Day 7 of not updating this story, which means it's probably about time to update this story.
Eh... in conclusion, without further ado.
Chapter 37: A Critical Error
A yawn escaped Sakura's mouth as she got up and out of her bed, doing her best not to give into the sweet, sweet temptation to lay back down and skip the morning's training.
After brushing her teeth and using the restroom, she walked back over towards hers and Anko's beds and lightly shook the woman's body.
"Oi." She called to the still-sleeping woman, trying to rouse her without much hassle. "Wakie wakie."
Anko groaned, pulling the covers around herself even tighter, until the only thing that Sakura could see of the woman's form was a single smidgen of hair.
"Hey, c'mon."
There was no response.
"We've got stuff to do, they said that one guy's getting back from his mission today."
She could've heard a pin drop. Well, if Anko hadn't been snoring, that was.
Clearly more drastic measures are necessary. Sakura concluded, nodding sagely as she closed her eyes. You've brought this upon yourself, Anko Sensei.
She brought her hand up above her, smirking in a way that might've led a bystander to believe she didn't exactly have the best intentions.
They would've been wrong, of course. Sakura was a benevolent caretaker, and the subsequent chop to the woman's stomach was completely and utterly necessary.
In an instant, Anko's eyes met hers with a fury unlike anything she'd ever seen, and Sakura turned and ran before she'd even bothered to confirm if the woman's trying to hurt her.
"SAKURA!"
"DON'T HURT ME I'M SORRY!"
"YOU DID THIS!"
Sakura turned her head to look back, which proved to be a fatal mistake. Anko had caught up to her far too quickly, and the little delay caused by her observation was what let the woman tackle her to the cold stone floor below and ruthlessly noogie the crap out of her.
"AGH!" Sakura squirmed in the woman's grip, desperately clawing at the floor below. "Mercy! Spare my life!"
"You've done this to yourself Sakura!"
Sakura found herself giggling, despite the pain in her head. It wasn't exactly fun, but moments like these were the ones she treasured. Little things, really, were what kept her comfortable, despite the fact that the two of them were, essentially, locked inside a giant prison.
"Oh, right." Anko spoke, briefly ceasing her noogying. "That Tenzo guy's supposed to be getting back today, right?"
"I was trying to tell you that!"
"Well I didn't hear." Anko spoke simply, smiling lazily as if that excuse was all that mattered.
"I know you heard! You just decided to go back to sleep!"
"Your accusations are meaningless."
Sakura glared at the woman, but a hearty laugh was the only thing she received in return.
"Seriously though, shall we be off?" Anko asked, holding her hand out to Sakura to help her up off the ground.
Sakura took it with a small sigh, trying not to let her true feelings show on her face. If Anko figured out that she was secretly enjoying this…
There'd be hell, Sakura nodded to herself. Simple as that.
/-/
Tenzo didn't really strike her as an overly friendly person, which Sakura couldn't help but think was a shame, given that she was, presumably, going to be spending an awful long time under his tutelage.
There was another boy beside him, clad in what she'd come to understand was the traditional garb of Root. He wore a mask as well that concealed his face, but judging based on his height, and the brief snippets of his voice that she'd heard earlier, she placed him around her own age.
"So… you're the one who Orochimaru gave his curse mark to, correct?" His voice was almost scarily calm, but in an unsettling way. To Sakura, it was yet another strike against this blasted place. "You seem… not weak… perhaps middling is the best way to put it."
She really did try to not let that get to her, but unfortunately, her temper had always been her greatest weakness.
"OI!" She complained rather loudly. "What did you call me!?"
"Middling." The man repeated, sighing like he was dealing with an idiot. "Average, mediocre, unexceptional. You're just not the type I figured Orochimaru would bother looking into."
Sakura understood what he was saying, and she understood even more so thanks to Orochimaru's very own words. The bastard had told both she and Sasuke that the mark had been meant for him.
But that didn't mean she was going to accept being called average.
Still, not as if I can really do anything about it. Sakura sighed a moment later, breathing out some of her rage for the man given the name Tenzo. Can't exactly challenge a Root Jonin to a duel, can I?
Anko placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer a silent show of support, though the fact that she didn't speak up told Sakura that she was probably not technically supposed to be there.
"I have her file here, sir." The boy with the mask stood next to Tenzo offered him a small manila folder. "Some sections have been blacked out, given that you have given up your association with-"
"That's fine. I came here on a favor for Kakashi, nothing more."
That had Sakura tilting her head. She'd initially assumed, simply because of Tenzo's demeanor, that he too was a member of Root. He was at least an Anbu, from what Sakura had heard from Anko, and according to his own words, he knew Kakashi well enough to do the man a favor…
Let's just keep that in mind… Sakura told herself. Neither good nor bad as of right now, just something to remember.
The Jonin before her read silently, taking a good two or three minutes to peruse the contents of the folder, until he seemed to find what he'd been looking for.
"Ah, I see, so the mark was given to you by mistake?" His voice seemed matter of fact, and the tone irked Sakura, despite knowing that she shouldn't be letting something so small bother her. "That makes far more sense."
"Look, you're here to train me, right?" Sakura let out, trying to disguise her seething as a regular breath. "Can we just get on with it, skipping the creepy analyzing?"
Tenzo tilted his head to the side, and for a second, she thought she'd said something wrong.
"Who are they?"
Sakura followed the man's finger, turning and taking a look at what he was–
Ah. That explains it.
Zaku had returned once more, though this time, it seemed like only Kin had been drawn along.
"Ah, they're just some friends."
"We saw no need to inform you of the identities of any other pieces." The masked boy remarked, and though there was no emotion to his voice, a small resentment was still clearly conveyed. "Given your lack of affiliation."
"I understand." The man said, letting out a sigh of his own. "For supposedly being above emotion, Danzo sure does hold a grudge."
"I've no idea what you mean, sir."
Sakura watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. It did, at the very least, confirm her earlier hypothesis that this man was not a member of Root at the time, but…
Judging by that boy's words, he used to be.
"Right, I suppose we'll get started."
Tenzo stepped up toward her, briefly circling her, and she assumed also taking the time to observe her muscle-mass and chakra levels, or perhaps he was just committing to his creepy vibe and checking out a twelve-year-old.
At that point, Sakura wasn't sure if she cared.
"Small build, somehow, I doubt you'd have the right chakra levels for this to work correctly." He rubbed his chin with one hand, considering several things. "Still, if that curse mark works how it's supposed to… it's possible you could be able to use its power to amplify your abilities."
"Mind filling the rest of us in?" Anko spoke for the first time, cutting in where Sakura didn't feel she could. "What exactly is it you're planning?"
"It really depends on her." The man responded to Anko's concerns, walking to stand in front of Sakura once more. "If you're fine with using that curse mark, then it's still possible you could utilize the Wood Style in a more… practical manner."
"Uh… define practical?" Sakura asked.
"I mean in combat."
"Ah, OK."
"Now, according to Sai's data here," Tenzo gestured to the boy standing beside him, apparently given the title of Sai. "You haven't been having much success when it comes to bringing this out."
She groaned but nodded.
"Okay, well, if I'm being honest, I've never really been one to teach, but I suppose nothing's gained if nothing's ventured."
He brought his hands together, forming what Sakura recognized as the 'Snake' seal at the end of his chain, and pushed his hands onto the ground below him.
The ground cracked open, revealing roots that snaked through the cold stone, rupturing it in multiple places as they began to form an object. A second later Sakura could recognize the general shape and looked on in awe as it formed itself into a decent-sized tree.
"You were not given permission to break anything in this room." Sai's voice came out from behind his mask.
"I'm sure Danzo can fix a simple floor, can't he?" Tenzo's response was icy, and Sakura took a step back from the two, fearing they might actually come to blows. "Now, I'm not going to ask you to create something of this magnitude, but I will ask that you work towards creating something at least a tenth this size."
Sakura made a quick mental calculation, and concluded a moment later that her tree, or whatever else she could make, would have to be at least 15 centimeters tall.
"That… doesn't sound all that easy." Sakura admitted, unable to meet the man's eyes. "I've been having trouble just getting the Wood Style to manifest at all, let alone making anything with it. I mean, the biggest thing I've created so far was a twig."
Tenzo massaged his chin, before looking at Anko with a curious expression.
"Do you think she's capable of this?"
Sakura looked back towards her mentor, knowing what the woman would say already, but feeling a bit embarrassed about hearing it.
"I do." Anko spoke, patting Sakura on the back and ushering her forward. "She's a bit on the shy side, but she really is quite capable."
"Who's on the shy side!?" Sakura protested, her cheeks burning red as she turned away from her teacher.
A small, breathy laugh from Tenzo broke the two of them out of their exchange, and Sakura's eyes were rather wide as she met the man's own. A moment later, he seemed to realize his behavior was odd, and he coughed into his hand, effectively breaking the odd illusion.
"Forgive me, I was distracted for a moment." Tenzo walked towards her, holding his hands out. "I would like to try something. I'm going to give you an idea of what it feels like to utilize the wood style, and you're going to try and emulate that feeling."
"Uhm… alright?" Sakura put her hands in the man's own, focusing intently on her own chakra, waiting to feel his disrupt it. "I'm… not feeling anything."
"It'll be a second, I'm trying to separate my chakras. I'm going to do water in my right hand, and earth in my left. Can you mirror that?"
Sakura wasn't entirely sure she could.
"I'll try."
It really was an odd thing to attempt. It felt like trying to take two entirely separate parts of herself and place them on opposite ends of her body. For Sakura, her two natures hadn't really been the basis of her training with Naruto and Sasuke. She'd mostly stuck to shuriken jutsu and Taijutsu, learning more basic things than actual Jutsu's, and so most of what she'd learned regarding them had come in the last couple months of training with Team 7 and Anko.
Her teacher had, briefly, tried to get her to perform this technique. At the time, she'd been unable to even fathom attempting it.
Now, a few near-death-experiences richer, and just a bit more confident, she was more than willing to give it a shot.
The basic concept wasn't lost on her. It was similar in essence to what she'd been doing with the curse mark all week, separating it's chakra from her own to keep herself safe.
And so she followed those same principles, reaching deep within herself and feeling for her core, situated in the basin of her stomach. She pulled in two different directions, subtly altering the flow, and adding the elements she needed to both.
Her first attempt ended there. The chakra's were fluctuating far too harshly, until they spun entirely out of her control. She fell to her knees a moment later, panting harshly as sweat poured down her face.
"You okay!?" Anko was already on her, supporting her with an arm around her shoulders. "You were focusing hard for like… ten minutes."
"T-ten minutes!?" Sakura practically shouted, looking up from her position on the floor and noticing that not only was Tenzo beside her, but Zaku as well.
"Whew." Zaku released an anxious breath of air, falling onto his back and laying there for a moment. "You stopped breathing for a second there." Zaku sat for a moment, perfectly content, before he seemingly realized he needed to contradict himself. "I-I mean, they said you were just focusing, so I wasn't all that worried, but, well-"
"Yes, yes, everyone believes you, dumbass." Kin smacked the boy upside the head, before looking towards Sakura with disdain. "So, you're still alive, then… shame."
Sakura felt like she probably should've gotten mad at that, but the raw dryness in the girl's voice had her smirking instead.
"Interesting you'd bring that up, I'm pretty sure you were on death's door not a month ago." Sakura massaged her chin, feigning thinking hard. "I forgot, how did that happen again?"
Kin smiled herself, evidently fine with the dark humor. She shook her head, dismissing the topic, before she continued to speak.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The girl let out an annoyed sigh. "Jeez, I've been stuck coming here everyday with this idiot," Kin jabbed her thumb at Zaku. "So I've gotten kind of acquainted with your efforts here. Dosu just sort of went to the bathroom this morning and managed to avoid having to come here. I honestly admire his commitment."
"Hah, Naruto's like that sometimes, always trying to-"
"Excuse me, you two." Tenzo's voice was stern, but there was a hint of gentleness in it that seemed to assure Sakura that he meant no harm. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I'll have to ask the both of you not to interfere with these tests. They'll be requiring all of Sakura's focus."
Zaku and Kin didn't seem to know how to respond to the man, other than nodding and acquiescing to his request, standing and, after giving Sakura a quick nod, walking back towards the bench in the back of the training hall, the spot that had quickly become their normal haunt.
"Now, we're going to try this once more. Sakura, make sure you're taking deep breaths, and letting your chakra flow naturally."
She'd failed for the last week, doing nothing but getting stuck over and over again in the same places. She'd failed to utilize the Wood-natured chakra; she'd failed to make the curse mark's chakra work with her.
But surely now that she had an actual expert beside her, things would change. With his guidance, she'd be able to truly master this forgotten art!
"Right." She answered him, before falling back into her own head.
/-/
"So… you're here working alongside Jiraiya?"
Naruto and Sasuke both nodded, despite the fact that Tsunade was glaring daggers at the both of them. They weren't entirely sure if that was related to their aforementioned master, or if it was because of the comments they'd made regarding her becoming fifth Hokage.
Okay, Naruto admitted. The comments I made, but still, I'm sure Sasuke messed up somewhere.
Tsunade let out a horrid sigh, one that had both Naruto and Sasuke wincing, before she looked the both of them in the eye.
"Right, so I suppose he wasn't lying, then. Where is Jiraiya, if I might ask?"
Naruto supposed that was fair, given that they'd basically shown up with no notice, no real connection, and no master, before proclaiming that she had to participate in a battle to overthrow the secretly evil dictator of the Leaf Village, and that she was also the next Hokage.
That had probably left a bad impression.
"We're uh… not exactly sure?" Naruto admitted, trying to keep his hands in the air in as clear an expression of 'I can't control him please don't hurt me' as he could. "He goes off to drink – I mean, gather information at night, and doesn't usually show up until morning, so…"
Tsunade nodded, an empathetic expression on her face as she reached over and patted the both of them on their shoulders.
"I'm really sorry about him." The Sannin spoke with a tired groan. "To have gotten stuck with someone like that as your teacher… actually, wait, I wasn't even aware that Jiraiya was teaching kids, when did he take you guys in?"
"Oh, we're not usually his students." Sasuke spoke up. "We actually serve under Kakashi Hatake, have you heard of him?"
"Are you talking about the White Fang's kid?"
Naruto and Sasuke shared a confused look, before shrugging helplessly.
"Maybe? He's never really told us anything about his past."
Tsunade nodded, massaging her temples as she seemingly wracked her brain.
"Eh… white hair, wears a mask?"
"Yeah, that's him." They both confirmed.
The conversation trailed off in what was unmistakably an uncomfortable manner, Sasuke actually going so far as to cough awkwardly. Naruto himself couldn't help but try and bring some life back to their little talk, even if it wasn't the most professional thing to say.
"Er, well, you're lucky to be selected for the Fifth Hokage position." Naruto smiled warmly at the woman across from them. "It's my dream to become the Hokage, so to see someone else accomplish it… well, it's a bit annoying, but as long as you do a good job-"
"Kid, I'm not going to be the Hokage."
Naruto turned on her rather quickly, feeling bewildered, and just the smallest bit angry, at her words.
"What do you mean!?"
"I mean that when Jiraiya gets here, I'm going to decline his little idea and send him packing." Tsunade waved a hand in the air casually, as if dismissing the very notion of their plan. "Besides, it's not like they need me. Just because someone betrayed the Third Hokage doesn't mean I need to be the one to clean up the mess."
"And what if that person was Danzo Shimura?" A voice called from the entrance-way of the tiny hotel room they resided inside. "Would you be more inclined to act then, Tsunade?"
The woman in question clicked her tongue, leaning back in her chair with a sigh as she turned to look the new arrival in the eye.
"So… he finally made his move, then?"
"He did indeed." Jiraiya confirmed, walking into the space and sitting down next to Sasuke on the floor. "I'm not just coming to get you for the position of Hokage. I'm coming to get you for back-up in the revolt as well. It's not going to be easy uprooting Danzo of all people."
Despite what they might've expected from the woman, Tsunade actually laughed.
"Uproot, heh, I like it."
"Thank you, I thought it was pretty good myself."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Naruto interrupted, turning to face Jiraiya with a shocked expression. "How'd you get here, Pervy Sage!?"
"First off, for the love of all that you hold dear, do not call me Pervy Sage when there are people that I know around." Naruto was fairly sure that was a threat, but he was also fairly sure he didn't much care. "And second of all, you're not exactly the hardest person in the world to track, Naruto."
"I resent that."
"Can you refute it?"
"No, that's why I said resent instead of refute."
"Anyways, getting back on topic," Jiraiya turned to face Tsunade, supporting his head with both of his arms as he gazed up at her from his spot on the floor. "Quite frankly, we could use your strength, not to mention your skills in Medical Jutsu."
"And you're planning a direct assault on Root? You do realize that's not exactly the wisest idea, correct?"
"E-excuse me, Lady Tsunade?" The woman's retainer, Shizune, spoke up. "What exactly is 'Root'?"
Naruto was glad the woman had asked. He was kind of curious himself. He'd heard the name come up once or twice in conversation, but never actually learned what it was they were all about, or what their relation was to Danzo, a man he'd only met once.
"Ah, I guess it makes sense that you've never really heard of them." Tsunade waved away her students concerns. "Simply put, if the Anbu black ops are your regular special forces, then root… they're almost an even more dedicated sect. They're the kinds of ninjas who will do anything for the sake of the village, and I do mean anything."
"Yeah, they're about as hardcore as it gets, and for better or worse, usually worse, they answer directly to Danzo Shimura." Jiraiya shook his head, rather obviously omitting his own opinion on the group. "Anyways, Tsunade, are you in or out?"
The woman sighed as she looked down on Jiraiya.
"I have nothing to do with that village anymore. Orochimaru killed the third Hokage, I get that, but even if Danzo helped him do it, I don't particularly care either way." Tsunade put her hands behind her head, leaning back in her chair. "He was getting old as it is, probably only had another few years left in him."
Naruto's teeth ground together, gripping the armrest beside him far too hard.
I don't care who she is! Naruto mentally seethed. To insult Lord Third… to make a mockery of his death…
To insult the position of the Hokage…!
Naruto stood up, just about to unleash his rage upon the woman before him, but before he could open his mouth, someone else interjected.
"Don't insult Lord Third like that!" Sasuke shouted, standing up beside Naruto, even as he stepped away from the Uchiha in surprise.
"Oh?" Tsunade's eyebrow arced upwards, an almost challenging expression adorning her face. "And just what are you planning on doing about it?"
"We'll beat you up!" Naruto interjected, standing next to Sasuke with a defiant expression. "If we win, you've gotta' apologize about saying those things to Lord Third, and then you've gotta' help us beat this Danzo guy, too!"
"Ohoho?" Tsunade smirked, ignoring the way that her retainer frantically tried to stop her from standing. "Sure, why not. I'll take you two on."
"Now wait just a minute, Tsunade!" Jiraiya interrupted, and the two of them began to argue back and forth.
To his surprise, it was Sasuke who tapped him on the shoulder. The boy gestured for him to lean over towards him.
"Uh, Naruto, this woman's a Sannin." Sasuke whispered without breaking eye-contact. "You do realize we're not going to win this, right?"
"Says who!" He exclaimed, buffeting Sasuke backwards with the power of his voice alone. "We can do it! Just because she's strong doesn't mean we aren't as well!"
"I think you're severely underestimating her," Sasuke sighed out, but still grinned a moment later. "But whatever. Let's go for it, I suppose."
/-/
The dirt road outside their little hotel wasn't exactly the best place to have a battle, Naruto thought.
"Alright, if we're really going to fight it out like five-year olds," Jiraiya, who Naruto couldn't help but think was being a bit hypocritical, called out from the sidelines. "Then first to hit the ground loses. Naruto and Sasuke, if both of you hit the ground at the same time, you lose. Tsunade… do I even need to bother?"
"No, but… sure, those rules sound fine I suppose."
"Lady Tsunade, please!" Shizune exclaimed, sounding actually upset with the woman. "Fighting two Genin is so far below you, I can't help but think that-"
"Back off, Shizune." Tsunade doesn't meet the girl's eyes, and Naruto winces as Shizune steps back disappointedly.
Mistreating even your closest retainer, huh? His knuckles clenched; his eyes narrowed. Fine then, we'll show you.
Show you how foolish you really are.
"Well then…" Jiraiya raised his hand in the air, and after perhaps 2 or three seconds, he brought it back down. "BEGIN!"
Tsunade didn't bother moving, instead, she completely dropped her combat stance, leaning back and stretching as she yawned.
"You guys can come at me anytime; using whatever you want. I don't really care."
Sasuke's eye twitched dangerously.
"I am not a fan of this woman."
"Yeah, join the club."
"What do you want to do, since she's so kindly given us all this time to plan?"
Naruto briefly considered that, thinking up plans in his head that all seemed to meet the same eventual fate; namely, failing in one way or another.
We need to have enough firepower to knock her over, while also being flexible enough to avoid anything she throws at us. Not to mention that we have to be able to take a hit if it comes down to it…
Shadow clones. His brain wisely pointed out to him. It's always shadow clones.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted, watching as a few puffs of smoke revealed four new versions of him. "Alright, go on in and get me some data!"
He'd been paying attention to what Sasuke had said earlier during their analyses of each other, and what Jiraiya had said to him immediately after. His best friend had claimed that one of his best traits was 'analyzing his opponents and then beating them with their weaknesses'. Like Jiraiya has said, however, a lot of the time, that just sort of… worked out, so to speak.
He hadn't really meant to analyze his opponent, but the dying shadow clones did tend to give him a pretty rough idea of what he'd be dealing with.
So, after hearing Jiraiya basically call him out on the fact that he didn't pay a super lot of attention to things, he thought he'd get back at the man by… paying attention to things.
The process was slow-going, given his usual temperament, but Naruto was determined to make it work.
"Oh, Shadow clones?" Tsunade looked semi-impressed. "Not bad, not bad."
Sasuke nodded, and Naruto sent the four forward. They drew weapons from their bags and attacked.
Naruto didn't quite see what happened next, but where once there had been shadow clones, primed and ready to fetch him some useful data, there was now smoke, gently curling around Tsunade's form.
He blinked once.
"Sasuke, we can give up if you want."
"WHAT!?"
/-/
Sakura's breaths came out heavy and quick, and she was desperately panting as she fell to the floor.
She just managed to catch herself with her arms, but they were shaking as well, exhausted from having to be held in the air for nearly five hours as she passed chakra through them over and over. She appreciated the arm that Anko wrapped around her, and thanked the woman for helping her up as well, despite Sakura smelling heavily of sweat and grime, and setting her on the sound trio's usual bench.
"I… I'm sorry…" She gasped out, looking down at her trembling hands, and then at the space they'd just occupied, where the only evidence that she'd done anything at all that day was a tiny, almost invisible sprout, growing out of one of the branches of Tenzo's tree. "I failed again…"
Anko shook her head, sitting down next to her and forcing the girl to lean her body against the woman's own. Despite her teacher's show of support, she didn't try to refute Sakura's words. Even she couldn't seem to summon an argument against her students defeat.
Sakura felt like garbage.
"We'll continue with this tomorrow." Tenzo spoke simply, massaging his own arms, which was the only sign the man showed of being tired in the slightest. "Focus on what did and didn't work today and carry that with you into tomorrow."
With those final words, the man exited the room, followed immediately by Sai, who must've been in charge of making sure he didn't misbehave.
Sakura, for one, didn't particularly care at that moment.
"C'mon." Anko spoke quietly, gently nudging her with her shoulder. "We'll head on back, rest, and prepare for tomorrow."
Sakura nodded sedately, letting the woman beside her help her to her feet. She was exhausted, but then again, she had no right to feel that way. If she'd have made any progress, then perhaps she'd be allowed to feel this fatigue, she'd have earned it.
Instead, it only made her feel worse.
They stumbled through the halls, Anko eventually caving in and reaching under her, carrying her bridal style back to their shared room. The woman set her down upon her bed before excusing herself, heading off to take a shower.
As she sat in the bed, she felt a few tears begin to build up in the back of her vision, but held them back, finding herself growing angry.
I don't deserve to have some… some pity party! Sakura scolded herself. I'm a failure! The only thing I deserve is to try harder.
To keep trying, over and over, until she finally understood Hashirama's lost art of wood style.
She tried to ignore the fact that she'd been doing this for a week already, and had seen literally no improvement.
She sat up, focused hard, and channeled some of her chakra from her core into her hands. She'd gotten good at that part at least, the problems came in when she tried to add complexity. Focusing hard on separating her chakra's into two different types, she found herself growing frustrated by her own inability.
The natures wouldn't separate, no matter how much she tried. They'd been giving her trouble all day, and she'd barely managed to complete the task once, let alone the hundred or so times she attempted to do so.
Her teeth clenched together as she failed once more, and anger, a white hot ball that she had no control over, seemed to fester and grow inside of her chest. She felt a small prick of pain on the back of her neck, and before she knew it, she was being swallowed.
She coughed as her curse mark brought her back to reality, clawing at the back of her neck and her left arm with her hands as she began to hyperventilate.
Calm down! She screamed at herself. I practiced for this! I just need to overwhelm the curse mark with my own chakra, and then shut it down!
She tried to collect more chakra from her core but felt only an agonizing pain. She realized a moment later that she must've been out of chakra, or , at the very least, was incredibly close.
Spittle flew from her mouth as she coughed again, feeling the curse marks tendrils overwhelm her mind. She'd never been exactly sure what it was the malevolent mark wanted from her. If it had been placed upon Sasuke, she imagined it would've been to overwhelm his mind so that he'd approach Orochimaru…
Is… is the same thing going to happen to me!?
She struggled on the bed, curling up into a ball as she heaved violently, trying to regain control over her body. Her left arm spasmed almost uncontrollably, trying to do whatever it was the curse mark wanted from her.
Help me…
"HELP!" She called out, trying to get someone, anyone's attention. "Please, I-"
Pain took her voice from her once more, and the curse mark continued to spread. It forced it's way down the front side of her chest, corrupting her body as she began to feel it's effects in her head.
The world was fuzzy, almost as if she'd just woken up, and she was starting to feel a small urge to just lay down and rest.
Maybe if I take a nap… I'll feel a bit better. She brought her pillow under her head as the pain faded away into the background. Yeah… if I just…
Go to sleep…
…
Everything was burning as a hand touched her shoulder.
She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could barely even look at the person stood beside her, desperately pouring chakra into her.
"-k…ra!"
She closed her eyes, finding that the light above her, while dim, was still blinding. Her curse mark was still expanding, covering the entirety of her torso now.
"Help… me…" Her voice moved on autopilot, completely separate from her mind, which even now continued to be consumed by the curse mark's will.
Foreign chakra flooded her system, coursing through her as it revitalized her system. It was enough for her to regain control over some faculties, most notably her senses. It was enough to start feeling the pain again.
She screamed loudly and without recourse, writhing in place as she was held down by someone else's limbs, the limbs of at least two other's who'd entered the room. It felt like molten lava was being poured onto her neck as the curse mark began to recede, oh so terribly slowly.
It was another three minutes before the mark had fully gone away, and by that point, Sakura's voice was shot. She let herself fall back against the bed beneath her, entirely spent as tears ran down her face, unabated, for she had not the energy to still them any longer.
She looked up at the people who'd saved her, and was unsurprised to find Anko was one of them. She had clearly been interrupted in the middle of her shower, for she wore only a towel around her, and was dripping water down onto the floor beneath her from both her hair and her extremities.
She was a bit more surprised to find Kin and Dosu to be the two other's helping out.
"You guys…" Her voice was scratchy at best, barely managing to register as a whisper. "Why… did you…"
Zaku wouldn't have surprised her, at the very least, she was fairly sure the two of them were friends by this point, but his teammates…
"Don't get the wrong idea," Kin said with a sigh, massaging the bridge of her nose with her left hand. "We came because Zaku would be upset if you got hurt, and he's currently… busy."
"Busy? With what?"
"Yelling at that Tenzo guy for being rude to you." She couldn't quite tell from underneath his mask of bandages, but she was fairly sure Dosu was smirking. "Don't tell him we told you, though. I've a feeling he'd be quite upset."
She was far too tired to consider the implications of their statements, and so she looked towards the final person in the room, who was panting madly as she leaned against the back wall.
"Anko sensei… I'm sorry, if I'd just-"
"Nah, none of that."
Her eyes widened somewhat as the woman approached, lightly flicking her in the forehead as she gave her a tired smile.
"Idiot. You don't have to do this in a week."
Sakura tilted her head to the side as a desperate confusion washed over her. She wanted to believe the woman's words, but found that she couldn't.
"B-but… everyone expects me to-"
"Y'know, would you mind if I told you a story real quick?" Sakura wasn't sure what to make of her mentor's words but nodded anyways. "When the Fourth Hokage was working on a jutsu back in the olden days, He studied and studied all alone to create this one little tool. It's said it took him nearly three years to invent and perfect the ability."
Anko looked over towards her, eyes lidded as she took Sakura's hand.
"I don't mean to sound rude when I say this… but are you as good as the Fourth Hokage?"
"Uhm…" Her voice cracked as it passed by her ruined throat. "No?"
"Then stop worrying about mastering one of the world's rarest and most sought-after techniques in a week!" The woman screamed exasperatedly, getting right in Sakura's face as she panted. "You don't have to be perfect, no one's asking you to be! Hell, even the people here in Root aren't thinking they'll get immediate results! Why do you think they let that Tenzo guy finish his mission instead of rushing him back here the moment they found out about you!?"
"Uhm… I don't-"
"It's because they knew they were in it for the long-haul, Sakura!" Anko let out a long breath, before leaning forward and practically tackling her into a hug. "Jeez, I love you, Sakura, but you can be kind of clueless sometimes."
She tried to hold herself back, but couldn't help the small shudder that wracked her body as she leaned into the woman before her, wrapping her own arms around her teacher's back.
She didn't have the energy to cry, so it wasn't that long before she pulled out of the woman's grasp, smiling despite everything that happened.
"Now, c'mon you," Anko pushed her down onto the bed, picking the blanket that she'd knocked away during her mark-induced fit up off of the ground and placing it atop her. "Get some rest. And no complaints, we're going to need you if our plans going to work, alright? Can't revolt against an evil dictator when you're out of chakra, now can you?"
Sakura giggled, laying back against the pillow and almost instantly being bombarded by exhaustion.
"But, jeez, Anko sensei…" She let out in a quiet voice, a teasing smile set upon her face. "To confess to your student at a time like this, how bold…"
"Wait, what?" Anko sounded confused, before she seemed to recount her own words in her head. "Oh, you meant-"
"Yeah, not to mention that she's a minor." Kin joined in, a Cheshire smile adorning her face as she leaned against the wall closest to the door. "Jeez, I ought to report this to the city, y'know."
"For the record, I'm not a part of this." Dosu voiced quietly, stepping outside with a sigh as the rest of them continued to quip around.
"It was a familial thing! I'm not confessing to her!"
"And wearing only a towel, too." Sakura covers her face, feigning embarrassment, but really it was just to hide the massive grin growing there. "You really are so forward…"
"We were supposed to be having a nice moment!" Anko shouted. "And the two of you have to go and ruin it!"
"I think the one who ruined it is the pedophile!" Kin laughed. "Making poor Sakura there feel all uncomfortable."
"I hate you all!"
"Well clearly you don't, you just confessed to the girl, after all."
Sakura laughed as sleep overtook her, listening to the sounds of Kin and Anko argue over the latter's pedophilic tendencies. Still, there was a feeling in the back of Sakura's head, a tiny, almost absent thing that seemed to call out for her to notice.
It seemed to scream that they'd made a mistake.
/-/
"Now, c'mon you. Get some rest. And no complaints, we're going to need you if our plans going to work, alright? Can't revolt against an evil dictator when you're out of chakra, now can you?"
Danzo Shimura smirked uncharacteristically as the incriminating audio selection played over and over again, set up by the device in front of him to loop whenever it ended.
She'd been careful a few days ago, mapping the room she'd been in with her snakes, and checking for any audio equipment that could've caught her conversation with her student. But the girl's duress had caused Mitarashi to make an uncharacteristic mistake. She hadn't thought to check the room for any devices they'd installed while the two were out.
The grin on his face only grew as his philosophy was further confirmed. This was what emotions did to ninja. They corrupted them and made them weak, made them careless, made them make mistakes.
The ninja who'd caught the conversation turned towards him, face completely bereft of any feeling at all.
"Well, we know what they're going to do, now." The man voiced simply. "What's the plan, sir?"
"Hmm…" Danzo stroked his chin, trying to decide whether or not dealing with them now would be too hasty, and whether or not that perceived hastiness was worth waiting for Jiraiya to return.
If he acted now, assuming that they and the rest of the city were planning on ganging up and attacking him as one unit, then he would receive the advantage. However, if they had not planned to attack him, then he incited a revolt for no good reason. But Mitarashi's words were something he couldn't exactly ignore either. If she truly had planned something on her own, then taking out her, the ringleader, before she had the chance to act was also a better plan than waiting and reacting.
In the end, the choice ended up being rather simple.
"We'll act now. Contact Fu and Torune's squads, we'll have them clean up this mess." He turned to leave, content with that as instruction, before he paused, thinking up something else as well. "And… we'll have to have a scapegoat for this… Get in contact with Orochimaru, we'll hand Haruno over to him along with those three from the sound village. We'll paint the picture of him launching a covert operation to obtain the Wood Style, and to dispose of old traitors."
The man before him nodded, immediately beginning to write to the communications corps. After he'd finished his message, he turned back to Danzo.
"And what should I tell Fu and Torune's squads regarding the treatment of Mitarashi? Should we hand her over to Orochimaru as well, given the two's history?"
"No, Orochimaru's never cared about that failure of a test subject." Danzo spoke, already thinking many moves ahead on the chess board before him.
"Tell them to dispose of her."
End Chapter 37
Hey look, a cliffhanger. It's been a while!
It hasn't. I do these too often. In my defense, I've always thought they worked pretty well.
Naruto and Sasuke vs. Tsunade. Will the addition of a more powerful Sasuke, alongside a more powerful Naruto, be able to defeat Tsunade? Probably not, but who knows!
And will Sakura's brief meltdown truly be the catalyst for her teacher's death?
But, more importantly, will Anko Sensei's forbidden love for her student go unrequited, or will Sakura awaken to the glorious camp of Age-Gap Yuri?
Probably nothing regarding that last one, but perhaps the first two questions will get answered sometime in the near future, so stay tuned I guess.
See you all next week!