Title: One more Time

Premise: Naruto and Sakura were on their death bed after living a long life together. However, as soon as they closed their eyes for the last time they were somehow transported to the past when they were 13 years old. Naruto is on the 3 year training trip with Jiraiya and Sakura is the student of Tsunade. Since the two of them had plenty of experience both of them decided to use that to become strong enough to compete with the best shinobi of their world in three years. Watch as fights to save the world occur, as prophecies are upturned and the shinobi nations are ushered in a new era.

Before you begin to read this story there are some things I as the author wanted to make clear. First of all English is not my first language and as such there might be some discrepancies in what I am trying to convey and what you as a reader get out of it. However, I will work hard to make sure that there are minimum disruptions in regards to spelling and grammar. Also, this story has Naruto and Sakura as the main pairing and they will be strong. If you have a problem with either of these aspects you are free to read other stories on this wonderful site.

I will also not be following the manga word for word, there might be some similarities but this story is AU and as such the characters will mature and grow quicker. I am tired of reading about stories where Naruto trains- fights bad guys- has a hard time and then trains some more. It's getting boring and as such I have decided to write my own story. There will be plenty of action but it will be fast paced, which means the fights will not be like what happens in the manga. I personally am more excited by the run up to the fight, the thoughts behind character transformations and the change in thinking which leads to character growth, so please be warned that intrigue for me would be a very important part of this story. Since this is my first story, please excuse the mistakes and lack of any coherence that you come across. I am more than willing to read your constructive criticisms so please review.

Disclaimer: Naruto manga and anime are both owned by Kishimoto and whatever company is associated with him. There is also an idea used from David Weber, hopefully the more avid reader would be able to recognize it. In short, I am just writing for fun so please excuse my use of the characters from manga or anime.

***OMT****

In a field of grass, with nothing around for miles, a blonde haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks was meditating. His face showed an expression of calmness; however his thoughts were anything but. If anyone had been able to delve into his mind they would have been surprised to note that despite the outward appearance radiating tranquillity, the boy was communicating with someone that was hundreds of kilometers away.

The topic of discussion was exceptionally astounding as well since it consisted of time travel. Especially travelling to the past, which was the conundrum that Uzumaki Naruto found himself in.

"Sakura-chan, were you able to find anything?" Uzumaki Naruto asked. No words were spoken from his mouth. It was not needed since both Naruto and Sakura were able to communicate telepathically.

"Thank god for small mercies…," Naruto thought, silently thanking whatever deity was out there who decided to play this prank of epic proportions on him. He was pretty sure, if he was unable to talk to Sakura or if he was the only one who somehow, through no fault of his own was able to come to the past then he probably would have done something foolish and irrational.

He was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that somehow both of them were in the past. It was not intentional, which made it all the more confusing. He had been part of too many wars, seen too many deaths, seen his family and friends die and yet never in his life did he desire to go back to the past or anything of the sort. It was supposed to be impossible so there was no reason to spend time thinking about it. But somehow it did happen and even after trying to come to terms with it, the fact that they were here was hard to grasp.

"No, Naruto….," he heard from the other end of the connection. Sakura sounded troubled, which was understandable given the situation. "Nothing seems to be out of order."

"I don't think it's a genjutsu, Sakura-chan." Naruto said hesitantly, "I can still do senjutsu and if I was in a genjutsu I would have been able to break it."

Naruto paused for Sakura to respond but she was quiet, he could feel her thinking most likely about him reaching the same conclusion as hers.

"You said before that you couldn't talk to Kurama," Naruto heard from Sakura, "Did anything change?"

This was one topic that was just weird and painful for Naruto. He could feel Kurama's chakra within him, after so many years of being together they had merged into one being. Naruto was Kurama and Kurama was Naruto, yet they were different. It was hard to understand but Sakura understood. Heck she had even met Kurama and hit it off with him. The first time it happened Naruto was so surprised because he was standing beside Sakura fully prepared to jump in and stop Kurama in case he tried to hurt his Sakura-chan. Just the opposite happened, they talked like civilized beings and once Kurama saw that Sakura held no ill will towards him, since then they maintained a very good rapport. It was the first time in the history of the ninja world that one of the tailed demons was on good terms with not only his partner as Naruto started calling the bijuu but his partner's wife as well. It was weird at first but then it became familiar and weird became the norm, at least for Naruto.

"No, there is no change," there was a sadness in his thoughts which was clearly felt through their telepathic link, "I have Kurama's chakra, all of it but Kurama is not here." At this a frown appeared on his face.

"No, that's not right," he started once again, "The Kurama that we knew isn't here but the Kurama from the past is here. I can't find my past self though so I don't know what happened there."

There was no immediate reply and Naruto could feel Sakura thinking about this. This was another aspect that was confusing and the one that hurt the most. Kurama and he had created a good rapport in their time. They became the best of friends and he made sure that when he became Hokage that Kurama was known as the guardian of Konohagakure no Sato. It was a big change for Kurama and it showed in his mannerisms as well. The malevolent beast that was called Kyuubi no Yoko mellowed out and even became proud of his title. Of course another reason was the merger with Naruto once the seal was removed. It was a relationship between two partners in the truest sense of the word. So for Naruto to not have his inner partner was hard.

The mass of chakra from this timeline was still Kyuubi no Yoko, which meant that he, would have to convince the fox to once again believe in him; to once again allow Uzumaki Naruto to merge with him and their chakras. As of right now, Naruto had a lot of chakra, more chakra then he had ever had in the previous timeline.

"And why wouldn't I?" Naruto thought bitterly. It was not just his chakra but Kurama's as well that was mixed. So as of this moment in terms of chakra alone he had more than any other human being on this planet, "Of course this is not counting the fact that I have another source of chakra within me; this timeline's Kurama was still here behind the cage." He completed the thought and tried to get back to the discussion.

"So, it's basically back to the starting point?" Naruto heard Sakura asking him.

"Yeah…no other choice, it seems." He sighed.

Was it wrong of him to not want to go through that again? He was tired, he had saved the ninja world already, heck if he was truthful Sakura and he had saved the ninja world plenty of times. They had stopped wars from happening, stopped children from being orphaned, stopped diseases and plagues and made sure that communication between different villages was open at all times. There were hardships of course but who didn't have them, in the end though it was not just Naruto but Naruto and Sakura who made sure that the world they lived in was different from the world that started it all. The ninja system was changed and diplomacy was seen as the vanguard for solving the problems. But now they were back to being 13 years old and the problems were just starting to pile up.

"I don't know what to do Sakura-chan." Naruto's emotions were pouring through the link, "On the one hand I am really happy that I get to see ero-sennin. Heck, I can't wait to see Tsunade-baachan, or Shizune-neechan, or the rest of our friends. It's such a welcome surprise."

However, through the happiness of meeting his precious people there was a caveat. A big one if he was honest with himself.

"But this means, that we have to prepare for war once more. People like Nagato, Itachi, Sasuke and worst of all that freaking body double of Uchiha Madara and Kabuto." Naruto replied with frustration palpable in his emotions.

Sakura didn't say anything. She just listened. She had been with Naruto for a long time now and she knew he needed to get this out of his system. It was his way of coping with stress so she just listened.

"Facing those people isn't even the worst thing Sakura-chan, but the lack of power I have." Naruto heard a scoff from the other end. Even though he couldn't hear anything at least not with his ears he could feel it in Sakura's emotions.

"Naruto, you said it earlier that you have Kurama's chakra, at least the Kurama from our timeline and you still have the Kurama from this timeline so power is the one thing you don't lack." There was exasperation galore from the other end of the link but Naruto understood that it was just Sakura's way of calming him down by lightening the mood.

"Sakura-chan, you know what I mean. This power that you are talking about can be beaten easily by people that we will have to face again. No, I will have to master the finesse of the ninja arts." Naruto replied in a whinny voice that he knew made him seem childish but now he had a valid reason because what do you know, he was 13 years old again.

"Heck, it's not just me Sakura-chan; you will have to train like mad to reach the stage that you were at. It took you 10 years to be able to compete with me." Naruto said reminding Sakura of what she went through to be Naruto's equal. "And all of that time was for training alone, now you will also be burdened by missions."

He could feel Sakura thinking about this, the sensation was similar to gears turning on a big wheel, it was refreshing to say the least, and then he heard, "Yeah, but this time I am not starting from scratch. I have the experience, and so do you we just have to make sure that our physical abilities are able to keep up with our mental abilities."

After a bit of pause Sakura continued, "With you the problem will be control as always," here he heard exasperation in her voice, "but this time you can fully utilize the kage bunshin from the start. With me, it's the total opposite. I need to start working on physical ability so that I will never be out of chakra. "

Naruto heard what she said and thought about it. In a general sense that is what they had to do. And it didn't even seem that hard. After all working on physical ability would not be a problem for him. His stamina would come in handy for that but Sakura wasn't just talking about purely taijutsu and speed in terms of physical ability. She will probably go through that ritual once more; heck there was no doubt in his mind that she will activate the jutsu, which concerned him because her life would be in serious danger. He knew she will but still he just had to ask.

"Sakura-chan…Are you going to go through that jutsu this time as well?" Naruto asked hesitantly. His anxiety was clearly evident through the link, though he wasn't trying to hide it. That was one jutsu that scared the shit out of him, not only because of the difficulty level but because it required a lifetime of commitment. There was no halfway point and once it got going, there was no way to turn it off because it would consume the person in control.

"Naruto, you know I will….," Sakura sent feelings of love and understanding via the link to let him know that it will be alright. She knew he was scared and that was alright with her but she needed that jutsu. It was a culmination of her hard work and she was the only one who could do it, "It won't be like last time. This time I already know the risks that I will face and I already have a few strategies lined out to make things better."

He knew she had already thought about it and he understood why she wanted to go through with the dangerous jutsu. It was one thing that was unique to her and it was achieved through countless hours of hard work but the risks were enormous as well and that's what scared him. Heck it would be so much easier if she had one of the tailed beasts sealed in her because despite the challenges that come with it, this jutsu of hers made it seem like a piece of cake. And so he replied, "I know you have Sakura-chan… I know you have."

"Don't worry about it right now. It's not like I am going through the jutsu right now," Sakura replied and Naruto felt her determination through their bond, "Anyway, the preparations would take a long time and we know that I cannot gimp out on those. I need to make sure my physical abilities are simply at the top of their game."

"Yeah, that applies to me as well," Naruto said and tried to send out feelings of love for her, "Though, it will be one of the toughest things we will ever do because right now I just feel lethargic."

Sakura laughed at Naruto wording, he was the last person that she would say was lethargic. The amount of chakra he had available just wouldn't let him be still for very long. His twitchiness was part of the package, though she empathized with him. For a lack of a better word they were slow and just to add insult to injury, extremely weak as well. The training was a chance for both of them to build themselves from the ground up and this time, they did not require people to hold their hands. Their experiences from their past life would not only help with fixing the problems but allow them a chance to thoroughly make sure that any disparities would be singled out and removed early on. This time the challenges for them required finesse and a keen mind, instead of going by the seat of their pants as they did last time.

"So have you thought about how you are going to go through the training?" Sakura asked Naruto bringing the conversation back on topic. "Since Jiraiya-sama is stil alive, he would be looking over your shoulder the whole time."

Naruto smiled at that. Ero-sennin was alive, his teacher, his grandfather figure heck his godparent, call him what you will was alive and this just seemed like a bonus. Naruto knew Sakura felt the same way, when she found Tsunade alive. Just having the two of them alive made Naruto appreciate this going to the past thing. He couldn't wait to see his Tsunade-baachan and the rest of his friends.

"That's fine Sakura-chan. I have the perfect diversion for that case." Naruto replied and felt Sakura agreeing with him.

"Kage Bunshin. Yeah, it makes sense. Show him early on that you figured out the secret and can use it for training," Sakura said.

"Yup, those clones are so handy after all," Naruto smirked through the bond or at least that's what Sakura felt at the other end.

"Make sure you concentrate on all aspects of being a shinobi and I will do that same," Sakura said through the bond to make sure Naruto understood the seriousness of what she was implying. Last time they were bogged down through their lack of experience and thus concentrated on things that came easier. For example last time for Naruto it was focussing on rasengan and its variations and Kurama's chakra and for Sakura it was medical ninjutsu.

But later on they realized that specialization in their fields doesn't necessarily impart leadership qualities, where you have to deal with different people with different specialization. Especially, when you are a leader of a shinobi village a varied set of fields under your reign brings out the best in you and the people around you. Both of them learned this the hard way last time so this time they will make sure that all the fields that encompass being a shinobi was covered.

"Yeah...…Ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu," Naruto agreed, "We need to be proficient in all three and I know which one I will have the most trouble in."

Sakura knew what Naruto was saying, Genjutsu was hardest for him to learn simply because it required more finesse than ninjutsu and taijutsu. Naruto was a rough fighter, able to make do with the surroundings anywhere to come out on top, which meant for ninjutsu and taijutsu to be hard hitting and powerful. But genjutsu required a more subtle touch but she knew once he learned to control his chakra, then creating genjutsu would not be impossible, just hard.

"I know, Naruto…but don't neglect it. You were finally able to do it last time. Just remember once you learn control you can use genjutsu like anything else." Sakura replied, conveying her conviction for his abilities by letting him know that she understood that he can and will do it. "Don't let anyone…not even Jiraiya-sama tell you otherwise…better yet don't let that thought cross your mind ever again."

Naruto laughed through their bond. He knew what she was trying to say and he agreed with her. There was nowhere that said genjutsu was impossible for him. Just that it was extremely hard to the point where he would not have the time to actually be able to be any good at the subject, so it was better for him to focus on other abilities that would give him a chance at surviving. "I know Sakura-chan," Naruto repeated once more, "I will not let it go this time. I already went through the hard stuff already and once I unleash the clones, then it will start to become easier."

Naruto could feel her nodding her metaphorical head, "Good…we need to remember that we are not the same people that we were earlier in this timeline. We have the experience so it is much better to utilize it and plan accordingly, which means no gimping out on training for either of us." Sakura lectured and she could feel his eye roll through their link.

Before she could get annoyed, Naruto asked, "So, what else have you planned?" Questioning her he continued, "Are you going to go up the ranks?"

Sakura went through with the plan in her mind, "Yeah…. I will."

Thinking about it some more she lingered, "Starting today, I will start to show Tsunade-shishou that I am different than before, in terms of concentration and ability." Sakura replied, "Basically…the plan is to show her that I am a natural at medical jutsu… once she realizes that it comes very easy to me and that I have a good handle on things then she will give a lot more freedom to do things my way."

Naruto didn't say anything for a few seconds, "So, how far up are you going to? Jounin?" Naruto asked. Though he knew the answer he still wanted to hear her reasoning.

"That's the plan. I will show everyone that once I had a dedicated teacher, there was nothing standing in my way from going to the top." Sakura said trying to think about what actually happened during the time when Naruto was out of the village.

Naruto nodded through the link, "I see. That's good." Still thinking about the course of action, "But are we both showing everyone a regular jounin persona or S-rank?"

Sakura frowned through the link because this was something that was bothering her , "I think being S-rank would be better but I don't know if we will get a chance to show that beforehand to the rest outside of our teachers,"

"I think that might be the right thing to do. Show both ero-sennin and Tsunade-baachan that we can go at it with the best of them." Naruto said while trying to think of a way to make his sensei believe him. "Even if no one else knows about it beforehand, we will have our opportunities to showcase our abilities when we fight Akatsuki again. We will gain our S-rank status then."

Sakura agreed. Naruto of course won't be able to go through the promotion since he was out of the village but the plan was to show Jiraiya that he had matured enough to be able to handle the uncertainty of B-rank and above level missions, along with making sure that he would be able to protect others on his team when he was the team leader.

"Yeah, that's a sound plan." Sakura said finalizing the plan. The little details would be left to them to individually sort out and if they were having any trouble they could of course talk to each other any time, "We also need to make sure that there are no stupid mistakes."

"Once you return to the village we will showcase our teamwork and that we can take care of other," Sakura said trying to think of anything else they left out of their conversation.

He agreed with her earlier statement there was no doubt in his mind that once their teachers saw the teamwork displayed by both of them, there won't be any doubts in their mind about letting Naruto and Sakura get a bit of freedom.

Moving on he went to the next topic that he wanted to ask, "And what about the tick, Sakura-chan?"

After a pause of few seconds Sakura said, "I will prepare it this time as well." Thinking about the various materials that would be required as well as the surgical procedure she continued, "It's become a part of our fighting style and it helps in making sure that we stay focussed in a battle."

Of course this was not counting the various other uses that it has, such as increased speed in ability to think, maintain focus, be alert and overall increase in reaction time. It was a pinnacle of medical ninjutsu that Sakura was able to make a concoction that would vastly improve their innate abilities by giving them time to think about it. Even though there was no slowing down of time it just felt like it to the user because of the increased ability to process thoughts. Naruto thought while getting excited as he couldn't wait to go through the procedure once more. Of course that would require him to go under the surgical knife but since it was Sakura who was working on him it was just fine with him.

Naruto responded, with a smile through the link showing that he was satisfied with her decision, "Oh and what about fuuinjutsu? Are you going to show proficiency with it as well?" He asked while thinking about the art that was such an integral part of who was as a person.

"Hmm… Good question. I don't know if Tsunade-sama is well versed in the art or not? And I am not aware of anyone who would know it on the same level as Jiraiya-sama." Sakura replied while thinking about the conundrum.

Naruto understood what she was trying to say, she was not aware of any teachers in the village that would suggest that she was able to learn fuuinjutsu to the point, where creating her own seals would be considered normal and of course the village won't have texts on fuuinjutsu just lying around for anyone to read. It would probably be restricted material and even though she would be able to gain access to it because she was the Hokage's apprentice it might be considered somewhat strange for her to take up such an arcane art and be well versed at it. Of course, at this stage for both of them, this was about showing others that they could learn it better, which would indicate the level of master. They both were experienced in seals that there probably was no one alive who would be able to do the same. It was just about hiding their knowledge until it was time to reveal it properly and that was fundamental for their operation.

"I think it would be best if you convey that you have the theory down pat and are probably on the level of Kakashi-sensei. From what I remember, he was able to identify seals but wasn't well versed with them to be able to create his own." Naruto said.

"And when you come back we can discuss it and you will show me how to improve myself?" Sakura asked through the link.

"Yeah, though I have to think of a plan to ask ero-sennin to start learning the art." Naruto said thinking about how it might go when he asked Jiraiya for it.

"Okay, that makes sense." Sakura said, though Naruto got the feeling that she was already thinking about something else.

"Naruto, we need to find out what exactly is going on in the rest of the world. I won't be able to do it until that jutsu is complete, so you will have to take initiative." Sakura was thinking about a solution to do but nothing came to mind.

"That will be a little hard Sakura-chan. I don't know if ero-sennin would allow me to learn it. We just don't have the time, though of course I will ask him." Naruto said, thinking about a solution to actually be able to use his position as a student of Konoha's premier spymaster.

"I know but you have to somehow get through to him," Sakura replied, "I will look through the archives and mission reports once they get in and try to find information on my end but there is no alternative to fresh leads."

"Yeah. I will try Sakura-chan but no promises on this one," Naruto said.

"I know Naruto. Just try alright; otherwise we will have to think of something else." Sakura replied sending feelings of understanding through the bond, though Naruto could feel anxiety as well. She was thinking about something else and he had a rough idea.

"Have you…,"Sakura hesitated as she knew that this topic would be very personal even now after all this time had passed, "Have you thought about … what to do with Sasuke?"

And there it was, out in the open, the question that would have enormous consequences depending on how it was answered. Either way both of them had to solve this problem and there were only two possible solutions- one was to drag Sasuke back to Konoha kicking and screaming or two kill him off but then create a whole new problem of dealing with Itachi.

For Sakura, this question would be left to Naruto, she had no qualms about either of the possibilities and she would abide by whatever Naruto decided. Personally, she had moved on and Uchiha Sasuke was no longer in the picture. Her life was Naruto now and she would be damned if she let anything get in the way. It's been a long time for her and she had come to peace with herself that Naruto had won her heart and she gave her love to him freely, so the last member of the previous team seven didn't come into the picture, at least for her.

Naruto took a deep breath once he heard her question. He knew what she was asking and he had a pretty good idea what she was thinking as well but for him the answer was simple. He had already done his duty in the previous timeline or should he say his previous life? For the present, no matter how impossible or strange it seemed both Naruto and Sakura had a chance to once again live their life and this time be in control of their own destiny better than they were last time. So, the main priority for either of them was the fulfillment of their goals.

Naruto had decided to go for being Hokage once more but this time Sakura would be by his side right from the start and not just metaphorically. They had a plan for her as well though that would be a lot harder to enact, however if they were successful than it would set a precedent in the elemental nations where Konoha would be at the forefront once more. So, for Naruto the answer to her question was very simple. Uchiha Sasuke was a non-factor. He was only important to the point where they had to devise strategies to keep the sharingan away from Orochimaru and if he had to kill Sasuke for that then this time he won't hesitate. No the problem for him aroused more from the fact that Uchiha Itachi was a hero, who had done his duty far and beyond more than it was required of any shinobi ; it was all for Konoha and as such Naruto wanted to bring him back home.

"Sakura-chan, if you are asking whether I will save Sasuke this time around, then I will say it right now. I already completed my promise to you in our previous lives and I don't consider myself bound by it anymore." Naruto said with conviction trying to portray his feelings through the bond.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that, "Thank you love….this puts me a little bit at ease. I already told you then…you were freed from the promise a long time ago but your stubbornness wouldn't allow you to back down."

"That was important Sakura-chan, I had given my word to you but this me right now is different." Naruto was remembering the past and the difficulties they had to endure because of the promise.

"Right now survival of Konoha is more important…I think I can safely say that for both of us," Naruto said with certainty "If I have to kill Sasuke for that I will not hesitate. We will give him a chance but just one and if he refuses than he will be considered an enemy."

Sakura thought about it for sometime, "That makes sense, though we will have to traverse this delicately," she replied with some trepidation, "We will have to think of a plan for this. If we are actually going to try to save Uchiha Itachi then Sasuke will have to be saved as well."

"I am not saying that we have to save Uchiha Itachi, Sakura-chan," Naruto uttered through the bond, "we will try to do right by him but if Konoha gets in danger due to this than is there even a point to it?"

"We still have time so we can think it over on this one and discuss it some other time." She said knowing that this was one of the topics that would have dire consequences, "this depends on how our training goes. We can't save anyone if we can't make them listen."

Naruto didn't say anything because there was nothing more to be said on this topic. They knew their goals, the steps needed to go through the objective and come out on top but it was still a daunting task. Most people would think how lucky they were to be able to go to the past and live their life again. But it wasn't that simple. The mistakes that they made in the past were made because there was no undo button everything that was done had a finality to it. But now they had to question decisions that they took when they were kids. They had forgotten more things than they could remember. That's what happens when new experiences come into life. The new encounters become prominent and old ones fade unless it was something big. Even the little things they remembered were not fully recalled just bits and pieces.

So, this time both of them decided to make their own path. Instead of just relying on the information they had from their past, Naruto and Sakura decided to use whatever they could and then make sure that if it was useful than the information could be exploited to fit into the grand scheme of their plans.

Both shinobi just sat in the quietness of their respective places and enjoyed each other's company. There was nothing that they couldn't convey through their bond and though it might make the separation harder for these three years, the chance to talk to each other was worth anything.

Sakura broke the silence first with a sigh, "Sun is coming up Naruto and I need to go and get back to training. You need to start getting back to your training as well."

"Aww…come on Sakura-chan, I just want to sit and talk to you. Is that too much to ask for?" Naruto whined.

"Naruto stop whining….it's not like you are a kid of something. It doesn't suit you." Sakura said exasperated with his childishness

"But Sakura-chan, I am 12 years old again…or was it thirteen? So of course I can act like a kid. It's totally allowed," Naruto said with a smirk or as Sakura liked to call it, his foxy grin.

She eye-rolled or at least that's what it felt like to Naruto, "Fine you big baby, act like a kid. When you come back though let's see if you get any kisses, I am not into little boys after all." Sakura teased.

"Oh come on that's just unfair…," Naruto said, while trying to gather his pride and send it through the bond, "I am the most macho man you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. I am not just any kid Sakura-chan."

"We will see, my little foxy kun…" Sakura said with laughter.

Naruto just revelled in her laughter, it was pure and it was very comforting to him. Even after all these years together they had a very good rapport and could make each smile easily.

"I love you Sakura-chan….I love you with all my heart." Naruto said trying to express his feelings through the bond as much of it that he could.

Sakura smiled and just swam in his feelings, it wasn't the first time that he had said it to her but every time he said those words they were said with such passion that her breathe was taken away each and every time.

She tried to show her sincerity and passion through familiar feelings, just entwining them and watching them dance in their mind's eyes, "I love you too Naruto…more than anything in the world ….that mere words don't seem to be enough."

And so the lovers sat and just enjoyed each other's company in silence until it was time to get up and get on with their training. Each certain of one thing, even if nothing else worked out they had each other and that was all that mattered.

***OMT****

Sakura just got up from where she was sitting and talking with Naruto to go out and start the day's activity. Their plans were roughly laid out but the overall strategies were still far from being complete. Nothing will start for them unless they got their physical form in the peak condition. It was a prerequisite for being a top level shinobi. At the moment though she was just confused by looking at the state of the clothes in her closet, to say it was dismal would be an understatement.

She couldn't figure out what she had been thinking when she bought these clothes but I guess going through puberty does that to you. Now she was mature even though she looked like a 13 year old but nothing beats experience and wisdom that come with age. Looking at the clothes seemed like looking at a death trap, everything was loose and the top seemed flappy. It would not restrict movement but in a fight if she was fighting against someone who was wearing loose clothes then she would take full advantage and grab them to deal some pain or death.

For now though she would choose the usual clothing and start working out. As she started changing to her regular clothes, a plan was coming together in her mind to maximize the output of her training.

Everything else was on auto pilot. She had already memorized the layout of her house once more. In the other timeline the house that they lived in was considerably larger and she had gotten used to the luxuries because it took her a few days to adjust and tell herself that this was her house for now at least.

When she had somehow wakened up in this timeline, it was the most terrifying thing she could have imagined. There she was in her previous timeline with her husband, both of them on their deathbed and ready to depart from the world. They had lived a long and happy life and both of them had seen the shinobi villages ushered in a new era of peace. But Naruto and Sakura had lived a long life, which was longer even by any other standards. He had the advantage of his Uzumaki genes, which of course blessed his people with longer life span made even longer due to the merger with Kurama.

For Sakura, the long life span was the result of the kinjutsu that allowed her to actually become Naruto's equal and not just by relation. It irked her that he was stronger and no matter how hard she tried she was never able to close the gap, so she had worked hard to close the distance. She wanted to be closer to him not just emotionally but in strength. She still couldn't figure it out the reason for her desire to truly be Naruto's equal and if she was honest with herself it didn't matter to her anymore. She was once and now she will be again.

However, she knew the only reason she was able to find something to help her grow was because there was no pressure of war behind her. After the fourth great shinobi war things were peaceful once more and people started building their lives. The next conflict that happened in their world was 50 years away. Of course, they didn't know it then but the lull in fighting gave her a chance to utilize her ability to learn and be curious in order to solve problems. Thus instead of thinking like a shinobi she was able to devise a jutsu by thinking like a scientist and gain knowledge.

However, the price of the kinjutsu last time was her inability to have children. She had accepted that and Naruto in his good natured self hadn't left her because of it. She knew it hurt him that they were unable to have children but once they adopted and had children to call their own he was able to move past it. But this time she would make sure that everything went smoothly, since she wasn't running with just the seat of her pants anymore.

But that was not what she started thinking about. When Naruto and Sakura had lived past all their friends, their descendants and their descendants', the time seemed to pass more slowly. After living for a long time they decided to stop their cycle and pass on, but they knew that their bodies held a lot of secrets and the price of those secrets getting out would create chaos in the world and so they decided to make sure that their bodies were never found once they passed on. It was a simple jutsu of sending their bodies to a different dimension where they would be destroyed. However, something must have happened because instead of dying they appeared in their past, which was supposed to be impossible.

She still couldn't figure out what happened. It was mind boggling but just sitting around the house and hoping to die wouldn't help her anyway. After she found out that Naruto was alive and in the past as well it made things easier. They will take their place as leaders on the food chain soon enough but before that was the ugly monster of torture through physical training.

And so Haruno Sakura, once she was ready, opened up the window of her balcony and stepped on the railing. Taking a deep breath and letting fresh air hit her face, she looked at the portion of the village seen through her balcony, "Alright then, Day 1 of getting stronger through physical torture begins."

Right before she was ready to jump, a thought came to her mind, channelling a bit of Naruto within her she looked straight out and said with conviction, "Watch out Konoha, in three years, Uzumaki Naruto and Sakura are going to take this village by the storm."

***OMT****

6 months…

The residents of village hidden in the leaves were going about their usual business. The village streets were busy and various merchants were out selling their wares to the people in the marketplace. Several people shinobi and regular civilians were going about their lives, knowing that the village was safe for the moment. Konoha was known as the jewel of the fire country but the light only shined most brightly due to the tower in the middle of the village. This was the Hokage tower named to signify the leader of the village. In the tower, a buxom blonde was sitting at her desk going through the paper work that was the bane of all Hokage past or present.

The blonde woman with a jewel like marking on her forehead was known as one of the densetsu no sannin. She was the granddaughter of Shodaime Hokage, grandniece of the Nidaime Hokage and student of the Sandaime Hokage; Senju Tsunade.

At the moment said woman was surrounded by papers on her desk and even though she was supposed to be working towards making the piles go down, she looked to be deep in her thoughts to work on anything.

To be more precise, she was thinking about her newest apprentice Haruno Sakura. The girl was proving to be a very fast learner and it seemed her habits from the academy of neglecting her training was a thing of the past. From the reports that she received from her ANBU, every morning without fail Sakura would get up at 3 a.m. and go about working on her physical ability. And that's all she would do until it was time to meet with her and start her training regime under her.

In just six months the difference was clear to see. Before, she would have been hard pressed to match any of the competitors from the chunnin exams in terms of speed and strength, except for the Kunoichi's and even then Hyuuga Hinata and Tenten would have wiped the floor with her.

Tsunade was proud to note that wasn't the case anymore. And that is what was baffling her. Never before had there been anyone who was able to bring such a major change about their physical ability; Sakura could now match the very best in her year and might even win some fights.

She knew from the reports of the Chunnin exam that Kakashi taught Sasuke, Goken in order to increase his speed so that he could compete with Sabaku no Gaara. But he hadn't neglected his training before and with the help of the Sharingan it didn't seem like an impossible task. But Sakura was a different case, if she was truthful with herself then Sakura, before she starting training under her was a joke of a kunoichi.

The reason for that might be lack of a goal but if that was the case then bringing Uchiha Sasuke back would have been the goal that she was striving for. When Tsunade had asked her regarding her change in attitude, she replied clearly with all the confidence in the world that she had found a more worthy goal, something to strive for but wouldn't say anymore. It had made her all the more curious in regards to her student's new found determination but she didn't push it. Whatever, the goal might be it was something good for her since the results were clear for all to see.

Before she could go any further regarding her newest apprentice, she heard a knock at the door, "Yes?"

Slowly the door opened and she saw Shizune's head peaking in the room. Tsunade was surprised to see her as Shizune was supposed to be supervising Sakura's first surgery today and she wasn't expecting her first apprentice to come to her this early. Hoping that there were no complications, she motioned for Shizune to come in.

As Shizune closed the door behind her she slowly turned around and walked in the room. She bowed her head and in an awed voice said, "Tsunade-sama, the operation was a success. The patient is in recovery."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise, "How was Sakura's performance? Were there any problems?" She asked knowing from experience that first surgery is usually nerve wracking.

Shizune raised her head and looked Tsunade straight in the eyes, "Tsunade-sama, I have never seen anything like it…..Sakura was totally calm and collected and I didn't feel any nerves from her what so ever. She took charge and finished the procedure as if she had been doing it for years."

And once again Tsunade was stumped. She didn't know what to make of it. The clearly surprised expression on Shizune's face said something else because if it was true than Haruno Sakura was truly a diamond in the rough. For a 13 year old girl to become so proficient in healing arts that she was able to take part in her first surgery in 6 months since she started learning was unheard of. But then for said girl to perform the surgery and not feel nerves were something that she didn't even have a name for. She had no doubt about Shizune's ability to read someone through their body language, so that left the question- what exactly was Haruno Sakura?

"I don't know what to think...," Shizune continued getting her emotions back under control though it was a struggle as she was still having trouble coming to terms with what she saw Sakura perform, "She was in charge throughout and made sure that the rest of the staff was on top of it as well."

"She was able to pinpoint the person that was losing control and compensated accordingly…even… when I increased the difficulty level, she seemed two steps ahead and took care of the problems before others could identify it." Shizune shook her head from side to side; she wanted to pinch herself to see if she was in a dream or something.

"That's record time, Shizune…I wasn't expecting you for another 3 or 4 hours," Tsunade folded her handed in front of her leaned forward onto her desk.

"I wasn't either, Tsunade-sama. The only thing I can say is, she is a natural at this," Shizune said standing at attention, "Her control didn't waver once but that's not the most surprising part."

"Oh!" Tsunade exclaimed.

Shizune knew what she was about to say next would startle Tsunade as much as she was when she first observed it. In fact even now it was hard for her to believe, "Sakura used chakra scalpels instead of a surgical knife to perform the cut."

Tsunade was surprised; heck she was shocked to say the least. Chakra scalpels were of course more precise as the doctor performing the operation has more control over how they want to make the cut, so that there is minimal scarring but she only started teaching Sakura, the making of scalpels using chakra just a week ago.

"Have we found a prodigy in our midst; someone that was overlooked by others due to low chakra capacity and lack of ambition?" Tsunade asked more of herself than Shizune.

Shizune whispered slowly however the room was so quiet that Tsunade had no trouble hearing it, "I don't know Hokage-sama. It's hard for me to come to terms with it even now. A week isn't that long to be able to perform a surgery using that technique. It took me 6 months to control my chakra long enough for me to make an incision and Sakura did it in seven days?"

Tsunade sighed, once more vexed regarding her second apprentice, "What about the rest? Did she follow the rest of the procedures?"

"Yes," Shizune nodded, "She followed them to the letter."

Then she took a deep breath to calm her down. It's been a long time since something was able to shake her so much, "I think…. with just one or two more surgeries under her belt I wouldn't be surprised if she was able to perform them without us watching her."

To Tsunade it seemed that it was time to push Sakura to her limits. She wanted to find out if her student was a genius in truest sense of the word regarding medical ninjutsu. Because of her growth rate it won't be long before Sakura was able to overtake her though she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Still it was early, she would keep a closer eye on her apprentice and if it seemed that she was able to thrive under pressure than Senju Tsunade would create a kunoichi that would be feared more than anyone else in the world.

Shizune saw the smirk on Tsunade's face and knew it didn't mean anything good for Sakura because if she knew Tsunade-sama and she knew her very well than, her kouhai was just going to be receiving a tremendous amount of workload.

'I am sorry Sakura…,' Shizune thought, pity clear in her thoughts, 'but … I think… you will probably be able to not only take the workload but thrive under the pressure.' And that is what was most extraordinary. Somehow, she recognized that Sakura would be able to juggle it all. The Sakura from 6 months ago wouldn't have been able to but the present Sakura would doubtless appreciate the challenge.

Tsunade was grinning; she couldn't wait to up Sakura's training and if she performed just as well then nothing would seem impossible for her apprentice, 'sorry Sarutobi-sensei but I will take the title of one of the greatest teachers in the world from you and of course I can't forget about that pervert Jiraiya.'

"Shizune keep an eye out for Sakura and keep me informed of everything regarding her ability. If she is the real deal then soon she will be able to surpass us both." Tsunade said her tone clearly showing how proud of Sakura she was.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Shizune bowed and turned around to leave the room.

She stopped when she heard Tsunade mutter, "I should start her physical training as well. At the rate she is going, she might be able to achieve the rank of Chunnin in the coming exam."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed. She was thoroughly surprised that her teacher would even think about sending Sakura to the exams. The death rate at the exams has always been high, so to send someone like Sakura, who had so much potential in medical ninjutsu to take those risks seemed absurd to her.

Tsunade knew what Shizune was worried about and in a sense she agreed with her but there was something about Sakura that made her think that she might not just want to be a support kunoichi, "Don't worry Shizune, I know for a fact that Sakura has been working on her physical ability every single day for 5 to 6 hours for the past 6 months and already she has shown tremendous improvement." Tsunade tried to explain, "Once I get through training her, there won't be many people who will be able to touch her and add on the fact that she can heal herself….she will be able to make a name for herself."

Shizune knew there was no point in arguing with Tsunade when she had something like this mulling in her mind. And her teacher was right, if Sakura was capable of learning the strength technique, then there won't be too many Gennin who would be able to compete with her, "Hai Tsunade-sama."

As Shizune left and closed the door, Tsunade was left alone in the room once again with paperwork strewn all about. With a heavy sigh she picked up the paper in front of her and started reading it. She couldn't wait for Naruto to take her seat and for her to forever be away from all this paperwork.

She shuddered….Just looking at them gave her the shivers and she still had piles to read. So, with tears in her eyes the leader of the village set about battling the evils of paperwork.

***OMT****

2 years….

In a faraway place 2 miles out from the border of Hi no kuni sat a white haired man with a costume that seemed like it came from a Kabuki play with geta on his feet to finish the get up. This person was tall, taller than most shinobi and had facial markings that seemed liked tattoos. He was known throughout the ninja world as a toad sage, student of Sandaime Hokage and teacher of the Yondaime Hokage. This man was none other than Jiraiya of the sannin.

He was sitting on top of a mound of earth that he had raised through doton jutsu so that he had a high ground to overlook the training of his student. Since, the flat plains were filled with copies of a blonde hair kid it was safe to assume that this was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Though calling him a kid seemed like a travesty as he looked more like his old man day by day.

For Jiraiya though Naruto was an enigma that he was having a hard time placing even after 2 years down the road. Before, they started this training trip Naruto had seemed adamant that he was going to save Sasuke no matter what. To Jiraiya, it just seemed like his past was repeating once again except this time his student's life was on the line. But somehow, Naruto had changed, he no longer spouted about getting stronger to save Sasuke and that is what baffled Jiraiya. When he asked about it, Naruto told him straight up, 'You can't save people that don't want to be saved.'

This coming from anybody else would not have seemed like such a big deal but Naruto saying that had truly surprised him. Since then he had mellowed out and his goal seemed to have reverted back to his original one. To be Hokage had been his ambition before but now it seemed almost like an obsession.

Jiraiya was proud though, extremely proud. He thought after Minato, there probably won't be anyone who could match him in terms of shinobi prowess and when he met Naruto before it didn't seem that he would be able to fulfill his father's footsteps.

But he was wrong, he should have realized it then that Naruto was not just his father's son but his mother's as well and that Uzumaki blood of his would come back with a vengeance. And so, a new Naruto emerged that was hard working, absolutely ruthless regarding his physical abilities, extremely concentrated and did not budge from his position once he made up his mind.

This was even more noticeable when he refused to train with Kyuubi's chakra. Even after all the prodding that he could come up with, the kid didn't shift from his position. At first Jiraiya was shocked, this was one of the most important things that he wanted to work on, once they were outside the prying eyes of the village and yet the kid refused to cooperate.

The worst part was that Jiraiya agreed with his reasoning, which was simple enough when Naruto told him to imagine himself being trapped by someone and then using his power without his approval.

***Flashback***

Jiraiya was sitting in front of Naruto and trying to make him listen, "Kid do you understand what you are saying? You have a lot of power in you…if you don't learn to control it now than you won't stand a chance against Akatsuki."

Naruto frowned and looked straight at Jiraiya, "Ero-sennin, I don't know where you got this idea from that I am only as good as the amount of Kyuubi's power I can control."

Jiraiya could see that Naruto was getting angry, "The last time I used its power I felt dirty. I basically blackmailed him into giving me his power. I won't rely on his power to get stronger and why should I? The people I will be fighting against got stronger on their own so what makes you think that I can't?

"They have years of experience under their belt and years of time to train," Jiraiya deadpanned, getting frustrated.

"And I have a way to get around it….in case you forgot," Naruto felt exasperated at Jiraiya's stubbornness, "I won't take his chakra ero-sennin. That's not the way for me and if I really want to take the mantle to achieve peace from you than it has to start with myself."

Jiraiya sat stunned at Naruto's words, "I will try to work with Kyuubi and make him understand that I have no desire to take anything from him. I will work with him and be his partner until I get through to him."

****Flashback****

He couldn't say anything after that because no matter what reason he came up with it seemed hollow. On the one hand he was extremely proud that Naruto had taken his words to heart and was already thinking about how to achieve them; on the other hand he was extremely worried. He had thought if Naruto was able to use Kyuubi's chakra then fighting S-rank level opponents in three years would not be impossible.

Of course, Naruto was already proving him wrong. There was no doubt in Jiraiya's mind that within one more year Naruto would be able to contend with the best of them. The kid was a goldmine in terms of shinobi arts and with his Kage Bunshin nothing seemed impossible.

The example was right in front of him with thousands of Naruto's going through their training. Of course the majority of his clones were working on chakra control as always. Jiraiya knew it had become an obsession with the kid. To him there was no technique in the standard shinobi tactics that he couldn't perform as long as they did not require a bloodline.

The reason for that obsession was very simple. Naruto had a large amount of chakra. If Jiraiya was honest with himself he had never met anyone who had even come close and he didn't know the reason behind it. When he first met Naruto, it was clear to him that he was a walking, talking chakra battery. If nothing else it was clear from his stamina and his hyper activity.

But since he started the training trip the amount of chakra that Naruto possessed had increased by leaps and bounds. At first he thought that the seal might be malfunctioning but once he checked the seal everything seemed to be in order. To this day he still hadn't been able to explain the increase in chakra, which was a lot for such a young boy.

Therefore, chakra control was a must except Naruto had even loftier goals than Jiraiya realized at first. He wanted to learn all three aspects of being a shinobi and absolutely harassed Jiraiya until he got his point across. Heck, Naruto made it a personal mission to not learn any new jutsu until he got a regular Bunshin no jutsu down pat. At first Jiraiya wanted to smack him around for his stupidity.

What was the point of coming with him if he wasn't going to learn anything new? First he refused to control Kyuubi's chakra, which Jiraiya was able to look past but now this just seemed foolish. However, the kid refused to budge and everyday he would make upwards of two thousand Kage Bunshin and work on nothing but chakra control. Seeing that many clones working on just one thing stumped Jiraiya and he was finally able to see it from Naruto's point of view.

Naruto wanted to learn everything but he knew that basics were the key and so that's what he started at. When Jiraiya understood what Naruto was trying to tell him he wanted to kick his own ass for being stubborn. His student had never had anyone who wanted to help him in being a shinobi. He certainly didn't receive it from the academy and of course his own carelessness was to blame as well.

Now Naruto had a chance to learn from someone who was well versed in the ninja arts and since he didn't have any distractions of teaching anyone else, both master and student set about working towards the same goal.

Making one, Uzumaki Naruto strong enough to face any obstacle in the world and survive.

Once that was decided there was not much that would have stopped either of them. Naruto had the hard headedness of his mother genetically and Jiraiya was teaching him the finesse that this father was known for. Once the two greatest aspects of both his parents were combined Jiraiya was sure that Naruto would surpass all the previous Hokage.

Getting up from his seat as he saw Naruto finish his warm up Jiraiya walked up to him and got ready in a fighting stance.

"You ready kid?" Jiraiya smirked, "The best part of the day for me has arrived…. I get to kick your ass to kingdom come and you have to take it like a good little student you are."

Naruto scoffed and flipped Jiraiya the bird, "You wish ero-sennin. You haven't been able to kick my ass for the past 3 times what makes you think I will let you do now…you old coot."

And so began another training session between the master and the student.

***OMT****

3 years….

At the gates of the village hidden in the leaves two figures emerged from the forests surrounding the village. As they entered the gates, the guards posted at the entrance got out of the booth to stop the outsiders from coming into the village without permission, however once they had a good look at them they stopped and bowed to the figure on the left.

Standing tall at 6'5 and carrying a large scroll on his back with long spiked up white hair and wearing a hitae-ate with the kanji for oil was none other than the self-proclaimed pervert and resident toad sage of the village. They both knew that Jiraiya had been outside the village training his newest apprentice but were shocked out of their stupor by looking at the person walking beside the toad sage.

Once they saw both of them walk past the gates to the interior of the village with the younger man wearing a nostalgic expression on his face, they were able to bring their expressions under control.

The chuunin with bandages running over the bride of his nose and a light coloured marking on his chin, known as Hagane Kotetsu remarked, "That was Jiraiya-sama, so that means the person beside him was the runt that beat the Hyuuga at the Chuunin exams."

His partner Kamizuki Izumo, just sighed in agreement, "Yeah…3 years and look at the difference from then and now."

"Damn….I wish I had Jiraiya-sama as my teacher as well, then I would have been the coolest shinobi alive," Kotetsu sighed while day dreaming.

Izumo scoffed "The only thing you would have done was become a lecher and try to surpass Jiraiya-sama by being a pervert."

Turning towards his partner with a straight face, Kotetsu tried to put his most suave face forward, "So? Somebody has to do it."

In response Izumo could only shake his head and get inside the booth, while muttering under his breath, "Idiot."

It was just another day in the life of the gate guards of Konoha.

***OMT****

"So gaki, how does it feel to finally be back in the village?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at Naruto wearing a nostalgic expression on his face while looking at the face of Tsunade on the Hokage monument.

"It's great ero-sennin. There is no place like home," Naruto replied happily.

"Oh….I bet you just can't wait to meet that crush of yours," Jiraiya teased, "after all, you still have to win her heart…and now you even have a chance due to my teaching."

Naruto could see Jiraiya's expression going to his pervert mode, deciding to put a stop to it now before Sakura arrived, after all she already knew he was in the village, "Your teachings my ass….you just want me to use that perverted stuff so that you can find material for your smut."

"And what's wrong with that punk?" Jiraiya asked, "You are my student and as your teacher I should get some perks."

Naruto, could only shake his head in annoyance, before he could say anything Sakura landed in front of him and he couldn't do anything else but get lost in her eyes.

She was still as beautiful as he remembered but now this 16 year old Sakura oozed confidence that the Sakura from his original timeline didn't achieve until much later. Here was a woman who was comfortable with herself and knew there was nothing she couldn't do if she put her mind to it.

For the first time in three years Uzumaki Naruto looked at his wife from another time and found the same Sakura looking back, regardless to say anything else, he fell in love with her all over again.

Looking her up and down, he could see that she had went with the clothing that she wore in the previous timeline, with her hair cut short, a red tank top that hugged her figure and black figure hugging pants. On her waist was her utility best with knee high boots at her feet. To finish the ensemble she was wearing a black haori on top that hid everything and ensconced her from top to bottom in a protective cocoon.

It was similar to what Naruto himself was wearing. The only thing in orange was his top. It was similar to the top part of his jump suit but that's where the similarities ended because everything else was finished with black pants, boots and a black coloured haori that was similar to Sakura's in design and covered him fully during battles.

He just smiled and in a soft voice complimented her, "You look even more beautiful then I remembered Sakura-chan."

"You look very handsome too, Naruto," Sakura replied happily while keeping her eyes on him the whole time. She had missed his warmth and his touch these past three years.

She couldn't wait to be in his arms again but before they could go any further, she heard a throat clearing and turned to face the person, "As much as I hate to interrupt you two from providing me material for my books…I think it would be better if we go to Tsunade-hime's office first. She is probably eager to see you as well, gaki."

Sakura's just smiled politely dismissing his remark about the material for that smut for now because here was Naruto's family, his grandfather figure that she hadn't seen in a very long time and this time they had the means to save him.

"Welcome back, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura bowed and then turned around to lead the two of them to the Hokage tower, "Come on, I am going that way as well."

And so the three people made their way to the centre of the village in order to meet the revered leader or in Jiraiya's case his old teammate and crush. The three of them were walking in silence but Naruto and Sakura were hardly silent at all, they were talking through their link and Jiraiya was walking besides them watching the two and just being happy for Naruto that his teammate might be receptive to his advances.

So, the adventures of Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura were just beginning. It was a time for great change, it just wasn't known yet that these two would change the fate of the shinobi world and turn the old traditions on their heads. A new beginning was near and the agents of change were finally together.

***End of Chapter 1***

Woohoo, I finished the first chapter. Now I am feeling high so time for me to start writing another one...Review peeps...I know this one is dialogue heavy but fear not action is coming up too. :) Peace...