Sakura frowned, watching the creature huddled on the deck. It can talk? She approached cautiously, stopping a few feet away. "What exactly are you?"
The unidentified being looked up, seeing the girl with the serious expression pointing directly at it. Its terror intensified. "I… I'm the sea monster they talk about," it stammered, voice trembling.
Clang!
The captain dropped the torch he was holding. Instantly, the remaining crewmen erupted into renewed panic, scrambling madly towards the ship's cabins like terrified rats.
"It really is the sea monster!" "We're finished! Finished! Help us!" "Get out of my way! Move!"
The fragile calm Sakura's earlier display of power had enforced shattered completely. Hearing the creature confirm its identity was the final straw for the sailors' frayed nerves. Having spent the entire evening steeped in terror, some seemed to snap, descending into mindless panic and chaos.
Sakura ignored the pandemonium, calmly picking up the fallen torch. She held it closer to the creature, studying its strange form. "What kind of creature are you?" she asked again, puzzled.
"I… I…" The 'sea monster' stammered, unable to form a coherent answer. Just then, another voice cut through the chaos from nearby.
"Haven't you dealt with it yet? Isaribi?"
Sakura recognized the voice – it sounded vaguely familiar, like the Kiri ninja's earlier. Heavy footsteps approached. As the figure stepped into the torchlight, Sakura finally got a clear look at his face: square jaw, dark round sunglasses perched on his nose, and strangely, a bare torso despite the cool night air. He was looking disapprovingly at the cowering creature he'd called Isaribi.
"What are you doing?" the sunglasses-wearing man demanded, his gaze sharp as he took in the scene – Isaribi cornered by Sakura. "Useless trash! Can't even handle a little brat like this!"
With that, he lunged, reaching out to grab Sakura.
Sakura reacted instantly, easily dodging his grasp. This man looked familiar, too, but she couldn't quite place him. "And who are you?" she questioned sharply, putting distance between them. "Are you connected to this 'sea monster'?"
The man paused, surprised that she had evaded him so easily. He scrutinized Sakura more carefully, his eyes widening slightly behind the dark lenses. "It's you!"
"You know me?" Sakura asked, figuring if he recognized her, she must have encountered him somewhere before.
"Hmph. I wondered who it might be," the man scoffed, a disdainful smirk spreading across his face. "Turns out it's just some Genin out playing ninja on a mission. Well, playtime's over."
"What do you want? Have we met before?" Sakura asked again, ignoring his taunt. She'd already suffered the consequences of acting without sufficient information; she wasn't about to start another fight blindly and risk more unforeseen complications.
"Heh heh. Seems I was too low-key during the Chunin Exams," the man chuckled, a cruel glint in his eyes. "But don't worry. Soon enough, you'll never forget me!"
Chunin Exams? Sakura wracked her brain for a moment. Then, it clicked. The square face, the sunglasses hiding his eyes… he was one of Orochimaru's subordinates! The one who could absorb chakra through physical contact! She hadn't recognized him immediately without the face mask he'd worn back then. Akado Yoroi, that was his name.
"Oh, it's you," Sakura said, her tone becoming dismissive as she gestured towards the cowering Isaribi. "Alright, spit it out. What are you people up to? And what exactly is this creature?"
"Heh! Interesting!" Yoroi regarded Sakura with mock pity. "You really want to know? Honestly, materials are scarce; using valuable ninja as test subjects is quite the luxury these days. But," his smile widened unpleasantly, "you'll get a firsthand demonstration soon enough."
Sakura sighed dramatically. "You know, I really just hoped we could talk this through peacefully. Good for you, good for me, right? But people always seem to assume I'm some easy target they can just push around. So," she shrugged, "I guess I have no choice but to resort to force."
Yoroi opened his mouth, clearly about to deliver a mocking retort, but before he could utter a sound, Sakura vanished from his sight. An instant later, an overwhelming sense of danger surged from behind him. The fine hairs on his neck prickled; Yoroi spun around frantically—only to hear Sakura's voice seemingly come from the spot he had just been standing, directly in front of where she had been.
"Looking the wrong way!" Sakura's voice snapped like a whip. Her right hand, already glowing with the sharp, focused energy of a Chakra Scalpel, lashed out.
Schlick!
Yoroi's right forearm was severed cleanly at the elbow, the cut as neat as if made by the sharpest blade.
He cried out, staggering back, clutching the bleeding stump, his face instantly paling. All traces of arrogance and contempt vanished from his eyes, replaced by raw shock and fear as he stared at Sakura.
Sakura noted with satisfaction how she had amplified the Chakra Scalpel's cutting power, achieving a sharpness almost comparable to a Wind Release technique.
She looked steadily at Yoroi. "Actually," she said slowly, deciding a bluff might yield information, "your master, Orochimaru, and I… we go back a bit. We have some history. I really didn't want to do this, but you forced my hand." (Their 'history' was far from amicable, but Yoroi didn't need to know that). "Now. Are you going to tell me? What is this creature?"
Yoroi stared at her blankly, seemingly shell-shocked, soul-stricken. Then, to Sakura's utter astonishment, he stumbled forward and dropped heavily to one knee before her with a dull thud.
Sakura blinked, startled. Whoa, okay, I just mentioned I knew Orochimaru, no need to kneel… But then, a chillingly familiar, raspy voice slithered through the air from directly behind her. Sakura instantly reacted, leaping away like a startled deer.
"Hehehe… To have some 'history' with you, Sakura-kun… The honor is all mine!"
"Lord Orochimaru!" Yoroi exclaimed, keeping his head bowed low in reverence.
Orochimaru didn't even spare Yoroi a glance. His golden, slitted pupils were fixed entirely on Sakura.
Sakura swallowed hard, her heart pounding. His sudden appearance hadn't scared her completely out of her wits, but it was a very near thing. Without her Sage Chakra senses active, her perception relied heavily on instinct and experience – standard for most ninja detecting hidden enemies, unlike true sensor-types. And her instincts screamed danger. The unnervingly pale face, the vertically slit pupils… there was no mistaking him.
"Orochimaru!" Sakura tensed, automatically shifting into a guarded stance. Damn it all! Just when she thought she had the situation under control, he shows up. This was infinitely worse than dealing with Mei. Orochimaru was infamous, powerful, and utterly unpredictable. Her previous encounters with him had always left her at a disadvantage. Even now, with her strength significantly increased, facing him filled her with profound unease. The fact that he could appear silently behind her without her noticing… if he had attacked instead of speaking, she could have been seriously injured, or worse.
"We meet again, Sakura-kun," Orochimaru hissed, his unnervingly long tongue darting out to lick his lips. He flicked his gaze dismissively towards Isaribi. "An experiment combining human and fish genes, designed to grant the subject the ability to breathe underwater. A project initiated by your beloved Third Hokage himself, back during the Third War. The intent was to create an amphibious shinobi force to counter Kirigakure's dominance at sea."
Seeing Sakura's expression remain guarded, Orochimaru continued smoothly, "Of course, after the war concluded, Lord Third saw fit to abandon this line of research. My work here, however, continued… towards my own ends. And she," he gestured contemptuously at Isaribi, "is merely one of the monsters born from this facility."
Hearing her own tragic origin story laid bare, Isaribi stared at Orochimaru, her fear momentarily eclipsed by a surge of pure, unadulterated hatred. So HE was the mastermind behind it all! He was the reason she was feared and shunned by the villagers, the reason she was trapped in this grotesque, neither-human-nor-fish form! Fueled by a sudden, desperate courage born of despair, she let out a guttural cry and lunged towards Orochimaru.
She didn't even get close. Before she could take more than a step, two enormous white snakes erupted from Orochimaru's sleeves, instantly enveloping her. They coiled tightly around Isaribi's neck, constricting slowly but inexorably. She choked, gasping for air, her eyes beginning to roll back in her head.
"Stop!" Sakura shouted instinctively. Orochimaru's explanation had triggered a faint, half-buried memory – something about one of his hidden bases located in the Land of Sea, conducting illicit research. The details were hazy, lost to time. But regardless, Isaribi was clearly a victim in this. Seeing her attacked like this, Sakura felt a reluctant urge to intervene. Since she's right here… might as well save her if I can.
"Oh?" Orochimaru turned his playful, serpentine gaze back to Sakura. "I wouldn't have expected someone known for such ruthlessness to harbor sympathy, Sakura-kun."
"It's still better than conducting inhuman experiments like yours!" Sakura retorted, not bothering to deny his assessment of her ruthlessness. In this world, weakness was a death sentence.
"You are mistaken," Orochimaru corrected, shaking his head with mock solemnity. "The initiator of this project was Konoha's most revered Third Hokage. I was merely the manager assigned to oversee it! If anyone lacked humanity in this affair, it was Lord Third."
"Just let her go, Orochimaru," Sakura repeated firmly, seeing Isaribi now clearly losing consciousness.
"Hehehe. Very well. Take her, by all means," Orochimaru waved a dismissive hand. "She is merely a failed specimen, after all." The two snakes instantly released their hold, dragging Isaribi's limp form towards Sakura.
The moment the snakes crossed into what Sakura considered her immediate defensive perimeter, two beams of laser shot from her fingertips, instantly vaporizing their heads. The headless serpentine bodies writhed for a moment before dissolving. As the snakes vanished, Isaribi's more pronounced fish-like features seemed to partially recede, though patches of scales remained on her skin – testament to Orochimaru's claim of her being a 'failure'.
Orochimaru watched his snakes get destroyed without blinking, merely licking his lips again. "I have no intention of fighting you, Sakura-kun. Our meeting here was purely coincidental. In fact, I was just about to leave."
"Hmph. See that you do," Sakura replied curtly, relieved. A direct confrontation with Orochimaru was the last thing she wanted. He was arguably the most troublesome and difficult-to-pin-down shinobi in the entire world.
"Hehehe," Orochimaru chuckled softly, his gaze intensifying. "I can sense it, you know. Your power has grown considerably. And there is… a familiar scent about you now."
"What are you trying to say?" Sakura asked warily. "No, forget it. Just spit it out. Why did you really 'accidentally' run into me here?"
"Very well," Orochimaru's demeanor shifted, becoming sharper, more focused. "No point beating around the bush, as you say. Slaughtering your own village's ninja, branded an A-rank missing-nin… and now, it appears you've caused quite a stir in the Land of Water as well." He paused, his golden eyes gleaming. "Given your current circumstances… how about it, Sakura-kun? Are you interested in joining my side?"
"Heh," Sakura scoffed. "So, it's a recruitment pitch."
"Not recruitment, precisely," Orochimaru demurred with a shrug. "Let's call it… an arrangement of mutual benefit."
"I highly doubt there's anything I need or want from you," Sakura stated flatly. Are you kidding me? she thought derisively. I might not be a genius, but even a 'low-IQ creature' like me knows better than to get entangled with a high-IQ predator like him. Sure, I might stand a chance fighting him now, maybe even win, but my brainpower is definitely my weak spot! My past 'successes' relied heavily on future knowledge. Comparing wits with peers is one thing; trying to coexist and outsmart an old fox who's been manipulating things for decades? No freaking thanks.
"I can help you, Sakura-kun," Orochimaru offered softly, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I can provide you with the evidence you need to prove Danzo framed you. And," he added, pausing for effect, "I will grant you full access to my extensive intelligence network."
Sakura stared at him, genuinely shocked. He knew about Danzo? How? She'd met Danzo after the framing, but that encounter proved nothing concrete. Her conclusion about his involvement was entirely based on her own deductions and suspicions. For Orochimaru to point directly at Danzo… did he actually possess hard evidence? And intelligence… that was her most critical weakness right now. Ever since leaving Konoha, she'd been operating blind, stumbling through situations like the mess in the Land of Water precisely because she lacked reliable information. In a world without the internet, Orochimaru's network would be invaluable… It was dangerously tempting.
"I refuse," Sakura said firmly, pushing down the flicker of temptation. "Getting involved with you would truly make me a missing-nin beyond any hope of redemption." Besides, she reasoned silently, for him to offer so much, the price he'd eventually demand would be astronomical. Getting tangled too deeply with him would stain me permanently. She suspected his primary interest wasn't her combat ability, but her connection to Tsunade – specifically, the advanced medical knowledge she possessed.
"Are you certain you have anywhere else to turn now?" Orochimaru chuckled, completely unfazed by her rejection. "You will find out soon enough, I imagine."
With that, he formed a single hand seal, and his body seemed to ripple and dissolve into the air, vanishing completely.
Sakura blinked, surprised by his abrupt departure. She'd expected him to haggle, to press his offer. His decisiveness was almost… disappointing? What did he mean by 'you'll find out soon enough'?
Orochimaru's disembodied voice echoed softly around her. "I shall look forward to our next encounter, Sakura-kun."
Sakura pointed towards the still-kneeling, one-armed Yoroi. "Hey!" she yelled into the empty air. "If you don't want this guy, I'm killing him!"
Silence. No response came.
Sakura turned her attention back to Yoroi, cracking the knuckles of her remaining fist. "Well," she said grimly, "looks like Lord Orochimaru has abandoned you. So… are you ready now?"
Cold sweat beaded on Yoroi's forehead as Sakura advanced on him step by step. Abandoned? Lord Orochimaru just… left me? Am I just another disposable pawn? His mind raced frantically. His right arm was gone, making hand seals impossible. He couldn't fight. He had to change her mind, somehow. His gaze flickered towards the unconscious half-fish creature, Isaribi, lying nearby. An idea sparked.
"W-wait! Wait!" Yoroi pleaded, clutching his bleeding stump. "I… I can help her! I know how to reverse the process, restore her to her original form! Please, just don't kill me!"
"Why should I care whether she recovers or not?" Sakura asked coldly, pausing her advance.
"P-please!" Yoroi begged, desperation making his voice high-pitched. "I'll do anything! Anything you ask! Just let me live!"
Seeing his abject terror, Sakura hesitated. Maybe I am being a bit petty, she admitted reluctantly to herself. He hadn't personally offended her nearly as much as the captain and the boatman had.
"Is this ship currently heading towards one of your bases?" Sakura asked suddenly, changing tactics.
"Y-yes! Yes!" Yoroi nodded frantically. "This route leads to a hidden base near the Land of Sea! Doctor Tenchi is stationed there, conducting experiments! We… we hijack ships like this to provide him with… research materials."
"I see." Sakura nodded slowly, then pointed towards the two remaining conscious crew members – the boatman still whimpering and clutching his groin, and the captain who had seemingly soiled himself in terror. "Alright. See those two?" she instructed Yoroi. "Keep a close eye on them. When we reach this base, you follow my orders exactly. Do that, and I might reconsider killing you."
Yoroi nodded vigorously, relief washing over him. Okay, okay, I've bought myself some time, he thought, a venomous glint returning to his eyes despite his fear. Just wait until we get to the base. We'll see who's boss then. He refused to believe Orochimaru had invited Sakura due to her strength; Lord Orochimaru preferred molding promising, malleable recruits. Besides Doctor Tenchi, Yoroi schemed, there's another loyal subordinate at that base. Once we arrive, I'll find a chance to eliminate this little brat, then deal with Tenchi and the other one too.
Some people, when abandoned, fall into despair. Others become consumed by hatred. Akado Yoroi was firmly in the latter category.