Watching Mei Terumi diligently working, Sakura nodded with satisfaction. Now, this is how a captive is supposed to act.
"Hey, pick up the pace," Sakura urged lazily from her resting spot on the stone ledge.
Mei's body stiffened. She shot Sakura a glare, teeth practically grinding, though a strange emotion flickered in her eyes. Mei knew she had been severely injured, but she hadn't grasped the full extent until Sakura had treated her earlier. The severity itself wasn't the most shocking part; what truly astonished her was that this girl had performed the treatment, and with such an unorthodox, almost fantastical method. The piercing wounds on her abdomen and back had left significant tissue deficits. An injury that large, presented at the village hospital, would likely have been deemed hopeless; wounds with missing tissue couldn't even be properly sutured closed.
Yet, this girl had conceived the idea of using tissue from Mei's own leg to graft onto the wounds before suturing them. So that's where the missing flesh from my thigh went – used to patch the holes. She had completely misunderstood earlier.
Just who is she? Mei wondered again. She had initially assumed Sakura was purely a combat-type ninja, but her medical skills were incredibly advanced, easily on par with her fighting prowess. Finding someone like that in all of Kirigakure would be impossible. No, finding someone like that in the entire shinobi world would be a rarity.
A name surfaced in Mei's thoughts, someone the veterans who had survived the Second Shinobi World War often spoke of: Tsunade, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin. She too was renowned for being equally exceptional in both medicine and combat. Could this girl possibly be connected to her?
(Due to Kirigakure's long-standing isolationist policy, coupled with Tsunade's very recent appointment, the village was still unaware that Tsunade had become the Fifth Hokage.)
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" Sakura's sharp voice interrupted Mei's thoughts. She had noticed Mei preparing only two fish and one rabbit before starting to cook.
"Cooking?" Mei replied, confused.
"Are you eating like a cat? Who's that tiny amount going to feed? Hurry up and prepare everything in this sack," Sakura ordered, gesturing towards the large burlap bag filled with game.
"You… you can eat that much?" Mei asked, feeling the metaphorical black lines of exasperation appear on her forehead.
"Cut the crap. Don't you understand the situation here? Who's calling the shots?" Sakura stated bluntly.
Forced by the circumstances, Mei mentally thrashed Sakura several times before resentfully returning to prepare the rest of the ingredients, still exasperated.
What an annoying brat, Mei muttered internally. Just you wait until you fall into my hands. I'll definitely teach you a lesson then.
Wisps of cooking smoke curled upwards. Sakura had anticipated a potentially long stay in the mountains, so she had foresightedly "borrowed" a complete set of cooking essentials – spices, pots, bowls, ladles, everything – from a general store back in town. Necessity had thoroughly eroded Sakura's moral baseline; besides, she reasoned, it wasn't just for herself. She could always make Mei pay the store back later.
"Your cooking skills aren't half bad!" Sakura complimented between mouthfuls of rice.
"Thank you," Mei replied, looking mournfully at the small bowl in her own hands. "Why do I only get congee? I cooked this rice!"
"If you don't want to die, you'd best stick to the congee," Sakura advised. "While your external wounds have mostly healed, internal injuries take longer. Your intestines were severed in several places. I really don't want to perform that surgery again."
(In truth, Sakura could easily use the Mystic Palm Technique to accelerate Mei's internal healing just as she had the external wounds – such was the miracle of chakra. On Earth, such injuries would require lengthy convalescence. Here, they could be healed almost instantly. However, Sakura felt no need; she didn't want Mei recovering that quickly. They had plenty of time. Let her nurse her wounds slowly.)
Mei fell silent for a moment, then remarked, "I didn't expect your medical skills to be as impressive as your combat abilities."
"Trying to dig up my background again?" Sakura mocked. "Don't waste your energy. Just behave yourself, and I won't do anything to you."
Besides, Sakura thought, I'm not exactly famous. Hiding my identity should be easy, unless I run into someone from Konoha who knows me well.
"No need to inquire further. I already know who you are," Mei suddenly declared, a confident glint in her eyes.
"Oh?" Sakura paused, surprised, putting down her bowl and picking up her teacup. "You know my identity? Alright then, tell me. Who am I?"
"Hmm!" Mei pondered dramatically for a second before dropping her bombshell: "You are the daughter of Konoha's Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya!"
"Pfft~~~~~" Sakura sprayed a mouthful of tea everywhere. What the actual hell?! Mei's words left her utterly thunderstruck and bewildered.
"Cough, cough… How… how exactly did you, uh, arrive at that conclusion?" Sakura wiped her mouth, looking at Mei with grudging admiration for the sheer audacity of the theory.
Mei offered a sly smile. "Because," she explained, "in the entire shinobi world, the only one renowned for being preeminent in both medical arts and combat is Tsunade of the Sannin. Now, there's you. If I'm not mistaken, during our fight, you likely used Tsunade's famous monstrous strength technique. Combined with your medical skills, it indicates a strong connection to Tsunade. It's said Tsunade left Konoha long ago and has been wandering ever since. Likewise, Jiraiya, another Sannin, has also spent years roaming."
She leaned forward slightly. "Kirigakure has veterans who participated in the Second War. According to their gossip, Jiraiya relentlessly pursued Tsunade for years. You claimed not to belong to any hidden village, which suggests you weren't raised in Konoha. The ninjutsu, immense strength, and medical prowess you've displayed all indicate that you've inherited their abilities quite well. Therefore, you must be their daughter, born during their time wandering abroad!"
It was… disturbingly logical. Sakura stared at Mei, momentarily petrified, finding herself unable to immediately refute the reasoning. The logic was so flawless, so complete, she almost started to believe it herself. Could I… could I really be Master Tsunade's child?
No! Wait! I'm a transmigrator! Sakura mentally shook herself. How could I possibly not know who my own parents are? She had nearly gotten completely tangled up in Mei's surprisingly convincing deduction.
Sakura suddenly felt that Mei had missed her true calling; she should have been writing novels with an imagination like that. She couldn't even fathom how Mei had linked those disparate points together. An inexplicable feeling washed over her, making her reluctant to continue the conversation. She picked up her bowl and resumed eating her rice in silence.
"Well? I wasn't wrong, was I?" Mei asked smugly, watching Sakura closely.
Sakura just rolled her eyes and ignored her, focusing on her food. Fine, she thought, believe whatever makes you happy.
"Since you're tacitly agreeing, then your name must be fake too!" Mei declared, clearly pleased with her deduction, finally feeling vindicated after two days of being utterly frustrated and helpless.
Sakura put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked at Mei seriously. "You're right," she said evenly. "My name is indeed fake. My real name is… Mei Terumi."
"Wh-what?!" Mei's triumphant smile froze instantly on her face.
"Clean all this up," Sakura instructed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She stood up and walked towards the cave entrance, leaving Mei staring blankly at her retreating back.
Mei watched until Sakura disappeared from view, then her brow furrowed deeply. She replayed the conversation in her head. Her outlandish Sannin theory… it hadn't been a genuine conclusion, but rather a deliberate probe, designed to gauge Sakura's reaction and hopefully glean clues about her true identity and purpose. While Sakura's flustered response might hint at a Konoha connection, Mei felt no satisfaction.
Sakura knowing her real name… that changed everything. Mei didn't believe for a second it was a random guess. It strongly suggested Sakura might have specifically targeted her from the start, making her presence in the Land of Water highly suspect. Mei carefully reviewed their initial encounter again – the way they met still felt entirely coincidental, not like a planned ambush. Yet, how could Sakura know her name if it wasn't premeditated? The contradiction left Mei's thoughts in a tangled mess.
Outside the cave, Sakura felt cheerful and carefree, completely oblivious to the fact that Mei had just been strategically probing her. Despite her immense power, Sakura's overall comprehensive abilities as a ninja still showed a significant gap compared to experienced jonin like Mei Terumi.