Darkest Before Dawn

Destination: Nami no Kuni

   A week had passed since Itachi had seen Sakura's water dragon, and he was still in some state of wonder. Especially after her offhand declaration.

   "Mother, Sakura and I will go to the lake. It will only be a few moments, then we will return for tea." Itachi informed. He opened the door and stepped out, the little girl following after him giddily. They walked for a few minutes before the two stood on a pier that overlooked a large, sparkling lake. Sakura brightened up at the sight.

   "Now show me." he demanded. The five year old pouted up at him and walked to the edge of the pier. Her hand seals weren't fast, but they did enough to perform the technique. Monkey... Rat... Tiger... Dragon... Horse... Dragon...

   "Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!!"

   The water before her swirled at incredible speeds before it launched into the air. The dragon roared at it's 30 ft. height before crashing back down into the water. Sakura, content with herself, turned on her heel and grinned up at an expressionless Itachi.

   "There you go, Itachi-san!" she exclaimed. "Let's get back to Mikoto-san. I bet she's waiting with the tea."

   She grabbed his hand and began to walk back to the compound. Itachi went rigid at the direct contact, but Sakura either didn't notice or didn't mind. He stared at the back of her head for a few moments.

   "Judging by your extraordinary talents, you'll be joining the Academy next term, correct?"

   To his surprise, she shook her head.

   "No, I won't. Sensei may teach me a lot of things as time goes by, but that doesn't mean I should show all that off. I'll join when I'm eight. It's later than the usual, but it will give me time to train with sensei. It won't be hard for me to catch up anyway. I snuck into one of the classes to see what they taught, and it didn't look too hard. The work was easy." she replied cheerfully. Itachi was stunned to silence and kept quiet the rest of the walk.

   She was a strange one, he had to admit. Her intelligence was incomparable, her skill was way over what was expected, she was like...

   She was like him...

~

   "Ibiki, are you sure about this?"

   "Hai, Hokage-sama. I'll take full responsibility if anything happens to her."

   Minato stared for a few minutes before nodding in consent. He, of course, had heard the rumors surrounding Ibiki and little Sakura, but it was one of those things that just wasn't believable. Now, he had just agreed to let Sakura accompany Ibiki's S-class solo mission. This certainly, 100%, should not be allowed at any moment for any person. But, Ibiki had been an extremely loyal shinobi to Konoha for years. If this was his way of training a student, so be it.

   Ibiki bowed and stepped out of the office. Sakura popped up beside him as the interrogator made way out of the main building.

   "So, Sensei, am I going on the mission with you?" she questioned.

   "Yes. We leave tomorrow. Consider this your first real training session." he said. She smiled.

   "Where are we going?"

   "Nami no Kuni."

~

ANNOUNCEMENTS OMAKE

   "Writer168 apologizes for this chapter." Sakura read from a few papers scattered on the desk, "She knows it's extremely short, but she has caught the case of the dreaded 'writer's block'."

   Hidan scoffed from beside her.

   "Writer's block? I think you mean lazy-as-fuck syndrome."

   Sakura knocked the legs out from Hidan's chair, ignoring his angry curses. She then looked back onto the papers.

   "Other announcements include the NarutoWattyAwards! As the name suggests, it's just like the Watty Awards, but solely for Naruto stories. Granted, winners receive a follow, but what matters is the 'yay' factor. This story, Darkest Before Dawn, has been entered in the 2014 NarutoWattyAwards, so vote for this story between February 3rd- April 1st of 2014. If you want to enter the NarutoWattyAwards yourself, you must enter between January 16- February 3rd of 2014. here is the link to the profile:

(Link:) http://www.wattpad.com/user/NarutoWattyAwards "

   She looked to her right. Hidan had hoisted himself back onto his seat and had adopted a pout on his face. Sakura rolled her eyes and smacked him with a roll of papers.

   "Act your age for once and read the rest of the announcements, asshole." she chuckled. The Jashinist stuck his tongue out and picked up a paper.

   "There's a wattpader interviewing various Naruto fanfiction authors! If you want to be interviewed or want to see the who has already been interviewed, read and vote for Late Night in Konoha by lucylucylooo.

(Link:) http://www.wattpad.com/35239560-late-night-in-konoha

   Writer168 has already been interviewed, 'cuz you know, she's a bitch like that."

   Sakura smacked him, once again knocking him on the floor.

   "And that'll be all for today!" the kunoichi exclaimed, "Keep reading writer168's stories where I'm the hero and Hidan pretty much gets his ass served on a silver plate."

   He cursed.