With the scroll Kabuto had given her tucked away, Sakura Haruno, her mind heavy with thoughts, led Terumi Mei down from the Enra Bridge.
There was still some distance from the Enra Bridge to Red Leaf Village. According to her original plan, she was supposed to head directly to Red Leaf Village to investigate. Who would have thought she would unexpectedly obtain the Impure World Reincarnation?
Although it could be a trap, she couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart. Finding a secluded cave, Sakura decided to study it first. If it was real, it might be helpful for her current investigation.
Taking out the scroll, Sakura opened it directly. Orochimaru probably wouldn't be so bored as to use such a low-level trap like an explosion tag hidden within the scroll, so it was most likely a trap within the jutsu formula itself.
Sure enough, nothing happened after opening it. It was just an ordinary scroll. Calming herself, Sakura looked at the contents of the scroll.
The large characters "Impure World Reincarnation" at the beginning made Sakura involuntarily excited again. This was a truly forbidden jutsu, and one with no side effects for the caster.
Holding the scroll, she carefully scanned it once, her little brain working at top speed. She wasn't an expert at discerning the authenticity of jutsu formulas, but she wasn't bad either.
After a long while, Sakura finally finished reading. Looking at the scroll spread out on the ground, Sakura frowned deeply. She couldn't see any problems with the jutsu formula itself.
The Impure World Reincarnation, in essence, was just a summoning technique. However, the terminal for the summoning was the Pure Land. There were countless souls in the Pure Land; to accurately summon the desired deceased soul, a part of that person's flesh and blood was necessary.
Then, the summoned soul would be attached to a vessel, that is, a living sacrifice. By absorbing dust, the deceased's appearance from when they were alive would be restored, while the living sacrifice would have to endure the pain of their soul being driven out of their body.
Although it was written clearly, with the principles, jutsu formula, and steps detailed exhaustively, Sakura still felt that something was off.
What exactly is wrong? Sakura stared blankly at the scroll. Although she wanted to experiment, finding a living sacrifice was not easy.
Sakura had intended for Terumi Mei to perform this jutsu to see if there were any traps. Using Mei as a living sacrifice would be too much of a waste.
Terumi Mei sat obediently to the side, watching Sakura frown, and asked, "Aren't we going to Red Leaf Village today?"
"We are, right now," Sakura said, her train of thought interrupted. She decided not to think about it anymore. Whatever is wrong, I'll figure it out when I get to Red Leaf Village. If there are Grass ninjas there, I'll just grab one as a sacrifice.
That's right, Sakura decided to summon Grandma Rika. If she wanted to understand Junko's background, only Grandma Rika would know best. Besides, she wasn't a ninja; even if Orochimaru controlled her after being summoned, it wouldn't be a big deal.
...Wait a minute.
A flash of inspiration struck Sakura. She took out the scroll again and read it once more. Just as she thought about controlling Grandma Rika, she suddenly, vaguely, understood the problem with the scroll.
Reading it carefully again, Sakura sighed. Sure enough, good things don't just fall from the sky.
That damn Orochimaru had indeed tampered with it. The Impure World Reincarnation he gave her was just a summoning technique for deceased souls; it didn't record the method to control the summoned souls after a successful summoning.
This meant that after summoning a deceased soul, Orochimaru could very likely seize control. If she were to use this jutsu against Orochimaru, she might very well be betrayed by the souls she herself summoned.
So that's what he was waiting for. Sakura felt a little disappointed. Although she didn't plan to use this jutsu as part of her own strength, it would still be troublesome if the summoned person was controlled.
"Let's go," Sakura said, putting away the scroll. "To Red Leaf Village."
Since she already knew about the backdoor, there was nothing to be afraid of. She could try to develop it herself when she had time.
When the two arrived at Red Leaf Village, the sky had completely darkened. Apart from a few restaurants, there weren't many people on the streets. It really was a small place.
Sakura shook her head and led Terumi Mei towards a ramen shop. First, get something to eat, and while they were at it, inquire about Junko.
"Welcome! What would you like to eat?" a middle-aged man wearing a white chef's hat asked, looking at Sakura and Terumi Mei.
"I want a large bowl of chashu ramen!" Terumi Mei said first. As soon as her words fell, her stomach let out a rumbling sound.
"Same for me," Sakura added.
"Alright, please have a seat, ladies. It'll be ready soon," the ramen shop owner said.
This ramen shop was similar to Ichiraku Ramen, with counter-style seating. After sitting down, Sakura looked around and noticed that the shop's decor was rather old; it must have been around for some years.
Terumi Mei rested her head on the table listlessly, waiting for the ramen. Sakura, looking at the shop's decor, had an idea and asked the owner, "This shop of yours has been around for quite some years, hasn't it?"
"Haha, yes it has! Please don't mind, customer. Although the decor is old, I guarantee my ramen is the best in the entire Land of Grass," the ramen shop owner said cheerfully.
"Is that so? My taste is quite picky, you know," Sakura said, raising an eyebrow.
"Please rest assured, customer. My shop has been open for nearly sixty years. My grandfather started it, and it's been in the family ever since," the ramen shop owner said, seeming very happy to have someone to chat with, and began to talk endlessly about his shop's history.
"So, you must be very familiar with this village then?" Sakura asked casually.
"Naturally! I grew up in this village. I know every ant here," the ramen shop owner said with some exaggeration.
"Actually, I came here to ask about someone," Sakura said.
"Ask about someone?" The ramen shop owner's eyes showed some surprise. Then he said, "Go on, who are you asking about? But let me say first, I'm only familiar with the people in the village. I don't know anything about passing merchants or travelers."
It seemed this ramen shop owner, despite his rough appearance, was quite shrewd, afraid of getting himself into any trouble.
"Don't worry, the person I want to ask about is from your village," Sakura said. "Muto Junko, do you know her?"
"Huh?" The ramen shop owner stopped what he was doing and looked at Sakura in surprise. "You're also asking about Muto Junko?"
Hm? Hearing the ramen shop owner say this, Sakura was taken aback. Could someone else be asking about Muto Junko? But then she realized it was probably people sent by Master Tsunade.
"You know her?" Sakura asked in a deep voice.
"I don't know anything," the ramen shop owner shrugged and continued what he was doing. "There's no such person in our village. But recently, customers have asked about her several times."
"The Muto Junko I'm talking about, she's..." Sakura hadn't finished speaking when the ramen shop owner interrupted her.
"A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, with somewhat long black hair, and Rika's granddaughter," the ramen shop owner said proficiently. "There is an old woman named Rika, but she doesn't have a granddaughter named Junko."
"I-is that so..." Sakura's mouth fell open, somewhat stunned. Although she had already received the intelligence from her master, hearing this answer firsthand still left her a bit dazed.
"Sigh, I don't know what you're looking for her for. There really is no such person in the village. Rika's son and his wife died at the hands of mountain bandits a long time ago. They didn't have any children. Rika couldn't bear the blow and became somewhat reclusive, not interacting with people. She usually made a living by growing medicinal herbs. But I heard that last year, she got into a conflict with a Grass ninja and was killed. Sigh, there were never any problems before. I don't know why a conflict would arise. Maybe she didn't want to live anymore, after all, her whole family was gone," the ramen shop owner said, sighing with emotion when speaking of Grandma Rika.
Listening to the ramen shop owner's words, Sakura fell silent. Judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be lying. As for being under a genjutsu, that was even more impossible. He was standing right in front of her; if he were under a genjutsu, she would definitely have noticed some clues.
On the contrary, the ramen shop owner's thoughts were clear and logical, not at all like someone affected by genjutsu.
"Your ramen is ready," the ramen shop owner said, serving two bowls of ramen.
Terumi Mei's eyes lit up when she saw the steaming hot ramen. She took a bowl and immediately started slurping it down.
Sakura had things on her mind, and faced with ramen no less delicious than Ichiraku's, her appetite was somewhat poor.
It seems I need to find a sacrifice as soon as possible. For now, I can only get answers from Grandma Rika. But Sakura was afraid that even from Grandma Rika, she wouldn't get the answers she wanted.