Chapter Text
To say Hatake Kakashi didn't see this coming would be an understatement. Surely, he did make a rather unbecoming mistake by sending his genin squad fresh off the academy to the Chūnin Exams, but the punishment he is receiving for this act is too cruel, even the Gods would agree. He rubbed his good eye again and lifted up the cloak of the Sharingan eye, observing the absolute fuckery in front of him. Hatake Kakashi had been born 26 years ago in the Village Hidden in the Leaves and today, he is thinking of the man who put the Leaves in the Village, the First Hokage. To Hatake Kakashi's limited knowledge, the man fathered one child and had two grandchildren. In addition to his limited knowledge, none of his descendants, not even the legendary Slug Princess, inherited his incredible gift of manipulating sentient chakra. Maybe he should have put the pieces of the puzzle sooner, after all, he saw the adoption papers and two clueless civilian parents who didn't understand why their adoptive daughter didn't have any interest in anything else but in becoming a kunoichi or why her chakra reserves were concerningly large for someone her age, size and heritage. Maybe the hair, that god awful pink hair, should have been the clue. Maybe the eyes, the eyes which made the Third Hokage who was standing right behind him always take a double take. Then again, Kakashi figured it was too late to cry over spilled milk. Or overgrown trees. Standing in the middle of a newly grown forest inside of the Forest of Death (such a preposterous name), The Third Hokage, Hatake Kakashi and Mitarashi Anko were in a state of panic, to put it mildly.
"You say she never displayed such abilities?"
"In all honesty, Lord Hokage, many ninja have a dual chakra nature. I know Earth and Water Release together are rare, but I thought she's adopted, who knows who her parents are, maybe they're not even from the Land of Fire."
"Yes, I'm aware of the adoption process, my successor saw it fulfilled in his short tenure. Do you think he was aware?" The Third drawled, taking in a long smoke of his pipe.
"I can't be sure." Kakashi's ears perked up. Sakura was adopted before the attack twelve years ago?
"And what triggered this?" Anko asked, gently touching a blooming branch. She thought of Tenzō, his wood was polished and almost industrial, this power was raw, natural, almost as if the Earth herself was whispering.
"They were under siege from those three Sound Village kids, according to Sasuke, Sakura just panicked and he said she touched the ground and I guess, this followed." Kakashi spoke, gesturing towards the large trees which were hosting the Sound Three. Almost in awe, Hiruzen Sarutobi touched a branch, a faint smile growing across his face. Maybe his youth wasn't so far ago. Maybe there was hope for the Leaf to finally be untouchable again.
"The girl must be a prodigy. Controlling this sentient chakra takes a master of chakra control. Not even my sensei was this skilled at her age. To suppress a power of this magnitude for thirteen years, without anyone noticing takes a master of their craft. Mitarashi."
"Yes, Lord Third?"
"Get those three out of the wood. They pass. Get Yamanaka Inoichi to wipe their memories. If Sakura is awake, I'd like to speak to her myself. She's evidence that a line I thought was erased is still with us."
"Lord Third…", Anko inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of forest and moss following her. "She's a baby. She's terrified, alone and confused. Her only blood relation, if she is even that, is who knows where. Let her stay innocent."
"She will, but first, I must know. The Senjū clan never ceases to amaze me. One of their thousand skills, I suppose."
“What do you know about the girl’s abilities?” Asked the Third, pinching his nose bridge. Sasuke sighed. The hospital smelled of disinfectant and medication, the awful, pungent smell was drilling into his nose. Sasuke had always hated hospitals.
“She has a good understanding of genjutsu, and might even have an aptitude for it. Good analytical skills, very studious.” He spoke, as if he was analyzing a sample of soil. He knew virtually nothing about Sakura. He remembered the day they got their ninja registration, the three of them were standing in line and Sakura didn't have the yellow carton which would have been her birth certificate. When asked, she just shrugged sheepishly and stated she's been adopted and that she'd never seen her birth certificate. Sasuke had known Sakura for almost 6 years by then and never once did he realize she was adopted.
“She’s freakishly strong, Old Man!” Naruto shouted, grabbing his head. “Sakura is strong enough to throw me 40 yards.”
“I don’t want to know how you know that.” Kakashi sighed. “I have to apologize, Lord Third. The issue is, I never paid much attention to Sakura, I pegged her for a future desk genin. She’s been studious, smart, good with tactics, but that’s all I noticed.”
“Freakishly strong?” The Third asked, ignoring Kakashi's display of neglect, ears perking up. “How strong?”
“She’s able to pick any of us up without breaking a sweat! She can lift tree trunks, she even carried Kakashi-sensei when he passed out!” Naruto shouted. “How can you not notice, man?”
Sasuke and Kakashi exchanged looks. Naruto was right, Sakura was physically stronger than the both of them and probably on pair with Kakashi, a grown man and elite ninja. Another day, another muck up on Kakashi’s resume. The Third Hokage nodded, got up and left to visit Sakura.
"Man, sensei, that was some jutsu!" Naruto said, flailing his arms. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"Yes, Kakashi, what kind of technique was that? I've never seen something like that."
"Remember Haku?" Kakashi spoke, recalling the incident that nearly got them all killed. Perhaps this one was too specific, after all, all three of his cute little genin were walking ticking time bombs. The boys nodded. "I believe Sakura is similar to Haku, he was able to manipulate wind-release and water-release into ice-release. He was able to do so because he has a unique kekkei-genkai."
"A bloodline limit like mine?" Sasuke asked, nodding. Sasuke, a dojutsū user, had a brief understanding of other kekkei genkai, but the ones consisting of elemental ninjutsu evaded his knowledge. He knew the First and Second Hokage were powerful elemental ninjutsu users but that was where his knowledge ended.
"Yes, but hers is different. Last month, when I tested your chakra nature, I noticed Sakura had a dual one, meaning she had an affinity for both Water and Earth. It's not really impossible and I didn't think much of it."
"And?" Sasuke asked. "I still don't understand how she did it."
"Her blood-line limit allows her to manipulate that chakra and create wood. Wood is essentially water and earth."
"But sensei, water and earth are also mud!" Naruto said, scratching his head.
"It is for most people, but I believe Sakura might be related to someone who was able to do the same."
"Was?" Sasuke asked, ignoring his sore shoulder. "He's dead?"
"Yes, for nearly 50 years. He was quite the shinobi." Kakashi smiled under his mask. "We'll see tomorrow. Lord Third and the Fourth Kazekage were kind enough to push the next round for 2 weeks so everyone can recover." Or enough time for T&I to cover this absolute rancid fucking mess up.
"Do you think we can learn the jutsu if we try hard enough?"
"Naruto, I don't know if Sakura can master her bloodline limit. Now excuse me, I have to pay a visit to Sakura's parents." The Copy-Nin nodded, disappearing through a hospital window.
"Man, Sakura is so much cooler than you!
"Shut the fuck up."
"Is Sakura awake yet?" Someone asked. Sasuke turned around, recognising Sakura's boring friend, Ino. She was carrying a bouquet of peonies and a bag of oranges.
"Oh hey, Ino!" Naruto yelled. "She's with the old man."
"Oh, okay." Sasuke noticed Ino had tears in her eyes. "Chakra exhaustion is dangerous, she could have died." Ino silently wiped a tear from her left eye.
Sasuke snorted. So, everyone was told Sakura suffered chakra exhaustion.
Sakura was half awake, every inch of her body was hurting. She heard nurses coming in and out, Naruto's shrill scream, Sasuke's huffing and she could have sworn she's heard Ino somewhere. Doesn't matter. The cat was out of the bag and she can hear the bitch purring into the Hokage's ear. When she was off-duty one morning, Sakura managed to sneak into the Hokage's library and there was where she learned of the First Hokage and the failed attempts to clone him. Was she one of those failures? From what she understood, Mokuton was a blood limit that somehow only appeared in the First Hokage. This caused a certain, pale little evil someone, to attempt to clone him and he failed miserably. There was something extraordinary about Hashirama Senjū. When she was little, Sakura was a bit disappointed about not having an extended family, but her adoptive parents were from a foreign land, with their own late parents migrating to Konoha, and did the best they could. Sakura would dream of a fictional grandfather, who had eyes just like hers and loved to read and study and had the same curse as she did. He was a loving and caring man who would constantly talk about his wife and how much Sakura resembled her, but to be honest, Sakura saw a lot of herself in her fictional grandfather, which to her scientific mind made sense, she was a lonely child who wanted a grandpa. After today's events and the library discoveries, she wondered what the hell her dreams even were.
"Are you awake, dear?"
"Lord Third?" Sakura whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. You are an extraordinary young lady. Do tell me, when did you learn you could do this?"
"In the Academy, age 6. The first time I tried to manipulate chakra. It felt like a beating heart."
"A beating heart?", Hiruzen whispered, a faint smile growing across his face. "Tell me, are you interested in finding out where this ability comes from?"
"Do you think I'm related to the First Hokage?", she asked, sitting upright. She did consider this possibility, but it seemed so highly unlikely she dismissed this many times.
"Yes. We'd like to perform a DNA test."
"Fine." She said, "Do you need hair, a swab?"
"A swab and a sample of blood. Just to be certain."
She nodded. "Does this mean I'll have to leave my old life?"
"Absolutely not. You will proceed as you were, without showing your abilities. We'll start training after the exams."
"We?"
"I'll overlook your training myself. Don't worry, you are in safe hands."
Sakura just noticed an ANBU guard, observing her behind his porcelain mask. "Tiger here will help you. He understands you better than you think."
"Will Tiger watch me?" Sakura asked, observing Tiger with fear in her eyes.
"Nonsense. Don't worry, Tiger will help you train. He can be your bodyguard if you feel unsafe."
Just 12 hours ago, Sakura was working on lowering Sasuke's fever and now she's being offered Black Ops protection. What has her life turned into?
"Please rest, my dear." The Third spoke. "We'll have your DNA results soon but every sign points towards you being someone very important to us."
Sakura nodded, wishing Lord Third goodbye. She turned to Tiger, who was sitting on the foot of her bed.
"Nice to meet you, Tiger." She smiled weakly. Tiger nodded, watching her new guests come into the hospital room. Ino raced past Naruto and Sasuke, holding her tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re alive, Forehead.”
“Thank you.” Sakura whispered back. Ino released her from the embrace and looked at Tiger. “Isn’t this an ANBU Black Op? Forehead, what have you done?” The Black Op cocked his head, as if to say “I can hear you, girl”. Naruto walked over to the Black OP, looking at him with fascination.
“I’ve never seen one up close and personal!” He said with visible excitement.
“He’s a person!” Sakura shouted, flailing her arms. Tiger nodded in gratitude. He opened Ino’s bag and started peeling oranges with a kunai.
“That’s kinda badass.” Naruto said, observing Tiger.
“What happened, Sakura?” Sasuke asked. Her shoulders fell, tears welling up in her eyes. For a brief second, Sasuke felt bad. In his heart of hearts, he found Sakura very kind and sweet, she had quite the temper and no particularly interesting skills, until today at least. She looked exhausted, as if she aged a century overnight. In his head, Sakura was like an ornament, a pretty thing that makes someone smile from time to time. Turns out, this ornament had edges that could cut him.
“I’d love to know the answer.” She finally spoke, leaning back in the bed.
“You made Sakura cry!” Naruto shrieked. Sakura just sighed, watching them argue all over again. A sharp knock on the door interrupted their argument.
“Ino, Asuma-sensei is looking for you.” Shikamaru drawled, observing Team 7, Ino and a whole ANBU guard.
“Coming!” Ino said. “I’ll visit you tonight, okay?”
Sakura nodded and smiled, waving Ino off.
"I think I should get going." Sakura spoke, slowly getting up.
"Already?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. In Uchiha Sasuke's head, Sakura just became a mystery worth investigating.
"Thank you for the tea, Haruno-san." Kakashi smiled through his mask. He didn't know much about Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, except that they were filthy rich business people who owned most of the merchant district. Their home was a large townhouse overlooking the Hokage mountain, with several floors and lots of space for what Kakashi assumed was supposed to be a large family. There was a framed photo of the Haruno's with a baby Sakura, Mebuki appeared to be pregnant yet there was not a single sibling in sight. Kakashi recalled their birthdates, they would have been in their mid to late thirties when they adopted their daughter. As far Kakashi could remember, Mebuki's father owned the butcher shop, the fabric shop and bakery in this district, alongside the lands used by the farmer's market. Kizashi's family owned the rest.
"How did you find out about Sakura and decide to adopt her?" Kakashi asked, slipping some mint tea under his mask.
"I helped raise a shinobi who was orphaned during the war. A very kind man, he swore us to secrecy." Mebuki spoke, her husband nodding along. "The night of that attack, he came to my house with a baby in a bundle. She was wrapped in a thick green blanket and looked very healthy and strong. He told us he had filed adoption papers and asked us to take the girl in if he didn't come back in the morning…"
"And he didn't." Kakashi sighed, many shinobi died that night but the man he suspected of being Sakura's biological father was already deceased by then.
"May I see the blanket?" Kakashi asked. Kizashi nodded, placing the blanket on the table. The thick green wool suggested the finest quality available, as the blanket still looked fresh.
"The fabric is beautifully made. Whoever our Sakura's parents were, they were probably well-off. This kind of wool has been used for more than 70 years. This was designed to keep shinobi warm, my father used to sell this fabric to the village for uniform purposes. Never in this colour, tho." Mebuki spoke, opening the blanket.
"Do you know what this embroidery here means?" Kizashi asked, pointing at the corner. Kakashi gulped. It's been a good decade or two since he's seen that symbol.
“I’m sure this is the symbol of Sakura’s biological family.”
“They were all shinobi, right?”
“Yes.” Kakashi said. “The nin who brought Sakura that night, did he say anything about her family?”
“Only that her parents were deceased.” Kizashi recalled.
“I see, thank you.” Kakashi sighed. “Lord Third ordered some DNA tests for Sakura, just to confirm, but I have a feeling it’s unnecessary. As for your daughter, she’s in safe hands.”
“It’s very generous of the Hokage to take care of our Sakura.” Mebuki spoke. Kakashi smelled a dose of worry and maybe even resentment.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Sakura will need lots of guidance from now on. Have you ever noticed something unusual about Sakura?”
“She’s a very smart girl.” Kizashi spoke with pride. “She loved to study, I used to buy her botany books when she was five. She devoured them, she’s always been a voracious reader.”
"And have you noticed she's skilled in other ways?"
"Ah yes, Iruka-sensei said she has great potential! He mentioned she's interested in medical ninjutsu and I have to be selfish and say that made me happy because I know medical-nin don't fight." Mebuki poured herself more tea. "I think, Iruka-sensei mentioned she has great control over her chakra and that she has a better understanding of it than most."
"That's true." For the umpteenth time that day, Kakashi Hatake felt selfish and embarrassed of his own shortcomings as a teacher. It was like with his sensei all over again.
"Do you think…" Mebuki said, keeping Kakashi slightly surprised with her knowledge of shinobi, but then again, she mentioned she babysat one. "Is there something connected to Sakura's biological parents that makes her a person of interest in the village?"
"Yes. I'm not going to lie to you, she's rather…extraordinary."
"Should we be worried?" Kizashi spoke.
"Sandaime-sama assigned a Black Ops guard to protect Sakura. Some shinobi, who happen to have extraordinary abilities passed down through bloodlines, become persons of interest for, well, everyone. The Daimyō, the state, the village, the Hokage… until she's strong enough to defend herself, she'll always be under my or the Black Op's protection."
"That's not very easy to hear." Kizashi sighed.
"Mom, dad?", yelled a voice from downstairs. Mebuki’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
“Sakura? You’re home already?” She got up, walking downstairs to greet her daughter. A quick shriek followed. “What happened to you?”
“She’s supposed to be at the hospital.” Kakashi muttered.
“You didn’t mention anything about a hospital.” Kizashi said, shaking his head. He got up and followed his wife downstairs. “Oh, kid! You look like you fought a bear.”
Close, three murderous children, but yes, a bear would be comparable. Kakashi got up and observed Sakura. Her hair was cut in a jagged way, her clothing was covered in mud, grime and blood. However, she seemed to be able to stand on her own. From this angle, she looked so small and frail, like the ghost of a girl long gone. Sakura looked up and gave him a weak smile, the apparition in his head was becoming even stronger. With the corner of his good eye, he noticed Tiger peek through the window in the dining room.
“I’ll be going.” Kakashi spoke, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
“I need to go upstairs, I’m exhausted.” Sakura said.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Mebuki spoke. “There is dinner.”
“I could use some food, thanks Mom.”
Back in her bedroom, Sakura was trying to chop the remains of her hair into an even line.
“Old man, it’s creepy to stare into a girl’s bedroom!” She shrieked, opening her window. The ANBU guard was casually seated on a thick branch of the cherry tree in front of her bedroom. The guard shrugged and pulled out something out of his cloak. He handed Sakura a leather-bound journal. The journal looked handmade, made out of old, dyed leather with a large, complex seal on the cover. Sakura opened the book, surprised to see empty pages.
“What’s this, ANBU-san?”
Finally, the man took off his mask. He looked weirdly young, with shaggy brown hair and dark eyes.
“Sakura-san, you may call me Yamato. Sandaime-sama asked me to give you this. Apparently, this is a journal that was written by Shodai-sama. He said that you should be able to read this.”
“This is a treasure of Konoha!” She whispered. “But it’s empty.”
“A little Mokuton chakra in the seal should unlock it.” Yamato spoke. “Meet me at 4 AM at training ground 33. We shall begin with your training.” He was about to put on his mask and leave, but Sakura stopped him.
“Yamato-sensei, before you leave, do you know genjutsu?”
“Uh, to be honest, that’s a question for Kakashi-senpai. I know the basics.”
“That’s good to know.” She grinned. “Thank you, see you tomorrow! What do you like for breakfast?”
“I don’t mind anything, as long as it’s filling.” Yamato spoke. “Very kind of you, thank you.”
Sakura waved Yamato goodbye and sat down on her bed. Following Yamato’s instructions, Sakura put her fingers on the seal and poured chakra in, watching the seal unravel. On instinct, she opened the book and started reading. The first page contained a message, from the author to the reader.
“ My dear and beloved descendant,
If you’re reading this, it means I’m long gone and that you have inherited my gift. Don't be afraid. I wrote this catalog of rare and unique kekkei genkai in order to teach you how to use the Mokuton. First and foremost, you must know me as your ancestor and as God of Shinobi as well, but what you have to know is, the Mokuton did not make me notorious, I made the Mokuton feared as it was. You have been given a great, incredibly rare gift. What you will learn by reading my notes is that our control over sentient chakra is indeed very rare, like most kekkei-genkai are. The rarer your gift is, the more you will be hunted. You must learn how to protect yourself from those who intend to learn the secret of the Mokuton.
My dear, after years of study and my brother's assessment, I have learned the Mokuton is passed down through blood. We don't know how often it occurs as nor my son or grandchildren appear to possess it, however, I'm not certain about my grandson, who is fairly young. My wife shares this belief and without the input and knowledge of my wife and brother, this notebook would have never been completed. The jutsu I created (and a couple more created and added from my brother's charitable arsenal) are at the end of the book, sealed in scrolls. This beautiful and complex sealing has been done by my beloved wife, Mito. If you have not received the book from her, then you must have gotten it from my dear student Saru. If not from him, then I'm glad this is in your hands anyways.
Once you begin your training, focus first on three key things- mastering water and earth and most important, increase your bodily strength. You need to train and become strong enough to break whole trees with your bare hands and then I recommend trying one of my techniques. The body needs to be strong enough to handle the chakra you will need to perform this. This book has nearly all jutsu I created and I hope for you to create even more.
Finally, I want to tell you the most important thing. I die a grandfather, something indeed rare among our kind. As I love my child and grandchildren, I love you, my unknown descendant, as you are my family. I hope for you to surpass me.
All my love,
Senjū Hashirama, the First Hokage of Konohagakure, son of Senjū Butsuma and Sakura. "
Sakura whipped her upwards, realizing what she was holding in her hands. She gently turned to the next page and the title read Magnet Release (Sunagakure) . Sakura thanked her potential ancestors and started reading. She unsealed the scrolls and recognised signatures from both Lord First and Lord Second, various techniques such as D-rank wood styles and even something about space time ninjutsu written in complex formulas. She smiled to herself and put the scrolls back. Her time has finally come.