Land of Rain, November, Year 60 of Konoha
"Pant... Pant... Pant..."
The rain fell relentlessly. The air was heavy with sorrow and damp. Ahead lay a narrow valley flanked by towering cliffs. A group of figures fled through the valley floor. Judging by their attire, they were Amegakure ninja. Their expressions were grim, etched with fatigue and edged with anxiety. Even though exhaustion forced them to heave for breath, they didn't stop, running as if pursued by demons.
While sprinting through the valley, the lead ninja spied a cave mouth high on the cliff face. He stopped, pointing towards it. Two ninja immediately shot past him, making a beeline for the cave. The rest of the group used the brief pause to catch their breath.
After waiting a moment, the two scouts reappeared at the cave mouth and gave the all-clear signal. The leader scrambled up first, and the others followed him into the shelter.
Inside the damp cave, the group sat slumped haphazardly, cross-legged on the ground, deep exhaustion etched on their faces. The leader leaned against the cold stone wall, eyes shut, lost in thought or simply trying to recover. Just like that, the Amegakure ninja settled into a heavy, weary silence.
Takigakure Village, Inside the God Tree
Hearing the piercing scream from the direction of the God Tree passages, Haruno Sakura spun and dashed towards it. At the same time, she had a sinking feeling she knew what had happened. She'd been preoccupied with dealing with Suien and had overlooked the three Rain ninja. Sakura certainly had no illusions about Senji's Great Waterfall Technique having finished them off.
When Sakura arrived at the scene near the tree's entrance, it was just as she'd feared. One of the Rain ninja – Murasame, judging by the paint across his nose – was holding the boy Shota hostage, a kunai pressed to his throat. Shibuki lay injured nearby, a trickle of blood staining the corner of his mouth, surrounded by anxious villagers. Among them, a middle-aged woman, presumably Shota's mother, had her face buried in her hands, sobbing heartbrokenly.
"I advise you to let the boy go," Sakura said, her voice deceptively calm, her expression relaxed despite the situation. "Suien is already dead. If you release the hostage, I will allow you to leave unharmed."
"Hmph. Don't insult my intelligence. Do you think I'd believe your word?" the Rain ninja scoffed.
"It's the truth," Sakura maintained, keeping up the facade of cool composure. "Amegakure has a certain reputation in the ninja world. I believe you were simply used by Suien, and I have no quarrel with you personally." Even as she spoke, she was actively seeking an opening, knowing she couldn't afford a reckless move. No matter how fast she was, she couldn't outpace the kunai held flush against the child's fragile neck.
"Hehe~~~" The Rain ninja laughed dryly. "You took down Suien yourself, and you expect me to trust you?"
Wait. Sakura frowned, studying him. Something's wrong. His professed motive was escape, yet he appeared remarkably calm, almost… relaxed. As if he intended to stay put. Hmm… Where are the other two? There were three Rain ninja originally. This one was alone.
"Cough... cough..." Just then, Shibuki, lying weakly among the villagers, gave a ragged cough and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Sakura facing down the Rain ninja, he croaked urgently, "The Hero Water! They stole it!"
"What did you say?!" Sakura gasped, shocked.
"Cough cough... His partners... they took it!" Shibuki explained in a rush. "I was trying to return the Hero Water vial, but they found me… knocked me out… took it..."
"Hehehe..." the Rain ninja holding Shota gave a low, sinister chuckle. "By now, those two have probably already left Takigakure. But I still need to stall for them. Oh, and another thing – we never worked with Suien. Our objective was always the Hero Water. Didn't expect that idiot Suien couldn't even handle a little girl like you."
His insult applies to himself as well, Sakura thought wryly. Suien was an idiot for losing to me, but if this guy could beat me, why resort to taking a child hostage? By his own logic, he's an idiot too.
Sakura had no patience for his posturing. Whether they were allied with Suien or not was irrelevant now. That Hero Water – her supposed "share" – needed retrieving.
"Hold it right there!" Just as Sakura began to turn away, intending to give chase, the Rain ninja barked. "Do me the favor of staying put a little longer. If you leave, I'll slit this brat's throat instantly!" As he spoke, he nudged the kunai tighter against Shota's neck. A thin line of blood welled up along the razor edge. Tears instantly welled in Shota's eyes, but he bit back a sob, refusing to cry out.
Sakura looked back over her shoulder, her face utterly devoid of expression. "You misunderstand," she said coolly. "I'm not one of this village's ninja, nor am I in their employ. Their fates have nothing to do with me. Since the Hero Water is already gone from Takigakure, I guess I didn't technically take it from Takigakure itself, right? Guess I should thank you for removing it."
Her cold dismissal made the Rain ninja hesitate, his expression freezing for a fraction of a second, his grip on the kunai slackening almost imperceptibly.
Opportunity!
The hesitation lasted only a heartbeat, but Sakura had been poised for exactly this opportunity. Instantly, brilliant lightning chakra flared around her body – Lightning Cloak activated! Moving at blurring speed, she snapped her right arm up, index finger aimed precisely, and fired a searing beam of blue-white light from her fingertip, impacting squarely on the ninja's forehead.
In that split second, Sakura had no time to worry about Tsunade's warnings regarding the technique. Forgotten. If she were alone, she wouldn't have hesitated to call the ninja's bluff – Let him kill the boy, what concern is it of mine? But Naruto's presence complicated things. It wasn't about what Naruto thought of her, but the certainty that he would try to stop her pursuit if she abandoned the hostage. Knowing Naruto's nature, he'd absolutely intervene. Every second wasted lowered the odds of catching the thieves with the Hero Water. Forced into a corner, she'd used psychological warfare and the forbidden speed of her Lightning Cloak to eliminate the threat instantly.
The blue-white laser pierced the Rain ninja's forehead, bursting out the back of his skull. He gasped, gaze locked on Sakura, filled with disbelief and bitter resentment, as if trying to form the word "Treacherous"— but his strength failed him. He couldn't force the word out. Then, he crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
Just as Sakura got the escape route from the terrified villagers, Sasuke and Naruto finally caught up. Seeing Sasuke, Sakura paused briefly, then tossed him a scroll. "Read this somewhere private. You two stay here and recover in Takigakure for now. I'm pursuing the two runaway Rain ninja. If I haven't returned in three days, head back to Konoha."
Saying this, ignoring whatever protest Naruto started to voice, she dashed back along the route they had entered by, following the trail out of Takigakure.
"Hey, Sasuke, what did Sakura-chan give you?" Naruto whispered, elbowing Sasuke.
"No idea," Sasuke replied, tucking the scroll securely away. "We wait for Sakura here for now."
Although he hadn't unrolled it, Sasuke recognized the intricate seal marking the scroll. It denoted a highly classified document, likely of significant importance. So Sakura really did have a hidden agenda beyond the escort mission, he thought. Should have figured it out sooner. He couldn't understand why she was personally chasing down those Rain ninja, nor why she'd entrusted this secret objective to him.
"Hey~~~~~ Sasuke~~~~~ Give me a hand here!" Naruto called out from near the damaged village entrance, waving frantically.
Watching Naruto awkwardly trying to shift wreckage from a damaged structure, Sasuke sighed, shaking his head and muttering, "Idiot," but went to help nonetheless.
That night...
Sasuke waited until Naruto was fast asleep beside him. Then he rose silently and slipped out of the dwelling they'd been given, finding a secluded spot in the nearby woods. Taking out the scroll Sakura had entrusted to him from an inner pocket, he unrolled it carefully and began reading under the moonlight.
"So that's it," he murmured after reading, re-rolling the scroll. "Alliance... and intel on Kakuzu regarding the Hokage assassination attempt..."
He pieced it together. Tsunade had ostensibly shelved the formal alliance mission and the Kakuzu investigation when Shibuki's escort request came through. The alliance itself wasn't inherently covert, but it was tied to the sensitive matter of Kakuzu. Konoha needed to determine Kakuzu's background and allegiances before committing to an alliance with his supposed home village.
Sakura, after witnessing these events, must have assessed that Takigakure itself posed no threat and wasn't involved in the assassination plot. The primary objective remaining was to gather intel on Kakuzu. Once an alliance was established, she likely felt confident Takigakure wouldn't withhold that information.
So, the scroll is tasking me with completing the alliance and investigation objectives in her stead, Sasuke concluded. It was the logical next step. He understood now. The fleeing Rain ninja with the Hero Water were a priority target requiring immediate pursuit; Sakura couldn't afford to waste time here. The responsibility now fell to him.