If you're also reading the bleach universe sequel, the first two and a half years are not the same, there are a few changes but after the fight with Ringo it's a completely different ball game, please read the whole chapter.

Prologue

First Year: Before her training even truly began, Tsunade had to lay out several ground rules Sakura needed to follow, specifically in regards to being a medic nin.

First rule; No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end.

Second rule; No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines.

Third rule; No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon.

Fourth rule: Only those who have mastered the Ninja Art Creation Rebirth-Strength of a Hundred Technique of the ninja art Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws.

It was these rules that were pounded into her head on day one, and they stuck to her like glue.

During her time with the Senin, Sakura would have to devote all her time and energy to learning medical ninjutsu, chakra control, super strength, taijutsu, and her swordsmanship skills.

Other ninjutsu and genjutsu was something she would have to learn while training under someone else. While Tsunade was a master of Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning jutsu, she wanted to focus on healing and strength. There would always be people who could control elements on the battlefield, but not everyone could learn medical ninjutsu.

It was because of this that Sakura decided to leave behind the elemental jutsu for now. She would still use what she already knows, but learn nothing new for the time being.

After she had been gone for just one month outside the the village, Tsunade had received a scroll from the Hokage, updating them on Sakura ninja status.

Shortly after the Third's funeral, the Fourth Hokage, the council, and some clan leaders all gathered to discuss what the results of the Chunin exams were going to be. If it would all just be considered invalid or if there was something to save from all the destruction.

Turns out, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Neji all made it to Chunin based off of not only their results in the exams, but the way they had also proved themselves after the invasion had begun.

They had sent her a Chunin flak jacket that Sakura made sure to keep sealed in a scroll in her pouch.

She won't be needing that for a few years anyway, but having it was nice.

The first year while training with Tsunade was unlike anything she had expected. The blood, sweat, and tears she shed as she pushed mind, body, and soul to their limits was exhausting in every sense of the word.

She learned how to bring healing chakra to the palms of her hands and keep a fish alive and breathing while it was out of the water. The first time she tried this technique, she had failed. Putting in too much chakra and burning the fish, this caused many thoughts to go through her mind.

The main one being; 'Let me try again,' as Senbonzakura encouraged her to never give up.

And she did try again. The second time she tried it, she used a little less chakra, this time not enough. The fish died yet again.

The third time showed much better results as she managed to keep the fish alive as long as she continued to used her healing chakra.

This was called the mystic palm technique.

The praise she received from everyone struck a cord in Sakura's heart, making her feel bittersweet at their kind words. This was what she was missing while being in team 7.

And as the months went by and her skills improved, Sakura was able to heal large cuts and fractured bones.

She learned the basic herbs to use to brew simple remedies ranging from teas to lotions to incense. These helped with things like sleeping issues, body pains, and common colds.

Another thing she truly wanted to do was work on her hand to hand combat skills, just in case she had to fight in a situation where Senbonzakura couldn't be used. She increased her muscle mass, her flexibility, and her balance.

Another few months later and she began learning to harness her normal chakra to her fists to increase her strength. Concentrating the chakra to her fist, she would release it at the point of impact, causing her chakra to shoot outwards, thus causing the blow to be so devastating.

The first time she had tried this however, she had sprained her wrist on impact from releasing the chakra too early. After bruising her bones and having them healed over and over again she finally managed to break a decent sized rock in half, with out breaking any bones.

Because of pushing her body to the limits, and meditating to restore her chakra, her reserves began to grow larger as well.

And near the end of her first year, Tsunade allowed her to make a summoning contract with her slugs, followed by showing her a forbidden jutsu. A seal that she managed to create in the middle of her forehead that allowed her to store small amounts of chakra over a long period of time. Once the seal is released she will be able to tap into those reserves and not have to worry about running out so quickly.

This forbidden jutsu was called the Strength of a Hundred Seal, a Yin release. Giving her the capabilities to learn greater jutsu, like the Creation Rebirth.

But the Creation Rebirth technique wouldn't be shown to her for at least another year.

She was thirteen years old at the end of the first year.

During her second year her mystic palm technique only improved. Now able to heal larger wounds that at first made her stomach do flips over and over again until she threw up from the sight and smell of mangled bodies that were still alive and suffering. But as time went on she could look at internal organs spilling from someone's body and knew exactly where to put them back into place and heal them.

She learned how to scramble someone's nervous system and sever muscles and tendons with chakra scalpels, making limbs immobile and useless.

With her inhuman strength she was able to break boulders and create fissures in the ground with a single punch. She could punch an enemy through several walls and uproot trees from the very ground they were seated in.

Her knowledge on poisons also grew larger. She was able to make antidotes for some of the most complex concoctions she had ever seen.

She learned how to extract poisons from the body as well, as long as she had water to purge someone's system. She could extract, analyze, and cure most poisons she came across.

She was by no means an expert on the matter, but she was pretty damn proud of everything she had learned about poisons and their causes thus far.

The amount of chakra stored in her seal continued to grow with each passing day, in the one year of having the seal, she had nearly double the amount of her normal chakra reserves stored in her seal. Meaning she could fight for twice as long if she were to use it.

With now much larger chakra reserves compared to when she had left the village, Tsunade was confident in teaching her the Creation Rebirth technique. Giving Sakura the ability to heal herself and others on a whole new level. But in more severe cases, it would come at the cost of her own life force.

She was fourteen years old at the end of the second year.

The third year had proved to be the most challenging for Sakura.

The beginning of the year had started out with them discovering a small town that had been taken over with a sickness to which all three women devoted themselves to helping the town and save the lives of all the townspeople.

Around a month later, after having saved the town, the women continued their journey across the nations. Further increasing Sakura's skills beyond what even Tsunade had expected. Sakura's determination was a rarity that easily made Tsunade proud to say that she was her apprentice.

Her skills in not only medical ninjutsu, but her inhuman strength as well, had exceeded Tsunade's own skills, far passing the expectations Tsunade had for her young apprentice. Crushing mountains with her pinky finger was something that made Tsunade cry tears of joy.

It was around six months after her third year of training began where Sakura had a true sense of fear for her own life.

Yes, she had seen Orochimaru and all his sliminess during the exams, but she was only a bystander as he was after her teammates life, not her own. And with Gaara, she had witnessed his own ferocity during the exams as well but back then, he was after everyone. All of Konoha was his target as he released the Shukaku spirit from within him, not her directly. Even in her battle with Zabuza he was not after her own life, he was after Tazuna's life and anyone else who was trying to finish building the bridge.

But this was a women after her own life and no one else's. This was the first time Sakura could say she truly witnessed Death coming for her soul.

Ameyuri Ringo, a proud member of the first generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, was after her for being in possession of Senbonzakura. A sword scroll that came from Kirigakure. Ringo proclaimed that a girl like her had no right to wield the blade she was given, by someone who was a traitor to her village.

The ambush happened at such an unlucky time, it was while Tsunade decided to take the day off and go to the nearest casino to gamble and have a few drinks. This was a normal occurrence for Sakura, staying in the hotel room by herself while Tsunade went off and did as she pleased for the night while Shizune tagged along to make sure Tsunade didn't do anything reckless.

Meaning, Sakura was by herself in a room, studying medical textbooks and talking with Senbonzakura when an innocent knock came from her front door.

Sensing the chakra as one she didn't recognize, she approached with caution. But as soon as the door was unlocked it went flying off its hinges and out into the hallway.

The scream that came from her mouth was due to the lighting that struck her body as one of the twin Kiba swords pierced her shoulder.

Senbonzakura had never reacted so fast before.

The thousand flower petals rushed the enemy and she was forced to take several steps back.

Sakura knew that this was going to be a fight to the death after seeing the look in the Kiri-nin's eyes. Death. No remorse.

It was strange though. Tsunade had grilled Sakura on all the current members of the Seven Swordsmen due to the high possibility of them coming for her, and Ringo's personality was nearly the opposite from what was described to her versus what she was personally witnessing.

Sakura knew she would have to battle Ringo with Senbonzakura alone. It would have been an insult to do otherwise.

The battle moved from the hotel they were at to a secluded part of the forest where there would be no one to interfere or get caught in the crossfire.

The battle was fierce as Sakura was certain she was out classed against someone so skilled, but Senbonzakura continued to give her encouragement.

As the battle went on Sakura had one thought that was going through her mind... she was going to die.

Blow after blow came at her, Ringo moved in speeds that made it difficult for Senbonzakura to keep up with, especially when he was sent to one place where she was, but when she substituted to another, he couldn't keep up.

After a devastating strike with lightning, Sakura had thought she lost consciousness. She had woken up in the same field of Sakura Blossom trees after her first time meeting Senbonzakura.

He had come to her and asked her if she was ready to die, or if she wanted to live.

Naturally, she chose the latter.

He told her to call on his name, his full name, and use him to defend herself.

As Sakura came back into the real world she realized time had almost stopped while she was in her mindscape.

She felt a surge of power coming through the center of her being and push outward. She knew what this was, she could feel it.

Her Bankai.

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Her appearance changed to that of samurai armor as fourteen large swords appeared around her, seven on each side.

The swords crumbled into Sakura petals, they were ten times faster and stronger than that of her Shikai form.

Thanks to her armor she was able to protect her body from the next series of attacks, stunning Ringo for a few moments, but that was all she needed.

Ringo May have had more experience over her, but she did not have a Bankai.

Lightning came her way but most of the shock was absorbed by the armor, causing no damage to the pink haired medic.

As Sakura's power grew she soon gained the upper hand. It didn't take long for Sakura to completely overwhelm the Kiri-nin.

The millions of blade fragments quickly shredded the woman's skin and pierced through her flesh.

Ringo had fallen to her knees, bleeding and out of breath. Her Kiba swords fell out of the palm of her hands as she congratulated Sakura on winning their battle, stating that perhaps Sakura was more suited to the sword gifted to her than previously thought.

Her last dying wish was that she keep the Kiba blades and incinerate her body to keep her village secrets from falling into enemy hands.

She could at least grant her this one wish.

After Sakura's Bankai was back in its unreleased state she sealed the Kiba swords away, then she used her medical chakra to end Ringo's life quickly instead of letting her suffer through being burned alive.

She lit a fire in the destroyed part of the forest and loaded the Kiri-nin's body on top, watching it go up in flames. Her secrets leaving with her.

As Sakura left the vicinity after making sure Ringo's body was turned to ash, she failed to realize a pair of yellow snake eyes following her movements.

After the fight with Ringo, Sakura stumbled back to her room using her trusty Flash Step she had learned years ago during her Chunin exam training. Sighing in relief when she realized Tsunade and Shizune hadn't returned yet.

She discarded her torn clothing, healed all her wounds, bathed, and began to meditate to restore her lost chakra. Two hours later it was like Sakura had never left the room.

Tsunade nor Shizune didn't have the slightest idea that she had ever left the room, for she was asleep when they returned, and completely unscathed.

The third year was only half way over.

From that day on Sakura also dedicated herself to training more often with Senbonzakura. The last two and a half years was focused on Tsunade's training in the medical field, the next two and a half years would be focused on her swordsmanship skills.

Neither Tsunade nor Shizune were technically experts on that area, but Tsunade was a key player in the last war, and Senin. She was trained enough to prepare for the war that she can teach her a thing or two, and if not, she'd at least keep up with her enough to be a more than decent sparing partner.

The next few months was all about Sakura learning how to properly use Senbonzakura in Shikai form first. She wasn't completely used to that form just yet and she'd rather master Senbonzakura's forms as they come.

In just Shikai, Sakura was able to command Senbonzakura more efficiently than she was able to before in her fight with Ringo.

He was fast to control, especially when she used her arms to command him in certain directions.

At the end of her third year Sakura was fifteen years old.

The fourth year was dedicated to her Bankai.

The first time Tsunade and Shizune saw her in that form was that of pure amazement. They had never seen anything like it in their lives.

They way her clothes changed and the added swords of Senbonzakura astounded the two older women.

They watched as the little girl they first took under their wing grew into someone with astonishing abilities, as she grew into someone to be feared.

Anytime they were ambushed by some low life thugs, Sakura made quick work of incapacitating them.

The fear that used to appear on her face during battles with missing ninja soon disappeared. She wasn't completely okay with taking someone' life, none of them were. They were first and foremost healers after all.

But if they needed to, they were dead in minutes. No matter if it was from Tsunade and her strength, Shizune and her nasty medical tricks, or Sakura with the blades of Senbonzakura. Their enemies were gone.

Sakura hadn't faced someone nearly as strong as Ringo since their fights at year. It was almost strange how Sakura wanted another fight like that to happen, where she'd test out her new strength against someone who could push her to her limits more than her teachers would. Someone who was threatening to take her life away.

That kind of adrenaline was something that could never be topped by any mere battle agains typical rouges.

Her skill in swordsmanship was near that of an ANBU captain according to Tsunade. If she were to keep going, she might even be considered a master swordsman.

That thought excited her.

The only thing is, Senbonzakura told her it would take a long time for her to master all of his techniques, she may not even be done by the time her years outside the village are up.

But that was something she didn't want to dwell on, she'd do what she can for now, then keep on growing.

Just because she would be back in the village didn't mean she had to stop training seriously.

So for now, she'd learn what she could.

At the end of her fourth year, she was sixteen years old.

The beginning of her fifth year began in uncertainty.

Uncertain of the unknown.

The Akatsuki.

An organization comprised of S-class missing ninja from all of the main villages.

The amount of people in their organization was unknown, but they were strong.

Rumors of Akasuna no Sasori, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Deidara no Iwa were all members of the organization.

And if those rumors were true, it meant trouble.

The leader of the organization was still unknown. But whoever it was, they had to be incredibly powerful to be able to lead ninja as fearsome as Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara.

What was worse was what they were after. The Jinchuriki.

For a brief moment, Gaara's and Naruto's faces both flashed in Sakura's mind.

Her and Naruto may still have some unfinished business to talk about, but even she knew that if the Akatsuki got a hold of him it wouldn't be pretty. Even he didn't deserve something as bad as an extraction of a tailed beast. It would definitely end his life.

The only reason why Kushina had survived the extraction was because of her strong family line of being an Uzumaki, who were known for being containers of the nine tails, and because Tsunade just happened to be there and used her Creation Rebirth on her, healing all physical wounds. Her family bloodline taking care of the rest.

Naruto may also have Uzumaki blood in him, but due to the fact it's not one hundred percent Uzumaki, the chances of him surviving all on his own were cut almost in half.

Gaara had no such bloodline in him either. If the Shukaku spirit were to be extracted from the red head, there was no way he'd make it unless there was some kind of miracle.

Yes, the Akatsuki was something to be feared, strictly because of all the mystery surrounding said organization. And even if the unknown became known, there was no telling just what kind of tricks they had up their sleeve.

The way to identify them was by the black cloaks they wore with red clouds outlined in white, and the straw hats they used to cover their faces.

They had received a letter from Konoha saying to flee on sight if they could. If it was unavoidable, then they had better win.

Senbonzakura had scoffed at the words that was written.

Of course they would win. Senbonzakura wouldn't let anything bad happen to Sakura, and because of how important Tsunade and Shizune were to Sakura, he would also do what he could for them if they were close enough for him to reach.

It was another thing Sakura had realized. While Senbonzakura typically followed her commands, he also had a mind of his own, figuratively and literally.

If he wanted to rush to help Tsunade or Shizune while Sakura was not in danger, he would.

This was proven when they were attacked one day, half way through their fifth year, by higher ranking missing ninja, A-class at least.

They surrounded them in numbers of at least ten, and attacked the women in threes or fours. Once Senbonzakura had assisted Sakura in taking care of her share of enemies, he went off on his own to Tsunade and Shizune who were back to back against seven rogues.

He too made quick work of the missing ninjas before they had the chance to fatally wound the two older women.

Yes, Senbonzakura protected Sakura more than just physically, he protected her heart and those who were close to her heart as well.

He considered it his duty.

There was three more months left to their training outside the village when they had left the village hidden in the waterfalls.

Over the last several years they had traveled to every village on the Shinobi nations at least once. More or less for Sakura to experience what the rest of the world had to offer. What their customs were and how the people lived.

Every one was different, but with every one she visited she fell in love with a little bit of them all.

When visiting the villages that gave them reasons to be cautious, they entered under disguises. Henges that made them so ordinary no one glanced at them twice, sometimes not even once.

It was these moments that Sakura felt like she had truly lived instead of just training. Because although her training was important, the small breaks of sightseeing was her relaxation time.

Being the apprentice of Tsunade, she had also picked up on some of her habits. The first time Tsunade let her drink a small cup of Sake, was when she was around fifteen years old, shortly after showing Tsunade and Shizune her Bankai they had wanted to celebrate her staggering progress. That was the first time the pink haired kunoichi had alcohol, but it certainly wasn't the last.

When they said Sakura had surpassed Tsunade, it wasn't merely in strength or medical techniques, by the time she had turned sixteen and some months she could drink Tsunade under the table, easily.

The drinking age was usually after someone had officially become Chunin, because from that moment on missions became more serious. Serious enough that one could lose their life, granting them their wish to consume alcohol if they so wished.

But Sakura was thirteen years old when she got promoted, Shizune felt as though she was still too young at the time, so they waited.

But it didn't matter now that Sakura had a higher tolerance than her master being no more than sixteen years old.

That was another thing that made Tsunade proud.

But their time outside the village was coming to an end. They had started to travel back and were no more than a few hours from the village when Senbonzakura barely had enough time to warn Sakura of someone closing in on them, and fast.

Sakura couldn't even yell for Tsunade and Shizune to get down, she just grabbed them before forcing them both to the floor as dozens of kunai with explosive tags attached to them flew above their heads before they detonated.

The girls covered their heads to protect themselves from the debris from the ground and trees.

They all jumped up once tree bark stopped flying everywhere and all had their backs faced to each other to see all around them.

A maniacal laugh was heard that had sent chills down Sakura's spine. She recognized that laugh.

Soon a figure emerged, their skin was pale white, almost sickly so, they had yellow slitted eyes and long black hair.

His grin on his face made Sakura turn her lips into a scowl.

He was just as disgusting as she remembered him to be.

That was when she remembered another rumor going around other than the Akatsuki. It was Orochimaru's search for either a new vessel to transfer bodies or for someone talented enough in the medical field to bring back the use of his arms.

A quick glance at said appendages proved his arms were still useless, but that didn't mean they had to take their situation lightly.

Because normally wherever the snake went, his companion followed.

And true to their beliefs, Kabuto showed up as well on the other side of the clearing.

He was closest to Shizune who had senbon ready between her fingers.

Tsunade scoffed and asked Orochimaru if he really believed she would heal his arms for him, causing the snake to laugh again, prompting Tsunade to ask just what was so funny.

His next few words shocked them.

He wasn't there for Tsunade. He was there for her apprentice who had already surpassed her.

He was there for Sakura.

Senbonzakura growled in her mind before saying a few choice words to the snake who couldn't hear him.

But Sakura could, and she most definitely agreed.

He was a dumbass.

If Sakura wasn't going to come willingly, then he would take her by force.

The five of them soon engaged in a fierce battle.

Tsunade against Orochimaru, with Sakura and Shizune against Kabuto.

It would have been preferable if Sakura didn't fight, but Tsunade and Shizune wouldn't dare tell her to stay away. She had trained for so long and doing so would go against everything they had taught her.

She could fight for herself.

And fight she did.

For hours the battle raged on, neither side letting up on any of their punches.

Snake and slug summons as large as a mountain, elemental jutsu flying every which way. Sakura Petals scattered everywhere fighting off snakes and protecting the women.

It seemed as though the fight would go on forever until another chakra chakra signature entered the vicinity.

Sakura recognized the signature and smirked.

The tall curly haired Uchiha landed next to Sakura with a grin before roundhouse kicking Kabuto away from the kunoichi.

Honestly, it was about time they showed up.

Mere seconds after Shisui arrived, Itachi, Genma and Kakashi showed up as well.

Orochimaru frowned distastefully at the new comers before he and Kabuto backed up a safe distance away.

Orochimaru's gaze didn't show even an ounce of fear or uncertainty, just annoyance.

They stood no chance against two Uchiha's, Kakashi of the Sharingan, Genma who was one of the Hokage's elite body guards, the Slug Senin and her two apprentices.

Orochimaru had told Kabuto that they would retreat for the time being. But not without pointing his pale finger at Itachi, proclaiming he would come for Sasuke one day in the near future.

Just about everyone had the same reaction of hatred before he let out a twisted laugh and moved his finger over to point at Sakura.

He promised he'd come back for her as well. Even if he ended up finding a way to heal his arms without Sakura, he could have other uses for a medic like her.

With his sick promise to return he and Kabuto seemed to almost melt into the ground.

Their chakra signatures disappeared the moment they were no longer in eyesight.

Kakashi swore under his breath before summoning his nin-dogs and sent them after his scent to see if he was still in the area.

Sakura, Tsunade and Shizune all began to heal their wounds as they released some of their jutsu. The slug summons disappeared as well as Senbonzakura's blade fragments.

Shisui walked up to Sakura before placing a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before saying it wasn't exactly the happy reunion he was hoping for.

Sakura managed a small laugh before she hugged the Uchiha. Shisui grinned before hugging her back and spun her in a circle before putting her back on her feet.

The group exchanged greetings before Itach had suggested they return to the village. The Senin's summons was able to have been seen from the highest point of the village walls where there were scouts patrolling, it was how they were able to find them.

The Hokage had been immediately notified of what was going on before he sent the most readily available Shinobi off to see what was going on.

The two Senin were typically the only ones known to have such large summons of their kind, it did t take long to put the puzzle together and send a team.

Tsunade agreed that it was time to leave. She was tired of everything that had transpired that day and was ready for a bottle of sake.

Sakura, Shisui and Genma laughed while Shizune and Kakashi sighed.

On their run back to the village Sakura could feel her old sensei's gaze piercing into the back of her head, making her uncomfortable.

She wasn't sure what kind of look he was giving her, but it unnerved her.

Their last conversation didn't go so well and she even left the village against his wishes without saying a word.

There was definitely a conversation to be had once they returned.

Sakura was pulled from her thoughts when she felt another hand grabbed hers and squeezed it quickly before letting go.

Sakura caught the concerned gaze of Shisui who nodded at her reassuringly. Quietly telling her everything would be fine.

Sakura nodded back and felt happy to finally be with someone other than Tsunade and Shizune.

Yes, she loved the two women dearly, but she also dearly missed the Uchiha next to her and her Uchiha teammate.

When she left the village, there was a small part of her that felt like it was missing. And now she had it back.

She would miss the freedom of traveling without worries, but she was home.

At the end of her fifth year of training, Sakura was seventeen years old.

Here's the first chapter! this story wont be able to be updated for about a year, but i should have several chapters written out by then. if it seemed a bit rushed near the end, I'm sorry. i tried to get this chapter out quickly amd not have too much detail for the fight scenes. the chapter was supposed to be told in a time skip type of way. The fight scenes will be brought up later in a flashback sequence and there will be much more detail then.

Until then please enjoy and that you all for being so understanding.

I leave on Monday (two days from now) to begin my traveling for work. Stay healthy and safe, i will see you all in about a year!

p.s. - please ignore typos, i wrote a lot of this on my phone.