Chapter 66: Storm Coming
Hokage's Office
Sakura was lying on the new sofa, the document she'd been handed now sitting on the side table where she'd dropped it.
A list of dignitaries attending the final tournament next month — Fire, Wind, and Earth nations, all three sending representatives to watch.
"Old man." She rolled over onto her stomach. "Please tell me you didn't drag me all the way up here just to read a guest list."
Ugh. Hair. She shifted, freeing where it had gotten pinned under her. She'd been thinking about cutting it. Long hair looked good, felt good — but it was such a pain to maintain.
Hiruzen smiled, stroking his beard.
"Nothing gets past you."
"ANBU intelligence reports Orochimaru has been in contact with Sunagakure." A pause. "And there are indications he's reached out to Iwa as well."
The smile didn't leave his face. His eyes went somewhere else.
That was why he'd sent Asuma. If things moved toward the worst case —
Sakura had held Orochimaru off. That was confirmed now. He himself could occupy the Kazekage or the Tsuchikage. Jiraiya would return soon. Tsunade's hemophobia didn't reduce her threat value; she was a force multiplier just standing there. Then the jōnin corps — Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Hayate, Genma — plus Maito Gai's green protégé who already fought above his rank —
The Hyūga, the Ino-Shika-Chō clans, the Aburame, the Inuzuka —
Even Danzō and the elders, in a real emergency —
Worst case thinking, he reminded himself. This may not go there.
"Is that so."
Sakura's brow had pulled slightly inward.
That essay. The fire that had started this. Written to convince one old man, stolen by another, and now — a butterfly that had waited in its chrysalis and finally decided to move its wings.
"Keep eyes on the border lines," she said, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "Especially the Land of Grass, Land of Rivers, Land of Frost, Land of Rain."
Grass borders both Fire and Earth. Rivers borders Fire and Wind. Frost is the launching point for Lightning Country to hit Fire Country from the north.
And Rain.
Rain was where Rain was. Three major nations bordering it. One very important other reason that she didn't say aloud.
Hashirama really picked a location.
Land of Fire: resource-rich, centrally positioned, zero geographic defenses worth mentioning. Surrounded on all sides by neighbors with reasons. The only thing keeping Fire Country intact was that Konoha hit hard enough to make the math not work for anyone thinking about it.
She found herself briefly envying Water Country. Mountains on all sides, abundant resources, ocean access, naturally isolated. The main drawback was the sailing. Though if I were in Kirigakure, she thought, I'd spend my first year tracking down every last scattered Uzumaki descendant. They have battleships. Aircraft carriers. That's absurd—
"Sakura."
Hiruzen had been watching her.
He followed the thread. Two Shinobi World Wars behind him — the jump from watch the borders to something large is being coordinated took him about three seconds.
Getting old, he thought privately. Would have been two, ten years ago.
"I'm probably being paranoid," Sakura said. "I'd rather be paranoid."
She sat up and shook out her hair.
Konoha wasn't what it had been. The war, the Nine-Tails, the Uchiha massacre — none of that had been free. But First Shinobi Village wasn't a ceremonial title. It still meant something in the room when Konoha walked in. No two-village combination was going to just roll over them.
The essay is playing out, she thought. But the essay didn't account for Akatsuki.
That was the variable she kept coming back to. Individual power in this world was absurd — one sufficiently strong person could flip Konoha on its head. And Akatsuki had at least one person who could do that. Possibly two.
Nagato, the wheelchair. Konan, the paper.
Shinra Tensei. God's Paper. And probably Chibaku Tensei somewhere in there for good measure.
Okay. Stop. That's a future problem.
She looked up.
"Do you know any sensing techniques? Specifically — something mobile. Not a fixed perimeter, but a range that moves with the user in real time."
Hiruzen looked at her for a moment, reading her combat style in his head, seeing immediately what gap she was trying to fill.
He thought through his catalog. He knew nearly every technique in Konoha's library.
"There is one," he said slowly. "But you'll have to wait a few days."
"Wait? We don't have it in the village?"
"We don't. Technically it's not a ninjutsu — it's a barrier technique." He paused. "Try the bathhouses in a few days. Take a walk around. You might pick something up."
...The bathhouses.
Sakura stared at him.
A barrier technique. Bathhouses. A few days.
The answer arrived immediately.
Jiraiya.
She stared some more.
That perverted old man has a sensing barrier technique that works as a personal mobile detection field?
"...Fine," she said.
"One more thing." She scratched her head. He wouldn't tease me about something like this. Trust the master. "I met someone during the exam. Kusagakure. Can you handle the paperwork?"
Hiruzen waved a hand.
Minor business. Kusagakure was famously transactional — everyone in the shinobi world knew they'd blow whichever direction paid best. As long as Sakura had vetted the person, the village's opinion wasn't a significant obstacle.
"Sure. Go on, then."
Sakura hopped off the sofa, patted herself down, and left.
The Stage Two results were barely cold and he'd already pulled her in. Karin was waiting downstairs.
The final tournament bracket had been posted.
Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji HyūgaKurotsuchi vs. TemariShino Aburame vs. AkatsuchiSasuke Uchiha vs. GaaraSakura Haruno vs. Rock Lee
Five matches, one bye — someone would advance without a fight. Single elimination, winners redrawn at random.
Sakura had run the math on her odds of ever making it to a second match and decided they were close to zero. The tournament was structured around her, Kurotsuchi, Gaara, Neji, and Lee as the main showcase. The old man wasn't going to let the undercard cannibalize the event. She'd fight Lee and it would be a real fight — Lee was terrifying and she respected that fully — and then either she'd win and wait to see who she drew, or the bracket would eat itself interestingly.
Either way: a month to prepare.
She came down to the lobby, and there was Karin, sitting quietly on a bench with a cup of hot water cupped in both hands, watching the door.
"Done," Sakura said, raising a hand. "No problems."
Karin's whole face changed.
"Okay!"
(End of Chapter 66)