Chapter 40: Little Martial Aunt
Sakura lay on the rooftop steps, resting her head on her arm and crossing one leg over the other. Her eyes stared absentmindedly at the white clouds drifting across the sky.
There was a little over a month left until the Chūnin Exams. Which also meant, there was just over a month left before Orochimaru's "Konoha Crush" plan would unfold.
But unlike the original timeline, this time, the Land of Earth was also involved.
Thanks to Sakura's earlier resource-control strategy yielding remarkable results, even the Land of Earth had no choice but to soften its stance toward Konoha in order to access more resources.
Of course, plenty of people with ulterior motives tried to take advantage of the situation. But with Sakura's advanced strategic thinking, combined with the oppressive force of Konoha's shinobi and the backing of the Fire Daimyō, anyone trying to fish in troubled waters quickly had their claws chopped off.
This world was, after all, still one ruled by shinobi. Even though they served under the authority of the daimyō, no daimyō would dare ignore the true power that shinobi held.
Still, the question remained—just how would Orochimaru carry out his plan to destroy Konoha this time?
If he stuck to the original plotline, that would be fine. But Sakura feared he might aim for Ōnoki—that old fossil from Iwagakure who was always complaining about his back.
Not that it mattered much.
In fact, if Orochimaru did involve Ōnoki, that might actually be better. Ōnoki was no pushover like Rasa. That stubborn old man still had it in him, even at seventy—he could explode with power at any moment.
If Orochimaru really decided to get Ōnoki involved, well... he could go ahead and take a taste of Dust Release first.
Sakura's thoughts drifted away, lost in scenarios and predictions. Suddenly, a noisy commotion erupted from the ninja classroom below her.
Her eyes gleamed. In a flash, her body vanished, reappearing at the side of the building as she stood perpendicular to the wall, peering in through the window at the scene unfolding.
At the center of attention stood two boys—one blonde, one raven-haired—with their lips accidentally pressed together in a kiss!
Everyone around them froze in utter disbelief.
For a moment, it was as if time itself had stopped…
Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other wide-eyed, both horrified. Then, almost in perfect unison, they bent over to gag in disgust.
"Damn you, Naruto! I'm going to kill you!" roared Sasuke, clutching his chest with one hand as he glared at the blonde.
"I should be the one saying that!" Naruto cried in agony. "My first kiss was supposed to be for Sakura-chan!"
Sakura: ...
Was that really necessary?
She had originally worn a bright grin, ready to enjoy the drama. But now her smile froze on her face.
Go find your Hinata already, she thought, expression darkening.
A glance at Hinata not far away showed the girl biting a handkerchief in pure envy, eyes locked on Sasuke.
Sakura shook her head and turned back, losing interest in the chaos. She headed up to the rooftop once more.
Ugh, what a pain…
Naruto really was clinging to her far too tightly. She needed to find an opportunity to reveal Hinata's feelings to him—maybe that would knock some sense into the guy.
Just as Sakura returned to the rooftop and resumed her cloud-gazing, Iruka walked into the classroom to restore order and began the process of dividing the students into teams.
"Yo."
"Our little Anbu squad leader's all alone up here?"
A familiar voice interrupted her daze. A shadow appeared beside her.
Sakura lazily shifted her green eyes toward the newcomer and said without enthusiasm, "What kind of way is that to greet me?"
"By seniority, what should you be calling me?"
"…."
Kakashi stared at the girl before him, speechless.
No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he couldn't escape this fate.
Her master was the Third Hokage. The Third's student was Jiraiya. Jiraiya's student was the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze. And Kakashi himself was Minato's student.
That made this girl—by the chain of mentorship—of the same generation as Jiraiya.
Which meant… he was supposed to call her master's master…
"…Little Martial Aunt."
That was the title he finally settled on. Technically, he should've called her grandmaster, but Sakura had thought that sounded awful and insisted on "Little Martial Aunt" instead—bumping her status up a generation.
Kakashi ought to be thanking her, honestly.
He sighed, his dead-fish eyes staring into space as he muttered the ridiculous title.
Sakura smiled slyly and patted his silvery-white hair. "Good boy~~"
There were perks to becoming the Hokage's disciple—such as a generational status boost.
Even if the Fourth Hokage himself were standing in front of her, he'd have no choice but to call her "Little Martial Aunt."
"So? What's the matter?" she asked with a chuckle, her earlier irritation over Naruto temporarily forgotten.
"It's about the team assignments," Kakashi said. He'd come bearing Hiruzen's arrangement for the upcoming squads.
Initially, when he was told he'd be teaching Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi had planned to take it seriously.
But once he heard that the third member of the team would be Sakura…
He considered quitting the position altogether.
Sakura was already a squad leader in the Anbu at the age of twelve. No one understood what that meant better than Kakashi, who'd spent a decade in the Anbu himself.
Even Itachi Uchiha had only been thirteen when he made squad leader.
And Sakura had done it not as a Jōnin, but at the rank of Special Jōnin.
If Hiruzen hadn't suppressed her promotion—wanting to slow down her advancement a little—she'd already be his peer as a full Jōnin.
Kakashi had become a Jōnin at twelve, yes—but that had been during wartime, when the rules were bent for exceptional talent. Sakura had earned her way through peace-time standards.
Her qualifications were worth more than his.
And if they ever fought seriously? One summoning technique would bring out Katsuyu, and Kakashi wouldn't have many options left. Not to mention her terrifying physical strength, her mastery of medical ninjutsu, and her support from the Monkey King Enma.
Now, she was being disguised as a Genin just for the sake of the Chūnin Exams?
Kakashi couldn't even complain anymore. He had no words left for the Third Hokage's decisions.
"What do you mean, what do I think?" Sakura said, putting special emphasis on the word "teacher" with a smirk.
She wasn't satisfied either.
After busting her back in the Anbu for four years, she'd been dismissed just like that. Sure, her rank had been reinstated, but not her Anbu status.
And the Anbu benefits… far beyond those of regular shinobi.
Now she'd have to tighten her belt every month just to make ends meet…
Kakashi sighed, staring at her with one visible eye. This was going to be rough…
"…I meant the upcoming Chūnin Exams," he said with a more serious tone.
"According to intel, someone plans to use the exam as cover for some larger scheme."
Hiruzen hadn't just put Sakura on Team 7 to balance things out. He wanted her present during the exams to prevent and respond to any emergencies.
The first written test wasn't much of a concern.
But once the teams entered the Forest of Death, any ambush or attack would require immediate and powerful intervention. Sakura would be their fastest and most capable responder.
That was the real reason she'd been assigned to the exam.
Her real mission… was to protect Naruto.
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(End of Chapter)