In the same dark forest where Naruto had previously been found with the 1st Hokage's Secret Scroll, Sakura stood atop a tree with a thoughtful look on her face. Trying to grasp her next action.

On top of that, she trained to maintain a number of Clones while using the Body Flicker Technique.

Or to be more precise: ‘Afterimage Clones’.

These were different from the projection types that had no strength, as each clone could be her real body at any particular moment. Unless all of them were attacked simultaneously, the main body wouldn’t be able to be easily found among them.

But it put too much strain on her body and chakra reserves to be useful yet. It would be saved for now. Unless she was going to go all out without thinking of future plans, it was better to hide it.

"Three is my limit, huh?" She couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Her body was limiting her.

She’d heard that ‘Sishui of the Body Flicker’, a legend of the Uchiha Clan, was able to create a lot more clones like this. Each one of them could display the same strengths of Shadow Clones despite having no mass. But couldn’t go too far.

Unlike proper ‘Shadow Clones’, they could only be maintained at a certain distance from each other.

Such a weakness didn’t really matter though.

This clone technique was specifically created for battle, unlike Naruto’s reconnaissance type Jutsu.

It was part of her special strategy.

To go against monsters who could release giant kaiju Tailed Beasts to fight, she needed to be quick enough to never get hit. Like a sky of shooting stars, unlike the Raikage’s thunderous speed.

The ‘Flying Thunder God Technique’ added one layer of movement, and ‘Body Flicker’ another.

Allowing her to dodge pretty much anything.

Once she was done and released her Clones, her body disappeared. A tiny streak of yellow lightning shot towards a tree miles away. Rather than the speedy Body Flicker, this was true teleportation.

It was only after extensively training this Jutsu did she realise… why Sasuke was so fond of these two techniques in the Fifth Great Ninja War. They truly complimented each other when mastered fully.

Body Flicker being harder to incorporate than the actual S Rank supplementary type movement skill.

Despite being a type of Fūinjutsu (Sealing Ninjutsu) that Sasuke had a harder time learning, it was without question that it was great. This technique was the best offensive and defensive Space-Time Ninjutsu, with instantaneous teleportation speed. 

Even Obito's Kamui, that could create portals and bend space, couldn't compare to this in execution.

Kamui, being a Sharingan specific ability, had its own strengths outside of teleportation itself.

In her past life, Sakura had only been able to use the first level (which is the basic application of the applying Formula Marks in the midst of battle), the second level (which was an advanced combat technique derived from this Jutsu that could attack from a person's blind spot), and the fourth level (what she used to travel back into the past using massive amounts of Chakra).

Though despite her extensive mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, there was no way she compared with the Sasuke of the future. This was due to missing his signature technique he created by fusing his Lightning Release with this Jutsu. 

The third level of this technique was forever unattainable to her in the past. The ‘Third Step’…

Something she studied but could never attain.

That is, until now, she put her hand on her stomach to apply a special Formula Seal on her body, looked in the direction she wanted to teleport, then used the Lightning Release she learnt not too long ago (as well as Body Flicker Technique to activate it).

Body Flicker plus Flying Thunder equaled an ability to ‘jump’ through space. Speed was a vital factor.

Her whole body was transported through spacetime, just like the Jutsus first level. 

However, the Formula Seal she had left on her body disappeared, making it so she would need to reapply it if she wanted to use it again. A sigh left her lips. Sakura realised she couldn't use this technique in rapid succession just like first level.

It was the difference in how the chakra flowed.

Although ‘Body Flicker’ didn’t seem like much of an advanced technique, that depended on the user.

To put it plainly: This speed technique required one to ‘detonate’ a burst of chakra all at once to vitalise the body, the strength of each burst deciding how far one could go when in the state of ‘flickering’.

This lead to a question in her past life…

Why couldn’t it be used in the midst of combat?

The ‘Substitution Jutsu’ relied on the same principles, except it left behind something to distract the opponent with. Mainly used to get away from an attack rather than confronting it.

She’d come up with a few answers.

The first being that a sudden enhancement of the body didn’t mean that it had controllable strength.

Moving from one location to another in the blink of an eye required intense concentration and focus.

If the coordinates messed up, one could end up a pile of pulp on a tree. Not the best outcome.

It was why a ninja’s survival instincts restricted them from using it when in the heat of battle.

One wrong calculation could lead to death.

It was something she herself couldn’t overcome.

‘Afterimage Clones’ were the best extension for this technique, but it required too much chakra.

The only reason she was able to use it despite her low chakra reserves… was thanks to having proficiency sent to her from the future. The Sakura in those memories trained it to an extreme point.

…It was because she didn’t have much to rely on in battle. All she had was supplementary type Jutsu.

Healing, Movement, and using Chakra Enhancement to bring her body to a new level.

It may sound amazing, but it was actually lacklustre compared to raising the dead and shooting beams.

This was why she practiced the ‘Third Level’.

Unlike a regular Body Flicker, the Formula Seal she attached to the body would release her from the shackles of spacetime temporarily. This was what allowed her to have true teleportation to any place.

That was so long as properly she could see it.

Not only was it actually easier to use in battle, but the liberation from spacetime made it really useful.

She could even pass through obstacles in her way.

'This should be enough.’ She thought to herself.

‘As long as I use that Super Kage level technique Sasuke always used, I'll be able to beat Orochimaru once we meet at the Chunnin Exams. But this isn't enough…’ Sakura kept her own standard high.

‘I will fail to save Sarada like this. Especially if I can barely keep up with Sasuke and Naruto after they have achieved their potentials...  Sasuke will eventually gain the Rinne Sharingan too.’ She frowned at the thought. Her peak was too useless.

Maybe she was strong for her age right now, but she would never be able to keep up at this rate.

Even after attaining the Third Level…

Sakura thought back to the powerlessness she felt in the Fifth Great Ninja War, where unexpected powerhouses who had never shown their faces before came not from space, but from the 'weak' villages Kanoha had once looked down upon.

Secrets hidden without their knowledge.

If Hashirama, the first Hokage, could create a village with his power alone, then there was obviously something more to the other villages than what met the eye. They had their histories.

Pasts and lineages kept from the world.

Especially after the Second Great Ninja War…

It was just these powerhouses only appeared once they were certain that the era of ninjas was coming to end. In desperation, a group of warmongers banded together and created a big stir that rivalled that of the Fourth Great Ninja War. 

Jutsus and Bloodline Limits she hadn't even heard of popped out in spades. Most importantly…

The samurai…

'If I want to surpass my future self, I can't wait three years to create the Strength of a Hundred Seal.’ She thought. Three years of wearing a restriction would make her unable to help again.

It was hard enough the first time.

Tsunade herself told her to retire as a ninja for the duration of a few years if she wanted to master it.

After all, the technique normally took away all one’s chakra reserves to siphon it into her forehead mark. The ‘Yin Seal’ would drain away at her reserves until it matured enough for an awakening.

Maybe because she was just that good, but she was able to participate as a medical ninja anyway.

Even fighting with her fists.

No one knew how much effort it took to reroute some chakra for her own use… away from the seal.

And even manage to complete it faster than her teacher. A feat that took a ton of mental energy.

Far more than what Sasuke could imagine, even with how much he uses on activating his Dōjutsu.

‘What I need is 'that' Seal instead, I might even be able to incorporate the Sasuke's special Formula Seal into it… and gain speed faster than even the Fourth Hokage!' Sakura was resolute. A look of determination appeared in her green eyes

She vanished from her spot. 

At the home where Naruto lived, Sakura appeared where his jacket had been thrown on the floor. 

A formula seal had been attached to it

She looked around herself to see a messy room that could use some cleaning. 

A hint of annoyance appeared on her face.

She covered up her nose at the stench.

Even though she came here to get something important done, she still worriedly looked to see if Naruto was eating fine. After all, eating was also an important part of building a strong body.

But what she saw disappeared her… and made her feel bad. What she saw was different from what she remembered.

Did he really live here?

THAT Naruto…?

The instant ramen he had laying around clued her in on his regular diet, and once she checked his fridge, she even found a carton of out-of-date milk in his refrigerator (one she quickly threw away).

Sakura kindly decided to change up her strategy once more (after checking to see if any Anbu were currently having him under surveillance). Only when she was sure they weren't around did she throw the carton in the bin and vanish once again.

Appearing outside the house…

*Knock knock knock*

"Huh!? What...?" Naruto was awoken by the banging on the door and rushed to see who was visiting him.

He didn't seem unhappy about the timing. After all, it was a rare occurrence for anyone to visit him.

"Sakura...?" He was shocked when he pushed over the door. His crush visited in the middle of the night.

"Wait! Give me a second!" He quickly slammed the door on her and used his Shadow Clones to clean up his apartment, then shoved all those bags of rubbish into a draw. Naruto style home cleaning!

Shoving everything in one corner…

Sakura didn't mind his rudeness. This was just the kind of guy her knucklehead friend naturally was.

As insensitive as ever…

"Hey, Sakura, what brought you here so late?" He then returned with a smile. Naruto had the look of someone who was choosing to directly ignore what just happened. Acting like he didn’t shut her out.

The pink-haired girl also didn't want to waste words on unimportant matters like that.

She walked into his room openly.

"Is this how you live everyday?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked her in confusion, but Sakura's eyes couldn't help but look around. Her analytical mind found out exactly how he lived the whole time they trained together.

First going to train, then coming back to this lonely apartment... This was his lifestyle due to being isolated by everyone in the village. She should have seen this all coming, but seeing it was different.

When in front of her, Sakura found it hard to ignore.

THAT Naruto lived like this…

A well-respected man who had the support of the entire village. Who was just a bit goofy at times.

Like he had never experienced any hardships…

While she was looking around, she couldn't help but feel saddened in her heart. The face Naruto made after she blamed him for Sarada's death appeared in her mind at this moment.

Why did she do that?

Was her future self mad?

Well, that wasn’t exactly wrong. She DID use Genjutsu to unlock her limiters and inhibitions.

But still, blaming Naruto was playing dirty.

Because she knew he’d actually believe her words.

That it was his fault.

He was always that type, wasn’t he…?

Despite his goofy exterior, he had quite low self-esteem… and a fearful personality to boot.

Isn’t that why he stabbed his hand that one time?

Always feeling the need to make grandiose statements?

There was a lack of self-preservation here, and an almost depressing fixation to find his happiness.

Maybe that’s why he initially chose ‘that’ dream.

If he failed at becoming the Hokage, then it would at least make him feel like he’d given it his all.

Which was a much more mature choice than normal. Something one usually wouldn’t notice.

While trying to change the past, Sakura had always been doing her best to do it with a calm state of mind. She couldn't act solely on her emotions, and also had to curb her desires if she wanted the right outcome. It was like playing with dice. A gamble,

It was to the point that she had been willing to let most of the events of the Chunnin Exams play out normally… without trying to reveal herself to the world. All for the sake of having her ‘prediction’.

Great actions bring fame, and this attention had a lot of downsides if she wanted to protect Sarada in the future. She couldn't reveal her strengths and abilities so early in the game. 

However, no matter how much she suppressed her emotions, she couldn't become an emotionless machine.

"Are you looking for something?" Naruto asked cluelessly. He watched her look around, only to see that her eyes were leaking tears. This sudden situation made him panic… to the point he didn't know what to do. He wasn’t good at this stuff!

Naruto had always been dense, a natural thing to happen to someone isolated. This is not even mentioning the fact that the current Sakura was different from her past self. She was a machine.

Someone who didn’t cry even while pushing her body to the limits. A passionate person like him.

How could he understand why his friend came to visit him so late, only to cry at seeing his room?

'Was my room really that bad?' Naruto couldn't understand how a messy room could drive a girl to tears. Maybe he should fix his attitude and clean-up more? It was at this moment that the shocking change happened as Naruto ACTUALLY WANTED TO CLEAN MORE!!!

That's right! 

Naruto Uzumaki, the knucklehead Ninja everyone knew of, actually wanted to reform his lazy and defiant ways! 

This change in the timeline was so big that even Hinata would find the future version of him of be a lot more appealing than his original self.

Back to the main point though, Sakura wasn't able to get future Naruto's haunting expression out of her head. She felt extremely regretful at this moment. Even the look Sasuke gave her appeared in her head. She damned her future self’s actions.

What WAS she thinking?!

Sakura realised that Sasuke was probably going through the same thing. A life of loneliness…

This made her come to a reckless decision:

"I've decided, I'm living here from now on."

"What?!!!" These words caused Naruto's jaw to drop to the ground. He felt like a talisman bomb had blew up in his brain.

"Of course, we'll get Sasuke to live here. He’s probably lonely living by himself as well." It was only now did it occur to her that she could lessen the loneliness the two felt at a young age if she put them together. A scheming look in her green eyes.

"What about your parents?"

"I have a Shadow Clone pretending to be me over there anyway. As long as I don't release the technique myself, both of them won't suspect that the person living there is a Shadow Clone." 

She then realised that everything was happening too fast for Naruto to register properly.

"Actually, I came here for a favour. It has to do with the Tailed Beast within you." Sakura decided to get to the main reason why she came her. It was to change the subject before he could refuse. 

Naruto's eyes suddenly darkened.

The conversation was too important if it regarded the Tailed Beast that had been within his body.

"Go ahead and ask!" He replied confidently.

"..." Sakura didn't tell him what she wanted immediately. Especially after remembering that the Naruto of the past probably hated his Tailed Beast right now. It killed his parents and ruined his life.

She knew there had to be some way to smoothen out their relationship earlier in order for him to reach his true potential.

"But first, how do you see him?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"As a giant grumpy fox." He showed no outward fear when talking about the Nine Tails, but she knew a normal child who found out he was a Jinchuriki wouldn't be able to avoid the pressure…

One that came from being a living tool used to seal a great disaster.

This opinion he gave was just something formed before he even met Kurama... An accurate one indeed.

"I need to meet him for something. Do you mind if I use a Genjutsu on you to see him?"

"Are you sure about doing this?" Even someone as careless as Naruto didn't think it was a good idea, but he wasn't able to go against her pace. The stubbornness in her eyes made him give in.

"Fine, but be careful when you do it. How are-" She didn't give him time to think and put her hand on his forehead. The world around her instantly darkened. A frightening visage and aura of the Nine Tailed Beast started to appear before her. 

Even though the Nine Tailed Fox couldn't completely form in her Genjutsu, the aura of absolute hatred formed from being chased for hundreds of years by humanity still caused her fear.

There was a reason the anger of the Nine Tailed Fox even contaminated its host’s chakra to the point it couldn't be controlled by those who stole power from his body, a trait which was unlike the other Tailed Beasts.

At least, she’d never seen such a individualistic chakra that seemed unable to ever be tamed.

"Why does a mere child like you seek me out? I don't smell the blood of a Senju nor Uchiha in you..." An old voice spoke from the terrifying visage of the Nine Tailed Fox. It had been trapped in Naruto for years since this first encounter.

Which was why she wasn’t shooed away instantly.

In fact, NOT having Senju or Uchiha blood in her made him less wary of her existence.

"I've come to strike a deal." Sakura stepped up to him. 

"You have nothing that can interest me. Leave!" A roar almost broke the strong Genjutsu she had placed.

"I can give you the method to be free from this seal." She tried to reason.

"Lies!" Kurama didn't believe her one bit.

Instead of speaking any further, she stretched her hand out and put faith in the research she had done in the future.

"I know that you are a being formed from Chakra, and the only reason you can be sealed this way is because your body of flesh isn't your actual form, but the vessel your Chakra naturally makes to contain its immense strength. Trust me, I can help you." Sakura endured the feeling of fear in her heart and walked towards him.

This in-depth knowledge about his true nature caused the Tailed Beast to think twice. 

He didn't believe a ninja of the Hidden Leaf would try to release him for no reason. It was just that, as long as he wasn't controlled again, he was willing to pay any price to leave the seal. Even if it meant putting faith in a mere child.

"You're knowledgable... Fine, I'll let you make an attempt to prove yourself. What are you planning to ask in exchange?"

"I'll give you my knowledge first." The Chakra she had sent to her hand was covered in barely discernible sparks of yellow lightning as she spoke. 

This action of hers was a bet, one she had planned to happen before going back in time.

She used the ‘Fourth Level’ of the Flying Thunder God Technique. Kurama himself was the catalyst.

The Tailed Beasts were different existences from human beings, that had limited Chakra Reserves. 

All she needed to do was to use the hand she placed on Naruto's head to interact with Kurama's chakra. This was in order to use a technique that would 'ignite it' with the same Jutsu she used in the original timeline.

As a result of her gamble, Kurama felt his mind bursting.

Memories of his future self started arising in his head. The Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara, the Akatsuki, and most importantly... Naruto's promise to extinguish the hatred he bore... His death…

All these scenes appeared before his eyes as actual life experience, he could tell what he was going through wasn't a Genjutsu. The complex emotions he recalled were too real to deny.

After taking everything in, he spoke again, but this time his tone was a lot less ferocious than it was before. Even more milder to a certain extent. It was like he was an old man talking to a young child:

"Tell me everything about why we're here..."