"Well, this is it," said Jiraiya, clapping Naruto on the back. "If you want to make your goodbyes, now's the time, because we won't be back for a while."
"Just sit tight and wait for me, Sakura-chan," Naruto said confidently, raising a hand to his brow with two fingers extended in a Vegeta-style goodbye. "Next time you see me, I'll be a Sage, just like you and Pervy Sage… believe it."
Sakura tossed him Tenten's backpack.
"Here, catch, there's some spare clothes and quite a few Hyōrōgan in there," she said. "I can't imagine toad food being very tasty for humans."
Tenten really was well prepared; she'd stuffed the bag full of helpful supplies, guessing Sakura might grab it without asking for permission. Or at least, that's what Sakura hoped was the case; otherwise, it would mean Tenten wore men's underwear and liked to cosplay as Naruto… but then again, Sakura wouldn't put it past her; it was no big secret that Tenten had always wanted to be a hero.
"What, no goodbye kiss from your lover? How cold~," Jiraiya said teasingly, puckering his lips. "I wouldn't mind a kiss from you either, Tsunade~"
Tsunade shot him a murderous glare.
"Just kidding!" Jiraiya said quickly. "Well then, since you've already got everything you need for the trip, we can leave right away!"
Jiraiya formed a hand sign, and he and Naruto vanished from Tsunade's office in twin puffs of smoke. Sakura would have liked to go with them to visit Mt Myōboku, but at the thought of being pressed into service to do their laundry again, she decided it was far wiser to hold her tongue.
"Go home and pack your bags, Sakura," Lady Tsunade said. "Be ready to leave for an extended period at any time."
"Eh?" Sakura said in surprise. "What for?"
"In light of recent events, I think it's about time I had a little talk face to face with my peers," Tsunade said grimly. "I've sent word to Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron, asking him to call a Five Kage Summit. He has already accepted, so now we are simply waiting for the other Kages' responses."
The Land of Iron still stubbornly clung to tradition, refusing to transition from the old samurai system to the hidden village system despite the advent of chakra. As a result, they were considered neutral by the rest of the continent, and so had readily accepted the role of mediators in exchange for not being invaded at every passing opportunity. Of course, it also helped that the samurais' blades were razor-sharp and plentiful.
"But why me?" Sakura asked dizzily. "Isn't it dangerous to leave the village undefended? What if the Akatsuki attack while we're both gone!?"
Sakura's mind was reeling. Why were they skipping past Pain's Assault and leaping straight to the Five Kage Summit arc all of a sudden? First of all, Pain's invasion was the highlight of the series… and second, and far more importantly, he was going to kill everyone unless they stopped him.
"Because of you, Jiraiya was forced to retreat before he could learn anything of value about the Akatsuki's leader, and Rock Lee and Might Guy were badly hurt," Tsunade said severely. "That makes you the only one with any real understanding of the danger the Akatsuki pose. We cannot afford to have the other four great villages breathing down our necks and watching our every move, so we must make the other Kage understand that this is no time for petty infighting."
"At the cost of letting the Hidden Leaf Village get destroyed!?" Sakura blurted out. "What's the point if there's nothing left to fight… for…"
Sakura's voice trailed off.
"Out with it," Tsunade said sternly. "You haven't told me everything about your vision of the future, have you?"
"Lady Shion's power isn't future sight… the ability I copied from her triggers upon death, and it sends my soul back in time in case my body dies," Sakura said quietly. "The Akatsuki's leader invades the village and razes it to the ground, and there is nothing any of us can do to stop it… that's how I died the first time."
That being said, Sakura was certain that she had not achieved Sagehood in this first timeline, for fear of turning into a slug. If she had to fight Pain now… she wasn't sure she'd be able to protect the village, but at least she wouldn't die again. Probably.
"I… I see," Tsunade said with difficulty. "It sounds like I'll have to make a few difficult calls to some people I never wanted to see again, but… Sakura, how much time do we have left?"
Sakura shrugged. She truly had no idea. The timeline had diverged too much from the original. The Akatsuki had failed to capture the Three-Tails, so until it returned to life, they had no reason to pursue Naruto, whose Nine-Tails could only be absorbed last by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path due to its sheer girth.
"I've already called for the Five Kage Summit to be held," Tsunade muttered, half to herself and half to Sakura, now pacing in circles in front of her desk. "I can't very well cancel everything now, the Hidden Leaf will lose face, nor can we afford to recall all our forces to the village and keep everyone on high alert for months… we can't cower in the village, waiting for some attack that might never come, and leave the enemy to move about as they wish…"
In Sakura's opinion, losing face was the least of the Hidden Leaf's concerns right now.
"By the way, why did you want me to come with you, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked curiously. "I mean, why me, of all people?"
"Because I wanted to show you the ropes when it comes to dealing with the other villages," Tsunade said distractedly. "I am grooming you as my replacement when I retire, after all."
Sakura's jaw fell open.
"But Milady, you told me to hang onto the First Hokage's necklace until I thought Naruto was ready!" Sakura blurted out. "I thought you and Jiraiya-sama were grooming him to be the Seventh Hokage, not me!"
"That's right; I gave you the necklace, not Naruto," Tsunade said, coming to a halt. "I don't know where you got this silly notion that only he could ever become Hokage. Didn't you want to be the greatest kunoichi in the world? Where's your ambition, Sakura?"
Tsunade sighed and buried her face in her hand and shook her head.
"Is it because I never praised you enough?" she grumbled. "I've seen many so-called geniuses perish before their time back in my day, so I didn't want you to get a big head by overpraising you, but it seems my good intentions backfired… so there: you're clever, you have good work ethic, you care deeply about the village, and you've surpassed me in strength… I don't see how Naruto could possibly do a better job than you."
"It's not that, Lady Tsunade, I already know I'm incredibly awesome," Sakura said in a small voice. "It's just that I never even considered the possibility, honestly…"
All these years she had cheered Naruto on and told him she believed he could do it, so to cut in at the last minute and steal his dream job felt more than a little scummy… yet somehow she could not quite bring herself to believe he would resent her for it if she did. But if she were Hokage, where would that leave him?
"Hee hee…"
Sakura giggled as she imagined Naruto in an apron and waving around a wooden spoon instead of a kunai. He would make a good househusband… but wouldn't that mean they were married, in this little daydream of hers? Her cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink at the thought… and then bright red at the thought of little children running around his legs.
"No, no, that's immoral! Can't you wait until we're married?" Sakura mumbled in a daze, shaking her head quickly. "What's that? You want four!? That's way too many! At least give me more time to mentally prepare!"
Tsunade sighed. "This disciple of mine… why can I guess exactly what she's thinking about just by looking at her?"