded, slow and silent. Her gaze drifted back to the TV, eyes unfocused, not really seeing what was on screen.

“If I don’t get Sasuke out of the village by the end of the month… he’ll be stuck here. Forever.”

Tsunade exhaled, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “After all the sacrifice you both made… The heartbreak of letting him go for his own good, only for him to end up back here…”

Because the truth was, yes—Sakura wanted to protect Sasuke. That came first. But she also wanted to protect herself. Her heart.

It was selfish.

But it was one thing to break up with the love of your life because living in the village that murdered his family was killing him. It would be another thing entirely to watch him marry someone else. To live the life she had dreamed of sharing with him.

To watch it destroy him, and be powerless to stop it.

Or worse, watch him thrive. Watch him be happy. Fulfilled. In ways she never managed to give him.

Her old, gnawing insecurities whispered a thousand different what-ifs, each one sharper than the last. She could feel the tears rising behind her eyes. She sniffed, trying to hold them back, but they came anyway. She took another sip from the bottle.

“We really should just kill them all,” Tsunade sighed.

And Sakura was very inclined to agree.

Today had really been a fucking shitty day.

Notes:

Sakura is basically the princess in shining heels here to save her prince in distress. Expect that she is in distress too.

Yall remember when I said last chapter that writing Sakura was effortless ? It turns out it’s too effortless because I’m over writing girly. I’m legit just writing shit and I’m afraid her character is all over the place omg. Yall let me know fr.

Also, inner Sakura is here yayyyyy !!! She is not that present though, because our favorite mentally ill bitch is medicated. But she will always be there to save Sakura when she needs it. That’s a real ride or die.

I don’t know where to go from here btw. So what’s next ?
I’m joking haha (but not really haha)(send help)

Thank you so much for reading. See you next chapter !
Love,
xoxo,
Ari.

Chapter 6: Lotus

The soft scratch of pens on paper and the occasional rustle of reports were the only sounds in the room. Sakura and Ino sat side by side at the long table in one of the conference rooms of their mental health clinic, both buried in paperwork.

“Have you seen Yuzuki-sensei’s recommendation for Gouki-kun’s next treatment?” Ino asked, passing a file across the table.

“I don’t think so,” Sakura replied, frowning as her eyes scanned the page. “Ayahuasca?”

Ino nodded. “I know I don’t have your level of clinical training, but… that can’t be right, can it?”

“I don’t think so either,” Sakura confirmed, her lips tightening. “I’ll flag it and send it to the labs. In the meantime, can you forward the full medical report to Aiko-sensei for a second opinion?”

“Sure.”

Silence returned briefly as they both resumed working. A few minutes later, Ino slid another binder toward her.

“Also, I reviewed the Bloom Project’s budget plan with finance. We’re gonna need an additional two million.” She winced. “Not sure the investors are gonna go for it.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll approve. What my grandmother’s investing in the clinic isn’t even a drop in the bucket compared to the tax break they’re getting. And don’t get me started on the bragging rights.” Sakura snorted, remembering her first aunt when she’d accompanied her to a party a few weeks ago, how the woman had casually let slip to her fawning socialite friends that they were ‘doing charity for unfortunate ninja.’ “They love telling anyone who’ll listen that they’re helping rehabilitate ‘poor, crazy shinobi for the greater good.’”

Ino shook her head in disbelief. “Gods. When am I meeting your extended family?”

“You could come with me and my parents for Christmas.”

“Ooh, that could be fun.” Ino perked up.

“You’d love my cousin Reika. We’re about the same age.”

“She’s… your first aunt’s second daughter?”

“Yeah. And her fourth child.”

“Wait, are you the only only child in the Haruno family?”

“Nope. My fourth uncle adopted a kid from the Land of Frost. He’s the baby now, completely spoiled. Like, weaponized-adorableness levels of spoiled.”

“And your family’s okay with that? That the only son of the family adopted instead of having his own children the traditional way?”

“Yeah. I mean, we’re more of a matriarchal family anyway. And the Harunos have always been a big family.” Sakura shrugged. “We get our strength from weaponizing our numbers, our love, and our trust in each other. Another child, adopted or not, is just going to be another part of the machine that helps us achieve our goals. According to my grandmother, that is to conquer the world”

“That’s… unusual.”

Sakura blinked. “Is it?”

“Yeah. With that kind of fortune, people would think you’d never accept someone who isn’t from your bloodline.”

“I guess it’s strange from a shinobi clan perspective,” Sakura mused quietly. “But since we don’t have a bloodline limit to preserve, we’ve been raised to always consider the family as an institution, like a company. Our ambitions have taught us to be adaptable and open, accepting our differences keeps us ahead of the changes time brings.”

Ino hummed in thought, and the two continued their paperwork. After a moment, the Yamanaka head glanced up.

“So… how’s your clinic doing over in the Uchiha district?”

“Dead quiet. Not a single patient came to the medic tent. Two full days. Meanwhile, they watched me and the nurses like we were rigged to explode,” Sakura replied without looking up.

“That doesn’t bother you?” the blonde asked.

“If they don’t want my help, that’s their call,” Sakura shrugged. “I’m not there to force anything down their throats. The tent’s more of an olive branch than a lifeline anyway. I left it to Rika and Tame now, told them to call me if something changes.”

“So you knew they wouldn’t take it?”

“I had a feeling. Trust isn’t exactly their currency. But honestly, I didn’t set it up to heal anyone.” Her tone was almost flippant. “I just needed a reason to come and go in the district.”

“Right.”

“I have another deal I want to pitch to the elders. I’m meeting with Kakashi tomorrow to lay it out.”

“Well, good luck, Forehead. You’ll need it.”

“Thanks, Pig. I’ll especially need it with Shikamaru. He’s going to be so pissed.”

They both chuckled, the laughter fading into a companionable silence.

---

On her way out of the clinic, Sakura slowed as she passed one of the therapy rooms. The door was ajar.

Inside, Sai sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by a half-circle of children. Sheets of paper lay scattered between them, along with jars of paint and worn colored pencils. The air was hushed, the kind of silence that came when small hands and fragile hearts were busy creating something new.

These were the children recently rescued from the remnants of Root. Still learning what it meant to be safe, to be children at all.

One boy broke the quiet, pointing at the reference image they were copying. “What are they doing?”

He tilted his head at the painting :The Two Figures Beneath the Moonlight. Two silhouettes meeting under a full moon, neither fully turned toward the other, their intentions forever left to the viewer’s imagination.

Sai leaned in, frowning slightly at the picture. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “They might be greeting each other… or saying goodbye.”

“Which one?” the boy pressed, curiosity soft but insistent.

Sai blinked, actually thinking it over. “I don’t know,” he said finally, his brow furrowing with genuine confusion. “I think… it could be both.”

From the doorway, Sakura’s lips curved into a quiet smile. She caught herself before her laugh escaped, not wanting to break the moment. There was something deeply endearing about Sai’s earnestness. How seriously he treated the question, how sincere his uncertainty was.

She didn’t step inside. She simply stayed there for a heartbeat longer, watching as Sai guided a small hand to steady a brush stroke, or nodded approvingly at a bold color choice.

Then she turned away, her footsteps soundless as she left.

Outside, the afternoon light was soft, wrapping the street in the kind of warmth that carried no heat. A quiet pride swelled in her chest. Pride for Sai, who had once barely known how to smile. And pride for the clinic, for this fragile space they’d carved out of the world. A place where healing could take root, where futures could be built, piece by piece.

It gave her hope.

Hope for these children.
Hope for the village.

The next generation will be better than the one before. And she would make it her personal mission to ensure they had everything they needed to build that future.

---

Sakura felt a faint tightness in her chest as she entered the room. The air was still, the quiet almost made every small movement feel amplified.

Kakashi sat behind his desk, leaning forward with an encouraging smile. Tsunade stood by the window, arms folded, her back to the village. Shikamaru lounged in the chair to Sakura’s right, his dark eyes watching her with too much Nara intelligence behind them.

Sakura cleared her throat, lacing her fingers together in her lap to keep from fidgeting. She reminded herself she’d spoken about far more daunting matters in her life. Probably. Maybe. She loved these people, and she knew they cared for her too. This would be easier than some audiences she’d faced in the past. Right?

“I’d like to propose the creation of a new internal governing body for Konoha,” she began evenly. “The Village Representative Council.”

A beat of silence followed. Shikamaru tilted his head, listening, wondering, laughing, she doesn’t know. Kakashi raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

“I thought this was a meeting about our new guests,” Tsunade said, not unkindly, but still Sakura tenses. She was well aware that what she was about to suggest went far beyond the scope they had probably expected.

“Yes,” she replied. “And it will help with that… and with several other issues we’re struggling with right now.”

“Alright,” Kakashi said, his voice calm but curious. “Go on.”

“The Village Representative Council, VRC, would be a permanent advisory and legislative council,” Sakura explained. “A hybrid body composed of both clan representatives and elected civilian representatives, including non–clan-affiliated shinobi. It would reflect the village’s full demographic.”

“Okay…” Kakashi nodded slowly. “What kind of authority would it have?”

“It wouldn’t have legislative power in the strictest sense,” she said. “The VRC would debate and vote on proposals related to policy, internal regulations, and governance. If a proposal passed by majority, it would be sent to the Hokage, who would retain full executive power. The council couldn’t override the Hokage’s decisions.”

“So… consultative? Like the Fire Senate?” Shikamaru asked.

“Exactly.” Sakura’s chest eased slightly at the lack of immediate pushback. An interested Nara was never a bad sign. “It formalizes voices that already exist informally : clans, civilian shinobi, the medical corps, merchants, but puts them into a structured system with representation, oversight, and accountability.”

“And what stops it from becoming another loud room full of bickering?” Tsunade asked dryly, no doubt recalling the countless arguments she’d endured during her tenure.

“Nothing,” Sakura admitted lightly. “But let’s be honest, any room with more than three people in it will be full of bickering. At least this way, the people doing the bickering will be people we have control over.”

Kakashi leaned back slightly, humming in thought.

“It can’t pass laws on its own,” Sakura continued. “It can force public deliberation on an executive action, but not stop it. The Hokage’s authority isn’t blocked, only made publicly accountable, a political pressure not procedural. For example, if you refuse a proposal from the council, it just has to be put on record”

Kakashi stroked his chin, thinking. “And the composition?”

“Each clan gets one seat, as would the merchant guild,” Sakura replied. “Plus a rotating number of civilian shinobi, elected internally by their own sectors : the teaching corps, medic corps, field jōnin, and so on. It balances heritage power with popular representation.”

Shikamaru huffed softly, catching on fast. “So this means dismantling the current Elder Council entirely?”

“Yes,” Sakura said without hesitation, perhaps a little too eagerly, if Tsunade’s amused smile was any indication. “It would replace the old advisory system completely. The VRC would become the main representative body under the Hokage, but it would speak for the people. The only voice from the Hokage’s office would be the Hokage’s, and that voice would have full veto power.”

Kakashi leaned back farther, clearly liking that detail. She could imagine how tempting it must be for him not to have old advisors breathing down his neck about how he should use his authority. Tsunade, however, still looked skeptical.

“The daimyo might have something to say about this,” the older woman pointed out. “He could oppose an internal restructuring.”

“He won’t,” Sakura said confidently. “It mirrors his own senate. He’ll believe we’re modeling ourselves after his ‘greatness’, because we’ll make sure he believes that. And it makes Konoha appear more modern and stable.”

“I suppose the Hokage wouldn’t be involved in selecting or seating members?”

“The Hokage’s office would oversee the council’s functioning but wouldn’t appoint or remove members,” Sakura said. “Representatives would either be elected or delegated by their own communities. It preserves legitimacy… and it protects the Hokage from accusations of favoritism.”

The room was silent for a moment.

Kakashi exchanged a glance with Tsunade. Shikamaru’s eyes were on the tabletop, his mind already moving.

“A major government reform, right after a major war,” Kakashi murmured. “Risky. Restructure a village still healing, and you shake confidence in leadership and in unity. For the first time in history, the Five Great Nations are willing to work toward peace, and now we want to start an internal war?”

Sakura leaned forward, ready to counter.
“I disagree. There’s never been a better time. We have to use the peace we have now and take advantage of it.”

Kakashi arched a brow. “Reforms create instability. The cracks might not show right away, but they’re there. This could turn quiet anxiety into open factionalism.”

“But there are cracks already,” Sakura said, voice steady. “The Hyūga’s refusal to abolish the slave seal. The Aburame and Yamanaka pushing for reparations for their kidnapped children. Other clans whispering about the village’s lapses in judgment after the Sandaime’s decisions came to light, one of them allowing Orochimaru access to clan DNA for his experiments. Root didn’t appear in a vacuum.”

She held his gaze. “We’ve been through a war that reshaped the shinobi world. This is the moment to fix what we were too afraid to touch before. We exposed Root. We took Danzo down. But he wasn’t the disease, he was a symptom. Root happened because we never cleaned up what came before.”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed slightly. “I’d love to share your optimism, Sakura.”

“It’s about giving people space,” she pressed. “Space to speak, to be seen. When people feel heard, they’re less likely to burn the whole house down just to get attention. Or manipulate things from the shadows. We keep power out in the open, that’s how we stop another Danzo. Another Hiruzen. Another Itachi. And,” her voice softened slightly, “if we give the founder clans a seat and a voice in shaping the village, it gives them a sense of belonging. Control without secrecy.”

Kakashi folded his arms, thoughtful.

“You’re talking about restoring voices we buried for decades,” Shikamaru said. “That kind of correction never happens without someone feeling like they lost something.”

“Maybe that’s the point,” Sakura replied evenly. “Maybe it’s time we admit some people had more than they were owed.”

Tsunade gave a quiet, amused huff and moved away from the window, still with arms folded. Her voice was firm.

“There’s a reason the clan council was dissolved. Since the village’s founding, they couldn’t agree on anything. Every clan was pushing its own agenda. It only got better during the First Shinobi War because survival depended on unity. But by the Second, the bickering was back, and useless during wartime. Tobirama dissolved it, replacing it with the elder council system. You really want to drag us back to that?”

Sakura exhaled. “Do you really think what we’ve had since is better? We didn’t solve the clan problem, we shoved it into the shadows. Silencing them didn’t make them stop scheming. They just got quieter. Sneakier. Hence the Uchiha coup. Hence the Uchiha massacre.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed. “One incident in nearly a century.”

“One too many,” Sakura said flatly. “Konoha should have been better. Maybe if someone had been more willing to talk, to open a discussion, it could have been avoided. It didn’t happen out of nowhere.” 

“If we bring back a council just for the clans, yes we’ll be back to square one : an oligarchy. But that’s not what I’m proposing,” Sakura said quickly. Her hands moved as she spoke, her frustration bleeding through. “I’m talking about balance. Clan representatives, civilians, teachers, medics, chūnin, jōnin, the outer sectors, merchants. Let everyone fight for their piece of the pie, but fight together in the open. Where the Hokage can see it. Where the Hokage still has the final say.”

Tsunade didn’t answer right away. Her jaw was tight.

“And it’s not just for the clans,” Sakura added softly. “It’s for everyone shut out for years. People who bled for this village, who got nothing in return. No voice. Just the same old people pulling the strings. Civilian shinobi outnumber clansmen eight to one, and yet they’re treated like expendable soldiers, canon fodder. And the ones that make it are not even appreciated enough. Their work is credited to whatever clan name happens to be nearby.”

Her thoughts flickered to her academy days, only five civilians in her graduating class earned headbands. She remembered being placed on Team 7: the lone civilian alongside two prodigious clan heirs, under the guidance of Konoha’s most powerful jōnin, himself from a prestigious clan.

She thought of her training with Tsunade. How in the beginning, everyone attributed her talent to the Godaime’s tutelage. Their opinions only shifted once the other students, clan heiresses, training under Tsunade couldn’t keep up with her.

There was a pause, something close to understanding flickering between them.

“It’s not about tearing something down,” she said quietly. “Not really. It’s about correcting the course. This is what Konoha was founded on, was it not?”

Shikamaru leaned forward, fingers laced between his knees as he weighed her words. The lines under his eyes were a touch deeper than usual, but Sakura recognized that look, the gears already several moves ahead.

“I get the structure,” he said slowly. “Even the rationale makes sense. And as a clan head, I wouldn’t be against my clan having a seat on the Hokage’s council. Even if it’ll mean more work for me. Troublesome.” His voice dipped into a mutter before he straightened again. “But we’re not operating in a vacuum, Sakura. If we push for this kind of reform, the other villages won’t ignore it. They can’t.” He looked directly at her. “It’ll trigger pressure on every Kage to follow suit. And not every village is ready to open their gates to that kind of mess. We’ll have international tension back on our doorstep, not even two years after the war, and just after two very powerful founding clans have been resurrected and reintegrated into our village by accident ? It would not look good”

Sakura didn’t answer right away. She nodded once, conceding the point.

“This would definitely cause ripples,” she admitted, searching for the right words. She understood the danger. But for her, it was long past time that Konoha faced change. Maybe the current situation had sparked it, but it wasn’t the first time she’d thought about reform, especially when she saw civilians treated as second-class citizens. They sacrificed just as much as their shinobi counterparts. The Will of Fire burned in them just as brightly.

“But we are the Village Hidden in the Leaves,” she said, voice steady. “Built among sacred trees of pure, godlike chakra. Since when do we lead by waiting for others to approve?”

She leaned forward slightly. “We can’t control how the other villages respond. But we can control the kind of example we set. If we do this with care, make it about representation and inclusion, then we’re showing that reform doesn’t have to mean chaos.”

Her gaze shifted back to Kakashi. He would be her biggest pushback, and she knew it.
“With this, you wouldn’t just have control over the Uchiha and Senju, you’d have control over every clan in Konoha. If the council votes on a proposal and you approve it, not even internal clan rules could oppose it.”

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed. “You have something in mind.”

“The Hyuga slave seal,” Sakura said plainly. “If someone in the council proposed outlawing any kind of slavery seal, framed as preventing another Root situation-”

Shikamaru let out a low breath, catching on instantly. “The Hyuga would have to revoke theirs. Damn,” the Nara muttered, rubbing at his ponytail.

Sakura didn’t look away from her sensei. “And if we move toward this kind of structure… we’d also be removing the foundation that’s kept the Elders in place for so long.”

Tsunade straightened slightly. Kakashi didn’t react, but Sakura saw the tension in his jaw.

“I’m not saying this to stir anything,” she continued. “And I’m not saying it’s the main goal, it isn’t. But if this new system replaces the old council, the Elders lose their immunity. Their influence. Their ability to block investigations.”

Her voice sharpened, every word deliberate. “We can’t afford to bring the full truth of the Uchiha massacre into the light. But we can hold them accountable. For Root, for conspiracy with Orochimaru. No one alive can corroborate the details except the snake, and he wouldn’t bother to defend them. And Danzo did partner with Hanzo, did he not? Even if Homura and Koharu weren’t directly involved, it wouldn’t be hard to make the public believe they were. After all, no one from that came out alive to say otherwise.”

A heavy silence followed.

“Although I very much approve of this particular plan,” Shikamaru said, catching Sakura’s attention, “it will be in our best interest not to divulge any… relationships any of the elders may have had with outside forces.”

“Why not? That would be condemning,” Sakura frowned.

“It would,” Nara agreed. “But for us, too. We don’t want our international friends thinking we’ve been involved in foreign conflicts.”

Sakura gripped the table tightly, careful not to break anything.
“There are still plenty of ways to convict them,” she ground out.

“That’s true enough,” Shikamaru shrugged.

Sakura turned to Kakashi, who folded his arms and regarded her silently. Then he glanced at Tsunade-shishou, who sighed softly, her gaze drifting to the village outside the window.

The Rokudaime looked back at his student. “I asked you to find a way to gain influence over the Uchiha clan, not to restructure the entire Konoha government,” he said dryly.

“Now you have both,” Sakura replied with a small grin, trying to ease the tension.

Though they hadn’t been there long, the moment felt interminable, and she couldn’t tell how her proposal was landing. She noticed Shikamaru had warmed to the idea -a surprise, since she’d expected the most pushback from him, and the least from Tsunade. Instead, the blonde seemed unconvinced, and Kakashi’s expression was unreadable, as always.

At last, the Hokage sighed, massaging his forehead with one hand. “I want the proposal on my desk before the end of the week. Shikamaru, I want it airtight.”

Sakura couldn’t hold back a small whoop of joy, a grin lighting up her face. Shikamaru grumbled beside her at the added workload.

“You won’t regret this!” Sakura gushed. She turned to her shishou, who was already opening a sake bottle, never missing a chance to celebrate.

“Well, I can’t wait to see this disaster unfold, brat,” Tsunade said with a smirk. “But if there’s one person who can pull it off, it’ll probably be you. Congrats.”

Sakura responded with a little fist pump.

---

Rika always knew she would never become a great ninja.

When her mother enrolled her in the academy, hoping that Rika’s graduation to genin would secure free healthcare for her little brother, Rika was convinced she would end up as a paper pusher in the genin corps. That was the fate of most civilians born in their neighborhood, and she fully expected it to be hers as well.

Except she couldn’t even graduate from the academy. She failed her final exams twice and had to repeat her final year just as many times. She would have failed her third and final year too, if Haruno-sensei hadn’t come to their academy to give lectures on medical ninjutsu.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday. Famous shinobi often visited the academy to give lectures, but only to the top graduating classes, full of clan kids and promising ninja. Rika was in the fourth class of the final year, and had never been part of those audiences, not even when war hero Naruto Uzumaki came.

But it was different when war hero Sakura Haruno arrived.

Like every civilian in Konohagakure, Rika knew about Sakura Haruno. The Haruno family was well-known in the civilian community. Everyone knew that Mebuki Haruno-sama was a respected member of the illustrious House of the Five Coins merchant guild, having presided over it for years. Rika had even overheard her aunt tell her mother once that the Haruno family was even more influential outside Konoha. Not that many civilians would know much about that, few ever traveled beyond the village walls, and news that did make it inside was tightly controlled by the government.

Although it was common for civilians to enroll their children in the academy, it surprised everyone when the Haruno family registered their only daughter. It simply wasn’t done in wealthy families.

Then the young Haruno was placed on a team under Konoha’s most powerful shinobi and assigned alongside the cursed Uchiha heir and the demon monster. The rumor mill never stopped buzzing about how such a good girl from such a respectable family could end up with literal beasts. Rika had just started her first year at the time.

Team Seven was the talk of the town for months after that, unsurprising given the amount of chaos that seemed to follow the team. Yet the Haruno family themselves never addressed the rumors.

Then the news broke that the Godaime Hokage had taken Sakura Haruno as her apprentice. Not a clan heir, not a prodigy, but a civilian genin.

People speculated for months. Some said the Hokage pitied her. Others claimed the Konoha council wanted to create another legendary trio trained by the Sanin to serve as Kakashi Hatake’s underdogs when he eventually took the hat. Still others believed Mebuki Haruno-sama had brokered a deal to secure the position for her daughter. That last one seemed unlikely, shinobi rarely feared civilians, even rich ones. The Godaime would have sooner taken a clan heir as apprentice if she wanted political connections.

It felt surreal.

In the three years that followed her training with the Hokage, Haruno-sensei had exceeded everyone’s expectations. Her talent in medical ninjutsu spread far and wide across the Fire Nation, even reaching the capital. 

She became the pride of the civilian community. Their hope that, despite being treated as second-class citizens in a military village, they now had a champion fighting for their voices to be heard.

And Sakura Haruno did not disappoint.

When she began her residency at the hospital, a year and a half after starting medical training, she chose the General Care Unit, a ward known for treating mainly civilians, and as expected, long neglected.

Normally, that would have been standard procedure. Except Sakura Haruno was the apprentice of Tsunade Senju, and just one month before starting her residency, she had reattached the arm of an A-rank ninja during a diplomatic mission to the daimyo’s court.

Her talent and the opportunity to suck up to the Hokage being too great to ignore, the hospital board tried to transfer her to emergency care. But the young Haruno refused to move until the hospital appointed more doctors to the General Care Unit. The nurses spread the news quickly.

The following year, she succeeded in adding civilians to the Shin’i Kyūfu -Medical Relief for Shinobi- a program offering subsidized treatment to active shinobi. It expanded into KonohaCare, a system granting civilians the same healthcare access. Many civilians, she argued before the Godaime and the village council, bore the financial burden of village taxes without receiving equivalent protections. At fifteen, the same age she became the first shinobi in the Five Great Nations to kill an Akatsuki member, and made her first bingo book entry.

That bill saved Rika’s baby brother’s life.

After her father’s death, her family had struggled for so long to cover hospital bills and put food on the table. A burden that fell on her mother, who juggled two jobs while Rika stayed home to care for her brother. Her childhood was split between hospital stays and academy classes, never giving her enough time to apply herself in a system designed to make her work three times as hard as her clan-born peers to be something a bit more than cannon fodder.

Thanks to KonohaCare, her mother could quit one job and focus on caring for her brother, leaving Rika some time to study better. She even made friends for the first time in her life and went to her first sleepover.

Still, the extra time hadn’t helped much with the physical subjects at the academy. That’s why she failed her exams twice and had to take them a third time. She probably would have failed again, and lost any chance of becoming a shinobi, if she hadn’t sneaked out to catch a glimpse of Haruno-sama when she was scheduled to come to the academy..

At the time, she thought she was clever hiding behind a tree, blending into the shadows as she watched Haruno-sama talk to Iruka-sensei in the courtyard. Clearly, she had underestimated the spatial awareness of a war hero.

When she tried to duck further behind the tree after making eye contact with Haruno-sama, she accidentally bumped right into Iruka-sensei, who had obviously sensed her too. Needless to say, getting a five-minute scolding in front of her hero for skipping class was one of her most embarrassing moments.

She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t help blurting out that she was just curious and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet Haruno-sama because she admired her so much and that she was going back to her arithmetic class after just a quick peek.

That’s when Haruno-sama asked why she’d need to sneak out when she was clearly in the seventh year, the year of the class Haruno-sama was giving her lecture.

With burning ears and even hotter cheeks, she admitted she was in the fourth class, so she wouldn’t be attending the lecture.

A heavy silence followed her confession, and she blinked up in confusion when Haruno-sama exchanged a look with Iruka-sensei, an unreadable expression on her face.

“What does she mean?” Haruno-sama asked.

“Well…” Iruka-sensei cleared his throat. “Generally, we invite shinobi to give lectures only to the best-performing class.”

“If I remember correctly, the point of the academy was to give every child, regardless of background, the same opportunity,” Haruno-sama said firmly.

Iruka-sensei turned even redder.

“Of—Of course! But sometimes we have to make the most out of the opportunities given to the academy! Some lecturers barely have enough time to address the students.”

Haruno-sama narrowed her eyes at that. Years later, when she became Haruno-sensei after months working under her at the hospital, Rika would recognize that look as one of major displeasure.

“I would like to speak to the headmaster,” she said.

“Sakura-chan! The lecture is scheduled to start in ten minutes!” Iruka-sensei protested.

“And the lecture will happen, Iruka-sensei, but not before I have a word with the headmaster.”

Ignoring Iruka-sensei’s sputtering, she turned back to Rika with a gentle smile.

“What is your name?”

“Uh-uh! Rika Sato, Haruno-sama!” she replied with a deep bow.

“I hope you will do me the honor of attending my presentation later, Rika-chan .And please tell your classmates they’re all welcome too.”

With a final smile, Haruno-sensei left with Iruka-sensei.

Rika never knew exactly what happened during that talk with the headmaster, but after that day, every seventh-year class was invited to attend Haruno-sama’s lectures, and all other guest lectures thereafter.

That presentation sparked an ambition for a path in the medical field. In the weeks following that afternoon, she pushed herself harder than ever before to pass her final exams.

When she finally received her hitae-ate, she took her name off the roster for genin teams and applied for the medical program at the hospital.

Unfortunately, her chakra control wasn’t precise enough to become a medical ninja. But she qualified for nursing school, and after eighteen months of intense medical training, she graduated her theoretical cycle with flying colors.

That earned her first pick of specialization and department for her practical rotations. And naturally, she chose the same General Care Unit where Haruno-sama practiced.

It seemed that after the war, the stars had aligned perfectly for the young doctor to leave emergency care in the very capable hands of the newly retired Godaime. But everyone at the hospital knew that Haruno-sama was still called in for surgeries in extreme cases.

Now, three months into her internship, Rika had been assigned by Haruno-sensei to help at the small clinic in the Uchiha district.

She was grateful for the opportunities that had shaped her into who she was today. Even at home, becoming a nurse helped her better understand her brother’s autoimmune disease, why it took such a toll on his body, and how best to support him.

But as she walked through the Uchiha district toward the medical tent in the square, arms full of fresh linens for the three beds inside and feeling the weight of unfriendly stares following her, she didn’t feel grateful.

She steeled herself, trying not to tremble and to appear unaffected.

She counted each step closer to the clinic when a sudden cry behind her caught her attention.

Turning around, her eyes locked on a boy no more than eight on his knees, gasping for air, clutching his chest as if willing his lungs to breathe.

A small crowd had gathered around him and his friend, who was the one crying out for help, prompted her to drop everything and rush over.

“Make way!” Rika screamed as she dropped to her knees beside the boy.

Someone tried to push her away, but she flung their hand off without hesitation, her eyes scanning the boy’s symptoms like a trained professional.

Wheezing.
Shortness of breath.
Chest tightness.

Asthma attack , her mind concluded. She grabbed the inhaler from her medical pouch, but then caught sight of red rashes spreading up the boy’s neck, and his watery eyes.

Allergic reaction.

“What are you doing?!” a voice shouted just as a woman barreled toward them, tears streaming down her cheeks as she screamed what must have been her son’s name.

Using the distraction, Rika swiftly pulled out an epipen and injected it into the boy’s thigh.

A rough hand grabbed her shoulder, bruising under its grip, as the crowd erupted in angry outcries over what she’d just done. But Rika didn’t let fear stop her, she knew these moments were critical for the boy’s survival.

His mother collapsed next to her son, sobbing and blaming herself for not helping her baby breathe. The desperation in her cries pushed Rika out of her own stupor.

“He needs to breathe!” Rika urged.

“Get away from him!” someone yelled.

“My baby! What’s happening to my son?!”

“Make some room!”

Chaos erupted around them. Though the epipen brought some color back to the boy’s face, the noise only made it harder for him to calm down and breathe.

“He is dying!”

Rika’s voice finally pierced through the crowd, sharp and urgent. The shouting subsided for precious seconds, seconds she used to refocus on her panicked patient.

“He’s having an asthma attack triggered by an allergic reaction. He’s struggling to breathe, and you crowding and screaming isn’t helping.” She spoke fast, steady, holding his mother’s and the boy’s wide, tear-filled eyes.

“The epipen I just gave helps reduce the swelling you probably feel in your throat. Now, I need you to calm down so I can help you use this inhaler to open your airways, okay? I need you to do this for me.”

She clicked open the inhaler, guiding him to breathe in and out slowly, keeping eye contact to steady his fear.

“Rika-san!”

“Tame-san,” she called back, relief washing over her as the older boy ran toward them.

Tame-san was a certified nurse preparing for medical school exams, with more experience than Rika.

“Allergic reaction?” he asked, already piecing it together. She nodded, silently grateful for the backup.

“I’m prepping oxygen and IV steroids. I’m paging Haruno-sensei,” he said, then dashed back to the tent.

“I’m going to bring this to your mouth. When you breathe in, I want you to really inhale and hold it, okay? Let it go deep and help you breathe better. You’ll be fine, we’re here to help.”

Only after the boy nodded did she raise the inhaler to his lips. The mother and crowd watched in cautious silence, seeming to realize she wasn’t a threat.

“Ready? One, two… inhale… good. Hold your breath.”

She gently removed the inhaler, shook it, and prepared for another puff as he slowly exhaled.

“Better?” she asked softly.

The boy nodded quietly, his cheeks flushing with returning color. His mother sighed in relief, rubbing his back encouragingly.

“We’ll do another one. One, two… inhale… and hold.”

When he exhaled, his breathing was clearer, less wheezy. But his face was pale, exhaustion settling in. The episode had taken its toll.

“We need to bring him to the clinic for treatment and observation until Haruno-sensei returns. She can examine him properly then, but for now, he’s no longer in immediate danger.”

Rika addressed the mother, the only person who hadn’t yelled or tried to harm her while she was helping.

An older teen gently lifted the boy into his arms. The crowd had quieted, though suspicion still lingered in their eyes.

Rika led them toward the medical tent, clearing a path and pointing toward the bed where Tame-san had already prepared the station.

Once the teen gently laid the boy on the bed, the older nurse fitted an oxygen mask over his face and instructed him to breathe deeply. Meanwhile, Rika grabbed the chart at the foot of the bed and began filling out the first responder information that Haruno-sensei would need for treatment.

Before she could finish, the tent flap opened, and everyone turned to watch as Haruno-sensei entered. She wore green scrubs beneath her white medical coat, her short hair framing her face. Without a word, she stepped to the bed and held out her hand for the chart, which Rika handed over promptly.

“Everyone who isn’t medical staff or immediate family, out,” she said firmly, eyes scanning the chart.

About a dozen people who had followed them in shifted uneasily but didn’t move. Haruno-sensei’s gaze sharpened, fire lighting her eyes.

“This is a clinic, not a sightseeing spot. I shouldn’t have to repeat myself.”

An older man clad in armor stepped forward, glaring with distrust. Now that they were removed from the crowd’s heart, Rika could see the varying degrees of suspicion aimed at them. Everyone except the boy’s mother, who was busy comforting her son.

“We’re not leaving him alone here with you,” the man said, venom dripping from his words.

Haruno-sensei rolled her eyes.

“Right. You’re a guard, I presume?” she asked as she took a seat on the stool beside the bed, chart still in hand.

The Uchiha simply nodded, eyes narrowed.

“Good. You stay. The rest of you, out. Unless you want to delay this boy’s treatment any longer.”

Reluctantly, the crowd trickled out after the guard nodded. He stopped the teen who brought the boy in, instructing him to fetch the clan’s healers.

Haruno-sensei then turned her full attention to the mother and her son. She set the chart down and lifted the stethoscope from around her neck.

“Ren-kun, was it?” she asked gently, trying to soothe the boy as she confirmed the name on the file. Rika admired how she could remember the name the mother screamed amid all the earlier chaos.

“My name is Sakura Haruno, and I’ll be your doctor today.” She extended her hand for a handshake. The boy offered a weak grip with one hand while keeping the oxygen mask to his face with the other.

Turning to the mother, she said, “You are his mother, I assume?”

The woman nodded, shoulders tense.

“I’d like to listen to his lungs, if that’s alright,” Haruno-sensei explained, smiling kindly as she presented the stethoscope. “It won’t hurt. I’m just going to place this flat, round thing on his chest to listen to his breathing with these little ears.”

Ren-kun nodded hesitantly, while the adults exchanged quiet, wary looks.

“It might feel a little cold,” the doctor warned gently, placing the stethoscope on the boy’s now bare chest. “Breathe in, please.” Inhale. “Good. Now out.” Exhale. “Again.”

After a few moments, Haruno-sensei lifted the stethoscope and returned it to her neck, taking up the chart once more.

“Ren-kun is stable now. Rika-chan did an excellent job stabilizing him. But I’d like to put him on IV steroids, medication that will reduce swelling in his airways completely. I just need a few more details.”

She turned to the mother. “How old is Ren-kun?”

“He just turned nine,” the woman answered, confusion creasing her brow.

Haruno-sensei noted the information on the form and then faced Tame-san.

“2 mg per kg of methylprednisolone, let’s say 30,” she instructed.

He nodded and quickly moved to prepare the IV bag and needles.

“Can you walk me through what happened before he had trouble breathing? Did he eat something new?” the doctor asked the mother.

“I… I wasn’t there,” the woman stammered, voice breaking. “He was playing outside when I heard his friend scream his name, and then I saw him on the ground and-” She shuddered. “I wasn’t there.”

Rika offered her a tissue from the box on the table.

Haruno-sensei’s tone softened, though remained professional. “This was an accident, no one could have predicted it. Trust me, we’ve seen enough cases to know.”

The woman nodded shakily, dabbing at her eyes. Ren, still lying against the pillow with oxygen now removed, blinked slowly but watched his mother with quiet concern.

Haruno-sensei turned to him and met his gaze.

“Ren-kun, do you remember what happened? Were you running? Did you feel itchy or notice anything strange before it became hard to breathe?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “There was a bee. I didn’t see it at first, but I felt it sting me… here.” He pointed to a reddened spot on his arm.

The doctor’s expression grew thoughtful.

“Mm. That would explain it.” She marked the form again. “It looks like an allergic asthma reaction, likely triggered by the sting. The swelling in his airways came on quickly, which is why he couldn’t breathe. Rika-chan’s quick use of epinephrine and the inhaler bought us time. The IV steroids will calm the inflammation fully.”

“What… what is that?” the mother asked, clutching the tissue tightly.

Only then did Rika realize how terrifying this was for them. They didn’t fully understand what was happening, and why.

The tent flap opened once more, and in walked Tajima Uchiha -the clan head Rikahave heard- accompanied by two elderly figures, a man and a woman, each carrying a healer’s satchel.

Ren-kun’s mother rose from the bed, while the guard snapped a sharp salute to his clan head. Haruno-sensei didn’t acknowledge them, her attention fully on the patient.

“He had a severe reaction to something his body could not tolerate -most likely the bee sting- manifesting as an asthma attack,” Haruno-sensei explained clearly. “His airways became inflamed and swollen, which made breathing difficult. It’s fairly common; the body is powerful and reliable, but even it has limits. Allergies are one of those limits.”

The mother glanced at her son, pale and fragile on the bed. “Will this… will this happen again?”

“We’ll run a full allergy test once he’s fully recovered,” Haruno-sensei assured her gently. “Yes, it’s possible. But the good news is that now we know, and we can keep him safer next time. We’ll prescribe both a rescue inhaler and an epinephrine auto-injector for emergencies. We’ll also teach you how to use them. It’s very straightforward, as you saw how Rika-chan used them today.”

The woman nodded weakly, still pale and uncertain. Her gaze shifted toward the two clan healers, who wore matching scowls, while Tajima Uchiha himself merely narrowed his eyes. Haruno-sensei met their looks calmly.

“Uchiha-sama,” she greeted the clan head, then turned to the two elders, “the clan healers, I presume?”

“Megumi-san and Kenta-san,” Tajima said for them, “have served our clan diligently for decades. They oversee the clan’s well-being and have done so with great care.”

Haruno-sensei hummed thoughtfully. “What would you prescribe for shortness of breath, coughing, and chest pains?”

The healers exchanged glances before the older woman spoke.

“Licorice root, taken as tea before each meal for five days. Steeped in boiling water for fifteen minutes, not boiled,” she added with a proud nod.

Haruno-sensei nodded back and turned to the mother.

“If there are no lasting symptoms by the fourth day, I’d advise reducing it to twice daily. Add honey to sweeten if you like.”

This time the mother accepted more readily, relief visible as she trusted the healing process now that the clan’s healers had voiced their support.

Tame-san returned with the IV setup on a tray.

“Ready when you are,” he said.

“Thanks,” Haruno-sensei replied, glancing calmly at Ren. “Alright, young man. Just a small poke, and then your lungs can finish settling down.”

“We’re going to insert a tiny needle into your arm so the medicine acts quickly. You’ll need to stay here until the whole bag finishes, about two and a half to three hours,” she explained, pulling on gloves.

The room grew still as she began the procedure. Every Uchiha present tensed, watching anxiously. When Haruno-sensei withdrew the needle, both healers exclaimed in outrage while Ren began to cry under his mother’s stern glare.

“What exactly are you doing?” Tajima’s voice was ice-cold, freezing the air.

“I think we’ve already established,” Haruno-sensei replied steadily, “that if I wanted to harm him, I wouldn’t waste time or resources like this.”

“Why do you need to do this? Megumi-san already said licorice root would be enough!” the mother burst out, distressed.

Haruno-sensei seemed to brace herself to explain, then sagged, as if resigned.

“Fine,” she said, snapping off her gloves. “Keep watch for any suspicious symptoms. If anything worrying arises, go straight to a doctor. This clinic is open at all hours, don’t hesitate to return.”

“We will care for our patient,” the other healer snapped.

The mother nodded at him.

Rika gaped. Not only was Haruno-sensei accepting to forgo the treatment, but these people were confident treating something they had barely identified minutes before.

As the mother and son prepared to leave, Haruno-sensei reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a couple of brightly colored lollipops.

“You were very brave today,” she said with a warm smile.

The mother tensed, but the little boy, intrigued by the candies, eagerly accepted them without hesitation.

The pressure in the room began to ease as the crowd trickled out.

“Who did that to you?” Haruno-sensei’s voice cut through the quiet, freezing everyone in place. It took Rika an embarrassingly long moment to realize that the question was directed at her, and that all eyes were now on her.

“I-what?” she stammered.

Without waiting for a reply, Haruno-sensei strode over and grabbed the collar of Rika’s uniform, pulling it back. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the bruises in the shape of fingers on Rika’s neck and shoulder, now throbbing painfully. Rika vaguely recalled someone grabbing her earlier while she was tending to Ren-kun.

Not satisfied with the silence, Haruno-sensei turned her gaze sharply to the Uchiha leaving party.

“Who did this?” she demanded, voice sharp as a blade. “You were there. Who did this to her?” Her eyes locked on the guard.

Feeling the tension rising and unwilling to let things escalate, Rika quickly tugged her collar back into place.

“It’s really nothing, Haruno-sensei! Everyone was in the heat of the moment. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose !”

But her boss wasn’t buying it. She fixed the guard with a hard stare. He shifted uncomfortably, jaw clenched stubbornly.

“I didn’t see what happened, but it was a very stressful situation for everyone. Besides, the girl’s clearly fine,” he muttered.

Haruno-sensei took a step forward, and Rika could tell he had just said the wrong thing.

“What kind of monster hurts a child because of a ‘stressful situation’?”

Before Rika could remind her that she was no child -thank you very much, she was fourteen- Uchiha-sama stepped forward.

“She is hardly a child,” he said, his tone thick with condescension.

Haruno-sensei’s glare burned hotter than before.

“What kind of monster,” she repeated, “sees a child hurt and the only defense they offer is that she isn’t a ‘child’.”

Rika suddenly understood she was missing crucial context. Rumors about warring clans sending children into battle flooded her mind, where children were soldiers sent to war to get killed and no one batted an eye. But Haruno-sensei clearly did not agree, and she didn’t care about being diplomatic about her opinion.

A deafening silence hung over the group after her words. But Haruno-sensei didn’t wait for a reply. With a flick of her wrist, she exposed the bruise again and sent a quick burst of healing chakra over it. The bruise faded in seconds. Ren’s mother gasped aloud.

“The Hokage will hear about this,” Haruno-sensei declared, eyes locked on Uchiha-sama. “You cannot harm a citizen of this village -especially a child- and justify it as an accident. As a citizen of Konoha, a status you recently accepted thanks to the seat you accepted on the VCR, your first reaction to stress cannot be to hurt another citizen.”

A tense stare-down ensued between Haruno-sensei and Uchiha-sama before the entire Uchiha party left the tent. Haruno-sensei then turned back to the group. This time, the tension seemed to bleed out of the tent with their departure.

“Good job, guys. Clean the station up. I have to return to the hospital for a consultation with a post-op patient, but I’ll be back before sundown to check in before your shift ends.”

“Haruno-sensei,” Rika called after her as she started to leave.

“Yes?” Haruno-sensei paused.

“Does licorice really help with chest pains and coughing?”

Haruno-sensei shrugged. “It’s a grandma recipe. So no. It’s one of those remedies everyone believes in, but there’s no scientific proof. Licorice helps about as much as thyme tea would.”

“Then why let them use it?” asked the quiet Tame-san.

“Because it reassures them. It won’t hurt, so why not indulge them? As you gain experience, you’ll learn that sometimes you have to be cunning to make patients willing to be treated.”

“But you let Ren-kun leave without his IV steroids. You know that increases his risk of another attack in a few hours.”

Haruno-sensei gave a small quirk of her lips. “Hence why I’m coming back and staying for the next two shifts.”

“But they’d never let me put that needle into that boy’s veins. Even if it came to blows,” she added. “Healing is sometimes about choosing your battles, hence why I couldn’t let them get away with hurting you Rika-chan”.

“Oh.”

“They’re entitled to protect their own, but that doesn’t mean they can hurt others in the process. Maybe that’s how it works where they’re from, but it’s not how things work here. They need to understand that.”

---

The maître d’hôtel led her to a private room as murmurs followed her every step through the restaurant. When they arrived, the Yamanaka clan leader was already seated at the table, nursing a cup of tea.

“Pig.”
“Forehead,” the blonde greeted back with a smirk.

Their biweekly dates had become a ritual ever since both found themselves overwhelmed by their new responsibilities after the war. They took turns choosing the meeting spot, though lately Ino seemed to always decide for them, after declaring Sakura’s picks “annoyingly boring.”

When asked why she kept choosing civilian places, Ino explained it was so she could “wear something other than clan-approved regalia and shinobi uniforms,” and also “to avoid the annoying pests who kept pestering her to kiss ass in the shinobi district.”

Both perfectly valid reasons, especially the latter, Sakura thought. Personally, she never had issues wearing civilian clothes anywhere. Though she’d noticed the cultural gap: shinobi favored earthy, functional attire even off duty, while civilians cared little for practicality beyond work uniforms and chores. Even civilian-born shinobi tended to follow this unspoken rule. The closest examples Sakura could think of were Lee, Tenten, and Genma.

As for her, Sakura never gave it much thought. Even before she became too dangerous for something like clothes to go in the way of her fighting, she had preferred civilian clothes outside training and missions simply because they were prettier. She didn’t recall anyone complaining, but perhaps it didn’t help the endless remarks during her early years of her training about how Tsunade Senju could choose a civilian-born apprentice.

Sakura understood that for someone like Ino, now head of the Yamanaka clan, wearing civilian clothes wouldn’t be well received. Never mind that Ino seemed to be the only one in her shinobi circle who even wanted to, likely out of vanity like herself. Best friends, indeed.

“I heard about Rika-chan. How is she doing?” Ino asked after they placed their orders.

“I see it’s already the talk of the town”

Ino shrugged. “Everyone’s eating up anything about the Uchiha and the Senju right now.”

“She’s fine. It wasn’t a deep bruise or anything. But the point I’m trying to make is still important.”

“Well, Shikamaru isn’t happy with you right now- ” Sakura rolled her eyes “-which means Rokudaime-sama isn’t happy either. Before the dinner last night, Shika wouldn’t stop talking about what they can do to smooth things over.”

“They wouldn’t have to if the Uchiha could get over themselves and apologize to Rika-chan.”

“Well, yeah. And that’s exactly what he’s working on now, convincing the honorable Uchiha clan to apologize to a civilian-born girl. Hence why he hates you.”

“Hates me? I thought he was just unhappy with me,” Sakura grumbled. “But I’m not sorry, and he should know why it was necessary for me to fight for Rika-chan.”

“You don’t have to convince me. That’s why I left dinner early yesterday when the Senju refused to apologize for the affront they made toward my kunoichi.” Ino shrugged

“Wait, the Senju were at your team dinner?” Sakura asked, confused

“What do you mean team dinner? I’m talking about the Senju dinner.”

“What Senju dinner?”

“Wait, you didn’t know? The Senju clan -well, Tsunade-sama really- invited some clan heads for dinner at the Senju compound. She didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t she live with you? Why wouldn’t she tell you? She tells you everything.”

Indeed. Why hadn’t she?

“When did you get the invitation?”

“A couple of days ago, maybe?”

A couple of days ago. Right. She had been staying in the Uchiha district, waiting in case Ren-kun had another episode. The only time she’d left the district was to go to the hospital. This morning was the first time she’d gone home in days? just to take a real shower and change for lunch with Ino. She hadn’t seen Shishou in a while now.

“I haven’t been around much,” she admitted reluctantly. “I’ll go see her later today. But tell me about the dinner. What happened? And who was invited?”

“At first, I thought it was exclusive. You know, only clan heads Tsunade-sama could tolerate. But after some digging, I found that some clan heads refused to attend.”

“Really?”

“The Hyuga, surprisingly. The Inuzuka weren’t there either, and you know if they’re not coming, neither are the Aburame. The Shimura were absent too, not surprising since they don’t like Tsunade-sama.”

“And how did it go?”

Ino shrugged. “I wouldn’t really know. I left early after they refused to issue an apology.”

Sakura blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Oh yeah. First of all, they were so disrespectful ! I was the only woman there besides Tsunade-sama, but you’d think after learning such a hard lesson from her about not underestimating women, they would be smarter. Plus -hellooo? I’m a clan head. But noooo. One elder actually asked whose wife I was, despite introductions already being made. Then another asked me to serve him tea. At that point, I was fed up and outright asked the Senju clan head when he was going to apologize for the slight his clansman made toward my own. They had the audacity to tell me I should know my place and not speak to a man ‘above my station.’ By then, I decided to take my ass out of that joke of a dinner. Shikamaru couldn’t go with me because he’s also representing the Hokage’s office, but Choji followed me, and so did Konohamaru. Only minor clans stayed for the dinner. And let me tell you about how they decorated that room-”

As she listened to Ino rant, it finally dawned on Sakura why Tsunade had organized the dinner in the first place.

It was meant as a humbling experience for the Senju clan.

The first VRC meeting was set to happen in a week, and Shishou wanted them to understand that despite their inflated sense of self-importance, they were nothing compared to the well-established relationships other clans held in the village. She remembered the blonde mumbling a few days ago, complaining about the elders peacocking about their brothers’ founding status.

“-aunt Kazumi last month. But now I’ll make a point to reject every proposition the Senju clan brings to the VRC until they get over their entitled asses. I don’t care if it’s petty. I’m vindictive. And I hold grudges. It’s not like they know better than us what’s best for the village anyway-”

Ino was interrupted by a familiar ringing. Both women paused before Sakura pulled out her pager out of her purse, flashing red.

“Hospital?”

She wished.

“No. Uchiha district.” Probably Ren-kun. “I have to go. Raincheck?”

“Massages at the Lotus tomorrow at sunset?”

“Sure. It’s a date.”

With that, she bolted from the room.

Sunshinging from rooftop to rooftop, she tried to recall if she’d left a spare coat at the tent. It would be a shame to ruin this dress, it was her first time wearing it.

When she arrived at the district, Rika’s chakra wasn’t at the medical tent in the square. Instead, it was coming from the northeast corner of the district.

Heading there, she found a chaotic scene that chilled her to the bone.

A crowd was gathering in a garden, or maybe a courtyard. In the middle stood Ren’s mother, sobbing into the arms of an older woman. One clan healer waved around a smoking stem, while the other screamed at Rika, who was administering CPR on Ren-kun’s still body.

Ren-kun wasn’t breathing.

She sensed the heavy chakra of Tajima Uchiha and his sons arriving at the scene. She didn’t allow herself to dwell on the presence of Madara Uchiha so close because in the next second Tame-san appeared with their scroll for resuscitation procedures -meaning Ren had been without breath for too long.

She took the scroll and quickly released its contents as she approached the boy.

“Move,” she ordered the healer screaming at Rika. “Status?”

“He stopped breathing 150 seconds ago. His heart stopped just before you arrived,” Rika responded as she continued CPR.

“Don’t stop. I want him on the stretcher.”

Sakura grabbed Ren’s shoulders as Tame took his legs, carefully lifting him onto the stretcher.

She ignored distractions, focusing on directing her team.

A wave of guilt washed over her. She had done this. She should have insisted on the IV steroids. She should have done more. She’d gambled with the life of a child for a political agenda.

She tilted Ren’s head back and forced his jaw open with chakra.
“Epinephrine, 0.3,” she said, injecting the medicine directly. “I’m about to intubate. Prep the in-line nebulizer with salbutamol, and the IV line 60mg.”

Tame rushed to prepare everything as she carefully inserted the tube through his mouth and into his trachea, using chakra to relax the muscles and act as a sedative. The seconds seemed interminable as they try to revive the boy.

“We have a pulse!” exclaimed Rika as she stopped CPR and started the IV line.
“He’s breathing,” she confirmed, passing the mask to Tame while checking his eyes.

Something uncoiled in Sakura’s chest as she saw the boy respond to their treatment. It pulled her out of her laser focus and forced her to take in what was happening around her.

Everyone was watching them like a spectacle. Suddenly, the male healer -Kensa-san- pointed at her and screamed, “You- you witch! You played with sorcery ! That light ! And that curse you inserted into the boy’s blood !”

The crowd murmured in agreement, and Sakura felt her temper snap.“That is enough!” Her voice rang out, cutting through the noise as she stood and leveled a fierce gaze at Tajima Uchiha.

She could have aimed her ire at the healers, but it was clear they were so brazen because they had his support. She was tired of wasting the precious time Ren didn’t have.

“That child could’ve- that child,” she started, her voice surprisingly calm but ice-cold in tone, “died. He stopped breathing for three minutes, and his heart stopped beating for one and a half. If I had come a second later, right now we’d be announcing a time of death and telling his mother to prepare to bury her son. I’m sure you’re used to that-”

More than one person gasped. Tajima’s eyes flashed with anger as if he wanted to strike her. Sakura took a step forward, daring him.

“-but I refuse to lower myself to your moral standard. Now this is the situation we found ourselves in : so many seconds without oxygen to the brain, especially in one so young, carry a high probability of brain damage. Now, I have no intention to harm that child or anyone here. Not only because I’m a decent human being, but also because I could be doing something better with my time, like actually getting a decent meal for the first time in three days, after spending the last days here making sure another episode -like the one we predicted could happen days ago but you chose to ignore- wouldn’t kill this boy. So now, he will be put under observation in the medical tent, supervised by professionals. His doctors will be in charge of his treatment -me, or the doctor I assign for the next shift- to make sure he survives this, and so we don’t all carry another death on our conscience when we go to sleep. Is that understood?”

She said the last part to the mother, to convey the gravity of the situation, but also because she had unconsciously stepped closer to Tajima, coming dangerously near Madara’s chakra, which her brain had flagged as a threat.

The woman nodded meekly, sobbing quietly.

Tame and Rika secured the IV and the temporary mask on Ren, preparing to carry the stretcher back to the tent.

But Sakura has other plans as she turned to the silent onlookers, who watched warily with pale faces. A sneer curled on her lips ,not bothering to hide the contempt she has for this clan.

“Two of you, make yourselves useful and grab the stretcher to follow me to the tent. Rika-chan, Tame-kun, prepare the station. I want the ventilator and the cardiac monitors up and running when we arrive.”

“Hai.”
“Hai, sensei!”

Making their way toward the temporary clinic, she took her place next to Ren as she took Rika’s previous role of pumping the mask. She could feel the stare of every clan member that watches them pass by, and even more of the Uchihas that have followed them and as far as Sakura is concerned, has no business doing so, like the three Uchiha men of the main branch, or the two elders that she recognized has joined them along the way.

Once inside the tent, they settled Ren-kun and hooked him up with practiced precision.

Sakura explained in simple terms the purpose of each machine, mainly to reassure the mother, but also because the oppressive silence was suffocating.

“Haruno-san.”

Sakura looked up from the patient’s chart to meet the Uchiha patriarch’s gaze.

At some point, his sons had left to do who-knows-what, and the two elders were quietly talking with the clan healers in a corner of the clinic. Tajima approached her alone.

“I will not apologize,” Sakura said instead of greeting.

The clan head’s mouth twitched as if suppressing a smile.

“I wouldn’t expect you to. I just wanted to say it’s a relief we don’t have to bury another son of the clan  today, despite what you may think of us.”

She refused to feel guilty, they deserve a worse lashing in her opinion.

“The Uchiha clan is in your debt.”

It wasn’t gratitude, the individual and the clan too proud to express gratitude to someone they viewed as beneath them. So Sakura refused to take it as such.

“I was only doing my job. You don’t owe me anything. But it would help if you didn’t stop me from doing it correctly.”

The patriarch inclined his head in agreement.

“We will leave the boy’s care in your hands. No one will interfere.”

He looked back at the healers in the corner of the tent with pursed lips.

“I will ask the clan healers to send some of their cases to you in the next few days.”

“Alright,” she replied, surprised.

He left after a quiet goodbye to Ren’s mother, taking the healers and elders with him.

Sakura let out a sigh, settling into a chair near the shelf, finally feeling like she could breathe after what felt like an eternity.

Notes:

Fair disclaimer: I’m not a medical specialist, nor do I have any idea what to really do during an asthma attack. This is fiction and I’m a solo poly non-binary hijabi amputee, so y’all can’t laugh at me.

Highlighting Sakura’s achievements for the civilian community is so important to me. One, because Sakura being civilian-born and kicking ass as much as she does is actually something I’ve always found incredible. So I would like to shed light on that part of her life, how her upbringing contributed to who she is as a person (character) and how that set her apart. Two, because when I dive into Konoha politics -and shinobi village politics in general- I find the shinobi population fairly bigoted (even taking into account how neglected other aspects of the world-building in Naruto is when it’s not about Naruto’s homoerotic relationship with the guy of the week/arc to promote him as the chosen one). Three, in this story I want to make it very clear that although the shinobi population (and the Naruto fandom in general) underestimate Sakura and think that her achievements and training don’t mean shit next to her teammates’ (especially during the 3-year gap pre-Shippuden), she actually does a lot for the village. It’s just not talked about enough between shinobis -the main characters of the universe- because girly is fighting for the civilians’ rights -extras of the universe-.

I got the VRC inspiration from watching The Great, don’t ask me how, it just happened.

Sakura was fed the fuck up with the Uchihas, and Ino with the Senjus. Girlies have had enough, and good for them fr.

This chapter was longer (I think). I know I’ve been away for a long time guys and believe it or not it’s because I didn’t know what I’d put in this chapter for a long time. As in, I knew what I was going to put in the chapter after this one, but to go from the last chapter to that, I didn’t know what to write. I don’t know if that makes sense lol. But here we are, I hope you liked this chapter.

Next, it will be more light-hearted I think. (See how there is never an absolute in my thought process? ✨ADHD✨)

On another note, I just made new friends in my new town, and one of them is also an avid fanfiction reader like me. But she read Dramione from the Harry Potter fandom and swears that the franchise (books & movies) are incredible. I never read it, I never watched it (I don’t like the fantasy genre, and even less when the story is centered about children, coz fuck them kids. I’m an adult, I want to read adult stories thank you very much), so they invited me for this HP watch party. I came for the food mainly and watched a movie with them (it was the third or the fourth I think) and frankly, it was meh, I wasn’t gagging. But it gave a snippet into the characters to get me into Dramione fanfics. And you know what, we have so much better fanfics than them. I’m not sorry to say it. They don’t like Hermione y’all 💀, even her fans. I thought Sakura fans and the Naruto fandom didn’t like pinkie but let me tell you : Hermione fans hate her. It’s the only explanation I can accept seeing as how they write her being a doormat. Girly is being walked all over the place and the internalized misogyny is rampant. Now, there are a couple of stories that rock, and they are so much better at updating new chapters than us lol (guilty as charged your honor) but I don’t think I would read that many fanfictions from that fandom to be honest.

This note is long af but as I said to you guys already I love to yapp and plus it’s proportional to the chapter so.

Leave reviews, it guilt trips me into writing faster (this is so true, especially the last few days I was forcing myself to find the time to write because you guys were commenting again 😭). Thanks for reading.

Love you xoxo,
Ari.

Notes:

I don’t really have the words to explain what’s happening here. This story was born after a rough week at work, when I was desperately trying to force my brain to come up with something new to daydream about, just to get a break from reality, lol.

I have a rough idea of where I want to take this, though I’m not entirely sure how I’ll get there. So, welcome aboard, let’s see where this ride takes us!

Please leave a review, feedback truly feeds my soul. Like, literally. It’s more than just motivation, your thoughts often spark new ideas I end up weaving into the story. So don’t be shy !

With love,
xoxo,
Ari