Disclaimer: I know Sakura's inner self is more of a comic relief. Some people believe there was going to be an arc of it as Ino showed hers once. Whatever the reason, it was dropped. I like to think there could have been more with the inner. Well in this, the inner is a conscious entity. To the ninja world, it's a rare quality that develops.

Rewriting History
Chapter 1 – The Past

In a darkened office, at the top of a tower, three men were gathered. One sat at a desk, smoking a pipe while the other two was on the opposite side, listening to the older man. The two were summoned to the office to be debriefed on their latest assignments and discuss the latest developments of the war efforts and other matters that needed tending to.

"Now to other matters," replied a gruff voice, taking a puff from his pipe. "How are the war efforts?"

"Not going well, I'm afraid," replied a man with blonde spiky hair and blue eyes. "I infiltrated the compound as you ordered but it was just a wild goose chase."

"So the informant lied?" asked the other man with long white spiky hair, leaning against the wall near the door leading out into the hallway.

The blonde turned. "It would seem so."

"Any idea where the informant is now?" the older man asked.

The blonde shook his head. "No, unfortunately. I sent two ANBU to go and request his audience to you but when they went to his hotel room to speak with him, the man was gone. The bed was obviously not slept in. House keeping and front desk hadn't seen him since the day before yesterday."

"Which means not only is he a liar but he also did so on purpose," replied the white haired man. "He could be working for the enemy to try and take intel about our defences to the village."

"That is highly possible. We'll strengthen the defences around the perimeter of the village. He probably doesn't realize your team has returned."

"I agree, sir. He also hadn't seen me use my jutsu either so that also puts it in our favor," the blonde answered.

"Good." The older man turned to his white haired companion. "What brings you back to the village?"

"Fortunately, I was there while his men were on the wild goose chase. When it was realized to be a ruse, I was invited to return back to the village to give you a report. Also to advertise the announcement of my new book."

The old man shook his head. "You never give up, do you?" he mused more to himself. With a quick puff of his pipe. He hardened his eyes. "Perhaps we should…" the older man suddenly stopped as something caught his attention.

His silence caught the attention from the other two men in the room and they turned to what the old man was looking at.

There before the three, a figure began to appear. As the figure took form, they could see it was that of a young woman. At first she was transparent and the look on her face showed she was frightened, determined and tired all rolled into one. It only took a few moments for her body to become fully solid. There were wounds littered on her exposed skin as well as dried blood, clothes and in her cotton candy pink hair.

The blonde looked at her hair and was immediately mesmerized by it. It so reminded him of his girlfriend who had long red hair.

Once it was apparent she was fully in the room, her green eyes scanned the room. "Did it work?" she breathed.

"Did what work?" asked the white haired man, surprised to see such a beautiful woman in the room.

"Excuse me, but you have no authority to be in here," spoke the old man, surprised and annoyed by her entrance.

"It looks different," she breathed, ignoring the voices but then her eyes settled on the man at the desk and her eyes widened in shock. "Lord Third Hokage!" she gasped. She remembered being told to see the Hokage, but it surprised her to be face to face with a man who had been dead for sometime now.

The two men gave the young woman odd looks. Of course it was the Third Hokage.

"Yes?" the said man questioned, a bit confused. He had his hand ready to call his bodyguards, but left them on standby.

"So I made it!?" the woman squeaked.

"The better question is, who are you before I have you arrested," the Hokage replied sternly.

Realizing what was going on, and noting the older man was a bit annoyed; she pulled something out of her glove, holding it out of the man. "I know this is hard for you to believe but please, before you arrest me, hear me out. I have a lot to explain. Lord Hokage, please, this is going to be a shock but this-" she abruptly stopped as a wave of dizziness slammed into her. She took one step forward and began to stagger. "Please… you must…"

The blonde man's eyes widened. It was at the moment he could sense her chakra, well lack there of. He was quick to be at her side as she began to fall forward. Instead of crashing to the floor, the man didn't even give a blink as he reached out and grasped her shoulders, pulling her back towards him. Her body fell into the man's waiting arms. The letter she carried, slipped out of her hand and wildly floated to the floor.

"What in the world…" replied the man with the white hair. He then smirked. "Good catch. Are you sure you're not falling for her too?"

"Please…" the woman whispered. "Need to tell you…"

"Shhhh, don't speak," the blonde said as he brushed her pink hair away from her face, ignoring his companion's joke. "Sir, she needs medical attention."

"No…I…" the woman's eyes closed as she lost consciousness.

The Hokage stood and stared at the collapsed woman. He now could sense the same thing his young friend did. His young friend was a sensory ninja and therefore was able to know the amount of chakra she had before others could register.

"I've never seen that symbol on her headband before," Hiruzen answered. "But she's dressed in the standard issue shinobi uniform for Konoha."

"Do you recognize her at all?" asked the white haired man.

"No. I do not."

The blonde carefully lowered the woman to the floor but kept her in his arms. His companion stepped away from leaning against the wall and walked over to where the piece of paper laid from when the woman dropped it. Picking it up, he scanned it over. "Sensei, it's addressed to you and has the Leaf Village seal on it." His eyes then narrowed. "And it's in Tsunade's hand writing."

"What?!" the blonde blurted. "How can that be?"

Hiruzen lifted up his hand for the young man to be silent. "Jiraiya, hand me the letter. Minato, why don't you take our wounded guest to the hospital? She looks like she's nearly depleted of chakra. Whatever has happened, I'm sure this letter will give some explanation to it."

"And if it doesn't?" asked the man known as Jiraiya.

"Then I will have Inoichi probe her mind to get the answers. One can never be too careful especially when they appear suddenly in the office."

Minato nodded. "Yes, Lord Hokage. I guess our meeting is adjourned, for now."

"Yes, until we can figure this woman out."

Jiraiya did as he was instructed and handed his Sensei the letter at the same time, Minato pulled the woman into his arms and suddenly disappeared in a flash.

Once getting the pink haired woman to the hospital, Minato searched for a nurse to help him. It didn't take long since he was one of the eligible bachelors in Konoha even though he currently had a girlfriend. He often heard many girls speak how handsome he was. He'd give them a friendly smile and return back to whatever it was he was doing at the time.

As soon as the young pink haired woman was situated in a hospital bed and all cleaned up from her injuries, Minato decided to stay with her until Lord Hokage would arrive. He had no doubt the man would show up and explain what was going on. He also wanted to be sure she wasn't alone in case she woke up. Who was she and where did she come from? She bore the Konoha uniform but wasn't known to anyone. This wasn't the best time to deal with such matters. They were in the middle of a war, the Third Shinobi war.

Minato sat with the woman for about an hour before Inoichi, Jiraiya and the Hokage entered the room. Minato stood and gave his Hokage a respectful bow. "I will take my leave now."

"No," Hiruzen answered. "We want you to be present for this."

"Sir?" Minato blinked, confused.

"Here read this." Hiruzen offered the letter the pinkette dropped when she collapsed. "And you can read it aloud for Jiraiya and Inoichi to know what it says."

Minato's eyes glanced at the letter before taking it. He unfolded the paper and began to read.

"Lord Third Hokage, I know this is hard for you to understand but there's much to tell you in little time. The woman before you is known as Sakura Haruno and is a very capable medical ninja. She is a great shinobi and is, don't laugh, from the future. The world she's from has been destroyed. Everyone she ever knew is gone. Please, look after her for me. She's my student and has learnt a lot from me. Her mission in your time frame is to prevent the destruction of the Ninja world. I will let her explain the details. Thank you, Sensei.

Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

P.S. Never thought being in your shoes would I ever do this."

"Fifth Hokage!?" Jiraiya blurted, surprised by this. "We haven't even given the reigns over for the Fourth Hokage."

"Yes I know, which is why I'm going to have Inoichi here probe her mind and find out if there's truth to this letter," Hiruzen replied.

"Now, I see why you requested my presence," the man replied.

Jiraiya nodded. "With Tsunade gone, who knows. She could have been captured and had this woman brought here as a trap."

Minato hated that idea. Such a wonderful looking woman as bait for a trap, it didn't seem right. However, he had a feeling that wasn't the case.

"And with her unconscious, it will be easier for me to do so without any resistance," answered the man who had his long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Who knows how long she will be unconscious but I'd rather get it done as soon as possible," Hiruzen answered. "She could be out for hours or days. Her body has shut down to try and build up her chakra."

The man nodded and went over to the woman. "You know. If you were to touch my shoulder, you would be able to see what I see," he suggested. "But I could only do one of you."

The three other men looked at one another.

"Perhaps that would be a good idea," answered the Third Hokage. "Who do you have in mind?"

Inoichi looked to the blonde. "Minato, how about you?"

"Me?" Minato blinked, looking to the young Yamanaka clan leader. "May I ask why?"

"Linking a mind with my own can be taxing on the chakra," Inoichi replied.

Thinking it over a moment, he gave a nod. "Alright." Going over to the Yamanaka man, he rested his hand on the man's shoulder.

With a nod, Inoichi turned and placed his hand on her forehead and began to concentrate, working on trying to reach the far reaches of her mind. Both men felt their consciousness be pulled towards her mind where they soon found themselves in darkness.

"Where are we?" Minato asked, standing beside the man.

"We're in the entrance to her mind. No matter what you do, do not drop your connection with me. Whatever happens in here, can affect our bodies."

"I will."

Just then, the two felt a presence approaching, but why would there be a presence inside a mind when the mind has shut down to heal?

"Who are you!" demanded a female voice.

Inoichi looked up to see a woman appear from the darkness. She wore a similar outfit as to the woman lying unconscious. On her forehead had stamped the meaning of 'inner'. Seeing the woman, surprised him but then an immediate understanding washed over him. "So it's true then. There are some people who have the ability to have a consciousness within a consciousness."

"Consciousness within a consciousness?" Minato was confused. He was a smart man but things dealing with the mind were way out of his league. He always left that up to the Yamanaka clan and Interrogation group.

"So what?" The woman planted her hand on her hips. "You never answered my question. Who the hell are you? You look familiar but how can that be…you're dead."

"Excuse me?" Inoichi asked, quirking a brow. "Perhaps you need to clarify yourself. I don't think we need to clarify ourselves until you do the same."

"Why should I? You two are ones who is in her mind, not me. I've lived here all her life."

"She has a point," Minato agreed.

"You say we're familiar but we're dead…" He was going on a hunch. "If you say you know who we are, then you would know what I can do."

The woman was silent a moment Inoichi Yamanaka was quite the shinobi and someone one didn't want to mess with. "I'm unconscious aren't I?" The men nod. "I was wondering when I'd collapse from exhaustion. Nearly going three days straight without sleep, fighting and trying to save Lady Hokage." She then sighed. "Fine. My name is Sakura Haruno, well the exterior part of me anyway. I'm her deep inner thoughts that doesn't get to come out much since she says what's on her mind."

"As in the Haruno clan?" the Yamanaka man asked.

"Yes. Sakura is from the future. She… I… we are 20 years old. A group called the Akatuski who called forth the Fourth Great Ninja War destroyed the world she left. She is all who is left of that world and the Fifth Hokage insisted for her to travel back in time to prevent the world to fall apart a second time. It's a one-way trip. The war we fought lasted for four years and began when she was 16."

"How?" This was a different way to find the information Inoichi was looking for, as normally he'd just probe the mind. But if Sakura's inner thoughts would answer all his questions, he wouldn't have to search her memories.

"How she came here to your time, the past? Simple, a jutsu from within the scroll of sealing. She blew up the scroll of sealing before the enemy could try and follow her."

Inoichi wasn't sure what to make of that. That was nearly exactly what the letter stated too that she was from the future. As he looked at the 'inner' woman, all around them began to shift to showing a little girl looking in the mirror getting ready to head to the first day of her academy years. "I will show you. It will be easier than you just probe her mind like you usually do. To know Sakura, it's best to start at the beginning."

Minato was immediately mesmerized at the little pink haired girl who had a huge smile on her face, excited about going to the academy. He gave a small smile at how innocent she looked and it reminded him of his academy days. For several minutes the men watched as snippets of Sakura's academy years rolled by like watching a movie. Inoichi knew these were memories as they were seen from Sakura's point of view.

Soon the scene shifted to when the said girl graduated from the academy and she was pinning of over a kid who lost his entire clan a few years earlier. Minato's eyes widened in surprise to know who her sensei was. "Kakashi…" he breathed, able to recognized the man. Just by his silver hair and mask. He just knew.

Inner Sakura looked to the blonde. "Yes. Kakashi-Sensei was her teacher for a short while until everything blew up, so to speak. He was forced to disband his team and each member went onto doing different things. Lady Tsunade then trained Sakura. She's a very capable medical ninja and has very good chakra control."

Inoichi was baffled in what he was seeing including when the girl joined the Chunin exams and even saw himself during a battle, interrupting the Chunin exams, which took the life of the Third Hokage. He couldn't believe he was witnessing deaths of his friends and how. He got to see what people looked like later in life and what would become of the village after the fall of the Hokage.

Minato was surprised that so far he had seen nothing of himself in Sakura's memories, which was making him believe he was dead in Sakura's time. He didn't like the idea of that. Yes, being a shinobi, one often didn't get to see the golden years or even witness their children grow up and have their own children. Death was not something he feared, but it was a bit unsettling to know he would be dead by the time Sakura graduated from the academy.

The two watched silently as Inner Sakura went through several various memories, including how Team Kakashi saved the Fifth Kazekage from the Akatsuki and even when the village was destroyed by Pein's attack. At the point when it finally came to when the war began, the two were quite appalled.

"I can't believe that one man could destroy an entire village," Minato breathed.

Inner Sakura frowned. "Well believe it! Because this is exactly what happened and this happened four years ago, weeks before the war was declared. Pein did a major number and killed most of the citizens. However, thanks to Naruto, he was able to convince Pein on what he was doing was wrong and Pein, as his last gift to the world, brought back everyone he had killed."

"Pein?" Inoichi asked.

"Yeah, just like the way the word sounds but spelled differently. For the longest time he was the leader of the Akatuski, or so everyone was led to believe but in reality it was someone else."

Minato frowned. "Who?"

Inner Sakura shook her head. "That isn't my place to say. You're not here to know that, that is up to the real me in what to let you all in on, when it comes to things like that. You're only goal here is to see proof that Sakura is from the future." She swung her arm and the scene that was playing of Sakura looking over the unconscious body of Lady Tsunade to when things really began to heat up in the war.

Inoichi was impressed by Sakura's life and the adventures she went through and how she became strong by the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade the Sannin. But the second, the scene switched to all the dead bodies the death toll continued to grow, his face-hardened. This young woman had seen so much death in so little time. Never had he ever witnessed such trauma in the years he'd been a ninja.

Both he and Minato watched with grim faces with how the fourth war began and how Inoichi died and those around him, leaving only Sakura left. The two then watched the last several moments of Sakura's old life, as dying Tsunade told her to find the scroll of sealing and travel back to stop everything from happening.

"You see," inner Sakura finally said. "Sakura has been through hell and back. Her life started out peaceful but it took a turn for the worse the day Orochimaru attacked the village by infiltrating the Sand Village, killed their fourth Kazekage and assumed his identity to try and destroy his own village. And then from then on her life began to spiral out of control at such a young age. Even you grew up through a war so you have an idea what it was like for her. She can now undo what is to come. Lives yet to be born can be saved. There is nothing for her to return to. Her ninja world is over."

Inoichi turned to inner Sakura, still watching the last several moments of Sakura's old life before she vanished and reappeared in the Hokage's office. "I see. Thank you for not resisting."

"Why would I?" the inner pinkette asked. "You're the best mind prober who ever lived. You can do some serious damage if not careful."

"I just have one question. Where was the Fourth Hokage?" Minato asked. "Lady Tsunade was named Fifth, meaning the fourth died."

Inner Sakura shook her head. "Again, I can't tell you that. I only showed you what you needed to know. Yes, if Inoichi wanted to, he could probe her mind and get that information. What I can tell you is that the Fourth Hokage died before she joined the academy. She can tell you the reasons why."

"Thank you, again. There is a lot to discuss. We better let our Hokage know."

Inner Sakura nodded. "Before you leave I should warn you, for her doing this will no doubt create a time paradox. The survivors of her time could try and go back and stop her. But she will never be able to return to her world again. The time travel jutsu is only a one way and it's backwards."

He gave a nod just as the entire area faded, allowing Inoichi and Minato to return back to their bodies.

Minato was quick to release his touch on Inoichi before staggering back, grabbing his head. "Whoa… what a rush!" His movement caught the attention of the Hokage and Jiraiya. Just then Inoichi blink several seconds before taking a few quivering steps back. Having Minato connected was confusing to his senses. Not to mention the way he obtained the information needed.

Hiruzen gave a sturdy look. "What did you see?"

"You were in there quite a long time," Jiraiya replied, noting the time on the wall clock. "It's been three hours since you connected with her mind."

"Three hours?" Minato gasped, looking to the older blonde man. "Didn't realize it was that long."

Inoichi took a couple deep breaths before glancing to his Hokage. "I saw our deaths."

Jiriaya gasped. So was the letter speaking the truth then? Getting over the shock quickly he saw there was a nearby chair. With wanting Inoichi to get his bearings back, he helped the man over to the chair, allowing him to take a seat.

Once sitting, Inoichi looked to his Hokage. "Sir, the letter speaks the truth. She is indeed from the future. She also has a consciousness within a consciousness. I heard it was possible but never thought a Haruno could possess such a gift. Her inner self showed us everything."

Both the Hokage and Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"Seriously?" Jiraiya blinked.

"Jiraiya-Sensei," Minato began as he took a seat on the bed, near the woman's feet. "What we saw is nothing like you'd ever believe. Her inner consciousness allowed us to see snippets of her life from the time she was a child joining the academy to the day Lady Tsunade gave her the suicide mission to come here."

"Including how the Fourth War started, at least from Sakura's point of view," Inoichi added in.

"So what now? Do we allow her to become part of our society, knowing what our deaths are?" Jiraiya asked.

"How did she get here?" asked the Third Hokage, ignoring his former student's question.

"A time travel jutsu from within the contents of the Scroll of Sealing," Inoichi answered. "Her inner consciousness told us that from her being here, it may have created a time paradox and the jutsu is only a one way ticket."

Hiruzen thought a moment. "Yes, it does. It's a forbidden jutsu as it can leave to dire consequences." He looked at the Yamanaka man. "What else did you learn?"

Minato looked to Sakura and felt terrible for her. She had been through so much. The deaths of her entire village and have to live with that, had got to be tough on her. No Shinobi had ever lived a life like that. Usually if ninja villages were wiped out, there'd be no one left. Though there was one thing that kept puzzling him. Who was this Naruto kid and why did he resemble him?

"Everything in the letter is true. Tsunade becomes the Fifth Hokage after your passing and the passing of the Fourth Hokage who died before Sakura was joined the academy."

"That means…" Minato began.

"Not necessarily," Jiraiya answered, catching on to what his young former student was getting at. Minato was set to become Hokage once the war was over and had been on the teachings to become a Hokage. "As we all know you're the next to become Hokage but knowing these details that could all change now. The letter states she's here to change her past, which is our future."

"One thing at a time Jiraiya," the Hokage responded. "Anything Sakura changes will ultimately create a time paradox. Already events are changing with her being here. However the problem of the matter is the more she changes new consequences that never happened could wind up happening."

"Which means those who destroyed her world could return to stop her then," Inoichi stated. "She may have destroyed the scroll of sealing in her time, but what if they found another way?"

"It is highly unlikely but in case they do, we'll need to know who they are," Hiruzen responded. "She will have a lot to explain to us so we can understand what to look for in case they do. However, it's more the worry that the destruction of her world could still happen, but differently. We have yet to know who her enemy was."

Jiraiya looked at the pinkette before turning back to Inoichi. "What exactly did you see in your mind probe?"

"It's hard to describe it," the man answered. "I saw her as a child, happy to be joining the academy and then of course her graduating nearly at the top of her class. She even got to take the Chunin Exams in the same year she graduated but failed. It was very detailed. The inner Sakura never resisted and very willingly allowed us to see more than we needed to, including the moments leading up to her arrival here when her Hokage told her to go back in time and prevent the war from happening."

Minato glanced back over to the woman. His heart immediately ached for her. She had been through so much. "It's amazing she lasted this long. Everything and everyone she knows is dead and yet being here, will overwhelm her because her friends haven't been born yet and the adults in her time are either just coming of age or are still teenagers in this time."

"The transition of her living in this world will be tough, but I'm sure she'll manage and she can befriend her old friends and develop new ones," Jiraiya stated. "Her will of fire is strong."

"I agree." The Third Hokage glanced at the woman. "She went through so much and sacrificed much to come here. Tsunade must have been planning to send Sakura here before her final battle to prevent this." He then gave a sigh. "For now I will have a couple ANBU stationed just outside her door. Only the four of us to enter for visitors. No one else besides nurses is to see her."

"What about Danzo? What if he comes out of hiding?" asked Jiraiya. "You know he will get wind of this."

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," Hiruzen answered. "Right now he doesn't know and we'll keep it that way for as long as possible. Eventually one of his members will find out about this, especially after learning I ordered no visitors to a new patient, but even then it will take a day or two for him to get word. And he'll no doubt look into it and find out she appeared out of nowhere in my office, which he has no jurisdiction anyway."

Inoichi looked to the young woman before looking to his Hokage. "She probably won't wake any time soon. She lost a lot of chakra."

"Agreed," Hiruzen answered. "Let's let her rest for now. I'll check in on her later."

With everyone agreeing, they left the young woman alone for rest. Minato stayed behind in case she was to wake. He was determined to be there for her when she woke up. There were still a lot of questions to be answered and with the woman nearly depleted of chakra, they were going to need to wait until she woke and in that time the counsel would no doubt get wind of everything that was going on and then Danzo would get on Hiruzen case about wanting to know who the woman was and why she was there.

Hiruzen knew he had to make a cover story but with Tsunade away, he was going to have to think of a story and hope the hell when she would return, she would go along with it. There was no way the Hokage was going to let Danzo know the pink haired girl was from another time. He'd probably want her imprisoned or worse… use her for his own devices. It was no secret to those closest to the Hokage, Danzo wanted to be Hokage. And since soon there will be need for a new Hokage, the Third Hokage did not want Danzo to know, yet, the position is already going to be filled.