Chapter 6
New Attitudes, Faces and Borders
Tsunade began flipping through the paperwork on the desk, preparing for the day ahead. Mornings generally were about assigning missions and the afternoons taking reports from returning missions. Picking up the mission log, she started familiarizing herself with the current outstanding requests. There was an unusually high back log of D rank missions lately, the latest class of genin was quite small by Konoha standards. She would have to deal with some very unhappy chunin today.
While sipping sake at her desk and checking out who was available for missions, her office door burst open. Sakura marched into the room with a confidence rarely seen in her. Not only was her usual demeanor different from any Tsunade had ever seen, her clothing had changed slightly as well. Gone was her signature red shirt with a white circle, replaced with an orange shirt.
"What is the meaning of this?" Even though Tsunade had not seen her apprentice since she fled the hospital yesterday, it was decided to act as if everything was normal. For the moment, there was no clear method to confine Sakura if the fox was to take over her body, as was clearly demonstrated the day prior.
Sakura stopped dead center in front of the Hokage's desk. "I'm here for a mission. That is what my profession calls for, going out on missions."
"We have plenty of available ninja at the moment and you are not on today's duty roster." Tsunade waved her hand slightly, trying to encourage Sakura to leave. The Hokage did not like where this conversation was going.
"Don't give me that old lady Tsunade. I am well aware there are currently more missions available then ninja to take them." Sakura stood defiantly in front of her master. Not only was the apprentice defying her order, but she was addressing her teacher in a very disrespectful manner.
"Alright then. Here you go, we have been contracted to weed a row of gardens on the western side of the village." The Hokage extended her hand holding the mission briefing document to Sakura.
But Sakura batted them aside with one hand. "No thanks. I'm a chunin ranked ninja who is ready to take the jonin examinations. D rank missions are for first year genin."
Usually that kind of talk came from genin too hot headed for their own good. But Sakura was completely correct in her assessment, she was one of the most advanced chunin in the entire village. But this was a special case. "If you can complete this mission then maybe we can see what else is available." Tsunade smiled.
"Fine." Sakura snatched the papers still being held in front of her and examined them for a moment. "I will be back in no time."
"Good luck."
Tsunade just sent out the 6th team for the morning. Only a couple more before lunch. "Next!" she called out. In walked Sakura, who she was not expecting to see back so soon.
"All finished." Sakura walked in with her head held high.
"That is impossible. It would take a team of 4 an entire day to finish that mission. The record was 8 hours and 40 minutes." Iruka, team seven's former academy teacher, was sitting beside the Hokage helping with the daily mission assignments. This particular mission was requested on a regular basis, twice per year.
"It looks like I set a new record." Sakura had the biggest grin on her face. "What is my next mission?"
Tsunade sighed deeply. There was a problem. They had just distributed the last D rank mission to the prior team. And there were no C rank called for on this day. Tsunade tried to delay the inevitable."You must be exhausted. Take the rest of the day off. Come back tomorrow."
"Not in the slightest. I am ready for my next mission." Sakura folded her arms and twisted her head to the side, a sign she meant business. Iruka was looking at both women utterly confused. He was out of the loop, wondering as to why Sakura was demanding missions and Tsunade unwilling to give them.
'What am I going to do?' Tsunade thought, 'Only two missions remain. One B rank involving escort duty for a convoy. But that is a 2 to 4 week mission. She can't leave the village for that long. The A rank is much shorter in duration, reconnaissance in the village along the border to the Land of Earth. A follow up to Naruto's failed mission a few days earlier. But it is much more dangerous in her current condition.'
"I'm waiting Tsunade-sama." Sakura began tapping her foot. Iruka decided to stay out of it. He picked up some papers and attempted to look busy reading them.
'Now she is addressing me properly? What is going on here. Naruto hasn't woken up yet and who knows when this ordeal will be over. I can't keep her bottled up inside the village forever. Maybe if I send her with the right people and modify the mission slightly...'
"Ok. Sakura, you are to travel to a village in the land of grass and gather intelligence on enemy rock movements. This mission calls for a full squad so I will also be assigning Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, and Rock Lee. Find out..."
"Tsunade-sama," Iruka interrupted, "Rock Lee is out of commission. You told me he was recovering in the hospital."
"Ah, correct. I will assign..." Tsunade picked up a paper to examine, "...Neji Hyuga. He was scheduled to leave on another mission tomorrow but it can be put off. Sakura, Kakashi will be the squad leader. Find out what you can in 7 days and report back. Dismissed." Delighted, Sakura made a slight squealing noise and dashed out of the room. "I think I just made a huge mistake," Tsunade mumbled to herself, sinking down into the chair.
"What happened to Lee-san anyway?" Iruka asked.
Kakashi had stayed overnight with Naruto, hoping for his recovery to be as swift as Sakura's had been. But it was not to be the case. There was no change in his condition from the day before. At least Lee helped liven the room up. He frequently talked in his sleep. Having completed reading the latest installment to Icha Icha Paradise, the perverted copy ninja started anew with the first novel in the series.
A quick knock on the door, was followed by Sakura walking in. She was followed by Neji and Shikamaru. He immediately noticed the new orange shirt she was wearing, instead of her usual red. Kakashi greeted his former student, "Good morning."
"Good morning sensei. Has there been any change in Naruto's condition?"
"Unfortunately no. However, it is good to see you are up and about Sakura."
She smiled, "Yes, so well that Tsunade-sama has assigned us a mission."
"This soon?" Kakashi put away his book..
"Yes. Neji-san, Shikamaru, you, and I are assigned to do a reconnaissance. It is the same village that Naruto and Shikamaru returned from a few days ago."
Lee broke up the conversation when he began talking in his sleep again. Everyone turned their attention to him for the moment. "458, 459, 460, 461, 462..." His voice became too soft to hear again.
"Even training in his sleep." Neji shook his head.
"Ah, that is what the counting is for. He has been doing that a lot." Kakashi turned to Sakura, "Care to explain what happened yesterday?"
"What do you mean sensei?" Sakura answered nonchalantly.
"From what I gather, Lee-san attacked the Hokage after you informed him an impostor was after you. He does more then count in his dreams."
Sakura raised her hands in defense. "It was all a simple misunderstanding. When Lee-san wakes up it will be all cleared up. But right now we need to focus on our mission."
"When are we supposed to leave?" Shikamaru spoke up for the first time.
Sakura turned to answer, "Right away. The ninjas who attacked you two might still be there. If they are, it will be much easier to find out what is going on."
Kakashi stood up. "Well we best get moving. It will take me about an hour to prepare, I will meet you at the main gate." As he made his way out of the room, "Who is leading the mission?"
Sakura responded, "I am."
By sundown the reconnaissance team had made it well away from their home village. But not far enough to take them outside of Fire Country territory, which meant they could freely lite a campfire. Once they leave their home territory, stealth will become a much higher priority.
Neji had just returned with some more firewood after performing a quick scouting of the area. "No one detected within a mile of our location."
Kakashi sat down next to Shikamaru in front of the fire. "Shikamaru-san, could you please tell us what happened on your previous mission."
He sighed, "Ok. I only want to have to say this once so please give me your full attention." Shikamaru was not looking forward to the lengthy story he was about to tell. "We were assigned to confirm a secret meeting between the Rock and some unknown allies..."
A few days before...
"Naruto, do you see that building next to the tavern. That is the most likely location for the meeting." Shikamaru was pointing to the target.
"How can you tell?" The clueless blond responded.
"sigh This village is small, containing only one street and no more than a dozen buildings. That one has ninjas moving in and out of it frequently. Plus, some of the windows are covered over."
"Right, right. Well now what do we do?"
"Exactly what the mission says. We need to find out if a meeting is going to take place. We will have to get inside." Shikamaru turned to his teammate. "Think you can act like a ninja for once and be stealthy?"
"Of course!" Naruto said with a little too much enthusiasm. It was a good thing no one was within earshot. Shikamaru shook his head.
Back at camp...
A coyote howl interrupted the Nara's story. Neji took a quick look around. Everything was in order and still no one within sight. Kakashi was listening attentively but Sakura did not seem very interested. She was poking at the fire with a stick. A few embers scattered with each strike.
Kakashi broke the moment of silence. "It is getting a bit late and we need an early start tomorrow. Could you get to the part where you were discovered."
One day after Naruto and Shikamaru arrived in the village
The pair had made it inside the target building disguised as Rock ninja. So many were moving about that it shouldn't have made a difference if two more suddenly appeared.
"Something isn't right. This is just a storehouse. You can barely move in here will all this junk." Shikamaru turned to his fellow impostor. "We better get out of here."
Before they could reach the back door, it swung open along with the front. Shouting could be heard from outside, "Don't let them escape!"
"Quick, up to the second level Naruto. This way." The quick thinking jonin grabbed his teammate's arm and sprinted for the stairs. 'This is not possible, no one saw us enter this place. We've fallen into a trap.'Shikamaru's mind raced, needing to come up with a plan.
Reaching the top floor they were out of luck. No doors to outside balconies, no access to the roof, and all the windows were boarded up. The enemy planned it out well."Trapped like rats."
"They are picking on the wrong shinobi!" Naruto grabbed the closest crate and flung it down the stairs. A rock chunin caught it but could not stop from falling backwards. He tumbled down into the people behind him, causing a cascade. "Take that you bastards!"
"That will only buy us a few seconds. We still can't get out of here. Maybe we can pry these boards off the window..." Shikamaru went to the closest window and tried pulling, but it was nailed tight. When he heard a sound coming from Naruto he turned around to see the blond kid dash past him. At the last moment, he did a flying kick through one of the windows. crack He managed to break one board in two, but not much else.
An enemy Rock ninja finally made it to the top of the steps. Shikamaru was ready with his shadow. Once possessed, he forced the unfortunate rock shinobi to take a step backward.. The cursing ninja fell back down the stairs and on his fellow comrades again. Trying to by more time, Shikamaru started grabbing any boxes nearby and tossing them down the steps. "Naruto get one of those windows open before I run out of stuff to throw."
Naruto jumped to his feet and looked around for some tools. No such luck, only boxes and crates. Maybe something inside? He opened the closest one. Books. In another box he found clothes. "I'm running out of stuff to throw here Naruto, use a jutsu to blast through."
'Of course!' Naruto thought, 'I can use an explosive note. No need to be quite now!' He reached into his pouch and pulled a paper out. Placing it on the window, he shouted to Shikamaru, "Get down!"
Shikamaru dove behind some crates while Naruto did the same. A rock shinobi reached the top of the steps just as the explosion went off, once again knocking frustrated ninja down the steps. The leaf ninja raced to their new exit and jumped out. Unfortunate for those still inside, the blast destroyed one of the main supports. The building collapsed on top of over a dozen enemy ninja.
The duo landed in the street and surveyed the scene. Although the building knocked out 2/3 of the enemy force, a handful were waiting outside. They were now surrounded and engaged in hand to hand combat. Shikamaru blocked attack with a clash of his kunai and yelled out, "What are you doing Naruto! Stop fooling around and finish off those guys!"
Back at camp...
The fire had died down and was just a collection of cinders now. Shikamaru yawned, "...and that is what happened up to when we returned home."
"As the Hokage said, this was an obvious ambush. Someone is feeding us false intelligence. Or our observations are being staged." Kakashi picked up his book once again. He put it down for the lengthy story.
"I would bet on the latter. Our previous mission hinged on a message intercepted while in transit. The enemy is trying to throw us off the trail." Shikamaru stood up and stretched his arms. "Well, I am turning in for the night."
Sakura said nothing. She stood up and went to her tent. Neji gave one final sweep around the camp site with his Byakugan before turning in. Kakashi stayed up quite late thinking through all that had happened.
"Of course. She is wearing an orange jacket. That qualifies as unusual." Neji answered a question Kakashi had asked about Sakura's behavior. The three make squad members had snuck away from the camp under the guise of taking a bath in the nearby river. Sakura stayed behind at camp to make dinner. It was the night before they would reach their destination for the mission.
"There are other things as well. She is not very talkative. It is like having a conversation with myself." Shikamaru added his own observations to the mix.
"Yes, she has changed a bit. The operation is clearly having some side effects." Kakashi said.
"Operation?" Neji, along with most of Konoha, had no idea what had transpired a few nights ago. By order of the Hokage, no one was to be informed what had occurred. If word got out, the results could be disastrous..
"Yes. As you are aware, Naruto was having chakra draining issues. So a technique was performed to move the seal holding the Kyuubi onto Sakura. She was the most suitable candidate at the time." Kakashi had decided it was vital that their team knew what was going on.
"Wouldn't it have been wise to keep her in the village?" Neji wished he was informed of this sooner. It was a rather important detail to skip over.
"The Hokage tried but she was able to break out of all restraints. The next best option was to act as if everything was normal. She demanded a mission and this was all that was available. There is another thing you should both be aware of, I spoke with the Hokage before leaving. I was supposed to be squad leader, but Sakura has apparently taken it upon herself." Kakashi needed to make sure they were both fully informed of the situation.
"I thought as much. You are the ranking jonin after all." Shikamaru was putting it all together. "I guess you want us to follow your orders over hers then?"
"Correct. If I end up giving an order, for any reason, it will override any order given by Sakura. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," both leaf shinobi answered in unison. After the appropriate time had past for a bath, all three returned to camp.
It was noon of the third day watching the border village. Nothing out of the ordinary had been seen. There were still several Rock ninja moving about. But it was probably just a response to was happened last week. Construction was taking place around the building destroyed from Naruto's explosion. The workers were still clearing debris.
This was the final day they could continue their observations. Tomorrow the squad would have to begin their return to the hidden leaf village. The group were watching street traffic about ½ mile outside the village. "I wish every mission was like this. No fighting, just laying around." Shikamaru was laying down in the tall grass watching the sky.
"A procession just entered the village. Two coaches with 6 ninja guarding each." Neji informed his fellow team members.
"Damn it." Shikamaru sat up.
"It is stopping." Neji continued to inform what was going on. Kakashi picked up the binoculars and took a look for himself.
"Can't see much of anything from here." Kakashi stated.
"Well lets get moving then. Transform!" To everyone's surprise Sakura spoke for the first time in hours. She had transformed into a rock ninja outfit.
"Isn't this a bit hasty? We can gather information from a distance." Shikamaru did not like where this was going. He didn't want a repeat of the last mission.
"You can sit around all you want Shikamaru. I will go by myself if I have to." Sakura jumped away.
poof poofNeji and Kakashi transformed into Rock ninja disguises and went after her. "This is going to be such a drag."
Five minutes later in the village street...
Four unknown rock ninja had joined the party. The street was abuzz with activity. Whoever had arrived in town had stirred things up. The two stage coaches were parked outside of the only tavern.
"They must be inside. It shouldn't be difficult getting in." A pink haired, green eyed rock ninja was leading the way.
"This didn't work the last time you know." A black eyed ninja with pineapple shaped hair added.
"There are over 2 dozen ninja in and around the tavern," spoke a third white eyed ninja with long black hair. A forth white haired person took up the rear with one eye covered by his rock headband.
Two guards were posted outside the entrance They eyed the group of four rock ninja suspiciously as they headed inside. There wasn't a free table in the entire place. The tavern was no that big to begin with and 2 dozen patrons filled it to capacity. Sakura led her team to the bar, which contained the only open seats.
The bartender came over to them. "What will it be? Two for one house special today on Sake."
"Waters please, we're on duty." Shikamaru ordered for everyone.
"Oh." The bartender grabbed a glass and began filling it from the tap.
"Yes, patrolling the village. We were assigned after the incident last week." Kakashi tried to strike up a conversation. Perhaps some information could be obtained.
"Yeah, those damn leaf shinobi. Always putting their nose where it doesn't belong. On top of that, they blew up my storehouse." The bartender finished with the last glass and sat it down on the counter.
"Quite a bit of activity for such a small town." Kakashi was encouraged at how talkative the bartender was being.
"Yes, a lot of people have been passing through. It will get even busier soon."
"Oh, I haven't heard anything about that."
Before the bartender could answer Kakashi's question, one of the rock ninja seated next to them interrupted. "My, you are a lovely lady. I haven't seen you around miss..." He looked at Sakura.
"Sakura." She answered.
"...miss Sakura. Your hair is quite a distinctive color. I don't recall seeing you around here."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the flirtatious advances."We come from the far north. Hoshitog province." He was trying to shore up their story.
"What a coincidence, that was my prior assignment. I still don't recall your face and I was all over there for there for a year."
"Of course you don't." Another rock ninja spoke up. "Because she is Sakura Haruno, from the hidden village of the leaves. Apprentice to the Hokage. Isn't that correct?" The room became dead silent with all eyes on the four disguised ninja at the bar.
"So what if I am?" Sakura just stood there sipping her glass of water.
"Then we have a problem." Soft metal sounds could be heard as weapons were removed from pouches. The bartender ducked down to the floor and crawled away.
"My, my. This has all been a misunderstanding." Kakashi raised his hands and shook them from side to side rapidly, trying to settle down the tense situation.
Sakura chuckled, "Kakashi-sensei, you are too much."
Someone from the back of the room spoke up. "Kakashi, Sharingan Kakashi, S class ranked in the bingo book, also from the hidden leaf village? The man who copied a thousand jutsu?"
Kakashi placed his hand over his headband. "Oh my."
"I hope you know one to get you out of here." The rock ninja adjacent to Sakura threw out a punch. Sakura raised her arm to deflect. Neji and Shikamaru ducked to avoid shuriken coming their way. The flying stars flew over their heads and into the glass bottles behind the bar. The sound of shattering glass filled the room.
Everyone still sitting had jumped to their feet. Shikamaru raced his shadow along the ground and froze as many as possible. Kakashi swung around and knocked out the ninja who had blown their cover with a hard punch to the face. Neji considered throwing weapons to take out the frozen enemies, but there were far too many. Instead he jumped into the center of the room. "Rotation!" With a shout, he began turning rapidly. Bodies began flying in all directions.
Ninja from outside the tavern began running in to find out what the commotion was. Sakura landed a chakra enhanced punch against the rock ninja beside her. He flew out the main door. Unfortunate for him, he landed chest first into a waiting kunai that a fellow ninja pulled out while charging into the tavern. Kakashi had just finished dispatching the other ninja on his side of the bar and turn around. His team had taken out almost every ninja inside.
"Neji, Shikamaru, grab a table and block the front entrance. Sakura and I will check out the back." Kakashi shouted, taking control of the situation. The two complied with the order and grabbed the largest table. It barely covered the door. Rock ninja outside began kicking it.
Sakura was much less obedient. She kept standing in the same location while Kakashi ran to where he saw the bartender exited from. Stepping into the hall, he saw more enemy barreling towards him. He quickly stepped back and shut the door, placing his back against it. Pounding rattled the door.
"A little help Sakura? You got us in this mess after all." Kakashi eyed his former student who had released her rock ninja disguise transformation. There wasn't really a point anymore, so he did the same.
"Of course sensei." She sprung up from the bar stool and strolled to the entrance Neji and Shikamaru were blocking. "Stand back" she commanded, both team mates moved to the side. Sakura pulled back her fist and launched it into the barricade. The table split in two and flew out of the doorway. An unlucky enemy was caught underneath. Sakura stepped out on the fallen table, a groan could be heard as the added weight flattened the person below.
Every ninja in the village had converged on the tavern. Some were on surrounding rooftops. Others were in the street. A pair were standing on one of the stage coaches. "Get her!" an unidentified person called out.
Sakura raised her hands together and shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Pink haired women began appearing. Two, four, six, ten. They all jumped into action, each taking on a different enemy ninja. Neji stepped out to assist and was taken aback by the sight. Every enemy was preoccupied in one on one hand to hand combat with a Sakura clone. With so many clones, one would expect them to be quite weak. The more clones summoned, the more the user's power is divided. But they were all holding their own ground.
Kakashi and Shikamaru came out next. "Can't hold them off any longer." Shikamaru informed his other teammates.
"Move into the street." Sakura ordered. As they complied, she kicked out the building supports around her, at the same time throwing an explosive note wrapped kunai back into the tavern. As the front part over the porch collapsed, the note exploded causing damage to the rear. The entire building collapsed, kicking up dust all around. Any ninja inside were either dead or trapped.
Neji went after the closest enemy ninja fighting a Sakura clone. Shikamaru pointed to a building across the street. "See those three?"
"Yes." Kakashi answered. There were three ninja hanging back, observing the fight from the distant rooftop. "I know one of them."
The remaining enemy rock ninja were quickly dispatched by Neji teaming up with the clones. When the last one fell, the three mysterious ninja hanging back came down. Sakura's remaining clones disappeared and Neji rejoined his teammates.
"Long time no see copy ninja Kakashi." The man standing in the middle spoke up, obviously leading the other two. He had short black hair, which matched his black eyes and short, clean-cut beard. He wore a dark gray long sleeve shirt with black pants. Wearing so much black, it was a stark contrast to his white ninja headband that indicated his allegiance as a Rock ninja.
"Must be over ten years. I wouldn't have thought to find you here Miroshichi."
"As pleasant as this visit is, I'm going to have to ask you and your squad to leave immediately. This is Rock territory after all."
Shikamaru spoke up, "I thought this was a neutral border village."
"Not anymore, our border has changed slightly. You are all trespassing in the Land of Earth. So I must once again demand you leave."
"Maybe if you could explain..." Kakashi was cut off.
"No. There is no need to say anything further. You have 10 seconds to leave before we attack." Miroshichi kept staring them down.
"If he really meant it, he would drive us by force, not with words." Sakura showed signs of annoyance with all the chit chat.
"Kakashi, can't you keep your squad in line?" Miroshichi glared at the woman.
"Heh, Sakura is actually the captain for our mission." Kakashi turned to the girl, "In addition, Miroshichi is also one of the Tsuchikage's elite guards."
"Actually, I've been promoted to third seat since we last parted ways." Miroshichi smiled.
"I didn't know they let genin guard their kage in the land of landfills." Sakura laughed.
Miroshichi's face turned red, "I have tried to play it nice due to the territorial misunderstanding. But it seems you leave me no choice."
"I apologize for her rudeness, we will be taking our leave now." Kakashi turned, "Lets go, now."
"No." Sakura stated in a firm voice. Neji and Shikamaru had an uneasy look about them.
Kakashi reached for her arm, but Sakura slapped his hand away. "Touch me and you will end up like them." She nodded in the direction of the unconscious rock ninjas.
Miroshichi didn't know what to make of what was going on in front of him. Sakura was supposed to be in charge, but Kakashi is giving orders? Yet, she was not following and had just threatened her own squad member. In any event, he needed these people gone. He cleared his throat loudly.
"My apologies." Kakashi stepped right beside Sakura and whispered in her ear. "I know the Hokage assigned me to be squad leader, you will follow my orders now. We are retreating." Kakashi went to put his hand on her shoulder but she reached up, grabbing it. She began to spin in place on one heel, with Kakashi flailing around in the air. In seconds both of them were twirling so fast it was a blur. She let go, he landed about 100 meters behind them.
Everyone just stood their stunned by what just occurred.
Miroshichi was the first to break the awkward silence. "I don't know what is going on here, but if you will not leave peacefully we will have to fight.' He slipped into a battle ready stance.
Sakura looked over at her two remaining team members. "You two go help Kakashi, either on your own or I can give you a lift." Both men gulped. If she wanted to fight there was nothing they could do about it. Even if they tried something, it may give the enemy an opening to take them all out. And if they tried to help out, she was liable to attack them herself. The only course of action was to follow her demands for now.
The pink haired woman raised her fists together and cracked her knuckles. "You must be pretty strong to be a guard for the Tsuchikage."
"Right back at you, throwing Kakashi that far is quite a feat."
"This will be a good test." Sakura tightened her gloves.
"Test? What are you..." Miroshichi had no more time for talk. Sakura launched herself at him. He jumped high to dodge. His aids were not so lucky. She brought them both down with a spinning kick. They didn't get back up.
Miroshichi looked down from the rooftop he landed on. "That must have been some blow," he thought. "both of them are not moving. Definitely something to be avoided at all cost." He brought his hands together, "Earth Clone Jutsu!" Several dust devils began to swirl on the ground, building themselves into clones of Miroshichi. They went on the assault.
Sakura dodged one and struck another with a sweeping kick. The legs disintegrated back into dirt but the upper body remained. The legless clone grabbed one of her own legs. Another earth clone jumped on top of her. She was trapped. "The earth clones are among the strongest of all types. They can keep fighting despite severe damage and loss of limbs."
"I know all about earth clones." A voice behind him spoke. Miroshichi spun around to find his opponent. A poof behind let him know that he trapped a shadow clone, not the real Sakura. "Their weakness is speed. They can't even jumped up here." She took to the air, stretching her leg high and far in front of her. At the last moment, Miroshichi jumped back. Sakura's leg connected with the roof and it began collapsing. She jumped off the building.
"The Tsuchikage is not going to be too happy if this village is destroyed. You leaf have taken out three structures now."
"Oh really?" Sakura smiled. She raised her hands up and placed them together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Several clones appeared, running all over the street. Miroshichi was puzzled that they were not headed for him or the remaining earth clones. Instead, they headed to the buildings and began taking them down. Punching and kicking with fury. Within 30 seconds, nothing stood taller than the two of them.
Miroshichi shook his head. "I can't forgive you for this." He raised his hands, making some quick signs. "Blinding Sandstorm Jutsu!" A cloud of dust kicked up from the ground. It covered the entire street. Sakura put up her arm, shielding her eyes. A sudden blow to the gut caused her to keel forward.
Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Neji were a few hundred meters away observing the battle. "Do you think she can beat him?" Neji asked.
"I honestly don't know." Kakashi was kneeling, nursing the arm he had fallen on. He never expected her to attack him or he would have been prepared.
"She might. The Sakura from a few days ago, no. But she seems to be much stronger now." Shikamaru was giving his analysis. "There isn't anything we can do about it now. Pulling someone out of a fight who doesn't want to go is dangerous."
"Especially with her." Kakashi sighed. "We have to wait."
Back in the sandstorm, Sakura stayed low to the ground. The dirt was much thinner down below and she could see further into the swirling dust. Miroshichi could not locate her. The jutsu relied on the person standing upright so large sweeping attacks could be used without knowing the precise location. Of the target With her moving low to the ground it was too difficult to pinpoint her location. He released the jutsu.
When the dust settle, Sakura was no where to be found. Miroshichi looked in all directions. He then looked above. Just as he realized where she was, the ground broke open beneath him and she sprung out, trying to uppercut his chin. He flipped backwards just in time, landing about 3 meters away from her.
"You're pretty good. I guess I better stop fooling around and end this." Miroshichi smirked.
"Yes, lets. I would much rather fight a stronger opponent." Sakura brushed her hair away with one hand to knock some dirt out.
"You will regret your insolence!" Once again angered by her insults, Miroshichi raised his hands and formed hand signs. "Earth Demon Sword Jutsu!" Dirt from the ground flew up around his hand. It clumped together and began to take the shape of a blade. In seconds a glistening brown sword was in his hand. He sprang towards the girl, with the new blade readied for attack.
Sakura sent chakra to her hand and forearm. It would act as a makeshift sword as long as chakra was applied. She raised her right arm and parried the attack. With her free arm she threw a punch at the man. He spun around to Sakura's back. Pulling the sword he slashed around her other side. But she was ready, switching the chakra sword from her right to left arm and blocking again.
"She's sending intense bursts of chakra to her arms. It is allowing her to block the sword without any damage." Neji was letting his team know what exactly was going on. His eyes could see all her chakra movements.
"The question is how long she can keep it up." Shikamaru added.
Miroshichi jumped away. His swordsmanship skills were top notch but he needed a better blade for this type of fight. Unfortunately all he had was a pile of dirt. He cursed the blade and tossed it to the ground. Lacking any chakra to bind the dirt, it broke apart.
"I thought you were getting serious." Sakura taunted.
"Oh, I am." Miroshichi began to run. Sakura stood there clueless for a moment before giving chase. The rock ninja says he's getting serious and then runs away? It didn't make any sense to the girl.
He stopped suddenly a few minutes later. They were about a kilometer from the village. Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Neji followed but still maintained their several hundred meter distance. The new location was at the foot of a mountain bordering a grassy field. The wind picked up, rustling the grass.
"Now you will find out why the hidden rock village is the most feared of them all." Miroshichi began building a massive amount of chakra and forming hand signs. "Iron Golem Jutsu!"
The entire area began to tremble. It was like an earthquake but it didn't stop after a few seconds. Rocks began to roll down the mountain, pooling together. They stack on top of one another. Higher and higher. Until the formation was 4 meters tall. It had big bulky arms and legs. A square head. The monstrosity took a step forward, causing even more ground shaking. It was a terrifying sight.
But that was not the end of it. Two more giant rock creatures burst out of the mountain. Totaling three golems made of hardened rock. They began walking towards their creator, who was grinning. "I won't think any less of you if you run."
"Fat chance." Sakura shot back. She pulled an explosive kunai from her pouch and flung it at one of the golems. It exploded, causing no damage.
"It's going to take more than a little explosion to bring these down."
Sakura stood, planning her mode of attack. She didn't have any time to think though. One golem jumped over its master and was going to land right on top of her. She jumped to the side. The golem landing caused a huge boom and cracked the ground beneath it.
"Damn it's fast for a bunch of rocks." Sakura muttered as another was right on top of her. The golem throwing a punch where she was standing. She rolled between the golem's legs to dodge. An unfortunate choice because the third was right behind with its leg ready to stamp down. Evasion was impossible.
"Rock golems are usually used in attacking villages. Their attack speed and huge chakra consumption makes them unsuitable for normal combat." Kakashi was quite familiar with the techniques of the Earth Country. He has fought countless earth nin in the past.
"Well they seem to be getting the job done here. We have to assist." Neji was eager for combat again. Finishing up those ninja in the street was no challenge at all.
"I would gladly help out, but I am much more afraid of Sakura than those golems." Shikamaru remembered her warning from earlier.
"She doesn't appear to need our help." Kakashi stated.
The golem's foot landed directly on Sakura, squashing her like a bug.
"You were a worthy opponent Sakura-san. But it seems I was the better." Miroshichi shook his head. He looked to where her team members were watching from and wondered. "Why aren't they moving? She has obviously been defeated. They are not even reacting to her demise."
The golem's leg began to lift up. First a centimeter. Then another. Then ten more. "I-I-Impossible!" Miroshichi cried. Sakura was hunched over with the golem's foot sitting on her back and arms.
"Shaannnnarrooo!" she growled. Tossing the leg into the air. The golem lost footing, falling backwards onto its behind. She stood triumphant in the waist deep hole. The stunned rock ninja stumbled from the golem's ground shaking fall. He looked the leaf shinobi dead in the eyes, her crimson red eyes. "Wait, what color were her eyes a moment ago?"
She placed one hand on the ledge in front of her and hopped up. He blinked, missing her advance to the closest standing golem. She began pounding on the legs with her fists. Rock cracked and crumbled before her mighty blows. Within seconds the monster's legs were reduced to peddles. The torso began falling directly on top of her. With one colossal punch, she shattered the descending body into a million pieces.
Miroshichi had finally regained his composure. Looking around, one golem was still trying to stand back up. Another was destroyed. He had to attack with the third. "Rock Dart Jutsu!" he called out. The golem open its mouth and began shooting tiny rocks like a machine gun at the pink haired opponent.
Sakura flipped out of the way. Rock bullets embedded themselves into the ground. The golem's head continued to track her movements, firing dozens of times per second. But the girl was always one step ahead. The rock creature had no chance of hitting a moving target. At last the other golem was back on its feet and once again ready for battle.
Miroshichi order it to resume the attack. It jumped to her present location, but she side stepped out of the way. This gave her an idea. She jumped several meters away. The golem jumped after her. She repeated the maneuver two more times, it followed. That was how these monsters moved. They were far too slow to walk, so they had to jump to keep up.
With a plan in mind, Sakura began jumping in seemingly random directions. One golem chased her while the other kept spitting rocks. After several more jumps, she dashed right towards the stationary golem. Before Miroshichi could react, the chasing golem slammed right into the other. Both broke apart on impact. The resulting rubble gave no indication that the pile of rocks was ever anything other than what it appeared.. Sakura had been hit by several of the rock bullets while pulling off the tactic. She was covered in blood and cuts.
"It looks like you're injured." Miroshichi breathed heavily from chakra exhaustion.
"This is nothing." Sakura replied. She proceeded to pluck out some rock fragments from her skin and heal major wounds. "You, however, are not so great." She had noticed his heavy breathing. It was reason he didn't do anything other than command his rock soldiers.
'Damn, she's right,' he thought, 'those golems have drained me of almost all my chakra. She can still fight it appears.' He starred deeply into her eyes while she continued healing. 'What is with those eyes? One second green, the next red. No time to figure it out now. I hope I don't get killed later for this.' Miroshichi nodded to his opponent and took off towards the mountain. He dove into the side and disappeared.
"Tssk, coward." She huffed.