Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Inspiration garnered from Kiss - Haruno Sakura by humonster on Deviantart. This one-shot was a story I created based off of humonster's piece and I do not claim it to be what humonster is trying to portray.

Endless.

Land dipping below water and coming back out somewhere else, far past the view of even chakra enhance eyesight.

Over those seas, those which separated the ninja lands from others relatively unknown, explored only by the bravest.

It was the place she would finally be able to find peace.

It was chilly outside. Not enough that she felt it necessary to wear a coat, but enough so that she had on her black, high-collared jacket that matched the rest of her outfit.

Then again, as a shinobi it was appropriate for her to wear only black. Black long sleeved v-neck. Black gloves. Black pants. Black knee-high boots, and to top it off, black forehead protector with the symbol for Konoha shinobi with a long, straight mark through it tied to keep pink locks out of her face as much as possible. Yet she had never really gotten into black before, even if it was an obvious choice for a shinobi. Her hair was pink, and if that didn't give her away there was no way her outfit ever would have.

But she wasn't a shinobi anymore. The pink forehead protector sitting on Naruto's desk was a testament to that.

Yet before she got on the explorers' ship she turned away from the sea and untied the cloth that had belonged to another more dear to her than her heart, bringing the cold metal to her lips.

Eyes on the land before her she closed them briefly, as if in last farewell, with the breeze replying with in kind, begging her not to leave as it picked up and tossed her hair around wildly.

She outstretched her arm and allowed her muscles to relax, her forehead protector falling onto the frozen dock with a solid thunk!

With one last look she pivoted and walked onto the ship, awaiting a new life with new challenges.

Sakura Haruno would be reborn anew.

(320 words)

A/N: A really short one-shot. This one-shot was a story I created based off of humonster's piece and I do not claim it to be what humonster is trying to portray.

By the way, I've discovered a wonderfully scripted fanfiction centering around Sakura. You may have read it, you may not have. For those who haven't, and are avid fans of Sakura-material, this fanfiction develops a more mentally-instable Sakura who seeks strength from earlier in the Naruto series. The best part is that it's already completed, so you don't have to worry about the author dropping off the face of the planet and never finishing the story. If you're interested, the fanfiction is Five Kingdoms for the Dead by Evil Is A Relative Term.