"You cannot keep covering for her!"
In the Hokage's office, Koharu Utatane confronted Tsunade directly.
"I've heard about the intrusion last night. That intruder was her as well, wasn't it?" Homura Mitokado added, looking sternly at Tsunade.
Danzo Shimura stood behind the two elders, observing Tsunade without joining the discussion, though a flicker of satisfaction was evident in his expression.
"The intruder from last night was driven off by me. As for this current incident, we need to wait for the lab results to determine if she was involved!" Tsunade waved a dismissive hand, clearly irritated. "What more do you want?"
"Ahem." Danzo chose that moment to step forward from behind the two advisors. Looking directly at Tsunade, he said, "Word has just come back. Haruno Sakura killed six Konoha patrol members at the training grounds. The report came from the Patrol Team Captain, Ryuta."
"What?!" The two elders were visibly shocked by this news.
"Danzo!" Tsunade slammed her fist onto the desk, her eyes blazing with fury. "She would never kill anyone!"
"Heh." A faint smirk touched Danzo's lips. "Ryuta is just outside the door right now. Shall I ask him to come in?"
"Let him in!" Tsunade ground out through clenched teeth.
"Come in!" Danzo called towards the door.
However, somewhat surprisingly for Danzo, it wasn't just Ryuta who entered, but also the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen, you're here," Danzo greeted him casually, then turned to Ryuta. "Tell them what happened."
"Yes, Danzo-sama!" Ryuta nodded stiffly. "It was like this..."
When Ryuta finished his account, a heavy silence filled the room. Tsunade closed her eyes, deep in thought. The Third Hokage, who had evidently heard the report already, frowned, his own thoughts unreadable.
"Tsunade, issue the order," Homura Mitokado finally said, breaking the silence.
Tsunade's eyes snapped open, glaring fiercely at Ryuta. In a sudden movement, she lunged across the desk, grabbing Ryuta by the front of his uniform. "You tell me the truth, understand?" she snarled, her voice low and dangerous. "Or I'll kill you right here!"
Feeling Tsunade's immense pressure up close, the hair on Ryuta's body stood on end. He stammered, terrified, "I... It... It is the truth... I... I didn't lie!"
Fear and confusion warred within Ryuta. He couldn't fathom why the Hokage was so furiously defending such an obvious traitor. Even now, he was unaware of Sakura's true relationship with Tsunade.
"That's enough, Tsunade," the Third Hokage said calmly.
"Old man, he's clearly framing Sakura!" Tsunade whipped her head around, her anger now directed at Hiruzen.
"Things have reached this point; your anger won't solve anything. The priority is to bring her back," the Third Hokage stated, pausing before adding, "Tsunade, for now, you need to step back from this matter."
"The responsibility of the advisors is to correct the Hokage when errors are made," Koharu interjected smoothly. "Therefore, we believe it is best if we handle this situation."
"Old man, do you agree with this?" Tsunade asked, disbelief etched onto her face.
"Yes," Hiruzen nodded gravely. "As Hokage, you have far more pressing duties. Leave this matter to me. I will give you a satisfactory resolution."
Danzo subtly glanced at Hiruzen. It shouldn't affect anything, he thought. Even Hiruzen won't be able to find anything conclusive. The timing of it all was just too perfect. All I did was give events a little nudge.
"Danzo, come with me for a moment," Hiruzen said suddenly as they passed each other on the way out.
Without hesitation, Danzo followed the Third Hokage. They walked through the corridors of the Hokage Tower for a while before arriving at a quiet, private room.
After they both sat, Hiruzen spoke first. "Was this your doing?"
Danzo didn't answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he replied, "Hiruzen, we've worked together for decades. What possible benefit would orchestrating this bring to me, or to Konoha?"
Hiruzen fell silent at Danzo's words. It was true. Setting aside the village's interests, it was hard to see any personal gain for Danzo in this situation. Hiruzen had considered the possibility that Danzo might want to recruit Sakura, but this chain of events hardly seemed conducive to recruitment.
"What are your thoughts on this matter?" Hiruzen asked.
"I have no particular thoughts," Danzo replied after a pause. "Tsunade's indulgence has simply created an enemy who disregards the village."
"She will not become an enemy," Hiruzen countered firmly.
"Is that so?" Danzo said mildly. "Then we shall simply wait and see."
...
...
"Chidori!"
A crackling spear of blue lightning tore through the Rock Pillar Prison, shattering the stone cage instantly. Sasuke immediately grabbed Sakura's hand, intending to pull her away and escape.
Sakura, jolted back to the present, forcefully pulled her hand free. "Where do you think you're going? Just run away like this?"
"Or would you rather I watch you get killed?!" Sasuke retorted, frustrated.
"I need to go back and find Lady Tsunade!" Sakura shot back, anger flaring within her as well. What kind of mess was this?
"Don't be an idiot! The orders those ANBU have are to kill you on sight!" Sasuke yelled.
"What?" Sakura was stunned. Not even capture? Just immediate execution?
"I'm not lying! Officially, our mission was apprehension," Sasuke explained urgently. "But the captain told me his private orders were to use lethal force."
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. Seeing her halt, Sasuke grew even more agitated. "Why did you stop moving?"
"I'm not running," Sakura stated, clenching her fists. "I'm going to take them all down right here!"
"Are you crazy?!" Sasuke stared at her in disbelief.
"It's a trap," Sakura explained, her mind racing, piecing it together. "If I run, the mastermind behind this will definitely brand me a traitor. If I fight back but hold back against village ninja, I'll probably end up dead. If I fight seriously... I'll likely be branded a traitor anyway. It's damned if I do, damned if I don't. So, if I'm going to be labeled a traitor regardless, I'm going to take a piece out of whoever set this up first!"
"Damn it! Damn it all!" Sasuke felt utterly powerless, watching the ANBU closing in rapidly. Sakura had walked right into a meticulously laid trap, and there was nothing he could do.
They were now on the outskirts of Konoha village, an area sparsely populated.
In the blink of an eye, the remaining ANBU operatives had caught up, five figures forming a tight circle around Sakura and Sasuke.
"Heh, no one around here," the ANBU leader noted, glancing around before nodding curtly. "Go. Leave no one alive."
"Even Hawk?" one of the ANBU members asked hesitantly.
"Hawk has betrayed the village. Eliminate him as well!" the leader confirmed coldly.
"Wait!" Sakura suddenly called out.
"Begging for mercy?" the leader chuckled humorlessly. "Unfortunately, our orders are to leave no survivors."
"Of course not!" Sakura grinned, a dark, almost feral expression. "Someone of your rank should know... Hanzo the Salamander is dead!"
The ANBU leader hesitated, taken aback. "What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing much!" Sakura formed a hand seal. The vibrant purple diamond on her forehead instantly spread into intricate markings across her body. Her long hair floated weightlessly around her shoulders, seemingly stirred by an unfelt wind. Her voice turned ice-cold as she addressed the ANBU. "Just that I killed Hanzo."
"You... What did you say?!" The ANBU leader stood rigid, stunned. The ANBU knew Hanzo was dead; the information came directly from the Hokage, but the identity of the killer was classified. He'd never imagined that the legendary Hanzo had fallen to the seemingly delicate young woman standing before him.
"It means," Sakura roared, suddenly vanishing from her spot, "that you can all go serve Danzo in the afterlife!" She reappeared instantly behind one of the ANBU, driving her fist into his back. A sickening crack echoed as the ANBU let out a strangled cry and was sent flying forward.
"First one!"
Sakura immediately moved to attack the next, but the remaining ANBU were prepared. They were clearly skilled operatives, leagues above the patrol jonin like Ryuta. Her first takedown had only succeeded due to the element of surprise.
A fierce melee erupted, Sakura against the four remaining ANBU. Fists, feet, and the glint of kunai became a blur of motion. Finding a momentary opening, Sakura flashed through hand seals.
"Storm Release Clone!"
An exact replica of Sakura, formed entirely of crackling energy, materialized beside her. Its hands morphed into wide, sharp blades as it charged towards two of the ANBU.
"What is this jutsu?!" the targeted ANBU exclaimed, never having encountered such a technique before.
The Storm Release Clone slashed downwards with its right blade-hand towards one ANBU. The operative hastily retreated, but just then, the energy blade suddenly extended, lancing towards him with impossible speed. Caught off guard by the blade's reach, the ANBU raised his kunai to block.
There was no sound as the energy blade met the kunai. Only two distinct sounds followed: the tink of a broken kunai blade hitting the ground, and the heavy thud of a body collapsing.
"Your arm!" the adjacent ANBU cried out, staring in shock at his comrade's severed limb.
"It's fine! It's not bleeding!" the injured ANBU gritted out, remarkably suppressing any cry of pain. "That wasn't sharpness... it was heat. Impressive, a Storm Release user... utilizing lightning's piercing power and thermal energy. They can even devise techniques like this."
"What do we do?" the other ninja asked urgently.
"I think this chakra construct uses Storm Release's lightning properties," the injured ANBU analyzed quickly. "Try attacking with shuriken. Don't engage it directly."
"Right!" No sooner were the words spoken than shuriken flew from the second ANBU's hand towards the Storm Release Clone.
Unsurprisingly, the shuriken passed straight through the energy construct, causing no damage whatsoever.
"It seems physical attacks are useless against it. We'll have to use ninjutsu," the injured ANBU said, his voice grim. "It's up to you now. I'll draw its attention."
"Leave it to me!" his partner replied determinedly.
Meanwhile, Sakura was locked in a fierce struggle with the ANBU leader and the remaining operative. With the Storm Release Clone handling two opponents, the pressure on Sakura had lessened considerably. Although the fight looked evenly matched, the ANBU were beginning to show subtle signs of being overwhelmed.
"We're all Konoha shinobi! Do we really have to fight to the death like this?" Sakura tried, hoping they were standard ANBU and not Danzo's personal forces. "This is all Danzo's scheme! Are you really going to throw your lives away for him?"
Her attempt at persuasion fell flat. The ANBU remained completely unmoved.
"I trust only what I see! Did you think I accepted this mission without conducting my own investigation?!" the leader retorted sharply.
Investigation? Sakura was taken aback. How could he investigate in such a short time? It's only been a few hours... unless...
"One last question," Sakura pressed. "You said you investigated. When exactly did you start?"
"I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell you," the leader replied grimly. "Last night, Danzo-sama informed us that you were secretly producing poisons and using hospital patients as test subjects. My investigation confirmed the presence of numerous toxic agents. Do you still wish to deny it?!"
Sakura nearly choked. It was such a simple, almost crude frame-up! Danzo, couldn't you come up with something more sophisticated? And yet, simple as it was, it seemed devastatingly effective. The timing, the opportunity... it had all been perfectly exploited. She realized Danzo must have known her identity after the incident with Keita, must have anticipated that she suspected his involvement. The current situation was looking increasingly dire.