We didn’t go to the tournament that loop. Instead we camped out atop the Hokage monument with a couple pair of field glasses, and watched the battle. The loop would end sometime in the late evening no matter what we did, so I convinced Naruto what we really needed was the big picture.
“I think the barrier around the Hokage box was the signal to attack.” I commented as the battle began.
“Yeah, you’re right. Here comes the giant snake. Where the heck did that thing get bibs, anyway?”
“What?” I took a long look at the three-headed summon. Sure enough, each head was wearing a massive bib. “Someone has a sick sense of humor. Hey, look, that’s Jiraiya fighting it!”
“Really? I always wondered who took that thing out. Check out the Hokage fighting Orochimaru.”
We watched for a few minutes. That was one incredible battle.
“Naruto, how many clones can you make and still have enough chakra that they can throw jutsu?”
He shrugged. “About a thousand, I guess. Enough to stop that Sand attack on the south wall, anyway. But then I won’t be able to fight any of the big guys, and I don’t think you want that job.”
“No, you’re definitely our heavy hitter. But that’s a good point — with any luck we can plan to do this in a loop where we’re together again. Woah, there goes Gaara.”
The giant sand monster went rampaging through the western side of town, tearing up training grounds and the homes of several minor clans.
“Yeah, he always does that if I don’t stop him. What I don’t get is all those trees growing up inside the barrier.”
I focused in on the Hokage’s duel with Orochimaru. There were plants everywhere, a couple of extra people running around, three coffins with big seals on them…wait, I recognized those marks. “Oh my god. That’s the first Hokage, the one with wood powers. Or at least his body. I don’t believe this. Orochimaru resurrected two Hokages as some kind of zombie mind slaves. Just how powerful is this guy?”
“I’ve never seen anything come close to beating him. Even Jiraiya and the Hokage working together couldn’t do it. When it plays out like this sometimes the Hokage cripples his arms somehow, but he dies doing it and Orochimaru gets away. See, there he goes. But Jiraiya dies taking down the Shukaku, and then the Sand guys rally and finish us off.”
I gave him a sharp look. “It sounds like you’ve seen this a lot more times than I have. Wait, I think the Hokage’s still breathing! Yeah, look! He’s been poisoned or something, but he’s not actually dead.”
“Hey, you’re right! Maybe you could heal him after they leave?”
“I’m not good enough yet, but I’ll work on it.” I replied. “That, and figuring out their barrier jutsu. If we could take that down everything would play out differently.”
He nodded. “Sounds good. I’m going to go back to taijutsu training, and keep working on my elemental attacks. Uh oh, we’ve got company coming.”
He pointed, and I made out a dozen or so ninja headed up the cliff in our direction. They’d be on us in minutes, and somehow I doubted they were all genin. “I see them. Looks like it’s time for our heroic last stand.”
We stood up and backed away from the edge to get some fighting room, but I had one last thing to do. As Naruto called up his first squad of clones I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Take care of yourself, Naruto. I want my cool teammate back someday.”
He grinned and hugged me back. “You too, Sakura. I kinda like this being friends thing.”
Then the enemy ninja came boiling over the cliff edge, and it was time to fight.
3. Exploration
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.
“Tsunade-sama, what would it take to convince you to take on a student?”
The legendary medic-nin looked across the poker table at me with eyes bleary from too much alcohol and too little sleep. “More booze than you can afford, little girl.”
These loops have been hell on my illusions.
“Two thousand ryo? That wouldn’t last me a week, kid.”
“You think I’m for sale? In your dreams, little girl.”
“I don’t care what happens to Konoha, kid. You’re a fool to think it matters.”
Yes, Tsunade was a tough nut to crack. But the travel was interesting, and it gave me plenty of time to wade through the academic side of medic-nin training.
“So long, legendary sucker. Come back when you’ve got more money!” The casino owner slammed his door in Tsunade’s face. She growled at the closed door for a moment, but then she slumped.
Shizune, her assistant, didn’t look pleased. “So, we’re broke again. I suppose that means we’re back to sleeping in a field?”
“I might be able to help with that.” I said quietly, as I faded out of the shadows. I was in sexy form, but dressed in fatigues and a chuunin vest to downplay my looks.
Tsunade gave a skeptical snort. “Let me guess. All you want is my necklace?”
“Hardly. My name is Sakura. I’m a junior medic-nin in…well, let’s just say Sarutobi-sama has been preparing an answer to Root. The Hokage understands that you won’t return to the village, but I’ve been sent to ask if you would be willing to train me.”
“Why me?” She asked suspiciously. “Konoha has plenty of instructors.”
“Because none of them know what to do with a student who learns every technique on the first attempt. Because there are so many unfortunate accidents that can happen to a rookie chuunin in a hospital. Because you have life-saving techniques no one else in the world has discovered, and the Hokage hopes to find someone in the next generation you’d be willing to pass them on to. He didn’t explain his reasons to me, but those are my guesses.”
“Hmp. The old goat made talking me into it part of the assignment, didn’t he?”
“Yes. To be honest, I’m terrified I’ll screw this up and you’ll send me packing. I’m not exactly the diplomatic type.”
“Is he offering mission pay?” Shizune asked. She’s always the practical one.
“Eight thousand ryo per month, not including my expenses. Oh, and I took the liberty of clearing your debt with that yakuza boss up in Twin Falls Gorge, so we’ve got a nice place to stay if you like.”
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “He’d better be alive, kid. The yaks ban you from the whole network if you start killing off their bosses.”
“I know, I know, it’s nothing like that. I just pointed out how the last tournament he invited you to was rigged from start to finish, trotted out a few of his boys doing tearful confessions, and pointed out how badly things could go if certain parties decided the whole thing was a setup aimed at you in particular. He was happy to write off your debt, even threw in free passes to the hot spring resort next door.” My smile turned nasty. “I started my career as a genjutsu user with an infiltration specialty. No one’s cheating at anything while I’m around.”
Tsunade laughed and mussed my hair. “What a cute little kid. Ok pinky, we’ll see if you can make the grade.”
It was a great scheme. As my knowledge grew I just adjusted my cover to match, and after a few days of testing we’d pick up more or less where I left off. Tsunade never bothered to check up on my story, and the more I knew at the start of the training the more interested she became in teaching me. Occasionally I’d mess up the initial introduction and she’d blow me off, but that just gave me a chance to spend a few weeks getting practical experience at the hospital back in Konoha. A dozen loops later I was better than most professional medic-nin, and still improving fast.