Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Protect You in Shadows
"DAD, I WANT A REAL MISSION DATTEBYO!" Naruto yelled out loud, slamming his hands on the table his blue eyes blazing. Minato chuckled amused, and the chunin secretary beside him in contrast was panicking. The Hokage's office was stifling with its work, sorting scrolls and papers alike. But Naruto's outburst made everything halt.
Even the Anbu, who were sticking to the ceiling, flinched at the boy’s outburst and glared at his dad. Kakashi closed his icha-icha-paradise book with a "Urgh." Sasuke sighed and rubbed his eye, muttering something about Naruto being a lovable idiot.
Sakura giggled nervously rubbing her cheek. "Hokage-sama, he didn’t mean it...hahaha," she said, trying to fix the dishonor Naruto just spilled on the village leader.
Minato, in his chair, threw his head back and laughed, amused by his son before reaching over and grabbing him, rubbing his head. Books, paper, and scrolls fell to the ground as he dragged his son across his desk. The boy protested, squirming into a hug.
"A real mission? Ah, you’re so grown, ay," Minato laughed and wheezed. "I was betting with Kushina how many D-rank missions it would take to piss you off, and I am impressed... You lasted 80 D-ranks, and you're tired already? Kushina said you could only survive 40! I am impressed my son, Kushina owes me. Now, Okay, bring in the client for the newest C-rank mission from Nami, the bridge builder!" He pointed at a chunin, who quickly ran out and brought in the man.
“Do you know how many D-rank missions you’ve done?” Minato laughed, holding Naruto in place despite the boy’s protests ruffling his hair. “Eighty! I told Kushina you’d make it to at least fifty before snapping, but you lasted longer than we thought!”
Naruto in his arms wriggled and howled:" NO DAD STOP, YOU EMBARRASSING ME IN FRONT OF MY TEAM!"
Sasuke smirked at the spectacle, clearly enjoying his teammate’s suffering. Kakashi’s eye crinkled in amusement as he reopened his book, while Sakura giggled and gave Naruto a thumbs-up. "Fighting!" she mouthed. Naruto groaned, finally giving up his struggle as Minato laughed heartily.
The chunin returns bringing a man right behind him. The client was tall, he was wearing a hat, lightly tanned, and an old man. He reeked of alcohol and kept drinking.
He pointed at Sakura, who smiled at him (though inside her mind she was envisioning strangling him in many ways). "So, a girl..." His finger turned to Naruto, who was still in his dad's arms, being ruffled. "A tiny wimp!" Naruto almost lunged at the old man to attack but was restrained in his dad's hug. Then the client turned his hand, and his finger landed on Sasuke and Kakashi. "An emo and a cyclops who has only one usable eye are supposed to protect me from bandits, Hokage-sama?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
Kakashi didn’t even look up from his book.
Minato released Naruto and gave his son a smack on the shoulder, sending Naruto crashing to the ground with a grunt. "I can assure you these Genins and Jonin are overqualified to go against bandits!" Tazuna looked at his escort, his eyes filled with doubt. "I am Tazuna. I am a bridge builder and need an escort team to bring me safely back to my home in Nami... I am in your care."
Sakura called bullshit in her mind something was wrong with Tazuna when she walked back to her home splitting from her team by giving them a wave and getting an eye smile from Kakashi.
Something didn’t sit right with her. Tazuna had walked into the Hokage’s office drunk and disrespectful, his attitude towards her team entirely out of line. And when he reacted so harshly to receiving "kids" as his protectors, her suspicions deepened. C-rank missions didn’t typically require such excessive caution. Bandits? Sure. Ninjas? Not so much. Tazuna’s request felt… off. As if he had a bigger problem.
Sakura silently created a shadow clone and sent it ahead the next day, just before they departed for the Land of Waves. Her clone returned with troubling news—two Chunin-ranked ninjas from Kiri, known as the Kiri Demon Twins, were waiting along their route for an ambush in a puddle. C-rank missions weren’t supposed to involve battles with other ninjas. And yet, here they were, facing trained assassins.
Something was very wrong. Tazuna should have requested an A rank he would have gotten a Jonin or Anbu but...this seems more problematic....Sakura’s stomach twisted as she dug into the details of Nami, finding a name that stood out: Gato, a wealthy business tycoon with shady dealings. It seemed Gato was targeting Tazuna for some reason. Why hadn’t Tazuna hired a Jonin team if things were this serious? What was going on here? And if Gato had hired elite ninjas, they were in deep trouble.
Sakura couldn’t ignore the feeling that their mission was quickly escalating beyond anything her team was prepared for.
The next day, when they got together at Konoha Gate, Sakura arrived as the three—Tazuna, Sasuke, and Naruto—were already there. Naruto looked at Sakura. "Uh, where is your bag?"
"I put it inside a storage scroll," she explained.
Kakashi came only 2 minutes late, he walked in, a scarf around his neck, his travel backpack on his back, reading a book on "How to Parent." She was confused by why, but it was a small upgrade from his porn books. Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, whistling a happy tune. Kakashi flipped a page not looking up he spoke: "We’re all here? Nice, let's go!"
So they marched, showed their IDs and travel passes to the gate guards, and went on their way.
Sakura’s breath hitched when she sensed strong chakra just 3 km ahead of their path. Tazuna had a wealthy tycoon as an enemy who could hire any elite ninja to his beck and call to kill him. He should not lie about that! her team was in danger now!
Secretly, she made another shadow clone and sent it ahead, making sure Kakashi didn't notice. Tazuna was beside Kakashi drinking and looking around panick. Naruto was in the rear with Sasuke arguing about what was cooler, shuriken or kunai. Sakura rolled her eyes, her team was just crazy.
After a while, Kakashi stopped, stepped back a few steps to her, and turned to her. His hands are still on his book. His singular eye beamed at her. "So, Sakura, what hobbies do you have?"
"Uh?!?" The girl panicked at the normal question. She was busy protecting him, and the team from whatever threat was ahead. Not that he knew, but why was he asking her what hobbies she had?!?! She smiled. "...training?"
"No outside ninja stuff!" the adult panicked. "Tell me you have no other hobbies besides working in the hospital, healing, and training?"
The girl nervously twirled her pink hair on one finger. "Uh...yeah?! I mean-no I-"
The adult raised his hands in shock, book in hand. "URGH! That's it, you're moving into the Hatake compound once we're back in the village. I swear I adopt you even by force or Kami help me! My dad has been nagging me to " get a wife and kid!" you the best thing I ever got as a kid. Plus you need something else besides ninja stuff. Sakura live is more than just being a ninja!"
Sakura blushed nervously.
Fuck!
" I have hobbies I hang out with friends!", she protested.
But her right hand clenched around her left arm, gripping her arm warmer tightly. Beneath it, faint scars marred her skin, remnants of self-inflicted punishment. She couldn’t tell him that. She couldn’t let anyone know. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to find out the truth about her dark, hidden struggle.
She had no intention of ever letting them see what was beneath the surface.
Her past as Anbu agent 03 codename " Petal" was a secret she would take to the grave. The things she did were better left hidden and unsaid- Kakashi oblivious to her suffering gave her head pat and talked about house pets. But she wasn´t there. Again Sakura was given kindness, something she didn't deserve.