Sakura Haruno didn't know where Root's base was. Although she planned to take a "day trip" to Root, it wasn't a place known to ordinary ninja. So, Sakura Haruno thought of Sasuke again.
As an ANBU member, Sasuke should know something about it. But the last incident seemed to have made Sasuke hold a grudge against her; he hadn't even attended the gathering. It seemed she would have to apologize to him.
I should go find Master Tsunade first. The ANBU headquarters isn't a place one can just casually enter.
However, just as Sakura Haruno stepped out of her door, an ANBU operative appeared before her.
"Sakura Haruno, Lady Hokage requests your presence."
"Oh, I know." Sakura Haruno looked at this ANBU; it wasn't Sasuke. She responded softly.
It's just as well, I was going to find Master anyway. I wonder what Master wants to see me about. Could it be about last night's incident? It shouldn't be. Ryuta's death clearly looked like it was caused by the Gentle Fist. Perhaps it's something else.
It wasn't that Sakura Haruno had anything against the Hyuga clan and wanted to frame them. Rather, the Hyuga were a renowned and powerful clan, fiercely loyal to the village. Even if she did frame them, it wouldn't cause a major incident. At most, the higher-ups would think it was done by someone with a grudge against the Hyuga family.
And she herself had no conflict with the Hyuga family. No matter how the village investigated, it wouldn't lead back to her, unless they used Edo Tensei. But that was impossible.
After all, Ryuta was a jonin, not some minor character. Whether he went missing or died in some other way, the village would investigate thoroughly. Every jonin was a precious asset to the village's combat strength.
This was one of the perceptions that had been somewhat subverted for Sakura Haruno after coming to this world. When she used to read the manga, she always felt that jonin were no better than dogs, and chunin were cannon fodder. But the reality was that whether genin or chunin, they were all highly valued.
Many people entered the Ninja Academy each year, but those who graduated from it were considered to have the qualities to become ninja. Many more were screened out and assigned to other posts in the village.
Therefore, the death of every genin and chunin had to be investigated and recorded, let alone a jonin. Of course, during wartime, they might not have the luxury, but even cannon fodder had to die with a clear cause, not inexplicably.
The reason Orochimaru hadn't initially used villagers as experimental subjects, apart from the war, was also because the village highly valued every ninja.
To confuse matters, Sakura Haruno had even gone on a rabbit-killing spree in the forest late last night. After dispatching over a dozen rabbits, she had finally figured out how to make someone's death look like it was caused by the Gentle Fist.
But now, it seemed a bit like wasted effort. Sakura Haruno felt a little uneasy under Master Tsunade's suspicious gaze.
"It really wasn't me. I don't know anything. I was with Karin last night. She can testify for me," Sakura Haruno said with conviction, her eyelid twitching slightly.
Tsunade stared at Sakura Haruno for a while, then sighed. "I understand, Sakura. Please believe me, I will give you an explanation for that matter. After all, I am the village's Kage."
"Phew..." Sakura Haruno let out a long breath, and her eyelid stopped twitching. The thrill of knowingly breaking the law is really something. She had no plans to leave Konoha yet; after all, her home was still here. I'll leave when I can no longer hide my killings. Perhaps by then, I won't be far from my ultimate goal.
Seeing Sakura not leaving, Tsunade asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Yes. I came to ask where Sasuke is. I haven't seen him for several days," Sakura Haruno said.
"Sasuke?" Tsunade thought for a moment. "He should be at the ANBU headquarters. ANBU members usually train there when they don't have missions."
Seeing Sakura Haruno hesitating as if she wanted to say something more, Tsunade took out a pen and paper from a drawer and wrote something, finally stamping it with the Hokage's seal.
"Take this. If you want to find him, just show this paper," Tsunade said, folding the paper and pushing it forward.
Sakura Haruno stepped forward, took the paper, and bowed slightly to Tsunade. "Thank you, Master."
"Mm, go on then," Tsunade said with a wave of her hand.
Watching Sakura leave, Tsunade bit her lip and fell silent. Having lived with Sakura day and night for three years, she was all too familiar with Sakura's every move and mannerism. For example, her eyelid would twitch when she was nervous...
So, it really was her. But she's not entirely foolish; she even knew to mislead the investigation...
However, this will be the very last time. I hope it doesn't escalate into the worst-case scenario.
Click. The office door was pushed open, and Shizune walked in, carrying a stack of documents.
"Shizune, you're just in time," Tsunade said. "Go compile a list of personnel belonging to Danzo's faction for me."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade. However, these documents require your signature," Shizune said, placing a pile of documents on the desk.
"What are these?" Tsunade asked.
"Kirigakure's demands and a letter of intent for an alliance," Shizune said, looking at Lady Tsunade with admiration. She hadn't expected that the aggressive Kirigakure envoys would actually be persuaded to form an alliance after negotiating with Lady Tsunade that day.
This filled Shizune with great admiration. Not only had war been averted, but they had also become allies.
"So quickly!" Tsunade said, surprised. She had thought Kirigakure would internally quarrel over this matter for some time. It seemed there was someone within Kirigakure capable of making decisive decisions and possessing high political acumen. This, in turn, made Tsunade somewhat cautious about the alliance.
The sudden death of a village's Kage would inevitably affect the village's stability. Not everyone would be thinking of avenging their Kage; there would surely be ambitious individuals looking to seize the opportunity to rise. Other villages might not, but Kirigakure, with its tradition of the Bloody Mist, would definitely have such people.
It was precisely because Tsunade saw through Kirigakure's nature that she had predicted they wouldn't, and couldn't, initiate a war. Once a war started, it would be a case of "injuring the enemy by eight hundred while losing a thousand." Even if they could form alliances, they could only ally with Kumogakure. Iwagakure was their sworn enemy, and Sunagakure was Konoha's ally.
But Kumogakure wasn't foolish either. To deal with an equally matched Konoha, why would their brains short-circuit and make them ally with Kirigakure? The most likely scenario was that while Kirigakure and Konoha were locked in an inextricable battle, Kumogakure would launch a surprise attack on either Kirigakure or Konoha.
Kirigakure couldn't possibly fail to see this situation clearly. But this kind of thing was also a gamble. After all, Kirigakure no longer had a Kage's leadership. It was possible that, in a fit of passion, the radical faction might just start a war.
The council elders and the Third Hokage hadn't dared to gamble on this possibility. After all, once a war began, there would be no winners. And Danzo simply wanted to eliminate Sakura, who he believed would bring disaster to the village in the future.
Although Tsunade had won the gamble that Kirigakure wouldn't start a war, she understood that if she won, something bad would happen. Kirigakure's swift decision now also confirmed that their internal situation wasn't chaotic. It seemed she needed to be cautious about this alliance.
"Return of the Executioner's Blade and Terumi Mei's remains, sharing of Akatsuki intelligence, allocation of ten percent of mission requests to Kirigakure, and some miscellaneous compensation for supplies," Shizune reported the general contents one by one.
"Apart from the mission allocation, which is non-negotiable, everything else is acceptable. The material compensation can be appropriately increased. That's it. If they accept, they accept. If not, then forget it!" Tsunade signed all the agreements except for the mission allocation protocol and tossed them to Shizune.
Mission requests were the lifeblood of a village, the heart that pumped blood into it. Mission requests not only brought income to the village but also expanded its influence. Tsunade would rather give more in material compensation than compromise the village's foundation.
Sunagakure had launched a surprise attack on Konoha precisely because the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had entrusted missions to Konoha and reduced their military funding. This showed that mission requests were not as simple as they appeared on the surface.
"Yes. What if Kirigakure doesn't agree?" Shizune asked with some concern. In her opinion, this outcome was already very good. It wouldn't be good if this led to another war.
"They don't agree?" Tsunade paused. "Then prepare for war."
"Yes, ma'am," Shizune said, speechless. As expected of Lady Tsunade. If it were the council elders, they probably wouldn't make such a risky decision. They probably wouldn't even let this agreement see the light of day and would have directly drawn a clear line with Sakura. Only Lady Tsunade would sign such an agreement for Sakura's sake.
Sakura walked out of the Hokage's office and headed towards the ANBU headquarters, feeling somewhat silent as she looked at the signed and sealed order from her master in her hand.
She had thought that, at most, her master would have an ANBU member escort her in to find Sasuke. But she had issued such an order.
With this, as long as she didn't lose it, she could basically come and go from the ANBU headquarters as she pleased. Sakura Haruno suddenly felt a little guilty for the trust her master had placed in her.
Forget it. Since it's like this, I'll leave the remnants of Danzo's faction for Master to deal with.