8.- Revenge
"Does anyone remember exactly what Ninja Code Number Thirty-Eight says? Come on, kids, we saw it three days ago."
"I know, Iruka-sensei!"
"Sakura, please tell your classmates."
"The Ninja Code, Chapter I, Article number thirty-eight states: Every shinobi and kunoichi will accept with pride and satisfaction the duties imposed upon them in their service, and will always lend their moral, physical and material assistance to their superiors and subordinates, as well as carry out the fulfillment of the protection of the citizens of the Land of Fire and its feudal lord."
"Very well, Sakura. You have studied hard enough, if you continue like this, you will become an excellent Kunoichi.
My hands held the poison vial tightly, and without meaning to, I thought about those damn discipline rules. But I wasn't going to give in, I wasn't going to take back my revenge.
Sai helped Ino and me into the Ash Tower where the seven feudal lords were gathered. Obviously, the security was extreme, but we were ahead of them in training and infiltration techniques.
"I'll wait outside, anything you can tell me, Ino," she shook her head. "Be careful, and Sakura... Good luck."
We crawled through the ventilation corridors in search of the kitchen. We didn't have a map that could give us the necessary speed to reach our destination, but I knew I would have enough time to do it.
I stopped and looked to my right.
"Do you smell that? I think it's coming from that side." I said. Ino started to sniff.
"That's right, it must be that way."
We continued to slide down the path, at a certain point we looked through one of the ceiling grates.
"It's here." I said.
"There are too many people, how can we get in without them noticing?"
"We could put them under a genjutsu, but that would paralyze them, they would not regain consciousness in time without being noticed by the guards. The kitchen would be suspiciously quiet and quickly put them on alert. "
I scanned the area carefully and found a grate leading to the other end of the kitchen. If I went down that way no one would see me as there was a wall in the way.
The ventilation corridors were like a labyrinth, I had to imagine the way to get to where I wanted to go.
"Listen, Ino, let's look for the window that leads to this end of the kitchen," I said. "Once we find it, we'll go down carefully. Then you will use your 'Mind and Body Switching' technique. The person you will switch with will be the sturdy woman in the red apron."
Ino looked at her and was silent for a few seconds until she seemed to understand my idea.
"Okay, she's the head cook," she said. "Once I'm in her body, I'll discreetly approach you and you'll give me the glass, right?"
"That's right."
"Sakura, I have a question... If the plan works and we succeed in poisoning the feudal lords, what will happen to those people? Won't they be judged? I mean, there won't be any more guilty than them."
"I said that heads could roll. Unfortunately, that is true."
I wanted to go on, but Ino stopped me with her hand on my ankle.
"Wait, wait... Did I hear right? Are we going to sacrifice innocent people?" Her face showed disbelief and horror.
"We'll worry about that later, now come on, we're running out of time."
I continued the tour, but I could almost hear what Ino was thinking. I closed my eyes for a few moments to free my mind from the weight of my conscience. It wasn't in my plans to waver; I couldn't feel any compassion for them since absolutely no one felt compassion for Sasuke.
The window behind the wall was below us, carefully removing the grate was the next step, but my friend's face didn't really convince me. She looked worried and that wasn't a good sign. I didn't want to involve her and make her feel guilty.
I took a deep breath and pushed the metal cover aside. I slid one leg and then the other until I could hop into the kitchen. I made sure no one had seen me and then motioned for Ino to come down as well.
She did so and we hid behind some wooden crates where the ingredients were stored. The staff was busy finishing the banquet and didn't notice us. I was thankful that they were only civilians with no military/ninja knowledge.
I took the vial from my back pocket and looked at Ino, who had swallowed some saliva.
"I know you're thinking about these people," I whispered, "and maybe they'll be questioned, but I assure you it won't go beyond that."
She wrinkled her forehead and looked away from the glass to fix her pale blue irises on me. I saw her lips move, but I could not hear her voice. The powerful voice of the head chef kept us hidden and watching.
"Move those hands! The banquet must be ready by eight o'clock," she began, whipping her hands to put pressure on the workers. "Come on, come on!"
"Ma'am, I've finished the cream soup, can you please give the go-ahead?" I heard a male voice.
"Damn it!" I muttered, and that made Ino look at me.
"If they taste the food, they will also be poisoned." She commented.
"Exactly. Then the poison must be in the drink. Where is it?"
"According to the menu Sai gave you, they will be served herbal wine, the most famous in this country."
"It will be in sealed bottles, which is not convenient at all. So we can't pour the substance into the drink, it will have to be in the blissful cream soup once they give the go-ahead."
I craned my neck to look behind the crates, the stout lady was giving instructions, and the pot of soup was being taken to another metal table. I assumed that was where the approved dishes were placed.
"Now, Ino, you have to do the jutsu."
I kept looking at the woman who was walking from one side to the other and when I didn't hear an answer from my partner, I understood that she was still restless.
"Sakura, I..."
To involve my friend in an act of disobedience and expose her to punishment if discovered was terrible. I couldn't feel sorry for the lords and even some of their employees, but Ino and Sai didn't deserve to be a part of my revenge. That's why I didn't want Naruto to know, and by letting my anger get the better of me, I forgot about the damage I could cause.
But I didn't want to leave Sasuke either, so as the only one capable of saving him, I had to be the one to take the risk.
"Don't worry, just watch my back."
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to turn into one of the cooks, pour the contents into this pot, and come back before they realize there are two identical women in this kitchen."
"Why don't you use a different appearance?"
"Because I'm sure all these employees know each other already, and if they see someone strange in their environment, they'll call the guards, and we won't be able to leave."
"In that case, don't expose yourself. I'll do it."
"No, Ino... You've already helped me a lot, leave it to me."
I focused on one of the women and used the Transformation Jutsu. The cook went to a corner where she started chopping some ingredients. I slowly stood up and came out from behind the wooden crates. I stuck my body to the wall and leaned out to find the right moment to go to the table where the pot was.
"Now!"
I crossed the wall and walked onto the stage, facing my goal, still looking at the back of the woman I had transformed into. I could not fail.
Slowly, my eyes watched as I approached the table. No one was looking at me, and that was a good thing. I uncovered the jar under my apron and looked at it; as soon as I was in front of the pot of soup, I poured the entire contents into it and, as if in slow motion, I saw the liquid mix with the food.
Thousands of thoughts invaded me and my accelerated heart was pounding. My hands grew cold, and I admit that for a few moments I was afraid that I had ruined everything, but an image of Sasuke appeared: a weak and sickly Sasuke about to have his eyes stolen and thrown away as if he were a waste.
I capped the jar and kept it in my apron. I took the ladle and mixed everything carefully, then I heard a voice very close to me and I almost gasped in shock.
"You don't need to move that, it's ready." A young man said to me.
"That's right, sorry."
He just smiled kindly and walked away carrying some bottles. I looked back and hurried to Ino. She was gone and when I looked up, I saw her waving her hand and urging me to come up as well.
Without undoing the jutsu, I climbed up to the window and when I was safely out of sight, I returned to normal. We closed the gate and left.
"We have to catch up with Sai."
"You go, I still have to make sure they eat the soup."
"We can't leave you here, it's obvious they're going to eat it, so let's go now."
"Please let me stay," I said, staring at her, wanting her to feel the same way I felt at that moment. "I want to see with my own eyes how those damn men eat the same poison they gave Sasuke."
Ino bit her lips and her eyebrows arched in sadness, then she put her hand over mine and I felt a squeeze.
"It's almost eight o'clock, just make sure you get back safely. We'll be waiting for you at the starting point."
"I understand."
"Good luck."
She patted me on the shoulder and turned to crawl toward the exit. I walked for at least ten minutes on the other side between metal corridors until I finally found what I was looking for: the meeting room.
The grates didn't offer the best view, but they were convenient enough to allow me to see a bit of the view and hear the voices in the room.
I pressed my face against the cold metal and listened. If the banquet was to be served in less than ten minutes, all indications were that they were in the middle of the auction.
A man with a familiar voice spoke and began his sermon on the benefits of the sharingan and rinnegan. Everyone listened intently as the scientist spoke excitedly of the great things that could be accomplished.
I saw several rich men writing in their notebooks and exchanging opinions with each other, then another voice was heard in the room.
"Any more bids for the sharingan? The highest bid so far is four million ryōs."
Murmurs were heard and the bidding began again.
"Five million," said an old feudal lord.
"Six million." Another man stepped forward.
"Six million, anyone for more? One, two..."
"Eight million!" The Grassland feudal raised his voice, and I heard laughter.
"Anyone else? Eight million, one, two, three sold to Lord So Namiko!"
"Lord Namiko, who knew you would be willing to pay such a sum for the sharingan? I thought both you and your son would be unwilling to lend yourselves to something so dastardly."
The voice I heard belonged to the feudal lord of the Fire Land. He had attended the auction after all, and inside I was disappointed that he had done so. As the Rinnegan auction began, the bids began to rise.
Ten million, twelve, fifteen, twenty! The price of that eye was worth more than that, and everyone seemed desperate to win. Our feudal lord, Lord Yuto, bid twenty-five million ryōs, and I wondered why he participated in the auction as well. Sasuke was one of his own, born in the nation he led, so why?
"Twenty-five million, who bid more?"
Murmurs and more murmurs, it seemed that this time the winner would be the feudal lord of the Land of Fire, until a more youthful voice was heard. Everyone was astonished when Tomaru, the son of the Lord of the Grass Land, offered thirty million ryōs.
Cries of disbelief rang out from all sides. The seemingly good boy who had always defended Sasuke's life was willing to pay an excessive amount to possess the rinnegan. All of them laughing and feasting and doing business with something none of them deserved. I was disgusted and the pent-up anger made me shed tears of rage.
"Thirty million sold to young Lord Tomaru Namiko!"
I heard applause, I heard screams, no one seemed to care that Sasuke would die afterwards. If Tomaru had planned everything, he knew that no one would pay more money than him, so he decided to poison Sasuke beforehand to make him weak so that he could extract his eyes. A dirty tactic in complicity with the scientist who fed the morbidity and ambition of the feudal lords to agree to this disgusting auction.
All because of him.
"Well, gentlemen, thank you all for attending this auction. The feudal lord of the Grass Country and his son were the buyers on this occasion."
"It was a good move, huh?"
"I apologize, colleagues," the old man said, "perhaps the item to be auctioned next time will be better. In any case, the money from the auction will be paid to the Lord of the Fire Country, as we agreed."
Our feudal lord did not utter a word, and I could see that his face did not express much emotion behind my eyes that were crystallized with tears. What was going through his mind?
"All right, the extraction will take place in two days. To make the deal clear, I need you to sign an agreement to approve it. As long as the majority of signatures are obtained, the process will go smoothly," the dark-suited man explained. "And as we already know, after the extraction, Sasuke Uchiha will inevitably die."
"And with him, the cursed legacy of the Uchiha will end."
Laughter was heard. The paper was signed by everyone except our lord. He refused to take the pen and no one questioned his actions.
"Two days," I thought, "the poison has to take effect in no more than ten hours.
I bit my nails. Two days was too soon. I thought it would take at least five days.
The great doors opened and I knew by the atmosphere in the air that it was time for the banquet.
The servants began their work and I stood there until I saw them eating. In between conversations, laughter, sips and spoonfuls, I witnessed the moment when all the guests, including the stupid scientist, condemned themselves to a very possible death.
"That's it... Eat all the soup, you bloody dogs."
I straightened up, still looking through the metal grates. Slowly, I stopped concentrating on them and turned back with satisfaction. Soon they would be writhing in pain and begging for help.
I left the tower and went into the forest where I met Sai and Ino. She saw me and ran up to me, asking worriedly if everything had gone well.
I just nodded my head and Sai indicated that it was time to leave.
The strategy was that after visiting the tower, we would go to the prison where Sasuke was. We had to take care of one last detail to complete the plan.
It was already after midnight, the sky was completely full of stars and only two guards could be seen in front of the building. We watched them from a distance, hidden in the bushes.
"Sakura," Ino whispered, "I know I couldn't do it before, but this time, I'll help you like I promised."
"Remember well," Sai said, "the jar is behind the wall on the left. When you take possession of the guard, get the jar and carry it to the kitchen."
"Yes, I will."
"I trust you," I said.
She smiled at me and then changed her gesture to serious. She looked in the direction of the target and placed her half-open hands in front of her eyes.
"Mind Reverse Body Technique!"
Ino's body fell unconscious in Sai's arms; the guard's body looked to the side and began to walk. His colleague said something to him, but Ino was able to get out of the situation easily.
She picked up the glass and, after a series of excuses, went into the building.
The longest moments of my life were during the time we waited for Ino to return. My eyes saw my friend's limp body, even though her mind occupied another body.
I saw Sai holding her tightly while his pupils eyes were riveted to the prison door, also waiting for the moment when she would return.
It was fifteen minutes of worry and uncertainty until the guard returned and positioned himself next to his colleague, who said something to him and left. Exactly at that moment, Ino returned to her body and sat up, taking a deep breath while Sai held her.
"What happened?" I asked quickly.
"I told the guy I was going to the bathroom, went in and went through several doors. It took me a while to find the kitchen, but I did and left the bottle in one of the cupboards. It's ready," she took a shaky breath, "all we have to do is wait."
My legs were shaking and in an impulsive act I hugged my friend and closed my eyes, she hugged me back.
"Hey, big forehead, this better work." She laughed, but her words sounded sad and scared.
"We have to go now," Sai spoke. "I can't summon an Inkbird in this place, or they'll see us. We have to get a few miles away and then we'll fly to Konoha."
"Okay."
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest. The cool night air hit my face and made my skin prickle, but my insides burned, maybe with fear, maybe with excitement to see how things would turn out; but in all of it, a shred of hope held firm, waiting for the moment when Sasuke would be free.
It was almost dawn when we returned to Konoha, avoiding the gates so as not to be discovered. No one had given us permission to leave, so we had to enter through another, less guarded part.
Inside the village, everything was quiet, the sky took on pink tones and the morning breeze sprayed my hair. I was physically and emotionally exhausted, but I could not rest, I had to go to the hospital to work as if nothing had happened, so as not to arouse suspicion.
As soon as I arrived at my apartment, I took a bath and washed off all the dirt that had crawled through the air ducts. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the huge dark circles under my eyes that gave my face that empty look; the last time I remembered myself being that depressed was when I thought Sasuke would never return to Konoha.
The day passed quietly and my despair made me look up at the clock hanging on the wall. Ino was so tired and drank coffee all the time; she came into the office and also looked at the clock before turning to me.
"It's almost two in the afternoon, haven't you eaten?"
"I'm not hungry."
She sighed and put the glass on the table. She leaned on it with one hand and when she rested in front of me, she stopped me from looking at the clock.
"Sakura, they should be sick by now, right?"
"Yes, they should be."
"What if they finally got medical help and...?"
"No, no!" I shook my head, "No one can have the antidote to cure them, there is no remedy to calm their ailments." I assured.
"Maybe it will take them a while to realize that they need you."
"They'll kill Sasuke in less than two days," I stood up, "but if they all die, there won't be anyone to take their eyes."
"Die? I thought it was just a dose to make them sick." She whispered, almost wanting to shout.
"Ino, they're not poisoning Sasuke just to make him sick. They want to kill him and they will do it if my plan doesn't work!"
The clock struck two o'clock and the sound of the hands made us turn around.
"I don't know, Sakura... We don't have much time, and I understand that waiting is agonizing. If only we had the certainty that it would work."
I bit my thumbnail, beginning to feel anxious. There was no sign that they needed me, what if they finally found an antidote? No, it was complicated to work out and no one could do it in record time.
The hours passed, my stomach churned countless times, and I tossed and turned too many times in the office. It was almost time to leave and I packed my things to go home. My soul was slowly tearing at me until I opened the door and heard heavy footsteps.
Two shinobi stood in front of me in the middle of the clinic's corridor, looking very scared and trying to normalize their breathing. Several nurses and patients watched the scene with frightened faces.
"Doctor! The Hokage wants to see you at once!"
Ino walked by and stood still as she watched us, I avoided her gaze and thought about the possibilities of what those words meant. Was I in trouble or was it finally time to enjoy my victory?
"What does the Sixth need?" I asked.
"He says it's confidential information, but it's urgent that you go to his office."
"All right."
As I walked through the door of the office where Kakashi Sensei was waiting for me, I saw him pacing restlessly and rubbing his forehead.
He saw me and ran to grab my shoulders, his worried look could tell me many things, but I just wanted to hear what I had imagined so often in my mind.
"I was told that you wanted to see me."
"Sakura... Something bad has happened."
I wanted to take a breath to look calmer, but before I could, Kakashi Sensei stepped forward and cut off my breath.
"Sasuke won't wake up."
My eyes met the black irises of my former teacher and a cold, painful fear rose in my chest... Was it already too late, had nothing worked?