Decision of a lifetime !

At first Sakura didn't want to believe it. For all his wisdom and experience, the Rikudô Sennin was probably wrong. Yes, it was even obvious, the world was currently at peace and the people were only getting better. They were licking their wounds, burying their dead and no trace of hatred was visible on the horizon.

The first days were the most emotional. At the same time, they were full of joy, due to the fact that they had won the war, but also very hard to face the harsh reality of the victims. The losses of the Fourth Great Shinobi War were overwhelming. Thousands of dead were now on the hands of the living. Comrades, friends, families, loved ones, all mixed up with the enemy.

Initially, each country had wished to recover their dead so that they could have a decent burial, respecting the customs of each country. But this became too difficult a task as many of the bodies began to show signs of decay, increasing the risk of disease. Moreover, it was not only the bodies of the Shinobi that had to be dealt with, but also those of civilians. Indeed, many villages and entire towns suffered the consequences of this war.

At the same time, the economy of the countries had to recover, life had to resume as quickly as possible so that the balance of the Elemental Nations did not collapse. Consequently, mass graves began to be erected at the sites of major battles. No matter which country they belonged to, the bodies were piled up and burned in a matter of days, sparing the world from a possible pestilential pandemic. Only the greatest combatants had the privilege of having a grave in their home country. A memorial stone was placed in each hidden village, bearing the names of all the victims of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, so that everyone could remember that their sacrifice had led to world peace.

One month was the time Sakura had set for herself to come to a first decision. Whether she should truly value the words of the old sage or choose to live her life.

With this in mind for the future, she began to learn about the politics of her village and country. And as an apprentice to Tsunade Dentetsu No Sannin, the current Hokage of Konoha, she was able to study the content of the daily Shinobi missions : many repairs, construction aids, food distributions, bandit management, and patrols. For the most part, these were a large number of D and C rank missions that any ninja could perform without major difficulty.

However, she saw very few diplomatic missions between nations. Each country and hidden village seemed to mind their own business and ignored their neighbours. The peace achieved and the good understanding between the nations did not mean that one should be busy and interfere in the affairs of others. After all, this was close to what his master had taught her : * If you don't take care of yourself first and die Sakura, who will take care of saving the lives of others? *

Currently in the Godaime Hokage's office, Sakura was sitting on a red leather couch watching the day's missions.

— "A lot of banditry," Sakura whispered to herself before letting a long sigh escape her mouth.

She turned to her master who was behind his desk filling out various papers. The last war seemed to have made Tsunade Senju more diligent in her work. Of course she still drank sake on the sly, but you could tell that she had taken her role as Godaime Hokage very seriously.

Nevertheless, Sakura had been analyzing the situation for several days to see if it would improve. But against all odds, it only got worse. The banditry kept increasing due to a flagrant lack of manpower. Because yes, because of the last war, the Shinobi troops were not enough to deal with brigandage and civil crime. Some C-rank missions had even reached B-rank due to large gatherings of people.

— "Tsunade-sama," Sakura called in a weary voice as she looked at her sensei.

She straightened her head as she heard her student speak her name, interrupting her activity with a focused face.

— "Yes Sakura ?"

— "Is this...this going to sound like a weird question, but..."

— "There are no stupid or weird questions Sakura, there are only questions," Tsunade encouraged wisely before the sound of the quill could be heard in the room again.

— "Do you think this peace will last ?"

Tsunade was ready to hear any topic that might have concerned her apprentice, but she was ten thousand miles away from such a question coming from her. She was so surprised that she stopped writing again to stare at the young Kunoichi.

— "Why such a question Sakura ?" Tsunade questioned, needing to understand why her apprentice was expressing such concern when the last war had only just ended.

— "I just wonder if the man will be able to avoid repeating the same mistakes," the young woman explained sincerely. She grabbed the bundle of leaves she had placed on the couch in her hands before straightening up and heading towards her master's office.

— "Unfortunately, Sakura, you can't stop this sort of thing from happening, you can only anticipate it. Very few humans accept criticism and even fewer accept being wrong, so asking them to learn from the mistakes of others is even harder to do," the blonde said as she leaned back in her chair, which made a slight creaking noise from wear and tear. Tsunade Senju watched her student carefully before reiterating her previous question, "What brings you to ask such a question Sakura?"

— "I've been coming here every morning for almost three weeks to observe the routine of the Shinobi missions and aside from the S rank missions you don't allow me to study, there are some things that are working on me," Sakura admitted as she gently placed the documents on the wooden desk.

— "Share your observations with me," the Sannin said as she placed her pen on the cabinet before crossing her arms over her ample chest.

— "Banditry and vandalism are increasing exponentially, crime is at an all-time high in the civilian world, some Nukenin have even joined gangs. They know we're short of manpower because of the last war, so they're taking advantage of it. It looks like they didn't learn anything from that damn war ! Besides, I haven't seen any diplomatic missions to any of the Shinobi villages, even your mail doesn't have any official seals from the other nations," Sakura snarled as she explained her reasoning.

— "You've grown, Sakura," the older woman remarked proudly.

— "The war forced me to grow up."

Life experiences make every human being grow, but even more so when faced with war. Anyone who had survived the last conflict was bound to have grown in their outlook. Sakura was no exception : she had been at the front, she had seen the horrors of war. How many of her fellows had she treated ? How many had she saved ? How many had she lost ? Tsunade could only notice the change in the young woman's attitude and look : yes, she had changed. She was no longer the self-doubting teenager, hiding behind the power of her teammates. The war had inevitably left its mark on the pink-haired Kunoichi.

— "To answer your concerns, I can tell you that they are well founded and understandable. Our military system has lost a lot of troops and that's one of the reasons why banditry is so prevalent. But the majority of bandits are just civilians who can be easily managed."

— "So why don't we take care of it right away sensei ?" Sakura snarled at the thought of innocent people being killed after all they had been through.

— "Because we can't be everywhere Sakura. Hi No Kuni is big and not just Konoha No Sato. Besides, there are other problems to deal with at the same time : we have to rebuild our homes, get our economy going again properly, refill our supplies. Because a famine is one of the worst things that could happen to us right now, and that's one of the reasons why being Hokage is so difficult, because I choose to make sacrifices for the welfare of the many."

Tsunade swiveled her wheeled seat towards the windows and stood up. She walked towards the windows, folding her hands behind her back as she looked towards her village.

— "As far as diplomatic relations with other countries are concerned, I would say that everyone is handling the situation internally. A trust has been built up so that everyone leaves the other alone. Besides, nobody would be stupid enough to start a new conflict now, especially with the current generation."

— "What would we do if someone...," Sakura began before being interrupted by her master.

— "We still have many S-rank ninja in the village, including Naruto and potentially Sasuke, even though he's in prison for his treasonous acts against Konoha," the Godaime added reassuringly.

However, as soon as her master finished speaking, one of the Rikudô Sennin's phrases took on its full meaning for Sakura. And it kept repeating in her mind : * For how long ? *

Sure, Naruto and Sasuke were probably the two most powerful ninjas of their time, but they weren't immortal. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't suffer from the aftermath of their last fight. And even if they both recovered from their injuries, the day would come when they would leave this world for the realm of the dead. Though she wished that day was as far away as possible, immortality was not programmed into humanity and the two ninjas would not escape it, powerful as they were.

Sakura realized then that she finally had to take the hermit's words seriously. She had to prepare herself to eventually go back in time. But to do what ?

At the moment, she hadn't decided what to do with Uchiha Madara. The memories of the war were still too fresh in her mind and her resentment towards the individual was far too strong. She looked at her master before deciding to speak, her decision was made.

— "Tsunade-sama, I would like to make a request of you."

— "Hmmm ?"

— "I would like to... well, how can I put it... I know it sounds bad and selfish of me, but I would like to have the opportunity to visit the world. To be able to help as many people as possible, to give support to those who don't have it," she finally said after a slight hesitation.

Tsunade didn't give an immediate answer, the minutes that passed became heavy for Sakura as her master considered her request. The medical department should be fine without her as there was a noticeable decrease in the number of very seriously injured. The old woman pondered what could possibly justify the denial of this request. When she couldn't think of anything, she turned back to her desk.

She quickly took out a beautiful sheet of parchment that she only used for important occasions. After a few minutes of filling out the document in an official manner, the Godaime grabbed her wax warmer and dripped a small amount onto the bottom of the page. She then applied the Hokage's seal to it, making the document unquestionable and authentic.

— "Haruno Sakura, for your acts of bravery and heroism to the nation of Hi No Kuni, as well as to all the Elemental Nations, I accept your request. It is difficult for me to lose someone of your caliber, but I can understand your motives and approve of your choice," Tsunade finished, holding out the rolled up scroll to Sakura.

Sakura couldn't help but smile, even as a phrase kept running through her mind : * For how long ? *

And it was from that day on that Haruno Sakura decided to take matters into her own hands.

She only had twenty-three months left before she left for the past.

12 Months

It had been eleven months since Sakura had traveled the Elemental Nations to set her plan in motion. She still hadn't found the answer to what she would do in front of Uchiha Madara, but she had no intention of standing idly by in the time of the Shinobi Gods.

Her journey through all the countries made her realize that despite the peace, misery was still present. Many villages did not have access to the basic necessities to get by properly. Some places were starving because of racketeering by thugs, while others had to relocate because their homes had been destroyed during the war. Some were in desperate need of medical care and Sakura was happy to offer her help and knowledge.

Only two months into her journey did Sakura realise something important : the world depended on money. Money was the solution to all problems. Regardless of the category of the population, money was the main concern. Those who did not have money were looking for it, and those who already had money were also looking for more. Everything was a pretext for financial transactions.

How many times had Sakura seen village or town leaders pay their neighbours to even buy food to feed the people ? How many times had she also seen money used to solve other problems, like local banditry ? It was enough to pay mercenaries to deal with the troublemakers. Even if she knew that this was nothing new in the way the world worked, being directly confronted with it opened her mind and modified her thinking to be less obtuse and intransigent.

So money was the solution !

With this in mind, Sakura decided that if she was going to join the Sengoku Era, she would not arrive with empty pockets. She decided to take advantage of her fame as a war heroine and her privileged status as an apprentice of the illustrious Tsunade Dentetsu No Sannin, to amass a lot of money herself.

She travelled to the various Elemental Nations to take out very large loans. This was possible because Sakura understood that in order to convince the financial institutions to grant her the huge sums requested, she had to sell them a huge project that generated huge profits for the bank itself. And it didn't matter if the project was viable or if it had any necessity for their country.

Money called for money.

And by dint of loan after loan, Sakura had managed to amass several million ryos. She had become one of the richest people in all the Elemental Nations, but at the same time, the most indebted person in history.

Sakura had hardened herself and had no qualms about appropriating the wealth of the countries she had traveled to in this way. She had made the choice that she would return to the past when the time was right. This decision allowed her not to worry for a second about how she would repay her debts, since the world as she knew it would no longer exist.

However, all that money was taking up space - a lot of space ! And it would have been unfortunate for her to be looted if it became known that she had such large sums with her. Fortunately for her, Sakura was an intelligent person and her training with Tsunade had allowed her to find the solution to many of her problems : the Fûinjutsu or otherwise called, the art of seals.

Sakura was not just a doctor ninja with immeasurable physical strength. On the contrary, the young woman was very intelligent and Tsunade taught her the Fûinjutsu related to medicine without going into the details of this art. She showed her the useful formulas to be applied on localized areas of the body in order to obtain a precise effect. And until now, the pink-haired Kunoichi had only learned them by heart without really understanding how to apply them. It was certainly practical, but extremely dangerous.

During the war, Sakura had discovered that some of her colleagues had mastered much more than the little formulas she knew. They were able to create them on demand, or rather, for every medical case that required the use of a seal. It was then that she became more interested in this ninja art.

And it was a revelation, because for her, it was only mathematics mixed with the twelve Mûdra that every ninja used to perform Ninjutsu techniques. She was still far from claiming to be on the level of the late Jiraya Dentetsu No Sannin, even further from the Yondaime Hokage or any self-respecting Uzumaki at their peak. But Sakura didn't despair of ever reaching their levels and so she bought the few books she could find on the subject, in order to improve herself.

And so, thanks to the Fûinjutsu, Sakura was able to hide all the money she had collected without anyone suspecting that she had so much.

7 Months

During her travel, Sakura rarely returned to the hidden village of Konoha. If she did, it was only for specific reasons, such as the ceremony of the Rokudaime Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, taking office. And that day was more than enough reason to come back and kill two birds with one stone.

— "So Naruto, not too disappointed that you didn't manage to take the hat from Tsunade-sama like you said you would ?"

The two of them were currently at Ichikaru Ramen having a nice time together. The young woman then noticed that the blond had grown up a lot, he seemed calmer since Iruka-sensei had taken over his teaching.

— "Mah ! It's alright Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are preparing me to be the next one, so it'll be twice as much fun to take it," Naruto answered with a wide smile. "And you Sakura-chan, are you planning to finally stay in the village or will you continue to travel ?"

— "I'm thinking of staying for a few days... in fact, the main reason I'm back in Konoha is you Naruto."

— "Me ?" the Uzumaki was surprised that his sister at heart could turn her attention to him.

— "Don't go imagining things Naruto, I need you to teach me something," Sakura corrected before her blonde comrade got the wrong idea about her intentions.

— "What can I teach you ? I remind you that of the two of us, you're the smart one."

— "Do you remember when we were on the battlefield against Obito and Madara ?" Sakura asked as the sound of noodles being sucked up was softly heard from Naruto's side.

— "Too well unfortunately..."

— "I need to know more about how you managed to regenerate Kakashi-sensei's eye. I know you gave me a brief explanation that day, but it wasn't enough for me to understand."

Sakura grabbed her pair of chopsticks before dipping them into her bowl and taking a few bites of her own ramen. It wasn't her favorite food, but it made for a nice moment with her friend.

— "You can thank our teachers, because thanks to their lessons I think I'll be able to explain it to you more easily than in the past... Teuchi-Jiji ! A second bowl of miso please !" the blond man shouted as his first bowl was barely finished.

— "It's working Naruto !" replied the old man who since the end of the war had seen his clientele grow exponentially.

— "I think my regeneration technique is a bit like the Infuin Kai : Breaking the Seal added to the Sôzô Saise : Creation and Renewal of Tsunade-baachan which are considered Kinjutsu," Naruto explained while keeping an eye on the chef who was preparing his favorite bowl of noodles.

— "Tsunade-sama never wanted to teach me her second technique saying that it might kill me in the process," Sakura confessed.

— "Unlike Tsunade-baachan who forces her own cells to multiply rapidly to repair her vital organs or any other injury, my method is safe. I use a part of the person... one or two cells is enough and from that I will use the surrounding chakra through Senjutsu to trigger the mitosis process. This will not use the patient's chakra, nor their physical energy, thus avoiding a decrease in their lifespan," the blonde detailed with precision.

Sakura was impressed with her friend's knowledge, she had to admit that the bawdy little boy she had long considered stupid was no more. He had become a calm and thoughtful man. He had acquired complex notions and was able to reproduce them. Naruto was truly preparing to become the next Hokage, and he would have made a fine Kage, she had no doubt. But she didn't let her mind drift to those thoughts : she needed answers for her future project.

— "Do you think it would be possible to do this without Senjutsu ?" she questioned since she didn't know how to use the hermit's technique.

At that moment, Naruto frowned as he crossed his arms. He remained in that position for a few minutes and even when Teuchi placed his new bowl of ramen in front of his nose, he didn't come out of his reflection.

— "Yes... that can be done," he finally replied with conviction.

At these words, a slight smile appeared on Sakura's face and she suddenly felt a rush of hope come over her.

— "How ?" she asked hastily.

The blonde looked at his friend a little surprised by her reaction, but he was so happy to see her and spend a moment with her that he continued his explanations with gusto.

— "What makes my technique safer than the one used by Baa-chan is the fact that the Senjutsu chakra, once mastered, is the very essence of nature. So a balance is made in the patient's body so that the cells regenerate without affecting their life span. So to compensate for this in the absence of Senjutsu, you should be able to separate the cells you want to use for regeneration before reattaching them to the patient. This would be done so that the rest of the human body would not be affected, however, it would require an unusual level of chakra control."

— "But, how can you regenerate a whole eye with only two cells ? The composition of an eye is extremely complex and consists of millions of different cells," the young woman wondered.

— "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I'm not as advanced in the subject as you are, so I can't explain it to you in detail. I see it this way though: when I use Senjutsu, the chakra regenerates the eye by itself, as if the body remembers how everything should be placed... as if... uhh... as if we had a formula inside each of us to make us," Naruto tried to explain.

— "DNA...," she murmured as he barely finished his attempted explanation.

— "No idea what DNA is, Sakura-chan," he admitted spontaneously before more seriously and greedily reaching for his still steaming bowl of ramen.

Meanwhile, Sakura's brain was racing with theories. The evolution of scientific knowledge had made it possible to discover that the basic structural unit of any living being was the cell and the existence of the genetic code. This code simply allowed the functioning of the human body from the moment a child was conceived. Indeed, it was the expression of the genetic code that allowed cell division, as well as the differentiation and specialisation of these same cells. These cells then became tissues, then organs and so on until the whole body was formed. Remembering this very fact, Sakura began to find her own solutions to the questions she had been asking herself for some time.

— "Thank you Naruto, I think I understand the principle. However, I think that in order to compensate for the Senjutsu chakra, the person attempting this regeneration will have to do it step by step."

— "Glad I could help you Sakura-chan," Naruto replied with a bright smile without really understanding how he could help his friend, but it was enough to make him happy.

— "Naruto... can we take a picture of the two of us together, please ?" the young woman asked with a soft, fragile voice.

— "Of course ! Ayame-neechan ! Can you please come !" the blond man bellowed in his usual way.

4 Months

Name No Kuni, the land of waves had changed a lot in ten years. Since the construction of the Great Naruto Bridge, it had managed to recover from the tyranny of Gato. So it was with a heart full of nostalgia that Sakura headed towards Tazuna's home.

The house hadn't changed much, except for a few small improvements here and there. She just hoped that the carpenter hadn't moved in all these years. But her concern ended as soon as she heard the familiar voice of the occupant after she knocked on the door of the house.

Tazuna opened the door and stood for a brief moment speechless before the lovely pink-haired young woman standing before him. Her face was soft and the smile she had took his breath away.

— "Hello Tazuna-san, long time no see," she said softly with a hint of nostalgia.

— "Sakura ? Sakura is that you ?" asked the man who wasn't too sure it was her when he saw the colour of her hair. But when the young woman nodded her head with a beautiful smile, his doubts vanished. "My god Sakura, how you've grown... you've grown into a beautiful young woman now."

The concerned girl couldn't help but have a slight blush at the compliment. She wasn't used to receiving compliments on her looks from men. Besides, she merely gave the old carpenter another, slightly more shy smile.

— "Come on in ! What brings you here ? Naruto and Sasuke aren't with you ?" he asked as he opened the door wide and invited the cherry blossom to enter with a wave of his hand.

The interior of the house hadn't changed and it brought back sweet memories as she followed Tazuna to the dining room. They sat down around the table after the man had put down some refreshments. The young woman began the conversation to avoid any awkwardness between them.

— "I need your services, Tazuna-san," she stated clearly. "I need you to design me plans for a house, but not just any style of house," she clarified so that the carpenter could take down his recommendations.

— "And what style do you want your house to be ?"

— "I want it to be in the style of the Sengoku era and built in the manner of the time. I would also like you to imagine and make me the interior of the house with furniture of the period. Furthermore, I would need you to prepare all the parts of the house ready to be assembled once the plans of the house are completed."

— "Erm... don't you want us to build your house ?" the carpenter was surprised by the young woman's rather peculiar request.

— "No, I intend to have my house built far from here. I come to you because of your reputation, Tazuna-san, and because I know that you will be able to satisfy my request," she explained calmly.

The man nodded and smiled out of pride that she had thought of him for this project.

— "Well, what are the deadlines ?"

— "You have less than four months to prepare everything, no delays will be tolerated. Put as many people as you need in the realization of my order and if it is a money problem, I am ready to pay three times the price normally expected for such a project.

— "I'll have to put some of my building sites aside then. But I think it is feasible. How long are you staying ?"

— "Just long enough to get some sketches of the house plan, then I won't be back for another four months."

3 Days

Sakura was doing a final check to see if everything was in order before she left. She was making sure that everything was properly sealed and in its proper place. Because yes, the young woman was taking a lot of stuff with her. Not just money, furniture or even the materials needed to build her future home. She carried a lot of books, whether they were on medicine, politics, history or Fûinjutsu. Sakura had accumulated a great deal of information for her projects in two years of travel.

And with these kinds of resources, she could face the First, Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars. But the most important thing for her was her photo album. She had spent the last month taking lots of pictures of her friends, teachers and family so that she would never forget them. Sakura had admitted as she got closer and closer to the deadline that all the people she cared about would probably never exist when she went back in time to change the fate of the world. That's why she felt it was important, even vital, to spend time with each of them.

She had gone out with her best friend Ino, with whom she had talked at length and gone shopping. She had spent a few evenings with her beloved master going to the casino and drinking sake. She had also enjoyed her best friend Naruto and her sensei by going out with them a few times. She wished she could have spent time with her love Sasuke, but he stayed in prison for a long time before he was finally released. And when he was free, he decided to leave the village to travel the world.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a messenger bird. It was easily recognisable and the small ring on its leg only confirmed its origin. She gently took the message before letting the bird fly away.

Haruno Sakura

The current situation obliges me to order you to return to Konoha No Sato village immediately, for the safety of the country.

Rokudaime Hokage

At that very moment, the words of the old sage swirled once more in her mind : * For how long? *

So she hurriedly packed all her things before heading towards Konoha. Perhaps one last piece of evidence would reassure her that she was about to do the right thing.

Last Day

- He knew all along," Sakura muttered to herself.

After returning to her village, Sakura had gone straight to her Kage to find out what was going on. And that was when she saw that the cycle of hatred was repeating itself once again. This time the world was threatened with extermination by Toneri Ôtsutsuki. He planned to have the moon crushed over the world for the acts committed against Kaguya Ôtsutsuki.

The Rokudaime Hokage wanted her to leave with a small team to find the heiress of the Hyuga clan who had been kidnapped by Toneri. But she arrived at the village too late and the team had left without her. Sakura's orders were to join them and help them in their task. However, she didn't head towards her comrades, but rather towards the Valley of the End with a goal in mind.

— "So this is where it all comes down to ?"

Sakura stood at the top of the waterfall at the Valley of the End, positioned between the two half-destroyed statues of the two greatest Ninjas of the Sengoku era.

She had no more doubts or fears : her decision was made. So she took out the case that the Rikudô Sennin had given her two years ago before opening it to extract a magnificent scroll.

— "I'm sorry Naruto... unfortunately I won't be there to see you become Hokage," Sakura whispered before opening the scroll.

Then nothing ! The scroll was empty, there was no writing, she felt no chakra around her, the scenery didn't change.

— "Did I do something wrong ?" she asked herself before a voice she didn't think she would hear again came from behind her.

— "You didn't think that a simple scroll could take you back to the past, did you, child ?" the legendary Rikudo Sennin said humorously.

— "Otsutsuki-sama!" she exclaimed as she turned around quickly, completely taken aback to find him there.

— "This scroll was only meant to make me come back to you when you've made a decision and here I am," the old man explained with a certain form of malice as he approached her. "So... have you made a decision ?"

Sakura turned her gaze to the moon that had been moving dangerously close to the planet for the past few days. She thought about everything she'd learned in two years and the cycle of hatred coming back into focus.

— "Yes, you were right all along, it's just an eternal beginning and the cycle of hate is here again."

Sakura looked into the eyes of the man in front of her to read his determination before continuing :

— "I accept your offer to go back to the past and change things."