40. Ah, it's been more than a year… Goodness. I finished national examinations about a month back, but truthfully, I haven't known what to write for a really long time. Here's to hoping I'll be able to write this up by the end of the week.
Dear Gogglegirl (Guest),
I'm really glad you liked the formatting. I'll be keeping for the foreseeable future, I too find large paragraphs difficult to read and for that matter, write.
Dear Guest (the whole series in August 2018),
Thank you for taking all that time to leave your thoughts while reading! I hope that all the chapters after were still enjoyable. Would love to hear from you again, especially as the speed ramped up in the later portions.
Dear Kitiana (Guest),
Thank you for the review :') and I know it's been very long, but here's an update.
The elder Chiyo is not difficult to find, and while eccentric, is clearly intelligent. Baki gave them clear directions to the hidden water fount – and Tenzo could follow the trails of the underground aquifers with his dual nature.
Neither Sakura nor Tenzo are taken in by the act the old lady puts up. At one point, the lady was said to have conquered a castle. But those tales are a far cry from the front she presents; an old lady fishing with her equally old brother, pretending to be dead to play tricks on him.
Sakura cannot claim to understand why one would pull such a trick for laughs. It is a horrifying nightmare to imagine.
"But I am the one you are looking for, am I not, pinkie? My brother is far less interesting than I."
Tenzo bows and she inclines her head.
"Honourable Elder Chiyo."
And they were received with a smile.
"How polite. Tell me, Konoha-nin, what do you seek?"
"We come in protection of Gaara-sama, Chiyo-sama. To do that, we need information on the puppeteer Sasori."
The lady hums, gesturing them to follow. Elder Ebizo walks behind them, gathering up the fishing rod and empty bucket.
"Sasori? As you should know then, we have lost contact with him ever since he defected. I am not sure what else we can tell you that would help."
Tenzo makes eye contact with Sakura after his first attempt ends in failure. She gives it a go.
"Specifically, Chiyo-sama, we wish to understand the art of human puppetry." The older lady's steps do not falter, though she makes a sound of surprise.
Before them, the path clears and reveals a door carved into the rock.
She pushes open the door to the little abode, a short way off from the already well-protected fishing spot.
"Come in. You think Sasori has made human puppets, is that what you are saying?"
Elder Ebizo steps in a moment later, Tenzo murmurs that a genjutsu has been set on the area.
They're gently guided onto woven pillows as the lady elder disappears into the next room.
Ebizo takes up a seat on one of the chairs, absently tugging at his eyebrow. "Pardon the awkward arrangement. My sister and I do not usually take guests in the shelter."
"Then why the honour this time, Elder Ebizo?"
His eyes open just the slightest, his lips quirking, "I cannot say for sure, child. But perhaps she is whipping up a fresh batch of poison in the kitchen."
Tenzo tenses in alarm and Sakura rests a hand on his arm.
"Oh? I will be pleased to meet her poison making skills with my own, Elder."
Elder Chiyo cackles as she reappears with a pot of tea and cups.
"If I wanted to poison you Konoha-nin, I would not have waited until now. Old books are supposed to be tied up and left on a high shelf, after all."
"Nee-chan…"
Sakura draws back in surprise at the affectionate form of address, only to realise Shikamaru is not with them.
"Baki should not have given you all directions to us. Not when they clearly haven't exhausted all other avenues of help. But it must be enough that he did not bring you directly to us. We cannot be too easy on you Konoha-nin, yes?"
The lady elder pours them all a cup of tea, serving her younger brother first.
Ebizo drinks it with an easy heart, but Tenzo catches Sakura's hand when she makes a motion to drink hers.
"Why, young man. I poured the tea from the very same pot. There is no reason to fear."
Tenzo replies calmly that the poison could have been on the cup instead, not relinquishing his grip.
She cackles again, smiling broadly, "Good, good! A healthy paranoia."
But Sakura then uses her other hand to lift her cup, moving slowly to placate her partner.
"Still, Tenzo, I don't think the cup would be poisoned. They were empty and dry to begin with, the lip of the cup is clean. If anything, it is a normal Suna poison that both have been accustomed to that has been placed into the tea."
"Sakura-sama, then are you sure it is wise for us to stay here?"
The lord elder cracks a smile at the deduction, "You must be a medic, child. So tell us, will you drink, or will you not drink the tea my nee-sama has prepared?"
Sakura levels a critical eye at the innocuous brown tea.
"It looks like a fermented tea. Understandable since Suna is not good for growing its own, so it must be imported. But where from comes a tea that smells of the sea?"
She swirls the tea, lifting the cup to her lips before Tenzo stops her once again.
"It is either that the tea is grown in a marine clime, somewhere near Mizu, or the poison comes from there. Since we theorised that the poison is a normal Suna one, then the tea must be safe. An interesting test, Chiyo-sama."
Sakura takes a sip, and then Tenzo follows suit.
"Or, girl, it could have been scented with the sea to hide the smell of dry sand."
Sakura only smiles as Tenzo sets his cup back down.
"Or, it could be a slow-acting one for which you have kept the antidote, Chiyo-sama."
The elder male pours another round for them all.
"Still, both of you drank the tea."
Tenzo is conspicuously silent, uncertain as to how to handle two elderly folks reacting so oddly. Sakura is in her political element and she laughs.
"I trust my medical skills enough, Chiyo-sama. That and the alliance of goodwill our villages share."
The old lady has her cup of tea and follows with a witty rejoinder, "Alliances are pipe dreams, pinkie. But nonetheless, ask your questions about my grandson."
"As you know, our village was attacked recently. The main attack force was a set of six corpses that appear remotely controlled. Akasuna no Sasori is a member of the group which attacked us and it is he who hunts Gaara for his Bijuu. Our question is if it is true that the puppet techniques of the Sand are advanced enough to have corpses preserved and kept alive for use in battle."
Chiyo-sama smiles mirthlessly, "Of course they are advanced enough. We who polished the skills of mummifying corpses can do so. Sasori was fascinated with such techniques that preserved even the unique skills and muscle memory of the corpse. He perfected that art. The next question you must ask us is one that no village will answer."
Sakura stands first, bowing.
"Then in being polite, we will not ask. Thank you for your time. We will have to prepare our counterstrategy before engaging him and another in combat. But also, to be polite, Chiyo-sama, we must tell you in advance that for Suna to be safe, Sasori must die."
The old lady waves them off, "I am under no illusions child. You must not be, either. Hitokugutsu are very dangerous weapons. Even I do not trespass upon that sacred ground."
Hitokugutsu. Human puppets.
They take their leave with dignified grace, though Tenzo is far from satisfied.
Sakura knows she should be more careful, knows that she's expected to be the most paranoid of them all.
The wood user's cautious look over his shoulder even as she leads them down the harsh mountain tells all.
"A sandstorm is rolling in, Tenzo. We should hurry," she says simply.
The implied excuse for her haste and their surface questioning is taken by the ANBU without much fuss, but Sakura also knows that her desire to cover the lies may well be the undoing of the whole web.
She cannot stop Tenzo alone, and it would be a horrific waste of someone who could almost count as family.
Unlike Naruto and Sasuke though, Tenzo will not accept her lies.
"Sakura-sama, I cannot help but feel that the honourable elders were not telling us everything. We are not prepared. In fact, we are no better off than before."
She smiles over her shoulder even as they pick up pace, the winds beginning to whip around them.
"Of course not, but they have told us enough to know that Sasori is the most likely puppeteer of the corpses. While elder Chiyo was not clear, it is largely implied that human puppets are limited to those corpses hand picked and preserved. So it is difficult. Likely in the creation and control."
"But she would not divulge such details. We have little to no idea as to whose corpses Sasori may have, let alone how many he can control, what sort of skills they may have. We cannot fight him like this."
When they reach the base of the mountain, the sandstorm has already drawn close.
"It is just as well that we have not run into him yet, is it not?"
Tenzo gives her an inscrutable look before looking at the incoming cloud and frowning.
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall." His shield joins up with the rock and he gestures for Sakura to step in. He follows and closes the gap.
She follows because she trusts him at least that much, and Tenzo knows that too.
"I hope the storm will not last long," she says lightly, even as she settles on the sandy ground comfortably.
In the darkness Tenzo sounds like he's seated beside her, though the echo makes that difficult to confirm.
"The storms in this portion of the desert do not last long, Sakura-sama."
Sand begins pelting their wooden shelter and it seems to become even darker.
Sakura stretches a hand out, directing her chains to reinforce the wood. They glow dimly once active and their small abode is lit up.
Tenzo questions none of this.
"When we get back, Sakura-sama, we have to practise fighting puppeteers to understand how they battle. If Chiyo-sama is unwilling, we will have to ask perhaps the Kazekage's older brother."
"The skill gap will be large, Tenzo."
With the wind roaring in their ears, Tenzo replies quietly that they have no other alternative beyond charging into battle blind.
"We also have to prepare for poison use. Most likely a contact poison. As a preliminary strategy, Sakura-sama I think it would be best if you left the fighting to me. I can apply a layer of wooden skin to prevent poisoning while you will be vulnerable."
The medic in her understands that it makes sense, though she confesses to not liking it.
"Very well. While you handle the puppet then I will attack the puppeteer."
Kankuro-san gladly obliges them, walking them through the basics that all the Puppet Corps know.
He flicks a finger, and a thin blue chakra thread extends towards a puppet limb. He has a training puppet set before them, and with another flick, the puppet stands.
"With a few more," he makes the puppet move individual limbs, "you can control basically any movement as if you were holding it."
With his free hand, he controls a few more puppets and they all dance to the same jerky pattern.
"The number of threads is a balance between your focus and your control. With more strings, you can have finer control over a single puppet or you can have more puppets."
He demonstrates with a nutcracker puppet, connecting one thread and flinging it through the air.
"I can move it, and with the same string trigger the weapon hidden in its mouth, but it's too difficult to move its hands on one string to make the focus worth it. At least for me, it's simpler to attach as many strings as there are possible actions, ja."
Tenzo gingerly touches the chakra string, looking back at Sakura when the string is tangible to his physical touch. He pulses his chakra and watches the string waver before reforming.
Kankuro's eyes only momentarily look to the disruption before refocussing on the pink-haired girl.
"But Sasori of the Red Sand is an entirely different level, Sakura-san. I'm sure your visit to the honourable elder would have told you that much. Battling me will be nothing compared to a puppeteer of such skill. He may well face none of the trade-offs I've just told you, just as Chiyo-baasama probably doesn't."
Tenzo cautiously tries breaking the thread with a kunai, only for the blade to phase through the string.
"Is there any way to disrupt a puppeteer's control?"
The Kazekage's brother chuckles for a moment, and Tenzo cannot help the bemused smile on his face.
A ninja who asks for another's secrets. He shakes his head in mirth when the boy replies that "Of course there are," but does not elaborate.
Tenzo makes the conciliation sign, signalling his intent to begin their spar. Kankuro makes space between them, unsealing his main puppet from a small scroll before making the same seal.
"Sakura-san you've seen these puppets before, but Tenzo-san perhaps not."
The wood user only smiles serenely, leaping forward to close the gap.
Fingers flying, all three puppets move simultaneously to encircle him.
With a quick Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique, he slips underground.
Sakura's chain sidles up beside him and leads him back to the surface. Tenzo swiftly grabs the leg of a spider-like puppet and yanks it.
Surprisingly, the leg comes clean off to reveal a very sharp saw blade which stabs downwards. He makes a quick substitution, beating a quick retreat to intercept the other many-legged puppet flying at Sakura.
As he makes a quick dash towards her, Sakura makes the risky move of darting under the legs of the puppet with a human face – immediately it becomes clear what she's going for as her chains materialise.
Her right hand, formed into a blade, hums with an edge of chakra, even as her chains deflect the various implements launched by the heavily armed puppet's six legs. She goes straight for the visible chakra strings, and Tenzo follows with a Water Style: Water Bullet to physically shove the puppet away from Sakura.
Tenzo leaves the experimenting to her as he turns back to engage with the puppet pursuing him.
In the quick movement, the puppet's black cloak is blown open to reveal the barrel stomach. Faint memory reminds him that the Yamanaka heir was protected in it during the Chunin Exams.
As he dodges the arms aiming left and right he observes closely to see the craftsmanship of the puppet, in each individual segment.
Not a moment too late, he dives right, deducing that all of them can not only be detached but in fact launched.
With another leg of the puppet detached, the puppet's weight is now equalised and comes back at him with greater tenacity.
He's too distracted by the sheer number of segments he has to account for that he gives into temptation and makes a clone.
"Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu."
The clone moves to engage the puppet as the original side steps and moves towards the last puppet Kankuro-san is presumably hiding in.
Sakura, off to his left is keeping up the battle of cutting the threads as quickly as they reform, and that certainly must take up a great deal of the puppeteer's concentration.
With some luck, the large puppet he moves towards does not move until it's nearly too late.
The young puppeteer clearly didn't expect him to form a clone, and he smiles.
Gently rapping on the shell of the largest puppet on display, Tenzo feels the child's eyes shift onto him in surprise.
Sakura looks over too, certainly, the threads must have stopped forming.
A garbled voice comes out from the puppet, remarking that he was caught off guard.
"But I do have one more trick up my sleeve, which, since Sakura-san is here, I suppose I can show."
Tenzo has the barest realisation that he's obviously been poisoned by the purple smoke billowing out of the mouth of the puppet he was touching before he crumples to the sandy ground.
"Naturally, Sakura-san, just reaching the puppeteer isn't the end, ja. But I suppose in this case I did do Tenzo-san a disservice since he didn't smash up Sanshouo."
And Kankuro casually hands her a vial which she administers promptly.
"That was one our most nasty knock out poisons. He stayed awake for just a moment, which is interesting since he has no trained immunity."
She only laughs lightly, she can hardly tell Kankuro-san that Tenzo carries the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. As it was, he shouldn't have used his bunshin.
As the puppeteer collects the loose parts of his two offensive puppets, Sakura tends to her partner, waiting for him to regain consciousness.
It is not long before he's up and assessing the situation again.
He gives her a wry smile, "We will have to be much more careful when engaging the enemy."
She runs a check to ensure the poison has been metabolised fully. "We would also be fighting a lot harder, Tenzo."
"Of course, Sakura-sama."
Kankuro waves them off when they offer to help with the repairing of his puppets. "You all go ahead first. I'll brief the Kazekage later on."
Once Tenzo is steady enough, they begin walking back to the quarters allocated to them. Itachi and Sasuke reached back the day before, and as far as Sakura knows, Naruto and Sensei never left.
Tugging Tenzo's arm over her shoulder, her chains continue monitoring the damage the poison already did in the half a minute of exposure. Even if the ANBU grumbles, she knows full well that this is the style of the Suna poison team. The one crafted by the lady elder, the one followed by Sasori of the Red Sand.
It's rapid onset and thus, incredibly dangerous.
"When it comes to Sasori, there will be no time to think about antidotes. I think it's best if we think of another way. If he gasses you, Tenzo, there will be no way out."
"There is no need for that. Sasori would never use a gas like Kankuro-boy." The lady elder emerges from a sidewalk as if she had always been there. "Definitely though, we have to put you all through your paces. Some immunity will be better than none. I suppose only the ANBU have such training."
Sakura feels Tenzo stiffening, but the lady elder regards them as if neither has had poison tolerance training.
"We don't use poisons often, Chiyo-sama."
The old lady scoffs.
"Well, don't you worry about that. Sasori will use enough to end a few of your lifetimes."
It's Sakura's turn to tense, and she can sense the question in Tenzo's brief look at her.
They both know the lady elder knows less that they expect, but still, they are cautious.
"If you would be willing, Lady Elder, we would be grateful."
Lady Chiyo waves them off, not unlike how Kankuro did.
"We, rely on the Leaf? I had better tell the Kazekage that it's nonsense and that this is a cover for the Leaf to learn all of the Sand's secrets. Nevertheless, you must at least see my cute grandson's face for me. Now come along. I'll start you today on the favourites he had when he was younger."
I know it's been long. But as mentioned, finished those exams and took time to get back into the writing groove. While I have some things on now, it's much less stressful and time is less tight, so I expect to be back here for at least half a year.
Have been going back to watch the anime to check on how Kankuro's puppets functioned. Also been thinking about how to handle Tenzo across time. Just as Sakura has woven herself a packet of lies to handle, we too are thinking hard of all our loose strings and which things to pull on.
Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it, and do leave a review, even if it's just to nag :') Love hearing from you all!
Thank you all for reading,
Kayo
