Ahaha... Awkwardly laughs as new chapter loads... I'm terribly sorry that this chapter took so long! I have a skeleton plan on what needs to happen and what will happen, but I don't have anything planned that acts as a filler as I get from point A to B. Actually I do, but it never seems to fit so I just improvise... And the fact that this is my first fanfic, I'm super busy with school, and the fact that I'm extremely picky about my work... I feel writing a multi chapter fanfic was a tad bit ambitious... Anywho! If anyone has any suggestions on what you want see happen please review or message me! It would be greatly appreciated if I had suggestions so I'm not coming up with this myself.

ALSO! There will be somethings that may confuse you in this chapter... all I can say is trust me and the truth will be revealed in the coming chapters! So please be patient with this story:) I'm also sorry to say that this will be an eventual Tobirama and Sakura fanfic! I need to get this story rolling and get some stuff established before any romance happens... so it shouldn't be happening anytime soon! Sorry about that!

As much as I enjoy writing, I love reading the reviews and seeing how much everyone is enjoying this! Your comments are so encouraging and rewarding! Thank you for those who have favorited/followed!

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Thank you so much!

Hiruzen was looking over mission reports when Danzo had waltzed in, furious. Wanting to avoid fighting his close friend, Hiruzen had pointedly ignored him in hopes that Danzo's anger would subside as he finished writing his notes on a scroll. Looking up and seeing Danzo's face flushed in anger, Hiruzen calmly began to plan how he could worm his way out of his friend's wrath.

"What do you want Danzo?"

Hiruzen watched Danzo as his face turned an alarming shade of purple before taking a deep breath. "You had promised me the girl, Haruno Sakura."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "You had requested Haruno Sakura be transferred into your division Root, and I had not promised you anything. She is still but a child. No child should be put in situations like this."

"And yet you allow a toddler, a child not even old enough to attend the academy to be placed in Anbu, where you had denied placing Uchiha Itachi in until he becomes chunin."

Hiruzen slowly inhaled, wishing his late wife Biwako was here to whip their friends, the elders of Konoha into line. She always had a way to make them listen, whether they liked it or not. "She will be in Anbu only in name. The only reason why she's there, is because you convinced the rest of council to demand Sakura's placement in Anbu! My decision is final. Haruno Sakura will be an Anbu in training until she is old enough to partake in missions."

Hiruzen watched with bated breath as Danzo puffed his chest in anger, "Very well," he grit out before exiting the office with a swish of his robes.

Sighing, Hiruzen rubbed his face as he wondered if he had made the best decision after all.

…

Sakura stared distastefully at the porcelain mask laying innocently on her bedside. Tatsuo had taken her to Anbu headquarters to get fitted for her armor and get her mask. Usually, Anbu had armor of all sizes, but only for adults. Since she was so young, "little" according to Tatsuo, she had to get her armor customized.

She didn't even know why the village elders demanded that she start her shinobi career so early. There wasn't even a war going on. And they didn't even bother to make her a genin at four years old. No, the crazy douchebags assumed that if they tossed her into raging waters, she would instinctively know how to walk on water. Well, she already knew how to do that, but that was only because Tatsuo wanted her to be prepared for everything. At her age, it was hard since her chakra system was still developing.

Sakura suddenly scowled. The baka-kashi told her to meet their team at 05:00 at a bridge somewhere southeast of Konoha's training grounds. She didn't even know where the training grounds were located, and that damn scarecrow knew it.

Harunos were constantly moving, gathering intel from their informants and learning fighting styles from all over the Great Nations. She could count the number of times she had visited Konoha with one hand, and still have two fingers left over.

The first time she had visited the leaf village, she was being introduced to the third hokage and the clans of Konoha as the Haruno heir and successor to the merchant clan. The second time was because she snuck out and visited the village while her parents were stuck a village over discussing trade negotiations with another merchant clan. The third time… was when she had attended the memorial service of her father. His body was buried at the Haruno ancestral grounds but the service was for all the shinobi involved in the Hyuga Affair.

Sakura shook her head, no time for that. She had to decide what to do with the bastard she had to call her team leader. He just… rubbed her the wrong way, always knowing the little things that got her mad. He was like a drunk Tatsuo who never knew when to stop until baa-chan threw kunai at him. She couldn't throw kunai at baka-kashi to kill him like how baa-chan liked to do to Tatsuo, but she could make him regret ever having the misfortune of meeting her.

Yeah, she would do that. After she figured out where in the world that damn bridge is.

Anbu for less than a day and she already hated it.

…

Sakura was not amused.

She had woken up 2 hours before their designated time and had scoured the whole village to find the meeting spot only to find no one there. It was already 7AM and Sakura was ready to sic Tatsuo on the bastard captain. The damn man-child was probably watching somewhere and laughing his ass off.

Sakura huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms in front of her small chest. What was up with her team? Shinobi were supposed to be punctual damn it. Breathing deeply through her nose, she forced herself to relax, deciding to meditate while she silently stewed in her anger.

It was an hour later when she felt two foreign chakra signatures headed in her direction. Her new team. Cracking open an eye, Sakura watched as two males, one smaller than the other, landed silently a few feet away. Grumbling slightly in annoyance, Sakura stood up and was prepared to greet them when she was engulfed in a hug by the smaller male. His warmth unwelcoming to her small body.

"Soo cute!" he babbled, wrapping his longer arms around the small girl before swinging her around like a rag doll.

Eyes blown wide, Sakura yelped squirming her way out of his arms, only to stop when his arms began to tighten and make it hard to breathe. "You look like a little wood nymph! You're so adorable I want to keep you in my weapons pouch!"

Sakura sputtered, vainly attempting to pry off the arms encasing her, before looking at the other male pleadingly only for him to turn around and stare off into the distance.

What happened to swearing an oath to help protect the village and its inhabitants? This inhabitant needs help getting away from this weirdo right here!

The smaller male gasped before setting Sakura down and held her shoulders firmly, "Are you the new member taichou was telling us about!"

Annoyed with her captor, Sakura huffed, "So what?" only to cringe in surprise when the small male grabbed her cheeks and began pulling.

"You're so cute!" he squealed, before turning to his companion, "Can we keep her?"

"Shisui," the other man said exasperatedly, "You don't go treating people like pets, especially new teammates."

"But Tenzo!" Shisui whined, "she's so tiny! She looks like she's little Sasuke's age…"

"Age, size, and gender don't matter in ANBU," chided the older male.

"Mah, she's small enough to be adopted by Pakkun."

The group turned to look at their team leader, who was leaning on a training post a few feet away. Sakura looked curiously at the other two males to see if they were surprised by their captain's presence. Shisui and the other male looked calm, as if they were waiting for Kakashi to come out of his hiding place.

Sakura felt a creeping sense of dread. When had he gotten so close without her sensing him?

"You're late!" Shisui accused, "And why didn't you tell us that our new teammate is so cute?"

"Mah Shisui-kun," Kakashi said drolly, "There was a fish drowning at the edge of the river and I had to go save it. All life is important you know."

"Liar! Fish can't drown!" Shisui shrieked, his pitch hurting Sakura's ears, "Then what about our teammate?"

Kakashi smiled, eyes crinkling with false happiness, "I wanted it to be a surprise." He waved his hands with a flourish, "Team 3… meet Sakura, your new teammate."

Sakura stared at everyone in her new team, Kakashi's goddamn smirk, Shisui's excited smile, and Tenzo's welcoming wave a few feet away. She felt Shisui's arms still encased around her, his once unwelcomed warmth seeping in and leaving a warm feeling inside. She hadn't felt this warm since Papa had been alive, when her family had been whole.

If these people are with her then maybe…

Just maybe…

Anbu wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sakura smiled brightly for the first time since her mother's death, "I may be young, inexperienced, and have a little bit of trouble at first but I will do my best! Please take care of me!" bowing low with Shisui's arms around her stomach before Shisui to threw her over his shoulders and onto his back with a deep laugh. Confused she turned to look at the other two for guidance.

"Sakura-san," Tenzo said, smiling, "Forgive Shisui, he's a bit strange." ignoring Shisui's loud complaint he continued,

"Welcome to team 3."

…

Sakura woke up with a jolt, jerking her limbs as she scrambled out of her makeshift bed. Panting she lurched forward and ran to a nearby bush as she hurled whatever was in her stomach onto the forest floor. Sweat dribbled down her face as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Once she was relatively calm, Sakura glanced up at the sky to gauge the time.

An hour or so before sunrise.

Swearing, Sakura hurriedly gathered her belongings before making her way back home. She had run low on chakra after healing one of the nearby villages and had decided to rest on the village outskirts before traveling back. Unable to help herself, Sakura felt her lips quirk in mild amusement, apparently her body decided that she needed rest, making her oversleep.

She had to get back home and change before Biwako woke up, and Sakura's been making sure Biwako's been waking up with the sun as a part of her training. Sakura wanted to groan at the thought of explaining her nightly activities to Biwako. She would never hear the end of it.

In the past few weeks or so, she had been traveling to nearby villages almost every night, helping those who needed healing or growing crops at villages with famine with her clan's kekkei genkai, the Maji.

The latest village Sakura had decided to help was small, riddled with diseases and it took Sakura longer than she thought to handle it all. She had to sterilize the entire village before making various ointments for the villagers before healing them with her chakra, after that she had left detailed instructions on how to avoid another epidemic by maintaining a clean environment.

All in one night.

Sakura sighed, rubbing her face wearily as she made her way inside her small cabin that she had made when she and Biwako first arrived in the forest. From healing and making life easier for villages at night to training Biwako and growing medicinal herbs in the day, she had her work cut out for her.

Once she had finished changing out of her old Anbu clothes and had slipped Kakashi's dog mask somewhere where Biwako wouldn't be able to reach, Sakura scribbled a note for Biwako to meet her outside before ambling out into a nearby field of grass to meditate. She was close enough so that Biwako should be able to find her with no trouble if she went looking, and far enough that Sakura would have enough time to meditate for a decent amount before Biwako came looking. True to her word, Biwako came tumbling out of their cabin with sleepy eyes and a big yawn half an hour later.

Sakura smiled gently as she got up to greet her young pupil, "Good morning Biwako-chan."

Smiling at Biwako's mumbled greeting, she slowly led her to a nearby stream, a few feet away from their cabin.

They stood there for a few minutes before Biwako broke the silence.

"Why are we here? And how come I don't get to break my fast before doing this?"

Sakura smirked before sliding into one of Tatsuo's favorite taijutsu stances, "We'll be doing what my teacher had once done to me. Before you leave today you have to beat me in taijutsu. Land one hit, and I'll consider that a win. Until then, you won't be able to eat or rest. One hit, understood?" Seeing Biwako snap to attention at the thought of not eating for an indefinite amount of time before nodding, Sakura continued, "We start now!" before lunging at her pupil.

…

Sakura had sparred with Biwako for a good hour or so before Biwako had knelt over in exhaustion. She was doing a lot better than before, and Sakura was proud with her growth. At the rate Biwako was growing, she would be a formidable kunoichi even though she had trouble harnessing chakra.

She still hadn't managed a hit, so Sakura was giving her a short break to recuperate before they continued their spar. Even though Sakura was holding back, Biwako was progressing quickly enough that she may be able to land a hit on her before nightfall. Creating a two water clones, Sakura gave one quick instructions to travel to a nearby village and gather information on anything that seemed interesting, and the other to hunt some game for Biwako as dinner. With the amount of energy Biwako had used in sparring with her, she would need that nutrition. After sending them off, Sakura waved at Biwako, "Ready for round two?"

"Hai!"

Grinning, Sakura waited for Biwako to get up before launching herself at her snarling apprentice.

…

"Mokuton: hana-tsukuri no jutsu!"

Sakura smiled happily as several small flowers grew in front of her. Crouching down, she beckoned Biwako over.

"What can you tell me about this herb?" she asked, pointing to the small red flowers.

Sakura watched amusedly as Biwako's face brighten, she knew this herb. "It's Poppy! It's used to help improve digestion and help in making red blood cells… and… and it helps people sleep better!"

Smiling, Sakura grew several different herbs before pointing at the one closest to her, "what about this one?"

"That one's chamomile! It's used to help treat hay fever, muscle spasms, menstrual problems and treating wounds!"

"And this?"

"Peonies! It's used for menstrual cramps, causing abortions, making you vomit, and used to treat upset stomachs and muscle cramps!"

Sakura beamed at Biwako, proud of her success, "Since you identified and listed the correct properties to each herb, lessons are over for today," smiling warmly at her pupil, "Good work today, Biwako."

Seeing Biwako nod and scamper off, Sakura turned her attention back to the herbs, she had to make more. For Konoha.

Just in case.

…

"Sakura-sensei!"

Sakura looked on, smiling at her small pupil that was a good distance away from her. Biwako was crouching down at the edge of a nearby stream a few feet away from the main road.

"Be careful not to fall in!" she called out before slowly making her way to her student.

Since Biwako had trouble grasping chakra and had yet to strengthen her muscles, they couldn't travel using trees just yet. She had to work on her balance before they could attempt to do that. Any sooner and Sakura was worried that Biwako might hurt herself.

Sakura sighed when Biwako shrieked, flailing into the stream with a loud splash. Sakura came to a stop at the edge of the stream when Biwako dragged herself out of the shallow waters.

Sakura giggled, "If you wanted to go swimming instead of the village you could have just said so." She crouched down and with a simple seal, began drawing the water out of Biwako's clothes.

Biwako huffed, cheeks pink, she turned her head to the side as she stood to avoid Sakura's amused gaze.

Laughing, Sakura clapped Biwako on the back, ignoring her student stumble, "Come on, we still have a few minutes before we reach the village," seeing Biwako pout, she continued, "I'll buy dango for lunch… and I promise to teach you how to travel through the trees after we come back," seeing Biwako brighten, Sakura ruffled Biwako's hair before wrapping her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders.

"Let's go."

…

Sakura and Biwako entered the village in silence.

Biwako in awe, the last time they had visited, many of the villagers had been sick, but now, the conditions of everything were much better. Everyone seemed lively.

Sakura was silent to observe, wanting to see how the villagers had been faring since she had healed them weeks prior. They seemed to be in good health, many were walking around with a healthy color to their faces.

They walked past the entrance of the market, stopping at the closest booth to observe the merchandise. Biwako had wandered off after begging Sakura for some coins to buy whatever she wanted at a nearby booth. Sakura picked up a small headpiece, a flower attached to a headband. It was a good quality piece, the flower was delicate and well made, the headband's fabric was sturdy.

"How much for this?" Sakura asked, lifting the pretty ornament to the booth owner, a middle-aged man with a large mustache.

"20 ryo," the shop keeper said.

Sakura couldn't help but blanch, that was pretty expensive. As Sakura forked over the money, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to this village? The last time I had visited, the village was in bad condition."

Sakura watched with sharp eyes as the man handed her change, "There was a sickness spreading through the villagers a few weeks back. Nothing the village healers did worked, and the villagers had prayed to the kamis for help. The kamis sent a guardian who took the form of a dog, healed us and grew us crops so we could survive," the man shook his head, "Never in my years had I ever seen the kamis bless this village, and when we needed them the most, they saved us!"

Sakura's lips quirked, "That's quite a miracle."

The man beamed, "Indeed! And…" he leaned over, voice hush, "the kamis bestowed the same blessing to other villages nearby… Just this morning, word came that a village a day's travel away had been saved by the same guardian the night before. Word has spread past the land of rain and villages from the land of fire are seeking this guardian for protection from the Kaguya clan."

Sakura froze, "The Kaguya clan?"

The man nodded eagerly, "Yes! The Kaguya clan who're rumored to descend from Kaguya Otsutsuki herself. They've been terrorizing villages in the land of fire… and already have destroyed three villages. The neighboring villages are terrified that the Kaguya clan will target them next. They've been fleeing to this village or villages near here for safe-haven."

Sakura leaned against the table, "I heard that the Uchiha and Senju clans have created an alliance, and that other clans have been gathering to form a village… these villages have not been seeking aid from this new village?"

The man crossed his arms, scoffing, "The two clans that have been warring for more than a century suddenly decide to forge an alliance? Those shinobi are violent barbarians who care for nothing but their own. The other villagers have been betting that the village won't last more than a few years before they attempt to murder each other."

Sakura nodded, contemplatively, "Indeed…" and idea sparked, "Excuse me, mister shop keeper?" when the older male nodded for her to continue, "May I ask what your name is?"

The older male began to laugh awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "U-uh missus. As lovely as it is talking to you, I have a wife and two kids and am quite happy with my life, thank you very-"

Sakura's cheeks turned scarlet, "N-no! I didn't mean that! I just wanted to know your name!"

Relaxing slightly, the man laughed, cheeks pink, "Sota Watanabe."

Sakura fished out her coin purse and handed him the bag, it had at least a thousand ryo. "I would like for you to continue giving me information. Anything out of the ordinary or rumors from neighboring villages about anything worth noting. Anytime I visit and you have information to give, I will pay you as well as today… would you like to continue?"

Sakura watched calmly as Sota counted the money, eyes growing larger with every hundred ryo. He looked at her, stunned, "Why would you give me this much? This is at least years' worth of salary!"

Sakura smiled faintly, the image of her teammates etched into the back of her eyelids. "I have people I need to protect and gathering information will help me do so," she looked directly into Sota's eyes, studying him intensely, "Will you help me do it?"

Sota slowly slid Sakura back her bag, "I don't know who you are… or what you do… but if your reason to do this is to protect your loved ones… I'd gladly help you."

Sakura blinked in surprise, the other informants had accepted her payment… this was a first, "Thank you."

Sota beamed brightly, "Now that we got this far… may I know the name of my employer?"

Sakura smirked, eyes dancing with intensity, "You can call me whatever you wish, but apparently you said that the villages have been calling me guardian sent by the kamis."

…

"Biwako!"

Sakura smiled as Biwako looked up at her from where she was sitting before waving wildly for her to come over. She was just a few feet away from her before Biwako began chattering excitedly about what she had bought. Sakura listened intently and made noises when appropriate, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She had to start sending hawks to her informants for them to keep, but she had to train them to track her down. Mentally groaning, Sakura silently made a checklist of things to do.

Send her hawks out to her informants, telling them specifically to use those hawks to communicate with her when they have information. And she needed to make another camp and some safehouses…

Sakura was thrown out of her musing when Biwako sighed loudly, "Sakura-sensei! You haven't been paying attention to me! And you still haven't bought me dango like you promised!"

Sakura chuckled, ruffling her student's hair, nostalgically remembering when Kakashi had done that to her and she had threatened to stab him. "I did, didn't I? I'll buy you another plate as an apology."

…

When night had fallen, Sakura set her plan into motion. She held up drawings of her informants to each hawk, "Each of you will be sent to one of these men, when they have information to send, you will come to me… understood?"

The hawks screeched in understanding, some flapping their wings in agreement. Sakura nodded in approval, before sending them off one by one to their new owners.

Sakura watched the night sky as the last one flew out of sight. She had finally created a network of informants, the last one being made this morning. Sighing, she looked away from the sky to look out into the forest, using her chakra to scan her surroundings. Her traps had been laid and tonight was the night that Sakura was taking a break and sleeping for once. Biwako had begun to notice the bags under her eyes and had commented on it when they had gone out to eat dango.

Sakura straightened when she felt a chakra signature flickering.

Someone was injured.

Taking off, Sakura darted out into the forest, heading east toward the river Biwako had fallen into just hours before. Sakura came to a stop at the edge and watched with wary eyes as she saw a small body float down the river.

It was a boy.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. He looked familiar… she moved closer to the body and scooped him up, running a glowing green hand across the boy's body. He was about a head shorter than her and half a head taller than Biwako. The boy had a fever and a few scratches on him, it wasn't serious, but he was mostly exhausted. Healing his wounds quickly and drawing out the water from his clothes, Sakura lifted his body and made her way home.

Once she laid him down on her bed, Sakura studied the boy with sharp eyes. She was sure the boy was someone she knew in the future… but who?

Sighing she grabbed a tome from her desk and made herself comfortable on a nearby chair. Even through the boy was young and she had brought him into her home, she didn't trust him enough to leave him alone. She had Biwako to think of, and she would never forgive herself if something happened to her because she got careless. As much as she hated it, her pupil had grown on her… like a fungus, gross and annoying to something worth protecting.

…

Sakura ran a hand through her hair frustrated. She had looked through her medical texts and old clan journals in an attempt to identify what was blocking Biwako's ability to use chakra. Which led to the main question.

Why couldn't Biwako use chakra? Her chakra coils were developing normally and her reserves aren't big, she should be able to harness chakra without any problem. Her system wasn't defective like Lee's and Sakura had done everything she could think of to help her.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She felt her eyes water in frustration.

She wanted her teammates next to her. And as much as she hated it, she wanted Kakashi to ruffle her hair and tell her everything would be alright. She wanted Naruto to hug her and Sasuke to awkwardly pat her back as he tried to comfort her. She wanted Yamato to encourage her and Sai to call her 'ugly' before pointing out the reasons why she shouldn't cry.

Most of all, she wanted her Tobirama, the one who she knew and trusted. The one who would callously tell her to find a solution and that failure wasn't an option. She wanted her Tobi who would smile at her when she did a good job, and the one who helped her when she was stuck. Her Tobirama, who had fanned her will of fire and taught her so many things. She wanted him next to her, his hand on top of hers as he silently gave her his support.

She missed him. And the Tobirama in this time period wasn't her Tobirama, he hadn't gone through the same things her Tobi had. Although older than her, he was young and different. He hadn't seen the things that scarred him so much in her time.

Which was good. But it wouldn't be long for things to run its course and the events that hurt her Tobi fall into place.

Could she handle that? Letting it happen?

Should she change the future so that Tobirama could live a better life… was she willing to pay the price?

Definitely.

But she wasn't sure what else would change. Would they still win the Fourth Great Shinobi War? Or would they lose? Would Tsunade still be the Godaime Hokage? Would Naruto's parents, the Yondaime Hokage and the Red-Hot Habanero live? Would the Uchiha Massacre, still happen?

In the end, was all of that worth it? Would her selfish wish justify everything else that happens afterward? They had won the war, Konoha was in peace, and everyone was happy.

That should be enough.

Tobi had constantly told her that he thought of the village's children as his own. He was happy with his life, without a lover and without a legacy. Technically Hiruzen was his legacy, his student who had inherited his will of fire, but he had no children, no one to continue his line.

Sakura was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a moan from her bed. Lowering her tome, she carefully walked around her scattered clan journals and medical texts toward the waking boy. She leaned forward and gasped when the boy's eyes snapped open.

She knew those eyes.

"Who are you?"

So... can anyone guess who the boy is? What did you think of this chapter? Like it? Hate it? Review and let me know please!