July 27
"No need."
Sakura's hands continued to hover for a moment longer, green eyes searching Gaara's for some sign of pain. They had been travelling nearly non-stop for the past day without a suitable town in sight. Even if the king's wounds had been stable for a couple of weeks now, that didn't mean he should be exerting himself. Even a healthy person would struggle after such grueling travel. "You have no reason to act tough, Gaara," Sakura assured gently, "I've seen you at your worst."
A rare smile broke across his face, but it lasted barely a second. "You certainly have grown comfortable."
She laughed softly, but the unease had yet to leave her. Peering over her shoulder, she listened for anything beyond the wind rustled leaves and chirping creatures. Turning back to Gaara, she noted his hand pressing against his surely sore abdomen. "We need to find shelter," Sakura sighed, "there's no way we can keep moving like this."
"Do we have such luxury?"
Chewing on her lip, she replied, "It's a necessity. I cannot numb your wounds any more than I already have without causing permanent damage to your pain receptors." Sakura looked around once more, wondering if there wasn't even one village they could still access. Although she loathed the idea of bringing danger upon an innocent town, they were running out of options. Furthermore, as she saw it, none of these towns would be safe anyway.
Hushed rumors had found their way to her ears each time she sneaked into a town for more medical supplies. They had been systematically overtaking town after town—each one with a personal connection to Sakura's work. When she first noticed the pattern, it was infuriating, but the emotions could only run high for so long before despair took its place. She had the choice between protecting the king of a nation and protecting the lives of her many clients and friends. If she abandoned Gaara in search of vengeance and liberation, they would kill him immediately.
Neither option was good.
As they now stood, Sakura was no longer positive what the right choice had been. If even one trustworthy face could have come to their aid, she would've gone to her knees and praised every god and goddess. Now though, it had been nearly two months of hiding like rats. Although she hated to admit it, both Leaf and Desert agents were highly suspect. Any of them could be lying or hiding their allegiances.
Naruto…
She shook her head. It would only sink her further into a depression if she thought of her oldest friend. He would definitely still be seeking her out. She only wished that she could believe in the personnel sent to find them. Images of the incident in the Desert Kingdom made her flinch.
Really. No one could be depended on. The less people involved meant less potential threats.
"I'm going to scout further ahead—"
Sakura gasped sharply, dodging an arrow whirring toward her head. Quickly, she rolled over, seeing Gaara had also thrown himself to the ground with a pained expression. "Stay down!" she ordered, eyes surveying the darkening woods. A metal glint caught her attention and she leapt up, darting toward the light.
The razor sharp edge of another arrow skimmed the thin skin of her throat, but she ignored it, pressing forward until she burst through the speckling of trees, driving a fist into the darkly clothed attacker's face. Sakura gritted her teeth on impact, feeling a crunch beneath her chakra-enhanced attack.
Chunks of dirt crackled and exploded, blurring the terrain and cratering the earth. Sakura wasted no time in spinning around, eyes finding Gaara back on his feet and blocking his own attacker with a shield of sand. The fact that Gaara had regained enough chakra control to manipulate sand was a blessing. In a flurry, she sprinted back through the brush, snatching for the stranger's cloak. Faster than her eye could process, a sharp pain crackled through her back, throwing her headlong into the trees.
Sakura braced herself, skidding and rolling across uneven terrain. Uneasily, she rose to her feet and conducted a mental survey of her injuries. They were manageable at the moment. Wincing, she made her way back toward Gaara, anxiety peaking as she watched him on the pure defensive against a flurry of attacks. The concentration was evident on the king's face, and by the looks of his stance, he wouldn't be able to maintain that level of precise control much longer.
Analyzing their opponent, Sakura tried to find an opening. Despite his long jacket, he moved swiftly. It was a blur of black and red fabric as he launched literal explosives at the increasingly waning sand barrier. Wisps of blonde hair peeked out from beneath his straw hat, but otherwise, his features were hidden behind a large collar.
She inhaled deeply.
Concentrating her chakra, she pulled a tight fist back and slammed it into the ground, watching as tremors and then deep fissures tore the forest apart. Tree were uprooted and plumes of dust launched into the air. At near breakneck speeds, she threw herself into the chaos, reaching out and feeling sand curl around her wrist, guiding her bodily forward.
Two hands caught her by the arms, and through the clearing dust she met Gaara's pale eyes. Exchanging nods, they spun and launched into the forest, running as far and as fast as possible.
XXX
September 4
The nearest outpost was only a few miles north of the village. Sasuke was running, Naruto keeping pace alongside him. They spoke in low voices, but the urgency remained. With each word, Sasuke knew that his companion was growing increasingly nervous. He should have expected this. Leave it to Naruto to become emotional first, rather than rational.
"We have to get to her faster!" the blonde growled. "If an organization that's big enough to terrorize multiple villages simultaneously is after her, then who knows what kind of danger she's in?"
"This is worse, dobe," Sasuke snapped. "She's no longer the only priority."
Naruto frowned angrily. "I know that," he retorted, "…but she's still a priority. We have to get in contact with the capitals and send out support teams to deal with all of these villages. It'll be a waste of time to try and fix all of it ourselves."
Surprised, Sasuke threw his friend a look. "So you actually learned something from my people."
"You're always underestimating me, teme," Naruto clicked his tongue, "I'm an incredibly brilliant and powerful person. Of course I know something as simple as delegating jobs."
"Hn."
"You still don't sound convinced." Naruto griped.
This time, Sasuke chose not to answer, instead picking up the already brutal pace of their run.
They covered the few miles more than efficiently, only slowing down once they were just within sight of a large, wooden watch tower. The Uchiha symbol was painted into the side of the simple building. More than that, their collective attention was caught by how pristine the place was. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, taking in the seemingly fresh paint and gleaming glass windows. A thick, richly colored flag whipped in the air around the rooftop.
Eyes bled red.
Immediately, the image rippled away to reveal boarded up windows, cracked wooden panels, and a poorly painted over Uchiha symbol. The flag had been replaced with a new one that had the curious image of a red cloud on black fabric. Naruto rubbed his eyes, trying to keep up with the sudden change.
Sasuke moved forward, unsheathing his chokuto as he approached the broken door. There was no movement from inside, but that did little to appease him. They had already determined that the culprits behind the entire situation were not to be trifled with. He glanced at Naruto, the two of them exchanging a nod before splitting up to circle the decrepit watchtower.
They were both nearly to the back of the building when the soft click, click, clicking of something stilled their movements. Sasuke leapt back bracing his blade before him as a steel claw broke through the wooden boards nailed over a window. Strong coils whirred loudly as the claw extended, clamping down on his weapon.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke hooked a leg around the contraption's arm, steadying himself before turning his wrist forcefully until the lethal edge of his chokuto ground into the steel claw. Using both hands, he continued putting pressure, ignoring the sparks and hisses of the machine.
From the ground, he heard Naruto shouting. The blonde had brandished his own blade, bringing it down harshly on the root of the steel coil arm protruding from the open window. The wires and metal flesh groaned before bursting apart.
Sasuke was plummeting for the ground then, the claw still tightly gripping his sword. Releasing the weapon, he jumped back, shielding his body behind the thick material of his cloak as dust and shrapnel shot up around the useless machine arm.
"Sasuke!" Naruto was bounding up to him, standing on guard as his friend quickly reclaimed his weapon.
Nodding at the blonde, Sasuke snatched his chokuto up, rolling his wrist experimentally to feel for any issues in the weight of his weapon. Coming up beside Naruto, he surveyed the hole in the former Uchiha outpost. The dust was clearing slowly, but even from their positions outside, it was obvious that a larger mass of something waited inside.
Reaching into his thigh holster, Sasuke tugged a small explosive free, giving Naruto a short glance before chucking the bomb through the hole and diving for the trees. He pressed himself back against a large trunk, squinting against the sudden burst of fire and rubble. Naruto had taken to the bushes near Sasuke's position, completely curled into himself in a defensive huddle with his hood tugged up. Idiot. Sasuke rolled his eyes. If the fool got smacked by flying debris, he had no one else to blame but himself.
A second explosion rocked through the building, following by the popping of…something inhumane. Sasuke winced at the deafening roar of the explosive, both ears ringing faintly as he very carefully peered around the tree. Sparks and hunks of charred metal burst forth from the now crumbling ceiling. The already decrepit wall with the hole groaned and crashed to the ground in a fiery heap. Sasuke blinked, feeling his vision grow sharp as his eyes pulsed scarlet. Through the haze, he picked out a writhing humanoid creature composed of mostly metal and wood. It seemed to have scraps of fabric clinging to its shoulders, but those were quickly being swept up in the flaming tornado.
Naruto finally crawled out of his defensive crouch to give the burning building a hard look. Whistling almost playfully, he remarked, "You think maybe that was a bit strong?"
"It was a hand explosive," Sasuke countered, grimacing and clearly perturbed. "Whatever was waiting in there had combustible parts."
"Like…for us? You think someone was going to blow us up?" Naruto's eyes widened.
He rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Think harder, loser."
The blonde's eyes narrowed, face scrunching up in concentration. After a moment, it cleared and he clapped his hands together in triumph. "Why can't you just be honest, teme?" he chortled. "I was basically right. If that creature was a trap for intruders or other people who dared to challenge the outpost, then we count as well. I mean, sure, they weren't after us exactly, but they still did a damn fine job of trying to kill us."
"It was mediocre. A child's trick." Sasuke pushed away from the tree, heading deeper into the woods in search of an alternate path back to the village. They needed more information on not only Haruno Sakura's other client-villages, but also the physical appearance and demeanor of the village tormenter. There had to be a person beyond that creature in the outpost pulling the strings and harassing the villagers. A mere humanoid trap like the one they just burned to death wouldn't have the gait of a human. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to navigate anywhere. And if the chief had failed to warn them of such an alarming monster, that meant they had never encountered the monster. Therefore, who was visiting them with threats?
Another more pressing concern came to mind: who had the capacity to control that creature?
The initial claw that flew at Sasuke was not a fluke or a malfunction. The owner of that trap knew exactly what they were doing. Were they controlling it remotely? Were they there the whole time?
"—Teme!"
Sasuke's eyes flitted to Naruto. "What?"
"You still got that fat pet hawk?"
He prepared a sarcastic retort, but then realization struck him. If anyone even attempted to intercept Garuda, they were in for a truly rude awakening. Even for his breed, the hawk was large and menacing. Furthermore, as it bore an Uchiha Royal Seal on its tracking anklet, no one would dare cause it harm lest they were prepared for a manhunt of gross size and strength. Even harming a messenger hawk of the ruling family could be considered a crime worthy of…significant punishment.
Skidding to a halt in the next forest clearing, Sasuke tugged a small, bamboo whistle free from his pack. Mentally, he calculated where Garuda would be and whether or not he would be able to hear his master's call. Then again, Sasuke had trained the hawk to fly as far as the outer regions of both Uchiha and Leaf lands. Considering they were still relatively close to the Uchiha capital, it shouldn't be too large an order.
Sasuke inhaled deeply before exhaling sharply into the whistle. A shrill screeching echoed around them, scaring off dozens of birds in nearby trees. Tucking the whistle back into his pack, he pulled out a scroll and chucked it at Naruto. "Start writing."
Although normally one to pick a petty argument over Sasuke's bossiness, Naruto merely nodded and set to work scribbling down an urgent aid message. Mimicking his behavior, Sasuke took out another blank scroll and wrote out at brief but clear order for reinforcements to be set to the outer lying Uchiha Kingdom villages. It frustrated him as a ruler to be unable to defeat enemies of the kingdom or even protect his people; however, Sasuke acknowledged the sheer pig-headedness of trying to save each village one by one.
No one would be saved and worse yet, the true culprits would probably be further along in whatever plans they held for Haruno Sakura and the valuable knowledge she must be safe guarding. Sasuke hardly held delusions that a criminal organization was hunting her down for any physical gratification. Therefore, the only thing they could want was information or abilities she coveted that no one else possessed.
Despite being short with Naruto previously, Sasuke was far from dismissing the case of Haruno Sakura. She was tangled up at the core of this entire debacle which had brought down the wrath of three kingdoms. Sasuke could scarcely imagine what sort of woman all of them were hunting.
Perhaps…perhaps Naruto's idea would prove to be the greatest annoyance of Sasuke's life.
X
The sun was setting as they finally returned to the small village. Garuda, though powerful and swift, had taken quite a while to arrive. From there, the roundabout path back to the village had been much lengthier than either man imagined.
Naruto was grumbling loudly as the chief's hut came into view, whining about anything and everything. It was clear that much of his ramblings were merely intended to fill the heavy silence, and for that, Sasuke was somewhat glad to have his friend's voice fill in as white noise. He had a hundred scenarios running through his mind, each one leading to different but equally disconcerting logical conclusions.
"Oi, teme, are you listening?" Naruto complained.
"No."
The blonde yelped indignantly, getting ready to rant about Sasuke being a jerk. However, before he could, the chief pulled his door open, old eyes shaking with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "What happened?" Naruto demanded immediately, blue eyes hardening.
"He…He's dead."
Sasuke halted a few feet away from the confused elderly man. "Who?"
The chief shook his head, waving them into his home. "A few hours ago, one of our young men returned from fishing by the river on the outskirts of the village. He rarely comes to visit me, but today he showed up with a large cart behind him that was covered with cloth." The moment the door shut behind them, Sasuke and Naruto zeroed in on the apparent corpse on the floor of the chief's small living quarters.
Kneeling down beside the corpse, the chief tugged aside the large sheet covering the body. Naruto flinched minutely, but disgust was replaced by surprise. The chief noted their reactions grimly. "This is the…person that has been paying us visits and threats. However, I'm no longer sure what to think."
Sasuke's lips pressed into a thin line. The corpse was perfectly proportional to an adult human male and dressed in an ankle length black cloak. Large red clouds were stitched into the heavy fabric. Upon closer inspection though, the exposed flesh of both hands and face were artificial. His eyes flickered to red and immediately he was met with the sight of an intricate chakra network animating the corpse…puppet. Puppet was a far more appropriate word. However, the creation still perplexed him.
Chakra was manipulated in only a few ways in their world. It was used primarily to enhance human physical capabilities. Most commonly, warriors learned to channel chakra to strike harder, run faster, and fall lighter. Among medical personnel, chakra could be used to repair chakra networks, physical wounds, and damaged bodily organs—though in reality there were a select few who could do such complex chakra manipulation. Lastly, chakra was frequently utilized in entertainment. As a child, Sasuke had attended enough acrobat, magic, and puppeteer shows to know how creatively chakra could be manipulated.
But, animating a human sized puppet from a distance seemed utterly impossible. Sasuke found himself circling back to the same question plaguing him since their burned down the outpost. Just who was capable of doing these things? Furthermore, if they were so strong, what was their goal? With that much power, what could they be seeking?
"Sasuke."
He glanced up at Naruto. "Ah." It was easier these days to communicate with a single look. They used to have a much harder time understanding one another, but at some point, it had become…better. Sasuke hardly recalled why though. It seemed as if it just happened over night. A flash of pink and light and laughter struck him blind. Jerking back reflexively, Sasuke touched his head gingerly, wincing at the force of—what? A feeling? He frowned.
The blonde blinked in confusion, warily eyeing Sasuke's behavior for a second. Whatever had suddenly possessed the guy was none of Naruto's business. Or at least, he didn't want to know. It looked like Sasuke didn't much enjoy that sudden full body stagger either. Slowly, Naruto turned back to the chief. "We encountered a similar creation at the Uchiha outpost a few miles down the road. Although we destroyed it, we thought there might be someone controlling it." Peering at the useless puppet on the floor, he shook his head. "I guess your tormenter was also a puppet."
"I just don't understand any of this," the chief confessed tiredly, looking greatly aged at the finding. The wrinkles of his face seemed deeper and darker in the fading sunlight. Turning to Sasuke, he steeled his expression as best he could, but the twinkle of fear in his eyes lingered. "Please, Uchiha Sasuke-sama, I beg you to unravel this problem. I do not wish for another one of these abominations to come for us." He sighed softly, lips trembling. "If everything is as you both say, then I am afraid there must be a human mastermind somewhere lying in wait."
Sasuke knelt beside the puppet and swiftly pulled a knife loose from his thigh holster. Slicing the cloak open, he came eye to eye with a barrel-like chest made of wood. Prying the chest plate open, he peered inside to find nothing but wires and the fading glow of chakra. "I said so before," Sasuke began, looking up at the chief, "they will not bother you again."
With a harsh yank, he tore the innards out of the puppet, prioritizing the deactivation of whatever made the puppet move over preserving the intricate design. Besides, he could replicate the entire system flawlessly with ink and paper. The only thing that mattered was getting this specimen back to the Uchiha capital.
Little was uttered afterward. Naruto asked for directions to the village inn, and then they were departing from the chief's hut with the remnants of the puppet in tow. Sasuke slung the clacking creation over a shoulder as they trudged through the now darkened streets.
The room was small with two cots on opposite walls with a modest night stand in the middle. A single window streamed moonlight into the otherwise shadowed space. They had agreed to leave the puppet corpse in the closet out of well-founded wariness and also because of Naruto's fervent claim that "puppets and children will fuck you up in your sleep."
Sasuke chose not to pursue that particular line of stupidity.
It wasn't until they were both lying down for bed that Naruto found the nerve to ask what had been bothering him. Sasuke had not expected the question as he finally closed his eyes in hopes of meditating. Sleep was dangerous and the Uchiha had no intention of falling into a defenseless slumber with only Naruto to watch his back. That sounded like a recipe for disaster considering how deeply the blonde could sleep.
"Earlier…you were acting weird. Did something happen?" Naruto wasn't looking his way, eyes focused on the ceiling where a wooden fan lazily circulated air in the room.
"Hn. When?"
"In the chief's hut. You were holding your head. Did you overexert your eyes?"
Sasuke scoffed. "I barely used them. I'm not weak like you, usuratonkachi."
"Hey! I'm just watching out for your dumb ass," Naruto snapped back. "The least you could do is appreciate my concern. With that attitude, no one is ever gonna like you." His voice wavered on the final insult. Sasuke considered remarking on it, but then thought better of it. Knowing the blonde, he would launch into a tirade about something or other. Perhaps lay on more insults.
Rolling onto his side to face the wall, Sasuke tugged his blanket higher. "Go to bed already."
Naruto seemed to still have something to say, but then, uncharacteristically, he dropped it. That should've been Sasuke's first hint that something was definitely wrong with this interaction. However, after the day they had just endured, he had no intention of adding more problems to his plate. If Naruto wanted to mull over whatever was bothering him, he was free to do so.