Fūrinkazan
Chapter - 9
"Trouble"
Sakura was in her second week of being apart from Naruto and was extremely annoyed as she sat cross-legged on top of a giant mushroom and watched the hundreds upon hundreds of slugs around her do about their daily life of feeding because that was all Sakura could claim it to be. And exactly that was her problem and cause of her current frustration. To her mind and her eyes, the many slugs of all different sizes were just going from plant to plant to fill their stomachs and nothing more. Katsuyu, however, had claimed that Sakura was not seeing everything and suggested for the pink haired kunoichi to widen her spectrum. Additionally the giant slug chieftain added a stipulation that as long as Sakura failed to truly understand her slug summons, she was barred from learning the techniques that had made Tsunade famous.
"Stupid fucking training," Sakura growled in her mind as she tried to depict more meaning into the slugs behavior of feeding day in and day out. In frustration and anger at not finding the proper answers, Sakura had slowly begun to nitpick away at the dome of the giant mushroom she had been sitting on. At this time during her second week, the mushroom head no longer consisted of a smooth surface but was now instead littered with tiny craters and looked as if a slug had taken a few too many bites out of the mushroom.
"Damn it why can't I figure this out," Sakura yelled up in frustration as she threw her hands into the air in a show of surrender. She sighed and fell onto her back and looked up into the cloudy sky that looked as depressing as Sakura felt.
"And how is your training coming along Naruto-kun?" She asked herself as her eyes played tricks with her mind by showing a grinning image of Naruto in the sky.
Sakura continued to study the cloudy ocean above her and once more sighed as the dull pain in her chest that was her heart reminded her of how much she was missing the blond knucklehead. She was finally relieved from her pain and frustration by a well-timed distraction courteous of Katsuyu.
"Giving up so soon?" The giant slug summon asked as a miniature form the size of Sakura appeared next to the pink haired woman.
"No," Sakura growled out between clenched teeth. "I'm just taking a break."
"I see," Katsuyu's smaller replica replied in amusement.
"I don't get it," Sakura finally admitted after countless minutes of silence between her and the slug clone. "I know I am smarter than this but… but I can't seem to wrap my head around what you want from me Katsuyu-sama."
"It will come to you in due time Sakura-san," the slug replied and swayed its head as if it was humming a tune inside its head. "It is not an easy task for a human to think like a slug. However, I think I shall give you a hint… In essence, you not only have to think like we do, you have to become one with us. You have to become one with nature. You have to become a slug."
Sakura raised a questionable eye brow and turned her head to look at the slug next to her. "In other words, I have to eat, sleep, and breathe 'slug' in order to understand you? You couldn't have made it any harder?" Sakura finished with sarcasm and sighed. "How am I going to become a slug? That makes no sense, let alone it's not even humanly possible."
"Do not think so linear young one," Katsuyu answered with a hint of amusement. "I do not ask you to become a slug physically but in order to survive the training you have to get an understanding of what we are."
"Okay okay I get it," Sakura said in frustration. "Say Katsuyu-sama, how long did Tsunade-shishou take to grasp your concept and start her training?"
The slug was silent for a few minutes before answering, "If my memory serves me right, Tsunade-sama needed two days."
"Two days?" Sakura exploded in surprise and jumped to her feet in anger. "That drunken, lazy, no good for nothing…" Sakura screamed in rage and smashed her fist into the dome of the mushroom, splitting the giant plant in half. "Two fucking days? Oh hell no," Sakura continued to rage as she jumped off the falling mushroom and immediately went to work at the next best thing that was near her.
Dust and debris flew through the air and the many slugs instantly distanced themselves from Sakura as the pink haired kunoichi unleashed her up pent frustration on the nature around her. Her angry voice echoed through the area as the strong booms of her impacts fleetingly overlay her ranting.
The jungle of mushrooms and other poisonous plants that was the home of the slugs suddenly befell deathly silence and the dust began to slowly settle as Katsuyu slithered into the dust cloud and through the path of destruction that Sakura had left behind and eventually came upon the young woman at the bottom of a giant crater.
"I can't believe Tsunade-shishou only needed two days for this," Katsuyu heard Sakura talk to herself as the woman was lying on her back. "If she ever finds out that it's been taking me two weeks, if not longer… I'll never hear the end of it. Why… why can't I figure this out?" Sakura finished with soft sobs and Katsuyu saw smears of tears running down the pale skin of Sakura's smudged covered face.
"Sakura-san," Katsuyu gently spoke up as the slug arrived at the bottom of the crater. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Sakura replied weakly and smeared the tears out of her face and sat up. "Sorry for losing my temper…"
"Sakura-san I have to apologize," Katsuyu said. "I didn't want you to feel inferior towards Tsunade-sama. I merely meant to awaken your fighting spirit. In truth, Tsunade-sama had as much hardship in understanding this as you do. She didn't pass this test in two days as I made you believe."
"Don't try to console me," Sakura replied bitterly. "I don't need to be treated with silk gloves. I am not weak."
"I know," Katsuyu replied and was surprised that Sakura didn't believe her. The slug sighed, "Your species is difficult to understand. You always think that the other party is lying or wanting to do you harm, when in fact they are simply trying to help you. Tsunade-sama needed far longer in grasping the concept that I have laid out before you. You can still find the answers you need and still have finished this task before Tsunade-sama ever did."
"Thank you Katsuyu-sama," Sakura spoke dejectedly still not believing the slug chieftain and slowly stood up. "I am going to need some time… I'll be back later tonight."
More frustrating weeks had passed by as Sakura was still unable to give a satisfying answer to the slug chieftain. Sakura's understanding about the slugs' way of life was still as mystifying and confusing as always, however, her frustration in not finding an answer, had taken form of a simmering hatred and bitterness towards the task laid out before her.
Sakura was currently humming an old childhood song her mother had always sung to her whenever Sakura was feeling under the weather and once again, Sakura's mind was far away from finding a solution to her problem. And even though her eyes were watching the slugs feed, Sakura didn't pay an ounce of attention to the spectacle in front of her.
Not thinking about anything in particular, she continued to sit and stare out over the feeding frenzy around her. It would have been a step too far to assume that Sakura had given up in trying to understand the slugs, but at the moment she had utterly lost all motivation. Weeks that had turned into two months of tirelessly spending every waking moment on trying to understand her summons, had worn down the young woman and had drained her of all her energies.
She had been feeling weak, tired, moody, and nauseous for the past few days and it had only gotten worse as the days ran by. Along with feeling terrible, Sakura had been wallowing in self-doubt and couldn't shrug the feeling of having utterly failed not only Katsuyu and herself but Naruto as well.
"All in due time," Sakura muttered quietly in anger as she repeated the slug chieftain's words. "It's all just a load of crap." She finished and rolled onto her sides as she lay on yet another giant mushroom.
Folding her arms under her head, Sakura used them as a cushion and sighed in sadness as she felt tears brim at the edge of her eyes. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry in the hopes of relieving herself from the mental anguish she was suffering from. She also missed Naruto more and more and was disappointed and angry at him at the same time for not being there to comfort her. She had expected of him to keep her updated on his progress in becoming the new Toad Sage, yet he had not sent a single message telling her about his training or asking how hers was going.
"Sakura-hime," the soft melodic voice of her personal summon reached her but fell on deaf ears.
"Sakura-hime," the slug repeated softly after Sakura had ignored the animal. "Is everything alright? Mother said that you have been feeling under the weather?"
Sakura sighed and looked out over the jungle before her and saw the slugs eat away at even more plants.
"Would you like anything to eat?" Her slug summon offered in concern at not having been rewarded with more than a simple sigh from Sakura.
"Eat? That's it," Sakura suddenly muttered loudly. "That's why you all spend so much time eating…"
"W-what?" The slug asked in confusion as Sakura suddenly jumped to her feet and hugged the slimy summon.
"Thanks but I am good now," Sakura quickly said. "Where is Katsuyu-sama? I need to tell her. I finally figured it out."
"Figured what out?"
"That damn riddle Katsuyu made me figure out before she would start my training," Sakura shouted as she was already jumping down from the mushroom. "I can't believe I didn't see this sooner."
After minutes of searching for the giant slug chieftain Sakura finally found the large summon near a waterfall dozing in the shade of the jungle canopy.
"Katsuyu-sama," Sakura huffed in exhaustion several times as she reached the giant slug and stood next to the head of the slug. With her hands resting on her knees, Sakura panted heavily and said, "I finally figured it out."
"And what would that be Sakura-san?"
"I know what you meant by telling me that I would have to think like a slug to understand this test of yours," Sakura began speaking but had to stop several times to catch her breath. She slightly frowned and wondered why she felt so taxed but ignored it for now. "The reason behind you and the other slugs eating so many plants are because you build up your immune system and keep a steady amount of poison in your bodies in order to deter predators' from eating you."
"Excellent Sakura-san," Katsuyu spoke and righted herself. "Follow me. We will begin your training right away."
Sakura blinked in surprise and couldn't believe that she had guessed correctly. In truth, she had only gotten the idea by sheer fluke of her brain spazzing out but had decided to at least give it a convincing try. At the moment she was more dumbfounded than happy that she had finally passed and slowly trotted after the slug chieftain and wondered what would await her.
They quickly reached the small cave that was given to Sakura when she had first arrived at the sacred training ground and came to a halt as Katsuyu turned towards Sakura. Sakura felt the studying eye of the slug upon her and after a moment of silence, Sakura's fingers were nervously playing on her red hair that over the weeks of solitude had started to grow long again. The base of her hair had already taken on her natural pink hue as Sakura had decided to no longer dye her hair while training and would wait to do so again until she and Naruto were united again.
"Are you ready Sakura-san?" Katsuyu finally asked. "Are you ready to learn the secret medical techniques that made Tsunade-sama famous in your world?"
"Yes I am," Sakura replied and nodded confidently.
"Are you ready to learn Tsunade-sama's Impure World Resurrection technique that she had discovered while training with us?"
"I… Yes I am," Sakura responded with a hint of hesitation as she was surprised to find out that Tsunade-shishou had discovered that technique while training under the slugs.
"Are you ready to take the risks involved in becoming the next heiress of the slug contract?"
"Hai Katsuyu-sama," Sakura responded once again with confidence and without delay.
"Then I have one last final question for you Sakura-san," Katsuyu said and paused briefly before continuing.
"Are you willing to do as you are told without question?"
"Hai Katsuyu-sama, I am."
"Very well," the slug responded. "Please bring forth the large bowl that is in the back of the cavern.
"Right away," Sakura replied and hurried into the cave only to return seconds later with said bowl. "What do you want me to do with this?"
"Place it on the ground in front of me," Katsuyu ordered and waited for Sakura to step away. And when she could, the slug bent down to the ground and with a deep gurgle, regurgitated a greenish brown mucus into the bowl.
The slug watched Sakura's face contort in disgust as the young woman scrunched her nose at the funky smell that waved up to her from the bowl.
"Katsuyu-sama," Sakura complained believing the actions of the slug to be an accident. "Is everything alright with you?"
"Most certainly," Katsuyu replied in amusement.
"Are you certain?" Sakura asked again as she slowly stepped closer but the stench of the mucus made it extremely difficult as Sakura felt her stomach start to object.
"Now, your first real test is about to begin," Katsuyu started speaking and lowered her head to level with Sakura. "I want you to eat that Sakura-san."
"You want me to do what?" Sakura asked in disbelief as she tried to hold down the content of her stomach as it suddenly profoundly objected to the slug chieftain's order.
"I want you to eat the content of that bowl," Katsuyu repeated. "Eating this is the first step into mastering our medical techniques."
"I think I am going to be sick," Sakura spoke up and suddenly ran away only to stop by a large rock and hurl up her stomach content.
"Sakura-san," Katsuyu said as the slug approached. "It is important that you do this or else you will never master the techniques. This mucus of mine is a concentration of poisons that have been accumulated within my body and the reason behind you ingesting it is for you to build up immunities as well as learn to store the poisons within your body and use them as attacks against your enemies."
"But isn't this dangerous," Sakura asked after she had finally emptied out the rest of her stomach.
"Of course it is," Katsuyu replied. "This mucus is highly concentrated and will kill you. Many have died attempting to pass this step and as long as you have an ounce of hesitation within you, you will be unable to attain the level of chakra control needed to prevent yourself from dying."
"What does this have to do with chakra control?" Sakura asked in curiosity as she spied at the bowl of mucus from afar.
"Because you will have to use your chakra to reshape the poison in order to survive the ordeal," Katsuyu explained and afterwards fell quiet for several minutes. And as the slug studied the young kunoichi, Katsuyu watched Sakura slowly edge closer to the bowl of mucus and saw the pinkette fight with an upsetting stomach the closer the woman got.
"Will you undergo this test Sakura-san?" Katsuyu finally asked.
"I will," Sakura said and finally stood next to the bowl and looked at the greenish brown mucus with uncertainty. "All I have to do is eat this and then shape it with my chakra?" Sakura asked as she briefly looked at the slug behind her. "How will I know that I am doing this right?"
"You will know," Katsuyu replied cryptically. "You will not be alone on this journey."
"I see," Sakura muttered and turned back to look at the mucus only to fight back another stomach hurling nausea. "At least I think so."
Katsuyu watched as Sakura lifted the bowl with her hands and brought the rim of the bowl to her mouth and with loud choking sounds, Sakura quickly downed the content.
"I think I am going to be sick again," Sakura said as she was certain she couldn't keep the mucus down.
"Now it begins," Sakura heard the soft voice from Katsuyu whisper into her ears and suddenly felt her eye lids become heavier with each heart beat she took and was quickly taken by darkness as her limb body fell to the ground.
"Good luck Sakura-san," Katsuyu said even knowing that Sakura was no longer conscious. "May you be guided well through your visions..."
It had been months since Danzo took the office of the Hokage by betrayal from Tsunade and pronounced the Godaime Hokage and her apprentice dead and Naruto their murderer. He had quickly grasped all power within the village and used the arranged marriage between Nara Shikamaru and Sabaku Temari to further strengthen his ties with the Fire Lord and Sunagakure.
He was now sitting in his new office and was pouring over military maps of the surrounding smaller nations and marked several areas of interest on the maps. His two Root bodyguards stood quietly at his sides and listened to him talk to himself as he studied the maps in front of him and went through hypothetical war tactics.
Hours into standing guard over their Master, they were suddenly pulled out of their thoughtless quietness as Danzo addressed them directly.
"What is the condition of our high profiled guest?" Danzo asked and was referring to Tsunade that had been locked away by him and was left to slowly rot to death in a Root prison cell.
"Still alive," Torune answered.
"Rectify that," Danzo replied without hesitation. "I want her removed permanently and do something about this as well," he said and handed a scroll to his other guard.
"The Raikage sends his regards," Danzo explained as the guard unrolled the scroll. "He is snidely claiming to have captured the demon boy and his whore and challenges me to send some real assassins after him. That brashness alone is making me want to kill that ape but for now, I will need him and his incompetent village intact. Kumo's destruction will come about eventually. For now I'll let him have illusions of grandeur. Fū, go to Kumogakure and find out whether Uzumaki and his pink haired bitch were caught by the Raikage and if that is the case, eliminate them. Make it look like the two took their own lives."
"As you wish Master," both guards replied and instantly vanished only to be replaced by two other Root operatives to stand watch over their Master.
Meanwhile across the village at the Nara compound, Shizune stood waiting at the Nara residence to be seen by Shikamaru.
"Shizune-san? What are you doing here?" Temari asked in surprise as she walked into the foyer of her new home. "I was told a messenger from the Hokage had come to see Shikamaru but we weren't told it was you."
"Hello Temari-san," Shizune greeted the young Nara matriarch and wife to Shikamaru. "I am sorry to drop by unannounced but I urgently need to talk to Shikamaru, it is really important."
Temari tilted her head sideways as she tried to decipher the reason behind Shizune's urgent tone of voice and eventually sighed, "You know I have given up trying to figure out what Shikamaru is up to and I am sure the reason I don't know, is his way of trying to protect me but this is starting to annoy me to no end."
"I am sorry?" Shizune asked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about Temari-san?"
"Never mind," Temari replied dejectedly. "I take it asking you for the reason behind wanting to see my husband so urgently has something to do with the reason behind Hinata's and Shino's presence in his father's study. Please follow me. I'll lead you to them."
"Thank you," Shizune replied and followed the former Suna kunoichi.
A small knock announced the arrival of a visitor and the door to his father's study opened immediately and Shikamaru's eye brow rose in question as he saw Shizune enter. He waited for a few seconds for the door to close before he asked Shizune, "I thought we had agreed to keep our contact to a minimum Shizune?"
"I know," Shizune replied hastily. "However, I believe what I have to tell you, warrants the risk involved."
Shikamaru nodded, "Alright what is it?"
"This here," Shizune said and brought forth a small scroll from within one of her sleeves, "Arrived today from Kumogakure. You should read this Shikamaru."
"Okay," Shikamaru answered and stood up to reach for the scroll. His eyes scanned the message and grew wide in surprise at the context. "Is… is this true?"
"It appears so," Shizune replied. "Danzo was furious when he read this message and instantly told me to disappear from his sight. I was just glad I was able to copy this before handing it over to him. So what do you wish to do?"
Shikamaru studied the scroll in his hands briefly before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "We should do nothing," Shikamaru replied and handed the scroll over to Hinata, who gladly accepted and let out a shocked yet soft yelp.
"Even if this claim from the Raikage were to be true," Shikamaru tried to explain. "We don't have the necessary information to retrieve them, let alone keep them safe from Danzo and his Root agents. I hate to say this, but at the moment our hands are tight."
"But," Shizune tried to argue but was subdued by Hinata who softly spoke up.
"Shikamaru-kun is right. At the moment we cannot risk exposing ourselves. We are still inexperienced and forming this resistance movement is a lot more difficult than originally imagined. Shino-kun's Manticora hives aren't spreading as successfully as we had hoped and Danzo's agents have infiltrated areas we thought were safe. As much as this pains me to say, I am sorry Shizune-chan, but we cannot attempt a rescue from Kumogakure."
"Hinata is right," Shikamaru added quietly. "We all would like to hear Naruto's and Sakura's story behind Tsunade's sudden death. There are still so many questions that need answering first before we can take an active role in opposing Danzo."
"I-I am sorry," Shizune answered. "I understand."
"No, it's quite alright," Shikamaru replied. "We all would love to wake up and realize all of this was just some bad dream but it's not. So, on that note… Shino, what can you tell us about the problem you are experiencing in spreading the Hives?"
"It is quite a mystery," Shino started and pushed his dark glasses further up his nose. "It appears that there is another bug user within Konoha who is or already had been for some time spreading his own bug hives across the village."
"Could you elaborate on this a bit more?" Hinata asked politely. "What exactly is happening and how did you find out about this?"
"Most certainly," Shino answered. "My Manticora hives have been setting up their nests all over the village, yet once they reach a certain size; they are suddenly attacked by a foreign hive. This is certainly not uncommon, however for this to have happen multiple times in a row, makes this problematic because it is not natural."
"So you are saying the hives are being destroyed completely by this foreign hive?" Hinata asked for some clarification.
"Yes and no," Shino said and rolled up one of his arms to release an injured Manticora beetle. "This male is the only surviving beetle that I have and has returned to me to report the destruction of his hive. Aside from his hive, I have completely lost six other hives without a single surviving beetle. Upon investigating the areas, I have found the hives completely destroyed, however I am a little proud to say that they didn't go down without a fight, for the foreign hives that had attacked were also completely destroyed."
"So you are saying that there is a bug user in Konoha that could be from a different village, a spy perhaps?" Shikamaru asked in concern.
"It is a possibility," Shino replied. "However, upon investigating one of the enemy hives, I have stumbled upon an interesting clue. The foreign hive consisted of a rare species that the Aburame clan used during the Second Great Shinobi War. In my opinion, I believe that Danzo might have gotten his hands on an Aburame. That would also explain why the foreign hives attacked; they don't recognize my Manticora beetles as an Aburame breed."
"This is not good," Shikamaru said and looked somber. "We need to find a solution to this problem. Any ideas?"
"A few," Shino replied and let the injured beetles retreat back into his body. "I plan on using the genetic material of the survivor to breed more hardened Manticora. There is something within this genetic material that made him survive."
"Good," Shikamaru said pulled his hand through his hair. "Keep us informed Shino." Shikamaru stood up from where he sat and looked at his guests. "It is time for us to part. We'll meet again soon."
"Huh?" Sakura uttered in confusion as she found herself floating through a sea of gray. "Katsuyu-sama?" Sakura called out for the slug summon as a wall of dense fog drifted in from seemingly nowhere and surrounded her.
Sweat suddenly began to pour out of every pore in her body as her skin began to burn. Her joints were ceased with an immense muted pain and Sakura clenched her teeth as her breathing became labored. She curled into the fetal position as a white hot pain shot through her abdomen and she finally cried out in pain. She crunched her eyes shut in hopes of the powerful force that assaulted her belly would pass quickly but was disappointed when the fire in her lower region only increased. And another scream of hurt bellowed out of her mouth as her body began to shake as hot and cold fever chills plagued her.
"What's going on?" Sakura wept through clenched teeth as tears slowly spilled forth from her tightly shut eyes as the pain intensified.
"Murderer," a ghostly voice suddenly breathed and Sakura's eyes flew open only to see nothing.
Thinking she had imagined the voice, Sakura tried to concentrate on the pain in her abdomen in hopes of quelling the intense hurt. Again she closed her eyes in an attempt to help her concentrate and block out the pain.
"Traitor," another ghostly voice whispered again.
"Who's there?" Sakura yelled out again as her eyes flew open. She was certain that this time she hadn't imagined the voice and she scanned the dense fog around her for any signs of a person.
"Murderer!"
"Traitor!"
"Failure!"
"Betrayer!"
The voices multiplied and repeated the words continuously and steadily grew louder as the onslaught of the mysterious voices threatened to overwhelm her.
"Stop!" Sakura yelled out into the fog and openly cried as the pain in her abdomen intensified with each accusation. "Please…"
"Demon!"
"Demon!"
"Demon whore!"
"No!" Sakura angrily screamed at the voices as she twisted and thrashed in pain. And as the accusations grew in numbers and in force, her pain in her abdomen only grew in intensity and Sakura suddenly felt as if something, as if part of her was slipping away and was slowly dying.
"What's going on?" Sakura cried out as she clutched her abdomen.
"You're dying," a female voice suddenly spoke. A voice, Sakura knew all too well and recognized immediately.
"I-Ino?" Sakura stammered in hurt and confusion as she blinked the tears out of her eyes and looked up at a rage filled apparition that belonged to her best friend.
"Silence," Ino boomed and her once gentle eyes held a fire of anger and disgust that Sakura had never seen before in her friend. "Traitors are not allowed to speak."
"Ino it's me," Sakura tried but only received more accusations and a cold look from the apparition that looked like Ino that chilled Sakura down to her bones.
"Help me please. It hurts so much." Sakura pleaded with her friend and tried to reach out to Ino only to watch the apparition that was her friend, disappear into thin air with a sneer of disgust on her face. "Please stop this…"
"Never," another voice answered, one Sakura recognized again and if the pain in her stomach hadn't been too much to take, the new pain in her heart was close to breaking her mental resolve.
"M-Mom?" Sakura asked weakly as an image of her mother appeared in front of Sakura. "W-what are you doing here?"
"Watching a demon whore die," the image responded coldly "And enjoying it."
Sakura's eyes widened in shock and new tears ran down her face and Sakura wept. "I always knew that you hated Naruto but… but it's me, your daughter… How could you say this?"
"Traitor!" Ino yelled again as she reappeared.
"Demon whore!" Sakura's mother added accusingly.
"Failure!" Another apparition joined that took the shape of Sakura's father.
"Demon!" Several ghosts yelled as they materialized and all took on the shapes of people Sakura knew and cherished.
"Murderer!" One final specter thundered as it materialized and silenced everyone else.
"N-No," Sakura stammered and writhed in pain as her heart felt like it was breaking apart and the flow of life that was leaving her abdomen only increased. "N-not you too… be anyone but not you Naruto-kun."
"Murderer!" Naruto's image growled in anger again that shocked Sakura's entire body as if she had been struck by lightning.
"Stop this!" Sakura screamed in the hopes her nightmare would end. "You're not real… none of you are."
"Murderer!" The fake Naruto thundered again in anger.
"No," Sakura said and repeated the rejection numerous times as she held her head in denial and refused to look at the apparitions.
"SILENCE!" Another voice boomed and every specter that had been accusing Sakura and assaulting her shrieked in panic and fear. "LEAVE AT ONCE!"
Sakura suddenly felt a warmness spread throughout her body as the pain slowly ebbed away. She opened her eyes only to see a young girl, not older than ten materialize in front of her. The girl had dark auburn hair and deep black eyes and wore a simple white linen robe.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.
"Everything is going to be okay now," the girl replied and smiled as she stood in front of Sakura with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Really?" Sakura asked not entirely convinced as she felt the prying dark eyes of the girl study her intensely.
The girl nodded and a frown suddenly formed on the girl's young face. The girl stepped closer and tilted her head in confusion, "I sense two life forces within you… one is yours but the other, it is far too young and is quickly fading…"
"What, what is it?" Sakura asked in confusion.
The girl's face suddenly took on a look of sadness, "How irresponsible to take the rite of passage in such a condition…"
"What?" Sakura blinked and looked at herself, wondering whether she could see what the girl was seeing.
A sad sigh escaped the young girl and Sakura's eyes stared at the auburn haired youngster.
"A terrible, terrible mistake has been made," the girl spoke sadly and looked at Sakura's fear filled eyes. "Sakura, if you wish to live, you have to not only filter the poison within your body but you also need to do it for the child you carry within you."
Sakura blinked in surprise and was momentarily speechless, "M-my child? I… I am pregnant?"
"Regrettably so," the girl answered and looked somber. "If you don't filter the poison for your child, you will not only let the baby die but you will die as well. Either both of you will live or none of you will. Decide quickly for time is of the essence."
"I… I," Sakura stammered and felt like pulling on her hair as her mind was yelling at her for even having to think about this. "What must I do?" Sakura finally asked in worry.
"Concentrate," the girl replied. "And as you clean the poison from your own system and adapt it to suit your needs, you will have to do the same for your child. It is a task that has never been done before and I fear that you will not succeed but you must try, if you ever wish to see the father of your child again."
"Okay," Sakura responded and felt the warmth that kept her pain away leave her body. She toppled over in pain again as her abdomen screamed with hurt and her heavy breathing only intensified as Sakura slowly tried to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sakura called after the girl that was suddenly fading away. "Y-you never told me your name?"
The young girl smiled and said, "I am you, I am your child, and I am everyone. I am who you needed me to be and my time has come to leave you my child. Good bye Sakura-san, I wish you the best of luck."
"Bye," Sakura replied sadly at being alone again and momentarily was able to block out the pain she was experiencing when she finally realized, "Oh my god I am pregnant."
In the meantime, watching over Sakura's unconscious body sat Katsuyu-sama and meditated. The giant slug towered over her charge and hummed a soft tune as her the giant head slowly swayed back and forth in the soft breeze, when the wind suddenly picked up around the slug and began to whisper to the giant summon in a language unheard of to the human ears.
"As you wish Mother," Katsuyu answered to the musings of the wind. "I will do as you request."
And just as suddenly as the wind had picked up and died down again, Katsuyu's massive form suddenly split apart in hundreds of smaller versions of herself and some slithered away in haste, while the rest stayed behind and slowly surrounded Sakura's prone form and carefully lifted the unconscious pink haired girl unto their numerous backs and followed those miniature duplicates, who had hastened away mere moments before.
The small wave of slugs on which Sakura's unconscious form was riding finally entered a massive dark cavern. The slugs continued to carry her deep into the cave and after what seemed like hours, reached a massive intricate design of glowing seals and placed her sleeping form into the center of the seal array.
The hundreds of Katsuyu imitations quickly reformed themselves into the original massive size of the slug chieftain and the large slug slithered off to the side of the seal array and over towards another set of seals and slowly began channeling chakra.
"Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Katsuyu whispered in her musical tone and a cloud of smoke appeared in front of the massive slug. Katsuyu waited patiently for the smoke to dissipate and slowly lowered her massive head as a weak outline was seen through the thinning mist.
"Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu hushed. "Tsunade-sama, it is I, are you alright?"
"K-Katsuyu?" Tsunade's croaked in question in a very weak, frail, and aged voice. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu replied warmly and studied the weak form of her master. "What has happened to you? What is happening in Konoha?"
"Danzo," Tsunade replied weakly as she carefully shifted her body. "He took control of the village. He betrayed me, tricked me…" a shadow of fear and disbelief hung in Tsunade's eyes as she was trying to explain. "He, he controlled me. There was nothing I could do," Tsunade started crying in pain as she remembered having to helplessly watch as Naruto was defeated by Uchiha Sasuke, only to be saved by Sakura in the nick of time and again only to watch them flee, knowing they were going to be hunted down by Orochimaru and Sasuke or Danzo and his root ilk.
Distant memoires of seeing Danzo sneering into her face as she was thrown into a dark damp cell resurfaced and with those memories came more as she remembered hearing that Sakura and herself were declared dead with Naruto their murderer. Tsunade's brittle old fingers slowly tested the ground surrounding her aging body in a feeble attempt of figuring out where she was only to give up and continued her demented rambling.
"I wanted to help them Katsuyu but I couldn't. His eyes, they questioned me, begged me for help and I saw the confusion in them and the hurt as he realized I wasn't helping. I saw the betrayal he felt, the pain, and the spark of hope and fear as Sakura appeared. I… I saw his love for her and the blaze of fire in his eyes as he realized she had come for him and not for the Uchiha… and yet every time I close my eyes, his blue eyes stare at me and ask me why I wasn't helping him. I… I just couldn't…"
Katsuyu carefully watched her master and assessed her condition, only to realize that perhaps she had acted too late and had waited far too long in order to contact her master. Katsuyu immediately recognized the extreme case of malnutrition Tsunade suffered from and the dementia Tsunade displayed was only strengthened by the fact that the once proud woman was only a former ghost of her previous life. This was easily seen by the fact that the legendary Genjutsu Tsunade kept on herself was no longer in effect.
"Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu softly spoke again and hoped to rip her master out of her dementia. "I need you Tsunade-sama. Sakura-san and Naruto-san, they need you. They are alive and well but they still need you. Sakura-san needs you right now."
"Sakura? Naruto?" Tsunade repeated the name in confusion and for the first time since being summoned, looked up at the giant slug. "W-Who are they?"
Tsunade looked on in confusion but her expression suddenly turned from bewilderment to recognition, "S-Sakura? Yes, I… I think I know that name."
"Yes," Katsuyu replied hastily. "Remember her pink hair, her jaded eyes, and her thickheaded attitude just like yourself… You loved her as you would a daughter and you were her mentor and teacher. She has undergone the ritual of the journey without knowing that she was with child and now she is in terrible danger of losing her own life and that of her child as well. Sakura needs you Tsunade-sama. Your apprentice needs you."
Tsunade's head suddenly tilted sideways and her aged face turned angry, "Where is grandfather? He promised to tell me a good night story?"
Katsuyu flinched in shock and confusion as Tsunade seemed to be suddenly reliving a childhood moment. "Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu tried again. "Please concentrate. Sakura-san, she needs you."
"Right," Tsunade replied and nodded in determination. "And who are you?"
Katsuyu blinked in confusion and inhaled sharply in irritation. "Tsunade-sama please, Sakura-san will die if you don't snap out of it."
Suddenly a dawn of recognition crossed Tsunade's hazy eyes, "Sakura? Where is she? What does she have? Damn it Katsuyu answer me already!"
"Sakura-san is right over there," Katsuyu answered and breathed a sigh of relief. "She underwent the journey but unbeknownst to me and apparently herself, she is with child and…"
"S-Sakura is pregnant?" Tsunade exclaimed in shock and surprise and tried to stand on two shaky legs. "I-I need a cane, something to help me walk. In the meantime, help me and get me to Sakura."
Katsuyu quickly helped her old master and within minutes, Tsunade found herself half kneeling, half sitting next to Sakura's prone form. Her honey brown eyes watered as she looked at her apprentice's serene face and she turned to look at her summon. "W-who is the father?"
"I believe it is Naruto-san," Katsuyu replied. "The two of them have been on the run for months now. They were summoned here by the toads and Naruto-san is currently undergoing Sage training, while Sakura-san wanted to join in your footsteps."
"I see," Tsunade answered and looked through teary eyes at her apprentice that had all of a sudden become a full blown woman in Tsunade's mind. "They grow up so quickly…"
"Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu interrupted hoping her master had not relapsed into dementia. "Sakura-san is in danger, the poison needs to be changed by her. I have faith in her abilities but I fear she won't realize that she also needs to change the poison for her child as well."
"I understand," Tsunade said and slowly stretched her hands out over Sakura's body and Tsunade closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and summoned chakra to her hands. "Watch over us Katsuyu."
"Hai!" The slug responded and knew that Tsunade had entered Sakura's dream state in order to help the young pinkette.
"Ouch," Sakura hissed and clenched her teeth as another wave of pain rolled through her. "Okay the girl said I have to concentrate in order to nullify Katsuyu-sama's poison," Sakura spoke in her mind as she closed her eyes in concentration and tried to visualize a crude image of herself.
Minutes passed quickly and Sakura still had her eyes closed as her hands slowly moved away from her abdomen and up to her chest. A small sad smile crossed her lips as the imaginary image of herself was showing in front of her mind's eye. Sakura saw her blue chakra pathways and as she concentrated upon the lower region of her image, a small compact ball of blue chakra could be seen as it was fed by her own chakra system and Sakura instinctively knew that she was looking at her unborn child.
However, as Sakura witnessed the slow steady pulsing of her chakra and that off her unborn child, she suddenly realized that the flow of chakra towards her child was slowly decreasing and losing color. Panic overcame her as she witnessed the blue ball that represented her child pulse violently in response as Sakura's chakra pathways were slowly dying and turning black as they no longer fed her chakra to the baby.
Tears screamed down her closed eyes as she witnessed the slow wilting of her chakra pathways that led towards her child and her heart shattered as the small ball of energy that was her baby tried to reach out to her in the form of creating its own tiny chakra tendrils in order to reconnect with Sakura's chakra system.
Wanting to scream in frustration, Sakura mentally reached for the outstretched hand of her baby. In desperation, Sakura willed the one chakra pathway that was closest to her baby and had not yet been affected by the poison that was killing her chakra pathways to branch out and reach for her child and with the help of her mind's eye, Sakura witnessed how an angry wave of blue chakra raced towards that one chakra tendril that was still unaffected and in a violent but warm explosion, a very thin tendril began to sprout and reach out to the tiny tendrils coming from the blue sphere that could be considered her baby's hand in a show of reaching out to the mother's help.
After what felt like hours of repeated failure in trying to connect her small tendril with that of her baby, Sakura was nearing the end of her resolve. It was then that she heard the whispers of a voice she had thought lost forever. "You can do it Sakura. You are not alone anymore."
"Shishou?" Sakura whispered in surprise as she felt herself being embraced in warmth as Sakura witnessed foreign chakra that was the colors of forest green enter her system.
This green chakra burst into her and raced towards the dying and dead chakra pathways that Sakura had lost to the poison and she was surprised to see the small blue ball that was her unborn child surrounded by a sea of green. Anger welled up in Sakura as she realized that the poison had already destroyed the majority of her chakra pathways that were feeding the baby and Sakura felt her own chakra suddenly respond violently in outrage. A well of power was suddenly unleashed within her that created waves upon waves of blue chakra as it raced towards the areas that were currently occupied by Tsunade's green chakra.
And as the two chakra sources met, Tsunade's green chakra moved aside while Sakura's blue took control again and within moments, Sakura's entire body was once again filled with her own blue chakra as the green had seceded. A smile adorned Sakura's face as she mentally took a step back to look at her image and where once had been a small blue sphere that was fed by a few strands of her chakra, an entire blue ocean remained that was pulsating in harmony with her beating heart and in the center of this ocean, Sakura felt her child strong and alive.
"Sakura," Tsunade's voice spoke up in the pinkette's mind. "Open your eyes Sakura."
She quickly did as she was told by Tsunade and to her surprise, Sakura's eyes fell upon the floating form of her teacher. A smile split Sakura's face in half, "You look old Shishou."
Tsunade frowned and settled for a sigh, "It is good to see you too Sakura."
"Yes it is," Sakura replied with tears running down her face as she willed her floating body to hover into Tsunade's arms.
The two embraced each other and Tsunade whispered, "I have missed you so much Sakura. I was afraid that you had died, I was afraid that Danzo and his Root would find you and kill you in order to keep you quiet."
"He tried," Sakura replied and pulled back from the hug. "However, you taught me well. But what are you doing here and more importantly, how did you find me?"
"Katsuyu summoned me," Tsunade answered. "So you are taking the rights of passage?"
"Yes," Sakura responded and blushed. "I need to get stronger in order to help Naruto-kun. And since he is training with the toads, I thought that I should continue with my medic training. I remembered how you told me that you had learned a lot from the slugs during your travels away from Konoha and I wanted to follow in your footsteps. But now, I… I screwed up."
"You didn't," Tsunade answered. "You are irresponsible though not to tell Katsuyu that you were pregnant."
"But I didn't know," Sakura interjected.
"Regardless," Tsunade said and placed a reassuring arm on Sakura's shoulder. "You are at a point in your life where you need to go above and beyond what is considered possible. You have to clean the poison out of your system and do the same for your child at the same time."
"Okay," Sakura muttered sadly. "But I don't know how. I don't know how to clean the poison, let alone adapt it to suit my own body. How can you expect me to do the same for my child?"
Tsunade smiled, "I know Sakura but that is why I am here. I will guide you through the process and help you as much as I can."
"Thank you Shishou," Sakura said and wiped tears out of her eyes. "How do I start?"
"Sakura what did you see when I helped you restore the chakra connection to your baby?" Tsunade asked. "What was different?"
Sakura thought quickly, "I am not sure but the color of your chakra was different. It was green and not the usual blue color all chakra possesses."
"Correct," Tsunade replied and smiled. "Do you know why that is?"
Sakura shook her head, "No I don't. The only other person that I know that has a different chakra color is Naruto-kun, but only when he calls upon the Kyuubi's powers."
"The reason why my chakra color is different is because I was able to change Katsuyu's poison and change it to suit my own needs," Tsunade explained. "You need to understand that the poison isn't really a poison but instead is the natural energy that the slugs use. In a way, you could consider it their life force."
"So Katsuyu-sama gave me some of her life force?" Sakura asked in confusion. "But wouldn't that kill her eventually?"
Tsunade chuckled, "No it won't. In fact, for us humans, her life force is closer to receiving a very strong boost of foreign chakra. And that boost is what is killing you and your child. Katsuyu's chakra is literally burning your chakra pathways. You have to contain Katsuyu's powers within you and slowly have your chakra system assimilate the chakra. And if you succeed, your chakra will no longer be blue like everyone else, but green as well and once you reach that, you are able to sync with Katsuyu and perform the most powerful medic ninjutsu that would normally kill a person from chakra exhaustion."
"I see," Sakura responded in thought. "So how do I start?"
"Close your eyes," Tsunade responded. "And I will guide you through the process. But remember to help your baby, it is incapable of doing this alone. You need to do it for the child."
"Okay I understand," Sakura replied and closed her eyes and listened carefully to Tsunade's guidance as she concentrated on the task at hand.
A sharp intake of breath announced Sakura waking up from her poison induced slumber and her jade green eyes flew open wide. Sakura lay quietly on her back as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit cave. Sitting up, she groaned lightly in pain as her stiff joints protested against the sudden movement.
"Tsunade-sama," she called out softly as she was trying to look for her mentor. While in her dream state, Tsunade had explained everything to Sakura. Explained how Danzo was able to control her, explained why Tsunade was unable to come to Naruto's rescue when Orochimaru had attacked, and explained to Sakura how Danzo had declared Sakura and herself dead at the hands of Naruto. Tsunade had told Sakura how the Hokage was thrown into a Root prison cell to be locked away for eternity, only to survive on the moss that was growing within her cell.
"Shishou?" Sakura called out again after not receiving an answer and as she sat upright and looked around, her heart stopped as her eyes fell upon the unconscious form that was Tsunade a few feet away from her.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura screamed and crawled as quickly as possible towards her mentor. When she reached the old woman, Sakura quickly checked Tsunade's vital signs and let out a sigh of relief when she found a weak but steady heartbeat.
Tsunade's eyes opened slowly as Sakura turned the woman onto her back and cradled Tsunade's head on top of her legs. "W-who are you?" Tsunade asked weakly.
Sakura blinked in confusion as she was caught off guard. "U-um Shishou it's me Sakura."
"Sakura?" Tsunade's weak voice repeated her name as if she was trying to find out whether that name would ring any bells. "I am sorry Sakura but I don't know you? Where is grandpa? Why hasn't he come back yet from the office to read a bedtime story to me?"
"W-what? I don't understand Tsunade-sama," Sakura said in irritation.
"It appears that Tsunade-sama has suffered greatly under captivity. Perhaps her age has finally caught up to her as well. It appears she is unable to cast her famed Genjutsu on herself," Katsuyu's melodic voice drifted into the cave. "I believe exhaustion is a factor behind Tsunade-sama turning senile but I am not sure."
"Ah it's that talking snail again," Tsunade said in amusement. "What was your name again? Sushi-sama?"
Briefly looking down at Tsunade, Sakura looked at the giant slug entering the cave and asked in confusion, "Are you saying that Tsunade-sama has become senile?"
"It appears so," Katsuyu replied. "I am glad that she was able to come to her senses in time to help you through your rights of passage and I had hoped that the senility would only be temporary, but that appears to not be the case Sakura-sama."
"Sakura-sama? Why the sudden raise in honorific Katsuyu-sama?" Sakura asked and studied Tsunade's honey brown eyes that held plenty of confusion.
"Because you have passed the rights of passage," Katsuyu responded and slithered deeper into the cave.
"Sakura?" Tsunade suddenly asked weakly before smiling. "Thank goodness it worked. You and your baby are safe now."
"Eh?" Sakura mumbled as she saw some form of clarity reappear in Tsunade's eyes. "Tsunade-sama do you recognize me?"
Tsunade frowned and slowly said up, "Of course I recognize you Sakura. Why shouldn't I?"
"Oh," Sakura mouthed and scratched her head in embarrassment, a movement she had slowly adopted from Naruto. "You didn't recognize me at all just a few minutes ago."
"Nonsense," Tsunade grumbled. "Rather help an old woman back on her feet. I won't get any younger by lying around on a damp and cold cave floor."
A chuckle escaped Sakura and she quickly helped Tsunade to her feet and the two walked out of the cave system and into the warming sun with Katsuyu following quickly.
"What now?" Sakura asked Tsunade as the two enjoyed the warm climate.
"It is time for you to start your real medic training," Tsunade said with a smile on her old face. "And I think we have reached the time where I will teach you the last of my techniques that will unlock the last power boost that you are still missing. With that, a simple flick of your finger will send Naruto flying, but we have to hurry. We can't subjugate you to too much training once you enter your last trimester. But we have 6 months until that happens, therefore, prepare yourself for the worst training of your life. We'll start tomorrow."
"Right," Sakura agreed and smiled at her teacher. "I can't believe I am pregnant," Sakura finally said once more and felt Tsunade's arm around her shoulder.
"Everything will be fine," Tsunade answered in reassurance. "I am here now, and I don't plan on ever leaving you or Naruto agin. I just hope that idiot knows what he is doing."
"He'll be fine," Sakura responded as her hands drifted over her womb as she tried to sense her young baby. "Naruto will return stronger than ever."
"That he will," Tsunade said and turned to walk away. "C'mon let us go for a walk."
And as the two women walked arm in arm through the giant mushroom jungle that was the home of the slugs, Katsuyu watched from the distance, praying for the safety of her charges and for Naruto. The slug chieftain knew that an interesting time lay ahead of her in more than one way. Training Sakura in becoming the newest slug princess and watching the birth of a human child were only some of the interesting moments awaiting the slug clan but the largest worry lie with Tsunade as Katsuyu's eyes settled upon Tsunade's back and somehow the slug knew that Tsunade's case of senility would resurface again.
A/N: Well finally an update for you to enjoy. Next chapter will be a time skip of about 1-2 years and will cover Naruto's return to Sakura and Tsunade.
I was going to show more of Sakura's training but I seriously had no solid ideas for making it interesting, so I went with this weird dream sequence. Some of you might have recognized similarities with "The Dune Saga" and I assure you… that's where I got the idea from.
Carry on! Bloodlines update coming soon. Kingkakashi and I are working on it as quickly as we can.