"Whew, man it has been a LONG time since I've done any writing..."
Sakura: "Why's that?"
"Mainly as Kayorei would say, I've just been in this little black hole of mine!"
Sakura: "Who's Kayorei?"
"No one you know."
Sakura: "Ok..."
"Well, in any case; on with the fic!"
Episode III: The Battle of Fresia arrives! Use the Force, Sakura!
It was a sight to behold. The once empty area near the Imperial security outpost was now alive with the sounds of blaster and cannon fire. The Rebels were managing to hold their own against the AT-ST walkers because they had some T2-B tanks in their reserves to back them up. However, to really quell this threat the Rebels have called in Gold Squadron, the best Y-Wing pilots in the Alliance to destroy the walkers so that they could escape from Wayland with the data that R2 was trying to steal intact.
Meanwhile, back in the Chunin Exam stadium...
"Man, this is a real fight!" Sakura was thinking constantly narrowly dodging all of Shikamaru's Shadow Possessions because she knew that if she got hit, it was over. However, this was not easy as she was blinded earlier from the effects of the Shadow Crushing Palm and it was like things were just a bright blur. "She's good; she is definitely showing some promise." Tsunade mused to herself as she watched the fight. "In fact, she might even be ready to become a Chunin." "Dang, I can't catch her!" Shikamaru was straining to catch her in his shadow. He was used to trying to catch fast targets as he had to when he previously fought against Tayuya when trying to retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru but he was never able to deal with targets this fast! "How am I moving so fast?" Sakura was wondering while dodging the relentless attack. "It doesn't matter; I need to try to go on the offensive." So then, she took out a kunai with a paper bomb tag on it along with a bigger bag with tons of tinier paper bombs inside it. "What? She's going to try to attack me?" Shikamaru was amazed at this since he knew that she had little to no chance of striking him lest she get ensnared in his shadow. Plus, she was still blinded; that much was certain but there was something off about her, something that he was starting to notice...
Back on Wayland...
"Y-Wing squadron, reporting in!" was the call that came to a bunch of highly relieved Rebels during the attack of the Imperial walkers. "Gold leader, I need you to take down those AT-STs now!" Raymus was saying while he blasted a few Stormtroopers with his personal blaster. "Copy that, attacking your target!" was the reply. A few minutes later, they finally started bombing all of the Imperial Troopers as well as the walkers destroying every target. With this, Raymus blew a silent breath with a relieved look on his face because R2 had just finished hacking in the Imperial security network. Now that meant that the time to claim the X-Wings as well as start to take the fight to the Empire had finally come. So all that remained was to raid Fresia and clear the way for the pilots so that the X-Wings could be acquired.
Meanwhile, back in the Chunin Exam stadium...
"You're finished! Ninja Art: Snow Sakura Dance!" was the confident call from Sakura after she activated her attack. It went well too, the initial explosion from a paper bomb tied to the kunai set off a chain reaction of explosions from another bag she threw earlier. Moments later, Shikamaru had taken heavy damage from the explosion. But he was still standing, despite the intensity of the attack. "Not bad, Sakura; I didn't think you would precisely hit me like that. Especially since my flash bombs usually blind the enemy for an hour..." were his thoughts while thinking his next move. But then, Sakura got the shock of the day because Shikamaru whispered to Genma that he wanted to forfeit. "What? Shikamaru, why did you do that?" Sakura asked him as he left the stadium. "I didn't really feel like fighting today, so I quit." he said with a bored look on his face. "Well then, the winner of the match is Sakura Haruno!" Genma said seconds later.
Elsewhere, in hyperspace aboard the Home One...
"Okay everyone, listen up!" Raymus announced while making the plan for the raid on Fresia. "We have reports from our Bothan spies that say the X-Wings are in a closely guarded location near the landing area. Guarding them is a turbolaser defense grid as usual, along with anti-air turrets preventing us from doing a bombing run. Plus they have Stormtroopers placed at every possible entrance near the guarded area." At this, the field commanders had a slight look of concern. "Well, how will we deal with this?" one of them asked. "Simple. We will use our PLEX soldier squadrons to deal with the power generator on the northern side of the area. While that happens, we will send our T2-B tanks as well as our own troopers to attack the Stormtroopers. Finally, this is where our pilots come in. They will reach the X-Wings while being escorted by the Alliance Elite Guard while the Infiltrators take out the Anti-Infantry turrets using well placed Thermal Detonators from a distance." Raymus explained calmly. "Captain Antilles!" one of the pilots said. "We're coming upon Fresia now, sir." "Excellent." He then turns to the pilots. "Pilots, prepare for descent; and watch out for those turrets!" The Home One then exited hyperspace near Fresia.
Back in the Hokage's Mansion...
"Sakura, in light of your exemplary skills in combat and as well as showing clear insight during the battle, I have decided to make you a Chunin." Tsunade proudly said to Sakura. "Thank you! It's a real honor; Lady Hokage." Sakura said in awe while taking a bow. "Say by the way, isn't everyone else in the village a Chunin too?" Sakura asked out of curiosity. "That's right, except for one person." "Who?" Tsunade laughed softly and said, "It's a certain hyperactive friend of yours." Sakura then softened her look and said. "Yeah, I wonder where he is." "Especially after the promise he made to me after Sasuke left the village..." she thought fondly while remembering that day.
"Sakura, I give you my word; that one day I'll bring Sasuke back to the village no matter what it takes!"
"..."
"Huh?"
"Thank you... Naruto."
Back on the planet Fresia...
"So this is it; the X-Wing. With this, the Empire doesn't stand a chance!" One of the pilots said when touching down in a transport. "But don't forget; we need to get to it first!" The Alliance Elite Guard's commander said.
"What the? How are we losing forces like this?"
"The Force? What is the Force, some type of new jutsu?"
Next chapter of the Kunoichi Alliance: A successful raid! Naruto returns!