Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings

[SleepyKamo]

"Normally traveling to the Land of Rice tales about three days! But I think if we keep a steady pace and conserve our energy, we can make it in three!"

Click to shrink...

Missing something here or mistyped either or.

 

[Sadguychet]

A couple days later, Team 3 walked through the village in which their mission objective was held. Compared to most, the village was large but compared to Konoha, Sakura couldn't help but think it was somewhat underwhelming, both in size as well as interesting things to look at.

Though apparently the villagers didn't agree with that sentiment. Sakura had never felt so many eyes on her in her life, following her every step as every villager they passed decided that Team 3 was the most interesting thing they had ever seen in their lives. It was like they were the main attraction in a carnival, with men, women, and children alike watching them with wide eyes as they made their way to the largest building in town.

When they stepped through the doors and the world outside was closed off by several inches of oak, Sakura almost sighed in relief. Being a ninja brought a lot more attention than being a merchant's daughter.

They walked up to the reception area, and the genin hung back while their sensei spoke to the woman at the desk. They exchanged a short barrage of words that Sakura was too far away to make out, before Iwabi handed over a thick scroll and the woman gave him a green slip of paper in return.

Iwabi held the paper up as he walked back to the rest of the team, "Mission complete, everyone. Good job."

Sakura blinked, "That's it?"

Iwabi nodded, "Our mission was to get the scroll here and we did it. Now all we have to do is take this little slip of paper to the proper place and we'll get paid."

Sakura frowned, "Oh."

"What were you expecting?" Tsu asked, amused at Sakura's clear disappointment..

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know, but this all feels so… anticlimactic, I guess. Business like."

"Well it is business." Hikari chuckled, "Not every mission has to be eventful, you know? Exterminating a bandit camp is about as eventful as it should get."

"And it's better that way." Iwabi said, "Trust me. I know some people who couldn't have a normal mission to save their lives. One thing always goes wrong, one way or another."

"I guess." Sakura relented, "I expected C-Ranks to be a bit more exciting though. We just dealt with some bandits and brought a scroll from one place to another. That's not very ninja-like."

"Well when you become a chunin, you can go on B-Rank assassination missions and if you're lucky, you might even be brought along on an A-Rank or two. Those are a lot more fun." Iwabi chuckled.

Tsu perked up as they exited the building and walked into the streets beyond, "Oh hey, speaking of which, the Chunin Exams are coming up, aren't they? Are you gonna let us enter this time, Iwabi-sensei?"

Iwabi made a conflicted face and Sakura tilted her head in slight confusion, "Chunin exams?" She asked.

"They're exams held bi-annually where genin hopefuls can compete for the chance to become chunin." Hikari explained, "They are formatted differently each time, but the final task is almost always a tournament bracket. They're held in a different village every year, and this year it's Konoha's turn."

"Which is why I think we should totally be allowed to compete!" Tsu said enthusiastically, "Last time we weren't able to because we just became genin and they were in Kusa, but this time they're on our home turf! There's no way we can miss out!"

They all looked to their sensei, even Sakura. A chance to become a chunin so soon after graduation sounded like a great opportunity.

Iwabi didn't answer immediately, visibly debating with himself, "I'm not sure." He finally said, "You three have what it takes, that's for sure, but there's more to bring chunin than just strength. I'd like to bring you guys on a few more missions like this before I make a decision, Sakura especially. You only graduated a few months ago. No need to jump rank so soon."

"Aww come on, sensei!" Tsu whined, "It could be a good lesson for her, for all of us!"

"Tsu's right, we could use the experience, even if we don't make the cut." Hikari agreed.

Iwabi chuckled, "Alright alright, I'll think about it. But that's all you're getting from me." He said, and the team shared silent looks of triumph at his words.

They walked back through the village, though Sakura noticed that instead of heading towards the outskirts of the village, they instead made their way deeper into it. She looked at her sensei, wondering where he was leading her.

"Where are we going, sensei?" Tsu echoed her thoughts.

"We're going to the embassy. That's where we'll get paid and also where we'll be staying for the night." He said as they approached a long building that was much better maintained than the rest around it. Two Konoha Shinobi met them at the door, recognizable by their flak jackets and glinting headbands. They nodded at Team 3 as they walked by and headed inside the building, before returning to their duties.

Iwabi nodded at the receptionist but apparently had no need to speak to him as he walked right past the front desk and down the hall. Coming across a pair of rooms side-by-side, Iwabi pushed the door open, revealing a room with two small beds that were already made up, "Tsuyoka, Sakura, this will be your room. Just put your things anywhere but don't unpack. We aren't staying too long."

As Tsu and Sakura stepped in, Iwabi pulled out the slip of paper he'd gotten from the mission, "Hikari and I are gonna go get our money and take care of some post-mission paperwork. In the meantime you two get comfortable."

He didn't have to tell Tsu twice. The moment the door closed, the Inuzuka practically jumped on her bed, relishing in the soft fabric underneath her instead of the hard ground she had come to know. She groaned loudly, "Oh my god, this feels so much nicer than sleeping on dirt. I feel like an old lady with how much my back's been hurting these last few days."

Tadao barked as he joined his master, running around in circles to get comfortable, before plopping down right beside her head. Sakura rolled her eyes, "It's your fault for forgetting your sleeping bag."

As Tsu and Tadao got comfortable on the bed, Sakura settled into her own space, placing her pack by the foot of the bed. She then reached into her tool pouch, pulling out the scroll that she had taken from the bandit camp. Since they were going to be here for a few more hours, she might as well see what was on it.

She undid the small blue ribbon and set it off to the side, before slowly unfurling the scroll. The moment she did, her eyes locked onto the long, dark strokes of ink that she had come to associate with sealing and as she unfurled it even more, her eyes widened at what she was met with.

The entire scroll was one complicated mess of seals, most of which Sakura couldn't even identify. Along the bottom of the scroll, written in normal ink, was a set of instructions for what seemed like some kind of jutsu, hand seals included.

Ignoring that for now in favor of the much more interesting part of the scroll, Sakura's analytical mind went into overdrive as she tried to parse out the components that were delicately woven into the thick lines of the matrix before her. She could pick out some things that she recognized from her own studies, but most of it was completely unknown to her. The only thing that she could say for certain that she knew was that the seal was blood activated, as she could see the blood recognition matrix linked to the outer rings of the inner chakra lattice.

"Whoever made this really knew what they were doing. I've never seen a style like this before." Sakura muttered as she poured over the delicate inscriptions. She searched for anything that might be dangerous, a trap or alarm that would sound if she messed with it the wrong way, but couldn't find anything. There was something along the outer edges of the seal that she just barely recognized as a modified linking matrix, meant to connect the seal to somewhere else, but she couldn't actually see what it was supposed to be connected to.

"Woah!" Sakura jumped as Tsu's voice sounded right behind her, and she whipped her head around to find the Inuzuka staring at the scroll with wide eyes, "Where in the world did you manage to get your hands on a summoning contract?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked back towards the scroll in disbelief.

"I got it from the bandits… You really think it's a summoning contract?"

"Oh yeah. It's definitely a contract, see?" Tsu pointed at a line near the bottom, "Once you make a contract, your name gets written here in blood. Usually, it's permanent even if the contract gets broken, so maybe this one hasn't been used yet?"

Sakura looked at the scroll in a new light, and now that she actually had an idea of what it was for, the seals began to make sense. The reason there wasn't a destination for the linking seal was because it wasn't anywhere nearby! It was meant to summon creatures or people from far away.

Sakura gazed at the empty line where the recipient was supposed to sign, noticeably blank just like Tsu had said. Was it a new contract? Or maybe one that had been remade. Why was it with the bandits? Had they stolen it? Or was it fake?

No, it definitely wasn't fake. Sakura might not recognize most of the seals here, but they were definitely real. There was a consistent pattern and style in each brush stroke, indicating that the sealer had an intent behind what they were doing.

"What contract do you think it is?" Tsu asked as she leaned over Sakura's shoulder, "The scroll was wrapped in blue so maybe it has something to do with water."

Sakura snorted, "Or maybe they just liked the color blue? I'm not sure a ribbon is really a good indicator of what's inside."

"What's inside what?" Hikari asked as they walked in the room, closely followed by their sensei. They gazed curiously at the scroll in Sakura's hand as Iwabi tossed two bundles of cash towards the girls on the bed.

"Sakura apparently nicked a summoning contract from the bandits and we're trying to figure out what it summons."

"Really?" Hikari gave the scroll a surprised look, "That's quite a find, Sakura."

Iwabi also looked surprised, gazing at the scroll with interest, "Hikari's right, those scrolls are extremely rare. Konoha has maybe five and there are probably less than thirty in all the Elemental Nations. If you decided to sell it, you could probably get as much as an A-Rank mission from the village."

Sakura looked down at the scroll, not really all that surprised by how much it was worth. Summoning contracts were insanely rare, just like Iwabi said, and coming across one was basically like coming across a massive uncut diamond if you could find the right buyer. Which wasn't all too hard considering any major village would be stupid to give one up.

The question was, did Sakura want to sell it? Having a summon was basically a requirement for any legendary ninja. The Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, Hanzo the Salamander, all of them had a summon backing them up and helping them on their journey. And here was a chance for Sakura to get her own…

"I think I'll keep it." Sakura decides, rolling the scroll back up, "I'm not sure what summon it even is, but any summon is better than none, right? Even if I'll probably never be able to summon anything big with my chakra stores, they could still be useful to have."

Iwabi gave her a proud look, "That's a good call. Always better to have another trick up your sleeve than another zero in your bank account. Ninja don't usually retire, but with an attitude like that, you might be one of the few who do."

"If you don't like the animal you get, can I have the contract?" Tsu asked, only to yelp and jerk her hand off of the bed, rubbing at her stinging wrist tenderly, "Ow, dammit Tadao! I was kidding!"

The ninkin just growled, gnashing his teeth and threatening to bite her again. Sakura giggled, "I don't think your partner would like that very much. From what I heard, ninkin can be pretty jealous."

"Yeah, well you heard right." Tsu gave Tadao the stink eye, "Keep the scroll. I'd probably have to burn it to keep him from chewing my wrists off."

"Alright, you three." Iwabi clapped his hands, "We'll spend the night here and get some rest, and go back to Konoha in the morning. I'd advise actually getting some sleep in a comfy bed while you can. The return trip is never any easier."

~~~

The next morning, the genin of Team 3 raced through the forest towards their home country all by their lonesome. Their sensei had stayed back to take care of something in the village and had professed that he'd simply catch up to them in an hour or so, trusting them to make the relatively short journey to the Rice Country's border by themselves.

They set a steady pace, making sure not to deviate from the path they had approached on so that their sensei would know exactly where they had gone. As always, Hikari was in the lead.

"Do you think we should set up and wait by that waterfall we passed on the way?" Tsu asked from Sakura's left. Tadao was still with Iwabi as the pup had caught a bad case of food poisoning from something he had gotten into the day before and was sleeping it off. Tsu was sure he would be fine in a day or so, but wanted to let him rest a bit before traveling with him.

"We could." Hikari took the suggestion into consideration, "I have a feeling that he's probably right behind us anyway. He didn't tell me what he was doing exactly, but he didn't seem to think it would take long."

"So where are you guys headed?"

"!" "AH!" "HOLY SHIT!"

The voice came from directly behind them, startling everyone present. Sakura whipped around, her hand automatically pulling out a senbon from her tool pouch and chucking it directly at whoever had snuck up on them. It caught the figure in the shoulder, and they grunted, backing away from the group and onto an adjacent tree branch as everyone present came to a halt.

As she and her team formed up, Sakura scrutinized the person that had somehow managed to sneak up on all of them, even Tsu. It was a girl around their age, with straight black hair hanging down to her waist, pale skin, and poisonous purple eyes. There was a sword strapped to their back and they were wearing an open, fur-collar jacket that allowed everyone present a generous view of their low-cut top and ample bust.

Any jealousy that Sakura might have felt was completely wiped away at the gleaming metal band hanging just above her breasts, three gleaming clouds inscribed into the metal. Kumo.

The girl looked down at the senbon embedded into her shoulder, completely nonplussed, "Ow, right in the shoulder blade." She said as she poked it lightly, ignoring the blood spreading across her jacket, "That's some pretty good aim you've got. It's been a while since I've gotten pegged like that and-oh! Is that poison? Nice touch."

Sakura watched with wide eyes as the girl ripped the senbon out of her shoulder like it was a splinter. The poison coursing through her veins should have been making it hard for her to stand without falling over, but it was like she wasn't affected at all!

"Here, you can have this back." She tossed the senbon back at Sakura, who snatched it out of the air, "Guess that's what I get for sneaking up on you guys, but I've never seen ninja from Konoha before so I guess I got a little excited."

Team 3 shared cautious glances with one another. Kumo wasn't Konoha's enemy and hadn't been since the last war, and some could even say relations were improving between them barring a certain incident a few years back, but it wasn't unheard of for groups of their respective villages to find each other in the open and come into conflict.

"Uh, sorry about that. I sorta just reacted on instinct." Sakura apologized to the girl as she stowed her senbon away, "Are you okay? I have the antidote right here."

To her surprise, the girl shook her head, "Nah, don't worry about it. I can't even feel it really. Besides, I'm really excited right now and I don't want to waste any time!"

Her words set off red flags with Sakura's entire team. They shared tense looks, liking this less and less by the second. Who was this girl, and why was she following them? And more importantly, where was the rest of her team?

"Why are you excited?" Sakura hesitantly asked as she stepped closer to Tsu and Hikari.

"Oh, that's simple, but you're probably not going to like the answer." The girl's purple eyes practically glowed as she leaned forward, uttering the next words in an almost calm manner that was undercut by a childish amount of eagerness hidden just below the surface, "I'm excited because if that poison was your go-to, I can't wait to see what else you have in store for me."

Sakura blinked and that was more than enough time for the girl to close the distance between them and slam a fist into her face, knocking her off of the tree and sending her plummeting down to the forest below.

---

Get chapters to this fic and all others early at Sadguychet | Patreon! Chapter 21 has just been posted!

 

[Redd123]

I really hope that is the salamander contract, because Nagito probably destroyed the the original when he went scorched earth on Hanzo, and they seemed to be interesting summons that would more than help her in her quest to be a legendary ninja, I mean there last user basically beat up three ninja than said "I like your moxie so I am going to let you live and give you a title." Hanzo may have not been shown much but there was no doubt that he was beyond most ninja exept one like Madara, and those like him with just his posion and weapon usage alone!

 

[Sadguychet]

Since she was a kid, Sakura had always been told she had freakish strength, but she never had anything to equate it to. Now she did. Even though she was shorter than Sakura herself, this girl hit like a mule.

The pinkette's cheek throbbed as she fell backwards towards the forest floor and she was pretty sure she could taste blood in her mouth from how hard her teeth had clacked together. Regaining her bearings with a shake of her head, she flipped herself upright, landing on a soft bed of chakra instead of the hard earth below her. She looked up to the treetops, and her eyes widened before she launched herself out of the way moments before the Kumo ninja came crashing down where she had been kneeling.

The other girl's sandal left an imprint in the packed earth where she had landed, and she wasted no time in launching towards Sakura as she fled, a wild grin on her face as she closed the distance.

Narrowing her eyes and squaring her stance, Sakura met the Kumo nin halfway, engaging her in taijutsu as she waited for her team to come back her up against this maniac.

They met one another and Sakura immediately had to slap aside a fist aimed for her jaw, before ducking under the high kick that the Kumo nin seamlessly transitioned into after her first whiffed attack. Sakura tried to get her with a leg sweep before her other foot returned to the ground, but she jumped over it, using Sakura's head as a springboard to flip over her.

Sakura whirled around and tried to punch the other girl in the face, but her fist was caught by a hand without any effort. She tried to pull away, but the Kumo nin held fast, grabbing her wrist with her other hand.

"And up we go!" She shouted like this was a game, and Sakura's eyes widened as her legs left the ground and she was sent flying. She had just literally thrown Sakura over her shoulder.

She's strong!' Sakura thought as she flipped herself upright. The Kumo nin was approaching her again, though this time it was clear that she wasn't in much of a hurry.

"Come on!" She yelled as she ran towards Sakura, "Show me some more poison! That wasn't all you had, was it?"

"I've got something better than some poison!" Sakura pulled Teashi's scroll from her hip and unsealed the puppet in one deft motion, before sending it soaring through the resulting smoke at the kunoichi standing across from her. Teashi's sickles extended from her arms with a click as she closed the distance, and the Kumo nin's eyes widened.

To Sakura's chagrin, instead of being afraid of the puppet coming towards her, the girl actually seemed excited by it, and she smiled even as she reached towards the sword on her back and unsheathed it,"A puppet user? That's so cool! I've never fought one of you before! This might actually be a challenge now!"

Growling, Sakura swung her arms wide, manipulating Teashi expertly. The Kumo nin blocked the first swipe of her poisoned sickles and dodged the second, before following up with a swipe from her sword. It scored a hit along Teashi's long cloak, luckily missing her actual body, but the strike made Sakura extremely wary. She pulled her puppet back a bit, getting ready to change up her attack strategy, only to balk as the Kumo nin suddenly ran past her creation straight at her.

"From what I recall, you guys are basically sitting ducks while your puppet's out, right?" She yelled as she closed the distance in a second.

Scrambling to defend herself, Sakura bent backwards to dodge a swipe of her sword and blocked the followup kick with her arms, but her guard was immediately broken by the incredible amount of force behind the kick, and her eyes widened as the girl's sandal slammed into her sternum.

"Sakura!" Hikari yelled in shock as they landed in the clearing as well, watching as the pinkette flew across the clearing, slamming against a nearby tree with a crack that echoed through the forest. Teashi fell to the ground as her chakra strings disappeared alongside her concentration, and Sakura groaned, looking up at the girl who had done the damage to find her grinning at her.

"Come on! I know you've got more in you than that!"

"How about you try this on for size!" Tsu yelled out from above her, and the girl's eyes widened as she looked up to find the Inuzuka coming down towards her like a rocket, arms held back and sword poised to lop off her head with a single strike.

Metal flashed and sparks flew as there was suddenly another sword stuck directly in the path of Tsu's odachi. Everyone present stared in shock as the Kumo nin raised up her sword and blocked Tsu's surprise attack with a single arm. She didn't even flinch, and shocked brown eyes stared into purple as Tsu fell to the ground, sword still locked against her opponent's much smaller blade.

"That was pretty cool!" The Kumo nin said, looking excited despite how close she had just come to death, "I didn't even see you coming towards me until you yelled! You're just genin, right? Maybe all that talk about Konoha having the strongest ninja isn't just a myth after all!"

She then held up two fingers in front of her mouth and inhaled deeply, and Tsu only had the opportunity to widen her eyes before the girl suddenly exhaled a stream of white mist directly into her face.

The Inuzuka immediately stumbled backwards, swinging her sword wildly and wiping furiously at her watering eyes, "Shit! My eyes! I can't see!"
"Tsu!" Sakura yelled, horrified as she watched her friend trip over her own feet and fall on the ground. She glared at the girl responsible, "Why are you doing this? I apologized for stabbing you! It was just an accident!"

"This has nothing to do with that! In fact, you stabbing me just made me want to do this even more!" The girl twirled her sword, grinning wildly, "That poison of yours really interested me! Anytime I come across people like you, my blood starts racing and I just have to see what you're made of! It's one of the only reasons I became a ninja in the first place!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. What kind of rationale was that!?
Hikari's eyes narrowed, "You cannot just go around attacking other ninja without provocation. That is how you start a war."

"Nah, it'll be fine, trust me. I do this all the time." The girl said flippantly, clutching her sword and pointing at Hikari, "Now how about you go next? I've never fought a Hyuga before. You guys can shut down chakra networks, right? I wanna see how that feels!"

Hikari shared a look with Sakura, a wordless conversation passing between the two of them in an instant, and both of them came to the realization that this girl was definitely insane. From the way she was talking to the fact that she had attacked Sakura literally out of nowhere, there was no way she was in her right mind and more importantly, she wasn't going to back down if Hikari said no.

Hikari's eyes hardened and they turned back to the girl, "Very well. Prepare yourself, for I will not be holding back."

The Kumo nin bared her teeth, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Come on!"

Hikari took a deep breath, holding a hand in front of their face, before their eyes widened and their chakra flared sharply.

"Byakugan!"

The veins around Hikari's eyes bulged in an almost grotesque manner as they activated their kekkei-genkai, granting them sight far beyond anything Sakura or Tsu were capable of. And then, as they gazed upon the kunoichi that they had been battling, they suddenly went stock-still.

"Hikari?" Sakura called hesitantly, wondering what was going on as Hikari stayed frozen. The other kunoichi seemed to know, as she suddenly frowned.

"Oh, you saw it, didn't you?" The Kumo nin sounded disappointed, "That's not good. I'm gonna get yelled at for that."

"What is that?" Hikari's eyes were glued to the Kumo nin an expression of confusion and slight disgust plastered on their face, "Your chakra… its-"

"Classified." The Kumo nin said cheerfully, though there was a hint of steel behind her tone, "And if you talk about it, I'm gonna have to turn this match from friendly to serious real quick. So what do you say you forget what you saw, come over here, and try to punch my face in. Sound good?"

Hikari's face hardened and they got into a low stance, "Very well. Let's see how you fare against me."

The Hyuga blurred and the girl did the same. They met in the center of the clearing with a thunderous clap and immediately began exchanging blows too fast for Sakura to see. They stopped for a brief moment, long enough for Sakura to catch a flash of red, before Hikari shouted in pain.

They broke apart, and Hikari breathed heavily, clutching onto their right bicep where their sleeve was slowly turning crimson.

"Got you~" The Kumo nin said cheerfully as she twirled her sword to clean the blood from the blade, "You're pretty good, but just coating your hands in chakra won't let you block my sword."

"I realize that now." Hikari said grimly.

"Hikari! Are you alright?" Sakura called out to her friend. The Hyuga nodded slowly, pulling their hand away to reveal a large gash in their arm.

"I'm fine. I just underestimated her." Hikari reached up to their headband, pulling it off of their head and wrapping it tightly around their bleeding bicep. Sakura caught a flash of something on their forehead before it was hidden by their long hair, and Hikari grunted, "It won't happen again."

"That's the spirit! Come at me!"

Hikari attacked again, this time doing their best to set the pace of the battle. The Kumo nin responded in kind, upping the ante of her attacks as she used her sword and body in conjunction to fend off Hikari's much more eager assault.

The Hyuga was doing much better this time and yet it quickly became clear that it wouldn't be enough. Even with Hikari's increased enthusiasm for the battle, the Kumo nin was barely even trying, evident by the smile on her face.

Breaking free of the battle, Hikari leapt back to stand on the side of a nearby tree, weaving hand-seals. Sakura recognized the seals and her eyes widened, before narrowing in realization. She reached out and reeled Teashi in, before sending the puppet high into the treetops, waiting for the right opportunity.

Their opponent wasn't willing to wait, and she rushed forward, blade held aloft as she prepared to stop the Hyuga's jutsu, "Oh no you don't!"

"PAY ATTENTION!" Tsu appeared behind the Kumo nin, her eyes red and full of tears as her odachi whistled towards the enemy ninja's back. Once again, her attack was blocked, but she didn't let up, continuing to swing her sword as she tried her damndest to cut the Kumo nin into pieces. She was moving faster than Sakura had ever seen her, rage fueling her actions as she tried to defeat this ninja who was practically running circles around them all

And yet, it was clear once again that the Kumo nin was barely even trying, that same grin on her face as she dodged and blocked the Inuzuka's assault like it was nothing at all. Tsu on the other hand, wasn't quite as lucky. Even from here, Sakura could see that the Kumo nin managed to score multiple hits on the girl's body every time she lashed out with her own razor-sharp blade. Sakura bit her lip, wishing that she could get in there and help her, but she had to wait for Hikari to get done.

Luckily for both her and Tsu, she didn't have to wait much longer.

"Earth Release: Mobile Core!"
Hikari finally finished their jutsu, and with a loud shout that echoed through the clearing, they jumped down from the tree and slammed their hands against the ground. The earth around Hikari and the Kumo nin rumbled powerfully before suddenly sinking downwards. Tsu, having expected it, was able to jump up and out of the sinkhole before it became too deep. The girl they had been fighting on the other hand, wasn't so lucky, and fell deeply into the pit that had been created.

The trap was set. Teashi swooped from the treetops in a blur, joints clicking loudly as she darted towards the hole Hikari's jutsu made in a blur. As she approached, Sakura activated several hidden mechanisms in the back of the puppet's head and Teashi's eyes came loose and rolled out of her sockets, straight into the hole. Sakura pulled the puppet back towards her as Tsu jumped to her side to watch the fallout.

Teashi's eyes weren't just for decoration or aesthetic. Painstakingly inscribed on the back of each of the wooden orbs was a tiny explosive seal keyed specifically to Sakura's chakra. Sure, their small size made it almost impossible to get the same amount of oomph that you would get from an actual explosive tag, but the fact that there were several of them more than made up for it.

Sakura watched grimly as the sinkhole made by Hikari's jutsu lit up brightly with explosions. The earth rumbled and split apart, before collapsing inwards into a much larger sinkhole, burying the Kumo nin underneath several hundred pounds of dirt and rock.

As the dust settled and their opponent showed no signs of reappearing, Team 3 slowly began to relax. Hikari stood from their kneeling position and Tsu sighed loudly, resting her sword on her shoulder, wincing at her numerous wounds. Sakura gave her a concerned look, but she just waved it off, smiling at the pinkette.

"Nice job, Sakura. I don't think even sensei could come back from that one." She said, staring at the destruction that had been caused, "At least now we don't have to burn the body. I doubt Kumo will find her in the middle of nowhere-"

Hikari made a surprised noise, and the other members of Team 3 glanced over at the Hyuga to find them staring at the hole with wide, bulging eyes, "Hikari? What's wro-!"

Sakura cut herself off as she looked back towards the hole and was met with a sight that curled her spine. Two hands reached out from underneath the mass of rocks, glistening in some sort of slimy substance that Sakura had never seen before. And then a head of dark hair appeared, and then a body as the Kumo nin dragged herself up from her supposed grave in front of the horrified genin.

She stood on shaky feet, her entire body covered in a thin layer of that same slime. It oozed off of her, sizzling the ground where she was standing as she raised her arms high into the air.

"That was pretty good teamwork." She said, groaning as her back cracked in several places. She was covered in dust and bruised to hell and back, but she wwas smiling just as widely as before. She reached down towards the hole, pulling her sword out and shaking the dust off as even more slime sloughed off of her body. She pointed it at them, giving them a smile that made Sakura shiver, "Show me more!"

She burst forward and Hikari and Tsu moved to meet her. The Kumo nin met them with relish, moving just as fast as before despite her injuries as she fought both of them at the same time without any issues.

As they fought, Sakura didn't remain idle. She sent her creation forth towards the battling genin. She maneuvered the puppet to flank around the fighting trio as her teammates kept the girl occupied, coming up behind her so that she might score a solid hit and end this mess. Hikari and Tsu saw what she was doing and upped the intensity of their strikes, trying their best to make sure that the Kumo nin wouldn't have the opportunity to dodge or get away.

She came at the battling pair from her unoccupied side, and suddenly she was surrounded by a three prong assault that she had absolutely no chance of escaping.

Deciding to make sure that was true, Sakura manipulated her puppet once more. Teashi's secondary arms lifted and there was a loud hydraulic hiss, before ninja wire burst from her palms. Because she was preoccupied with the others, the Kumo nin wasn't able to defend herself from the wires which wrapped around her body multiple times before pulling taut, trapping her arms against her torso.

The Kumo nin looked around, taking in Tsu coming from the left, Hikari in front of her, and Teashi coming from the right, and her excited expression finally gave way to shock as she realized that she had been got.

But then she smiled, and Sakura's eyes widened as a flare of strange, almost poisonous chakra leaked into the air. It laid across Sakura skin like a miasma, clogging her throat and raising her hackles as she flinched in surprise.

White foam bubbled up from underneath the Kumo nin's pores, sizzling and steaming in the open air. Sakura watched in shock and horror as the foam burned through her wires in an instant, allowing her to move once more, before continuing to expand even more. Hikari jumped back as their instincts screamed at them to move, and even the headstrong Inuzuka abandoned her assault in favor of fleeing the strange foam.

They landed beside Sakura as the pinkette reeled her puppet back towards her, and all of them watched warily as a veritable wall of white, steaming foam grew larger and larger before slowly coming to a stop well past the point that it would have hit both Hikari and Tsu had they not retreated.

"What the hell is that stuff?" Tsu hissed, staring at the foam as she covered her nose, "It smells like death."

"It looks even worse." Hikari said grimly, and Sakura suddenly realized that the Hyuga's byakugan was still active, "It's like a pulsing mass of malignant chakra. Just looking at it is making me sick."

"You saw something earlier, Hikari. When you looked at her." Sakura said as she eyed the steaming foam, "What was it?"

Hikari hesitated, looking slightly traumatized, "It was-"

"CLASSIFIED!"

The girl burst out of the foam with an angry expression, purple eyes practically glowing. She raised her sword, pointing it at them all as she shook foam out of her hair, "I already told you to keep quiet, but now I'm gonna have to make sure you do. Get ready, cause I'm about to stop holding back."

What? Sakura's eyes widened as the girl suddenly disappeared from sight, not even a blur or shadow to indicate where she had gone. She looked around, trying to find where the Kumo nin had disappeared to buy was completely unsuccessful.

There was a flash and the clanging of steel, and all of them froze as Iwabi appeared in the middle of the clearing, a growling ninkin held in one hand and a sickle held in the other that he used to push against the girl's thin blade. For once, the Kumo nin actually looked like she was struggling, her arms shaking as she did her best to keep the sickles from reaching her body, while Iwabi looked utterly calm.

"I think that's more than enough." He said as he stared at the girl. There was a steely undertone to his otherwise calm demeanor, and everyone present knew that it wasn't a request.

The girl stared at him for a moment, as if weighing her options, before she smiled. "Fine." She said, pulling away from the blade lock and stepping back, "I've had my fun anyway. You guys are pretty good. You almost got me a couple of times."

She backed away, sheathing her sword, and after a moment, Iwabi put his sickles away as well. He stared at the girl with narrowed eyes, "Would you mind explaining to me what you think you're doing fighting my team? Genin or not, attacking without provocation won't look good today if the higher ups."

The girl was utterly unconcerned in the face of his threats and actually put her hands in her pockets as she grinned easily, "What? I was just having a bit of fun! It's so boring in Kumo! Everyone's so straight laced and strict, not to mention I never get to go out anymore! They don't trust me or something…"

"I'm sure that's why." Sakura gave her sensei a confused look at his words, but he didn't make any move to explain. He looked back at them, taking his eyes off of the girl for just a moment, "Tsuyoka, are you alright?"

Tsu's eyes were extremely red, but she nodded anyway, "Just peachy, sensei. Can't see shit and I feel like I've got a million paper cuts but other than that, all good."

Iwabi nodded, turning back to the girl who was suddenly looking extremely disinterested in everything that was going on now. It was like the moment they stopped fighting, she stopped caring about what they had to say. She looked around at the forest around them, before turning back to the team where her eyes met Sakura's.

She grinned, "Hey, girl with the pink hair. You almost killed me a couple of times back there. Are you gonna be in the Exams? They're being held in your village, you know?"

Sakura didn't answer and she shook her head, smiling easily, "Ah well, I'm sure I'll see you again pretty soon either way. Ninja like us always end up knowing each other eventually" She gave them all a cheery wave, "Bye-bye~"

Just as suddenly as she appeared, the girl vanished, the only indication that she had left being the ruffling leaves in the trees high above them. Team 3 remained tense for several moments before slowly relaxing alongside their sensei as he walked back towards them, a deep frown on his face.

"Are you three alright? I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He said as he handed Tadao over to his rightful master. Tsu took her ninkin happily in her arms, and he immediately began licking the cut on her cheek.

"We're fine, sensei." Sakura paused, "Well, not fine but we'll be okay."

"None of us have any serious injuries." Hikari added on, "The worst of us is Tsu."

Iwabi looked at Tsu, taking in her injuries. The Inuzuka's clothes were ripped in several places and she had several cuts from the Kumo nin's sword, but none of them were anywhere near as deep as the one on Hikari's arm. It was almost like she was purposefully not trying to hurt her.

As Sakura stared at the wounds in confusion, Iwabi spoke, "Are you in good enough condition to travel?"

Tsu nodded without hesitation, "I'm good, sensei. These are just scrapes. I can barely feel 'em."

He nodded firmly, "Good. Then come on. We're heading back to Konoha. Double time."

"Yes, sensei!"

They leapt into the treetops, resuming their journey back towards their home at a much faster pace than before. They grouped close together, watching each other's backs just in case another enemy was hiding in the shadows.

"Hey sensei?" Sakura spoke as they began to head back towards Konoha once more. He inclined his head, indicating he was listening, "How was that girl so strong? She didn't look older than me but we could barely keep up with her. It was like we were fighting a jonin!"

"A fucking crazy jonin." Tsu said, "That bitch was smiling the entire time she beat us into the dirt. Even when we buried her she just crawled out of her grave, smiling from ear to ear!"

Iwabi was silent for a long moment before he spoke, his voice solemn, "In this world there are a select few individuals with power that surpass even the kage. They look like any other ninja but each of them are in a league of their own. That girl you just fought was well on her way to becoming one of those people, and you should be glad that she was only toying with you all."

"If that was her toying with us, then I'd hate to see her actually fight." Tsu griped as Tadao snuggled into her collar. Her eyes were still red from whatever that kunoichi had spat into them, but she seemed to be mostly fine despite her wounds. Even still, Sakura strayed closer and unsealed a flask of water, holding it out to her. "Thanks."

As Tsu poured the water in her eyes, Iwabi shook his head, "If she is what I think she is, then even I probably wouldn't have been able to beat her."

That was a horrifying thought. Iwabi was one of the stronger jonin in Konoha, so to hear that someone like him wouldn't be able to beat a teenager was scary to even think about.

"Is that why she didn't care about fighting us?" Sakura asked, "She acted like she wouldn't get in trouble for attacking us like that. Is it because she's so strong?"

"Sort of. People like her are given a certain amount of leeway, at least in Kumo. They're important enough that only the highest ranking personnel are able to directly command them." Iwabi's face was grim, "I never thought they'd let one this far away from their village, though. Usually they keep them close by."

Sakura shared an uneasy grin with Hikari, remembering the sickening feeling of the chakra the foam had been putting out, "What is she?"

Iwabi's face became conflicted, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he should say what he was about to say, before he sighed, "It may be an open secret, but that doesn't mean it isn't still a secret so don't go spreading it around, alright?" They all nodded, "They're called…"

~~~

From the canopy of a tree far away, purple eyes watched as the Konoha contingent disappeared back towards their home village. The owner's body throbbed in pain from the recent battle, but the smile on their face was as bright as ever.

"That was so much fun, wasn't it?" She asked, seemingly into the empty air. She tilted her head, listening to something unheard before shaking her head, "Oh please. I've done worse stuff than this. I'm sure the old man will barely even yell at me."

There was another pause and her face became annoyed, "No, I know using that much of your chakra at once was a bad idea, but it wasn't like I had a choice. It was either be buried alive or melt my way out… Now you're just being unfair! How was I supposed to know that puppet could do that?"

Another pause, then a sigh, "Yeah, I guess I should have expected that. Those guys are tricky. That's basically their whole thing. I'll have to remember that for next time."

There was another pause, "Of course there is going to be a next time." She said, "The old man already plans to put me in the exams so we're definitely going to see them again. Not to mention, the exams themselves are gonna be a great chance to fight some really strong people. Maybe I'll even see some Kiri bastards there."

"That would just make my day." Poisonous eyes glinted like blades, "Wouldn't you agree, Saiken?"

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