Some part of Sakura really wished she could be surprised. But she found, that after time travel, things rarely surprised her. So, even as the name passed the Mizukage's lips, Sakura didn't panic. Instead, she felt a sadness swim through her. Sakura Haruno was dead. She'd stopped existing, and in her place Sakura Namikaze nee Sarutobi had risen from the ashes.

Instead of pushing the feelings away, she let them stew for a moment; she allowed herself a moment of grief, before letting it disappear. And instead of rising to anger she looked at Yagura and instead admitted, "I never thought I'd be called that again. You certainly made some progress with Sanbi, didn't you?"

Yagura simply sighed, before propping himself against the wall. There were several moments of silence before he admitted, "I expected you to deny it."

Sakura smiled, "I've had too much interaction with jinchuriki to doubt your word. When Naruto let Kurama in, things got better. He became calmer in a lot of ways. More willing to listen instead of running head first into danger."

"The memories are strange. I've seen them played out, in an out of body experience. It doesn't seem real. You saved me and my people. We owe you a debt."

Sakura didn't deny that fact. Yagura owed her in a big way, and she intended to collect. Yagura had known that going in. The woman in front of him was war hardened, had been to his village, had made friends with some of his men. She'd watched her own village burn, and with it all she'd held dear. She was on a mission, and she'd do anything to accomplish it. But now wasn't the time to talk of such things. So instead, he left her with one last warning, "The hachibi's jinchuuriki knows more than he's willing to let on. Be careful of him."

Sakura remained there, leaning against the wall. Memories played over in her mind, and for several moments she felt a sob ache in her chest. She squashed it down, pushed off the wall, and walked to the nearest window. It took her no time to open it, and slide out. The drop was considerable, but chakra slowed her decent.

When she landed in the snow she took off, glad that she had worn her cloak to the meeting. The Land of Iron was much too cold for her liking. She found the nearest town easy enough, and slipped into the local bar. She took a table in the back, ordered two shots, and waited.

Sure enough he slipped into the seat beside her and asked, "Is this going to become a common thing? You sneaking off on your own?"

Sakura slid one of the shots over to her husband, before she downed hers. The tequila stung on the way down, but she needed that burn. It would keep her focused. When it was down, she signaled for another one and turned to face her husband. There was no judgement in his eyes, only a bit of worry.

"I don't like sake." Minato still didn't say anything, he simply waited. "Tsunade loved the stuff, drank it every chance she got. I used to bribe her with it when I needed something. She was horrified when she figured out I hated the stuff. She went on this long rant about it, and then she ordered me a shot of tequila. I nearly threw up the first time I took a shot of it. But as the war went on, I learned how to stomach it, and even welcome the burn."

"And now?" She watched as he moved to lean his arms on the table, his shot still untouched.

"I haven't had much of a need for it since I've come here. For the most part things are . . . amazing. I have you. I have a family. I have friends, but . . . "

"You still miss your life. You miss those you grew up with, those you love."

Instead of agreeing she stole his shot and threw it back. She placed the glass back on the table as the waitress came by with another round, "The Mizukage knows who I am, courtesy of the sanbi. He called me Sakura Haruno, I haven't been called that in . . ." she refused to finish the sentence and instead took another shot.

There were several moments of silence before Minato finally said, "You never really mourned. You'd have moments but you never really cried, you always kept pushing through. I always wondered how you did it, and now I realize that you've never really stopped long enough to allow yourself to feel the loss."

"I shouldn't be sad. Technically nothing has happened, and I'm going to make sure it doesn't. So, why does being politely confronted by someone about my life, make me want to break down? Why now? Why not during the mission to the bridge, or when I was rescuing Rin, or helping Hiashi? Why now?"

Minato's smile was gentle, "Because someone else experienced it. Not by going through your memories, but almost in the same way you did. Someone knows what you've gone through."

"You know what I've gone through."

"I've watched, participated in my own war, but I haven't been through the same trauma you have. I can support you, hold you, cast a privacy jutsu so you can drink and we can talk, but I can't truly understand that. Yagura, after being controlled like that, kind of . . . can."

There were a few more moments of silence as Sakura took another shot. "If Yagura knows, then Bee knows."

Minato, swiped the last shot, downed it, and said, "It's a possibility, but he doesn't have complete control yet, and he'll be missing pieces. Konoha still holds the majority of the information. We can use that."

Sakura sighed, "Fair enough. Let's head back."

And with a smile, Minato left money on the table, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and that familiar tug, and then they were back in her room. Hiashi and Kato were waiting, and that was the last thing she remembered before for falling asleep.

When she woke the next morning, Minato was there, with a book in his hand. He smiled at her, "Morning."

Saura ignored him and his laugh as she turned, and pulled the covers over her head. When he nudged her she groaned, "You have to get up. We have breakfast with the other nations ahead of us."

Sakura grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed, and got dressed, and she continued to grumble as they walked to the banquet hall. She did her best to hide her hangover with a face of indifference, but it wasn't really working. Instead she nibbled on some bread and listened to the conversation around her.

A tentative agreement had been agreed to the previous day, but there were still details to be worked out, and daimiyo to consider. They'd have to take offers back to the village to be discussed with village elders. It was a cumbersome process, and one Sakura was fairly familiar with. But this time the proceedings wouldn't be sped up due to an impending war. If she had to guess, it would be months until treaties were finalized, and several more days of meetings.

The meetings were painful to say the least. She and the others took turns scouting the area, and making sure their Kage was safe. She caught the Mizukage looking at her more than once, and she caught the occasional glance from Bee. After a week they were finally allowed to head home, a tentative treaty in their hands to be reviewed by the council.

When they hit the boarder Sakura sighed in relief, as she shed her coat, and fell down on the grass, simply happy to be home.