Chapter VII

Hope vs. Reality

They were lucky the run back to the Uchiha Compound was a smooth run, nothing seemed to happen during the trek back as she had been expecting, possibly because catching up to them now was not possible and seeing them was near impossible. The soldier pills that had given them speed and energy like nothing she'd ever imagined, especially considering that despite never having used them in her true time line, she'd known about their general function but never actually needed them for her own benefit until now. It also helped with the knowledge that she was being timed, not only did she have to get back in time to make sure Zetsu didn't get his time in with Tobirama but she also had to make sure that Hoshi-san would get the help that he needed.

She didn't have her chakra and she was sure by the time Hashirama had arrived that his people would have automatically poured themselves onto him making him rest, in that case the seal on her chakra would not be undone until he woke up. She'd have to take care of the boys with the more traditional medicine and she wasn't particularly very good at that, but she knew how to do it, she'd only prefer to do it her way.

When the Uchiha Compound finally came upon their eyesight she took in the camping Hyuga that surrounded the gates waiting for something, she could feel Madara's eyes on her then and she turned to him as he spoke. "Seems like the Hyuga decided to multiply". Was he blaming her? It was not her fault; if anything she had stopped the three clans from killing more of their people. In her timeline everyone in Konoha had learned from the moment they were able to talk that the day the Uchiha and the Senju had finally put away their petty differences that the Hyuga clan had found out and had not been happy about it even more so when they had heard that the Shimura clan was helping the two clans. The end result was a massive battle that would end up killing even more men dwindling each clans numbers horribly.

She had stopped that from happening …. So far at least. "Their scared of what it means with the union of the Uchiha and Senju". She stated softly as she slowed down her sprint into a walk, Madara alongside her. She placed her hood back on her head as the men of the Hyuga clan started to look their way. "So how are we going to deal with this Tsurarano-san?" It took her another second to realize he was talking to her and she shrugged her shoulders as she thought the question through. There was nothing they could do, any move they made at this moment would be seen as a threat and the Hyuga clan would attack no matter what their Chief said. This era of the Hyuga clan was not like the Hyuga clan from her era, they did not have branch members and they had absolutely no problem going against their Chief. It would be after the Hyuga had married into the Uchiha clan that the Matriarch would force a backbone onto her Chief and the threat of losing special privileges would put the clan into a proper order. That could still happen, although she had no way of stopping of the creation of the branch line, only the Patriarch would have a say to that.

She reached inside her cloak carefully, and pulled out the scroll that Kiyoshi had been sealed inside of, moving closer to Madara she spoke quietly. "Here take him, I'll stay out here". He took it carefully; making sure no eyes saw their movement. "Are you sure about this?" If she stayed there was a high probability that they would kill her because of her knowledge of their Kekki Genkai, but she had something she could dangle in front of them. Her eyes looked over to Madara as she spoke softly. "Don't worry about me; I know how to stay alive". He nodded his head as they stopped at the gates of the compound.

She hated how this world was turning her into something she didn't recognize, mentally she smiled at herself, Obito and Kakashi knew that this was going to happen, the promise of a clean future, a happy future it was never meant for her. It couldn't happen, she doubted she'd even live to see such a promise, killing Zetsu would take a lot out of her. "Go". She said softly as she pushed him forward gently. He looked down at her with a lifted brow, of course he didn't know what she was about to do, neither did he believe she would make it out without some rash move.

"Don't hurt yourself too badly, you have nice skin, I'd like it to stay that way". He whispered back before he walked away. She lifted a brow that must have been her wild imagination because she was positive that Madara did not actually say that.

She turned back towards the clan that had been watching them, dropped her hood as she spoke up. "Where is your Chief?" She didn't have to wait long before she saw him make his way over to her. He was a tall man, nearing his forties with light brown hair being just a touch from blonde, pearl colored eyes like any member of the Hyuga clan, a soft face with pale colored skin that was almost translucent and barely there wrinkles around his eyes. He wore the traditional white robes of the Hyuga, much cleaner than any of the other members due to his position. He walked though as if he were wary of his own people; his shoulders slumped and head close to looking down.

He was just a face for the clan beyond that it was definitely his own clan elders that called all the shots. The chief though barely looked at her as he spoke in a beaten tone. "You asked for us to hold off till the two of them arrived, their back now". She never thought she would ever call anyone pathetic, but that is exactly what this man was, just perfectly pathetic. She ignored what he said though as she changed the subject and got down to what she really wanted. "Tell your elders that by killing me they'll be killing off the only person that is not an Uchiha who knows the workings of the Sharingan, they kill me and I take all my knowledge with me".

This Hyuga was open with his emotions as his eyes widened like a dolls, the other Hyuga's murmured among each other at the new found knowledge. "Now either kill me or leave this area". She stated as she looked at all of them.

The Chief nodded his head as he spoke. "I'll let them know". She shook her head, the really needed to hurry up and marry this man into the Uchiha Clan; he truly needed to find his backbone soon. She turned back to the gates and walked away from the Clan.

As she slipped in she found Izuna waiting for her on the other side and she stopped for a moment. What was he doing out here? He should be doing whatever with Madara. "Shouldn't you be with your brother?" Too much surprise in her voice, she didn't need to let him hear that. He smiled grimly at her. "Someone needs to worry about you". She could actually feel her face slip as she took in what he'd said. He had actually been worried about her. … The emotion that bubbled up within her was almost foreign she hadn't felt such things in such a long time. "The Senju has slipped into a deep sleep; his people are worried about him". He informed her as she continued her walk through the compound. She could feel the stares and hear the small murmurs, women didn't get involved with Shinobi business, didn't take a lead role in politics, medicines, studies, and they didn't walk side-by-side with men, she stuck out like oil in water.

"I was forced into speeding up the time frame, Senju Hashirama and your brother will be out for a day at the most, trust me they need their sleep, make sure you tell your elders and healers that, I'll take care of the Senju's ... What about the children?" "The older Kaguya boy is ill with a very severe flu; the healers don't believe he'll make it". She stopped in her walking as she turned to him.

"Have they even tried to do anything?" While flu vaccinations hadn't been invented just yet she was sure that the physicians in this time had come up with something to fight it. Izuna looked her over though. "Our physicians and the Senju are the best physicians out there, but they don't have your abilities or knowledge in healing. … They are still trying to figure out how you did whatever you did with me as I should be dead right now". He stopped then thinking about something and continued. "Actually you did kill me and then you brought me back, normal physicians can't do that Sakura-san".

Was he telling her that the physicians in this time didn't have a clue on how to fight off the flu? "Please tell me your people have dealt with this before". The look he gave told her everything she needed to know and her heart nearly stopped.

"They've quarantined him and isolated him from everyone else so no one can be infected, their just waiting till it happens to burn the body". There was a sharp jab in her heart and for a moment her legs almost gave out on her.

They still hadn't figured out flu remedies yet, her mind raced through everything she could remember about her studies with Tsunade, traditional medicines were complicated, any little mistake and she would end up making the condition worse.

With her chakra sealed there was little she could do. "Sakura are you alright?" She looked back up at him, how was she supposed to tell him that she didn't know what to do? Even if she knew the exact herbs needed it meant nothing because she had no idea how to go about these things and unless she got help there was no way she could do anything. "Can I see him?" She asked carefully, there was no way these men would listen to her let alone take orders from her.

Izuna nodded his head as he led her in a different direction. "They set him up in the tomb". Her eyes widened. "What about Akira and Kiyoshi?" He scrunched his brows together before he figured out who she was talking about. "The other boys yes?" She nodded her head. "The older one that the Senju brought along with the ill one was placed in the physicians care. … The little one that my brother just brought in should have been taken there as well". He answered quickly as they made their way through the compound.

"They should have isolated those children from the rest of the clan until they know for sure whether they're carriers or not". He continued. There was a high probability that the boys could be infected, but there was a higher chance she could save them in time. Hashirama would be out for a day then they'd have enough time for him to unseal her and she'd be able to create the vaccine for them.

"Madara also handed over the gold. … it's not looking like we're going to get along well if we can't stop fighting over who should handle the gold". She knew the answer but she couldn't be the one to tell them how to take care of everything. They needed to figure everything out on their own; they couldn't hold her hand and expect her to be there every time something went south.

Izuna signaled for the guards to move out of the way as he opened the door and before he could step inside the room, she stopped him as she placed her hand on his arm that held the door open for them. "Stay out here, your brother would kill me a million times over if I allowed you to catch anything in there". It was more than true, Madara was very overprotective about his younger brother and she was just a bit protective about the second Uchiha heir as well, he had been one of her patients and well there was nothing more to say then that.

Izuna knew exactly why she wasn't allowing him any further and he understood which was a godsend because she didn't want to have to fight with anyone right now. "The guards are under strict orders to escort you back to wherever you need to go, if you need them at all of course". He informed her. "Thank you". He nodded his head as he turned around; giving out orders to more guards to make sure no one came around the area. She turned back around and pushed open the doors.

Her body froze at the sight of the young child that laid there on the cold marble slab at the very end of the room; a thin sheet covered him from the neck down. The room itself smelled of decaying flesh and littered with rows of wooden caskets with the proud Uchiha symbol emblazoned onto the tops. She walked quickly through the room, Hoshi's small stomach moved quickly as it tried to take in air.

It was cruel how familiar the feelings of hopelessness, dread and heartbreak were to her, how the sight of a dying companion was nothing new to her eyes, how the stench of death didn't bother her. It was in this certainty that she came upon the realization that she had finally become a friendly acquaintance to the reaper. The love and hate relationship was more recognizable and understanding to her than anything else, because at least in that relationship she'd know that death would forever be there with her, taking away everyone she cared about.

She had always known the moment she'd been given the mission that there would be many, many innocent casualties, stepping on butterflies was exactly that, you were stepping on a living creature and killing it. No matter how she had went about changing history or even keeping things as they were, Madara and Hashirama's dream couldn't happen without sacrifices, necessary sacrifices as they had been called, the good of mankind- a necessary evil.

As she reached the slab where Hoshi laid she stopped and looked over his small form. His snow colored hair which had once been so soft and luscious was now matted with sweat and knots, his pearl colored skin was a sickly pale that was just a hint of green-blue, his lips that had been flushed a child pink were white and chapped and whispered a blue hue. His skin was hot to the touch still and she knew he was probably in serious pain.

She remembered as a child how she had gotten the flu; she had believed that all those times she had gotten sick with a small fever and runny nose that that had been what the flu was. Then she had truly caught the flu and she could still remember how every bone in her body had felt as if it had been thin glass that was ready to shatter in a million pieces, her overall body felt as if someone had taken a bat to her multiple times in multiple places and she could still remember how painfully sensitive her skin had been and how cold she was. She could still remember her thoughts of wanting everything to just stop, to end then, every little breath she had tried to take in had been a cry of mercy.

Her parents had been fighting over whether they should take her to the hospital and have the healers care for her or whether she could pull through and make it without any help. She remembered in the last day how her mother had finally conceded to her father and helped him take her to the hospital.

Unfortunately the tools needed to recreate the vaccine from her blood had not yet been invented so that was out of the question and would also lead to many questions that she wasn't allowed to answer. Not truthfully at least. She reached her hand out to touch his soft cheek, baby skin and her eyes filled with tears. He was three-eighths her size and so young, and she knew, she knew deep in her heart that while he himself probably couldn't see himself living any longer she could see his entire future.

Her hands moved to his neck, his frailness, so trusting, so innocent- she could show him mercy then. Her fingers felt his wavering heartbeat beneath his hot skin and she choked on a sob, was she truly ready to do this? To kill this innocent boy; to be the one to take his last breath?

A part of her conscience whispered softly that it wouldn't be the first child she'd killed since she'd arrived in this time and it doubted it would be the last. Her heart seemed to break even more at the realization of what she was becoming and she let go of the boy's throat.

Izuna watched as his brother read over a scroll as he paced the room, in the days that the two Chiefs' had been gone the elders had sent all of their inquiries to Madara's study in the form of scrolls. The table was littered with scrolls and Madara looked more than a little tired, his eyes were dark bruises underneath and his shoulders just slightly slumped, one of these days his brother would get ill from pushing himself so hard.

"Madara you should rest, The Senju is doing so and Sakura-san did say that you would need to rest for a day". Madara only looked away from the scroll for a moment to give him the reassurance that he had heard him. "Hashirama does not have the Hyuga outside his gates nor does he have a desk full of questions from extremely skeptical Uchiha's and Sakura should follow her own advice". Well as truthful as that was, it meant little to him.

"The guards said that the Hyuga have started to pack up and move out and the skeptical Uchiha's questions can wait for a few more days none of us had expected any of you to return as soon as you did and Sakura-san has a lot to deal with, that boy is dying and since Hashirama is the only person who can undo her seal Sakura can't do anything to help him".

Madara merely shook his head. "There's still the matter of the gold and the boys, you saw how the elders looked at those scrolls and those boys … The moment we unseal the gold we'll be in another war because each side has greedy old men and the moment I allow myself to fall into the same deep sleep as Hashirama, those boys won't have a chance, they'll be in the middle of everything and I can't allow that to happen".

He completely understood that the children that the three of them had brought back were special, they were the last of the Kaguya clan and everybody would want to have them, the problem was that both the Senju and the Uchiha would want to keep the children close by and each clan was not about to allow the children to grow in the ways of the other. Then Madara went and gave the children the scrolls that contained the gold, those boys were targets and it wasn't a good thing. "Madara, why would you give the children the scrolls?"

Madara sighed as he rubbed his face. "For the very same reason Sakura chose them over grown adults to care for the gold, their completely selfless beings; their actions are for the happiness of those around them". Made sense, if Sakura had as much as she claimed then if she had chosen an adult to be her treasurer there would be a chance of them stealing the gold and drying her up completely.

"You know the Senju will be here soon asking that we give them one of the boys and they're going to want the little one". Madara finally set down the scroll in his hand as he fully turned in his direction and leaned against the table, stifling a yawn as he did so. "I don't care what anyone says, we're not separating those children, the Kaguya clan needs to be rebuilt and we can't do that when the only remaining members are separated".

"What happens when they threaten the treaty to get them? I understand that Hashirama won't force the situation but his brother isn't like him". There was a twinkle in his own brother's eye as he smirked. "If that happens we'll throw him to Sakura, for some reason she's investing everything she has in making sure we build this village, tell her Tobirama has threatened it and I'm sure she'll take care of the problem".

That wasn't the first time someone had realized that and it was becoming a serious flaw of Sakura's especially if Madara and Kita had figured it out then other's would eventually as well, they'd come to use it against her in the worst possible ways. Perhaps then he could throw him off Sakura and to someone else. "You really believe Sakura-san is that devoted to all of this, she barely wanted to ki-" He shut his mouth then as he realized he slipped up and Madara looked wide awake just then as he to realized he had said something important.

He leaned forward, and in that moment he realized that Kita truly was Madara's mentor, his very body language was exactly the same as hers and it was disturbing. "Kill? … Who did Sakura try to kill and when? She's been with us for not even a week? Did you meet her before this?" Madara had moved just a tad bit from his leaning position and he was ready to spring forward if he didn't give him the right answers. He could play dumb but really that wouldn't work, Madara knew him to well to be able to fake as if he didn't know what he was talking about.

There was the truth and he didn't have to tell Madara everything that Sakura had told him just enough though to keep him satisfied, he promised Sakura he wouldn't tell everyone about what she'd told him about Zetsu and he was willing to keep his promise but he had to give Madara something.

"When Sakura found me, she had healed me completely as you know but there was something wrong with me". Madara's eyes had turned into slits. "What are you talking about? You were perfectly healthy when we went out that day". He tilted his head as he thought that through. "Not exactly", "What do you mean not exactly Izuna?" His brother had never truly scared him, but now he could understand why so many were scared of him.

"The curse it … I was infected with the curse". He said quietly hoping to the gods that the maids weren't listening in on them. "The curse?" Madara looked baffled then, not seeming to understand what he was talking about. "What curse?" He asked, his mind seemed to click together. "The curse of Hatred?. … Izuna you do know that's nothing more than a-" he stopped Madara from talking and he looked at him stunned.

"Than a what Madara? An Ideal? A concept?" He shook his head as he stared his brother down with his own glare. "Think about it Madara, I know you can see it because I can feel it, I'm different since I came back, I feel different, I think differently …. It's not just a concept, it's a real sickness". His brother looked like he wanted to believe him. "Madara … Sakura … she killed me". That caught his attention and Madara's sharingan activated.

"What!" Perhaps he should have worded that better. "I told you the curse … it's not just an idea, it's a real poison and the only way to get rid of it was to kill me … and then she brought me back to life". He swore Madara looked like he was about to choke on air. "Brought you back to life ... She killed you?" Now he wasn't sure what that look meant, it worried him he's never seen that look. "Madara". He said carefully.

It was sudden but it happened, Madara's legs buckled underneath him and he ran to his older brother before he could hit the ground. His Sharingan activated and immediately he could see how fast Madara's chakra was coming out of him. He heaved him up over his shoulder and walked over to the other side of the room; he'd need to call for a physician immediately to make sure whatever Sakura used on his brother wasn't hurting him. He used his shoe to slid open the screen, pushing it carefully so as not to damage the rice paper. They had just gotten the new screen door and he didn't want to ruin it, especially knowing that Sakura and Madara were once again in the same building and the first time that happened they ended up ruining the main house and the new construction was rather nice.

As the second heir he had been given Madara's old room as Madara had been given their father's old room, now as the second in command he was given the duty of protecting the information they received. Just as Madara had, his room was set up next to the main office and Madara's was on the other side of the house and he didn't feel like walking that far with Madara on his shoulder, he was heavy to say the least.

He scrunched his brows together as he realized something, Sakura had carried him while running when she had taken him, when he had seen her the very first time without her cloak he saw how thin she was she couldn't have weighed more than forty kilograms and he was sure most of that weight was in her hair with how much there was. She had carried him though and while he wasn't as big as Madara was he was bigger than Sakura not just in height but weight and she had ran with his unconscious form without any problems. … It was a terrifying realization that she was that strong.

He dumped Madara onto the bed, wishing he'd known beforehand that this was going to happen, had he been prepared he would have not put away the cot and now he was the one that would have to sleep on that damned thing.

Shaking his head as he maneuvered Madara's body better on the bed he took care of his brother as he took off his sandals and removed his tunic. If Madara was going to be out for another day like Sakura had stated then he might as well start pushing back the day of the festival and make sure the Kaguya children were taken care of and the gold was properly protected.

The only thing he was truly worried about was that Madara knew a bit of the extent of what happened with Sakura and now there would be serious repercussions for that. Madara was extremely overprotective just as he was when it came to his older brother and he was positive Madara would have a very loud and brutal conversation with the green eyed woman.

She'd become too attached to the children that she'd given shelter, her mind knew that it would be better to kill the ill child- she'd be ending his suffering. She never understood how Tsunade and Shizune had ever been able to do it; decisions like this weren't easy. They were mind altering and soul destroying and yet they had made them with such quick precision that she could only bow to them as the two of them were … strong. … Unlike her.

Out of loneliness she'd allowed herself to come out of her shell and become attached to each of the children, she had known that she would eventually have to make a serious decision; stepping on butterflies didn't just have consequences in the future it had the same amount of consequences in the present. Saving all three of the children had not been what history had told them, only two of the boys had been bought in her original time line and by procuring all three boys she had changed the way this timeline worked.

Now that she had fallen into her own mind she had time to realize that the flu had originally not made it to Konoha until the early reign of the Sandaime; by then it had cleared the world a quarter of its population. Thankfully the healers at the time had still been under the lead director of the Hospital who had taken an apprenticeship underneath the Shodai- Senju Hashirama. … Who not only seemed to not have learned anything about healing in this new alternate time line but also happened to be in a rather deep sleep. He was completely useless and now that she really thought about it she realized that it was the Uzumaki clan that had taught Hashirama about healing others, because he was the reincarnation of Asura just as Naruto was his body was not truly that of a human body but was closer to a god's body. It was true that Kurama- Kyūbi had helped in the healing department, but not as much as being a reincarnated demigod. Sasuke had been the same way, he'd been able to heal much quicker, the only reason he had actually been down during the Chūnin exams was because Orochimaru's seal had screwed his body up and the seal on Naruto had not only kept the Kyūbi at bay but it had also kept anything that was Asura in line as well. It had taken Naruto sometime to get it through his thick skull that he could heal others and the only reason it had taken him so long was because he didn't understand what the books had been talking about, Naruto was not a book person, he had to see it to understand it. Hashirama though he was Hashirama Senju he should be able to understand it better than Naruto if someone taught him as well.

Oh, if she lived through this world at all she would make sure that they taught shinobi how to handle a time traveling jutsu and how to endure. Until she knew that she would be able to walk away without having to worry about things going south would she be able to say she survived this mission and the future shinobi needed to learn how to as well.

There was suddenly a firm grip on her shoulder and Sakura jumped from her position on the floor and turned with wide eyes at the intruder, nobody was allowed to be in there but her. "Sakura-san". The male said, and she uncurled herself from her position on the floor and took in the appearance of the man that had entered the tomb.

He was obviously an Uchiha, even if his hair was more of an ash grey than an inky black or dark brown he had those same dark Uchiha eyes, he was far older than her, quit possibly in his fifties or sixties and it showed with how many wrinkles adorned his skin. He was covered in a grey robe and he didn't give out any hostility towards her. Her voice was sharp as she spoke. "Are you an idiot? This tomb is not to be entered, it is contaminated with illness, and you are infecting yourself just by coming in here!"

He didn't seem bothered. "I know". Was that truly all he had to say, her eyes were wide with astonishment and she knew it, who was he to be so brazen? "I'm sorry to interrupt you but I had to come and meet you, your work on Izuna-sama was astonishing and I just had to meet the person who completely reconstructed his body, it's not every day you meet a healer with your talents, especially a woman".

No, no her eyes were pretty much stuck in the wide open state, he risked infection just to met her? … How insane was that and what was she to say to something like that? "I'm sorry who are you?" She really needed to slap herself for that one, that was really very an intelligent response. The man only nodded his head as he spoke. "My name is Kanaye I am one of the physicians here" Oh, how pleasant was that.

He turned his attention away from her then and to Hoshi who still was fighting with everything he had to keep going. "Why haven't you healed the child?" She looked away then as she leaned her head against the cool marble stone. "Senju Hashirama sealed my chakra". She said quietly though she knew to him it wouldn't matter, he'd yet to learn how to use his chakra in order to heal. "So you healed Izuna-sama you should be able to create something to heal the child no?" "My chakra is what I use to heal. … You use medicines created from herbs, I use a few of those in conjunction with my chakra. … The results as you have seen are remarkable. … I know exactly what he needs but without chakra there is nothing that can save him, you can use all the herbs you want but it's too late, the infection has spread too far to save him".

He was quit and she closed her eyes, the feeling of fatigue just there, if she didn't get up and start doing things then her body would fall into the same state as Hashirama and Madara and she didn't want that. "Is there a way I could do it for you?"

Opening her eyes she turned her attention to the older man and shrugged her shoulders. "How good is your chakra control?" "Chakra control?" She groaned out loud, this was really starting to get on her nerves how behind these people really were. Taking a deep breath she explained as best as she could. "Your distribution of chakra when you use it are you able to control how much you use so that you don't overuse and overexert yourself?"

"I've never actually thought about that". Of course they didn't because they didn't know a thing about what she was talking about. She sighed as she sat up, time for a pop quiz; she doubted he'd even understand that saying as well. She looked around the room then and spotted an easy way to figure it out. "Come here". She said softly as she walked over to one of the caskets. The physician was quick behind her. She pointed to the Uchiha crest that had been painted on.

"I want you to peel a corner of the paint off". She instructed. "Too little chakra and nothing will happen, too much chakra though and you could destroy the casket and with that you'll be charged and hanged for the decimation of the corpse inside as well as betraying your clan". It was the truth, the ruination of a coffin was one in the same as betraying your clan, she'd never knew that until she had come to this time and she actually learned something for once. Every charge could be doubled with another charge you had to be careful in order to keep your head on your shoulders and it wasn't easy.

The look on his face told her that he was thinking along the same lines as hers, this right here was the very same kind of test that Tsunade had given her. You were either brave enough to take the chance or you weren't and you might as well give up and quit. The difference between her and him was that he was an Uchiha and she was not, to be anything but brave and strong would mean to be anything but an Uchiha to him.

He took a deep breath in and placed his hands over the paint, his hands shaking hard under the pressure she just put him under; his hands glowed cool blue when the chakra appeared and she watched the paint carefully as he directed his chakra towards it. Nothing was happening she shook her head, well better nothing than have him destroy the coffin. "Stop" She demanded and his hands and chakra moved quickly away from the casket. She grabbed his hand and he jumped. "Calm down" she ordered coolly and placed his hands back above the casket "Stop thinking, completely empty all your thoughts and just feel, see your chakra, you're thinking about what I said and you can't allow that to get to you so just forget about everything". He scrunched his brows together as he spoke his thoughts out loud "Then how will I know when to stop" she smiled even though he couldn't see it "You'll know".

He nodded his head and she could actually see his body relax as he did just as he said and she smiled with hope as she watched the paint begin to peel. "I can actually feel the wood and the paint" He said as he pulled his hands away from what he'd been doing and turned to her. "Where did you learn to do this?" She looked away as she answered because it hit a spot in her. "Somewhere that doesn't exist".

She shook her mind of those thoughts though and focused on the bigger picture he had rather good control and that meant he could do this. "I believe if you follow my instructions exactly then you can do this". He nodded his head. "What do I need to do then? If we can save the boy then it will make Madara-sama pleased with me". He should be happy in just the fact that he was helping someone she reminded herself though that clans worked the way they did and decided not to comment, it wasn't her place to.

"We need the fastest runners you have and I need paper so I can write down the ingredients". She ordered as she walked towards the doors, giving Hoshi's body a single look back as she did so. This would be the last time this place would ever hold a child she'd make sure of that.

"I'll make sure to grab them, what more do we need?" Her mind whizzed through everything she had remembered learning from Tsunade and realized that at this moment a few of their ingredients needed were located on Senju land. "We'll need a mortar and pestle". There was no way she could send an Uchiha into the Senju territory, they may have been allowed into the Uchiha compound, but that was in order to get a hold of Hashirama since he was with Madara and her. Now though, until the treaty was official they were all walking on eggshells, she'd have to be careful around Tobirama.

"I'll make a list of ingredients that you can send runners to get … the rest will have to be obtained from the Senju's" They pushed open the doors and walked out. She realized that she'd have to make enough for everyone. "Make sure to grab as much as possible, and the runners are not to deviant anywhere afterwards, they need to be quarantined until they can be given the vaccine as well, the guards too and we can't forget the other physicians and children … I need medicinal cups". She tried to remember everything as she spoke realizing she wasn't sure where she was going. "First paper and runners". The physician nodded his head. She realized then that just because he was following her didn't mean that the others would. "I need to find Madara". She stated out loud, the look she was given told her that she was the brazen one between the two of them as she had said his name so casually without any sort of honorific. "Madara-sama was last seen at his office with Izuna-sama". Ignoring the fact that he was pushing his mindset onto her her mind began to ring with warning signs as it alerted her that he was still awake, he shouldn't be awake, that wasn't good, it was one thing for her to run herself till she dropped but it was another for him to do so as well.

He was the Clan Chief he needed to be rested so that his mind and body were in working order, the moment she saw him she was going to have some serious words for him.

"May I accompany you to the Senju lands?" Kanaye asked and she turned to him. "As long as you'll be accompanying me as a healer and not and Uchiha then yes you may". He nodded his head "Of course".

Well then that was a rather easy, she was expecting an argument with him but it seemed he truly just wanted to see her work. It was then that she noticed the people staring at her; the Uchiha's seemed to just freeze in their spots as they realized she was there. She sighed, the pink hair juts grabbed so much attention that it was annoying, she wondered how long it would be until someone was brave enough to ask if her hair was real. She watched as a woman began to whisper to another, she rolled her eyes great it's the 'let's talk about her through whispers' cycle- how wonderful.

"Madara-sama's office is that room in the middle" he pointed towards the building structure where guards were stationed; remembering that she was suppose to have one she looked around and just as she turned she saw that in fact her guard had followed behind her quietly. Well that was eerily disturbing,she hadn't noticed he was behind them the entire time. ... That was someone who should definitely be kept a close eye on. "I'm going to grab the runners" of course that's why he was leaving her side "Make sure not to deviant and anybody you come into contact with must be quarantined as well and counted". Of course he already knew this as he nodded his head.

Following the direction he had pointed her towards she tried to remember how she had gotten to it, trying to remember the path back to the tomb. As she walked towards the building she took note that the guards were just as her own, eerily quiet and barely moved, they were more like statues than anything else.

Even as she walked up the steps of the building, she wondered where all these guards were when she had taken Izuna, all of them should have at least chased after her alongside Madara. She doesn't even remember any of them when they had departed for Cha, she had even left the room her first night she'd made the agreement and had looked around the compound a bit she was pretty sure she would have noticed them then especially.

They didn't move when she touched the screen and she wondered what would have happened had she pulled out a weapon in that moment. Would they have moved to attack her then? Perhaps another time she would test just how good they were at protecting their precious Chief.

Sliding the screen open she found Izuna pacing, he looked up at her surprised and she'd forgotten that perhaps she should have asked permission before walking in. "Sakura-san" He acknowledged softly, she walked in as she spoke. "I thought Madara was here". She closed the screen behind her as Izuna spoke. "He's just fallen asleep". Well that was a relief that he was resting at least, but still he shouldn't have waited so long to sleep, it was not good for him.

"I had actually sent for you a little bit ago …" Oh well other than Kanaye nobody had gotten to her. "Well I'm here, what was it that you needed?". He turned around as he spoke. "It's Madara, he had collapsed and that didn't worry me as much as how his chakra seemed to just escape his body". She smiled at how concerned he seemed to be about his older brother and she leaned against the desk that was definitely Madara's by how many scrolls there seemed to be on it.

"The pills that we took work in two ways, the first is to quickly replenish chakra by absorbing everything it can find inside the body and then running it through our systems the second part works after that and any chakra that is left over is forced out … almost like a chakra detoxification- the chakra that was squeezed out and forced into this ball of chakra and didn't get used the body sees as a waste and no good anymore so its pushed out, that's why he has to sleep for so long, he needs to replace the chakra he lost with good clean chakra".

He sighed in relief "That's a good thing right, it won't hurt him". She shook her head. "It's very good, it's going to give him the best rest he'll ever have". She remembered how she'd slept like a rock the first time she had used it and felt like a new born babe when she woke up so refreshed and ready for anything. "That's good at least he'll sleep". She nodded her head and she remembered why she had gone there in the first place. "I need you to talk with your physicians for me … One of them is willing to help me create a vaccine but the other's are probably going to be less than happy to take orders from me". He scrunched his brows together in confusion as he questioned her. "What are you talking about?" She sighed, oh yeah he probably doesn't actually know the details to what's happening.

"The Kaguya is dying from a severe case of the flu as you know already and I have a vaccine that will help, but since I still can't use my chakra and your physicians can then they can do most of work that I cannot but because I am of a lesser sex as so many have pointed out to me in these last few years there's a very high chance that none of your physicians will do as I say because to them I know absolutely nothing about anything outside of cleaning, cooking and fucking".

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at her vulgar words and she was rather impressed with herself that she was able to keep his attention. He seemed to stumble on his words "Of- of course I'll … I'll speak with them immediately … yes I'll go speak with them now". He walked brusquely out of the room and she stopped him. "Also I'll be heading off with your physician Kanaye to the Senju lands to procure herbs from them just to let you know" He nodded his head.

Smiling to herself she watched him leave the office, the bedroom screen still open and she walked over to look inside. Madara's body lay sprawled on the bed and her mind flashed back to her world, to her time when she had seen his dead body lay openly on the wounded ground. He had looked so peacefully in that time, so … happy to be finally done, to finally give into deaths demands. He had looked so youthful in that moment so much that it baffled her and she wondered what had truly driven him to the depths of insanity.

She had remembered being told in school that he had sworn vengeance against the people of Konoha for losing the promised title of Hokage, not even Orochimaru was that obsessed; he had been obsessed of course but Orochimaru had been a chipped piece of glass after his parents had died he'd become a ticking time bomb after that and even Tsunade had stated that everyone had been waiting for him to explode- to eventually crack, they had just not it would be in such a twisted way. It's why she had dug even deeper into finding out everything she could about the founding fathers of her village; she needed to understand why everything that was happening in her time was happening, she had hoped to find some sort of answer in the past in order to help Sasuke and Naruto in her past-present time.

… Although she had never found and answer, not in the history books.

Now as she stood above a sleeping Madara she found that his body was still stressed even in his sleep his mind was wreaked with worry, his beauty was shrouded by dark circles and pale skin. If she could fix Madara she could fix everything else, she had saved his brother from falling even deeper in the cursed plague of darkness and now she needed to save Madara from his own clan. First though before she began any of that she needed make the Uchiha find better rest than whatever he considered this, even if the pills had given him a better sleep, if his worries were clouding his mind then it would show in his rest and it did in fact show. A throat cleared before her and she turned to find Kanaye standing in the threshold.

"Sakura-san, the runners you asked for are ready". Oh yes they very reason she had came was for paper, she quickly spun around and marched over to the large desk, moving around the various scrolls. Her eyes stumbled for a moment as she had found one opened and as she looked over to Kanaye and realized he was not paying any attention to her, but was looking into the bedroom that Madara was situated inside of. Her eyes quickly scanned the parchment, her mind unscrambling the Uchiha code a note to the Patriarch about a boy from the mountains requesting to become part of the Uchiha clan. In the corner of her eye she saw Kanaye sliding the screen shut and she quickly moved the paper back and presumed her quest for the paper as the ink sat unceremoniously next to a candle.

"I need one more thing from you Kanaye-san" She began as she found the parchment paper she had been originally looking for. "Anything Sakura-san" "I need you to track down lavender flowers for me right this moment … Your Madara-sama will not be getting a proper rest if his mind in not settled like it should be". She stated as she wrote down the ingredients on papers for each runner. "There should be some in here already Sakura-san" Kanaye replied as he looked around the room.

Well then that was good. "Go into the bedroom and light the lavenders on fire and quickly blow them out, just as quickly you need to force your chakra into the flowers until the flowers catch on fire once more then blow the blow the flowers out for another time and place them in a vase and let them smoke the room" "I don't understand Sakura-san what help could blowing out flowers on fire do for Madara-sama's rest?" She forced herself not to roll her eyes. "The chakra that you forced into the flowers will cause the natural stimulants in the flowers to become at the most twice as potent and due to the smoke Madara's body will absorb the chakra as well as the stimulants that have attached themselves to the chakra" "I see why must I use fire twice though? Would it not be more beneficial if I used a small stream of my own elemental chakra to catch the flowers on fire?"

She looked up from her writing then rather impressed at the idea. "If you can do that then yes, it'll be even better". Such a shame she wasn't a fire elemental or she would have done that when Tsunade had told her how to absorb chakra from natural elements during her sleep. Damn Uchiha's and their natural affinity for fire.

She had finished writing down her list and watched as Kanaye carefully blew at the flowers in his hands and how softly a fire caught on, it was so … pretty. She looked around the room for a vase and of course in the corner of the desk there was a vase filled with … kunai? She rolled her eyes this time this was completely and wholly Madara's desk and she dumped the contents of the vase onto the desk handing it to Kanaye.

Looking back towards the desk she grabbed one of the kunai and slipped it into the pocket of her cloak. She didn't believe she'd need it but she truly did like having one for safety and security purposes. Kanaye was quicker this time as he slid the door shut and as he turned around she handed him the list. "After we send off the runners we're good to leave to the Senju lands". He nodded his head as they slid the screen door open and walked outside.

The moment they did they stopped at the sight of Izuna yelling harshly at a group of older men that sat on their knees before him, a group of men that she remembered vaguely as being the physicians from the time she'd taken Izuna. "Who is your second in command?!" Izuna questioned harshly and she almost couldn't believe how he was basically yelling in front of the older man's face. The man in question was somewhere near the same age as Kanaye, his face wrinkled with more age spots than anything else on his slightly tanned skin. His hair a stark white compared to all the other physicians that were with him and his eyes were clouded a hazy grey a sign of obvious cataracts. His eyes turned to her and he glared at her and she glared back now not feeling bad at all about how Izuna was treating him.

"Don't look over there I'm the one talking with you! And I will not ask you another time who is your second in command?!" Izuna yelled with spit just slightly coming out and his white teeth gleaming in the afternoon sun. "Who is that?" Sakura asked quietly Kanaye whispered softly back to her "That would be Yukio-san he's the Chief physician in Madara-sama's court". Oh ... well then. "Why is he being yelled at then?" Kanaye only shrugged his shoulders as he answered. "I don't know I've been collecting the runners for you".

Well then that didn't help. "Are you telling me you don't have a second?!" There was an angry gleam in Izuna's eyes that she'd only seen once before she had taken out Zetsu's chakra from him. He turned in their direction and called out to them. "You over here now". He better have not been talking to her like that but before she could open her mouth and tell him something Kanaye scrambled from his spot and ran over to Izuna she could only blink as she watched him drop to his knees in front of the younger clan heir.

"Sakura-san is this the one that you said was willing to help you?" Izuna asked her and the way he spoke, the power he carried in his voice, she was almost unable to speak. ".. Yes, he was the one who requested I teach him how create the vaccine". He nodded his head and she could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. "What is your name physician?" Izuna asked in a calmer tone, the same he talked to her with.

"Kanaye, Izuna-sama" "Very well Kanaye-san I give you permission to stand" He rose from his position on his knees and looked up, but she noted how he didn't look directly at Izuna eyes. Izuna spoke loud for all those that were watching. "As the second in command of this clan I'm stripping Yukio-san of his title and privileges as Chief of Physicians and giving them to Kanaye-san until the Chief of this clan awakes and says otherwise …. Guards take Yukio-san he's under house arrest until Madara-sama deems otherwise". The motionless guards moved and were quick to pick up the older man who went without any resistance.

She was at a loss of what she was to do. "Kanaye-san as of right now you are to follow every word Sakura-san says every order she gives, you are to follow to a 't' am I understood?" Kanaye nodded his head "Perfectly Izuna-sama". Izuna turned his attention away from everyone. "Good now go tend to the sick and needy" He ordered as he waved him off, once more she blinked astonished. She was more than familiar with Clan Chiefs and how they acted and how Izuna had just acted was exactly that, it just was different since she had seen a softer side with him, a more vulnerable side she supposed.

Of course though he was the only other heir to the Clan until Madara had an heir of his own so it would make sense that he had been taught how to handle all sorts of situations in whatever sort of manner they demanded just like this one; although she couldn't understand what had him change so drastically in such a sort amount of time.

She was a bit worried about approaching him in such a state what with everyone treading carefully around the main house. She sucked it up though she'd faced scarier things than an angry Uchiha … she's faced a crazy resurrected one and that said something since she lived through it to tell the tale. She doubted anyone would ever believe that though or would even want to listen to it. "Izuna-san" She began as she walked towards him, she ignored the way the others seemed to stare at her and her ability to talk to the second heir so easily.

"Yes Sakura-san" "Don't forget that Kanaye-san and I will be leaving to see the Senju physicians" He breathed out carefully before he spoke with her. "Make sure he comes back alive I don't feel like having to find another to take his place as well … good physicians are hard to come by". Of course they were that's just how this world worked. She nodded her head though as she grabbed the older physician by the shoulder and dragged her with him.

"Come on Kanaye-san we need to hurry before we lose the sun". It was true they'd spent too much time there in the compound and that was not good, they couldn't afford to lose more time. She sighed there had to be a serious side effect to taking so many ration pills, she pulled out her little pouch. In the least she could figure out the answers to the questions she had about the ration pills. Popping a half of one more pill in her mouth she pulled out another and handed it to Kanaye. "Take this; it'll help get us there faster". He did as told and she was rather impressed with how well he took orders from her.

She watched as he took the pill and nodded her head. "Now let's run". The Senju land wasn't too far away just across the river but the land of fire should have been called the land of trees because there were-are so many tree's in the damned country that it was just ridiculous sometimes. When one just wanted to get lost it wasn't hard because one wrong turn and you could get lost, eventually you'd find your way back. It would take a few days but you'd figure it out.

Still though none of that really mattered what mattered was that she still could not help but wonder what had set off Izuna in such a way, she understood that he had to present himself to his clan in a certain way at times, but completely stripping someone of their title was a tad bit harsh, and to do it so publicly and so degrading-humiliating. There should never be a reason to do such a thing, in her time, there was more whispering and more people being asked to stay behind or being pulled to the side, they never yelled, never humiliated, they kept everything behind closed doors … as much as possible, of course people still talked about what happened but it wasn't as bad as one would believe it to be.

"Sakura-san may I ask you something?" She turned her attention towards the Uchiha physician and nodded her head, better have him talk then allow her own mind to wonder. "What exactly is the process for all of this?" She wasn't sure how to describe it but it wouldn't matter she was going to have to.

"We must cleanse them, bleed them and then purify them. … Each process is very specific and requires very serious attention and need right now your runner's not only have instructions to pick up the herbs but have the other physicians prepare the water for the cleansing process, right now all they can do it prepare the bathes with hot water until we return with the proper ingredients … The bath is the simplest process though, we must cleanse the bodies of the ill and then submerge them in another tub that has been filled with hot water and specific herbs and let the bodies leech off the herbs for a few minutes, what we are doing is basically cleaning the outer skin of the illness, purifying and bleeding the body are the most important aspects of the process we have to draw out the virus and from there we can create a vaccine with what we're able to draw out".

He seemed to understand what she was saying and she was glad because she really didn't want to go into exact specifics. "What do we need from the Senju's that will help us? From what I've been told their land only grows flowers". Yes they did, Tsunade had always stated that her Clan had always been big on flowers, it was the very reason that Hashirama was so good with poisons as well because he was surrounded by so many different types.

"Yes they do grow mostly flowers and that's exactly what we need, they have Echinacea, Boneset, Borage and a list of many other's that will be beneficial to what we have to do, you'd be surprised at what a single flower can do for the human body and do to it". They'd be surprised at how bad a flower could be to the human body. "Sakura-san" She slowed down as she saw the gates of the Senju Lands and she turned to look over at her companion.

"Yes Kanaye-san" "Have you ever dealt with Senju Tobirama?" Well she did speak a few words with him when she was healing his kinsmen before he had disappeared on her; there was also that little tidbit where she knocked him out during her fight with Hashirama and Madara so … "We're acquainted with one another". She wasn't about to let an Uchiha know right before they walked into the Senju territory that she beat up Tobirama and won, goodness knows how fast that sort of information would spread.

"I hear that he's the one that truly runs the clan .. his position as second heir is nothing like Izuna-sama's position where he only takes over officially when Madara-sama is in no shape to care for the clan they say he will give orders that go against his brother's word". If she didn't have a headache then she definitely did now. It was one thing to be the way Izuna was with his authority but to completely dismiss your clan leader was not a good thing and if what Kanaye said then she had a lot of work to do and remodeling an entire clan was not something she was going to add to her list of things to do.

She shrugged her shoulders though as she spoke. "Well even if he is that way, it doesn't pertain to you or even me as we are not his kinsmen". Sometimes it amazed her how well she handled certain situations. The guards were moving forward and she breathed in, they needed to get all of this done quickly.

"We're sorry but we cannot allow you to go any farther" One of the guards stated, he just had one of those faces, he looked familiar his hair was a white blonde, light colored skin with hazel eyes, not young and certainly not old and tall. Another deep breath before she spoke, they really needed to get to those herbs. "I'm here to speak with Senju Tobirama". He looked skeptical and turned his attention towards the physician before turning to her and looked her over critically.

"I'm sorry but Tobirama-sama is busy, perhaps you should turn around and come back tomorrow when he has more free time". Since he was going to act like that she was going to do something she truly didn't like doing to get to someone. She shook her head and forced tears to come to her eyes as she pretended to be in dire need. "Please I need to see him! I carry his child Sir!" His eyes widened immediately and she could feel the outrageous stare from Kanaye. "I did not want to come here in such a state but I must let him know!" She allowed her voice to go a little higher, more shrill than her usual tone seeming to go into complete hysterics.

"But my entire family is gone and I did not know whom he was, he had just been passing through the woods and-" The guard shut her up immediately. "Tobirama-sama does like his hikes …. What of the Uchiha though what is he doing with you?" She hated sometimes how hard it was to keep her from doing anything stupid, like rolling her eyes; Kanaye spoke though keeping with the story. "Madara-sama allows us to help any civilians that live around our lands … I'm here for support, the girl has no one as she has stated". The guard nodded his head in understanding as he ushered them in through the side he spoke. "I'm sorry but we can't let anyone see you … if the clan were to know that Tobirama-sama has sired a bastard … it wouldn't be good".

She could only imagine how ugly things could get … but it would be interesting in the same as it would be distracting and Tobirama could us a distraction. And did she hear right? Tobirama liked to take hikes … long enough that there was a high possibility that he could see someone without his clansmen knowing or ever finding out about it. That was a scary thought, it would seem if Zetsu could get his hands on anyone easily it would be Tobirama, his anti-social behavior would go unnoticed and nobody would ever wonder or worry.

They arrived quickly at what looked to be there main house and my were there many-many flowers and none of the innocent kind, there in front of her was a small batch of poppy's, she breathed in carefully. This would explain so many of the stories that Tsunade had told her about the Shodai, so many-many explanations stared in front of her. They walked up to a side of the house and the guard knocked carefully and bowed his head, before he whispered to her. "Move to my side, I do not wish to ambush him with everything". Of course not, it wasn't everyday that Senju Tobirama was told that he was going to be a father to a child that didn't exist.

They were talking in tongues though and she didn't understand the dialect at all and she didn't recognize it but whatever was said it caught someone's attention as there was a loud crash before the screen slid open almost being broken in the process.

She really wanted to applaud the sight that laid before her, a shell shocked Senju Tobirama stared at the guard in what looked like mute horror, and a shirtless body, his skin was perfectly unblemished and perfectly toned and he had more than well-defined muscles. He definitely put in some good amount of time when it came to training and boy did it look wonderful on him. Whatever they were saying it was becoming extremely annoying and they were wasting time.

Purposefully she scuffled her feet against the wood off the floor catching the Nidaime's attention and she moved from the shadows she'd been pushed into. His wide eyes turned to small slits that you could only see the red of his eyes. "You!" He hissed and she tsked. "I believe we have much to talk about". She whispered carefully. He looked from her towards Kanaye and she pulled his attention back towards her. "Unless of course you'd like me to really ruin your name". She looked towards the guard that was still bowing, if he didn't believe her she'd make him "Guard-san I think it's best if you send me to the elder's" The look she was given could have been considered visual murder and she inwardly shuddered.

"Get inside now!" He ordered hastily as he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her in, she signaled for Kanaye to follow her and they slid the screen closed quickly. It seemed the backside was just as wonderfully sculpted as the front, his back dipped in such an artistic way that she could only imagine sinful things.

He turned to her, red eyes blazing hot and angry. "A child … Did you truly have to use such a thing in order to get in?" She shrugged her shoulders as she played a bit. "What can I say I do enjoy the dramatic arts". His eyebrows furrowed and she frowned he didn't know what dramatic arts were, of course he didn't seduction and covert operations weren't in practice just yet. That was a damn shame. "Anyways I need your help, the Kaguya children will die from the illness they've contracted, the child your brother brought back will be first .. and then the other two will eventually catch it and any others that have been around them will catch it including your brother and everyone will die … unless of course you give me access to your gardens". He stood poised deep in thought and she wondered what was taking him so long to respond, she'd had brought up his brother and was hoping that would have been enough incentive.

"I'll allow the physician to grab all that's required if you stay here with me I wish to have some words with you alone". That was never good, if Zetsu had indeed been watching her and had decided to go another route of getting his catalyst then no doubt it would be Tobirama and if Tobirama wanted to be alone with her then that meant he was planning to kill her. She breathed out and she could feel the stare of both men in the room watching her.

She reached into her pockets nonchalantly searching, making sure no one noticed what she was doing, and she felt the smooth blade against her fingertips. She didn't have her chakra to defend herself but she had a weapon and she was good at taijutsu she should be able to fend him off if necessary. "Deal, Kanaye-san I need you to grab everything they have we need Thyme, Echinacea, Andrographis, Boneset, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Rosemary and Sage and make sure to take everything I'm sure that the Senju's won't mind". She watched Tobirama and he merely stared right back at her as he spoke turning towards a desk in the room and he grabbed a piece of paper tearing in half before handing it over to Kanaye-san. "Make sure to give this to the healers when you speak with them". Kanaye-san only nodded his head before he stumbled out of the room.

It was silent for a while and she waited, she could sit there for as long as necessary if she really could find the time to do it she would too but at the moment she couldn't but she would give him some minutes to think over whatever it was.

"Tell me what are your intentions towards my brother?" Well that certainly was unexpected and she blinked at him he really did ask that. "Excuse me?" Wasn't that question usually directed at a man about a girl?

"He's betrothed and giving him a bastard child will do you no good, whore's are looked down upon in this clan". If it wasn't for the fact that this was a serious situation she was sure she would have pulled a Naruto face and gone completely off on him. Instead she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply then exhaled carefully counting to ten in her head before she spoke. "Your worries are unnecessary I'm not interested in your brother in any way, I only wish to help him and Uchiha Madara create their dream-" "Why?"

She didn't even think through her words before she spoke. "Because this world has no dreamers" He looked away from her then before he spoke again hesitantly this time. "… What about the Uchiha? My brother believes that there is some sort of … attraction there? Are you helping them for the same reason your helping us or is there something more between you and Madara". She wouldn't deny she was attracted to Madara, he was a very attractive man but so was the Nidaime he was handsome as well, but as it had been brought up multiple times now she couldn't get involved with a clan member no matter how attracted she was to them, she was on a mission where distractions weren't allowed and she especially wasn't going to be someone's whore. She wasn't stupid, women with nothing didn't marry into clans, if they did ever get involved with such a man, he was either forced to take her on as his mistress but only if she was carrying his child and if not she was taken out of the picture completely and the higher up the clan you tried to get the worse ways the clan would come up with to make a girl disappear. Interestingly enough if it was a girl from a clan that got involved with a non-clan boy well it would seem that the girl was hardly every mentioned in the history books, most presumed she just wasn't important when really the girl had chosen to be with her love than be with her clan. On the exception they were able to get out of the clan alive, men who got involved with such women knew that death was soon followed if they were caught.

She never understood it though in terms of being a mistress she could never do it, sharing a man with another woman, it was preposterous, even for Sasuke she would have never been able to do it. He could get down on one knee like in the movies and promise her beautiful children, money, love and the world but she would never except it if he was giving those to another woman he claimed to love as well. It didn't work like that, she believed that love was solely between two people and two people only, you couldn't just hand out pieces of your heart it made no sense, but that was her thoughts on the matter.

"Uchiha Madara is a beautiful man but there is nothing between us, I'm smarter than you believe me to be and I don't mean this in the way you think what I mean is that I know what I can and cannot do and as a woman not part of a clan or village I am not able to be with a man from any clan. I'm not here to sleep around nor am I hear to find a husband and have children, I am here to help your brother and Uchiha Madara create their dream of a peaceful village and a truce between their clans, you need not worry about me trying to ruin their names or yours either".

He sighed. "Tell me … What were you doing in the forest before you found the children?" She bit her lip she couldn't exactly tell him that she had been running down his brother's future killer, the same one that she had killed when she had fallen from the top of the forest, her mind raced and she realized she wouldn't have to tell him that, she had enough information that was truthful she could answer him without worry.

"I was running from someone". He looked at her curiously. "I've seen you fight I find it hard to believe that you needed to run away". She shrugged her shoulders. "Even I know when I've taken on more than I can handle".

"So there's nothing you want from either of the clans? Tell me now because once the treaty has been finalized the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan will be one clan and I must make sure nothing will become a problem". Here she was expecting more hostility from him; maybe it was because she was a woman that he was being nice to her.

"I'm glad to hear that, it means we are on the same page, I mean your people no harm if there is any such a thing out there I have sworn myself to eliminate such a threat". He looked at her then, really looking at her and she couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his head.

"Then you shall have no problem swearing loyalty to this village" She already had, but she supposed she could do it once more. "I have no problem at all" It was then they heard it a ruckus outside the halls and Tobirama was quick in his steps as he slid open the screen door, she followed him not bothering to conceal her identity.

"Are your people always so rowdy?" She asked as she stepped in line with him he gave her a quick glance. "Not usually, but our elders got word of the treaty and they spread the word, many are anxious about the coming days" She sighed as she heard what he was unwilling to say himself. "You mean many of the older clansmen don't agree with it". A careful nod was given and they stopped in front of a screen where someone was shouting everything was muffled so she couldn't understand it but she caught the 'Uchiha' pieces. Tobirama swiftly opened the screen door and the sight that greeted her was horrid. There was a physician yelling at a guard in that same language that had been spoken between Tobirama and another guard.

Tobirama interrupted them as he spoke up and the physician seemed to freeze in their spot. This one was much older than all of them, possibly in his seventies; his hair was a thinning pale brown his face was sagging with age greatly and you could barely see his dark brown eyes underneath his sagging lids. "What's the problem?" She asked not sure what was going on.

Tobirama rubbed his face and she took notice that he really was a beautiful man his bone structure was phenomenal. "He's angry that I've allowed the Uchiha to take all of our plants" "Does he know what we've taken them for?"

The physician answered before Tobirama could answer her. "I am standing right here girl I understand you perfectly and I don't care what reasons they have for taking our medicine, they are Uchi-" Her hand shot out before she could control it and she grabbed the physician by his throat and pushed him up against the wall. Her eyes moved in the direction of the second heir and she spoke while the man struggled beneath her. "Perhaps it would be best if everyone left me and the physician, we need to have a few words alone".

"Leave us". Tobirama ordered the guard, not taking his eyes off her; it wouldn't matter if he was here, she tightened her grip. "Did you ever take an oath when you became a healer? See because I did and I swore on my life that I would never put anything before saving the life of another, not the color of my skin, nor my gender, not my class, not my country not even if I'm from a different clan, leaders lead, soldiers fight and healers heal, we do not judge anything or anyone is that understandable or do you feel it's too much to handle?" She loosened her grip on the man's neck to allow him to speak. He struggled gasping for air.

"Tobirama how can you allow such-" She rolled her eyes and went back to squeezing his neck. "Really all I want is a simple yes or no I am not part of any clan so I can do and say whatever I want and right now I want a yes or no and I believe Tobirama-san does so as well". He struggled and she waited for his skin to turn blue. She remembered vividly the time when Tsunade had come back to the village and taken over as Hokage as well as taking over the Hospital the head director at the time was very, very against Tsunade taking back the Hospital and giving up her position. Prideful people and Tsunade had told her if people refused to listen, you would have to force them to listen by any means necessary.

"Sakura-san". She turned around to Tobirama. "Let him go, I believe he's learned his lesson". She turned back to the Senju physician who's eyes had become bloodshot she was hoping to keep him up a little longer but it would seem she wouldn't be allowed to. … Pity.

She sighed "Fine" and let him go. "I hope that this has taught you to play well with others". She stated softly as she looked down at the physician. "I thought you were a healer?" Tobirama asked carefully "I'm what the situation calls for". The situation called for her to show her sour side unfortunately and it wasn't a good kind of sour either.

A bell went off in her head. "After we've created the vaccine I would appreciate it if you and your kinsmen came to the compound, we can immunize everyone, this illness spreads and jumps quick and you and the Uchiha cannot afford to lose so many good people so close to the treaty becoming official" "I couldn't agree more, please send us a message when it's ready and we'll make sure our physicians are escorted there to pick it up".

She nodded her head. "I might need to take a few of your physicians, Kanaye-san and I cannot possibly transport all of the herbs I've requested on our own" "That's fine, take Gōmanna-san with you it'll be his punishment to have to work alongside the Uchiha's" Oh great she had to take him with her, why did it feel like he was trying to punish her for her little stunt ... or maybe he was punishing her for knocking him out ... or possibly both!

A guard knocked on the screen and Tobirama turned around to open it, she glared at the physician that was glaring at her. She knew the moment she was dropped in this era just how bad things were going to get she knew that if at some point she was forced to come out from the shadows that she would be hated by many, many people, she wasn't stupid. She was Tsunade's apprentice though and she had a tough backbone, they could try to break it but it would take more than what they knew to do it.

"Sakura-san your healer is ready, I'll have my men escort you're to the Uchiha lands but I would appreciate it if you brought back my physicians untouched". And here she was planning on murdering all of them … she's merely joking if anyone was listening in on her thoughts. She hoped not it would be extremely violating- even she wasn't that bad.

She nodded her head like a good girl though and allowed the young Senju heir to escort her outside the room. "I would appreciate it if you alerted us to when Hashirama-san awakens there is much that needs to be discussed between the two of us and I feel it best to do it before Madara-san is up as well since I'm sure once they're awake none of us will be able to pull them away from each other". He nodded his head. "Of course, I understand that he was not particularly happy with how you transferred the Kaguya children from Cha to Hi and while I believe it was a necessary move my brother believes differently, I'm sure after he's rested he'll be more understanding". Senju Tobirama was more surprising than one would have believed and here she thought he was going to be more trouble than she wanted … actually she still wasn't sure, when things died down she would get a look in his head to see if Zetsu had gotten his claws into him. Then- and only then would she be able to state whether or not he was going to be a problem for her and Konoha.

She lifted her hood when she noticed some of the Senju's beginning to look their way. "By the way Sakura-san next time you want my attention do me a favor and not claim to be carrying a child of mine I would very much appreciate not having rumors spread about me fathering a bastard". She smiled. "Well then perhaps you shouldn't take such long hikes, I can only wonder what I'd find if I followed you" "It's a good thing then that I am able to sense chakra so easily". It was a good thing but she was probably the only person in this era that could successfully conceal her chakra and stand in front of an Uchiha and still be able to pass for a civilian, but he didn't need to know that.

Kanaye-san and the physicians that she was taking with her were waiting for them at the Senju gates, the herbs were in baskets that were covered and strapped tightly to each man and two of the guards were ready and waiting for them. "So I believe this is a farewell until the next time" another head nod. "Yes until next time Sakura-san". He turned away from her and started to walk off and she hoped she really hoped that Zetsu hadn't gotten to him, he was … she had no way of describing but there was just something about him. Possibly that same something that made him Nidaime you couldn't become Hokage just because you created so many jutsu's or because you were simply a genius while the Nidaime was both it was hard for her to believe those were the exact reasons he was chosen, yes it helped he was the second heir of the Senju but even that meant nothing by the time he had become the Hokage they could have picked from any of the prominent clans that had settled in Konoha by then specifically the Hyuga and the Shimura clans could have qualified if all you needed was to be genius shinobi warriors. No there was something to Senju Tobirama but she wasn't exactly sure yet.

… Maybe it was the fact that he was walking around the Senju compound without any sort of top to cover his very-very masculine body. She'd definitely would have chosen him as Hokage just on the fact that his body should have definitely been sculpted in the mountains for all those to see. She'd figure it out eventually. Turning to the others she spoke up as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her bag of ration pills, this was going to be the last time she ever had to look at them; she'd make sure of it. "Alright, everyone take a pill and take it quickly, these will help boost your chakra levels, we need to get to the Senju compound as fast as possible".

She handed the bag of pills over to the other physicians and guards. "Catch up to us quickly". She nodded her head over to Kanaye who understood that she wasn't going to give him or even herself anymore of the pills. She'd already taken two full pills and her body was going to be seriously feeling it soon. She sighed as she took into sprint, this was it, either she created the vaccine or she was going to completely fail and end up killing everyone and everything she had done, everything they had done had been for nothing and she had let them die in vain.

The difference between this version of her and the past version of her, her past timeline was that she was more confident, more knowledgeable; she'd been through so much since the war, since she'd been dropped inside this timeline. She wasn't going to allow herself to screw this up, and she definitely wasn't going to allow anyone else to make any mistakes either.

Every step would need to be followed to the dot, there would be nothing halfway done, no shortcuts, she may not have been able to do much but she'd make sure that everyone else did or she would use force if she needed to. From what it seemed like if she pushed the Senju Tobirama wouldn't have any problems with it as long as the Kaguya clan was in the silent contract of theirs then he was perfectly fine with what she did it seemed. The Uchiha's though, Izuna may have yelled at all of them for whatever reason but it didn't mean he would tolerate an outsider doing the same; she'd take the chance if it was necessary. She just really hoped that these people, these healers were as invested in this as much as she was, they needed to be invested in every patient, which was the oath they had made- She had made.

Sometimes she wondered if the steps she was making were the right steps, while foresight was a very important ability for this mission, she couldn't help but question if this was how Naruto and Sasuke would have wanted things to go. If they would have agreed with all the calls she had been making or if they would have fought her for everything she had done, was doing. Deep down she knew that Naruto would have hated her for all the lying, deceiving and killing she'd done over the time she'd been there, yet unlike Naruto she finally realized that Sasuke would have accepted her, accepted her strength.

Above all though she always wondered about Itachi; while she had never knew him, for some peculiar reason he had chosen her of all reasons to do this mission, he had chosen her to be the one to carry his last chance of giving the Uchiha clan a second chance. Uchiha Itachi had chosen her out of all people to give all shinobi a second chance, and yet a piece of her couldn't help but wonder if this was how he had wanted her to go about everything. Would he have approved of every move every thought? Or was she completely ruining his plans? While she had only found out about what he'd done for Konoha in the last days of her world it still proved that he was willing to do everything in his power to protect everything he had, everything he loved, he was more than ready to make the decisions and actions that others wouldn't-couldn't make. So here she was completely trying to figure out whatever the hell she was trying to figure out.

… Life had been so much simpler when she had been living in the background all she had too ever worry about was how she was going to shield herself from the rain or whatever mother nation decided to throw at her. All she ever needed to keep busy with was her mind and her list of enemies the only two ingredients needed to plan, plan and plan for anything that could possibly happen. She had to fall off that damned cliff and get herself into all of this.

The guard that had been following her like her own shadow was in her line of sight up ahead and she turned back for a second to see that the Senju guards that had been escorting them were fall back as well, they were about to move into the Uchiha lands and tension was filling the air around her. The Senju healers were terrified right now and she knew it, they were all under her control, alone without any protection in what could still be enemy territory if things were to go south before Hashirama and Madara woke up.

On the plus side of everything though at least she knew that Izuna and Tobirama were all in agreement that coming together as one whole unit was the best option, if she had them both in her ring then there was a high probability that they wouldn't allow anything bad to happen to this treaty. They were both very much invested in all of this.

"Kanaya-san!" She yelled out as the gates got closer to her, in the corner of her eye she could see Kanaye move closer to her. "We're going to quarantine ourselves in the tomb, take as many medics with you and grab the children and three large bathing buckets and bring the rest of the medics and all the herbs that the runners grabbed" "Hai Sakura-san".

She slowed down her body as they entered the gates and immediately her eyes landed on Izuna, his scouts must have been exceptional because they were moving pretty fast since they all took the ration pills. Her body came to a complete stop as they made it through and she turned to her guard. "Take the remaining medics to the tomb, I'll be there shortly". He gave her a curt nod before he bowed before Izuna, Kanaye-san doing the same before he too took off too his intended destination.

Turning towards her hosts she smiled. "I see your trip was successful". She nodded. "Yes Senju Tobirama was very helpful" "That's good, I've had a few words with the rest of the healers after you left, they'll do anything you tell them too, so there's no need to worry about any of that". She really did hope that when he said he had a few words he truly just meant that he had a few words that didn't involve yelling or any sort of threats on her part.

"I need one more thing from you". She said softly and he didn't even blink "Yes?" "I need the tomb to be quarantined until we leave and while we're in there I need someone to set up a room that can be torn down just as quickly as it can be put up and any blankets or clothing that was worn by the children and the medics in the last twenty-four hours needs to be burned as well and the rooms needs to be scrubbed, thoroughly, the moment those children were brought here the illness was brought with them and we need to get rid of everything that came into contact with them to get rid of the illness in the air". He nodded his head. "I'll start on that then, let me know if there's anything else you need send a runner, or a guard or anything I'll take care of it". She nodded her head with her smile, he would have been a good leader if Madara wasn't already in the position. "Thank you … for everything". He gave her a small nod before he turned around and signaled a guard to him.

Rolling up her sleeves she sighed, mentally exhausted this must have been what Tsunade had felt when she had returned to Konoha, now it was her turn to teach these people a lesson in healing.

So sorry for another late chapter, but I have been very-very busy with moving and well since black-Friday happened and people decided to buy new tv's and then decided to hook those tv's up with cable well simply put I had to wait in line to reinstall my cable/internet since it turns out that when you move and you move you transfer your internet to your new house they actually turn it off and all that good stuff. So I was down and well while I don't necessarily need the internet or tv to survive I was a bit saddened at the thought that I couldn't put this up on a half-way timely manner.

NO! Absolutely not Sakura is not having a kekki Genkai (Bloodline Limit) I have always disliked the fanfictions of Sakura having suddenly found out that she had a Kekki Genkai and that was the reason why she was so awesome in the stories. I completely agree that Sakura is a very hard worker when it comes to all her knowledge and skills as I said before I found that the teams had been set up a distinctive way but mainly Sakura was the intelligent one in her team. If you'd like to know –no there will be no Madara-Sakura-Tobirama love cycle that would be … a headache for all those involved and uninvolved. While Sakura does find Tobirama fairly attractive (He truly is) I have plans for Tobirama that none of you are allowed to know about until I write it and you read it. As for another suitor …. Well that's another thing that you're gonna have to wait and see.

Don't worry about that chakra seal it's coming off in the next chapter.

So I will see you all very soon in the next chapter. Thank you all for reviewing and would love to see more people reading and reviewing.

Thank you all.

Angel897; Guest(1); hiyouri; minniemousemon; JUCHKO; Nyssandria; Hanane EL Mokkadem; ladyparty123; GoldenPiggy; LunaScarletta

Thank you once more –Forever Gypsy.