To be perfectly honest, there was nothing Sakura wanted more than to go home— to her cosy little room (still far too pink for her taste), to her nagging parents, and to Tenpuramaru, the stupid goldfish who did nothing but blow bubbles all day. She might have grown used to the life of a shinobi, forever toeing that razor-thin line between life and death, but there was something especially chilling in the certainty with which Shion had pronounced her death sentence.
But for now, Sakura was simply grateful for the chance to rest her eyes and snatch a quick nap while the surviving attendants squabbled over how best to serve their shrine maiden on her grand mission to seal Mōryō.
That is, until a clatter of pots and pans down the corridor jolted her wide awake.
"Look, I made you some armour, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, bursting into the waiting room with his arms full of iron sheets and copper pans, all haphazardly glued together with duct tape. "With this on, there's no way that crazy woman's prophecy is coming true! Come on, try it on— banzai~…"
Ignoring Sakura's protests, he tried sliding his contraption— which looked every bit like one of those old, galvanised steel dustbins that used to be common before the plastic ones became popular— over her arms, only for the whole thing to get stuck on the meaty shelf that was her chest.
"Will you please get this thing off me, Naruto?" Sakura's irritated, metallic voice echoed from inside. "I do appreciate your concern for my well-being— truly— but at this rate, you'll be the one who ends up killing me."
Prophecies had a way of coming true, one way or another.
If she did wear Naruto's clunky armour, it might slow her down just enough for the enemy's weapon to find her chest. Or perhaps, it might amplify the sound of her dummy thicc breasts clapping together while she was sneaking around, alerting her presence to the enemy and getting her killed.
The point was, the more she tried to defy destiny, the deeper the grave she would dig herself.
Naruto watched as Sakura fumbled blindly, trying to remove the towering pillar of pots and pans balanced awkwardly on her shoulders. It was a rare chance to stare at her jiggling mounds, given she was temporarily blinded— but somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to enjoy the show.
"You there, shinobi," said Shion dismissively as she entered the room, accompanied by Sasuke. "Stop messing around and come with me. We're leaving."
Sakura popped Naruto's so-called armour off her head and flung it back at him hard. Only then did she notice that Shion had changed outfits. The heavy ceremonial kimono was gone, replaced by a fur-lined jacket and a white crop top that left her midriff bare. Sakura was, admittedly, pleasantly surprised by the shrine maiden's cup size.
"Then your attendants have finally decided how many will be coming with us? About time," said Sakura, with all the dignity she could muster. It wasn't easy, pretending her upper half hadn't just been wedged through a piece of modern art. "So, will there be catering? Surely at least one or two of them know their way around a kitchen."
"We're leaving them all behind," sniffed Shion. "They're still getting ready, and they'll only slow us down."
This inevitably irked Naruto. Once again, Shion wasn't giving her loyal servants the respect they deserved. After all, they were willing to lay down their lives for her.
"Oh, I get it," said Sakura, winking. "You're just a tsundere, aren't you?"
Shion didn't want her precious followers to die for nothing! On the flip side, this also meant she did not care one whit what happened to the hired help: Sakura and company.
"I haven't the foggiest what that word means, but I have the distinct impression you've just insulted me," Shion said, turning away in a huff. "Now, come along. Follow me."
She led them through a series of winding passageways until, at last, they stepped into a courtyard, its grounds covered in decorative white pebbles. On the far side, a waterfall thundered down— and through it they passed, entering a long tunnel carved into the bedrock. When they finally emerged, they were in the wilderness, far beyond the safety of the priestess's compound.
Shion turned to Sakura and raised her arms in the air, sniffing contemptuously.
Confused as to what was happening, Sakura raised her arms as well. Monkey see, monkey do: Naruto and Hinata then imitated the two girls, and finally, since everyone was doing it, Sasuke finally succumbed to peer pressure and begrudgingly raised his arms.
And just like that, all five of them were now praising the sun.
"Are you all daft?" Shion spluttered, waving her arms. "What in the world are you all doing with your arms up!?Do you seriously expect me to walk all the way to the Sealing Shrine, like some sort of peasant!?"
It turned out Shion only wanted upsy-daisies.
"Oh, you want a piggyback ride!" Sakura exclaimed in realisation, her face flushing bright pink. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Climb on, I was going to give you one anyway…"
Sakura crouched down and leaned forwards, holding her hands out behind her as makeshift steps. Shion clambered up onto Sakura's back and looped her arms around her neck, pressing her incredibly soft bosom against Sakura's back, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine.
Shion then pointed Team 7 in the right direction, and off they went, leaping across the landscape like oversized grasshoppers. Without needing to be asked, Hinata rose into the air and flew ahead, scanning the terrain for signs of trouble. Her new flying ability didn't seem all that chakra-intensive…
"Ugh, you jiggle so much that it makes it hard to hang on!" Shion complained as they soared through the air, the wind whistling in their ears. "You should go on a diet!"
There was no winning with this self-centred girl! If Sakura had still been flat, Shion would surely have called her bony and muscular and lacking in feminine sex appeal!
"Shannarooo!" Sakura swore. "Would you rather fly with Hinata, then?"
Shion blanched and clamped her mouth shut.
Hinata was flying far higher than Sakura could ever hope to jump!