When Sakura Haruno arrived at the ANBU headquarters, paper in hand, no one tried to stop her. Still, the anger in their eyes was impossible to miss.
Sakura understood their animosity. She had, after all, eliminated one of their comrades. While ANBU members were always prepared for death, the sight of the one who'd killed their former ally now strolling brazenly through the village felt like an insult to their fallen companion's sacrifice.
But anger was one thing, and orders were another. For ANBU, orders were absolute, so they didn't cause her any trouble.
Sakura reached the training grounds but found no sign of Sasuke. Only two ANBU operatives were sparring.
The two ANBU clearly noticed her, and one of them appeared before her in a Body Flicker.
"Who are you?" one of the masked ANBU inquired, his voice devoid of emotion.
"This is a direct order from Lady Hokage." Sakura showed him the paper. "I'm looking for Sasuke. Is he here?"
"Sasuke?" The masked operative seemed to pause for a moment. "He's not here. If I recall correctly, he hasn't shown up for several days."
"Several days?" Sakura was taken aback. "And you haven't bothered to check on him, even though he hasn't returned?"
"If you have no other business, please leave," the masked ANBU stated coldly. "You may have Lady Hokage's order, but I am under no obligation to answer your questions. Leave."
"Understood." Sakura observed the ANBU. He didn't radiate the same overt anger as those she'd encountered at the entrance, but he was clearly unwilling to engage with her. Since Sasuke isn't here, I'll check his place, she decided.
With that, Sakura left the ANBU headquarters and headed towards the Uchiha compound.
Gazing at the forest of bones still encircling the Uchiha compound, Sakura grumbled internally. Sasuke really is something else. He hasn't even bothered to clean this up yet. Doesn't living amidst an entire forest of bones creep him out?
Sakura stepped into the bone forest, making her way towards Sasuke's house. When she reached his doorstep, she found the main gate ajar, but an eerie silence emanated from within, as if it were deserted.
She stepped into the courtyard. Chilly gusts of wind rustled her long hair. Though it was daytime, the dense canopy of the bone forest blocked out most of the sunlight, casting the area in shadow. Combined with the stark white bones scattered around, it felt as if she had entered a realm of the dead.
She crossed the courtyard towards the main hall. Just as Sakura was about to slide open the door, she froze. Her eyes narrowed. Then, without warning, she spun around, hand raised, and unleashed two Storm Release lasers at a nearby patch of overgrown weeds.
A subtle twitch in her arm muscles guided the lasers sideways. The patch of weeds instantly burst into flames from the intense heat. A moment later, a large white snake, sliced cleanly in two, writhed out from the burning undergrowth.
Watching the white snake contort in agony on the ground, a look of understanding dawned in Sakura's eyes. She addressed the sliding door of the main hall, "What are you doing here?"
After a long moment, a hoarse voice drifted from inside. "You've grown stronger again. Looking at you now, I almost feel the Sharingan is overrated."
"In that case, I'd be more than happy for you to remove Sasuke's curse mark," Sakura retorted, her voice firm and fearless as she faced the owner of the voice.
The sliding door to the hall creaked open slowly, revealing a figure both familiar and foreign to Sakura.
"You can erase that curse mark whenever you wish. Do you truly need me to intervene?" Orochimaru looked down at her, a whirlwind of emotions stirring within him. A year ago, she could only flee at the sight of him. A few months ago, she had gained the faintest ability to resist. And now...
Now, perhaps, he would be the one fleeing.
"I don't have the ability to remove a curse mark," Sakura stated. She couldn't tell if Orochimaru was mocking her. Even if she could defeat him in a fight, the curse mark was beyond her capabilities.
"Oh, but you do have the ability," Orochimaru hissed, tapping a finger to his temple. "You simply lack this!"
The very next second, a startling whoosh cut through the air. Orochimaru vanished in the blink of an eye, followed by a series of thunderous impacts that reverberated through the otherwise silent compound.
When the scene settled, Sakura stood where Orochimaru had been moments before, her fist still extended from a punch. Directly opposite her, a gaping hole had been torn through the wall of Sasuke's main hall. Peering through it, one could see another hole in the wall beyond, and then another – a trail of destruction that bore testament to her fury.
"Calling me brainless? You're courting death!" Sakura flexed her fist, which ached slightly from the impact's recoil, and spat contemptuously towards the series of holes.
Orochimaru had truly picked the worst possible time. Sakura had just been snubbed by the ANBU and was already in a foul mood. Then this snake had to show up, acting all mysterious and calling her brainless. You're the one who's brainless! Your whole damn family is brainless! she fumed. I'm not scared of you anymore, you bastard!
After waiting for a considerable time with no sign of Orochimaru, Sakura grew impatient. She strode over to where he had last been standing.
She nudged what she thought was Orochimaru—lying face up on the ground—with her foot. To her surprise, the form slowly deflated. Startled, Sakura crouched down to inspect it. Staring at the shed layer of skin on the ground, realization dawned.
That son of a bitch Orochimaru actually escaped! Wait a minute, she thought, what was he even doing in Konoha? Did he come all this way just to get punched by me?
Sakura stared at the discarded snakeskin, utterly speechless. She guessed he probably had something he wanted to tell her. Back in the Land of Sea, his attempt to recruit her had failed, but he'd said they would meet again. Was this what he meant? That he'd show up, act all high and mighty, call her brainless, and then just… run off?
Is he completely insane?!
Ugh, wait a second. The encounter with Orochimaru had nearly driven her original purpose from her mind. I came here to find Sasuke...
A sudden chill ran down Sakura's spine. Don't tell me… Don't tell me Sasuke left to follow Orochimaru! Or worse, Orochimaru came here specifically to take him…
Crap! The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Sakura rushed back towards Sasuke's house. Just then, her senses picked up several life signatures approaching the Uchiha residence from a short distance away.
Quickening her pace, she reached Sasuke's courtyard to find ANBU operatives already there. Upon seeing Sakura burst in, they immediately drew their weapons.
"What are you doing here?" one of the ANBU demanded, his voice icy. "What just happened?"
No wonder he bolted. I must have made too much noise, Sakura realized. Being in Konoha, she hadn't thought much of it, but for a rogue ninja like Orochimaru, fleeing was the only sensible option.
"I was looking for someone," Sakura answered truthfully. "But I ran into Orochimaru here just now." There was no reason to hide it; she and Orochimaru were hardly allies.
"Orochimaru!" The ANBU operative sounded alarmed. "Where is he now?"
"I scared him off," Sakura said with a shrug, gesturing with her hands. "The trail of holes ends where we fought. He only left behind a shed skin, though."
"Go!" the lead ANBU ordered two of his subordinates with a wave of his hand. To the remaining one, he instructed, "You, take her to Lady Hokage to report this."
"Yes, sir," the operative responded, then turned to Sakura. "Come with me."
Sakura was reluctant to leave, still worried about Sasuke's whereabouts. But then a thought struck her: whether Sasuke had left willingly or been abducted, it probably didn't change much in the short term. Orochimaru's reincarnation technique still required another two years.
Besides, judging from their encounter today, Orochimaru seemed to have something he wanted to tell her; otherwise, he wouldn't have revealed himself here. Too bad she'd scared him off before he could say it.
Still, she had to admit, Orochimaru's knack for escaping was truly exceptional. Even with her advanced sensory abilities, she hadn't detected the exact moment he'd slipped away. He must have used some trick to fool her senses.
What a headache, Sakura mused. It looked like forming her team would have to wait. She'd give Karin a bit more time to develop. And she really needed to find an excuse to visit Red Shoal Island soon.