The Turning Point
It was just after midnight when Naruto shook Sakura awake to inform her that it was her turn to take the next watch. Sakura yawned uncontrollably but nodded and stood up as Naruto closed the door to her cabin room within the ship and headed back to the room he shared with Sasuke. Sakura dressed in her ninja clothing and decided to take her bag of medicinal supplies with her, it was important to double check nothing had been misplaced since they had boarded the ship. Taking her medical book from the nightstand Sakura opened the door to her cabin and headed out onto the main part of the ship.
Sitting on the wooden mast of the ship Sakura made sure she could see the deck and cabins clearly as well as the open sea in case of any attack. Opening her medical book Sakura began to read up on a list of common injuries and potentially life threatening situations the human body could experience in extreme cold.
Better to be safe than sorry, Sakura thought as she stifled another yawn and flicked to the next page on hypothermia.
She had checked the calendar before they had left for the mission and it confirmed her fears that her birthday was less than 3 weeks away. It would be the first birthday she would spend without her parents. To turn fifteen and be completely orphaned in a village where many people still thought her family were together was not something Sakura wanted to celebrate. Besides with everything in perspective things like birthdays seemed trivial at most.
It had occurred to her that maybe she should tell someone about her Inner and the power it seemed to possess. Truthfully Sakura was scared of the possibilities, it now seemed Inner had a mind of her own and an ability to use Sakura's body without her consent. For the moment Inner was cooperating with Sakura for a common goal but what if someone were to obtain that power and use it against her and the village? What power did she even have to begin with? When did Inner change from a childhood friend in her head to this being with incredible strength and the ability to break an advanced technique like the one Itachi Uchiha had used?
Her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly Sakura felt the weight of the mast dip behind her. Given the fact that the wind was hardly blowing and nothing else was resting on the beam of wood Sakura knew there was an enemy on board the ship. Clearly a ninja because they were quiet almost undetectable, Sakura couldn't sense any chakra but they'd probably masked it. Reaching slowly for her kunai the female ninja decided she would jump up and attack quickly sending chakra to her feet to hold her balance on the mast.
Grasping the kunai in her hand Sakura angled her head a little to see if the full moon would shed any light on her attacker. Seeing a familiar crop of spiky black hair Sakura relaxed a little and returned her attentions to her book.
"Scared?" Sasuke asked a little arrogantly.
"No I was preparing myself for an attack" Sakura shot back curtly and returned her attention to her book.
"Move over" Sasuke instructed jumping agilely next to Sakura who begrudgingly shifted down the wooden beam.
"What do you want Sasuke? Your shift isn't for another two hours and I'm trying to get some reading done" Sakura huffed as Sasuke sat down next to her, his back resting against the main portion of the mast.
"Hn for some reason I need to apologise to you again, the dobe wouldn't stop badgering me about it" Sasuke explained.
"Oh so you're only here because Naruto made you come? And what is this 'for some reason' attitude as if you don't know what you did!" Sakura snapped closing her book angrily.
"I'm here because I want to be not because of Naruto. And I know what I did and I'm sorry" Sasuke said a little embarrassed with the situation.
"You know it wasn't my fault right? I couldn't control what happened" Sakura said quietly and out of the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke nod.
"How did you stop the tsukyomi?"
Sakura smirked a little at her teammate's bluntness "I don't know. One minute I could see the horrific visions and the next there was a huge white light and then everything went black"
"Aa"
"He'll always be stronger than us you know" Sakura said midly swinging her legs off the mast.
"Hn the dobe will never be stronger than me" Sasuke replied.
"There's no point in denying it but it's not a reflection of our abilities. The Nine Tailed Fox's chakra is truly impressive not to mention Naruto has that insane will to not give up even when he's beaten" Sakura said opening her book again.
"You think he could have beaten Itachi" Sasuke stated his fists clenching at the thought.
"I didn't say that. My point is that I know what you must be feeling because I feel it to. Naruto has strength and power that neither of us will get to experience. But we shouldn't stop working and training hard just because of that in fact we should probably work harder" Sakura said reflecting on her own training.
"I worked hard and trained hard ever since Itachi murdered my clan. Every single day since then I've thought of nothing but revenge against him. Then I get the opportunity and what I've learnt has no effect and you tell me I need to work harder?" Sasuke said frustratedly looking at Sakura for clarification.
"Itachi is an S-ranked criminal Sasuke. You've only just mastered the use of the Chidori and only just become a Chunin. There are not many shinobi alive who could fight Itachi look what happened to Kakashi-sensei. I'm saying that you have a lot more you can learn from Kakashi and I'm sure there are techniques the Uchiha clan have that you haven't even discovered yet" Sakura said logically.
"Hn. I don't have the time to wait for that, my brother needs to die for what he did and I need to be the one to do it before someone else does" Sasuke said plainly although he noted the logic behind what Sakura was saying.
It's true. Even Gaara when he was fully possessed by the sand spirit could see it. Sasuke is solely driven by revenge on Itachi. What do I pretend to offer him? Sakura thought as silence engulfed the two members of Team 7.
"I could train with you if you want to help you practice your techniques. I have two afternoons off each week and I could always use the extra training to work on what I've learnt" Sakura offered.
"Don't you have anything else to do?" Sasuke asked her sounding rude.
"Well let's see my mother and father are missing and when everyone finds out they'll presume they're dead and I guess I'll have to organise funerals but up until then I'm free to train with you" Sakura said sarcastically.
Sasuke shifted a little uncomfortably at the distinct truth behind the words. "Hn I guess I'm sorry again for that. But I do need someone to spar with who won't beg me for ramen afterwards"
Sakura laughed a little and Sasuke smirked. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Sakura broke it again.
"When Itachi said that you had become too attached to us and that's why you weren't able to stop him, you believed that didn't you"
"Hn" Was all Sasuke could offer.
"You shouldn't distance yourself from people who want to help you. Naruto admires and respects you; to me the two of you seem like brothers. Bickering and squabbling between each other and always trying to outdo each other but at the end of the day you have each other's backs" Sakura said and the Uchiha boy seemed content enough to listen.
"And Kakashi sees you as a student with so much potential. Someone who he can help and teach things he wasn't taught himself not only techniques and jutsu but life lessons as well. I think he respects you as well and your abilities as a ninja. Even though you can't tell behind that mask I can see that he's proud of your accomplishments so far. Especially with the Chidori, I heard him bragging to Gai about it" Sakura finished happily.
"And you?" Sasuke asked.
"And me what?" she replied looking at Sasuke in confusion.
"What's our attachment?" Sasuke asked fixing her with an intense stare and Sakura swallowed hard.
"I-I well you and I we're teammates and I" Sakura fumbled over her words. Why was she suddenly now illiterate? A blush threatened to break out on her face and all the pink haired teen could focus on were how dark Sasuke's eyes were.
"Teammates?" Sasuke prompted and seemed to be moving closer towards her causing Sakura to inch back a little.
"Yeah teammates and friends" Sakura answered satisfied with her answer although she didn't entirely believe it and Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the response.
"Tch is that all you want us to be?" Sasuke smirked and moved closer still. Sakura could feel her heart beating out of her chest. What exactly was happening?
"GAHHH! MR MAKINO YOU NEED TO COME OUT AND SEE THIS!" The assistant director yelled from the deck below startling both Sakura and Sasuke out of their conversation.
They must have been talking for hours because the sun was just starting to rise up and the film crew below them were standing at the front of the boat looking at a huge glacier that was blocking the route to the Land of Snow.
"Sakura, Sasuke. What are you two doing up there?" Kakashi called out from the deck below where he and Naruto stood dressed in beige coloured cloaks.
"Nothing" Sasuke replied and looked at Sakura briefly before jumping down. Sakura sighed and gathered up her things to quickly join her teammates.
Naruto shot Sasuke a suggestive look which he ignored completely but couldn't help but smirk at Sakura who was normally so cool and collected and now appeared flustered and confused. Kakashi decided to keep his thoughts to himself and presented his two students with beige coloured cloaks to keep them warm.
"What's going on anyway sensei? I was having a great dream about all the ramen I'm going to eat when we get back" Naruto grumbled.
"The problem is there is a huge glacier in the way!" The assistant director exclaimed to the Leaf Ninja.
"You idiot! This is the perfect place to shoot the next scene! Don't be a fool and go around it when the gods are begging us to shoot here!" Director Makino exclaimed emerging from his cabin clad in plaid pyjamas.
"Wake Yukie, Sandayu and the other actors as well before this glacier moves away and we lose the location! All of you get prepared now!"
The film crew got ready quickly with some remaining on the boat to get a wide view shot and others coming ashore to the glacier in order to film the scene up close. Team 7 went ashore with the actors, Yukie and Sandayu. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were stationed around the filming as look outs with Kakashi remaining closer to the crew.
They were just about to begin the scene where the main villain challenges Princess Gale and her companions when one of the walls of ice from the glacier exploded. Everyone was immediately taken aback and the crew exchanged confused glances.
"Is this some part of the special effects we weren't told about?" One of the actors asked allowed.
Kakashi quickly sprang into action seeing as though neither the crew nor the actors knew what was going on the explosion was definitely indicative of a threat. Despite the yells of the assistant director Kakashi had jumped in front of Yukie and the other actors, the rest of Team 7 quickly followed suit as three ninja appeared before them.
"Welcome to the Land of Snow" One man with long purple hair said and Kakashi's eyes widened in recognition.
"Greetings Princess Koyuki, I do hope you still have the hex crystal with you otherwise this journey would have been wasted" A woman with pink spiky hair said appearing a few meters away on a large piece of ice.
Princess Koyuki? Kakashi thought as he turned to stare at Yukie who looked equally as shocked.
"Kakashi Hatake this should be good if your reputation holds but I think you'll find you're not good enough against us" A larger man with a piece of metal covering his arm added.
"Everyone back to the ship! Manji formation you three and protect Yukie. No questions asked it's the mission goal" Kakashi instructed quickly and Team 7 nodded knowing better than to argue.
"Fubuki, Mizore I'll leave the princess to you as I have business to settle with my old friend Kakashi. Kill anyone who gets in the way" The man with purple hair instructed and Sakura tensed as she saw the other two ninja head straight for them.
Taking up a Manji formation around Yukie and two of the other actors who were in the scene Naruto grinned as he faced off against the larger man called Mizore. The man pulled out some sort of snow board from what Sakura could see and jumped on it. Naruto ran forward but had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by it. Sakura reached into her ninja pouch and threw three kunai at Mizore but he deflected them with the use of the armour he seemed to be wearing. Deciding on something bigger Sasuke threw his shuriken but the same result occurred.
"Ice Style Ice Blizzard!" Fubuki called out sending razor sharp icicles towards Sasuke in order to free up her teammate a little.
Hmph ice meets fire. Let's see how that goes, Sasuke thought as he performed the necessary hand signs. "Fire Style Fire Ball Jutsu!"
With both Sasuke and Naruto preoccupied Sakura decided it wasn't much good standing around waiting for the fight. Because of the precarious nature of the glacier Sakura decided it was time to get everyone off it whether they wanted to go or not.
The director took some convincing but he finally conceded to return to the ship as long as he got to keep filming the action. Sakura had agreed and finally the crew began to pack up and quickly ran as Sakura assisted them in carrying their equipment.
"Sakura-chan look out!" Naruto called loudly as Sakura was helping one of the camera men into the safety of the vessel.
Somehow a huge chunk of ice had come lose from the glacier and was flying through the air straight for the ship. Sakura looked up and saw Kakashi fighting the man with the purple hair destroying parts of the glacier around them. Gathering the chakra in her fist Sakura pulled her arm back and prayed the attack would be enough to cut through the ice.
The chakra punched ripped straight through the ice sending chards everywhere. There were immediate murmurs of appreciation from the crew and demands from Makino asking if the moment had been caught on camera. Sakura turned to them all and instructed them sharply to not leave the ship under any circumstances.
"Ice Prison Jutsu!" Fubuki called out and pressing her hand on the ground shot up great pillars of ice which followed Sasuke hoping to trap him in one. But Sasuke was too quick and shot a fire ball straight for her, Fubuki managed to shield herself with the jutsu.
Sakura ran from where the ship was docked back to Yukie and Sandayu who were the only two civilians remaining. Yukie had fallen to her knees and become completely unresponsive Sakura had no idea where Naruto and Mizore were but Yukie needed to get back onto the boat as soon as possible. Suddenly both ninja burst through a wall of ice and Sakura watched as Naruto struggled with the man, his face taking on fox like characteristics.
"Yukie, Sandayu both of you need to get back to the ship now" Sakura instructed reaching over to help Yukie to her feet but the woman flinched away, her eyes dead and cold as if she weren't really there.
"What's happened to her? Why is she like this?" Sakura demanded questioning Sandayu who was on his knees in front of her repeating the word princess over and over again.
"I won't go back to the Land of Snow!" Yukie screamed clutching her head in what seemed like agony.
Naruto turned around getting momentarily distracted by the outburst and Mizore gained the upper hand and flung him to the side. Using the metal contraption on his arm he shot out a clamp straight for Yukie but Sakura saw it coming and used her kunai knife to jam it, rendering the device useless.
"Sakura, Naruto" Sasuke called out running over towards them just as Yukie fainted. Sandayu gathered her in his arms and ran for the ship.
"Naruto make sure Yukie gets to the ship safely. Sasuke and I can handle this" Sakura instructed and the blond boy complied willingly.
"If you get Mizore out of the way long enough I can get a decent hit on the connecting portion of ice for this glacier. It should be enough to destroy some of it. Plus I think Kakashi is going to pull a big jutsu soon anyway, he's activated the Sharingan" Sakura muttered to Sasuke who nodded.
Sakura gathered her chakra again and Mizore noticed what she was doing and laughed. "Don't kid yourself girl this armour is chakra armour. A taijutsu style attack would have worked if you hadn't infused it with your chakra. The armour has a barrier around it and you can't touch me"
"Hn it's not meant for you. Fire Style Fire Ball Jutsu" Sasuke said and launched a fire ball from his mouth.
Mizore dived out of the way to avoid Sasuke's fire jutsu and Sakura took the opening running towards the wall of ice. Using her chakra infused attack Sakura smashed through the structure that connected the huge glacier together causing it to shake before splitting down the middle. Seeing what his student was trying to do Kakashi summoned a huge white whale to confuse his opponent and destroy the glacier trapping the Land of Snow ninja.
"Back to the ship you two" Kakashi yelled as Sasuke and Sakura ran for cover from the falling ice and jumped safely into the waiting ship with Kakashi on their tail.
"And cut!" Director Minato yelled as huge waves rocked the ship.
"I hope we got all of that" The assistant director said tiredly.
"Did you ever consider the extreme risk you were taking to bring her back here?" Kakashi asked Sandayu.
They had pulled into dock the ship finally arriving at the main port of the Land of Snow. The film crew worked quickly setting up trailers and a mess hall for everyone to have something to eat. Soon after that Team 7 were summoned to the director's trailer where Sandayu, the assistant director and Minato sat wanting to talk about Yukie and the movie.
"I did but I considered every other possible way and this seemed the best to get the princess to return home" Sandayu explained looking ashamed.
"Man what's with this princess talk? She's only acting the part of Princess Gale so it's not like she really is one Sandayu" Naruto said happily resting his arms behind his head.
"Actually Naruto that's not entirely true" Kakashi said and Sasuke shot his sensei a questioning look.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Yukie is just an alias. Our actual client is Koyuki Kazahana the heir to the throne here in the Land of Snow" Kakashi explained.
"I served the former leader of the clan Lord Sosetsu Kazahana. My home was a safe haven and a land of peace until his younger brother Doto took the throne by force and hired those snow ninja you just encountered. I feared for the princess's life but Kakashi saved her from the burning castle" Sandayu continued and bit back tears of happiness.
"I should have died that day and I wish I had. My heart is completely dead and I have no tears left to cry" Koyuki said leaning against the door way looking none too pleased.
"All those years and now finally it's happened. I waited for the time where I could escort you back to the Land of Snow princess" Sandayu said in an overjoyed voice and Sakura stared at him. The man either didn't realise Koyuki's attitude or didn't seem to care.
"So you've been using these films as a cover for your plan" Sakura observed and the assistant director gaped at Sandayu.
"Hey that's right you've been using us this whole time!" he yelled in a high pitched voice and Sasuke glared at him in annoyance.
"I am sorry but I had to do it for the people of the Land of Snow" Sandayu said and hurriedly got out of his chair and knelt in front of Koyuki. "Princess I beg of you, take up arms and lead you people against Doto to claim the throne that is rightfully yours"
"I could care less about my people. Doto isn't someone I can just get rid of, no one can. You're wasting your time with this" Koyuki said angrily.
"How can you say that to him, this man has given up a lifetime just to make his dream a reality and you tell him you don't care? Say it again and you'll be dealing with me lady!" Naruto declared standing up and slamming his fist on the conference table.
"As long as you have dreams you have hope and with that hope the future will come. It's the perfect theme for our new movie. It's evolving before our eyes!" Director Makino spoke for the first time since they'd gathered in the trailer.
"Of course filming with a real princess is an amazing opportunity! The buzz surrounding the release will be intense and even the making of will be a hit! It's a blockbuster for sure!" The assistant director exclaimed catching on quickly.
"But that Doto guy is tracking our every movement now which means we'll probably have to fight him" Sakura spoke up and Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Alright! The princess is going to return to the Land of Snow and show that creep who runs this place!" Naruto exclaimed throwing a fist in the air.
"Normally I would suggest heading back to the village to gather some reinforcements" Kakashi began but Sasuke jumped in. "Hn we're as fine as we can be. It's nothing the three of us can't handle"
Sakura smiled at Sasuke's response and Naruto grinned happily, Kakashi smirked a little but nodded at Sandayu who was overcome with gratitude. Despite the angrily comments from Koyuki the crew packed up the necessary equipment into trucks with centralised heating, beds and food. Setting out along an old road that Sandayu had pointed out everyone intended to travel through a huge tunnel to shoot the next scene on the other side. From there Sandayu was to take everyone to the hideout where the Land of Snow's people eagerly awaited his return with Princess Koyuki.
Sandayu had told them that a railroad had once run through the tunnel but now it had been completely covered in snow and was no longer in use. The trucks had finally arrived at the other side and Sakura was glad of the chance to get out and stretch her legs, boat travel was not her favourite way to get around.
"Ah Mr Makino we've got a big problem!" The assistant director said, bursting out from Koyuki's private truck.
"What on earth could it be now?"
"She's gone isn't she?" Naruto said as Kakashi and Team 7 approached the director.
"That's right she's up and vanished again!" The assistant director wheezed.
"With all this snow falling we only have a limited amount of time to shoot. Also the road to the secret hideout of my people might become impossible to pass if we're not fast enough. We need to find her" Sandayu said and looked at Kakashi expectantly.
"Right Sakura you take the western part of the forest down there. Sasuke the cliffs on the east side, Naruto travel north from here a little and I'll go south. You've all got headsets so radio in if you find her. We'll meet back here in an hour" Kakashi instructed.
"Right" All three ninja nodded and quickly disappeared.
Sakura jumped over the side of the ridge where the trucks were stationed and down into the forest. If Yukie/Koyuki had come this way she couldn't have gone very far, even with her ninja skills Sakura still struggled to remain upright. Landing in a large pile of snow Sakura got to her feet and rubbed her back in pain.
"Stupid slippery ice cliffs" Sakura grumbled and looked down at the crisp white snow which had hurt more than the fall should have. Huge pine trees obscured her view from above and Sakura huffed in annoyance.
It would be so much easier if she were a ninja, that way I could at least track her chakra signal. Or maybe if she just stopped running away that would be good too.
Taking one step forward Sakura almost tripped over a fallen tree branch when she noticed a footprint in the snow followed by a series of others leading deeper into the forest. What sounded like a scream made Sakura sprint off in the direction of the footprints using her chakra for greater speed. Had Doto come to kidnap Koyuki or was it all three of those Snow ninja with their chakra armour again?
"Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke come in. I think Yukie I mean Koyuki is in trouble" Sakura radioed in over the headset but all she heard in return was static.
"That's great just great. Alone in the forest with this woman who continually runs away from what's probably the most important task in her life" Sakura mumbled but stopped abruptly when she saw the footprints had vanished completely and were replaced with two huge holes in the snow.
"Are you going to stand there looking at the ground or are you going to help me?" A voice asked and Sakura looked up to see Koyuki Kazahana sitting in the snow clutching at her ankle.
"Have a nice trip?" Sakura shot back not appreciating the attitude she was getting and walked over to where the woman sat.
"Let me see your ankle"
"No wait what are you doing?" Koyuki demanded as she watched Sakura's hand radiate a green colour.
"You've got a green fracture. I'm going to heal it for you" Sakura said and raised her hand to begin the procedure.
"What is that stuff?" Koyuki asked as she felt a warm sensation pooling around her injured foot as Sakura moved her hand around it diligently.
"Healing chakra" Sakura said feeling it best to keep the medical explanation short as she finished up and inspected the injured area.
"You can heal people with that? And I saw what you did before against those snow ninja. How old are you?" Koyuki questioned as Sakura rummaged around in her ninja pouch for her bandages.
"I'll be fifteen in a few weeks. Hold still I need to bandage your ankle"
"Where did you learn to do all of this stuff anyway?"
"I'm a ninja so I've been in training for years. The medical side of things is new to me but I'm getting there. My parents are ninja too so it was expected of me I guess" Sakura said and tied off the bandage.
"We need to go. Everyone is looking for you and if you lie in the snow any longer you're in danger of hypothermia. I'll carry you back, you shouldn't walk on that ankle" Standing up Sakura helped Koyuki to her feet before motioning for her to get on her back.
"You don't look very strong for a ninja" Koyuki said septically.
"And you don't look very graceful for a princess now let's go we've wasted enough time already" Sakura said and Koyuki reluctantly climbed onto her back.
Once again Sakura found herself thanking Tsunade for her rigorous strength and stamina. It wasn't so much that Koyuki was heavy so much as it was they had to take the long way around and back through the tunnel to avoid the slippery cliffs which were barely manageable for once person let alone two.
"Why do you and your friends keep coming after me? It's not like what I do should concern you" Koyuki asked, her voice reverberating off the tunnel.
"Because it's our mission to protect the client we're guarding even if it costs us our lives. So not matter how many times you run away we'll come and find you" Sakura said and readjusted herself to balance the weight better.
"What you do doesn't change anything. I'll act my part in this stupid movie but there is no way I'm taking the throne" Koyuki said sullenly.
"You need a reality check" Sakura mumbled and Koyuki glared at her pink haired protector.
A noise that sounded very much like a train whistle came from the very end of the tunnel and Sakura stopped listening carefully. Suddenly the snow melted away from underneath her boots to reveal a set of train tracks. Sakura could see the faint steam coming off the metal and knew that chakra must have been used to melt away the heavy ice.
"Is that a train?" Koyuki asked disbelieving.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me" Sakura said loudly as the lights from the train rounded the corner.
Smashing through a pillar of ice that was in the way the train came charging forward at a break neck pace. Sakura saw clearly there was no other choice but to run, tucking her arms under Koyuki's legs to hold her in place Sakura directed the chakra to her legs and feet and began to run as fast as she could.
"YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND OUT RUN THIS TRAIN! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Koyuki yelled in her ear as Sakura tried to pick up the pace but was still too close to the train for comfort.
"WELL HAVE YOU GOT ANY BETTER IDEAS IT'S RUN OR DIE WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?" Sakura bellowed back and struggled to keep her balance and not fall over.
"ARLIGHT LET'S MOVE A BIT FASTER OR WE'RE ROAD KILL CHA!" Inner yelled running around in Sakura's head.
Some of that freakishly weird strength you seem to have would be good right about now, Sakura thought but no response came other than Inner's urgings to run faster.
Sakura could feel herself tiring out but she saw the light at the end of the tunnel, literally, and ran harder still completely determined not to end her life under the wheels of a train or Koyuki's for that matter. It almost seemed like a dream when Sakura jumped out of the tunnel throwing Koyuki into the snow as the train rushed passed them on the tracks. Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto had returned a few seconds before and quickly moved out of the way of the train but not before Kakashi saw his student and the princess.
The pink haired teen could feel herself falling somehow even though she was sure she wasn't dead. Sakura quickly realised that she had been thrown over the edge of the ridge from the impact of her own speed plus the force behind the train.
"Sasuke help Sakura!" Kakashi yelled fear gripping him as he watched his female student go over the edge of the ridge.
Sasuke ran quickly behind the train and jumped over the ridge ninja wire in hand. Catching Sakura just before she hit the ground Sasuke attached the ninja wire to a kunai knife and threw it at the train. Hearing the kunai catch on something sturdy Sasuke gave it a tug before sending the chakra to the bottoms of his feet and running up the ice cliff to the top of the ridge.
"Nice catch, thank you" Sakura said as she was able to stand up on her own and Sasuke coiled up the ninja wire. "Hn no problem" he smirked.
"It's been ten long years Koyuki. Show us that pretty face of yours" Doto said speaking into a microphone and emerging from the train, the Snow ninja Nadare beside him.
Koyuki sat in the snow completely consumed by fear as Doto stared at her but Sasuke and Sakura stepped in front of her and glared at the usurper.
"Those ninja seem like they're going to be a problem. Take care of them" Doto instructed Nadare.
"My pleasure" Nadare said and moved towards Sasuke and Sakura when suddenly a pile of huge forest tree logs came cascading down the hill behind the ridge and slammed into the train.
"There you have it men! Princess Koyuki has returned to us at last. This is the day you shall die Doto for your crimes! I Sandayu stand before you with fifty loyal warriors to the true Kazahana clan, we come to avenge our fallen leader Lord Sosetsu and have Princess Koyuki return to the throne as ruler of the Land of Snow!" Sandayu called out from the top of the hill dressed in ninja like clothing.
"Interesting, yet another way you have disappointed me Nadare. I thought you finished of the last of my dear brother's supporters" Doto said calmly.
"My apologies I'll get rid of them immediately" Nadare said angrily.
"No don't bother. There is little we can teach them and these ninja other than total destruction. Plus I have wanted to see how the new contraptions work against live targets" Doto smirked and signalled to a man within the train.
Suddenly the side compartments opened up to reveal metal squares with individual holes, men dressed in white cloaks climbed up to a turret with a handle and sat there waiting instruction. Sandayu and his men let out a war cry and charged down the hill to accomplish their goal, Doto nodded towards one of the men in the first turret who signalled to the rest. Sakura watched in horror as they began to turn the handles which fired off round after round of kunai knives at a rapid pace.
The clean white snow became red with blood as one after one the men fell to their knees with multiple kunai knives imbedded in their bodies. Only one man remained alive and that was Sandayu but Sakura knew he was close to death if not dying already purely from the blood loss. The last rounds of knives had been fired and were heading straight for him when Sasuke quickly opened his shuriken and threw it, deflecting the attack.
Attaching at paper bomb to his kunai knife Sasuke ducked behind a few mounds of built up snow and threw it at the train causing one of the open compartments to explode. Naruto who was hidden somewhere up on the hill threw another bomb causing an avalanche to start covering another portion of the train in snow.
Seeing this as her chance Sakura ran forward towards Sandayu who had collapsed on his back in the snow, still breathing. Kakashi threw another bomb as the train started up and began to speed off. Sakura examined Sandayu quickly and removed his breast plate but that only revealed to her the extent of the wounds and blood loss. There was nothing she could do as a medical ninja but watch this man die in front of her and Sakura was devastated.
Members of the crew began to trickle down the mountain horrified and visibly upset by what they had seen. Sakura healed as many of Sandayu's wounds as she could hoping it would at least give him some pain relief before he died. When Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto came over Sakura explained the hopeless situation to them. Sandayu managed to speak saying he wanted to see Koyuki before he died and Team 7 helped carry him over on a makeshift wooden stretcher one of the crew had brought.
"You have always been our purest hope princess and now you must continue to believe in yourself as I and all the men here have. Just as you did when you were younger, please princess. Don't waste your tears on me" Sandayu said and then fell still. Sakura extended her fingers to his neck and pronounced him dead.
"Sandayu, you fool. I can't cry you have my eye drops. Now that you've seen what will happen to you if you stay here we're leaving" Koyuki said and began to walk back towards the trucks.
"Where are you going? This is your home what do you have to go back to huh? Now stay here and put your house in order!" Naruto demanded.
"You don't know anything at all. None of you do, I'm tired of this nonsense and I'm leaving this place!" Koyuki replied angrily.
"Hn are you going to chloroform her again?" Sasuke muttered in Sakura's ear and Sakura resisted the urge to laugh.
Seemingly out of nowhere a huge blimp appeared from below the ridge and a door opened to reveal Mizore who fired the hand-clamp from the contraption on his arm and grabbed Koyuki dragging her skyward and into the blimp.
Spying the ninja wire and kunai knife still attached protruding from Sasuke's ninja pouch Sakura quickly reached across and dug it out. Waving the wire in a circular motion to gain some speed the female ninja hooked the kunai onto the blimp and held onto the other end tightly as she was reefed into the air.
Sasuke quickly reached out and seized her arm causing Sakura to almost lose grip of the wire. Both ninja began to climb the wire and within a matter of seconds had snuck inside the blimp leaving Kakashi, Naruto and the rest of the film crew on the ground below.
Hi everyone!
I managed to get it all finished one day earlier for you seeing as I had some time left over so happy Tuesday instead of Wednesday ^^ I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and Sakura's involvement. I'm really excited about writing her and Sasuke's team up in the next chapter! :D
As always feel free to let me know what you thought by reviewing or if you want to make sure you don't miss an update then you can always follow or favourite the story/me. Thanks for the reviews last chapter I hope I managed to respond to you all and I'll see you again next Wednesday! xx