"My parents…?" Sakura parroted Hiro's words back to herself. If his words were correct, then had her father actually survived his encounter with the Uchiha?
"They told me to inform you—should you return—that if you wish to save your parents, you will surrender yourself at Fort Sena. They are being held there. If you do not arrive by sundown, their lives shall be forfeit," the young messenger spoke as Sakura withdrew her hands from his chest.
The flare of hope that had ignited upon learning of her father's survival was quickly extinguished by the messenger's further words of misfortune.
So the Uchiha had, in fact, quickly discovered that she had not perished from the fall off the cliff. Sakura mentally cursed at herself for not arriving in the village sooner. She had grossly underestimated the Uchiha's sheer determination in capturing her.
"Hiro, are you able to stand?" Sakura asked as she quickly concluded with a brief assessment of his injuries.
Hiro sat up slowly, yet shakily while she placed a supportive hand on his back. "I'll be fine, Sakura-sama. Thank you."
He rose instantly, shaking off the shock of his assault and followed Sakura outside.
"Sakura-sama!" she heard a familiar woman's voice cry out from behind a slightly propped open door.
Ume and several of the Haruno villagers poured out of a single house congregating around Sakura noisily. "Sakura-sama, it's terrible! We need your help!"
Sakura's face flushed with searing heat as the flustered villagers inundated her with their hysterical implorations.
"The Uchiha blew up our water supply!" she heard a frantic cry stand out amongst the chaotic jumble of voices spewing at her.
Sakura shouted above the uproar, "What?!"
Her booming voice finally silenced the pandemonium. A tall man stepped forward from the back of the crowd and smeared his sweat ridden brow. "After they captured Kizashi-sama and Mebuki-sama, they destroyed the well, crippling our irrigation system. Now we don't have any way to water the crops and livestock!"
The uproar began to escalate yet again with increasing desperation.
"What are we going to do?!"
"It's over! The Uchiha will be the end of us!"
"Please! We have to do something!"
"Quiet!" Sakura shouted, silencing the upheaval once again. She panned the crowd of fretful Haruno and projected any nuance of authority she could muster into her voice. "This will not be the end of us, I assure you! We will dig a new well and reconstruct the irrigation system—an even better system! As long as we work together we will survive!"
The Haruno cheered spiritedly and pumped their fists in the air.
"We will save my parents and we will never give into the Uchiha's tyranny!"
Her statement incited yet another wild cheer from the uplifted Haruno crowd.
"Just how will we save your parents?" Hiro inquired modestly, yet with a dubious undertone. His voice had been low and reserved although Sakura could barely hear him from beneath the clamor of the crowd.
"I'm not exactly sure yet," Sakura admitted, hissing quietly to the messenger. "If I can obtain some money, I may be able to enlist the help of some of the neighboring clans."
Hiro answered in a soft voice, cautiously attempting to avoid any other Haruno from catching his words, "I don't know how willing they may be to oppose the Uchiha, but it may be worth a try."
"Please, everyone!" Sakura shouted above the murmur yet again. "I'm going to need all the help I can get!"
Sakura rode Kuri through the vast plains outside Fort Sena. As far as she could see, the enormous fort was encased by a large concrete wall and located in between the foot of the mountainsides. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything within its massive walls. To her dismay, the only thing she could observe were the Uchiha sentries guarding the entrance as well as the patrol stationed in the towers positioned at each corner of the fort. With their surveillance, it was near impossible to scale the walls into the compound without being detected.
The entire fort was heavily fortified, thwarting any opportunities of infiltration.
Fort Sena was Uchiha territory which made it challenging to exploit her environment again. She may have had phenomenal luck escaping the three Uchiha in the Naki Forest, but witnessing the greater number of Uchiha holding her parents hostage within the fort harshly quashed that luck. The Uchiha were one of the Four Noble Clans gifted with immensely powerful eyes and she was just a mere woman born into a clan on the bottommost tier of the caste system. The longer she observed the fort, the more she felt her chest pang and her eyes begin to glisten with tears.
It was absolutely hopeless…
She had rallied her people with false hope and fanciful promises without recognizing the reality of her situation.
Sakura dismounted Kuri and led her by the reins. She turned away from the sight of the fort as her tears quickly amassed beyond her control. She clasped her hand over her mouth as a noisy whimper escaped her throat. Her head drooped listlessly, enabling her tears to splash onto the hard coating of her red armor.
What could she do now? The sky had already begun to undertake a bright orange hue, marking the looming onset of dusk. Her remaining time was rapidly drawing to a close and the time of her parents' execution was drawing near.
Despite her plans of enlisting help from the neighboring peasant clans, she knew deep in her heart that they would never oppose the Uchiha in fear of retaliation. This matter was restricted solely to the Haruno and no other clan would be foolish enough to soil their hands in this affair. Not with the Uchiha's propensity for brutality. It was her fault, she lamented admittedly, for if she had simply surrendered to the Uchiha, her parents and clan would not be suffering the repercussions of her defiance toward them.
"Why do you cry?" she heard an unfamiliar male voice speak from above her.
"Huh?" Her glossy, tear-ridden eyes met the dark doll-like eyes of a young male mounted on a horse. "Who are you?"
He had jet black hair styled in a bowl cut and a vivacious smile that exuded an air of amicability. "My name is Rock Lee. I noticed you were crying. Is there any way I can help you?"
"There's nothing…" Sakura smeared her cheeks, hastily trying to avoid further conversation with the stranger as two other horsemen caught up to the young male.
"Slow down, Lee. I think the cattle need a break." A silver haired man halted his horse beside Lee. He wore a patch over his left eye, a mask over his nose and mouth, and seemed to bear a dulled expression on his face in contrast to the other dark haired male riding beside him.
"Slow down now? Where's your spirit, Kakashi? We should drive the cattle even faster. Pep them up a bit!" The older dark haired man bore a similar appearance to Lee. He gazed down at the tearful samurai woman and contorted his face in confusion. "Eh? Is there something wrong?"
"If there's something wrong, please tell us. I could never pass up the opportunity to help a beautiful woman in need." Lee suddenly flashed her a thumbs-up, inciting the woman to gaze up at him with imploring, yet guarded eyes. "What is your name?"
Sakura briefly studied the appearances of the three horsemen surrounding her. The two dark haired men could have possibly been of the same clan or family but the silver haired man evidently did not appear related to them. They also seemed to be peasants working in collaboration to drive a massively large herd of cattle proceeded by a pack of yapping dogs towards what was probably alternate pastureland for the season.
Deeming them an unlikely source of hostility, she felt comfortable enough to disclose her name. "I'm Haruno Sakura."
"Haruno, huh?" The silver haired man raised a curious eyebrow. He adjusted his conical straw hat and inspected her more closely. "If I remember correctly, the Haruno permitted us access through their territory in past cattle drives."
"And you are…?" Sakura asked, hoping his answer would be of one of the Haruno's allies.
"Hatake Kakashi."
The name "Hatake" did not ring a bell within Sakura's mind, but if the Haruno had granted him and his associates permission across their territory then she could assume them as allies, albeit not formally.
"My name is Might Gai. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Haruno-san." The older dark haired male also flashed her a cordial thumbs-up greeting.
"If I may ask again, why were you crying?" Lee spoke up, seizing Sakura's attention as she seemed to brood in thought.
Sakura swallowed uncomfortably as the three men eagerly awaited an answer from her. She blinked back her stubbornly persistent tears and said, "My parents are currently being held hostage by the Uchiha clan. They are being held within Fort Sena…"
"Why are they holding your parents hostage?!" Lee exclaimed loudly as Gai and Kakashi exchanged hesitant glances.
"The Uchiha invaded my village seeking to employ me, as a healer I assume, in their war against the Senju. However, my mentor is of the Senju clan. When I tried to escape the Uchiha, they captured my parents and are holding them hostage unless I surrender. If I do not find a way to rescue them by sundown, they will be executed."
Lee shouted even more loudly and gripped Sakura by the shoulders, "That's horrible! Gai-sensei…Kaka-sensei, we have to help her!"
"A student of Senju Tsunade?" Kakashi suddenly shook his head, declining Lee's plea. "I'm afraid we cannot help you. Although we are trained warriors in addition to ranchers, we are not in the position to oppose the Uchiha clan."
"I understand…" Sakura responded dejectedly although she did not wish to burden the ranchers with the heavy weight of her situation.
"Wait!" Gai raised a buoyant finger in the air as an ingenious proposition surfaced to mind. "Suppose there is a way to help her rescue her parents without battling the Uchiha."
Kakashi cast his comrade a skeptical gaze. "How so?"
Sakura and Lee watched Gai with an optimistic luster in their eyes. Although she hardly knew Lee, the young man seemed to share the same hopes of rescuing her parents as if they were his own. Witnessing the fiery passion in his eyes filled her heart with immense warmth. Not since Tsuande had she encountered a human with genuine altruism towards complete strangers in need.
"Well, we need to head north but we'll have to travel across the mountains –and Fort Sena just happens to lie in the valley between the mountains."
"So you're saying we should cut through Fort Sena instead?" Kakashi asked in a blunt manner.
Sakura turned to the silver haired man who was discernibly unsatisfied with Gai's proposal. "Do you think you can drive your cattle through the fort?"
"Cutting through Fort Sena may save us a couple of hours in travel. However," Kakashi's voice deadpanned suddenly, dimming Sakura's restored optimism. "There is a high likelihood we may end up losing heads of cattle in the process."
"I will pay you in advance to cover for any loss of your stock. Please," Sakura pleaded with the rancher as she retrieved a small silk pouch that had been stored safely beneath her kimono.
She emptied the contents of the pouch onto the palm of her hand and displayed her offer to Kakashi. Kakashi briefly examined the few pieces of silver and shook his head, declining her offer. "I'm afraid this won't be enough."
Sakura continued to sift through the pouch in search of any valuable item. She drew a frayed red bracelet constructed of multiple threads of red cord and quickly deemed the item worthless.
Before she could return the item to the pouch, Kakashi suddenly spoke up, disrupting her search. "Wait! Where did you get that bracelet?"
"This? My mother gave it to me." Sakura inspected the frayed bracelet, uncertain of any indications of value it could've possessed. Any child could've woven a simple bracelet alike it.
"If you are willing to offer it, then I would gladly accept it."
Kakashi's sole dark eye widened in astonishment as he delicately cradled the tattered bracelet in his hands as if it were some kind of valued treasure. The seemingly obstinate rancher's eye softened as he seemed to be immersed in deep thought. His eyelids squeezed shut although she could tell he was beaming beneath the mask.
"I suppose Fort Sena would make a decent shortcut."
Kizashi and Mebuki had been suspended above the ground, affixed to individual wooden crosses erected beside each other. Their wrists had been tied to the ends of the planks, causing them to dangle uncomfortably against the wooden stakes. They had been situated in the main road of the fort guarded by Fugaku and Inabi.
"Do you think Sakura-chan will come for us?" Kizashi asked his wife. Since he was oriented overlooking the southern end of the compound, watching the entrance was all he could do to pass the time as they edged toward impending execution.
"Of course, Sakura-chan will come for us! That girl is as stubborn as they come!" Mebuki answered, prompting Inabi to glare at her from the ground.
A parenthesis formed around Inabi's mouth as he grinned darkly. "Your time is running out. Even if that bitch were to come for you, the other Haruno rats are sure to die anyway. I blew up that well of yours cutting off your water supply."
"You blew up the well?!" Mebuki's forest green eyes widened, absolutely flabbergasted by his prideful claim. "We depend on that water to nourish the crops and water our livestock! The very same crops and livestock we supply to the vendors your clan purchases their food from!"
Inabi's grin suddenly faded as Fugaku's face hardened into a peeved scowl. The nervous man fought to smother any tension from gracing his face. He hastily fished for a witty retort. "As if your pathetic clan contributes much to the market anyway."
Sasuke patrolled the entrance from the southwestern lookout tower alongside a slightly older Uchiha guard. The guard notified him of an incoming presence, inciting him to show deference to the long haired Uchiha ascending the stairs of the tower.
"Madara-sama." The guard opposite to Sasuke bowed his head submissively, greeting the head of the clan.
The commanding Uchiha glimpsed over the side of the tower and observed the heightened activity of the Uchiha guardsmen. His eyes narrowed, clearly conveying his marked displeasure with the situation.
"Why are you going through this much trouble just to capture one woman?" Madara's callous eyes settled on the two younger Uchiha standing before him.
He folded his arms impatiently, expecting at least one of the Uchiha to offer him an answer.
"The girl managed to break out of Inabi's genjutsu. We lost track of her after she plunged off a cliff." Sasuke finally stepped forward as the guard opposite him swallowed nervously. "This time she will have no means of escape."
"Broke out of Inabi's genjutsu?" Madara repeated with a skeptically raised brow. His voice descended into a deeper, scathing tone. "If a young girl can break out of his genjutsu, then his Sharingan is worthless."
The two Uchiha sentries standing beside the southern entrance activated their Sharingan upon hearing an unusual sound escalating in volume with each passing second.
"Do you hear that?" the guardsman to the left of the entrance asked as he squinted his eyes.
The guard adjacent to him placed a curious hand behind his ear. "Kind of sounds like barking dogs…and cows?"
"A herd of cattle? It looks as though it's coming this way." The other Uchiha guardsman wrinkled his nose as he spotted a barreling herd of cattle quickly encroaching upon the fort.
"What the hell?!" the guard on the right side shouted as a rush of cattle suddenly inundated the entrance.
Before they knew it, the guards had become swallowed into the stampede of cattle racing in through the entrance of the fort.
"Stampede!" one of the guards in the lookout tower bellowed to the Uchiha patrol trapped within the confines of the fort below. "Get to the rooftops!"
Fugaku and Inabi immediately abandoned their positions beside the captive Haruno and fled for the rooftops, evading the massive stampede of cattle. They covered their eyes as the stampede formed a veil of dust from the dried dirt of the main road.
"Where did all this cattle come from?" Mebuki asked her husband as she was crammed between the rush of cows racing through the road. She writhed uncomfortably as she felt the continuous surge of cows squeezing past her trapped body.
"I would make a cow joke, but I'm afraid I might butcher it," she heard her husband tease from beneath the deafening sound of running hooves.
"Dammit, I can't see anything! Who the hell decided to drive their cattle through here?!" Inabi spluttered as he inhaled a thick cloud of dust.
Kakashi led the formation on horseback and waved nonchalantly to the blinded Uchiha as the vast herd of cattle continued pouring in through the southern entrance and exiting out the northern end.
Sakura oversaw the tail end of the stampede on the short chestnut mare. She covered her nose and mouth with a red cloth mask, which prevented her from inhaling the thick shroud of dust springing into the air. Although it was difficult to view the activity ahead of her, she spotted Gai and Lee riding ahead of her both brandishing a scythe in hand. They simultaneously slashed the bottom of the wooden planks, cutting down the crosses restraining the Haruno couple. Although Kizashi and Mebuki were still affixed to their wooden crosses, they managed to surf atop the charging herd of cattle towards the northern exit.
"Now this is what I call a load of bull!" Kizashi shouted to his wife as he lay on the cross resting atop the backs of the rushing cows.
Mebuki rolled her eyes in response to his poor joke. Despite his dull jokes, she couldn't help but find it somewhat comical that their lives were being saved by a massive wave of stampeding cattle taking them towards the exit.
"Thank you, Gai…Lee…" Sakura whispered to herself as she carefully watched her parents surf out of the exit of the fort.
Although she was far behind them, she heaved an incredibly grateful sigh of relief that the worst was nearly over. In a few short moments, she would reach the exit and finally reunite with her parents.
Sasuke descended the lookout tower and raced to the rooftop of the barracks, scanning the continuous flow of racing cattle for any sign of the elusive Haruno girl. He spotted a conspicuously white, pink, and red object from behind the thick veil of dust obscuring his view. Licking his slick teeth in concentration, he took aim at the target and drew his arrow back. "There she is."
Sakura suddenly released her grip on the reins as a shooting pain emanated from her thigh. As she plummeted to the ground, she saw a flash of the blue skies above, the chestnut body of her mount, then a flood of hooves rushing at her face.
"Damn it," Sasuke cursed to himself as he lost sight of the fallen Haruno.
"Where is she?" Madara asked as he caught up to the younger Uchiha.
His demonic red eyes scanned the stampede in search of any trace of the disappeared girl. "I don't know. She fell into the stampede."
Without a word more, Madara roof-hopped towards the northern exit of the fort and leapt into the mass of bolting cattle. Sasuke continued to watch the stampede closely from his position on the rooftop.
Sakura clung desperately to the underside of a heifer's belly. Although the position was highly uncomfortable, not to mention nauseating, she hoped this tactic would mask her from the Uchihas' view until she reached the exit. Attempting to ignore the sharp pain from the arrow lodged in her thigh undoubtedly augmented the challenge of riding out the stampede. Unfortunately, her fall from Kuri had landed her farther back in the stampede, delaying her escape from the fort.
She internally cursed that damned archer Uchiha for downing her from her horse not once but twice!
Although she could hardly discern what was ahead of her from beneath the cow's belly, she vaguely spotted an upside down pair of legs that did not seem to belong to a cow. Had she made it to the exit already? Just who did the pair of legs belong to?
Madara stood before the exit, unfazed by the rush of cows skirting around him. He reached over his shoulder and grasped the handle of his gunbai. Wielding the large weapon like a fan, he swung the gunbai forcefully, which emitted a powerful blast of wind.
Kakashi cut away Mebuki's wrist restraints and freed her from the wooden cross outside Fort Sena.
"Where is my daughter? Sakura should've come out of the fort by now!" Mebuki asked anxiously as the outpour of cattle from the exit seemed to diminish.
"We'll just have to wait for her. There's no way we can go back inside the fort," Kakashi strongly urged the frantic woman.
The ranchers and Haruno were suddenly thrown off balance as an immense tremor rattled the ground. Kakashi's stomach churned as he heard the sharp cries of distressed cattle. He quickly turned to the exit only to witness the outpouring of cattle instantly cease.
"What was that?!" Lee shouted as the violent quakes finally seemed to wane.
Kizashi glanced to Gai and then to Kakashi, expecting him to disclose the source of the quaking.
"That sinister chakra…this could only mean–" Kakashi whispered inaudibly to himself as a bead of sweat formed on his brow.
Sakura opened her eyes slowly only to see a murky haze of red. She forced her way out from underneath the pile of disemboweled cattle littering the main road of the fort. As she rubbed her eyes, she noticed the fresh streaks of blood on the back of her hand.
What had just happened? Why was she laying beneath the dismembered bodies of cows? Was she still within the fort?
"It shouldn't have been this much trouble just to capture one woman," she heard a deep baritone speak from behind her.
Craning her neck slowly, she caught sight of a long haired Uchiha clad in red armor who stood behind her with his arms folded. She lowered her gaze, reminding herself fervently not to look into his eyes and fall prey to their genjutsu a second time. As he took a step forward, she frantically struggled to crawl out of the stack of slaughtered cattle. Heaving with every nuance of strength she could muster, she struggled to wrench her legs out from underneath the heavy bodies of cattle. Tears promptly fled her eyes as she jerked with intensifying desperation.
"Tou-san! Kaa-san!" her shrill screams reverberated off the walls of the fort as the Uchiha continued to advance on her.
She felt a blunt force strike her in the back of the skull, immediately inviting her into a world of darkness.
A/N: I wonder if anyone will catch what manga the cattle stampede diversion comes from. Haha.
Anyways, thank you for the wonderful reviews and I hope you continue to leave more! As always, thanks for reading!
