The rumor !

The great Madara Uchiha is dead.

This was the news that was spreading throughout the elemental nations. One of the greatest shinobi history has ever known was dead, killed by his friend Hashirama Senju in a legendary confrontation in the Valley of the End. While the political stakes and outcomes of this conflict remained secret, the land of fire could not hide Madara's death.

With this victory, Hashirama Senju earned the title of the most powerful shinobi warrior of all time after the legendary Rikudô Sennin. The Senju clan thus secured its supremacy and control over the village of Konoha No Sato and at the same time over the Uchiha clan.

What Madara had fought for all his life was now being destroyed by the Senju. The Uchiha clan was in their pay and no longer had a leader to guide or protect them. To compensate for this and to avoid a rebellion, Konoha No Sato appointed the Uchiha clan to be in charge of the village police under the recommendation of Tobirama Senju. This appointment calmed the tensions and allowed the Uchiha to not feel wronged.

By this act, Hashirama had secured a position as the number one power for the land of fire. Many clans had joined their village, and through this, even if the other four major countries united, they could not defeat this village and its leader. The plan to honour these two great shinobi was then launched, and the construction of two huge statues at the Valley of the End was undertaken.

However, since his victory, Hashirama seemed different.

Sure, he had lost his childhood friend in that final battle, but there was something else. He became weaker and weaker, as if he had fallen ill. Was it because his fight with Madara had affected him more than he thought ? Had he received an injury from the fight that was killing him slowly ? Was it the fact that he had helped seal the nine-tailed fox demon inside his wife Mito Uzumaki that had exhausted him ? Or was it an accumulation of all that ?

Whatever the reason, the result was that after a while, Hashirama Senju disappeared as if he had never existed. He had given no information to anyone, and even his wife said she did not know where he was. But was this the truth ? No one knew, and Konoha did everything possible to hide this news.

But for how long ?

At first it was just a small rumor, but every rumor has an element of truth to it. And if this rumor was true, it would change a lot of things for the elemental nations. For if Konoha lost Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, then that village would become more vulnerable and thus more accessible. Thus, little by little the peace flags were put away and the beginnings of the next war approached.

It remained to be seen if this rumour was true : Hashirama Senju, the shinobi god was no more.

Day 29

After twenty-nine days, the two protagonists had still not killed each other. Despite the differences they might have had, both were making efforts to be civil, but it was difficult for both. Sakura had the knowledge of the future and memories that often came back to her when she looked at the brunette... while Madara had to ignore the fact that a woman was ordering him around while still being a mystery.

Today was once again a sunny day in the land of rice paddies. Sakura had set Madara up on a table outside so that she had direct access to his back. She was currently dipping her hands into a container of hot water mixed with various oils. Once her hands were well covered with the mixture she placed them on the dark-haired man's back, intending to rub it all over.

— "What is all this for ?" Madara asked, not understanding the point of this process on him.

— "Now that most of the nerve endings are repaired, I need to put them back in the right place," Sakura explained as she massaged Madara's back. With each stroke she applied a tiny layer of healing chakra. "Don't concentrate on what I'm doing, just let yourself go, it'll be easier on your body."

Madara listened to the young woman's advice and closed his eyes to focus on his surroundings. In almost a month, Madara had realized that it was better to listen to this person, even if it pissed him off to admit that a woman was right. But hey, this woman had saved his life and everything she had done so far was close to a miracle. After about ten minutes of being massaged, Madara was on the verge of falling asleep.

On a table next to Sakura were some basalt stones, an inkwell, a brush and some towels. The young woman wiped her hands with one of them before grabbing one of the stones along with her brush. She delicately drew a Fûinjutsu seal on it before sealing it with a point of chakra. Once the seal was in place, she soaked the stone three-quarters of the way through in the liquid she had used earlier. She was very careful not to get any of it on the Fûinjutsu seal so as not to alter it, then she placed the stone on Madara's upper back.

The hint of chakra Sakura exerted plus the fact that he felt something at the top of his neck gently snapped Madara out of his trance. He looked over at the young woman who was once again writing on a stone.

— "What are you doing ?" Madara asked uncertainly as he felt a strong heat spreading through his neck. It was actually a very pleasant, almost restful heat.

— "I'm placing stones that will generate a constant heat. This will allow your muscles to relax as much as possible," Sakura explained as she continued to draw a symbol on her stone. She dipped the stone into the oil before placing it just below the first one and so on. "Once your muscles are completely relaxed, some of your nerve endings will reposition themselves, and then I'll help place the more difficult ones."

Madara was having more and more trouble getting his head around this. The more he got to know this woman, the more unreal she became. No one should be like this, he felt like a little boy in front of her acquaintance. More than once Madara wondered if he hadn't died in the Valley of the End and that everything he was experiencing now was just a figment of his imagination in the world of heaven.

— "Haruno-san..."

— "Yes Uchiha-san ?" Sakura asked as she placed another stone on her patient's back. This one was larger than the others and was placed where Hashirama's sword did the most damage.

— "How old are you ?"

This question caught Sakura completely off guard. He was asking this question as if he was talking about the weather and she was not expecting such a request at all. Until now he had wanted to know about her background, her name, her skills, about medicine, but never about something so... mundane.

— "Twenty years old," Sakura answered shamelessly.

Twenty was young to have such advanced knowledge. Sure, he himself had been a virtuoso when he was twenty, but not on an intellectual level and that was what was so impressive. Especially with the provincial wars present for most of her life. Another question came to Madara's mind : who had taught her the rest ? He understood that her mother had taught her the art of medicine, but who taught her the art of being a shinobi ?

— "What about you Uchiha-san ?" Sakura dared to ask as she placed one of the last stones on her patient's back.

— "Twenty-nine years old," Madara replied wearily.

It was normally the age that many couldn't even reach because of their profession.

— "Uchiha-san... what is your vision of peace ?" Sakura questioned curiously as she placed the very last stone down. She wiped her hands before settling down next to Madara. "You asked me a fortnight ago what my vision of peace was. Now I would like to hear yours."

Her voice was sincere, she really wanted to hear his vision.

— "Peace through strength."

Was it because he was beginning to trust this woman a little or was it because he was relaxed ? Whatever the case, Madara felt for the first time in his life like sharing his vision.

— "The human being needs a framework to live. If you don't impose barriers, he will think he can do whatever he wants. So for me, you have to use force, show that if he deviates from the right path, he will suffer the consequences."

About thirty seconds passed, during which Madara seemed to be searching for words.

— "I think the ideal would be to have one big country ruled by one person with a triumvirate and sub-advisors. This would allow supremacy over everyone. Everything would be decided, analysed, calculated for the good of all and put in place so that everyone would obey and live in peace", Madara continued, as he was opening his heart." For me, a totalitarian regime must be installed to prevent the world from killing each other."

Sakura didn't answer, she didn't want to make any comments that might upset him, this was absolutely not the time. So she kept quiet, but found his vision of things more sane than putting all people in an Eternal Genjutsu.

The minutes passed without a single break in the silence, and Madara's body began to be covered in sweat from the emanation of the stones. It felt almost like being in a steam room, except that the heat was focused on him.

— "Don't panic," Sakura whispered before placing her hands on his loins.

Her fingers glowed with green chakra and applied gentle pressure. As the muscles relaxed completely, Sakura managed to reposition the majority of the connections. She would linger at one point for long minutes before moving on to the next vertebra and doing the same thing over and over again.

Every second she would send her chakra into Madara's vertebrae creating a slight humming sound inside her patient's body. This allowed the more difficult connections to fall back into place.

After an hour of concentration, Sakura had finally finished her work and she could feel the fatigue creeping over her. The constant supply of chakra, mixed with the concentration required, made Sakura sweat. She then began to remove the stones one by one, not forgetting to deactivate the seal on each basalt stone, before placing them in a bucket of water.

— "I'm going to turn you over Uchiha-san," Sakura warned as she ran a towel over the clan leader's back to clean him up. She grabbed his towel-wrapped left arm and leg and gently flipped him the other way. She positioned him correctly in the centre of the table before climbing onto the table herself, kneeling at his legs. She then placed her hands on the thighs of the dark-haired man who was looking at her strangely.

— "I want you to try to stand up straight Uchiha-san."

Madara didn't expect this request at all and hastened to try to stand up. He could feel a part of his body responding to his commands again, allowing him to half right himself before finally falling back onto his back.

— "Describe the sensation to me."

— "I felt a part of my body obey me, however, halfway through I could command but it didn't do anything, as if that part of my body didn't exist," Madara replied.

— "Do it again," Sakura ordered before Madara complied.

Once he reached halfway up, he jammed again, except this time Sakura grabbed one of his shoulders and helped him do the rest.

— "There, you are upright... now tighten your abdominal muscles and lie back down slowly. I'll be here to hold you down if you lose control."

Madara tightened his abdominal belt and a very slight pain was felt in his scar. He had no trouble bending over, but after a moment something stuck and he lost control again. Thankfully Sakura held him up before leaning him back on the table.

—"Well... it looks like there's still a lot of damage to your backbone. But it's a good sign, you've almost righted yourself," Sakura explained before stepping down from the table.

The brunette said nothing, but a smile could be seen on his lips even as Sakura hugged him once more. She headed inside to put him back in his bed.

— "Would you like to read something special tonight ?" Sakura asked when she saw that the book on the human heart was now finished.

— "Hai, I'd like a book written by you," Madara replied quietly.

— "Me ?" Sakura repeated disconcerted.

— "Yes, you."

The dark-haired man saw Sakura walk over to her bookshelf and pull out a green covered book.

— "Here," Sakura said, holding the book out to Madara.

— "How to Become a Ninja Medic Volume 1 by Sakura Haruno," Madara read aloud before beginning to read.

Do you feel like a ninja, but want to save lives ? Then this is the book for you. Do you feel useless because you have no bloodline and want to preserve your precious people ? Then you have come to the right place. Do you aspire to have some first aid knowledge for your missions ? Then read on. Are you a person with little intelligence, a fan girl, not sure what you want to do in life ? Then close this book immediately, this job is not for you.

Being a Ninja is a tough job, but being a Ninja Medic is even tougher. You will always be the first person to be targeted on the battlefield. It will be up to you to always keep yourself safe, to think of your teammates while protecting yourself. Because dead, you will be useless ! You will have to work twice as hard as your colleagues, both intellectually and physically. If you thought it was going to be easy and you'd just stay inside and read books, then give up being a Ninja Medic right now !

The world is a cruel, merciless place and it only takes a second of inattention to decide someone's life or death. If you don't have the guts to see blood, organs, broken bones or shredded limbs, then close the book and change your vocation ! You think I'm tough ? Good for you! Because life won't do you any favours on the battlefield.

My name is Haruno Sakura, the second greatest Medic Ninja the world has ever known. And if you're reading this, maybe you'll know the difference between victory and defeat for your nation.

Lesson One : Dodge !

The minutes passed and Madara did not see the time pass, he discovered through this book a whole other side of the young woman. A hard and unimpeachable side that did not tolerate failure... like him.

— "I'm sorry Uchiha-san, but it's time to eat," Sakura interrupted as she placed the tray on the bedside table before taking the book from his hands.

— "From what I've read, you seem tougher than your mother," Madara remarked as she watched her put the book away on her desk.

— "The war forced me to."

Sakura walked over to a device that Madara thought was an odd sculpture. It was a square box made of finely carved oak wood. On top of it was a sort of metal cylinder forming an open flower. On top of the wooden box was a black disc : a Gramophone.

Sakura took a black disc out of a package and placed it on the installation.

— "What are you doing ?" Madara asked, suddenly curious as to what the young woman was doing.

— "I play music to relax. What I did this afternoon wore me out."

A few seconds after Sakura turned the crank on the gramophone and put the needle on the record, a faint sound of music filled the room making Madara feel completely lost.

— "Ho-How ?"

— "An inventor gave it to me before he died... I'm not sure how it works," Sakura replied before moving closer to Madara to feed him. The music wasn't too loud and just filled the house just right. "I think it's the only one in the whole world, it's just a prototype according to what he said before he died."

— "It's... revolutionary."

As he ate his meal of rice, fish and vegetables, Madara tried to discern what instruments were being used. There was the sound of a harp, a guitar, a stringed instrument he didn't know and... a woman's voice ? At first it was just instruments coming out of the gramophone, but then a woman's voice came in.

— "How did he manage to put the sound of the instruments and the voice of this woman in the box ?"

— "I don't know, maybe it was Fûinjutsu, I never wanted to open it for fear of breaking it. It's an object that's dear to me," Sakura said, placing the empty fish plate on the tray. "Would you like to stay awake a little longer ?"

— "Yes, I'd like to listen."

Sakura returned to her bookcase and picked up one of her books, The History of Konoha and its First Kage. It had been two days since she started reading about how Konoha worked in the Sengoku era. Time passed and Madara eventually fell asleep on his own with the music playing.

Sakura was about to follow, but was taken aback by a sentence in her book.

A month after the great battle between Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage disappeared. It is suspected that he died, but no one found his body then or even now...

— "Was it Black Zetsu who killed him in the old timeline ? I need to know for sure," Sakura whispered before going to bed.

Day 30

— "Hitomi-san," Sakura announced with a cheerfulness in her voice. After two months, Hitomi and Sakura had bonded.

— "Sakura-san ! How are you ?" Hitomi turned around delighted to see the young woman in a good mood.

— "I'm fine, thank you," Sakura replied pulling a small smile from her lips. She had grown to love the people of this village. "How about you ? Your husband and son aren't giving you a hard time ?"

Hitomi let out a small laugh at the doctor's question.

— "Ahhh, it's no worse, you'll understand when you have a child and a husband yourself."

— "Nah, it's not for me."

She wouldn't say it, but it was one of her dearest dreams. She had longed to have a husband and children to cherish. However, the candidate she wanted for this dream, simply did not exist anymore.

— "We'll see Sakura-san, we'll see. I'd be surprised if a beautiful woman like you couldn't get her hands on a man," Hitomi winked, making her blush. "If not, did you come to the village for any particular reason ?"

— "Hai Hitomi-san, I need to ask you a favour."

Hitomi was a little surprised, it was the first time her friend had asked her for something. She had done a lot for the people of this village and had never asked for anything in return.

— "I'm listening, after all you've done for our village, it's the least I can do to help you"

— "I need to go back to Hi No Kuni for a day or two," Sakura began as a serious face settled on her features. This was the second time Hitomi had seen such seriousness on her face. The last time was when the village hunter had cut his fingers and she had used her powers to heal him. "However, I will need you to take care of someone in my absence who is in my home."

— "Yes of course... what should I do ?" Hitomi hastened to agree.

It must have been recent, because Hitomi had visited Sakura at home several times, and had never seen anyone.

— "I'll need you to prepare food for this person and feed them," Sakura explained before placing her hands on Hitomi's shoulders. "However, there will be a few rules to follow : if you break them, it could cost you your life."

Hitomi was suddenly afraid of what Sakura was asking her to do because it sounded more serious than she expected.

— "I am listening to you."

— "This person is in some ways like me. He is able to use what you call magical powers. He is currently paralysed in bed and I am treating him. He is a very important person to me, but he is also a person capable of killing... don't worry, I have taken measures so that he cannot harm you."

— "If he's that important to you Sakura, I will."

A warm smile settled on Sakura's face at this answer, but the seriousness quickly returned to her features.

— "One rule : Never look him in the eye ! Never ! That man has the power to manipulate people, to hurt them, and even to kill them if they have the misfortune to look him in the eye," Sakura ordered sternly.

Fear could be seen in Hitomi's eyes as she knew from Sakura that magical powers existed. Besides, Sakura had always been a calm and gentle person, so to see her so stern and serious about such a subject made her understand the seriousness of the matter. The two months had taught her that even if you were young, you could be a great person.

— "You just need to cook for him, in my kitchen there's everything you need. I've already prepared his lunch, we'll just have to prepare tonight's and tomorrow's lunch. Everything will be written down on a piece of paper," Sakura listed. "Another thing Hitomi-san, he's an extremely handsome man."

Hitomi smiled suggestively at Sakura at the description of her patient.

— "Is that why you take care of him ?" Hitomi asked with a knowing smile.

— "No Hitomi-san, as handsome as he is, that's not the main reason why I help him. Anyway, the point is, he's very handsome, so don't give in to his demands. He's a man trained to kill and he knows how to manipulate people to get what he wants."

— "Hai."

— "I know I always told you never to call me -sama because we are all equal. But not this person ! You will call him Uchiha-sama !"

It hurt Sakura to ask all this of someone she liked very much, but she had no other way, she had to go to Konoha to get answers to her questions.

— "Hai Sakura-san."

— "When you introduce yourself to him, give him this letter right after and if he does anything to you he'll have to deal with me," Sakura said as she handed a small roll of paper with a Fûinjutsu seal at the opening. It was something simple, an injection of chakra would open it.

— "One more thing," Sakura said as she adjusted her bag. "He's a proud person, so don't make him feel inferior and again thank you."

Sakura moved closer to Hitomi and hugged her. It was the first time she had hugged anyone since she left for the past. Hitomi was very surprised by this, but returned the hug happily before speaking into her ear.

— "I'll be very careful Sakura-san, but also be very careful and come back soon."

— "I will, goodbye," Sakura said before breaking off the hug and disappearing in a second, making Hitomi gape at her abilities. Once she came to her senses she walked over to her husband and explained Sakura's request.

When it was almost noon, she headed towards the young woman's house to meet this Uchiha-sama. The path was difficult for anyone not used to it, it was a very steep passage to get to the top. However, the location was well worth it.

After fifteen minutes of walking, Hitomi finally arrived at her friend's house. She entered through the kitchen door as she did every time she came to visit her. She put her sandals to the side and walked to the table in the centre of the kitchen. There were lots of ingredients arranged with a sheet of paper containing instructions. Hitomi couldn't read, but Sakura had written the explanations in drawings. She could see a sun accompanying a bowl of rice, soup, and fish. Further down was a moon with the same thing, except this time there was an arrow indicating the ingredients on the table.

Hitomi grabbed the tray of food, the dishes were still steaming. Hitomi was sure that Sakura had left hours ago, so how could the food still be hot ? Hitomi walked to the living room and looked around for someone.

— "Who are you ?" Demanded a harsh, cold voice. Hitomi flinched slightly, but managed to keep her grip on the tray. At the sound of the voice, she quickly looked down.

— "Ohayô Uchiha-sama, I'm Hitomi, Sakura-san asked me to take care of you today because she had to leave," Hitomi quickly explained as she felt her heart racing.

Somehow, Madara felt reassured that nothing had happened to the young woman. He hadn't seen her since she woke up, she hadn't done her meditation session or her medical routine and he'd been afraid that something had happened to her.

— "She also asked me to give you a letter, Uchiha-sama," Hitomi continued, but did not get a response from the patient. "Would you allow me to approach Uchiha-sama ?"

— "Hai."

Hitomi slowly looked up to see where the man was and her first thought was that he was beautiful. She had never seen such a beautiful man in her life. The words Sakura used were far too weak to describe the charisma of this man. She'd also never seen a man with any fat, only muscles. A blush settled over her face at her thoughts.

She placed the tray of food on the bedside table before holding the letter out to the dark-haired man, keeping her head down. With his able-bodied hand, Madara grabbed the roll of paper before injecting a tiny amount of chakra into the seal, unlocking it.

Uchiha-san

Duty calls me to Hi No Kuni and I cannot shirk it. The person in front of you is a friend of mine, she will take care of you while I am away. Please be kind to her as she is doing her best to help us.

I should be back in two days at the most. And if I find out that while I'm gone you've hurt her, or if I find any traces of Genjutsu on her, you'll have to deal with me !

Haruno Sakura

What right did this woman have to give him orders ? Madara crumpled the scroll in his hand before tossing it onto the bedside table. Madara finally turned his attention to the newcomer. He wondered how he should deal with her. Should he act like he did with all the women he had met ? Or should he be more agreeable and thus potentially have a source of information about Sakura Haruno?

— "Oyahô," Madara said after a moment.

— "Are you hungry, Uchiha-sama ?" Hitomi asked not without giving a small nod to his greeting.

— "Hai."

Hitomi sat down on the stool next to the bed and grabbed the bowl of soup before holding the spoon up to Madara's lips. She stared at his mouth and tried her best not to look him in the eye. She thought of her friend's words, *He can kill with just a look.*

— "Look me in the eye," Madara ordered gently, but all he got was a woman lowering her head even more.

— "I apologize Uchiha-sama, but Sakura-san gave me orders."

— "What were they ?"

— "To never look you in the eye, to never disrespect you, and to take care of yourself," Hitomi listed, this time taking the bowl of rice. Meanwhile Madara couldn't help but notice that Sakura was thoughtful and clever.

— "What do you think of Haruno-san ?" Madara asked in a reassuringly pleasant voice. He had a potential source of information here regarding his doctor, so he was going to take advantage of it.

— "She's a great person with a big heart," Hitomi answered quickly.

— "Has she lived here long ?" Madara continued before chewing his portion of rice for a long time. It must have taken a lot of effort for a second woman to feed him in this way.

— "Two months ago, she came to us completely devastated, asking for asylum to rebuild her life..."

— "Where exactly are we ?"

— "In the land of rice fields on the border of the land of fire," said the foreigner before holding out a piece of slightly steaming fish. It wasn't white fish this time, but salmon, and the difference in taste was much appreciated by Madara.

— "Did she tell you where she was going ?"

— "She had some business to attend to in the land of fire, she didn't tell me more. And you Uchiha-sama... what do you think of Sakura-san ?" Hitomi dared to ask.

He didn't answer right away, deep in thought. Madara surprised himself by not sending this weak woman away for daring to ask him questions. Was it because he had been around Haruno-san for a month that he was becoming a little more tolerant ?

— "She's an... interesting person," Madara conceded.

— "You seem to mean a lot to her."

— "What do you mean by that ?" Madara asked suddenly very curious. He didn't think he was that important to her.

— "When Sakura-san first came to the village, she was a person who had lost the will to live. It took a long time to change her, I could only get a smile out of her very rarely. Then, in the last month, her attitude has improved. She has become a little more cheerful, as if she has found hope again. She is a woman who seems to have great respect for you, at least that is what I perceived."

Madara was inwardly very surprised and a gentle warmth settled over him. Sakura Haruno had always been professional, neutral, strong, powerful and unbearable. She was a woman of character who relied solely on herself to get things done. In their conversation, it seemed that very few people had earned her respect in her life. In a way, it pleased Madara to potentially be one of her people.

— "What did she say about me ?"

— "She only told me about you this morning Uchiha-sama," Hitomi replied as she placed the last plate on the tray before placing her hands on her legs. "She told me that you were someone with magical powers like her and that you were someone extremely dangerous... but yet someone very important to her."

— "Anything else ?" Madara demanded softly as she sipped his glass of water.

— "No," Hitomi said hastily.

— "Don't lie to me woman !" Madara said in a stern voice.

Hitomi was suddenly very frightened by the intonation of his voice.

— "Go-Gomen Uchiha-sama," she quickly apologized, bowing her head slightly. "She said that you were an extremely handsome person."

He was beautiful and he knew it, but hearing it from another person was always gratifying. Especially when you knew that a very closed person thought that about you.

— "Bring me a jug of water and the green-covered book on the desk over there. Then you'll be free to go," Madara pointed to Sakura's desk.

— "Hai Uchiha-sama, have a nice day and I'll see you tonight," Hitomi bowed and then complied.

With a heart full of emotion, Hitomi left Sakura's house.

Hi No Kuni

Sakura walked at civilian speed towards the entrance of Konoha No Sato. She was wearing a brown dress and carrying a wicker basket. A long grey scarf was placed over her brown hair. She had applied an advanced Hengen to her hair colour as well as to her forehead seal. She had walked through the entire fire country through the trees and had been walking like a civilian alongside a caravan for five kilometres.

The village of Konoha was still not very large, the walls were thin compared to her time. However, security seemed more important now. She counted with her experience a minimum of ten people present. People were coming in and out and whether it was one way or the other, there was a queue.

Time passed before it was finally her turn.

— "The reason for your visit to Konoha No Sato ?" Asked a shinobi sitting on a table with a long scroll of parchment. He seemed to be cataloguing the people who came in and their reasons.

— "I'm here to buy medicinal herbs, my father is sick and unfortunately he is too weak to come by himself."

— "Where did you come from ?" Continued the shinobi who was a member of the Uchiha clan by the crest on his linen outfit.

— "Shukuba, Shinobi-sama," Sakura replied, pointing to a village about ten kilometres north of Konoha No Sato.

— "Your name ?" The Uchiha continued, writing on his parchment. "I will ask you to let my colleague search you."

No sooner had he said this than another man approached her and began groping her body for a hidden weapon. His hands were unfortunately quite wandering and Sakura couldn't do anything without unmasking herself. So she tensed slightly and flushed her face. After all, she was only supposed to be a simple woman in the Sengoku era.

— "Sakura Shinobi-sama."

— "Nothing to report Izumi-san," said the soldier who had searched her in a rude and totally inappropriate manner. Sakura wanted so badly to punch him in the face with her chakra-laden fist.

— "How long will you be staying ?" Izumi Uchiha continued.

— "The day at most, if I take too long I'll leave in the morning."

— "First time in Konoha ?"

— "Hai, it's actually quite beautiful Shinobi-sama. Who is that on the mountain if I may ask ?" Sakura asked politely with a big smile. The Uchiha turned slightly towards said mountain to see the face.

— "Ah, it's our Hokage : Hashirama Senju."

A slight disgust could be heard in his voice as if he wasn't happy about it. So even though the clans had joined, there was still resentment between them.

— "He must be a big guy to have his face on the stone" Sakura said in an impressed and innocent voice, playing the naive girl who could be impressed by anything.

— "Was... he disappeared."

— "Izumi !" Another shinobi who seemed to belong to the Senju clan warned harshly. However, the damage was done and Sakura had the confirmation she was looking for : Hashirama Senju was gone.

— "Ha ! Forgive me Shinobi-sama for this question, I didn't mean to get you in trouble," Sakura bowed deeply.

— "No problem, have a nice stay in Konoha young lady. Next in line !"

— "Arigato Shinobi-sama, have a nice day and sorry again."

A smile came to the young woman's lips as she saw her former village.

— "Wow, this is beautiful... it's so much bigger than Shukuba."

Sakura had sensed that she was being followed, probably because Izumi had let some very important information out. So she continued to play the innocent young woman going about her business.

— "Excuse me ma'am, can you point me in the direction of the market," Sakura asked an old woman who was watering the flowers on her balcony.

— "Hello child, follow the main road towards the mountain, then follow the hubbub."

— "Thank you very much ma'am."

The village was much smaller than in her day and many trees were still present within the walls. The people who did not belong to one of the clans were pleasant and civilised, but if she had the misfortune to ask a clan member for help, she received a black look.

When she got to the market, Sakura bought some spices and many medicinal herbs that were the reason given to the village guards. The day passed quickly and she had to find an inn, as leaving at night would have been very suspicious for a civilian.

After applying a Fûinjutsu to her door and window that would warn her if anyone tried to enter, Sakura thought about her house. Was Hitomi-san getting along with Madara ? Would he be patient enough with her ?

Day 31

It was almost three in the afternoon when Sakura arrived home. As soon as she returned, she put her things on the table in the main room. She sat down on one of the cushions and placed a book on the table. She unpacked the medicinal herbs and acted as if she were preparing a remedy.

Madara started to take a breath to ask a question at her abnormal attitude when Sakura looked at him with a hard face. She brought her index finger to her mouth in a sign to be quiet. She had her war veteran face on and that could only mean one thing : Intruder.

So Madara kept his lips sealed and silently watched Sakura. She was dressed in traditional clothing and Madara agreed that it didn't suit her at all. He frowned slightly as he discovered that her forehead seal was gone and her hair was a brown colour. Seconds passed slowly, then they became a minute, then two minutes, before finally a person appeared behind Sakura with a dagger in his hand. He cocked his arm and stabbed his weapon at Sakura's heart. The dagger was covered in blood as it passed through Sakura's rib cage.

Madara was about to activate his Dôjutsu at such a scene to kill the intruder when suddenly, the stabbed Sakura disappeared in a pop of smoke.

— "Kage Bunshin," Madara whispered in surprise.

How did this woman even know about this Ninjutsu that was one of the Senju clan's best kept trade secrets. A familiar spike of chakra was felt and Sakura appeared at the intruder's back. Was it the surprise ? Or perhaps she was faster than the shinobi ? Nevertheless, she had time to disarm her attacker, tackling him to the ground before grabbing his arms and placing them above his head held by one of her hands. His legs were immobilized by Sakura's knees as she injected her own chakra into his nerves to neutralize him.

— "Tell me why you tried to kill me Leaf Shinobi," Sakura ordered with a coldness in her voice that Madara had not yet heard from her. The Konoha shinobi tried his best to free himself, but to no avail.

— "There's no point in trying to free yourself, you're far too weak to hope to compete with me."

Sakura knew where to press to get a man off his back : his pride. This man had just been overpowered by a woman in less than a second and she was able to hold both arms with the strength of one without any effort. As she was now facing the shinobi she recognized the guard at the door : Izumi Uchiha.

— "I repeat my question Izumi Uchiha of the Leaf, why did you follow me and try to kill me ?" Sakura demanded before taking a sealed kunai from her wrist. "I'll have you know that as a doctor, I know some particularly painful places that would make anyone's tongue drop out ! So, either you answer my questions, or I'll go look for my own answers."

Suddenly, the shinobi used his master card and activated his Dôjutsu. Two three-tomoes Sharingan replaced his black eyes. Sakura purposely looked deep into his two Sharingan.

— "Haruno-san !" Madara panicked as he saw his clan's Dôjutsu being activated. As far as he was concerned, the moment she looked into the Sharingan, she was done for. For there was a rule in the shinobi world : if you wanted to survive, never look an Uchiha in the eye.

— "Release me bitch !" The prisoner ordered as he unleashed his most powerful Genjutsu. A perverse smile grew on his face as he activated his Dôjutsu. Seconds passed and nothing changed, Sakura didn't move, her gaze didn't waver, except that it became even colder than before. Sakura moved her face closer to the Uchiha's and practically pressed her forehead to the shinobi's, to look deeper into his eyes.

— "Is that all you have to offer me ? Is this all the Sharingan of the prestigious Uchiha clan has to offer me ? Pathetic !" Sakura scoffed, startling the two Uchiha from the room. This was the first time in their lives they had seen someone resist the Genjutsu of a fully matured Sharingan with full force. "Oh... you look surprised."

The Leaf Shinobi's smile had completely disappeared and a look of fear had taken its place as he saw this woman resisting his Sharingan.

— "I repeat my question one last time. Why did you try to kill me ?" Sakura ordered as she used her strength to begin crushing his wrists.

— "Ahhh... Konoha ordered me to follow you because you were new. When you started moving around like a shinobi two miles away from Konoha, I realized that you might have stolen information from our village," the soldier admitted as he could feel the bones in his wrists about to break.

— "Well... unfortunately you're too dangerous for me to let you go ! Farewell !" Sakura said as she cocked her arm to plant her kunai in his opponent's heart. Her weapon was about to go into the flesh when a voice made her stop just at the last moment.

— "Sakura no !"

It was Madara's voice. It was the very first time he had used his first name. It felt strange to hear her first name come out of his mouth, but it was said so naturally that it confused her.

— "Why was that ? You know very well that if he returns to Konoha other people will come and that's out of the question !" Sakura replied without taking her eyes off her victim.

— "I agree, but he's still a member of my clan."

— "Madara-sama ! You... you're alive ?!" Said the ninja who had just become aware of his clan leader's presence.

— "Bring him to me."

— "If you try anything Uchiha, I'll kill you, Madara or not !" Sakura warned before straightening up with her kunai prisoner at his throat. They both moved closer towards Madara.

— "Madara-sama," the shinobi implored, he was both happy to see his clan leader alive, but at the same time scared to be in a death situation.

— "Lean towards me and look away Haruno-san," Madara demanded before Sakura did as he asked. She looked away in the direction of the outside knowing what he was going to do. A surge of chakra was felt in the room and Madara activated his Sharingan himself which transformed into a Mangekyô Sharingan.

— "Tsukuyomi !" The clan leader uttered as he activated one of his most powerful techniques. Due to his still weakened state, some blood trickled from his left eye.

— "You're going to go back to Konoha and say that the person you followed is an ordinary civilian. She has returned home and there is nothing to fear from her. You will also forget about this place and about both of us... now go !" Madara ordered as he placed the man into the most powerful Genjutsu of the Mangekyô Sharingan.

Sakura released the man and pulled her kunai from his throat before releasing the Hengen on her own. Her pink hair appeared and her forehead seal as well.

— "Hai, Madara-sama," the man said in a neutral voice before bowing and disappearing in an instant. Silence returned and Sakura continued to look outward.

— "Deactivate your Dôjutsu Uchiha-san."

She could have looked Madara in the eye with his Mangekyô Sharingan activated, but she wanted to keep that information a secret for now.

— "It's okay Haruno-san."

Without missing a beat she placed her hand over Madara's eye and a soft green glow emanated from it to dull the pain and repair the damage.

— "You should have let me kill him instead of activating this technique," Sakura said still on guard. The adrenaline was still coursing through her body and it was going to take a few minutes to calm down.

— "What happened to reaching out to the next Haruno-san ?"

— "Not to those who stab me in the heart", Sakura retorted before going to the kitchen to get a glove and a bowl of water. Madara had just seen a deadly woman who had overpowered a member of the Uchiha clan with ease. The worst part of it all was that it wasn't just any Uchiha, but one of his former lieutenants.

— "I apologize for what a member of my clan tried to do to you."

Sakura stopped her movement to clean her patient's cheek. She was slightly speechless at what she had just heard. Then slowly a soft smile came to her lips. It was the first time she had ever given him a genuine smile, or at least one that was directed at him.

— "Why are you smiling ?"

— "I never thought I'd see the great Madara Uchiha apologize to a woman."

— "Hn !" Madara snorted slightly offended by her remark.

— "Ah, don't sulk, Uchiha-san," Sakura reassured him with a smile still on her lips. She resumed her gesture and finished wiping the blood from his cheek.

— "You should smile more often Haruno-san, it suits you," Madara complimented as he looked into her eyes.

What had caused the great Madara to say such a thing was a mystery. Was it the fact that he had seen her act so powerfully towards a member of his clan who was considered one of the best ? Or was it his conversations with Hitomi that made him see Sakura in a different light ?

Sakura was shocked for the second time that day. Madara had just subtly told her that she was pretty. Sakura looked down at her task, slightly embarrassed as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

— "I thank you Uchiha-san."