Naruto and all its characters are the exclusive property of Mashashi Kishimoto. I am making no money writing this; I'm just a sad sod on the internet trying to practice writing this way while also entertaining (hopefully) a few people.

A/N: It's a time travel AU, and I do not claim canonical accuracy with regard to any of the characters (or canon regarding character feats, for that matter). This is something I'd recommend keeping in mind before you rage review (not that I mind those, of course) any inconsistencies in the fanon characters here, as compared to their canon counterparts. Also, I am well aware that the premise is a stretch (to say the least) and may border on the nonsensical. This is perfectly all right, in my humble opinion, as I have not set out to write an era defining work or some shit; this is meant to be a guilty pleasure sort of fic, and I make no claims beyond that.

As mentioned early in the first chapter, Sakura is 22.

That out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading it!

Prologue

How innocuous, to absently watch the rain reshape clods of dirt on the road! To hear the snarl of thunder, to take in with wide eye a flash of lightning! Her fancy took flight with the squawking raven that sought shelter from the deluge, and together, together! they were transported back to an autumn eve from a decade ago, when a similar raven—no, no, perhaps this very raven! — had taken shelter under a thatched roof. The howling wind and the pitter patter of rain had drawn from her a shy titter, had made her take in with wonderous eye the blackened sky. Clod mixed with rain, and she saw again the porch where she and Sensei sat, she and sensei with Sasuke and Naruto— watching, laughing, talking about things trivial; and Sasuke too laughed, laughed with the rest, and Sensei heaved a sigh, made a face— a face that she, to this day, remembered him by, an expression half frustrated, half fond; in the distance, droplets of rain made little bubbles on the surface of a pond— a cauldron boiling.

How innocuous, to absently watch the rain reshape clods of dirt on the road! Then why the wet eye, the tightening in the throat, the wearied slump, the unbearable load? Why had she fallen again into that tangled maze of thought she tried so hard to avoid? Her past was behind her; her past was gone. There was only the present.

And Sakura's present was a rutted road that ran all the way to Ame. She had been in the land of Rain three days now, and everyone spoke about Amegakure in awe: the rain there cleansed, cleansed utterly, they said; a deity sat on a throne, and lo, woe begone! To live in Ame, they said wistfully, to die for Ame, to die for God! Alas, alas, we have not the right!

That Pein had turned a Shinobi village into a place of pilgrimage, then closed it off to its most frenzied devotees, fanatics that he'd through word and deed indoctrinated, was not an irony lost on Sakura. Underneath all the hogwash, his too was a violent ideology, much like the will of fire, and she—she was tired of violence. She had stood in meek surrender for so many years, working, working, working on lost causes, watching each failure be wheeled away to the burial grounds, to mass graves. In her dreams too she heard the squeak of rubber, saw the bodies go by in a single file— bloodied; limbless; pale, pilaster-like faces contorted in agony, distorted by death; but not her, never her, she was never afforded that dignity.

The last cluster of houses she had come across had been hours ago. She'd tumbled through wilderness, and now dusk, forever a gloomy artist, drearily decorated the tapestry of the sky, the odd offhand dab of the brush producing a silver spangle of stars.

It was then that the edge of her gaze caught a cloud of clay traversing high; and at the periphery of the other eye, cast about in alarm, a puppet's wooden thigh. She bit back the curse that was at the tip of her tongue. They had snuck upon her—perhaps sensed her, now that she was so close to the lip of Ame. Perhaps she hadn't thought this through.

Past superseded present. The reek of burning flesh became prominent. The agony in Naruto's eye as they ripped out the Kyuubi— and she could do nothing, nothing...

Sakura drew a deep breath, then looked up. Smiled. Waved.

"Heya," she called out, "you guys hiring?"

"I'm twenty two," Sakura said, "and I am a better medic than Senju Tsunade. I have a few long range ninjutsu, several mid range ones, great strength, reasonable speed, and, most importantly, a brain. Which, uh, given our current circumstances, might not be quite as obvious."

She could hear Deidara sniggering. After some hesitancy—it was Sasori who convinced Deidara not to blow her up on the spot—they got in touch with Pein, who questioned her on how she knew about the Akatsuki (she had blamed it all on Orochimaru). There had been some ponderous debate about killing her, but she—she had somehow conveyed to them that she had prodigious ability, just the kind they were looking for. They hadn't bought it, but they hadn't killed her either; and finally, with some grumbling, Sasori had, on Pein's orders, blindfolded her, slapped her with a chakra sapping seal or three, and transported her to Ame. One of Pein's paths—she did not know which, as she couldn't see—met them on the outskirts.

Thus began Sakura's job interview. If she failed to convince them she was a worthy candidate, she imagined they'd cut her head off and kick her corpse into a ditch. Joy.

She grit her teeth and ignored how grating that laugh was. "But as I was saying," she continued, "I can be of use. I don't know if you have a medic in your midst, but even if you do, I promise you, they aren't as versatile as me. I can fight, I can heal almost any injury, and I am actually interested in joining your organization, which is probably more than you can sincerely say for the likes of Orochimaru."

"Your name?" He sounded as devoid of life as he did when she last heard him, which was right before he ripped Konoha in two and ripped the Kyuubi out of Naruto.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura." There was no teenager with bubble-gum hair running around in Konoha, and thus no risk in giving out that name. That child ceased to exist in this world when she travelled back in time.

"The Bingo book does not have any records of a person with that name," he said in the same monotone. "Village?"

"None. I am an orphan from the outskirts of Fire Country. Tsunade taught me for three years, and after that I taught myself."

"Why would a Sannin teach a civilian?" This was from Sasori.

"That Sannin saw a girl with talent and the desire to learn. I could create a chakra scalpel at nine, with no training. I showed her that, and kept pestering her till she accepted. She gives in easily, if you can conjure up the right words."

"Let us say we believe you," Pein said. "Then tell me, truly, why do you wish to join?"

She thought back to their deaths, to how useless she had felt in that makeshift medic room when war broke out. It hadn't been enough. It had never been enough.

"Because," she bit out, "because I am tired of war. Because, if what Orochimaru tells me is true, then you want to make a difference. So do I."

She felt the suppression seals being removed. Then a sound of metal.

Then pain. A rush of pain that bloomed in her abdomen, sent her to her knees, had her biting down on her tongue to stifle a scream. Her mouth felt heavy and coppery. They ripped off the blindfold.

"I have impaled you with a chakra rod," the path standing before her said serenely. "If you are truly as skilled as you say you are, then remove it, heal yourself entirely and make your way to that tower over there within the next five minutes." He pointed to a structure that seemed to quiver through her tears and the rain. "If you do, then we will have a cloak waiting for you." He turned to Deidara and Sasori. "Come with me." And to her, pleasantly, "I wish you good luck, Haruno Sakura. Good luck, and good day."

A/N: This is an AU where, in the original timeline, Naruto never picked up KCM (KCM? What KCM? The Kyuubi is a destructive beast that is impossible to control. I will not hear anything to the contrary. *whistles*) and only ever got to a bastardized Sage mode (much like Jiraiya). Sasuke never went beyond the MS as, due to this being AU (again), the EMS is not a thing. In other words, I have scaled down most characters (barring the Akatsuki and the Sannin) and scaled up Sakura a bit. Obito does not exist here either (he died when those rocks fell on him). Ditto Zetsu and his crazy plans to bring back Kaguya. Those aren't a thing either. Ditto Madara, who died and stayed dead when Hashirama killed him at the Valley of the End.

Nagato is acting independently, and genuinely believes his way of changing the world is the best way possible. That is what led to the 4th war in the original timeline. Some villages, seeing the opportunity, allied with him, and Konoha was decimated.

I would imagine that's all you need to know for now. Matters with regard to timeline will be established in the next few chapters.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! I really appreciate those. Thank you, and have a wonderful week!