The Allied Shinobi Forces had broken camp and moved out with amazing efficiency. Where a huge encampment once stood, tents were rapidly sealed away and the landscape quickly tidied over, making it look impossible to have hosted an army of eighty thousand only moments ago.
With three of the four primary divisions being based on the borders of Kumo, the plan was to locate the medic squad just behind the frontlines. The scouting parties' reports have indicated that they have found an elevated stretch of land which can be easily fortified and defended from.
Gaara noted the reports, and unable to ignore Tsunade's constant reminders about how critical medical care can be in a life-or-death situation, decided that the first order of business was for shinobi of the Fourth Division to help establish the medic base before they move into their battle positions in the frontlines.
Sakura knew it was not her position to question Gaara's decisions, but the way she saw it, utilising an army of over ten thousand to set up a base will only just slow things down. After the other Divisions Commanders had left the tent, she voiced her concerns and explained that it would be more efficient to have just a few specialised shinobi from each division chip in. The task would still be completed by nightfall, and the rest of the army would have reached their destinations by then. The guarding of the medic base will be a duty shared among the four primary divisions on a rotational basis – the only part unchanged from Gaara's original plans.
Gaara had listened without interrupting her, and when she was finally done with presenting her case, he merely nodded and told her that they would go ahead with her plan instead.
Which is why Sakura is currently running around the mass of moving shinobi, madly trying to round up some heavy lifters and building specialists and regretting her decision to speak up. As if she didn't have enough to do already.
Secretly, she suspected that Gaara had tricked her into taking on this assignment.
She wished that Yamato-taichou was here; his Wood Release kekkei genkai would have made short work of setting up their base, but he has been declared missing and possibly captured or even killed by the enemy.
Sakura did not want to dwell too much on the latter possibility. He must be alive, and they would find him once they defeated Akatsuki and Madara.
She was now among the shinobi of the Fifth Division, which was made up of small, specialist teams. Her target was Aburame Shino, whose ability to command insects would no doubt be an asset to their task. Shino had always complained about not being included in missions, so she figured that he might be willing to lend a hand. Or a few billion of them.
Someone landed with a solid "thud" behind her, eliciting a few grumbles from the surrounding shinobi who were jostled aside as a result.
"Hey, Sakura – nice puss…"
"Kiba, I swear, if you finish that sentence, you're going to spend the rest of the war with your teeth inside your kunai pouch."
Kiba grinned widely, trying his best to disguise his fear behind the curl of his lips. He knew Sakura had the strength to render him toothless before his time, and he certainly didn't want to spend the rest of his life eating everything through a straw.
Akamaru, whom Kiba was walking alongside, looked at the sand-cat walking next to Sakura. He gave a bark of greeting to Mr. Fluffy-kins, who continued to walk on as if he was not below Akamaru in the food chain of life.
"Seriously though, Sakura, why do you have a cat following you around?" Kiba asked, "If you want an animal ally, I can ask my sister to get a nin-dog for you."
Sakura sighed. She had shown Mr. Fluffy-kins to Gaara after breakfast, displaying the changes to the sand-cat and demanding to know if he had anything to do with it. Gaara seemed a little surprised by the changes in the sand-cat, but calmly explained that some of his sand-mice later evolved to be more mouse-like, though not overnight. He dismissed Sakura's accusations that he was trying to make the sand-cat look more like him, what with the cat's red pattern now.
"Really, Sakura – do you think I want to add more fuel to the rumour mill?"
"I guess not, but if his eyes turn fully green…" she left the rest of the sentence unspoken.
Gaara only smirked and told her to stop worrying about what was essentially a pile of sand; chakra-enhanced sand that was personal property of the Kazekage, but still sand.
"Well, Kiba, the cat simply refuses to change back to sand and insists on following me everywhere now."
"Sand?" Kiba's eyes lit up as he took a sniff at the sand-cat.
Mr. Fluffy-kins puffed himself up and glared at both dog and master.
"Whoa, you're right, Sakura – this little guy here definitely has the Kazekage's scent on it," Kiba said just a little too loudly, causing some nearby shinobi to prick their ears and start eavesdropping if they had not already, "So, can he do any tricks?"
"Just one," Sakura grinned, "Sic 'em, Mr. Fluffy-kins."
The cat leapt at Akamaru and Kiba, bursting into a cloud of fine sand just as it neared their faces. That resulted in both Akamaru and Kiba spending a full minute coughing and sneezing before the cat decided to change back and land neatly on Sakura's shoulders.
"Oh, gross. I think I still have some of your cat in my mouth," Kiba spoke around his stuck-out tongue as he viciously scrubbed his eyes.
Mr. Fluffy-kins only response was a very contented-sounding purr.
"Come on, Kiba – make yourself useful and help me find Shino."
"Okay, but you gotta keep that cat away from us."
Akamaru sneezed once more, as if to emphasise the point. Sakura giggled, and promised so while crossing her fingers behind her back.
With the army currently settled down for a quick rest and recharge, Sakura decided that it was as good a time as any other to report on the completion of her task to Gaara.
She was surprised to find him standing under a shade of trees, surrounded by a group of chatty Suna kunoichi. She thought he would have vanished in a swirl of sand by now, leaving his admirers behind.
Then she saw the look of displeasure that Gaara threw her way, and it made her shudder a little. Whatever did she do to warrant that look?
Gaara turned back to the kunoichi and said something to them. Sakura could not make out what he had said, but if the disappointment on his retreating kunoichi's faces was anything to go by, it wasn't good news to them.
As the Suna kunoichi walked past her, a few cast glances at the sand-cat still perched on her shoulders. Sakura had no trouble recognising the expressions on their faces.
Envy. Jealousy. Disappointment.
Doing her best to ignore the eyes on her, she walked towards Gaara with her head held high. She was long past the days of being cowed by snippy kunoichi for her close association with a certain desirable raven-haired shinobi.
When she was close enough, Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and said quite plainly – "Haruno-san, you are a real piece of work."
Sakura blinked owlishly; there was no malice in Gaara's tone, but she was not expecting him to say that all the same.
"I beg your pardon, Kazekage-sama?"
"Parading the sand-cat around and announcing that I made him for you; are you trying to cause a revolt among my shinobi? There is talk of favouritism among the Suna kunoichi," Gaara sighed, "Are you certain that the Hokage did not actually send you as a test on my mental stability?"
Sakura made a sound of indignation.
"First of all, Kazekage-sama, I was not 'parading' Mr. Fluffy-kins around. You know as well as I do that he refused to go back into your gourd this morning. Secondly, it was Inuzuka Kiba and his big mouth that sent those rumours flying," Sakura replied, "And finally, Mr. Fluffy-kins has a name."
"It is a Most Unfortunate Name for a pet. I am calling it 'Mun' for short."
Both Sakura and Mr. Fluffy-kins wore mirroring expressions of being affronted.
"If I may interject, Kazekage-sama? Sakura?"
Both heads turned to see the Nara prodigy walking up towards them. Gaara nodded for Shikamaru to speak.
"While I am certain that Hokage-sama didn't send her apprentice to give you extra headaches, I do believe that these rumours can be used to our advantage."
Sakura cracked her knuckles quietly but deliberately while catching Shikamaru's gaze, while Gaara cocked an invisible eyebrow in curiosity.
"I usually won't recommend exploiting such a situation, but war changes the circumstances. The Suna kunoichi perceive your closeness to Sakura as a threat to their personal plans to becoming Kazehime. They will be falling over themselves to prove their worth to you during this war. As long as they continue to assume that Sakura is a potential Kazehime candidate, they will fight twice as hard," Shikamaru explained, "Surely you have seen raging kunoichi in battle."
"I have a sister, Nara-san," Gaara stated very matter-of-factly.
"And so you understand the value of a whole platoon of kunoichi out to prove their worth."
"Shikamaru, I'm starting to think that you want all us kunoichi off birth control and sent into raging, PMS-ing mode to give us an advantage in this war," Sakura said with a twinkle in her eye that promised a world of pain.
"You said that – I didn't," then Shikamaru held up two fingers, "And there is a part two to this."
Oh, joy.
"War is a tremendous drain on troop morale, Kazekage-sama. Gossiping actually gives the shinobi something else to turn their attention to when they are not fighting for their lives," Shikamaru did his best to avoid the daggers that Sakura was glaring his way, "I'm not suggesting that you validate the rumours in any manner, and certainly I won't encourage you to add more fuel to the fire. I am saying we just let sleeping dogs lie and let the shinobi think what they want to think."
"My most recent troubles were caused by a boy and his dog, thank you very much," growled Sakura.
"You have made your point, Nara-san," Gaara replied, much to Sakura's chagrin, "We shall maintain the status quo."
"By your leave, Kazekage-sama."
Gaara dismissed Shikamaru, and then turned to Sakura. She was absolutely incensed, and looked ready to chew him out.
"I apologise, Haruno-san, but you should know that just moments ago, I was being inundated with requests for sand-animals of their own by the Suna kunoichi. They were… displeased that I decided to give a kunoichi from another hidden village a sand-cat but not them."
Sakura snapped back into medic-nin mode, "But that'll be a huge drain on your chakra! Don't they know that?"
"Jealousy functions best without the interference of reason."
Sakura pressed a finger to her lip, looking thoughtful. Finally, she smiled at Gaara and quipped, "Well, perhaps after the war, you can go into business creating sand-pets for the people of Suna."
Gaara frowned at her, but then his lips slowly curled into a smile – "Your idea has merit, Haruno-san. Perhaps when I tire of playing Kazekage and wish to join the Merchants Association of Suna, I will open a pet shop in Sunagakure."
"Sarcasm does not become of you, Kazekage-sama." She smiled right back at him.
"Touché."