The Turning Point
Truthfully Sakura was winging it.
She had only decided to be a medical ninja all of three days ago and had only be training for less than two, so attempting to figure out what to do about Kakashi's eyes whilst under the ever present watch of Sasuke was proving to be stressful.
There had been some cartilage damage which had accumulated overtime, some of it she had healed but some required more advanced medical attention. Focusing carefully on her book, the only lifeline given to her by Tsunade, Sakura considered her next move. Fortunately for her Kakashi began to stir.
"So you're finally awake sensei" Sakura said alerting Sasuke and Naruto to Kakashi's consciousness.
Sitting up in his make shift floor bed Kakashi took in his surroundings. Sakura looked exhausted and was situated closest to him, Sasuke and Naruto had adopted watchful positions from the foot of the bed. Tazuna was nowhere to be seen.
"Well it's good to see all of you again. How long was I out for" Kakashi asked as Sakura began to pack away her medicinal supplies.
"Less than 24 hours" Sasuke replied.
Naruto peered at his sensei through squinted eyes "You're sharingan is cool and everything but maybe you shouldn't use it that much. I mean if you're going to pass out and stuff" he decided.
Kakashi nodded and turned to Sakura "So what's the verdict Doc?" he asked jokingly.
"Not too bad, I was able to repair some severed eye cartilage but I'm not really proficient so you need to see a qualified medical ninja when we get back to Konoha" Sakura said as the door to the room opened to reveal Tazuna.
"So you're awake at last! You took down one of the most powerful ninja assassins so we'll be safe for a while" he said fanning himself.
"But Kakashi-sensei, that guy with the mask, what about him?" Naruto asked, obviously not wanting to let the matter go.
"Like I said he's an elite tracking ninja from the Mist, those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi. The ANBU Black Ops or Inferno Squad destroy all traces of a rouge ninja's corpse, the shinobi's body contains many secrets. Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body these are the secrets of his village, if his enemies find out his people will be in grave danger" Kakashi replied, stifling a yawn.
Naruto nodded slightly but still appeared confused, Kakashi decided to give an example
"For instance if I were to die at the hands of an enemy he would try to analyse my Sharingan, in the worst case my entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the shinobi trackers to prevent this, to keep the village secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village the trackers hunt him down and eliminate him and obliterate every trace of his existence that is their specialty"
The Jounin suddenly felt a strange sensation come over him and lifted his hand to his eye covered by the forehead protector What is this? If Zabuza is finished why do I feel this way? Something is wrong, it's like I missed something… he thought.
"Hey are you okay? Sensei?" Naruto asked pulling Kakashi out of his thoughts.
"What? Oh yeah, to finish what I was saying. Tracker ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot so there is no room for error"
"Wait, but that's not what that tracker ninja did. He took the body and disappeared straight away. But he should have worked on Zabuza as soon as possible" Sakura asked, suspicious.
"The weapons he used… they were throwing needles.. No way" Sasuke added equally skeptical.
"Now you're starting to think… see it doesn't add up" Kakashi said.
"WHAT DOESN'T ADD UP? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?" Naruto yelled loudly, annoyed at being left out of the conversation.
"What are you all yammering about? You demolished that assassin" Tazuna said butting in.
"Here's the truth, Zabuza is still alive" Kakashi declared.
"HUH?" Naruto and the bridge builder shrieked in mutually shock.
"BUT WE SAW HIS BODY BELIEVE IT! YOU EVEN SAID HE WAS DEAD!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.
"Kakashi-sensei said there was no pulse, technically he was dead but that was only a simulation" Sakura explained to Naruto and Sasuke.
"That's right. It's all to do with the weapons he used, they're called senbon. They can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified from needles used for medical treatments like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body, causing the heart to stop while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them" Kakashi stated before being interrupted by a knock at the door.
A raven haired woman walked in carrying a tray of food "Oh I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" she asked slightly embarrassed at being the focal point of attention.
"Not at all, I'm quite starved!" Kakashi said happily as the tray was placed in front of him.
"Team 7 this is my daughter Tsunami. Tsunami the one in the bed is Kakashi, he's a Jounin apparently. The one with the attitude is Sasuke, the girl is Sakura and the annoying loudmouth is Naruto" Tazuna said, his introduction earning him a scowl from all the ninja.
"It's very nice to meet all of you" Tsunami said before taking a seat next to her father.
Sakura decided to continue the conversation where Kakashi had left off.
"So from those two factors we can conclude that the tracker ninja wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, he was trying to save him" she deduced. Kakashi nodded, chewing slowly.
"Come on you're all over thinking this aren't you?" Tazuna asked cockily and Sasuke shot a scowl in his direction.
"Encountering suspicion the ninja prepares quickly, hesitation leads to disaster. Every shinobi knows this saying" The Uchiha survivor explained.
Naruto was smiling as he tried to repress the joy he was feeling
He's actually pleased to hear Zabuza's alive. Now Naruto's got another shot at him, Kakashi thought as he watched his student.
"Sasuke said we need to prepare quickly and he's right. Given your condition sensei I don't think you'll be up to rigorous training straight away so I was wondering what sort of preparation you are going to give us?" Sakura asked as Naruto and Sasuke looked at their sensei.
"Well that's for me to know and you guys to find out" Kakashi replied scooping noodles into his mouth whilst Sakura gave an exasperated sigh.
"But I have all of you to thank, because of your quick thinking you were able to free me. I have faith in you guys that we can take on Zabuza together. You've all grown… and Naruto, you've grown the most"
It's true he has become more mature Sakura thought as she smiled slightly.
About time the Dobe stopped acting like a two year old Sasuke smirked.
That moron has grown?! Yeah, right! Tazuna thought in disbelief.
"So you've finally noticed Kakashi-sensei! Now things are going to get better! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto yelled out and everyone sighed in frustration.
"I DON'T believe it! And NOTHING is going to be good!"A voice called out in anger and Sakura turned her attention to the doorway where a small boy stood.
"Oh Inari where have you been?" The bridge builder called out as Inari ran across the room and hugged the old man.
"Welcome back grandpa!" Inari said happily.
Tsunami crossed the room and began to lecture her son."Inari that was very rude! These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely!"
Tazuna however waved his daughter aside "It's okay I'm rude to them as well!"
"That's only because we can't kill you or we'll fail the mission" Sasuke said quietly to his team and Sakura tried to hide a smile.
"Mum don't you see these people are going to die! Gatō and his men will find them and wipe them out!" Inari yelled in distress.
Sakura couldn't help but sympathize with him, Sasuke watched the boy carefully as did Kakashi.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY BRAT!?" Naruto screeched.
There goes that growth sensei was talking about Sakura thought as the blonde boy launched into yet another boastful speech.
"Listen up! You know what a super ninja is? Well that's me only a lot better! I'm going to be Hokage! This Gatō or Blatō or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!"
"Ha! There's no such thing as a real hero! You're just full of stupid ideas!" The young boy shot back venomously, Naruto stalked forward fists raised "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
Grabbing his shoulders Sasuke tried his best to pull him back "Naruto calm down already!" he said stoically.
Inari began to walk off but turned back and offered one final piece of advice for Team 7 "If you want to stay alive, you should go back to where you came from"
"Inari where are you going?" Tazuna asked as the boy opened the door
"I'm going to look out at the ocean! I want to be alone" Inari said before leaving the room.
"Uh sorry about that, now if you'll excuse me I have a meeting to attend in town regarding the bridge. Tsunami don't you have some errands to run in town as well?" Tazuna said excusing himself from the room with Tsunami in tow leaving Team 7 to sit in the awkward silence.
Sakura raised a hand to her mouth to cover an involuntary yawn which drew Kakashi's attention.
"Exactly how long have you been attending to me Sakura?" Kakashi asked as a sheepish expression appeared upon the pink haired ninja's face
"Uh um... well not that long really" she replied, rubbing the back of her neck.
Sasuke jumped in "Ever since we got here. She's been up half the night. You're tired and you need to rest" he said with conviction.
Normally Sakura would have interpreted this as a sign of concern for her well being and would gush over how thoughtful Sasuke was, but she knew the Uchiha survivor rarely considered anyone but himself.
"No I don't really I'm okay…" she trailed off.
"Don't be stubborn you're out of chakra and of no use to anyone" Sasuke responded, his words sounding crueler than intended.
"Hey who are you to-" Sakura started.
"Just go and stop being annoying" Sasuke said in an annoyed tone, cutting her off.
"FINE! I'M GOING!" Sakura yelled loudly.
Grabbing her belongings Sakura stalked over to the door, pulled it back viciously and slammed it shut behind her. The loud stomping of her feet up the stairwell shook the ceiling.
"GAH! TEME, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A BASTARD TO SAKURA-CHAN ALL THE TIME?" Naruto bellowed loudly and look accusingly at the black haired boy
"Stop yelling Dobe; anyway it's her own stupid fault. No one asked her to heal Kakashi, he would have been fine on his own. She's not benefiting the mission with low chakra" Sasuke said glaring at the door.
Kakashi simply sighed and threw the blanket back over his head.
"USELESS! ANNOYING! STILL? I JUST SPENT OVER TEN HOURS HEALING SOMEONE AND I'M STILL WEAK! MAN IF TSUNADE-SAMA WAS HERE SHE WOULD HAVE KICKED HIS ASS!"
Inner Sakura was having a meltdown and mentally choking a dummy of Sasuke Uchiha before stomping on it and then burying it six feet under.
But Sakura was just sad and disappointed all the anger had gone out of her as soon as she'd reached her assigned room, Inner Sakura was only just starting to calm down from her murderous blood vengeance rampage.
It's not his fault I guess… I mean it was stupid of me to sit there for ten hours draining my chakra, she mused, the old habit of putting Sasuke up on a pedestal returning.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT HIS FAULT? OF COURSE IT WAS NO ONE MADE HIM SAY THOSE THINGS! THOSE TWO DON'T EVEN APPRECIATE HOW MUCH CHAKRA IT TAKES TO HEAL SOMEONE AND YOU'VE ONLY JUST STARTED!"
Sakura sighed, her Inner was right. Not one person on her squad had bothered to thank her and in Sasuke's eyes she was annoying. Sitting down on her bed she reached into her bag to pull out a photo of her father and mother.
"Father…. I wonder if he..?" Sakura said out loud before vigorously shaking her head. No she couldn't think like that! He would be fine and return home like he had done so before.
Her melancholy thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of muffled sobbing, opening her door and walking down the hallway Sakura reached the source of the noise, it was the boy Inari crying his eyes out.
Sakura immediately felt selfish for being upset; obviously something terrible had happened to this boy. Quietly going back to her room the pink haired ninja immediately put up her hair and was preparing to jump out of the window and head off for some secluded training when there was a knock on her door.
"Uh um Sakura-chan? Are you still angry? I mean you're not going to kill me or anything r-right? Because it was all Sasuke-bastard's fault, I think you did great healing Kakashi" Naruto said nervously peeking into her room.
Sighing Sakura walked over and opened the door, she wasn't really in the mood to deal with anyone. "What is it Naruto?" she said impatiently.
"Kakashi-sensei told me to tell you that training is starting now. Sasuke-teme didn't think you were coming because he said you'd be uh well…" Naruto trailed off not really wanting to elaborate on Sasuke's opinion of her given her previous reaction.
Sakura huffed and turned back to the window, she really just wanted to train on her own. But… perhaps she'd get to spar with Sasuke, she'd probably lose but one nicely aimed chakra punch might beat the arrogance out of him.
Inspired by this thought she pulled on her gloves and turned to Naruto wearing a wicked grin "What are we waiting for?"
"Alright training starts now. We'll begin with a review of chakra, a ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential" Kakashi said expertly.
Naruto had lead Sakura to a forest surrounded by tall oak trees. The pink haired ninja walked straight past Sasuke not even sparing him a glance, Sasuke fixed her with one of his infamous glares leaving Naruto in the middle feeling very awkward.
Ah young love, the sexual tension is practically rolling off these two…. Even if they don't know what sexual tension is…? Actually it reminds me of a chapter in Icha Icha, Kakashi thought as he watched his two students.
"We know about chakra already" came the reply from one very aggravated Uchiha Sasuke to which Sakura responded with an eye roll.
"He's right! Uh a long time ago we learnt about catra!" Naruto agreed.
Kakashi shook his head in disappointment "That would be chakra Naruto"
Turning towards Sakura the silver haired Jounin fixed her with a pleading look which was met with a glare and a heavy sigh.
"Here Naruto let me explain it for you: Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in jutsu, it's the source of all his power. This energy has two forms, physical and spiritual. These two types of chakra must be brought out together in order to perform jutsu. Hand signs focus and unleash the chakra" Sakura finished her speech.
Kakashi nodded "Right on all points"
"MAN WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE COMPLICATED EXPLANATIONS! THE WHOLE POINT IS TO LEARN THE JUTSU ISN'T IT?" Naruto yelled at an ear splitting volume and Sakura felt the muscles in her arm clench together as she raised her fist to beat the crap out of him.
"Naruto's right for once, we're already using chakra energy in our jutsu" Sasuke said stopping Sakura in her tracks, had he just agreed with Naruto?
Sakura was completely thrown, and then she saw the smirk and Inner Sakura flew into a rage demanding blood. Feeling the impending urge to beat someone or something up the pink haired ninja seethed in silence.
Kakashi reprimanded Sasuke. "No! You've not masted this power you've barely scratched the surface of it!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Naruto asked/screamed and Kakashi sighed as his surveyed his team.
Naruto was completely angry at the thought of not knowing something that could improve his strength, Sasuke and Sakura were shooting each other dirty looks and each time Sasuke smirked Kakashi swore he could feel the anger roll off Sakura in waves.
"Truly they are a dysfunctional bunch" he mused to himself.
Sakura's change in attitude and considerable development in her ninja abilities over the past two days had attracted the attention of Sasuke, who being the proud Uchiha heir that he was, chose to express this attention in the form of complete belittlement and discouragement taking any opportunity possible to shoot her down.
This in turn caused both a fiery anger and a hidden sadness from the female. Naruto remained as oblivious as ever and his thoughtless and somewhat ignorant comments would often send Sakura over the edge causing her to lash out at him, and Sasuke was now beginning to see Naruto as a potential rival.
"It's just like Sakura said, you have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and then combine them within yourself. Each jutsu required different types of chakra in different proportions; you must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up until now you've just guessed the proportions hoping they'd come out right. Even if you produce copious amounts of chakra unless you can balance it, it's all worthless" Kakashi explained further.
"So uh how do we change that?" Naruto asked looking at his sensei sheepishly as he remembered his embarrassing transformation jutsu back in the academy.
"Train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature, to achieve this goal you must be ready to put your life on the line!"
That comment drew Sakura and Sasuke out of their death glaring match and all three genin stared at their sensei.
"What do we have to do?" Sakura said a little nervous, surely anything that involved their mortality had to be extremely dangerous.
Kakashi smiled "Climb a tree"
"CLIMB A TREE?" The members of Team 7 yelled at their sensei who winced at their combined noise.
"That's right but there is just one rule, no hands" Kakashi said.
"You can't be serious" Sasuke replied pointedly.
The silver haired man smirked "Oh really?" Forming a hand sign Kakashi approached the tree and put one foot on it, then slowly began to climb it using his chakra.
"He's climbing! Straight up and he's only using his feet!" Naruto said in shock, Sakura too was in awe of his chakra control
"I only hope mine will be as good as that with Shishou's help" she thought to herself.
Sasuke watched and said nothing.
"Well you get the idea, focus the chakra toward the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra" Kakashi said from high in the tree.
Sakura, being top of her class in all things chakra knew the exact meaning of the exercise but Sasuke scoffed at his sensei
"And how exactly does this help us fight Zabuza? Unless he's playing hide and seek in a tree house somewhere this isn't going to be very useful" Naruto let out a slight chuckle as Sasuke finished his sentence with a smirk.
Sakura couldn't fathom this boy, his blatant disregard for anything that wasn't elaborate jutsu's or fighting style. In a sense she took it rather personally. Chakra control was what made her special, allowed her to heal people, to create breakages in the earth, to send enemies flying. Albeit she wasn't exactly a chakra power house but chakra was simple, yet effective. Just because Sasuke Uchiha thought chakra was worthless didn't mean she was going to let him slander the one thing she had in the world that made her special!
"It's the only way to fight him. The idea is to be able to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in the body. It's difficult even for advanced ninja, this type of climbing requires a subtle mix of the physical and spiritual energy and the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to focus chakra. The second point to maintain your chakra levels, when a ninja is focused in battle it's even harder to maintain chakra levels which is dangerous. It must become second nature and effortless" Sakura finished and Sasuke glared at her.
"Sorry Haruno but I don't remember you being the sensei" he spat.
"I'm not trying to be Uchiha, I'm simply trying to get it through your egotistical brain that chakra is important" Sakura replied in kind.
"It's not your job, besides what do you care if I think chakra is important or not?" Sasuke declared arrogantly.
"Because if you're not going to put a full effort into this training exercise you're not going to benefit the mission" Sakura retorted.
"Well I think-" Naruto started.
"Shut up Dobe, no one cares what you think" Sasuke snapped at the blonde boy.
"Don't tell him to shut up Uchiha; if your arrogant ass is allowed to give an opinion then so is he" Sakura defended Naruto.
"Why do you have to be so self-righteous all the time Haruno? Damn it if I was your father I'd disown you" Sasuke hurled back.
At the mention of her father all the fight went out of Sakura and her shoulders sagged. Hot tears of anger at Sasuke for mentioning him and the village for sending her father away pooled in her green eyes.
Kakashi noticed the change immediately as did Sasuke who felt a twinge of guilt. Why is her father such a sensitive topic? At least he's alive unlike mine he thought, angry at her selfishness.
"Well?" Sasuke challenged.
"Don't Sasuke. Just don't. Kakashi-sensei can we please get on with this exercise?" Sakura asked quietly refusing to meet Sasuke's gaze.
Her sensei nodded as Naruto looked in confusion at both Sasuke and Sakura. "Right, you need to apply the power of chakra through training" Kakashi said as he threw three kunai knives from his position in the tree.
"Use the kunai knives to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get passed that point the next time. At first you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum can take you as high as possible. Ready?" Kakashi asked.
"I'M MORE THAN READY! This is going to be no sweat! Remember what you said Sensei; I'm the one that's grown the most! Believe it!" Naruto said fired up and ready.
"You're definitely the one that talks the most, now get focused and do it!" Kakashi replied annoyed.
The genin members of Team 7 closed their eyes and tried to focus their chakra. Sakura's chakra surged through her body at an angry speed at the thought of her father's predicament, Sasuke's words and her own mind telling her she was the weakest link in the team. The pink haired teen inhaled and exhaled slowly to calm herself down, the balanced had to be just right and she wasn't going to get very high if her chakra was spiked and angry.
Sasuke appeared to be having the same difficulty; his mind would not shut up and focus. He was full of questions about Sakura's father and what had happened but also full of anger at the way she spoke to him and the way she stood up for Naruto. That coupled with the fact that another part of his mind was warning him that he was straying away from his goal was making it very hard for him to focus his chakra. Naruto also was struggling as he found his mind wandering.
Eventually all three felt the rush of chakra to their feet and took off running towards their assigned trees. Naruto took a total of two steps before he fell back to the ground hitting his head rather hard, Sasuke fared much better, his chakra was consistent and his mind focused. Suddenly his chakra surged and broke through the surface of the wood, slicing a marker on the tree he did a somersault through the air and landed back on the ground.
"This is harder than I thought; the balance has to be perfect. If the chakra is too strong it smashes the tree and pushes you off. If it's not strong enough you just tumble down, like Naruto" Sasuke thought to himself as he watched the blonde ninja rolling around on the ground and clutching his head.
"That's about what I expected from Sasuke… and Naruto" Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at the ground trying to locate the pink haired girl.
"You might want to try looking upwards, Sensei" Sakura said dryly, knowing full well he would have expected her to be half way between Sasuke and Naruto, still on the ground.
Her voice drew the attention of the male members and all three looked up to see Sakura sitting on a branch high up on her tree twirling her kunai knife.
"Well looks like the female has the most advanced chakra control. Well done Sakura" With a nod Sakura accepted the praise graciously
"YEAH! Way to go Sakura I always knew you were awesome. Believe it!" Naruto yelled out although the fact that she had done better than him annoyed him slightly, Sakura smiled kindly at Naruto.
"Whatever" Sasuke said and turned his attention back to his tree. The pink haired girl rolled her eyes and on the outside portrayed an indifferent facade.
"Well not only does Sakura understand chakra, she can control and maintain it as well. Though it's hardly surprising considering both medical ninjutsu and chakra infused taijutsu require precise chakra control. We spoke about someone becoming Hokage, looks like Sakura has the best chance of that. As for the great Uchiha clan… Well maybe they're not so great after all" The Jounin declared happily.
At these words Sasuke and Naruto turned to glare at each other and Kakashi smirked in satisfaction at a job well done. The only person not benefiting from the praise was Sakura herself.
She wasn't gullible and took Kakashi's praise with a grain of salt; she knew he said those things not to make her feel proud of herself but to motivate Sasuke and Naruto. She was a pawn. A tool to be used and then forgotten. The one moment she was given to shine ripped out from underneath her and utilized for the benefit of her teammates.
The pink haired ninja knew what her sensei was thinking; Sasuke and Naruto had far more chakra within than she did, even back at the academy, thus if they could master this jutsu they'd be an asset to the team.
"More like they'd have enough chakra control and strength not to need a third person" she murmured to herself.
Jumping down from the tree Sakura landed gracefully on her feet, she clenched her fists at the thought of all the years she had squandered away not training. Now she had to start from scratch trying to build up a strong chakra reserve.
"Sakura, since you've managed to climb the highest you've got the rest of the day off! Perhaps you can assist Tsunami with the preparation of dinner for tonight, I'm sure Sasuke and Naruto will be starving when they get back" Kakashi told her smiling as Sakura watched Naruto hit his head on the ground again.
"WHAAAATTTT?! HOW DARE HE? HELLO! NINJA! WE'RE NINJA. SEE THE FOREHEAD PROTECTOR BUCKO? IT'S JUST BECAUSE I'M A GIRL ISN'T IT! I HAVE A MIND TO PICK UP SOME POISON ON THE WAY BACK AND ADD IT TO YOUR FOOD!" Inner Sakura raged.
Sakura bit back her anger at the sexist comment, she understood Kakashi-sensei was injured but he could have offered to train her in any other jutsu or given her an important task.
She was to prepare dinner for her team, like a housewife with no ninja abilities whatsoever. Before when she was a giggling fan girl with no serious interest in being a ninja other than spending time with Sasuke, she would have left the training grounds thankfully, claiming exhaustion and so on. But really Sakura hadn't even raised much of a sweat; Tsunade-sama's training was far worse.
"Hai sensei, I'll see you all when you return" Sakura nodded she would find time to train by herself at some stage.
"Wait Sakura-chan hold up!" Naruto called out as she turned to leave.
"Yes Naruto?" she asked, walking up to the blonde boy whispered his request quietly "Hey you're good at this, how about some advice but please don't tell Sasuke I asked please please!"
Sasuke looked up from his position on the ground; Naruto had never been good at quiet so he'd heard him asking for assistance and couldn't help but feel the same feeling he felt when Sakura was healing Naruto's hand. Sakura knew Sasuke was listening and lowered her voice so he couldn't hear her.
"Chakra requires spiritual energy so if you let your emotions get the better of you it doesn't work. It's a good idea to relax and focus solely on the tree, that way you receive a better chakra flow at the bottoms of your feet" Sakura said.
Naruto grinned "Thanks Sakura-chan! See you at dinner!" he said before speeding off back to his tree.
Tsunami busied herself in the kitchen, her family had not received this many guests in quite a while and she was left to prepare a healthy and nutritious dinner to feed two extra boys and a man.
"Men have such ravenous appetites" she muttered to herself as she pottered about the kitchen chopping sage and stirring soup.
"You're right about that" A female voice said before laughing lightly.
Tsunami turned around to see the female member of Team 7, knife in hand chopping the rest of the carrots.
"Sakura what are you doing back so soon? I wasn't expecting you and your team back until at least later tonight" Tsunami said a little panicky as she opened the pantry to look for some spices.
"I actually finished the exercise pretty quickly so Kakashi-sensei sent me back here to give you a hand!" Sakura said with fake enthusiasm.
But the thought of being excluded from training made her chop a carrot a little too hard causing the slice to wiz through the air and knock over a bottle of sake. Tsunami fixed Sakura with a look that made her want to spill everything.
"So uh is there anything I can do for you?" Sakura asked nervously.
"Not at the moment… oh wait! I forgot I need two lemons and some strawberries for desert. When I went to the grocers they said there might be a new shipment coming in this afternoon. Would you mind?" Tsunami asked.
"Don't worry I'm on it. Cooking isn't really my forte anyway" Sakura smiled, fastening her ninja pouch to her waist the pink haired ninja departed for town.
Walking down the street Sakura felt privileged to live in Konoha. Her village had reliable allies, prosperous trade with other nations and hardly anyone was destitute. With ninja's around crime wasn't a problem and neither was defence of the village if need be. But at the moment the Land of Waves looked like a terrible place to live.
There were homeless men and women wearing signs around their necks asking to work for food, starving children who had nothing to eat. A few approached Sakura who gave them as much of her money as she could afford. Walking into the grocers Sakura noticed the absence of food, there were a few vegetables here are there but not as well stocked as the stores back home. If anything she felt guilty about purchasing the goods and Sakura decided she'd pay for them with her own money, after all Team 7 wasn't really contributing anything towards their accommodation.
"HELP SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP!" A shrill female voice screamed.
Sakura dropped the groceries immediately and ran towards the cries of help as did others in the store. Pushing through the crowd of people Sakura rushed to the side of a woman who was kneeling on the ground sobbing.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Sakura asked frantically.
The woman looked up through tear-filled eyes and saw the Konoha headband.
"YOU! You can help me! Oh please my babies! My children!" The woman pleaded grabbing Sakura's shirt.
"What's happening to your children? Tell me quickly so I can help!" Sakura asked as calmly as she could.
"Gatō's men! They're after my children; they robbed me and tortured my husband! They're going to kill them please! My house is in the eastern village! Hurry!" The woman said through tears.
Nodding Sakura sped off pumping chakra in her legs for greater speed, kunai in hand. The groceries lay in the dust long forgotten.