(Chapter 6: Time for an Assassination)
It would be a bit further into the month as Sakura who was practically giddy over the task at hand, was all too ready and eager to complete her first assassination and test to see if she could be a real deal within her mother's clan. For the would-be assassin, this was something that no matter what; she was going to show that she could prove her worth as part of the family business.
(July 17th, 996 S.E, 9:24 Am, Northern Rain Country)
It was half past 10 in the morning as Sakura alongside Karura had their eyes on Aoi and his genin squad who'd just crossed through the border into Rain Country; the younger of the two waiting for their moment to strike.
"Are you ready, Sakura?" Karura asked her pink-haired cousin
"I've been waiting for this, Karura! So just let me do my thing, and I'll kill every single one of them before 10'o clock." Sakura said back with a broad and vicious grin across her face
"If you can pull it off, then go for it. I just hope you know what you're doing." Karura spoke whilst Sakura performed the snake seal for her favorite jutsu
"Relax, I've got it all under control…Now if you don't mind, I've got lives to ruin and a legendary sword to collect." Sakura said as the effects of her Earth Release: Earth Spear took full effect before she leaped into action against her targets
Meanwhile, Aoi was in relatively good spirits considering that he and his team had completed their 2nd C-Rank mission in record time and were currently headed back toward the Hidden Rain village to report on a mission well done. However, the wielder of the 2nd Hokage's sword despite the atmosphere of good cheer in the area at their recent success; couldn't help but feel an intense sense of foreboding creeping closer upon him, as the sense felt like something akin to being chased by a fully grown polar bear.
Wherein that even if you ran as fast as you could it would only delay the inevitability of a bloody and grisly demise, that kept bounding closer and closer towards you until you were nothing but an eviscerated corpse on the ground. Hence why he couldn't help but have his hand on the Sword of the Thunder God; gripping it so tight you could almost hear his knuckles pop, whilst every muscle in his body was tensed and ready for the awaiting danger, and his eyes darted every which way for the ever-encroaching danger that kept closing in faster and faster with a suffocating bloodthirst that made his heart clench in his chest.
But before he could even move a muscle to bring forth his stolen blade, or look to further perceive any of the threats around him; the sound of a horrified scream erupted to life behind him, as he whipped around to see the body of one of his students facing away from him. However, it was not by choice that they did so and more out of the fact that their neck had been violently twisted and snapped a full 180 degrees, and their skull nearly perpendicular to the ground, as said corpse fell face-first to the ground twitching in its death throes.
With Aoi barely able to tackle the student closest to him out of the way, for as quick as bullwhip the sound of a scream and then a gurgled croaking wail was heard, before the footsteps vanished into the forests around them. The Ame Jonin looked around in horror to see the damage dealt to his brunette student who looked as though they had their eyes bashed in by the heavy paws of a black bear on P.C.P before their throat looked to have been so caved in that it looked like an obese drunkard had stepped upon it and flattened it into scrap.
"Aoi-sensei w-what's going on? Are we under attack?!" Aoi's last remaining student asked horrified and shaking like a leaf at the sight of their dead teammates
"We are, but don't worry. I will get us through this, just get behind me and everything will be ok." Aoi told his student who looked at him with terrified eyes
"Alright sensei, I'll ACKKHHHGGHH!" His student tried to say before they felt something punch through their flesh like a glaive to the heart
"Tch, you know you really shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Said Sakura as having used Raging Fire to close the distance before Aoi could move
"Especially since those types of things tend to break people's hearts,... case and point." Sakura spoke before she ripped out the redheaded genin's beating heart from their back
"A-Aoi S-s-senseiii." The redhaired genin spluttered out before falling into a horrified Aoi's arms
"Ryoga, NOOO!" Aoi cried out
"If it's any consolation to you, I could've made this a lot worse on their ends…Like I could've been on some horror movie type shit and just ripped their skin off and then you'd have to deal with a bunch of fucked up genin running around…But that's neither here nor there." Sakura said as she crushed the heart in her hands
"W-Who even are you, and why did you kill my students…ANSWER ME!" Aoi furiously demanded as he brandished the 2nd Hokage's blade and had it erupt to life in all its fury
"Well, I'm not gonna tell you my name since you really don't seem like shit. Secondly, I killed them because they were witnesses, and I can't exactly assassinate someone right if there's witnesses…Soooo nothing personal, but I don't like having loose ends." Sakura told the furious Ame jonin
"You monster, they were innocent!" Aoi bellowed as he gripped the handle of the sword tighter
"Oh please, nothing about them was innocent. Since the moment they put that headband on, they were all fresh meat for me to butcher…But enough about them, let's focus on killing you!" Sakura retorted as Aoi ferociously swung at the pink-haired teen in an overhand chop
Sakura then quickly used Phantom Pace to quickly evade the attack that seemed to phase through her by a few inches, before she struck out with a thunderous low kick to Aoi's right calf that cracked against it like a bullwhip, before she then weaved her way out of a sword thrust to her throat and countered with a right hook to his jaw. The Ame jonin in question tried to feint with a stab towards her liver in order to gain distance and go for a beheading strike, only for Sakura to counter his feint with a Buddha Killer to the face and nearly break his nose in doing so; causing a spray of blood and a small CRRACCKK as he staggered back from the blow.
Something that was followed through by a short combination hook-jab-hook combination to the ribs, before following up with an uppercut that was barely parried by the electrified blade; causing Sakura to briefly wince as she felt the electrical energy of it go through her Earth Spear jutsu. However, Sakura was able to quickly weave her way from getting impaled in the kidneys and counter with a right elbow to the jaw, that was followed through by a short yet powerful left hand to the chest that sent him skidding a short distance away from Sakura.
Both shinobi took this brief moment to readjust themselves before the two rushed at each other, with the enraged Aoi trying to slash and stab at Sakura with every ounce of rage-fuelled strength he could muster to try and eviscerate the pink-haired woman before him; whilst Sakura was using every opportunity to evade and quickly counter Aoi's attacks. Doing everything from taunts and jeers at his dead genin to bait him into missing her so she could retaliate with a thudding hook or uppercut to the ribs, or a vicious hook kick to the jaw, as she paid attention to every movement to analyze the best way in dismantling him.
Something that Aoi even in his enraged state found out quick enough, as Sakura in her counter-offensive against him made it near-impossible to do so; with every attempt to disengage, met with Sakura dashing to his flank parallel of him and nailing him with an uppercut to the ribs, or an overhand right to the jaw; every leap backwards was met with her grabbing his legs and powerbombed him into the ground. As Sakura made damned sure that if he wanted to pull off any flashy jutsu or techniques, then the pink-haired assassin made him pay for it with a body shot to the chest, stomach and or legs' the force of which felt like Aoi was getting hit by a walking sledgehammer.
That being said Sakura didn't come out of the proverbial firefight unscathed either; due to Aoi managing to get through her with a short sequence of ferocious stabs to her chest; which she was able to parry a good handful of them; those that did hit her delivered a very potent electrical shock. However, instead of being paralyzed or feeling the pain from the electrocution that was inflicted; Sakura instead grinned like a madwoman as she caught the swipe to her neck bare-handed as the two were within a fierce stalemate.
"Here I thought a jonin was gonna be hot shit, but it turns out your a basic-ass-bitch! No wonder I killed your dumbass students; if you're this sorry!" Said Sakura with a feral grin across her face, whilst her Earth Spear started to crack apart
"Damn you, Damn you for killing my students you rotten bitch!" Aoi roared in anger as Sakura's malefic grin only widened further
"Then what are you gonna do about it? Because it's not like you can fail any harder than what you did those sack of shit genin." Sakura said as she grabbed Aoi's sword arm and began to clamp down on it
"So if there's anything else you got in your toolkit, then bring it. Unless you want me to send you packin' to your shit students?" Sakura added before nailing Aoi with a thunderous uppercut to the sternum
Sakura then followed through a vicious headbutt that staggered Aoi, his head ringing from Sakura smashing into it before she followed it through with a reverse roundhouse kick to the liver and a powerful front kick to the stomach. The stunned Ame jonin pushed chakra into his legs to try and get away so he could regroup and unleash an attack with his umbrella, yet Sakura used her great amount of physicality to leap into the air after him to grab him by his midsection and proceeded to manuever herself so she could power slam him back into the ground.
The pink-haired assassin then quickly rose to get atop the former Konoha shinobi and wrap her arms around his neck for a rear-naked choke; that had Aoi soon struggling to get her off of him as she went to work on trying to crush his windpipe with a vengeance. However, it was easier said than done given the fact that Sakura despite her comparatively short stature to Aoi was able to maintain control and keep down to the ground, either by kicking his legs out from under him or using her greater brute strength to off balance and throw him down onto the ground once more.
The wielder of the Sword of the Thunder God whilst mentally cursing his lackluster taijutsu skills, as he couldn't outmaneuver or outpower the young woman who was dead-set on either breaking his neck or crushing his windpipe like she was a human anaconda. Thusly, he was forced into doing the only option he had left as he struggled to once again stand as Sakura had rolled herself underneath him so as to gain better leverage to choke him out with, and that was to concentrate as much chakra as possible into the blade and unleash it all as an explosion of electrical energy.
From there the area lit up with a brilliant golden light as a loud BOOOMMM echoed throughout the forest; shaking the area and tearing up the ground around them as arcs of golden lightning ripped apart the ground around them. However, once the thick cloud of smoke and electrified rubble cleared as both landed and crashed some 70 feet from each other while the area around them smoked and Aoi staggered to his feet; smoking and coughing from his face having nearly turned blue from Sakura's chokehold; Sakura, on the other hand, had a feral grin upon her face.
'Well, with all the damage he's done so far. It looks like 30 oughtta do it…then again since I'm normally a sucker for overkill. Then 35% should do it.' Sakura thought to herself as she began to activate her Removal to said percentage
"And let's see if his sword can stop one of my own super moves." Sakura spoke as she clenched her right fist as hard as possible
All the while Aoi who was still recovering from his attack to disengage from Sakura and his semi-crushed windpipe felt a large amount of killing intent coming towards him at incredible speeds, as such he held his stolen blade at the ready to retaliate at any given moment. However, by the time Sakura had closed the distance for him to retaliate; Aoi found himself unable to as an intense pressure in his chest forced him to drop it as every rib in his body was shattered; and his insides feeling as though they were stricken by a ten-ton hammer.
As suddenly a near-deafening shockwave of pure force erupted as Sakura had unleashed her attack in the form of an Ironbreaker-enhanced right cross to his sternum; that pierced through armor, flesh and bone like it was made of wet-tissue paper; as she used the force of it to drive Aoi into the ground beneath them. The earth cratering and fracturing itself as though a giant had stamped upon it, and yet as Sakura stood above Aoi who had a watermelon-sized whole through his abdomen; the crater she had stood seemed to have the shape of its sundered surface take the distorted shape of a cherry blossoms' petals.
'Sweet, looks like my Adamantine Cherry Blossom was a success.' Sakura remarked to herself as she swiped the Sword of the Thunder God from Aoi's corpse and put it in her satchel
"Shame you weren't as strong as I hoped for my first time, but at least you made for pretty good target practice." Sakura remarked before grabbing the decimated corpse of Aoi and returning to Karura
(4 days later, Haruno Household, July 21st, 996 S.E, 2:10 Pm)
It was a couple of days later, as Sakura was currently with her mother and grandfather who wanted to congratulate her on her 1st assassination and as such her official induction as part of the Kure Clan.
"Thanks for throwing the party for me, ma. You know you didn't have to." Sakura said as her mother brought out a cake in one hand and a pair of glasses in the other
"Nonsense, Sakura. Not only did you do a fantastic job for your first hit, but you also got back one of our villages' sacred weapons. So if anything I'd say that you deserve this and more." Mebuki spoke with high-spirits over her daughters' first successful assassination
'My little girl growing up to be a hit-woman...Where does the time fly.' Mebuki said to herself
"After all, from what Karura told your grandfather and I. You killed Aoi and his genin squad all under 15 minutes. Which for your first time is more than impressive." Mebuki added
"Oh come on, what I did wasn't all that impressive. All I did was take what Ohma-sensei and everyone in the clan taught me, and put it to good use." Sakura replied
"I will have to agree with my granddaughter on this, young lady. You proved yourself capable and talented enough to be an official part of our clan…Therefore, I will not hear any attempts to mask the simple fact that you had done absolutely splendid on this task." Came the voice of one Erioh Kure who stepped into the room
"...Alright, fine, grandpa…But personally, I don't see it as all that great. Because; there's a lot bigger fish than Aoi Rokusho out there that I have my eyes on. So until I get one of them, then that's when I'll be all ready to go to shout that I'm the shit from the rooftops." Sakura told her grandfather
"Oh really, and who is it that you have your sights set on; for your future target?" Erioh inquired in interest
"I've got one of the 7 Swordsman of the Bloody Mist in my crosshairs. I want either Zabuza Momochi's head or Raiga Kurosuki's head for myself. It's either one of them, or the 2 or 4 tails jinchuuriki. Since those guys are in my top 4 of dream targets to assassinate." Sakura answered back
Since to Sakura if she was going to have something to brag about as an assassin, then she wanted it to be something that next to no one could dare to top, and targets that would have her go down in the history books as one of the greatest to ever do it.
"Those are quite the high-priority targets you have your sights set on." Erioh remarked
"Hey, if I'm gonna be as great as my great-grandpa, cousin Raian or even ma. Then I gotta aim high. I mean look at you grandpa, you were a god-tier menace back in your day! So I gotta go big and get strong enough to kill 'em all, if I wanna be half as great as you." Sakura said back as the elder Kure let out a small chuckle
"Sakura, my dear. While I'm flattered that you want to emulate what I accomplished decades ago. I would advise you to do things your own way…Trust me when I say that things are a lot different back in my day, then they are now." Erioh said to his granddaughter with an earnest smile
"Granted, they've made things quite a bit too soft for my liking. But nonetheless, I encourage you to take things one small step at a time." Erioh added with a distaste for how they've laxed things from when he was a shinobi
"Your grandfather does have a point, sweetheart. Don't get it wrong, we think its great that you want to aim big and go after those targets. However, I think it's best if you work your way up to that…You might have the potential to be one of the strongest of the Kure clan. However, you still have a very, very long ways to go before you can kill off any of those people you listed off." Mebuki told her daughter
"I know, I know. But I just want to go out there and do that awesome stuff already! I'm getting sick of being stuck in a musty-old classroom all day, where Iruka-sensei talks us to death." Sakura responded
"Well, sweetheart. I can't say I blame you for being tired of being in a classroom all day. Because, myself and your father…god rest his soul; were more people who loved being in the meatgrinder. In fact, its' how we met…Good times." Mebuki said back in fond memory of less 'troublesome' times
"I am in full agreement with your mother, Sakura. The fact that they don't even have you commit your first kills anymore is nonsensical at best. Your supposed to be shinobi, and yet some of these youngsters don't even know how to slit someone's throat without freezing up…How despicable." Erioh said in disgust whilst Mebuki poured all 3 of them lemonade
"To be fair, dad, not every genin has that killer instinct in them as we do. After all, we're literally natural-born killers from the day we learn to walk…Some of these little bastards trying to wear the headband on the other hand are just cannon fodder, not shit else." Mebuki replied in full acknowledgment that some didn't have a killer instinct in them
"Let's be real, even with Sakura holding back at the academy. Not everyone can be as talented as my little girl." Mebuki said back with a proud smile
"That is true, given the fact that you do have one of the highest removal rates at 93%. That combined with your stellar first outing and prowess at taijutsu. Makes you more than exceptional in my eyes." Erioh spoke in seeing his granddaughter as having something of a once in a generational talent
"Thanks, grandpa. That means a lot coming from the worlds' greatest menace." Sakura said back with a small smile
"Of course, that being said I do have to ask why it is that you hold yourself back?" Erioh questioned
"I'm not following grandpa?" Sakura asked whilst the elder Kure drank from his glass
"I'm talking about why it is that you hold back your true strength in the academy? Your capabilities are far beyond that of your classmates, and dare I say equal to that pissant Minato's brats. So why is it that you do not prove yourself and the Kure Clan as superior?" Erioh questioned his piercing bone-white eyes staring into Sakura
"Because I want to be a genin with my friends." Sakura answered back whilst under the ever-penetrating gaze of the Kure elder
"...Look, grandpa, I want to make you and the clan proud of me more than anything. But I want to be on a squad of people who I know are gonna have my back a 120% of the time, can help me get even stronger, and most of all are people who I actually want to go to bat for when shit goes sideways…That's why I'm holding back, grandpa. Not out of disrespect or anything like that, but because I want to be with people I actually give a shit about." Sakura told her great-grandfather
"And you are positive that these friends of yours are worth you holding yourself back?" Erioh further questioned his wizened gaze ever more piercing and almost unsettling to look at
"I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, there's going to be plenty of chances for me to show the world what the Kure clan can do. I mean there's the Chunin Exams that's gonna be happening in a short while." Sakura told Erioh who's hardened expression softened somewhat
"While I will accept your reasoning for holding yourself back, to gain favorable comrades. I do want you to cease this the moment you gain your headband. I will not have anyone of the Kure Clan, and much less those from my very blood make themselves lesser for any reason. Am I clear?" Erioh said back with the authority and command of someone of his stature as one of the most formidable assassins in history
"Don't worry, grandpa. Once I get on my genin team. I'm gonna make sure that everyone knows I'm the greatest menace to ever come out of Konoha, and that the Kure Clan is the greatest! I'm talking better than the Hyuga clan and their shitty taijutsu." Sakura declared to her mother and great-grandfather
'That my daughter, alright…She certainly has her fathers' enthusiasm for certain.' Mebuki internally remarked in seeing the spirit of her late husband in her daughter
"Now that is what I want to hear from you, Sakura…However, that being said I feel as though we should focus more on the celebration of my granddaughter's accomplishment." Erioh said
"I agree granddad, she certainly is one of a kind!" Mebuki replied before hearing knocks at the door
"Speaking of that should be everyone else…Sakura would you mind letting everyone in?" Mebuki asked of her daughter
"No problem at all, ma. I'll be right back!" Sakura said leaving the two Kure in the room
"So granddad, can you believe my little girl is finally one of us?" Mebuki asked with pride and happiness clear in her voice
"I am, Mebuki. If Sakura's performance against that scoundrel is anything to by. Then I'm sure that she's going to be one of our best…In fact, I might wager she'll be equal to Raian one of these days." Erioh answered back in regards to his granddaughter
"I don't doubt it, since she certainly is Kizashi's daughter after all. She has his smile and fighting spirit." Mebuki said over the sounds of Sakura greeting her cousins
"Aye, she certainly does." Erioh replied in agreement
"In the meantime, why don't we go and greet the rest of our family…I can already hear Sakura and Raian roughhousing with each other." Erioh said with a small chuckle as the thuds of Sakura and the larger Raian wrestling in the living room could be hear
"Not again…Knock it off you two, I know this is a celebration, but that doesn't mean you can mess up my living room! This house isn't built to stand up with your buillshit, Raian!" Mebuki barked out as she ran to stop the 'playful' roughhousing that was bound to tear her living room apart for the 28th time in a row
'Ah, you love to see it don't you.' Erioh said to himself as he took another small drought of his lemonade
(2 days later, Ichiraku Ramen, July 23rd, 996 S.E, 1:25 Pm)
It was the following Saturday for our trio of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were currently hanging out with the pink-haired assassin in celebration of her 1st assassination.
"Well, congratulations, Sakura. You finally made it as a badass assassin!" Naruto congratulated his longtime friend
"Thanks, Naruto, but this is just the beginning." Sakura said the superhuman blonde
"If anything this means I gotta train even harder than ever." Sakura added
"So we simply keep doing what we already have been?" Sasuke asked
"More or less of the same, yeah. But instead, we ramp it up even another couple notches! Because I want us to be nothing but straight-up badasses once we graduate!" Sakura answered back
"Sounds reasonable enough. Although given Naruto's abilities, I would say we should have everything we need to be incredible as is." Sasuke said in regards to Naruto's supernatural abilities
"Yeah, but you forget Sasuke. I still got so much I gotta understand with all my stuff so that I'm good with it. That's why we gotta stay on top of things…Since if I gotta be on it with what I can do, then so do the rest of you guys." Naruto replied
"Hey, I'm not against having to train more. If anything I'm all for it, and you know that more than anyone." Sakura said back in as an avid enjoyer of training and sparring
"I know that all too well, Sakura. Given who your family is, and how they're a clan of super-menaces." Naruto remarked at the Kure Clan being one of the most dangerous clans in all of Konoha
"Well, considering that we've been doing this shit for over several hundred years at this point. It's a given that everyone in the clan are super menaces to society. I mean even Fusui is one of the best snipers in the village for a reason and then some." Sakura replied in regards to her cousin
"Sakura does have a point concerning her cousin Fusui. That woman is the best marksman in all of the Anbu…Her skills are so great in fact that she's able to outclass even Itachi." Sasuke said surprising Naruto at this tidbit of info
"Wait there's someone that's actually better than Itachi at something?!" Naruto said
"Its' shocking I know…But yes, Sakura's cousin outclasses my brother when it comes to marksmanship. It doesn't matter if it is with kunai or shuriken, or even a crossbow. She is able to blow him out of the water with ease…Something that infuriates my brother if I'm to be honest." Sasuke told Naruto
"Is it because she styles on him every time she beats him? Because Fusui does have a habit of flexing on people with her sharpshooter skills." Sakura asked knowing full well the sharpshooting Kure loved to flex/style on people
"That would be the case. Since she does make it a habit of teasing him for being rather shit by comparison." Sasuke answered, recalling numerous a day when his brother would come back irritated from ANBU duty
"To be fair, your brother does deserve it for being an uptight ass all the time…I mean when's the last time he let himself have a little fun every now and again?" Sakura asked back
"If there are two things that don't go together in the same sentence. It would be fun and Itachi. I swear that man is as lively as dried toast." Sasuke noted in regards to his brother being more than lackluster in his eyes
"You would think for an Anbu Captain that he'd be doing anything of interest besides missions. Instead, if it isn't his duties in Anbu, the man does nothing." Sasuke added
"Well, can't say that I blame him. Since he's got Izumi and your nephew to deal with. I'm pretty sure anyone would be tired as shit." Sakura remarked
"Believe me, after having to babysit Akira for them from time to time. You would be worn out too." Sasuke said as Teuchi came out with their bowls of ramen
"Alright, that'll be one chicken and shrimp ramen for Sasuke, a miso pork ramen for Naruto, and a beef and grilled teriyaki ramen for Sakura." Teuchi said to the trio of teens
"Thanks, Mr. Teuchi." Naruto thanked the ramen cook as he proceeded to dig in
"Not a problem at all, by the way its nice to see all 3 of you here again." Teuchi spoke whilst Naruto continued to stuff his face and Sakura and Sasuke started to eat there's
"Well, you've got the best ramen in the village. So of course we'd come here." Sakura told Teuchi as she continued to eat another helping of her ramen
"Thank you very much, and just so the three of you know. Your patronage is always welcome here." Teuchi told them before having to attend to his other customers
"Anyways, Sakura, are there any other plans you have now that you're officially an assassin?" Sasuke questioned
"Not really. I mean other than getting my headband and making it on a squad with you guys. I don't really have anything else planned for right now, since all the big stuff I wanna do isn't until we pass the Chunin exams." Sakura told the Uchiha beside her
"If that's how it is, then I'm pretty sure it won't take long for us too make anything you wanna do happen. Between my powers, you being a menace at taijutsu, and Sasuke our an ace at tactics and swords. Then there isn't anything we can't do!" Naruto said as he devoured another helping of his ramen
"Naruto is right…Together there isn't anything that we cannot accomplish." Sasuke spoke in agreement
"Exactly! So how about we keep going until Sakura is the worlds' strongest menace." Naruto said back
"Fine by me." Was the Uchiha's reply
"Thanks you guys, you two really are the best." Sakura replied with a smile before the three continued to eat their ramen together
'...I really do have great friends.' Sakura remarked to herself as she continued to eat and share in the good cheer with her two closest friends
(The next day, 11:25 Am, Kure Compound, July 24th 996 S.E)
It was nearly half past 11 as Sakura was currently training with her sensei in Ohma Tokita who was helping her to better combine the Niko Style into the Kure clan fighting style, and her father's Lethwei style to make it a much more lethal combination.
"I'll admit Sakura, you've been getting rather good with everything you have been taught so far." Ohma said as he casually parried and countered the ferocious onslaught of punches and elbows thrown at him
"However, you still have a long way to go before you can make me get serious." Ohma told the pink-haired assassin
With him proving so as in one simple motion he used Weeping Willow to cause Sakura's right cross to miss him entirely before sweeping her legs out from under her with a powerful low kick to her left leg, and then slamming her into the ground. Where Sakura within the span of not even a single minute was put into a triangle choke that thanks to her teachers immense agility and technical prowess was able to transition it into a Kimura, that was so soundly locked into her that Sakura was forced to tap out or risk getting her shoulder dislocated.
"...I don't get it I should've had you with that Ironbreaker attack, but once again I got hard countered by you…Just what am I missing?" Sakura wondered
"That is a rather simple question to answer. You have the same problem that Raian once did before I beat him 4 years ago." Ohma said as he watched his student straighten out her shoulder
"You both focus on overwhelming power and strength. Granted you have a better understanding of technique than he did at the time when he purely relied on pure brute force to slaughter his enemies. However, it is that same reliance on overwhelming power and strength that allows someone like myself to be able to take control of your flow of power and use it against it…and rather easily at that." Ohma explained to his student
"So what's your suggestion then? Because I'm not about to switch up my entire fighting style, if that's what you're asking me to do." Sakura asked her sensei
"No, that is not what I am asking you to do. Your fighting style is something that you have been crafting for years. Something that you have been trying to make your own, and personal to yourself. However, that does not mean we cannot make adjustments to make it more effective." Ohma said back whilst knowing that Sakura's hybridized fighting style was something incredibly special and personal to her
"Then what do you advise I do, Ohma-sensei?" Sakura questioned
"Simple. For now, we are going to focus on your learning the Redirection Kata from the Niko Style…Also, we're going to focus on you working on your ability to counter and defend." Ohma answered back
"Any reason why you want me to focus on those two things? I mean I always thought my defense was pretty good…does it really need that much work?" Sakura inquired
"The reason is simple…Learning the Redirection Kata will help you to understand an enemies flow of power and better manipulate it to your advantage. Something that I'm sure you will want if you care to perfect that fighting style of yours." Ohma said to his student
"Well, of course I do. If it means I can get that much closer to mastering your Niko Style, and combining it with the lethality of the Kure Clan style and the aggressive brutality of my father's Lethwei. Then I'll do whatever I can to improve my technique, so I can make the unholy trinity of my own fighting style." Sakura swore to the imposing figure of her sensei who grinned at her answer
"I owe it to everyone and great-grandpa Erioh that I be the worlds' strongest menace. Otherwise, what the hell is all this training gonna be for; if I don't do my damndest." Sakura added
"While I'm glad to hear you want to improve yourself for others, and are on board with learning the Redirection Kata. I do want you to be more selfish with your reasons for fighting and growing stronger." Ohma said to his pink-haired student
"Why do you want me to be more selfish? I'm not exactly getting where you're going with this." Sakura replied in confusion
"Where I'm going with this is that, its fine by me if you want to train and get stronger for others. But if you don't have a selfish reason for why you want to do everything. Then you aren't going to get very far as an assassin, and a lot less as a martial artist." Ohma said back
"Because to do what your cousins do and what you want to do as a shinobi is a naturally selfish and violent thing. That is why you can have all the noble and self-righteous reasons for wanting to fight all you like…But if you aren't a selfish bastard and don't have that monster inside you that lusts to fight for a reason that serves only yourself; then you will never reach your true power." Ohma said to his student
As while Ohma may have grown less arrogant and battle-hungry than what he was years prior, and able to have grown rather attached to the connections he'd built over the years, and evolve as a person in having regained his lost memories. Even he recognized that being a martial artist required you to be a selfish bastard about what you wanted and why you want to do so to become a great one, as it was having those selfish desires from all the fights he had had over the course of his life that led to him fighting against the greatest of warriors in his lifetime.
"I understand, Ohma-sensei, and you won't have to worry about me on that. Because I've got that monster in me and plenty!" Sakura said with a pugnacious grin on her worn face
"We'll see if you do during your training…If you plan to be on equal footing with Karura, myself or even Raian. Then being a monster is a requirement." Ohma spoke while Sakura got back onto her feet for another go-around of training
"Now other than my trying to bullshit you with my phillosophy on fighting. There's the matter of your defense being 'good' for amateur hour." Ohma added in seeing his student get into another fighting stance
"Bullshit, my defense is amateur hour!" Sakura angrily retorted
"This coming from the person who believes an all-out offense is a good defense strategy…give me a fucking break." Ohma shot back as he got back into his own fighting stance
"If that's what you think then how about I show you what I can really do, with a good offense!" Sakura said as she went into 74% of her Removal
"I'll show you. But just so you know, this is going to hurt you alot more than its going to hurt me." Ohma replied as Sakura rushed with great speed to land a flying hook kick to Ohma's skull that he was able to parry and redirect opposite himself
"Bring it!" Sakura bellowed before engaging her sensei in combat
'I'll give her this much. She's definitely Raian's cousin.' Ohma noted as he then went at it again with his student in a high-volume training session
'Just you wait, dad, I'm gonna make you proud and be the greatest menace Konoha has ever seen.' Sakura swore to herself while continuing to attack Ohma with the ferocity of a pissed-off honey badger
So with Sakura having completed her 1st assassination and now inducted as an official member of the Kure Clan, we see her now focus her sights on becoming not only a stronger martial artist, but also one day one of the greatest assassins of her family…How will this go for the aspiring assassin? Find out in the all new chapters of Naruto: The PokeSage!
Well, that takes care of that you guys, as we close this Sakura-focused chapter out for the books. As I hoped you enjoyed my take on things with her, since I think that giving her this boost in things with her background gives her character the punch that I think she needs with how things are going forward, and just makes her fun for me to write overall.
So other than that I hope you guys will enjoy this story since I have more fun stuff to come down the pipeline going forward, so I hope you guys will stick around to see those things happen in Naruto's misadventures. Also, any favorites, follows, reviews or suggestions are more than welcome, as I'm happy to take suggestions on what can make the story better.
But without much more delay this is Pravus666 signing off until next time, with the next chapter having Naruto and company help celebrate Tsunade's birthday and all that jazz. So stay tuned for that!
Part 1 Theme Song: Evolution by Korn
Random End Song: Slaughtered by Pantera
Now then onto some of the reviews from the last chapter.
God of Wind 200: I like where your going for Naruto eventually gaining Mould Breaker and Moxie to his list of powers and abilities, seeing as how they'd make the most sense for him. Furthermore, when Naruto or Sakura have to fight Hinata or his siblings; its definitely gonna be up there with how Spopovich fucked up Videl. Because Sakura and Naruto are both certifiable smoke demons who are the type of people to get there's back in blood.
SPark681: Not neccessarily no. Because I do have plans for making Mizuki a much more prominent character than he was in canon, so don't count him out just yet.
