Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Countdown: 3
Sakura looked up from her book. All day, Kakashi had made them train in taijutsu and complete more physical tests. Now, he was putting them through academic ninja exercises. No problem for her—but Naruto? He was on his way to the afterlife. Sasuke? Barely hanging on. The smell of old paper and the sound of flipping books filled the library, along with occasional grumbling. It was full of people. Kakashi was snickering to himself, his singular eye crinkled in amusement at Naruto and Sasuke’s suffering.
Sakura rolled her eyes before leaning over to Naruto to help the poor Uzumaki.
The kunoichi wondered if Kakashi was purposely exhausting them physically and mentally. It was truly strange. Once she was done explaining the problem to Naruto, his eyes lit up in understanding. Then she walked over to Sasuke’s side of the table and helped him as well. Satisfied that she had helped her teammates, she sat back down in her seat. Kakashi gave her a happy, singular-eye smile as he patted her head. In his other hand, he held a book titled "How to Raise a Child" again. What was Jonin planning this time?
Rolling her eyes, she let the night dawn.
Holding a notebook full of her scribbles, she waved her teammates goodbye and was about to head home when she came across Hinata and Ino arguing. They stopped as soon as she approached.
"Oh, hey, Sakura!" Ino said nervously, chuckling as Hinata shot her a glare.
"Hey, Sakura. Don’t mind us. We’re talking. Just talking clan stuff," Hinata said icily, the last sentence aimed at Ino.
Under Hinata’s gaze, Ino melted. "Yeah, go on. Don’t mind us, Saku."
Eyebrow raised, Sakura shrugged and went home, only to be swooped up by Shisui and dropped off at his house, into the guest room.
"Nope. You’re still under surveillance, kitten," he chided. Resigned to her fate, Sakura tiredly walked to her bed and crawled under the warm blankets.
Grumbling, she reached into her ninja pouch for her notebook and went through her theories one more time. The door opened—it was Shisui again, this time with a bowl.
"I forgot, you need to eat, kid."
She smirked. "You’ve become my mom or something?"
"Whatever floats your boat. Now eat up, miss." He placed the bowl on her nightstand. Crawling out of her comfortable bed, Sakura reached for the bowl. She shoveled the food down absentmindedly, her mind drifting. What could Hinata and Ino have been arguing about?
With Ino and Hinata
They had moved to a more closed-off location, specifically Ino’s room. The Hyuga heiress was livid.
"Read Sakura's mind without her consent?! You’ve lost it, Ino. I know she’s been absent-minded, but this is too much!"
Ino understood Hinata’s anger, but Kakashi’s request… the way he had explained it... Her eyes drifted to the floor, where, just across her room, was a room full of former ROOT agents from her clan, sleeping soundly. Some were half her age, and a few of the older ones like Fuu were doing missions. It's been a year still these emotionless drones were hard to deal with.
"Sakura is suffering. If we don’t deal with it now, she might hurt herself. You know her, Hinata. She won’t talk about her problems, even though she has us—and TenTen."
Hinata her expression softening slightly.
Ino grabbed her hand. "Come with me. I need to show you something."
Leading Hinata through the Yamanaka residence, Ino went to her father’s study. Ignoring her dad, who was asleep at the desk, she reached for a file, flipped open several pages, and tapped on one.
"Read this carefully. Doesn’t this sound like Sakura?"
Curious, Hinata read the document—and was shocked.
"But why didn’t we notice all these years? If she displays typical ROOT agent movements... We’ve been together since childhood! She said she and TenTen never got past the first stage. They were never taken in deeper... but if she lied… why? Why isn’t she coming to us for help? Plus she has been always so full of emotions. If stage 4 makes you lose them...how...why?"
"I told you, Hinata… Sakura would rather lie than ask for help. Maybe she made it to Stage 3—worse, Stage 5. Heck, maybe she was involved with Danzo’s assassination? Whatever it is, we need to know. Sakura… she’s someone who never asks for help. She sees herself as a burden." Ino’s voice softened as she closed the file.
Hinata looked over at Inoichi’s sleeping figure. "Does he know? I mean… this is..."
"Harsh? I know. My dad has an idea."
"When will you do it?"
"In two days," Ino said, her hand clenched into a fist. "Shikamaru and Choji will help. Kakashi too. His dad, Sakumo, will host a barbecue, inviting the Rookie 9 and some friends. Sakura will be brought there. While everyone’s cooking, I’ll drag her away under the pretense of talking in private. Shikamaru will bind her, Choji will immobilize her. Kakashi-sensei will be nearby, with Asuma-sensei. Right now, Kakashi is tiring her out—both mentally and physically."
Time Skip – The Next Day
Sakura gasped for air. Another grueling day of taijutsu and heavy academic work. It was slowly getting to her—especially since she had sleepwalked thirty times. Luckily, Shisui had stopped her each time.
Kakashi had given them "homework" on creating strategies for their teamwork. The midday sun was hot, and Sasuke and Naruto were still doing their exercises.
Sakura wondered if this was intentional. Deciding to trust the adult, she sighed and continued her exercises.