Konoha Year 60, Mid-November
The weather had grown colder. Compounded by the Land of Rain's incessant downpour, the air, already chilled by deep autumn, turned bitterly cold. Haruno Sakura, having stabilized Hisame's internal injuries and given her one of her own soldier pills, got a small fire going in the cave. After laying some simple traps near the entrance, she resumed her pursuit of the remaining Rain ninja, Murasame.
Sakura didn't entirely understand her own actions. Perhaps seeing Hisame's vulnerable state had reminded her too keenly of her own teammates. If one day my own comrades died, and I lacked the strength to avenge them, what would I do? Shaking the morbid thoughts away, Sakura focused on the task ahead.
Perhaps because she had now entered the Land of Rain proper, the trail left by Murasame was even clearer here. Sakura located her quarry again with relative ease. Seeing his exhausted, stumbling gait, she tailed him from a distance, choosing not to close in for an immediate interception.
It wasn't that she didn't want to; rather, ahead lay a wide river veiled in thick fog, crossed by a long bridge – over a hundred meters in length, according to the bold characters marking its entrance: Yanluo Bridge. Sakura sensed several dozen chakra signatures pulsing faintly on the structure. While they weren't individually powerful, she wasn't at her peak condition herself and decided against risking a direct confrontation just yet. Instead, she used Earth Style to move silently beneath the ground, shadowing Murasame as he approached the bridge.
.....
Murasame gazed at the sprawling bridge ahead and let out a ragged sigh of relief. Finally. Back in the Land of Rain. Taking a deep breath, he set foot onto the bridge, the sole crossing point between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass.
Pushed to his absolute limit, Murasame failed to sense the presence of others on the bridge. When he reached the midpoint, a flurry of shhk shhk sounds broke the foggy silence, and he was instantly ambushed, surrounded.
And Haruno Sakura, at that moment, was carefully masking her presence completely, channeling chakra to her feet to cling upside down to the underside of the bridge structure, straining her ears, hoping to overhear whatever might be said above.
"Stop!" From among the ninja encircling Murasame, one wearing a distinctive fox mask emerged, kunai leveled. "Passage is restricted. Please turn back."
Murasame's chakra was utterly depleted, and the ambushers didn't recognize him as a shinobi – he had stowed his headband while traveling through the Land of Grass to avoid trouble.
Seeing the familiar Amegakure headbands on the ninja surrounding him, Murasame sagged with relief. "I am an Amegakure shinobi myself," he gasped out. "Here is my headband. I've just returned from Takigakure. I have urgent intelligence to report to the Leader."
Hearing Murasame's words, the fox-masked ninja seemed surprised. "It's you? Murasame?"
"You know me?" Murasame exclaimed, hope surging within him.
The fox-masked ninja nodded. "Follow me. The Leader has been expecting you."
Murasame faltered, stunned. "The Leader... is here?"
"Yes." The fox-masked ninja gave a hand signal. The tight circle of ninja melted back instantly, forming up behind the fox mask as he led the way towards the other end of the bridge.
Seeing this, Murasame scrambled to follow, thinking frantically, The situation in Ame must be truly desperate for the Leader to be here. My return is timely. I pray the Leader can achieve ultimate victory.
Beneath the bridge, Sakura heard their exchange and tried to piece it together. Who is this 'Leader' they speak of? Pain? No, if I remember correctly, Pain calls himself God. It couldn't be Pain. After pondering for a moment without reaching a conclusion, she saw the group on the bridge heading off. Seeing her chance, Sakura quickly and cautiously shadowed them from beneath.
Perhaps driven purely by curiosity now, Sakura didn't turn back. She wanted to figure out what game these Rain ninja were really playing; she wouldn't let her day-and-night chase be for nothing. Little did she know, she had clearly forgotten the old adage: Curiosity killed the cat.
Murasame followed the fox-masked ninja off the bridge and down a winding path that eventually led to a yawning cave mouth. Halting him at the entrance, the fox-masked ninja said curtly, "Surrender your weapons. You know the protocol."
Murasame didn't argue. Knowing this was the Leader's protocol, he surrendered his kunai and shuriken, plus two exploding tags. Then the escort party led him inside the cave.
Sakura scanned the area around the cave entrance – no sentries posted outside. The security must be internal. Silently, she slipped in behind the group, trailing them into the darkness.
Inside, a flickering bonfire cast light on figures sitting scattered around. The long-haired ninja with the breathing mask, who had been sitting with eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance. He rose slowly to his feet.
Before long, the fox-masked ninja and his escort party emerged into the firelight. Murasame saw the long-haired ninja – It's him... the Leader. – and produced the vial containing the Hero Water. He dropped to one knee before the imposing figure. "Hanzo-sama," he reported, voice trembling with exhaustion and emotion, "the objective has been secured."
"Hmm... well done," Hanzo replied, accepting the vial. His voice was heavy with age and exhaustion. "Where are the other two?"
"Kirisame remained behind in Takigakure to cover our escape," Murasame reported, his voice thick with grief. "Hisame... didn't make it back to the Land of Rain."
Sakura, flattened against the cavern ceiling high above, hidden in shadows, heard Murasame's respectful address, and her heart slammed against her ribs. Hanzo?! It's really Hanzo! The legendary Hanzo of the Salamander... the Demigod?! He's still alive? This was utterly unbelievable. Up until now, she had assumed Amegakure was firmly under Pain's control, taken over a long, long time ago.
But seeing Hanzo here, now, Sakura realized she'd been wrong. Perhaps Hanzo had remained in control of Amegakure until very recently. Pain's reign might be far shorter than she'd thought. And judging by Hanzo's ragged appearance, the secrecy, the depleted state of his guards... if her assessment was correct, he must be on the run from Pain.
The pieces suddenly clicked into place. Whether Hanzo was fleeing first, then ordered the Hero Water theft, or gave the order before being overthrown – the timing didn't matter. The objective of the Rain trio was to secure the Hero Water for Hanzo. Her team had accidentally stumbled into the aftermath. Then she'd foolishly pursued them, lured by the Hero Water, driven by curiosity.
Sakura wanted to get out of here, now, before Hanzo spotted her. If Hanzo found her, a fight would be unavoidable. The Konoha-Amegakure alliance was fragile at best; in Hanzo's eyes, she was just an insignificant Konoha brat. Killing her would mean nothing to him.
However, actions always have consequences. Just as Sakura was about to withdraw, a kunai whistled past her, embedding itself in the rock near where she clung hidden in the shadows.
Without hesitation, Sakura darted towards the cave entrance. But she was a fraction too slow. Hanzo's remaining loyal guards materialized, surrounding her instantly, boxing her in completely.
The guards parted, allowing Hanzo through. His distinctive scythe and hammer weapon was now in hand. Murasame followed close behind. Recognizing Sakura, he gasped in surprise, "It's you!" Then, his eyes widening in sudden realization, he demanded urgently, "What happened to Hisame? What did you do to her?" He knew he hadn't had the strength to cover their trail properly near the end. She must have found Hisame. Worry flooded him.
"She's alive, relax," Sakura said coolly, keeping her eyes fixed warily on Hanzo. "She was barely alive when I found her. She was lucky; I'm a medical-nin." Then, addressing Hanzo directly, she added, "I was just passing through, didn't intend to interfere. I have no desire to fight you. There's no profit in it for either of us."
Murasame was stunned silent by her words. She's... a medic? He'd assumed she was purely combat-focused, never imagined she was a medical ninja. He had no reason to doubt her claim; there was nothing to gain by lying about it.
Hanzo studied the young girl before him, the Konoha headband prominently displayed. His eyes narrowed dangerously. Then, a crushing wave of killing intent washed over Sakura. "Hmph," Hanzo scoffed. "You think you're in any position to bargain with me? Answer me. Who sent you? Was it Danzo?"
Hanzo's question caught Sakura off guard. Danzo wants Hanzo dead? But then she reconsidered; Hanzo had to be mistaken. Danzo wielded no significant power in Konoha currently; Tsunade kept him on a tight leash. He simply lacked the means or opportunity to orchestrate an operation of this scale.
Weathering Hanzo's staggering pressure, Sakura stood her ground, forcing the words out. "I don't know what's going on here. I tracked Murasame all the way here because he stole the Hero Water from Takigakure."
Hanzo held up the vial containing the shimmering liquid. "Is that so," he murmured thoughtfully. Then he turned his back slightly, his voice devoid of emotion as he gave the order: "Kill her."
Damn it! No choice then! Sakura instantly flared her chakra, reactivating her Lightning Cloak. Moving in a blur, she appeared instantly before the guards blocking the exit and delivered a devastating Monster Strength Fist. The targeted Rain ninja had no chance to react, taking the blow squarely in the chest.
The back of the guard's flak jacket exploded outwards, along with gore and pulverized bone from his entire torso. Viscera sprayed outwards gruesomely. The horrifically bloody scene froze the surrounding Rain ninja in stunned shock.
Taking advantage of their momentary shock, Sakura lunged towards the cave entrance through the opening she'd created.
Hanzo was also momentarily taken aback by her speed and destructive power. "Looks like I underestimated her," he growled. "After her!" Gripping his weapon, he led the charge out of the cave in pursuit.