Early December, Konoha Year 60 – Yanluo Bridge
Shin chuckled, perhaps sensing victory was within reach. His tone turned mocking. "We're simply helping Konoha fulfill its commission."
"Get out of my way…" Sakura stared at him coldly. "Move, if you don't want to die…"
"Hahahahaha!" Shin and Sho burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Just come with us quietly. Otherwise, we don't mind knocking you out and taking you," Sho issued a final warning.
"Hmph!" Sakura had had enough. Her hands flashed through hand seals—Boar, Hare, Monkey—and lightning instantly crackled to life, enveloping both her hands with the sharp, piercing screech of Kakashi's signature technique: Chidori!
Shin and Sho stared, momentarily stunned, as tangible lightning wrapped around the girl's hands. That required mastery of both shape and nature transformation. In that instant, they began to understand why their leader was so desperate to capture this girl.
Sakura wasn't using Chidori to fight, of course. The reason she activated it was simple: the jutsu was loud, and it was Kakashi-sensei's signature technique. Sakura believed the distinctive cry of the Chidori would attract the attention of any nearby Konoha ninja.
Chidori wasn't well-suited to Sakura's fighting style, nor was it part of her usual repertoire. Maintaining it rapidly drained her chakra. Seeing the surrounding ninja hesitate, Sakura didn't initiate an attack either, holding her ground.
Shin observed the girl, who made no move to attack, and suddenly realized her strategy. He waved his hand forward. "Get her!" At his command, the Kusagakure ANBU surged forward.
Since their orders were to capture her alive, they didn't resort to throwing weapons, instead closing in for close-quarters combat. Though surrounded, Sakura only had to face a maximum of four attackers directly at any given time. Wielding the crackling Chidori in both hands, she repeatedly forced back the attacking Kusa-nin.
Sakura felt incredibly hampered, fighting defensively solely because of Junko. If Junko weren't here, these ninja could never have trapped her like this. She might not be able to eliminate all of them, but escape wouldn't have been difficult.
But hypotheticals were meaningless. Junko was here and needed protection. Sakura focused on stalling, not injuring, buying time.
Junko watched Sakura engage the enemy, a look of bitter frustration on her face. Even without formal ninja training, she could see that Sakura-senpai was being restricted purely to protect her. Biting her lower lip, Junko clenched her fists, a fierce yearning for power intensifying within her heart.
Shin also pinpointed the problem. "Grab the black-haired girl!" he yelled to his subordinates.
Receiving the order, the Kusa-nin shifted their focus, several lunging towards Junko. The pressure on Sakura instantly magnified. The Chidori in her hands flickered, weakening considerably. Enough time should have passed, she thought. Dispelling the jutsu, she conserved her remaining chakra. The signal should have reached them.
Seeing the lightning dissipate from the girl's hands, Shin and Sho's eyes lit up. It meant her chakra was running low! They subtly slipped into the fray, observing Sakura struggling to fend off the increased pressure. Seeing their chance, they accelerated rapidly, closing in from behind Sakura, aiming simultaneous strikes at her back.
Victory was inches away! Triumphant grins spread across their faces. Then, their vision went black as sharp pain exploded in their chests, and they were both sent flying backward.
"Mm-hm! Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey... Might Guy! Has arrived!!!"
As Shin and Sho crashed to the ground, the Kusa-nin in the clearing froze, halting their attacks. They warily formed a circle around the suddenly appeared, bowl-cut-wearing ninja.
"Sakura, nicely done!" Guy twisted around, giving Sakura a thumbs-up, flashing his blindingly white teeth in a wide grin.
Looking at that familiar face – the bowl cut, the green jumpsuit, the sparkling teeth, the thick eyebrows, the impossibly long eyelashes – Sakura had the sudden, absurd feeling that this was the most handsome face in the world right now.
"Yo, Sakura. Long time no see," a listless voice drawled from behind her. Sakura turned. Bathed in the fading sunset, casting a long shadow, stood a figure with silver hair and perpetually unmotivated eyes, yet looking incredibly dear.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Compared to Might Guy, Sakura decided Kakashi-sensei was definitely more handsome. Her aesthetic sense wasn't broken after all.
"You handled yourself pretty well, Sakura," came a deeper, masculine voice. A man with a cigarette dangling from his lips stepped out from behind Kakashi – it was Asuma.
Two more figures appeared: Gekko Hayate, and another ninja Sakura didn't recognize, this one with a scar near his lip, but clearly also a Jonin.
Kakashi walked over to Sakura's side, looking down at the downed Shin and Sho. "I believe we asked Kusagakure to assist in finding someone," he said slowly, his voice deceptively mild. "Shouldn't you be providing us with an explanation right about now?"
Shin clutched his chest, staggering to his feet, his face contorted with fury. "Explanation?! You'll all die here today!"
Having victory snatched away at the last moment filled him with rage. Although their leader had authorized killing the Konoha ninja if necessary, avoiding direct confrontation would have been preferable.
Seeing Kusagakure refuse to back down even now, Kakashi and the others didn't hold back. Excluding Hayate, the other four Jonin were elites. They wouldn't tolerate Kusa's provocation lightly.
Sakura carefully pulled Junko back from the ensuing melee. The outcome of this fight was already decided. The enemy only had eleven ninja remaining; even twice that number might only pose a minor inconvenience to this Konoha team.
Shin watched his ANBU operatives being systematically cut down, regret churning in his gut. He had only left nine ANBU at the bridge; the rest were out searching other areas. If they didn't fight now, they couldn't stop Sakura from leaving. But fighting meant certain defeat with these numbers.
It was a lose-lose situation. Still, Shin hadn't wanted to give up without trying. But now, seeing his forces decimated… if everyone died here and the mission failed, the leader would never forgive him. Gritting his teeth, Shin made a split-second decision and yelled, "Retreat!"
The remaining Kusa-nin immediately disengaged, vanishing into the surroundings after leaving five more corpses behind. The Konoha Jonin didn't pursue; their primary mission was complete.
Once the battle ended, Kakashi approached Sakura again, gesturing towards Junko. "Who is she?"
Junko flinched instinctively under Kakashi's gaze, trembling slightly. The lingering killing intent from the fight terrified her.
"She's a civilian from a nearby village. She saved me," Sakura explained, then paused before adding, "Her family was killed by Kusa-nin. She's all alone now. I want to take her back to Konoha and look after her."
"An orphan?" Kakashi looked at Junko with sympathy.
"Impossible," the Jonin with the lip scar spoke up – Hayama Shirakumo. "Her identity cannot be confirmed. She might be approaching you with ulterior motives. Do not forget your own status."
"And you are?" Sakura asked, looking at the unfamiliar Jonin.
"Hayama Shirakumo, Jonin of Konoha," he introduced himself formally.
"You don't need to suspect her. I've been with her constantly since I woke up," Sakura explained, trying to remain reasonable, acknowledging his concerns were for Konoha's safety.
"Chunin Haruno Sakura, do not forget your status," Shirakumo repeated sternly. "An enemy might resort to anything."
What status? Sakura hadn't really thought of herself as different. But to outsiders, she was the Godaime Hokage's disciple. The Hokage had deployed a force capable of fighting a small campaign just to find her.
Shirakumo's concern wasn't truly about Sakura herself, but about the potential risk to the Hokage and the village. An enemy could use Sakura to steal vital secrets.
"…Let's head back first," Kakashi interjected, sensing the rising tension. "We don't know the full details of what happened to Sakura. This is a matter for the Godaime Hokage to judge."
Seeing Kakashi step in, Shirakumo sighed, recognizing they couldn't waste more time here. "I will go to the Land of Rain and contact Jiraiya-sama. You escort Haruno Sakura back to the village."
"We'll leave it to you then, Hayama," Kakashi nodded, then turned to the others. "Let's prepare to depart."
And so, Sakura's group began the journey home. Junko, having only just learned chakra extraction, couldn't keep up with the ninja pace, so Sakura carried her on her back without hesitation.
Traveling non-stop, they finally saw the gates of Konoha village as dawn began to break.
"Alright, Sakura, let's go see the Godaime Hokage first. We can sort out Junko's situation at the same time," Kakashi said. He had gotten the gist of Junko's story from Sakura during the journey. Despite traveling all night, reporting the mission outcome to the Hokage was the priority.
Hearing they were going to meet the Hokage, Junko grew nervous. Though her personality had changed drastically, she wasn't devoid of all emotion. Sensing her anxiety, Sakura smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Junko. The Godaime Hokage is my master. She won't do anything to you."
Junko relaxed slightly at Sakura's words, also feeling a jolt of surprise. She hadn't realized Sakura-senpai was the Hokage's disciple.
Kakashi glanced at Sakura, his visible eye curving slightly in his typical deadpan manner. "Sakura," he said casually, "you seriously violated mission protocols this time. The Godaime Hokage is very angry."
"Erk…" Sakura froze. She hadn't really thought about the consequences until now. Kakashi's reminder hit hard – she had repeatedly broken the rules during this mission, and not for any critical reason.
It was all for that half-bottle of Hero Water… which she didn't even manage to obtain in the end. It was probably taken by whoever removed Hanzo's body. On the bright side, she had acquired the scroll for the A-rank jutsu, Mystical Palm Technique, from Kabuto.
Maybe, Sakura hoped desperately, offering this A-rank jutsu to Tsunade-sensei will lessen her anger… just a little?