The Return

Chapter 41

 Stronger Together

As the leaves on the trees turned from green to orange and red, Sakura and Sasuke continued their journey. They traveled to the Hidden Villages and crushed rising organizations that imitated the Akatsuki, Akai Hebi, or Otsutsuki's reign. Their combined combat abilities grew stronger every day as they worked to protect the Leaf.

"Sakura?" Sasuke inquired as they wandered through the Land of Fire.

"What is it, Anata?" Sakura smiled.

"Would you stop calling me that? It's embarrassing."

"You called me Tsuma when those ninjas were flirting with me the other day, so what's the harm?"

"That was different."

"Why? The girls out there should also be aware that the great Sasuke Uchiha is taken, shannaro!"

Sasuke looked away. He just couldn't win with her. "Well anyways" he sighed. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?"

"You can say no if you want. I was just thinking that our attack and defensive strength could be improved if I learned some medical ninjutsu. In the last battle we faced, you had to draw your attention away from the enemy to heal me. Your strength is invaluable, so I think it would be more effective if I was able to heal myself. So, will you teach me?"

Sakura's face lit up. "Of course! That's a great idea!" She paused for a moment. "You know, I was actually going to ask you something similar. I've been training hard with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto on the down-low to hone my ninjutsu skills. They were trying to teach me different chakra natures before we left. I mastered Earth Style as that's my usual chakra nature along with Yin Release, but as a jonin now, I can't slack off. All of them have two or more chakra natures. Even Shikamaru knows at least two. So, I don't know, maybe you could help me as well?"

Sasuke paused before giving her a smirk. "Hn."

They looked into each others' eyes with expressions of fierce determination. They would become stronger together.

Over the next few days, they worked hard to master one another's skillsets.

First, Sakura had her husband train to revive a fish she caught from the river nearby. He struggled, putting too much force into it, but Sakura maintained her distance, letting him figure things out on his own.

She smirked as he overdid it time and time again, putting too much chakra into the creature. She never thought she'd see Sasuke have difficulty with anything. Still, he remained as stoic as always, not giving her any inclination that he was having any difficulty as he tried over and over again.

She sat back as the moon rose in the sky over the water. Watching as her husband continued his training, she called out to him. "Why don't we call it a day? We can keep going in the morning!"

He sighed and turned to face her. She had to keep from bursting into laughter. He looked completely spent and frustrated but was trying desperately to hide it. She remembered her own training and how many times she became irritated with it. That said, Lady Tsunade pushed her hard and made her into the strong kunoichi she was today.

Sasuke blushed and turned from his wife. How could Sakura master such a difficult technique in just a month? After the first day, he hadn't made any progress at all. And then to continually form chakra reserves into the 100 Healings Mark...needless to say, he was impressed. Even with his Uchiha chakra, he wouldn't be able to do that even if he trained his whole life. Still, he had to master some first aid at least. She made it look so easy.