Chapter 105: Two Brawny Men Actually Corner a Young Girl in a Deserted Alley at Night
An unfamiliar chakra.
With her powerful spiritual energy, Sakura possessed outstanding sensory abilities. Although they were hidden very well, to the young girl, that abrupt chakra fluctuation was still as obvious as a candlelight in the darkness.
Sakura cast her gaze towards the dark corner where they were hiding. Even if they didn't use ninjutsu to conceal themselves, that position was still an excellent visual blind spot.
Concealment ability... full marks.
Ever since ninja had appeared on the world stage and become the protagonists, the importance of their traditional skills, concealment and assassination, had begun to decline. Modern ninja played more of a role in frontal assaults and open combat, becoming less and less inclined to act from the shadows. Therefore, it was not an exaggeration to call them samurai-ninja.
Just like Sakura, whose entire skill set was focused on frontal combat ninjutsu and taijutsu, she really had no experience in how to conceal herself. If she were asked to hide like a ninja, she would only know to hold her breath, restrain her chakra fluctuations, and then hide in a dark place. In contrast, a ninja with slightly better concealment skills would at least know a few ninjutsu to hide their form, sometimes hiding right under the enemy's nose without them necessarily noticing.
But sometimes, a ninjutsu that conceals one's tracks is also a double-edged sword... at least when the opponent is Haruno Sakura. Because at short distances, she has sufficient sensitivity to chakra, doing so is purely superfluous.
Confirming that they had indeed been discovered, the two ninja hidden in the corner also walked out straightforwardly.
They wore patterned masks and standard-issue vests and sleeveless tight-fitting uniforms. Sakura's eyes narrowed. In her memory, there was only one department in Konoha that dressed like this: the Anbu.
"Anbu? What can I do for you?" Seeing the two of them standing in a pincer formation, Sakura's heart sank, and she vaguely felt that something was not right.
If there was something to inform her of, it would only take one person to come and find her openly. To send two people to wait for her in the dark, and now to even take a posture of being on guard against her... What did this mean?
The Anbu were directly under the Hokage, and she was the Hokage's disciple!
"Chunin Haruno Sakura," one of the ninja, with a red cloud pattern on his mask, said. His voice was of the type that had no special characteristics and left no impression. "Regarding the matter of the political review for your application to leave the village for a mission, there are a few questions we need you to answer. Please come with us."
The review didn't pass?
Sakura's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She felt that things were getting stranger and stranger.
A ninja leading a team on a mission outside the country for the first time had to undergo a routine political review after accepting the mission, to prevent any ninja from taking the opportunity to defect or collude with external forces. But this kind of review was usually not too strict, and basically, any normal ninja could pass it quickly. With Sakura's status, this should have been nothing more than a formality. How could it have been delayed until now and still have problems?
Could it be that the Anbu wanted to openly defy their direct superior—Lord Hokage?
"If you have any questions, you can ask me directly here. If it's not convenient, we can go to the Hokage's office and you can ask me in front of Lord Hokage," she said faintly, her heart tightening, but her appearance remaining calm.
"Don't quibble, Haruno Sakura! Come back with us for investigation. This is an order. Are you going to openly defy it?" the red-patterned mask ninja said sternly, taking a step forward.
A thought stirred in the girl's heart.
If it were an order from Master Tsunade, it would be only natural to take her to the Hokage's office. But the Anbu before her avoided the topic and dismissed her request as quibbling. It was likely that there was something fishy about this order.
"An order?" Thinking of this, Sakura let out a cold laugh. "Then what about the written order? Please show me the order issued to you and signed by the Hokage!"
"Anbu internal documents are not something you can see just because you want to!" the Anbu ninja said forcefully. "Haruno Sakura, I'm warning you one last time, do not openly defy an order. Otherwise, we will regard you as a rogue ninja and have the right to arrest you on the spot, or even execute you on the spot!"
The Anbu's tone became more and more low and gloomy. The two of them pressed another step closer, standing on her left and right, surrounding her.
The air seemed to freeze.
The masked ninja's hands, without realizing it, had already quietly rested on his ninja tool pouch. A desolate and stern killing intent filled the air.
"What, you want to fight?" The warmth in those light green eyes instantly cooled, becoming icy and indifferent.
"Forging Anbu orders, defying the Hokage's will, openly attacking a fellow village ninja in broad daylight... Hehe, your actions are the ones that are tantamount to treason!"
Chakra began to surge. Her gaze locked on the two of them. Sakura was already prepared for a fight.
The two Anbu pressed another step closer.
"Haruno Sakura! The consequences of defying an order will make you regret it for the rest of your life! I'll say it one more time: surrender now, come back with us for the review. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences!"
The masked ninja spoke with great righteousness, but he never took out his weapon, only pressing forward step by step, trying to create psychological pressure to force Sakura to submit, as if he had some reservations.
Fierce in appearance but timid inside! Seeing this, Sakura saw through their bluff.
If there really was such an order, according to procedure, they should have shown her a review order or an arrest warrant long ago. Or, when faced with someone who defied an order, they would have long since taken action without hesitation. Why would they need to use words to threaten her at every turn, to bluff, yet not even dare to show their weapons? Did they really think she didn't know how the Anbu operated, that she was a child who knew nothing?
It seemed that the order they were following was not issued by the Hokage, but came from some sinister and sneaky people!
"Hmph!" Sakura sneered. Since that was the case, she had no more worries. "If all you can do is talk big, then get out of my way. I don't have time to play this kind of boring game with you!"
She directly stepped towards the leading red-patterned mask Anbu ninja.
Clack, clack. The heels of her sandals kicked against the concrete ground, making a crisp sound.
The other ninja with a blue-patterned mask tensed his muscles and took an offensive posture, repeatedly signaling the leading red-patterned mask ninja with his eyes. The latter's pupils shrank. Watching Sakura's unhesitating steps, he was actually a little indecisive, as if he were hesitating, not knowing how to respond.
Haruno Sakura, with a cold face and a steady pace, brushed past the red-patterned mask ninja's face, her shoulder unceremoniously bumping against his body.
The Anbu ninja with the red-patterned mask immediately stumbled. He hadn't expected Haruno Sakura to actually dare to bump into him, to be so audacious as to provoke an Anbu ninja. Caught off guard, he was knocked off balance and almost made a big fool of himself. In fact, Haruno Sakura didn't really think she could be so reckless just because she was the Hokage's disciple. Her biggest reliance was actually the illegal behavior of these two Anbu ninja: trying to arrest someone without receiving an order from the Hokage. If a big scene was made, the blame would definitely not fall on her.
The Anbu ninja's face changed under his mask, his eyes burning with anger. He actually suppressed the girl's provocation and just gave the other ninja a look.
Only after the girl had completely walked past him, revealing her defenseless back, did he roar, "Take her down!"
Before his words had faded, his figure had already shot up. He used the Anbu's technique for subduing enemies, like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep, and launched his attack from the girl's blind spot. And a few meters away, his companion also attacked at the same time in perfect coordination, rushing towards Sakura's back!
Bang! Bang!
In a flash of lightning, it was impossible to see clearly what had happened. All that could be seen was that in the next moment, the two ninja who had launched the attack were sent flying back even faster than they had charged!
"Tch~ Two noobs," Haruno Sakura sneered, leisurely retracting her highly raised leg.
The Ninja Art: Sakura Rush and her nin-taijutsu were a perfect match. Previously, the problem she had encountered in nin-taijutsu was the same as the one Kakashi had with the Chidori he had just developed in the Gaiden: the power and speed of the jutsu were too great, and if her reactions couldn't keep up, it would be easy to injure herself. But Kakashi eventually obtained the Sharingan, and Haruno Sakura, on the other hand, relied on her self-developed Ninja Art: Sakura Rush to make up for the defect.
The two Anbu who had been thrown to the ground, although not seriously injured, were now suffering from a blow both physically and verbally. The faces under their masks were all very gloomy and ugly—they had clearly launched a sneak attack first, yet that girl had reacted so quickly and struck so swiftly that in an instant, she had sent them flying. It looked as if they were the ones who had been ambushed.
They looked at each other, climbed up from the ground, their hands simultaneously reaching for their ninja tool pouches.
Sakura's face instantly darkened. Using ninja tools, that means they're getting serious. Once a real fight started, the situation would be uncontrollable. Her hands unconsciously came together in front of her chest, in a posture ready to form hand seals.
"Stand down, you two!" A grave shout interrupted the two Anbu's actions. The movements of their hands stopped abruptly. Their eyes still held a trace of unwillingness, but they carried out the order without hesitation.
Sakura didn't stop them. In the end, they hadn't harmed a single hair on her head. If she held onto this matter and insisted on getting an explanation, causing both sides to fall out, it would be meaningless. Tsunade and the Third would probably not support her in continuing to make a scene. What Konoha needed now was stability, everyone working together, not the Hokage's faction tearing itself apart with the other high-ranking officials. In any case, she wasn't the one feeling gloomy at the moment.
She just turned her head and saw that the owner of this familiar voice was precisely Shimura Danzo.
Hmph, so you finally decided to come out...? I thought you were going to continue watching the show! the girl sneered inwardly.
Danzo's concealment skills were much better than his two subordinates'. But that was useless—within a few meters, a close enough distance, Haruno Sakura's sensitivity to chakra was top-notch. Even Danzo was completely exposed under her perception.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Danzo."
The girl's mouth curved up. She bowed slightly and said slowly with lowered eyes.
"What can I do for you, my lord?"
Her hands were folded over her lower abdomen, her chakra hidden under a calm exterior like a surging undercurrent. Her posture was so familiar—respectful and composed.
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