"I awoke from the abyss, and to the abyss I shall return. Can I... trust you? ..... No, I can only trust you... S**ura." - Junko
Ephemeral City was a magnificent metropolis, a gift from the gods. Within this city congregated approximately one million people. The city bustled with activity, houses packed tightly together. Yet, the most astonishing feature here was the city wall built around it.
This wall encircled the city, completely enclosing Ephemeral City within. Its towering height, reaching into the clouds, inspired the most sincere praise for the City Lord from everyone living inside, even though the thousands-of-meters-high wall meant the city was perpetually deprived of sunlight.
But it was the City Lord who granted them a life of ease, keeping them far from the "incidents" outside that constantly threatened their lives. They enjoyed a tranquility that the "outsiders" could not.
Apart from not being able to step outside the city walls, their lives were quite comfortable. And such a state had continued for many years, roughly for over a century.
The girl lay on the rooftop, gazing at the imposing city wall. She didn't know when it had started, but she liked to quietly watch that black city wall and think. Sometimes, she would wonder what lay beyond this wall.
Ever since she could remember, her world consisted only of this black city wall and an old house. Her parents had been sent by Lord City Lord to another city next door, outside the city walls, called "New City," when she was fifteen.
The entrance to "New City" was on the city wall directly opposite the City Lord's mansion. There stood a massive gate forged from steel. No one knew what lay behind that gate; whenever it opened, there was only endless darkness within.
Although she was very reluctant to part with her parents, it was the same for everyone her age. Lord City Lord had said that due to a flaw in the city's design, the resources within could not support so many people. Therefore, once they could stand on their own, everyone's parents would be sent to "New City" to live.
And they, after having their own children who could also stand on their own, would be sent to New City to reunite with their parents.
There wasn't a single elderly person in the entire city, and the people who had lived here for generations had grown accustomed to this arrangement.
But not everyone would unconditionally obey Lord City Lord's arrangements, especially children like them who were in their rebellious phase.
Thus, Lord City Lord made a special exception: every year, a thousand spots would be opened for them to go to "New City" and reunite with their parents. Of course, this was limited to the children whose parents had been sent to "New City" that year.
That year, the girl hadn't drawn a spot to go to "New City" and live with her parents. This left her somewhat dejected, but also, inexplicably, a little relieved. Because every time she saw that massive gate open, she always had a bad feeling.
This bad feeling made her refuse the requests of her peers who invited her to escape with them.
Yes, escape. Although the girl could run freely within this city, it felt no different from a prison.
She wanted to know what was outside the city walls. She wanted to know what was behind that gate. She wanted to know what kind of city "New City" truly was. She wanted to know why Lord City Lord had remained the same person for hundreds of years. She wanted to know how her parents were doing... She... wanted to know too many things...
... ...
"Hh... hh... hh..."
Sakura Haruno gasped for breath, jolting awake from her sleep. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead. After calming her racing heart, Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow.
She glanced at Karin, who was sleeping soundly beside her. Sakura lifted the blanket covering her, slipped her feet into a pair of cute, fluffy slippers, and walked towards the living room.
Arriving in the living room, she poured herself a glass of water and sat on the sofa, staring blankly. She had been awakened by a nightmare, but now, when she tried to recall its contents, she couldn't remember anything at all. She only remembered being swallowed by endless darkness at the end, fear and loneliness enveloping her.
Am I lonely? Sakura Haruno looked at the water in her glass, examining her heart...
Probably not lonely. She had Karin, she had her master, she had her senpai, and she had those comrades.
The death of her parents was an irreparable pain in her heart, but she wasn't lonely. She still had many companions by her side...
Although Sakura thought this, two streams of clear tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.
Sure enough, I still can't accept it...
Putting down the water glass, Sakura hugged her knees, curling up in a corner of the sofa, silently enduring the heart-wrenching pain. Her parents' dying words flashed through her mind again and again.
"Danzo!" A sharp glint flashed in Sakura's eyes. "You got off too easily!"
Then, she abruptly stood up. Wearing her pajamas and slippers, her hair disheveled, she walked towards the window, opened it, and with a flicker, her figure vanished from the room.
...
Early morning. The housewives of Konoha, out early to buy groceries, suddenly found that the Taniichi Ise Beef Shop, which usually opened very early, hadn't opened its doors. This dashed their hopes of selecting fresh beef for breakfast.
More and more people gathered there, knocking on the shop's door, but there was no response from within.
"Strange, why aren't they open today?" "Exactly! They usually open so early. What's going on today?" "Forget it, let's buy from somewhere else. Any later and we won't have time to prepare bentos..." "Sigh, I guess we have to..."
Because Ise beef had suddenly become available in unlimited quantities at this village shop a few months ago, housewives who weren't short on money all liked to purchase it here. Although it had been supplied in the village before, the quantity had always been limited; after all, it was a top-tier ingredient across the entire continent.
The door to the Hokage's office was rudely thrown open.
"Lady Tsunade!!"
"Hmm?" Tsunade, sporting dark circles under her eyes, responded listlessly, not even bothering to scold Shizune for barging in.
"Lady Tsunade, didn't you rest last night?" Shizune asked involuntarily, looking at Tsunade's weary expression.
"I'm fine," Tsunade said, patting her face. "What's the emergency so early in the morning?"
"Ah..." Shizune gasped, her face turning serious. "Taniichi Ryuta was found dead in his home last night."
"Taniichi Ryuta?" Tsunade was slightly taken aback. A flash of understanding crossed her mind, and she then asked in a low voice, "How did he die?"
Tsunade was very familiar with Taniichi Ryuta. At the time, to clear Sakura's name, she had specifically assigned Sasuke and Kakashi to monitor him. She had suspected Ryuta was acting under Danzo's orders to frame Sakura.
However, although Danzo himself had been forced to admit to framing Sakura that day, Sasuke and Kakashi's investigation had yielded nothing. But it didn't matter anymore; Danzo was already dead.
Ryuta, after all, was a jonin. A jonin was a vital part of the village's combat strength. The loss of every jonin weakened the village's power.
And precisely because Ryuta was a jonin, after the Uchiha Police Force was disbanded, he was the one leading the patrol team responsible for village security.
Most ninja in the village were chunin or genin; jonin were a minority. Regardless of his past identity, now that Danzo was dead, it was a good opportunity to consolidate the forces he had left behind. No matter what faction they belonged to, they were all Konoha ninja.
"His internal organs were ruptured, but there were no external wounds..." Shizune said after a moment's hesitation.
"No external wounds?" Tsunade frowned. Such injuries were very similar to deaths caused by the Gentle Fist.
"Yes, the specific circumstances still require further autopsy to confirm..." Shizune paused, then said softly, "Should we go ask Sakura?"
"Take me to the scene," Tsunade said, changing the subject.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Shizune's heart was in turmoil. Please, don't let it be her doing.
Tsunade, of course, knew what Shizune was thinking. Upon hearing of Ryuta's death, Tsunade's first suspect was Sakura, because only Sakura had the motive to kill him. And this very thought made Tsunade feel both angry and guilty.
After returning to the village, she should have thoroughly investigated and apprehended those involved in Danzo's framing plot as soon as possible. But due to the Kirigakure envoys, the council elders' questioning, and Sakura's unconsciousness, the matter had been overlooked.
Although Tsunade understood Sakura, she couldn't accept her actions. She was the village's Hokage; she couldn't act willfully. What she had to maintain was the operation of the entire village.
However, it was precisely because of this sudden incident that Tsunade vaguely began to understand the Third Hokage. Making choices, deciding what to keep and what to discard – that was the most difficult thing.
If Sakura really did do it, how should she handle it? Tsunade's mind was in chaos. But nothing was certain yet. Everything would have to wait until she got to the scene.
...
Sakura Haruno stretched lazily, feeling inexplicably refreshed. Karin was nowhere to be seen; she had probably gone to her sealing class. Good, study hard, make progress every day.
Sakura Haruno went to the living room and found breakfast on the dining table. Without a doubt, Karin had made it.
Humming a little tune, she washed her face in high spirits and ate the breakfast Karin had prepared, her mind planning what to do today.
Hmm, maybe I should go check out Root's headquarters. It would be a shame not to see such a mysterious organization.
It would be even better if there were First Hokage's cells inside. I could use them as a medium for Edo Tensei.