Ink's Notes:
Aaaah, whoops. It's been a while, again... sorry for the delay. Let's get to responses, then the chapter...
The Keeper Of Worlds: Yup! Admittedly I really like those two.
Guest: Any particular reason?
Other Other Guest: That's officially your nickname BD Anyway, I believe I mentioned it in a different chapter, but for the One Piece guys this story started right about when the Straw Hats were leaving for Fishman Island - so it's her post timeskip outfit.
Allykrau: Indeed~
XPao-17X: Well, we'll see how it goes now!
Other Guest: Here is another chapter!
Skipper917: Thank you~
j8a8c8y8: Thank you~! And no, it's not Blackbeard. I don't think his fruit has a teleporty thing. And if it were Blackbeard, I think Marco would be... well, he might not be acting as rationally since his crew might not be as safe if it were the Blackbeard guys who had done it. Truthfully, it's an OC who... probably won't actually play a part in the story, just was more of a "ok these guys got sent to the Naruto world by this asshole" sorta deal.
Anyway, on to the chapter!
Chapter Thirty-Two
Much to her dismay, Sakura was discovering at an alarming rate that not only was Marco right about Haki being more effective in combat if you could use it with your eyes open, but that this Tashigi woman was also somewhat proficient in its use and was able to keep up with Sakura when she tried using it to outsmart her. The idea of using a kunai to even the playing field had quickly become a bad one, as Tashigi seemed to specialize in the use of swords and so someone like Sakura, who didn't have the honed skills of a swordsman, was having trouble keeping up while using a blade of her own.
Sakura jumped backwards to put some distance between them before throwing the kunai at Tashigi, who planted her feet firmly before vanishing in an instant with a cry of "Soru!" Sakura forced her Haki outwards, the blur of the auras melding with the sight of her environment, and just barely managed to pick up her opponent as she closed in with a thrust from behind. Sakura moved right, the thrust just nicking her stomach as opposed to piecing it like her opponent had intended, before channeling chakra into her leg and swinging it upwards in a roundhouse kick at Tashigi. The woman brought her blade up to block, then was momentarily paralyzed by the reverberating clang that came from the blade when Sakura kicked it as hard as she had. She took a few steps backwards, visibly reeling from the blow, and Sakura took the opportunity to swing a punch at her face. Tashigi snapped to attention, vanishing once more with another cry of "Soru!" before reappearing a few steps backwards and shaking herself out.
"What is your problem?!" Sakura yelled as she brought her hands together in a hand sign, making a few simple clones. Each one moved forwards differently, and Tashigi prepared to strike at them. "Why are you even working with Sasuke!? Do you know what he's done?!"
Tashigi moved quickly and eloquently, slicing through each of the clones and dispersing them without much effort, before she and Sakura charged forwards and met halfway, Sakura ducking under a sword swipe and bringing a fist up, Tashigi leaning backwards to avoid the uppercut and trying for a knee to the gut, Sakura reeling back from the blow but grabbing Tashigi's leg, Tashigi being swung at a nearby tree and slicing her sword through it as she got close, Sakura having to release her leg in favor of punching the tree away, both moving back to put some distance between themselves again.
"My only concern is getting back home so I can help bring pirates to justice!" Tashigi bit back, gripping her sword tightly.
"Then come with us instead!" Sakura countered. "We're on a mission to gather people from the Grand Line so we can help them get back home! You're no different, let us help!"
Tashigi seemed mildly surprised that Sakura knew where she was from, but shook the thought away as she moved forwards again. The two found themselves in what could be considered a dance, each dodging blows from the other, or barely avoiding something, or getting hit but retaliating quickly and effectively.
"I would never work with pirates!" Tashigi snapped at Sakura, swiping her blade downwards at her. "Pirates are the scum of the seas!"
"You might as well be if you're working with missing-nin!" Sakura retaliated, dodging to the left and thrusting her hand at Tashigi's elbow. Tashigi moved her arm out of the way of the blow. "Especially- Especially someone like Sasuke!"
Neither of them took much time to process the fact that they took a moment to duck under Suigetsu's blade as it flew overhead and embedded itself into a tree, nor did they take much time to focus on the scream that filled the air about a minute later. Sakura brought out a kunai to block the downward strike that Tashigi swung at her, and they found themselves deadlocked as neither gave an inch to the other's advances. It was a few moments before Tashigi broke the silence between them.
"What do you mean?" she asked in a low voice. "When you say that I might as well be working with pirates if I'm working with missing-nin?"
"A missing-nin," Sakura paused a moment to try and think of terms that Tashigi would understand. "It's like… a shinobi is a marine. We go around helping people and stopping bad guys, based on what our clients want us to do." Tashigi slowly nodded, though didn't let up trying to gain the advantage in their stalemate. "And a missing-nin is someone who used to be a shinobi, but betrayed their village to go rogue." When Tashigi blinked, she decided to use different terms. "Like if a marine decided being a marine wasn't for them and became a pirate."
Tashigi hesitated for just a moment, and Sakura capitalized on this hesitation to push her backwards with a firm kick to her stomach. "You-" Tashigi coughed. "Are you saying that-"
"Sasuke betrayed my village!" Sakura snapped at her. "He- we worked together for so many missions, but he- he just threw that away in the interest of gaining power alongside a known enemy of the village!" Tears were forming in Sakura's eyes. "At least- At least pirates like Marco can be good people! There are bad ones, I know that! We have some pirates here, even if it's not nearly as many as there'd be where you're from! But people like him just want to be free! They help the people they care about, they raise a flag so that if the marines – if the marines do something to hurt the people they care about, they can do something about it!" Sakura clenched her fists and her teeth. "You- you can't just pretend the marines are some sort of incredible force that's always right! No organization can be like that! Even if they have the best intentions, people – people are people! They can be bribed, or swayed by wrong opinions, or- or even the people they think are the right ones to fight or attack are just the enemies of the people that paid them!" Sakura clenched her fists, shaking her head a few times. The things she was saying… as much as she hated to admit it, she was noticing a lot of parallels to her own life as a shinobi.
"You're…" Tashigi slowly relaxed her posture. "You're saying that Sasuke is like… a former marine who became a pirate?" Sakura slowly nodded in response. "So I've been going against all forms of my justice… by helping him." The statement seemed to have shaken her, and she lowered her sword.
"Oh, thank goodness," Vivi's voice snapped Tashigi and Sakura to attention, and both turned to face her. "I thought we were going to have to separate you, but with how fiercely you two were fighting one another…" She sighed in relief and turned to Carue. "Thank goodness, they've sorted out their differences."
"Vivi?" Sakura asked. "What do you mean?" She slowly took in the fact that everyone except for Sasuke and Marco had stopped fighting. "What's going on?"
"There's… things we need to talk about," Karin frowned. "Right now, we need all the help we can get stopping that," she jabbed her thumb at the fight between Sasuke and Marco, just as Sasuke barely avoided a punch to the face but got hit by a talon to the chest. "I'd explain, but every moment spent doing that is a moment that fight goes on longer."
Sakura mutely nodded in agreement, wondering what exactly was going on, when Tashigi suddenly yelped and pointed at her. "You're- Princess Vivi Neferati!" she exclaimed. "You were with the Straw Hat Pirates in Alabasta!"
Vivi yelped out a squeak, covering her mouth and shaking her head. She was saved from having to speak when Perona interjected, "You know the Straw Hats?"
There was a moment when all the assembled people from the Grand Line exchanged glances, wondering why they all knew the Straw Hat Pirates, then they realized that this could honestly wait until a point in time when they didn't have something to be doing. "Right- stopping Marco-" Bepo reminded them all.
Tashigi sheathed her sword and turned to Sakura. "In the interest of protecting civilians such as the Princess and the non-shinobi in this world, and returning to the Grand Line… I suppose I'll have to travel with you," she stated. "But so much as one wrong move from you pirates-" she glared at Bepo, who quickly apologized, "And I'll have to take action."
"All the better way for you to keep an eye on us," Sakura grinned, before taking off with the others towards where Marco and Sasuke were fighting.
Tashigi sputtered a moment, processed what Sakura had just said and what it implied, then drew her sword and charged after the group. There were things that needed to be thought about, but for now, she had to stop this fight. It was her job – her duty – as a marine to protect people, and she couldn't just stand there while these people endangered themselves like they did. She was a marine! She had to keep people safe!
…but maybe, just maybe, she needed to rethink how she was doing that.
Right, that brings this chapter to a close. I'll try and get the next one out more quickly, but I'm getting Alpha Sapphire tomorrow, so I make no promises.
-Ink