"Hmm…" Sakura scratched her head. "It might be time for the reverse-summoning shuffle."
The reverse-summoning shuffle was rather straightforward: it consisted in first summoning Lady Katsuyu to ask for her help. Then it was a simple matter of having Lady Katsuyu reverse-summon Sakura to Shikkotsu Forest, then reverse-summon Lady Tsunade to them to request her aid, and finally cancelling Tsunade's summoning so that she could summon Sakura to her side.
Using these simple steps, Sakura could travel almost instantly back to Konoha from anywhere in the world… and considering how Sasuke had once summoned Garuda from one of Kaguya's personal worlds in the original timeline, she could probably use the same method to extricate herself from other dimensions.
The only issue was that she'd have to explain her predicament to Lady Tsunade, and then she'd be forced to make the walk of shame out of the Hokage Residence. Still, it was better than risking further damage to her eyesight by using the Susano'o as an excavator, so…
"What in the world are you doing here, Sakura?"
Sakura yelped in surprise and whirled around at the sound of Tenten's voice.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?" Sakura gasped. "What are you doing here, Tenten? And… Karin!?"
Karin shyly poked her head out from behind Tenten's back and waved… and then her face fell.
"Onee-sama, you're hurt!" Karin gasped. "And… onee-sama, when did you give birth!?"
"Don't say such stupid things!" Sakura said in a huff, hugging baby Hatomune-chan to her ample bosom. "This isn't my child, obviously. She looks nothing like me! If I had a child, it would be a lot cuter."
Karin stared suspiciously at the swaddled baby in Sakura's arms. All babies looked more or less the same to her, all wrinkled and red and rather ugly.
"You've been missing for an entire day," Tenten explained. "Lady Tsunade asked us to look for you, but it wasn't until a few minutes ago that you finally appeared in Karin's senses."
"One day!?" Sakura gasped. "I've been gone that long!?"
Sakura supposed that cracks must have appeared in the anti-sensing barrier ninjutsu that had concealed Root headquarters when they had pushed the self-destruct button. As for why they had done that, Sakura had no idea why they had just given up on capturing or killing her and decided burying her alive was the way to go, but clearly Danzō didn't want Sakura returning to the Hokage with evidence of his wrongdoing…
"Luckily for me, I've got proof!" Sakura said, lifting the baby to eye level. "Oof, stinky."
Hopefully, the Root's operatives would have evacuated the babies and the children before the base crumbled… even that little bitch who had thrown a kunai at her while she was distracted by the Kikaichū's wingbeats.
Tenten wrinkled her nose. "She reeks!"
It seemed like someone had deposited a little more proof in their nappy, but nevertheless, she placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Seeing that Tenten was ready, Karin closed her eyes and concentrated, and the moment she locked on to Lady Tsunade's chakra signature…
"Flying Thunder God Jutsu!"
The four of them vanished from the ruins of Root Headquarters and reappeared an instant later in the Hokage's office. Tsunade turned at the jutsu's familiar sound effect and opened her mouth to greet them, but at the sight of the baby in Sakura's arms, her jaw just hung open as she stared at them, dumbfounded.
A few seconds later, she finally found the composure to speak.
"Whose baby is that?" Tsunade shouted. "First you go missing for an entire day, and then you come back to me with a baby in your arms! Don't tell me you had a secret love child while I wasn't looking…! ...?"
"Why is that everyone's first reaction?" Sakura said in a huff. "Do I really look like the sort of girl who would pop out secret babies in the dustbin behind Yakiniku Q's?"
Tenten opened her mouth to answer, but she quickly reconsidered when Karin glared at her. Yes probably wasn't the right answer; and anything but silence probably wasn't either.
"OUCH!" Sakura suddenly yelped.
Without warning, the baby began crying weakly, and wooden spikes sprouted from its skin, impaling Sakura's hands. Not expecting to be attacked by an infant, she nearly dropped it— and if it weren't for the sharp branches skewering her hands, she really would have.
"What the—" Tsunade blurted out. "Was that Wood Style!? Sakura, who are that child's parents—"
"Can-someone-please-take-this-baby-out-of-my-hands!?Like, literally!?" Sakura shrieked, tears of pain streaming from her eyes. "This really hurts, you know!"
"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade called.
…
A few minutes later, Shizune came running back from Konoha General with a nipple bottle filled with breast milk. Under the curious eyes of Sakura, Tenten, Karin and Tsunade, who had gathered in a tight circle around the desk where Sakura had plopped the baby down, where she could do no harm, Shizune began to feed her. The infant sucked eagerly, and the sharp little branches sprouting from her fragile frame slowly began to retract.
"It turns out Hatomune-chan was just hungry, on top of needing her nappy changed," Sakura said, slapping her forehead in realisation. "I should have guessed…"
Sakura was feeling quite faint herself. She stared hungrily at Tsunade's chest, but unfortunately for her, she couldn't milk those.
"Will you finally tell me where you discovered this child?" Tsunade asked crossly. "Last I checked, babies don't appear out of thin air."
"I think it's Lady Kyōko's missing baby; the one I helped deliver in Manyū Village, the one carried off by a thousand Kikaichū, remember?" Sakura explained. "Though we won't know for certain without a DNA test."
"That would explain the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai," Tsunade mused out loud. "If this baby really is Lady Kyōko's daughter, that would make her Butsuma Senju's great-granddaughter… and thus, my second cousin..."
Despite the enormous age gap, Tsunade and baby Hatomune were both Senju Butsuma's great-granddaughters from different great-grandmothers, which meant the same Senju blood ran through their veins… and thus, the same potential for awakening Wood Style.
…although, Danzō had probably helped things along by experimenting on the baby with the Hashirama cells he'd cultivated, the monster. This was just one more crime to add to the list, which was likely long enough to wrap around the whole village by now. Enough to give Guy quite a workout, were he to run the length of it doing a handstand.
Sakura then explained where she had found the baby.
"Danzō, eh?" Tsunade growled. "So, it was right under my nose, all this time. I always knew he kept some sort of hidey-hole, but I never did manage to find it…"
Sakura looked at Tsunade hopefully.
"Keeping a secret force, despite Sarutobi-sensei's explicit order that he disband Root… kidnapping and indoctrinating children, experimenting on infants… unforgivable!" Tsunade shouted. She cleared her throat. "I hereby fire Danzō from his post as a councillor, strip him of all privileges, and declare him a missing-nin, effective immediately! Shizune, have Danzō's likeness distributed to all allied and unallied nations, and ensure all our bingo books are updated without delay!"
"Yes, Milady!" Shizune said. "Just as soon as I'm finished feeding the baby!"
"ALL RIGHT!" Sakura cheered gleefully, pumping her fist. "The hunt is on! When do we leave?"
"Not you, Sakura," Tsunade said sternly. "You're escorting Yamato, Tenten and Karin to the ruins of the Kingdom of Lōran, in the Land of Wind. Sunagakure is no longer an ally, so I'll be counting on you to protect them while Tenten goes out to check a certain seal the Fourth Hokage left behind. According to my predecessor's notes, the seal must be maintained periodically, or a calamity could be unleashed."
Sakura's shoulders sagged. An errand— now, of all times!?