“And you’re sure about this?” Tsunade asked wishing she could really have a bottle of sake right about now. She appreciated Shizune’s efforts to keep her from going overboard drinking, but this was not an easy discussion. The person she was having it with didn’t make things any easier either. She had been having really mixed feelings regarding them lately. It was confusing and caused her heart to actually feel again in a way. She thought that wouldn’t be possible after losing Dan.
Her visitor gave a sigh. “Unfortunately, it is… I wanted to investigate further, but I decided it best to get out of there with the information instead of going after who I thought I saw. On my way back, I decided to cut all ties with them.”
“But they were your old students…” Tsunade said as she looked the man over. “Jiraiya… I understand if you have a soft spot for them still.”
Jiraiya shook his head. “If they are with Akatsuki… Then they are no longer the precious students I once taught. I can tell something is dangerous about them and I won’t openly attack them, but I won’t hesitate either if… when it comes to that…”
“Jiraiya…” Tsunade said with some concern. She used to try to be callous and cold or at most professionally friendly, but after all the things that have been going on while being the leader. She realized how much loneliness got to you if you stayed that way all the time.
Sarutobi might have thought paperwork was the bane of all existence, but she didn’t. She didn’t like paperwork and absolutely wanted to tear it all to shreds, but she found loneliness to be a bigger bane as Hokage. Perhaps Sarutobi didn’t realize this because he had close friends still around him and even a family of his own. Something she would never have due to her actual age and personal choices after losing her brother and also her Dan.
Tsunade used to choose any option other than growing close to others. Even her niece, Shizune, was still at an arm length’s away. She thought closing off her heart would be for the best, but now she felt different. She’d rather have precious memories with others even if she later lost them than nothing at all.
Maybe it was also how she kind of realized the only reason Jiraiya was still here in front of her was because he chose not to go after his former student wearing Akatsuki colors. She also knew the reason he didn’t make that choice. He was loyal to Konoha and his role was more important than ever now. There was also his unofficial vow to not let himself die until he met his Goddaughter.
The man looked Tsunade in her honey brown colored eyes. “How much trouble would we have saved if the Old Man actually dealt with our… errant… teammate? Or I would have dealt with him the few times I had the chance? I wish it wasn’t this way, but they are with Akatsuki now and that means they are more or less irredeemable. Yahiko probably wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me had I chosen to follow him, but my gut was telling me not to do that.”
Jiraiya gave another sigh. “I wish it was some other way, but if what I heard is even half true, then he is deep and high up in Akatsuki. The others will be with him as well. For better or worse nothing can separate them.”
Tsunade frowned to this. She had long since given up keeping her Hokage persona up when she was alone with Jiraiya. It still kind of hurt seeing even him like this, but that was just how things were. Konoha ninja were still better off in that department than others, but the times were getting to them as well. That was why her old teammate was more serious and less perverted than he used to be, even if he still had his moments.
Jiraiya then gave a small smile and a chuckle. “Besides. You already know I made a pact with myself that I can’t let the Shinigami take me until after I’ve seen my Goddaughter and met her.”
“How can you be so sure she is still alive? We’ve been looking for her and haven’t found any trace of her or the nine tails,” she said.
Jiraiya gave a slight smirk that she had come to find endearing as he said, “That’s how I know she’s still alive somewhere. If she had died, we would have heard something. You weren’t here when Orochimaru invaded during the Chunin exams, but I was. When the container of the one tailed beast died there was no doubt about what happened. So much energy was released as the beast dissipated. I know you heard about that even before I found you and maybe even felt the energy unleashed.”
Tsunade nodded to this.
“It would be at least the same if Naruko died. Perhaps even worse given how potent the Nine tails’ chakra is. She’s out there somewhere. We just don’t know where and can’t find her. She also isn’t really a missing ninja either given she never received her head band,” Jiraiya looked out her office’s window as he smiled. It was hard for anyone else to really understand, but the fact Naruko was out there somewhere he just knew was a good thing and a sign Kami-sama hadn’t fully given up on their world yet. The other Konoha ninjas weren’t so sure, but they didn’t argue with the strongest of the sannin on the point.
Jiraiya then took on a bit of a slightly pervy look obviously not aimed at the subject of their discussion. “I bet she’s a very buxom beauty that causes heart breaks wherever she goes,” he said with a giggle.
Tsunade sighed and glared a little despite how reassuring seeing him like this made her feel. She then said, “She’s your Goddaughter! For heaven’s sake…”
Jiraiya gave an offended huff as he said, “I simply want her to be able to enjoy all of the wonders and pleasures life has to offer if she chooses. I may have used Minato and Kushina as inspiration for my books, but I will not do the same to my Goddaughter…” He grinned and blushed a little as he added jokingly, “Mostly…”
Tsunade just let out a deep breath. She was half tempted to break her desk in response, but that would mean more paperwork. While she felt loneliness was worse than paperwork for Kages, she wasn’t about to anger the paperwork gods. She instead steered the conversation back to more important matters. “Speaking of our errant teammate…” she started and didn’t have to finish.
“He is dead for real this time. Itachi made sure of that so the snake wouldn’t keep possessing his brother. Half of me wishes that happened to the younger Uchiha, but the thought of what Orochimaru could do with those eyes… Is more than enough to feel this is for the best, even if we now have an even more overpowered Emo-chiha to worry about. Who ended up killing his own brother. It at least seems he has no designs for Konoha. Perhaps his belief we were so weak we held him back is actually playing into our favor. I am of course keeping an eye on his movements the best we can,” he said.
The toad sannin then looked to her and said, “I’ve already had people look into every sound village base we can, but it isn’t pretty. Some of them seem to have been abandoned for years. The ones more recently abandoned are little better than decaying mass graves. I’ve already handed over any relevant information we gathered, but it was obvious someone beat us to all of the good stuff. Probably Kabuto. Sasuke would deem anything the snake had as beneath him apart from the snake summoning contract. Which we know he already signed years ago.”
“The only current problem I can see from him is if he joins Akatsuki and tells them Naruko’s been missing from Konoha for years. Even then that just means they will be even less concerned with us which would allow us to keep up our secret war with them,” he said as he sat down again.
“And thanks to you… We know one of their operational bases. I wish we could just attack straight on against Ame, but I know that would be the worst idea of bad ideas,” Tsunade said as Jiraiya chuckled in agreement. “I’ll have some people look into past information of Ame’s movements we have archived. You are having people track their movements, right?”
Jiraiya nodded to that and decided to change the subject. He then asked, “How is your apprentice, Sakura and her teammates doing? Especially… Yakumo?”
“She's recovering. It will still take some time, but Itachi really did a number on her when Team Seven ran into him not too long ago,” she replied.
“I still like the nickname they gave her. Blessed Eye’s Bane. Really has a nice ring to it and fitting considering how much the idiot council loved the Sharingan,” Jiraiya said with a smile.
“It is true. After all, the Sharingan doesn’t breakthrough or properly see through blood line abilities. Given how much they are used to having all Genjutsu useless before them, they don’t fully know how to handle a bloodline that is about Genjutsu. Itachi’s training and experience allowed him to better survive his encounter with her. Even then, his favorite ability became a dangerous double edged sword, since it was affecting him as well. I would even go so far as to say part of the reason Sasuke could win is because Itachi was probably still recovering from the encounter,” Tsunade said a little proud she had decided to let the girl be a kunoichi for Konoha. The girl wanted to be one as a way of atoning for what she did in the past.
Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and said, "Thanks again for placing that controlled limiter seal on her. It has really helped her learn to better use and control her remarkable abilities."
He gave a nod to her silently saying you're welcome.
She then gave a chuckle and sighed as she said, “I’m sure her talents will be even more effective against Sasuke. Itachi didn’t have the full-blown arrogance his younger brother has and that's why he might have caught on.”
“I only wish his arrogance wasn’t so well placed…” Jiraiya said with a huff as she nodded in agreement.
“Sakura and Sai are both doing really well. Sakura has come even further in her training and only has a matter of time before she surpasses me. That girl may not have any special bloodline abilities or a long ninja family heritage, but she has a drive I’ve seen few match,” Tsunade said with another proud smile. She was proud of her pink haired student.
“Sai is still Sai… He has been finding creative ways to let us in on some of Danzo’s plans in advance. We have been able to interfere with some of them when I deem it necessary and the War Hawk isn’t fully aware of our involvement. I’m sure he has theories, but he thinks everyone works like he does or they aren’t at all capable compared to him. I seem to fall into the latter… Which I have used to Konoha’s advantage,” she said to Jiraiya.
“I always thought a huge reason he got away with so much was because Sarutobi-sensei trusted him too much. Anyone willing to let Orochimaru have his way like that isn’t at all trust worthy,” Jiraiya said.
There was a part of him projecting his previous blind spot towards Orochimaru on Sarutobi. He cared for his old sensei, but the man was not without his faults. No one really was without their faults, except maybe Minato. Jiraiya’s favorite student and the Fourth Hokage may have lasted a short term compared to the others, but he only went down in the end while sealing away a full powered and enraged Kyuubi, while on little sleep, given the complications around Kushina’s pregnancy.
The two talked a little longer while Tsunade finished up some more paperwork before it was time she called it a day. She gave a yawn and a mighty stretch, not at all diminishing the view of her assets from Jiraiya’s gaze as she stood up. “Shizune,” she called.
The meek brown haired young woman entered and gave a bow as she asked, “Hokage-sama?”
“I’m calling it a day. I filled out paperwork and sorted out Jiraiya’s reports with a note who should receive which ones. Once you take care of that, you can call it a day as well,” Tsunade said with a smile.
Shizune smiled and bowed as she said, “Thanks, Tsunade-sama.” She then grabbed the papers and moved quickly to leave.
Jiraiya gave a chuckle. “I’ll admit you at least know when to call it a day and not get too far behind on paperwork. Plus, your secretary choice is a lot easier on the eyes than the ones Sarutobi usually picked, especially compared to Iruka.”
“So long as I don’t find out she is the star of one of your books… I’ll take that as a compliment,” Tsunade said with an edge of warning as Jiraiya gave a nervous chuckle.
“It was purely meant as a compliment,” he said hoping to appease her.
She shook her head at him before shifting her position a little and speaking to him again with a different tone of voice. “Say… Jiraiya… How about we go and get a drink to-get-her?” she said maybe blushing a little bit and taking full advantage of the young appearance her jutsu gave her.
Jiraiya could deeply appreciated her look and behavior, but this was Tsunade so his answer to her offer was. “With your drinking habits? I think I’ll pass…” he replied with a friendly smile.
Tsunade rolled her eyes and huffed as she dropped all pretense and said, “I’ll pay for my drinks.” She planned on it from the start honestly. She just really wanted the company tonight. She could understand his hesitance though. She wasn’t exactly the most approachable person and reacted in a less than becoming manner when he was involved many times, even when he later reeled in his perverted habits a bit.
Jiraiya then gave a wide and bright grin as he said, “In that case… Sure! I’d love to get some drinks with you. It could be a lot fun. I just hope I don’t regret the fun come morning.”
Tsunade actually genuinely blushed as she said, “Y-you won’t…” Jiraiya was surprised by this but didn’t press the matter. He instead offered her his arm, which she took, and led the way.
{-} {-} {-}
“Knock. Knock. Yakumo,” A pink haired young woman said with a smile. There was a young man with extremely pale skin and dark hair and eyes standing next to her in the door frame.
“Hey! Sakura. Sai,” a partially bandaged girl with pale skin, brown straight hair and brown eyes said with a smile as she sat up in her bed. Her body wasn’t weak like it used to be thanks to Tsunade’s expertise and the training her teammates gave her, but she still wasn’t as stalwart as her two best friends. She did at least have the advantage of her bloodline ability with Genjutsu. After all of her training, it had indeed really leveled the playing field for her in most situations, if not give her and her team the full blown advantage.
Genjutsu was tough when it was someone really talented using it on their own. It was even tougher in Yakumo's case given her bloodline and special ability. It allowed her to actually make her illusions real. She had learned many ways to use her abilities to trick and do much more against her opponents. She also had a pretty big advantage against Sharingan users since their eyes didn't work properly on bloodline abilities, even if they were still dangerous opponents.
The three of them actually made a really good team together with their abilities and talents. Yakumo also helped Konoha out in many other ways as well when she could. She had been teamed up with all of the other “Konoha Eleven” as they were called on multiple occasions. She still preferred her teammates over the others, even if she was their replacement member. She sometimes thought of herself as that, but Sakura and Sai had both on many occasions assured her she was their true teammate.
“How are you doing?” Sakura asked with some concern in her voice. She knew the staff here were good, she had worked with them plenty, but she also knew she was better than most of them thanks to her training with Tsunade and Shizune.
“Good. I can actually move around a lot now, but I still rest plenty,” Yakumo answered with a smile. She then looked from side to side as she leaned in closer and said, “I’d like it if you would look me over again. I know the medic-nin here are good, but they aren’t you.”
Sakura smiled to that and nodded. “We can start whenever you want,” she replied.
Yakumo looked to her and asked, “Can you start now?”
“Sure,” Sakura answered as her hands started to glow green and she began to run scans on her teammate.
Yakumo then looked to Sai unaffected by Sakura’s scans. You had little choice but to get used to such situations when Sakura was your teammate. “How are you doing, Sai?” she asked.
He gave her a smile which was actually a true smile as he pulled out a picture he drew for her. “I made this for you. I know you like flowers,” he said as he handed it over to her.
Yakumo smiled warmly as she looked at he picture. Both Sakura and Yakumo loved the detail he put into his casual drawings. He often gave them pictures as presents when the occasion required such things as gifts.
He continued to smile as he said, “If you ever are near it and need help push chakra into it and the picture will give you a chance to escape or land a devastating hit.”
Yakumo giggled as she lifted her shirt for Sakura to further examine her. Sakura was always very thorough in her examinations and that inadvertently required a lot of intimacy and a lack of embarrassment around such things. Sometimes clothing only got in the way of her proper medical treatments.
Yakumo blushed a little as Sakura went for her bra and Sai actually blushed some and looked away. “Sakura… I appreciate how thorough you are in examining our teammate, but you do realize I’m a guy, right?” Sai said.
There were still some situations where despite everything embarrassment crept in a little bit.
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. “It never bothers you when we are out in the field. I mean you’ve seen Yakumo naked a few times before and she’s seen you in the same way. Hell, you’ve even seen me in an undressed state too,” she said.
Sai didn’t say anything. Yakumo was blushing a little bit too. Sakura was rather blasé when it came to such things at times. It was an unfortunate side effect from all of the times she worked in the hospital and assisted with surgeries or preformed treatments in the field. She was damn good at medical ninjutsu though.
“I see…” Sakura said. She then looked over Yakumo’s clipboard and added some notes to it. The staff weren’t happy about this at times, but they were used to it. Plus, they all knew Sakura was one of their best. Shizune had even commented how the pink haired kunoichi was faster at learning than she was and probably already more or less her equal.
Yakumo was finally able to relax fully clothed as Sakura went on with their conversation acting as if nothing had just happened between her and Yakumo. The brown haired girl was blushing and a little bit flustered because her body was sensitive in certain areas. She at least hadn’t embarrassed herself like she did a couple of years back when she got her first Sakura Field Examination. Much to her horror the girl had an orgasm under Sakura’s intense examination. The pink haired medic-nin hadn’t realized at that time just how sensitive her teammate’s body was in that aspect.
Yakumo giggled and smiled as she looked at the picture again. “Typical, Sai though. Always giving you something beautiful and practical.”
Sai smiled a little brighter and attempted to chuckle… it was still a work in progress… as he said, “Well we are ninja. Why not make everything have a practical use?” The two girls giggled to that and nodded in agreement.
“How are things going with Ino, Sai?” Yakumo then asked.
Sakura chuckled a little as she asked, “Has she realized when you first met her and called her beautiful you were only doing so to not get her angry?”
Sai was smiling as he said, “She grows on you. She really is pretty beautiful in her own way.”
Sakura just smiled. It wasn’t like she was actually jealous her old rival and friend managed to land a lover before her or anything like that. Nope that wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t like Ino got a lover first, even if he was the most awkward human boy she knew. Nope totally not.
Sakura wasn’t unattractive or anything like that. She may not have large breasts, but she knew plenty of people found her attractive. They just weren’t eager to approach her. Tsunade said it was because of her training. Apparently, guys were a little apprehensive in approaching you when you could literally demolish massive boulders with your bare hands or leave craters in the ground with a normal punch. She didn’t understand why. It wasn’t like she would use her full strength on them or anything for no reason.
“Well…” Sakura said her smile strained a little. “That’s good to hear.” She then brightened up a little bit as she asked. “Have you given her a flower drawing yet? Her birthday is coming up and I just know she’d love one of your more impressive casual drawings with flowers.”
Sai was actually writing down a note. Sakura looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “Ohh… Lee-san told me it was always a good idea to take notes on useful information. I categorize information on what your girlfriend wants as such.” He finished the note and said, “Thanks for the idea, Sakura. I will keep that in mind. I was thinking of giving her chocolates at first, but she mentioned something about a diet last time we saw each other yesterday.”
“Glad I could help,” Sakura said. She gave a mental sigh as she thought, “I wish I had a boyfriend wanting to give me gifts for my birthday… Maybe… No… I don’t think I will go there yet… Lee is too much to handle, even for me.” She didn’t hate Lee. She even considered him a good friend and an invaluable comrade, but he was just waaaaayyy too… youthful… for anyone really, except maybe Guy-sensei. It was best not to tread in that direction though, even if Sakura had a thing for BL (Boy's Love).
“He is really strong… And boy does he train… Imagine the body he has…” Sakura shook her head of those thoughts. Why was she even daring to think about such things? Sakura gave an audible sigh.
“Is something wrong, Sakura?” Yakumo asked.
“Nothing… Nothing at all… I’m just realizing I really need to find some time to de-stress and relax,” she said with another sigh.
Sai nodded as he said, “You have been really busy with training and special missions lately on top of hospital duty.”
Sakura sighed again. She was secretly wishing she had a lover to de-stress with at the moment. “I’ll figure something out. Sorry to have worried you two,” she said to them with a smile as they continued their conversation.
{-} {-} {-}
Tsunade was humming as she walked to her office that morning. She was positively glowing if you asked any of the people around her. “Good morning, Shizune!” she greeted in a sing song voice.
“Hokage-sama? You’re here?” Shizune asked in surprise.
Tsunade frowned. “Am I that late?”
Shizune blinked and looked her over carefully. It was Tsunade and not some impostor. “No… The opposite actually… Didn’t you go out drinking with Jiraiya-sama last night?” she asked.
Tsunade smiled as she said, “Yes, I did. I didn’t get too carried away this time. I actually enjoyed his company more than my sake last night and it was really good sake.” She wasn’t going to say it but she did end up in bed with Jiraiya.
It was a lot more mind blowing and enjoyable than she thought it would be when she decided on this action after she asked him to go drink with her. He had been on her mind a lot lately and she finally decided to go all in with him. She wanted to be as close to her teammate and precious person as she could be.
It seemed he had picked up a lot of tricks over his years traveling the many lands of their world. Her lack of such relations might have also played a role as well, but despite that it was completely amazing last night. She even lost control of her jutsu midway thanks to the pleasure she was feeling. Jiraiya seemed to be encouraged by this, even if he loved the way she looked with her jutsu a lot. Tsunade had completely let go of herself during the night. She had no reason to hold back with him.
That morning she even let him get away with grabbing her ass while she actually cooked some breakfast for them both. He in turn mixed up a wonderful non-alcoholic breakfast drink he learned the recipe of during his travels.
Tsunade was now, for the first time in a long while, actually ready for the day and feeling closer to the age her jutsu portrayed her as. She was ready to decimate that mountain of paperwork and show it who was boss. This was a feeling only Naruko’s dad had when it came to being Hokage in the past. It was part of the reason why he was infamous to the paperwork gods for his abilities to finish it all off and still have plenty of time to spare in the day.
As the day went on, Tsunade was surprised how quickly she was able to figure things out even after looking over her decisions. She even looked over a missive regarding a certain old war hawk’s activity and was able to pick out just the right team to handle dealing with them. It would help with Sai’s concerns regarding Root. Sai was now a full Konoha ninja thanks to the friendships he built with his teammates and the others in his age group. He still dealt with Root a lot, but he used that position to help Konoha more than Root.
Sai had met with Tsunade a couple of times and mentioned he was worried Danzo was second guessing his commitment due to the information he shared in his roundabout way with her. He was good at doing this and she was good at making sure it was obvious they weren’t Konoha ninja interfering with Root Operations without it being too obvious. Tsunade also started making some plans for a possible Root base raid in the future if things got too out of control. She would love it if Danzo’s operations were purely for his benefit and would make her decision of taking them out easier, but despite everything he too was focusing on the main issue at hand. Akatsuki.
Tsunade gave a sigh. “If the old War Hawk came out in the open and approached me to explain all of this, I might actually be willing to work with him to a degree…” Danzo was frustrating. She hated his methods, but he got results. She also hated how he did things, but he was also incredibly convenient at times and his Root operations had handled things in a manner that helped Konoha, but kept them clean of any trouble. She didn’t mention this to Jiraiya because he would hate it. The sad truth is he was right to hate it. For every time Danzo actually helped Konoha instead of himself, there was an Orochimaru or a Kabuto he worked with willingly.
Still… his recent mission they gained wind of from a source other than Sai needed to be stopped with no witnesses. Danzo clearly didn’t have the most recent information that she had. Tsunade felt a sense of pride in the way she dealt with things as a result of this. It also showed how good her people were with handling sensitive data and how amazing Jiraiya was as Konoha’s Spy Master.
She still had to figure out this operation’s details and double check who she wished to send on it. Danzo was about to make a move that would cost them a potentially good lead on Akatsuki due to their recently discovered connection with Ame thanks to Jiraiya. It was a “regular” Ame mission going to a place they usually wouldn’t go. Danzo decided Ame was getting full of itself and insulting Konoha through some strange Danzo brand of logic. Tsunade on the other hand saw this as a chance to see their possible movements and knew the mission didn’t in any way insult Konoha with its completion or get in their way.
{-} {-} {-}
Sakura gave a yawn as she woke up later than she usually would. Last night she relaxed and blew off steam by enjoying her favorite “reading” material of choice. She had gotten a little carried away and stayed up later than she should have, but she did manage to make it to her bed before she fell asleep. She was also just more or less on standby, so she did pretty much have the day off.
Looking at the plethora of “reading” material scattered about she had one thought on her mind. “I need to find a different hobby… I think I’m developing a quirk and not the cute and endearing kind of quirk,” she groaned to herself. The last thing she wanted to be was a female version of Kakashi-Sensei. Her literature choice didn’t have deceptively innocuous book binding like his did either. It had taken her and the others a while when they were younger to figure out just what it was he was always reading, even if they knew it had to be bad given his giggles.
She also really hoped he never found out about her love of certain literature. She could just hear him giving her an evil giggling kind of laugh as he said something of the likes, “Welcome to the darkside, Sakura-chan. We have more then just cookies.” He would probably also tease her about her choice of literature just to get back at her for all of the times she gave him a tough time about his orange book.
Sakura gave another yawn and started to clean up her place without even bothering to wear anything apart from the panties she slept in last night. She didn’t want to take the chance of anyone seeing her books. She didn’t want someone to see her in nothing but panties, but that was far less embarrassing than someone finding her collection of Boy’s Love manga and books. Some would probably say it wasn’t too big of a deal someone finding it all. They didn’t have Kakashi-Sensei to worry about and Sai the most awkward boy in all of existence. He was better about his “friendship lessons”, but he might accidentally expose her secret as a means of joking and building a stronger bond.
Recently, Sakura finally moved into her own place. She had a nice apartment with a few rooms and located in a nice part of Konoha. She decided she needed her own place after another incident of her parents being embarrassing in public and overly concerned for her. She loved her parents, but they needed to realize she wasn’t little Sakura still in the academy anymore. “Hell… I’m stronger than they are and a much more successful ninja. I mean they’re retired Genin,” she thought with a sigh. She had been a Chunin a long while now and there were occasionally whispers of her being tapped out as a new Jonin soon. She was already thought of as the second coming of Tsunade for better or worse.
She got the whole parental instinct, but it was clear to her they needed some space. She still visited them often and from what she could tell it was helping with the relationship she had with her parents. There was also the fact she would work long hours and sometimes odd hours at the hospital and was called upon for missions at night sometimes. She didn’t want to accidentally bother her mom and dad when she arrived late at night or had to leave at dark o’ thirty in the morning. Plus, they would have probably discovered her much more expansive than it used to be collection by now. She really didn’t want to have that discussion with them.
Sakura gave a stretch as she felt one of her alarm seals go off. She quickly put on a shirt and pajama pants before opening her window as a tiger masked ANBU entered her room. Her alarm seals weren’t for intruders, at least not the one that went off, it was there to let her know someone wanted her for official business. It would differ depending on if the person was at the door or the window. For some reason, the ANBU loved using her window when they wanted to reach her.
“Yes? What is it?” she asked. It seemed she wasn’t getting to have today completely off, but she was now ready and refreshed.
The ANBU member pointed to his mask and said, “Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you… as soon as you’ve showered.”
Sakura gave herself a sniff and blushed realizing it was obvious she needed a shower after last night. When she looked up the ANBU was gone already, he was at least polite enough to close her window after his exit. She took a shower and grabbed an eagle mask from a very hard to find and overly secured location and made her way to the Hokage’s office. That was what the ANBU meant when he pointed to his own mask.
The mask she had with her was special. She wasn’t really a full on ANBU member, but she was used for special missions so she didn’t have a regular ANBU mask. The one she had looked like an eagle and had a special seal that activated when she wore it. The seal changed the color of her hair to black, since her lovely pink hair was rather iconic and distinctive.
Sakura dived into a safe place and made sure no one was observing her before she placed the mask on. She also, for the sake of further secrecy, used a Genjutsu Yakumo taught her. It sent a Sakura looking projection into the crowded streets of Konoha before disappearing as if melding into the mass of people. Sure, her teammate was much better at it than she was, but that was because of Yakumo’s bloodline and not because Sakura’s lack of skill.
Sakura arrived in Tsunade’s office via window, since she guessed that was the ANBU preferred entrance. She was the third to arrive as she looked over the other two ANBU waiting. “Sorry Hokage-sama, I got here as soon as possible,” she said her voice a variation of her own.
“They barely arrived before you so no worries, Eagle,” Tsunade said as she pointed to the other two.
Sakura knew them both even with their masks. One was a tall man wearing a cat mask with red and blue markings called Tenzo in the past. He went by Yamato when not in the mask and on these missions he preferred Blue Neko. He gave Sakura further training so she could help with the special missions she sometimes went on usually with Sai, while Yakumo worked with others for Konoha.
The other one was extremely familiar to her. He too had black hair and it actually lay rather flat. It was because his usual gravity defying silver hair was just as iconic as Sakura’s pink hair. He wore a dog mask.
“I asked for the three of you because on this mission, you will be facing against Root members. A different but still trustworthy source made me aware of this Root mission. While it otherwise might not be too important to intervene with it, I have come across new and recent information regarding a potential lead to Akatsuki. Danzo’s mission’s success would cause problems. This mission in a way may also help put my usual source on Root at ease and withdraw some of the heat they feel is on them currently. Do you follow so far?” she looked them over and received a nod each.
“On this mission you will be interfering with potential Root ambushes against a team from Ame. The mission they are going on will not matter to us, but we are keeping an eye on their movements. I have recently learned of a potentially strong link between Ame and Akatsuki. We do not know how far deep it goes, but we are keeping an eye on them to figure that information out,” the Fifth Hokage looked to make sure they were still following and continued with the details.
Before she dismissed them, she added one last thing, “Eagle… If things get to draining on this mission send me a message that way.”
Sakura’s eyes looked over her mentor’s shoulder and noticed a small Katsuyu peeking out at her. “Understood, Hokage-sama,” Sakura said as they left. Sakura had signed the slug contract a while ago and passed the test. She wouldn’t be summoning a large slug on the battlefield, because that would be a dead giveaway of who she was. What she could do was summon a part of Katsuyu and use the small slug to almost instantaneously send a message to Tsunade. It was an ability only slug users could use in this way.
{-} {-} {-}
Sakura, Kakashi, and Yamato were approaching the first ambush point. Kakashi was the leader for the mission. They had a wood clone from Yamato and a shadow clone from Kakashi shadowing the Ame team on their mission. This was in case Danzo sent a separate root ninja to actually take out the team apart from using the ambush points. Since it was Danzo, there was little reason not to over think his moves. Sakura was glad she was working with not one but two ex-Root ANBU for this mission. They knew how Danzo moved and Root worked.
Sakura got ready when Kakashi signaled them the group was approaching. There were five of them. She would take on only one at a time if possible. Kakashi and Yamato were more capable than her and had better jutsu for crowd control. The root ninja were tough, but the Konoha team had surprise on their side and that was a huge factor. They were also going for the kill here. They weren’t allowed to leave any alive or take prisoners, even if the latter was very unlikely.
The root team was moving silently and carefully. Kakashi signaled for the start of their attack. Sakura went in first to take on one of the blank masked ANBU with a rather simple attack. “Ambush!” he shouted just as Yamato and Kakashi joined in the fray and cut off his teammates. He then engaged Sakura in a bout of hand to hand to test her first.
It was just what she wanted.
She had learned to use her medical jutsu in a darker way. She had seen what Kabuto was capable of a couple of times first hand. He never really bothered to see her as more than a distraction in those instances and he was a very goal oriented individual. He saw fighting others as straying from the goal and pointless. She was able to learn how effective he was in using medical jutsu in combat though. As much of a perversion it was to fight like this, it was very effective.
Sakura jumped back and seemingly used the basic clone technique. It wasn’t. It was actually a Genjutsu she perfected with Yakumo’s help. It made ‘clones’ that seemed to act regularly right by her side, but it actually distracted her opponent and cloaked her actual movements completely.
As the root ninja seemed to easily defend against her before she used that technique, he said without emotion, “So your mask is just a ruse?” His eyes then widened under his mask just as he felt a couple of cuts on his right arm making it useless as Sakura severed important ligaments and the clones disappeared. “Maybe it isn’t…” he muttered.
He was at a disadvantage, but he could still fight. He proved this by blocking her blade attack with his own blade. He may be right handed, but he was a ninja and had lessened the weakness of his left hand. Still, even he realized he was at a big disadvantage here. He also knew he was on his own. The others were occupied by really skilled ninja that seemed to have knowledge about how Root fought.
Sakura dodged her opponent’s blade attacks, but she had to admit he was very good at it even with the one useless arm. She needed to plan a different attack. She could use a little of her monstrous strength, but not too much of it to draw attention to herself. She could find a way to cut him again in a way that he would mostly ignore. Then she would use a certain technique she learned under Tsunade in a not so delicate manner. She hated perverting her master’s lessons, but this was Root and she needed to do so to keep her cover intact. Plus… “Most of Root is still fully loyal to Danzo and are traitors we are merely tolerate while they're useful,” she told herself as a way to get over her misgivings for the actions she had planned.
Her opponent swung and seemed to hit her. He then heard a thunk sound and noticed he struck a log. He looked around trying to find where she disappeared to in an effort to clearly get some distance. The main problem was she didn’t do so to get distance. He felt her blade strike him a few times and felt her hit some other part of him. He wasn’t sure where that part was, but he still wasn’t too badly hurt. He has some bleeding wounds but nothing more.
He jumped back to get some distance and then froze. It was like his body couldn’t move. “Poison?” he thought as an explanation. That shouldn’t work though… Root knew how to negate poison except for their special “won’t take me alive” poison Danzo gave them all.
He then looked up with wide eyes as the girl placed her hand on him. They were glowing green, but it wasn’t the usual medical way. He then realized what happened. “That hit… You knew how to temporarily disable me. But why?” he spoke because usually ninja liked to brag when they seemingly had the upper hand.
Sakura wasn’t like that though. She always thought bragging useless after she graduated the academy. The Uchiha bastard pretty boy traitor did that and she hated bragging even more since then. She instead concentrated and quickly used a usual lifesaving technique for extracting the worst of poisons, to instead extract her opponent’s blood quickly. A simple “mistake” in the technique was all it took. Her opponent could only watch as his blood sprayed from his wounds and his vision darkened before he died.
Sakura hated using her master’s techniques in such a horrifying manner, but they could be very effective. Sakura jumped back and threw a kunai with a disposal tag on it at her opponent. It might seem like overkill, but this was Root they were fighting. She quickly joined Yamato who seemed to need a little help, even if he had the upper hand. Kakashi was already getting ready to finish off his last opponent.
{-} {-} {-}
When Kakashi joined the fight, it immediately became apparent he was a big threat. He started off with a Giant fireball technique which caused the two Root ninjas to jump out of the way. He then used the momentum of one ninja’s jump to land a solid hit right in the perfect place to forcefully release the special poison each Root ninja had so they wouldn’t be taken alive. It was fast acting and so his first enemy died quickly. Root were seen as disposable tools and so they died instead of being taken prisoner if they could help it. Most ninja would usually be taken prisoner as a way to gather more intel on an enemy and find a way to escape. Root didn’t even value their lives that much.
He next engaged the other Root ninja in blade combat. He would have to make an opening to use any more jutsu this fight. Also, the fact he knew exactly how much power was needed and where to hit to force the usage of that special poison showed how he was familiar with Root and their methods. His next opponent would be on guard.
“You seem familiar with us… Who are you?” the Root member said in a voice with no emotion. It might have seemed intimidating to most, but not Kakashi.
“Oh? Like I should tell you,” Kakashi said as he swung strongly and seemingly missed. Before his opponent could take advantage of the opening, Kakashi kicked him hard and also dropped a dust bomb. It was a simple trick, but sometimes simple was the most effective, especially when you used the opportunity to sink into the ground.
The second root ninja Kakashi attacked looked around with his guard up and tried to sense where his opponent would attack. He didn’t react quick enough to dodge as Kakashi launched from under his very feet fast with an uppercut.
Kakashi also said, “Blue Immolation Jutsu!” just as his lower hand touched his opponent’s chest. The root ninja immediately was encased in blue hot flames as he screamed in pain despite his training. It seemed as if there was only a pile of ash left after the technique finished. Kakashi still used a disposal tag anyways. He then looked up and watched as Yamato and Sakura were about to finish the last root member together. He scanned their surroundings to make sure none of their targets had escaped. He could tell none had.
{-} {-} {-}
Yamato had taken on two Root at once. He was at a huge disadvantage since he wasn’t using his wood release. He never did on these kinds of missions. Those were signature and would give his identity away. It was even more of a concern when fighting Root. Danzo knew about his defection from root, but seldom acted on it because Yamato was still helping Konoha. The old war hawk didn’t want to expose his actions by attacking the wood user directly. It still meant Root knew how to deal with him should the need arise and his fighting against them to kill was such a need.
He vowed to further improve his non-wood release techniques as well once this was over. It wasn’t that he hadn’t done that anyways, but any ninja worth their salt constantly looked for ways to overcome their weaknesses. Fortunately, he wasn’t Root so he had one huge advantage over their enemy. He had teammates who cared about him and not just the mission. It came in handy, because while this first opponent was defeated with a combination of Water Release: Tearing Torrent, which was similar to the fourth’s legendary Rasengan though not as powerful, and a disposal tag attached to a kunai. The second opponent was different.
The other Root ninja was a Lightning and Earth ninjutsu specialist. It was Yamato’s worst type of opponent when he wasn’t using Wood release techniques. He thought about risking using wood release to change it up. He trusted Kakashi-sempai to finish his opponent, but Yamato didn’t find a good opening to do that. He did notice as Sakura joined him though.
The Root ninja barely dodged a well-placed punch from Sakura and got enough distance while using a jutsu on Yamato that she couldn’t counter with a kick. “Two against one… Not good. I must keep going for Danzo-sama,” the root ninja thought.
He knew if the one wearing the dog mask joined he was doomed, but he kept going. It seemed the rumors of Tsunade having a Root killing squad was true. These three knew where to find them and they were strong. Killing just one of them would be a huge advantage for Danzo-sama and that was all a tool such as himself could ask for in his otherwise useless life. He only wished he had developed a sacrifice technique to take them out with him at this point. He hoped they would be too tired after the battle or didn’t know of the other ambush sites at least.
He faced the two opponents. He could tell the one with the cat mask was a bigger threat than the one with the Eagle mask. He would try to take out both, but he was going to focus a little more on the higher priority just as Danzo-sama drilled into all Root members. Higher priority took precedence over all else. He also had no choice but to fight them. There was no way he could escape and continue his mission.
Sakura and Yamato were standing next to each other ready to act. The Root member charged at them. Sakura ran through a series of hand seals. Soon the advancing Root member saw nothing but darkness and Sakura petals floating around him. “Such a low-level technique is useless on me,” he said in that toneless voice most of his kind used. He easily dispelled it.
His eyes widened a little as he heard the cat masked ANBU shout, “Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!” Several mud and rock spears quickly shot up from the ground at him. This would be really bad if he wasn’t able to counter it.
“Lightning Release: Shock Field!” he shouted. Several bolts of lightning shot from him and destroyed the spears. “Useless attack. Someone at your level should know Lightning is strong against Earth.”
“I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Yamato said in a cool voice.
The root ninja looked up just in time to watch as the Eagle masked ANBU threw a punch at him. He moved to minimize the damage it would do. He knew how strong he was and had a hint about how strong she was. He would be safe, even if it sent him back a good bit.
When the hit landed on his chest, there was a resounding and sickening cracking sound. The Root ninja coughed up blood as he felt his inside explode. There was no way someone apart from Tsunade or her apprentice would be that strong, even if it wasn’t as powerful as they were capable of using. As he wheezed his last breath, his mind decided Eagle was somehow in fact Sakura, but she hadn’t been at all fighting like the pink haired medic fought. He died with that last thought.
Yamato placed a disposal tag on the last remaining Root member’s body as it too was burned away leaving no trace apart from some signs of their battle there. Those signs were also easily removed as the trio rested a little bit before moving to their next target zone.
“How are we all doing?” Kakashi asked. “Do we need to send that message?”
“I’m good,” Sakura replied.
“Same here. It isn’t easy having to avoid using my best techniques, but I am good,” Yamato said.
“Mah mah, Tenzo. I mean Blue Neko. Perhaps you need to take Eagle’s initiative and work on a completely different set of attacks and abilities for missions like this,” Kakashi said and was eye smiling even if it couldn’t be seen due to his mask.
“Sempai…” Yamato said with a sigh.
Sakura couldn’t help but giggle a little at the exchange. She then asked, “Is the Ame team good?”
“My shadow clone hasn’t dispelled so it is likely that is the case,” Kakashi said. “Well then! Shall we continue?” he asked.
“Obviously!” Sakura and Yamato said at the same time with a roll of their eyes. The trio disappeared from the clearing as they made their way to the next ambush site.
{-} {-} {-}
They carefully approached the second ambush position. The Root ninja were already there waiting. Kakashi and Yamato noticed they had some kind of alarm set up to tell them when the Ame ninjas were close. The two debated on if they should disable it or not. Sakura got in the final word, “Leave it. That way if it goes off while we are in combat we will at least know the Ame team’s progress on their mission.” It might cause a bit of a scramble, but Kakashi decided they would leave it. He could probably tamper with it so only they would hear, but that might trip it as well.
Sakura gave a light sigh as she saw the group in front of her. It was the same size as the last one. “One day I will rank up to two Root ninjas at once instead of just one,” she thought to herself with a pout. She didn't at all realize how impressive it was she gauged herself on how many Root Ninja, with ANBU level training, she could take on at once.
This time it was Kakashi and Yamato who jumped in first. Once they had their two enemies each, Sakura jumped in to get in the way of the fifth root member so they couldn’t help out the others.
Sakura fought the guy blade to blade and dodged a few jutsu of his to get an idea of what he could do. She quickly came up with a plan. She would use some of her strength and a more well-known technique of her own at a much lower capacity. She figured it would throw the Root ninjas off balance a little bit and might distract them enough to give Kakashi and Yamato an opening. She also knew how to turn it into her advantage if it failed to be a finishing blow.
Little did Sakura know at the time, her opponent was actually the leader of this group of Root ANBU. He also had abilities other Root ninjas wished they had. He was one of Danzo’s most loyal and faithful Root ninja. Danzo saw him as a tool still, but he was a higher value tool than the others. That was why he trusted him to make sure this mission was completed. Had Sakura seen his face. She might have thought more on his Auburn colored short ponytail. She might have even flinched knowing who he was, but that was not the case here.
Sakura fought her target in blade to blade combat with some hand to hand thrown in as well. She was barely able to hold her own, but she was good enough he didn’t get any openings on her. Sakura missed a strike and he landed a hit on her. It hurt and sent her flying back a bit, but she used the momentum to gain a little distance in preparation for her next move.
The Root ANBU she was facing might have given a smirk, but such useless emotions were long since striped away from him. He instead decided, given their situation and his more advanced skill in his clan's techniques, to use one of them on his opponent. This girl’s teammates had their hands full fighting the rest of his team, even if they were holding their own. He would give his squad an advantage, since most Konoha ninja, even the regular ANBU, held on to useless things like bonds.
Sakura’s eyes widened as she recognized the hand seals and heard the ninja say, “Mind Transfer Jutsu!” She couldn’t avoid it. She was too shocked that Danzo dared and managed to gain a Root member from one of the more proponent clans in Konoha. It took no time at all for the technique to hit her.
Fu Yamanaka was much more advanced in this technique than Ino was. He had enough contro he could secure himself and was partially aware of his body’s surroundings unlike how Ino was. Danzo had forced him to improve his usage of the technique to minimize the weakness of it. However, despite his training, there was one thing he was not prepared for and that was Sakura.
“Cha!!!! Again! Kami I hate this!” Sakura thought.
Her inner Sakura wasn’t as different as it once was. She learned after a lot of talk with her friends that Inner Sakura was part of her exceptionally strong will. She then used meditation and some other practices to more or less become one with it, but at the same time her inner self still existed. Ino actually encouraged her to keep her inner self like this. After all, if it kept a Yamanaka from fully controlling her than there was a lot of use it could have. Ino also used Inner Sakura to help her improve her abilities in her family’s jutsu.
Sakura’s pale green eyes narrowed at her opponent in disgust. She hated the idea of a Yamanaka using their abilities like this. Ino had told her she was actually severally punished for using her family’s abilities on a loyal Konoha ninja during their match. It didn’t help that Ino lost the match during that first Chunin exam either. Sakura had taken her training more seriously sooner and so she won their match, even if she didn't actually advance far in the final tournament that year or get promoted.
After it was all over, Sakura actually reached out to her first friend and helped Ino train in any way she could. Ino was extremely happy with this and admitted she thought of Sakura as her best friend even when they were fighting over Sasuke in the academy. Sakura felt stupid at the time knowing she had almost ruined another great friendship because of her foolishness. This all didn’t change the fact that Sakura was an opponent, if not the only one, the Yamanaka abilities didn’t work on as much. This meant that she dispelled the jutsu rather easily despite her opponent’s training.
Fu Yamanaka was stunned by what just happened. He had never had a mind literally fight back and force him to leave like that after a scolding. It was enough of a shock to shake his training to be emotionless.
Fortunately, he was aware enough to dodge as Sakura attacked him from above using a downward punch. His eyes actually widened as he jumped up and witnessed a small crater form beneath the girl he was facing. “She’s strong…” he said. He also wasn’t prepared for her to somehow find away to launch herself upwards.
Fortunately, Fu Yamanaka barely shifted out of the way of her two feet as she rocketed up towards him.
Unfortunately, Sakura counted on this and even planned on it.
As Sakura kept rising into the sky due to the momentum she used to launch herself, she looked at her opponent with cold and disappointed pale green eyes. Fu could even tell she was disappointed in him. He was shocked, but didn’t see what difference it would make in their situation. Then he noticed the sharp blue bladed chakra encasing her hands. He somehow knew it was over because he didn’t know who she was and obviously underestimated her. Danzo had only one former Root member that could fight like this and dared not train another due to how dangerous and powerful such abilities were.
When you were in the air dodging, your options were very limited. Sakura had learned how she could fight in such a way besides the usual jutsu requiring multiple hand signs and hand to hand or weapon to weapon combat. She used her chakra scalpel instead to tremendous effect. Fu Yamanaka did not train in such a manner and he would never have the chance to do so after this, his last fight.
As the disguised pink haired medic continued to move upwards, she used her chakra scalpels to slice a deep cut into an important part of her enemy’s neck on the side. She also managed to slit his throat as well. It was terrible using a medical technique like this and she was sure Tsunade would otherwise hate her for it, but again Sakura couldn’t deny how effective it was. There was little that could defend against such usage of this technique. Luckily, it was really hard to get to the level you could even use it in such a manner. Sakura wasn’t even sure if Shizune-sensei could do so, but she was sure Tsunade could if she wanted. Sakura knew Kabuto did already.
Sakura was glad she kept rising a little longer. She really didn’t want to be covered in an opponent’s blood. Some ninja would find a way to poison their own blood to get back at their attackers. Sakura flipped right before she landed on the ground once she started her descent and went to help out her teammates. Both Kakashi and Yamato were clearly in the upper hand, but they still had one more ambush site to take care of after this. They all needed as much energy as they could keep for that fight.
Yamato and Kakashi easily cleared away their opponents’ bodies to leave no trace after the battle. Sakura on the other hand was actually taking the time to sever her first enemy’s head and preserve it the best she could. Kakashi frowned a little at the sight.
He had to admit he wasn’t the best sensei he should have been for Sakura and Sai, but he still cared for them both. Sakura really concerned him because of how effective she was at killing when she was Eagle and how little she seemed to care about her opponents. He lost one student to darkness and the world might suffer because of his failure. He was not about to lose another one to it as well, especially because he really liked seeing her usually bright pink hair and smile.
“Sakura…” he started in worry. They were on a mission, but they were alone here and it was safe to use her real name. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“As much as can be, yes,” she replied easily as she continued to carefully go about her grisly business with the corpse in front of her.
“I’m only asking because of what you seem to be doing… We aren’t here to collect bounties. We don’t make a habit of dismembering corpses,” he said.
Sakura looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “Root this loyal to Danzo are traitors. You taught me and Sai the only thing worse than trash were those who betrayed their fellow ninja. That is exactly what Root does. They would easily hand over all they could to Danzo, if he merely hinted at wanting them to do so. Sai is just an exception.”
“Yes. This is true… But there are lines we shouldn’t cross,” he said in reply.
Sakura then seemed to realize something and nodded. “I get that. The only reason I am doing this is… Well... see for yourself,” she replied.
Kakashi and Yamato came over with some worry. They really didn’t want to see Sakura fall into darkness. They figured she would be a very terrifying opponent if she did so. Their eyes widened in shock and they both couldn’t help but gasp as she removed the mask from the dead Root member in front of her.
“I recognized the mind body switch technique. I seem to be an exception to it. Ino tried it on me during our first Chunin Exam. I’ve been working with her on it so she can improve it. He used it on me and I immediately recognized it. I figured Tsunade would want solid proof of how far Danzo is willing to go. I know it is gruesome, but I feel it is needed,” she said.
She then gave a sigh. “I really wish Tsunade-sama would do something about him already, even if he is sometimes unwittingly helpful. Ino told me how disappointed her dad, who always treated her like a princess, was when he learned she used her family’s techniques against a fellow loyal Konoha ninja.”
Kakashi and Yamato let out relieved sighs. Kakashi spoke first, “I’m glad that is the case. I hate to admit it, but well… you know how it is… I sometimes worry about you, Sakura-chan. I want you stay as my cute student, even if you grow to be very strong and dangerous.”
Sakura couldn’t help but smile warmly to that. “I plan to, Kakashi-sensei. I want to be strong and dangerous to Konoha’s enemies,” she replied.
Yamato took in a deep breath and let it out as Sakura disposed of the body once she had the head detached and stored in a scroll. “I really wish we didn’t have one more ambush site to look into Kakashi-sempai,” he said. Both Kakashi and Sakura nodded and got up to his words.
“Are you two both ready now?” Kakashi asked.
Both Sakura and Yamato nodded.
“Then let’s get going. Remember! Don’t get sloppy just because our mission seems to be almost finished. We need to keep calm and finish strong,” he said to his teammates. A pep-talk probably wasn’t needed, but it wouldn’t hurt with these two.
The three Konoha Ninja disappeared from the clearing that had only a scent of blood quickly dissipating as proof of their fight left in the area. Right after they left there was an alarm that quickly sounded in the clearing. It was a sign of how far the Ame team got on their mission, but that wasn’t important now. The Root Crush team quickly moved to the next site. They didn’t have to escort anyone so they could move at an acceptable speed.
{-} {-} {-}
Sakura gave a moan and stretched as she took off her mask to breath in the fresh air in the area. She knew it didn’t really affect her physically, but it felt good to let her pink air once again flow freely in the breeze. She also wiped some sweat from her brow. She was already planning to take a nice long soak in Konoha’s Kunoichi Outdoor Spring Bath once she got back home.
The last ambush site was easier than the others. It seemed Danzo planned for his first two teams to defeat the Ame team and take care of the VIP they were escorting. If that didn’t work, then he counted on them to have hurt the ame ninja enough they would be exhausted or at least a man or two down by this point.
They still had to face four Root Ninja, but Kakashi used a Chidori to eliminate one right away. The display of strength did give away his identity. Fortunately, this display actually seemed to shock the Root ninja even with their training. Yamato and Sakura were able to make sure no enemy escaped to send word back to Danzo or instead try to do something else.
The battle was tougher because the trio was tired and the Root Ninja fresh. Yamato and Kakashi both sustained injuries, but Sakura was there to treat them. They were able to recover and waited where they were for a sign the Ame mission was complete.
“You know… I still don’t get why Danzo hasn’t thought to add medic-nin to his group. I’m glad he doesn’t; given how that would make things even worse, but still…” Sakura said as they waited. She undid her vest to enjoy the sensation of the cool breeze in the area.
“Danzo doesn’t care if his agents die. He only cares if they did so in a manner that didn’t expose him. There are a couple of exceptions…Two of them are right here… But he only cares about results,” Yamato said with a hint of anger in his voice. He was usually calm but Root and Danzo got to him because of his past in the group.
“Uhhn…” Kakashi started as he read through another one of his books. Sakura wanted to throw something at him, but she could totally understand why he was doing it. There was a part of her jealous she didn’t think to bring her own reading material, but she didn’t want Kakashi-sensei to get the satisfaction of seeing her engaging in such reading.
“Danzo sees all ninjas as tools and nothing more. He doesn’t want them returning alive if they can help it unless they have important news for him. He thinks ninja should throw their lives away for the sake of their leader and the mission. I also wish Hokage-sama would do something about him. Who knows how many talented ninjas he has wasted because of that philosophy. Sai is a prime example of that. Along with Tenzo here,” he said as he shot his other teammate an affectionate eye-smile.
“Kakashi-sempai… It’s Blue Neko right now… Or Yamato,” Yamato said with a sigh.
Kakashi cheerfully said, “Mah. Mah… Don’t worry about it Tenzo! You will always be my important junior to me.”
Sakura giggled when she noticed Yamato blush to Kakashi’s words and sigh as he shook his head. She really loved the way these two bantered with each other. She always hoped Sai and she would have such a close relationship someday. She hoped she would always be close to Sai and Yakumo. It didn’t matter to her that he was still very awkward when communicating with others apart from her and Yakumo. “And Ino as well…” she said to herself. She couldn't deny, despite how she liked teasing him, the two did get along surprisingly well.
There was a small part of her that she ignored, which wondered if maybe there were more Root members like Sai. She was grateful when Kakashi distracted her from going down that road after all of the lives they had taken today, and the others they had taken in the past. She also knew they would be killing more Root before everything was settled there. Thinking there were more Sais in the group would only make things worse in that regard.
“Oh ho,” Kakashi started suddenly.
Sakura and Yamato looked to him with raised eyebrows.
“It seems Danzo had a last-ditch effort setup we didn’t know about. Luckily, Blue Neko and I took care of it. Danzo had an assassin setup to take out the VIP after he reached their destination. It is a shame really. She was such a hottie. Still, she had to be dealt with in the end. There was also a group of ‘well armed and extra dangerous’ bandits he arranged for to take care of the team and the target. Our Ame team ‘friends’ were more than able to take care of them,” he said with a smile. That last part might not have been the case if the trio's mission wasn't successful.
Kakashi then looked to the others seriously as he added, “It seems this VIP might actually be important to Akatsuki’s plans. The team assigned to that mission were on hold for a good while. There were very important missions that came Ame’s way recently, but this team was still put on hold despite being very capable and highly sought after by those in the know with Ame. The team wasn’t high profile,” Kakashi said as he looked off into the distance.
“However… They were highly skilled. Skilled enough they might have been able to fight off one of the Root ambush squads at the very least,” he said gravely.
“Did they recognize us?” Yamato asked.
“Nope… Or at least it seems that way. I’m pretty sure they didn’t though. My shadow clone approached them in a very well-done disguise and they just ignored it. Your wood clone and my shadow clone engaged the last assassin before it could attack and we won, even if it was a close call,” Kakashi said.
“My clone dispelled after making sure it was all clear. I’ll give Hokage-sama a full report on the Ame ninjas’ abilities that I was able to garner when we get back. I’m still glad we didn’t have to go with contingency 12 for this mission,” he said with that eye-smile of his. Sakura couldn’t see it, but she knew it was there.
“You mean the one where we would have taken the Ame Ninjas’ places to finish the mission for them?” Sakura asked. There was a huge chance that option would have given up their identities, even if it was just that they were Konoha Ninja.
The last thing any of them wanted was another Akatsuki attack as a result of learning Konoha was keeping an eye on Ame more than usual. The last time Akatsuki attacked them it was just two members and completely by happenstance, but it had dealt a blow to them anyways. Sakura really didn’t want that to happen again… Ever…
She saw how badly it tore at Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. It also really hurt Hinata, Shino, and Kiba as well. Two good ninjas were lost that day, even if Kurenai’s death was due to really bad luck while on medical leave for her pregnancy.
{-} {-} {-}
“And that is all for your report?” Tsunade asked her three ninjas standing in front of her.
“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi answered cheerfully.
“Thank you for all of the information. Do either of you two have anything to add?” she asked looking to both Cat and Eagle.
The two looked to each other and cat nodded to Eagle. It seemed Sakura was nervous about something.
Sakura sighed and looked around the office. Tsunade used an extra security seal just added by Jiraiya not too long ago. Sakura then took off her mask as a way to unnecessarily highlight the importance of her next actions.
The pink haired medic-nin put a scroll on the desk in front of Tsunade. She then opened it and Tsunade gasped at what was there. She even put up an extra privacy barrier that wasn’t needed just to be extra safe.
“I faced him when we attacked the second ambush team… I don’t think I need to say how massive of a revelation this is,” Sakura said in all seriousness.
Tsunade recognized the head in front of her. If Danzo managed to sink his poisonous claws into this man, then who knew what else the old War Hawk had up his sleeve. She narrowed her eyes. She would have a lot of questions for Inoichi before she let him have the remains. “It seems I really will have to deal with Danzo sooner than I wanted. I wish the old man would work with us instead of on his own,” she thought to herself. Sadly, she knew he wasn’t about to do that.
Danzo thought he should be the one running Konoha. Sarutobi-sensei wasn’t any help there at all really. Tsunade’s old instructor had yet another blind spot when it came to his old teammates and his old rival. Tsunade was wondering how it was her sensei had developed such blind spots after everything, but she didn’t want to bother him with such matters. Sarutobi-sensei was old and deserved the rest he was now enjoying in his retirement. It would be up to her and Jiraiya to deal with Danzo and it would take time. She hoped Sai would be helpful along with their other sources, but it would be a difficult time ahead of them.
Tsunade looked to her apprentice and nodded to her. “Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will make dealing with such things more of a priority.”
She then looked to the others and smiled. “Congratulations on completing an S-Rank mission. The pay will be delivered as you have specified. Take the next few days off to recover,” she said as they saluted and were dismissed.
“Now what to do about an old War Hawk that needs to be retired permanently?” she thought in her head.
She then turned on her intercom and asked, “Could you please have Jiraiya come visit me in my office at his earliest convenience?”
“Yes! Hokage-sama!” Shizune said in response with a much more chipper voice than needed. She then heard her lovely first apprentice hum something.
“What is it?” Tsunade asked.
“Ahhh!! Sorry… I was just thinking it was good you were moving on finally. I loved my uncle Dan and I know he loved you as deeply as possible. Uncle Dan would want you to move on and be happy though,” Shizune said.
Tsunade sniffed. Why did her niece have to bring that up at this moment? She sighed. “Just… Just send the message…” she said in reply.
“Yes! Hokage-sama!” Shizune replied happily and Tsunade felt a little happier inside oddly enough.
“Focus… We have some things to plan and think about… Figuring out how to deal with Danzo is the priority!” Tsunade told herself as she waited. Things were going to get more complicated and days feel even longer. She was glad she was letting Jiraiya in her heart more. She had a feeling they would all need as much support as they could get in the coming days, weeks and months.