Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Ryotenbin no Onoki was the oldest living Kage and one of the few who had been alive long enough during the warring clans period to actually remember the bad old days. He had lead his village through every single one of the great shinobi wars and despite his age was one of the most dangerous shinobi on the planet. Still, he was tired of war, more tired of paperwork and often sought relief in raising the younger generations so it was no surprise his office was his granddaughter’s first stop after returning from Konohagakure.
He had heard by carrier pigeon that she had made it to the third exam, so he was mildly surprised when a furious Kurotsuchi threw the doors to his office open. The heavily carved oak doors slammed as they hit the doorstop, rattling the frame while Kurotsuchi herself stalked into the room, positively radiating weak killing intent. None of it was aimed at him, which only added to his curiosity because usually when she flew off the handle like this he at least knew the reason.
“That bitch! Grandpa, you need to do something! Konoha fixed the matches and now I won’t have a chance to take her down because she’s fighting the Uchiha.” Kurotsuchi shrieked and Onoki quickly hid his smile. Of course the girl was angry she wouldn’t get a chance to fight someone who had offended her. “I’m serious grandpa! That pink haired child needs to learn her lesson!”
Onoki’s smile froze in place as he looked towards his daughter. Pink hair was incredibly rare in the shinobi world, the civilian one to for that matter. He had only the vaguest memories of a shinobi, or kunoichi rather, with such hair. She had been an utter nightmare though she was little more then a myth these days, having vanished and likely died towards the end of the warring clans period.
“Well why don’t you describe her for me?” Onoki knew better then to write anything off at his age. He prided himself on maintaining his wit and resolve, unlike the Sandaime Hokage who was a frail, ineffectual leader. If there was even a chance that this girl his granddaughter was howling about might be related to the Uchiha’s lost legend he had to know.
“She’s this arrogant little chit! She’s like four, with pink hair and obnoxious green eyes, why?” Kurotsuchi’s mood calmed the moment she saw the look in her grandfather’s eyes. Right now she wasn’t speaking to her kind and dotting grandfather but rather the Sandaime Tsuchikage, a living legend and unshakable warlord.
“When I first saw her I thought she was just a kid. She passed the first exam without trouble and I decided to ambush her team when we started near hers during the second exam. She was wearing a cloak during both so when Gorou hit her in the back with an earth jutsu, I thought we’d either killed her or broken her spine badly enough to keep her out of the exam.” Kurotsuchi explained and Onoki could already tell that wasn’t what happened. He could see the well hidden fear in his granddaughter’s face and knew the cause for her anger. She’d been scared of this child and being a proud warrior of Tsuchi no Kuni, she had been unable to accept such humiliation and had channeled that fear into anger.
“She was fine though, she was wearing armor, red armor when she reappeared and she had a scythe.” Kurotsuchi’s words instantly brought back a memory of times long since past. Onoki would never forget the day he had encountered them. Laying amid a sea of corpses and craters, he somehow survived were thousands of others hadn’t. It had been one of the final battles of the old wars and he had only survived because those emerald eyes had looked down upon him and found him harmless, not even worth the energy to end. “Grandfather?”
“What did she do next?” Onoki asked quietly, making sure he didn’t ask any leading questions. The Byakko wasn’t taught about in the written histories of any of the villages. The Uchiha’s practice of full equality between shinobi and kunoichi had fallen by the wayside as villages focused on expanding their population and producing shinobi as products rather then following the older traditions of the clans. The mercenary system that had come to define the modern shinobi world meant a far higher rate of attrition and losses then the old wars had ever managed, even if the world was far more peaceful on the surface. To this day Onoki wasn’t sure if he missed the old ways or not. Things had been simpler back then, freer to.
“She threw shuriken at me that curved, which isn’t that odd and I decided to counter with a wind jutsu. She threw her scythe though, it was on a chain.” Every time Kurotsuchi spoke, Onoki felt the dread in his stomach rise just a little further. The woman had vanished without a trace, but if she had a descendant there was only one man who she would have even considered touching. A child of such a union would be a calamity, even a granddaughter or great granddaughter could threaten the very stability of the modern shinobi world if she truly was of a mind. Onoki knew what he should do as Tsuchikage, but on the other hand was the current system even worth protecting?
“I shot a wind jutsu at her after dodging her scythe and she answered it with a fireball, except I’ve never seen fire that was blue. Do you think she mixed it with lightning release or has a bloodline?” Kurotsuchi asked and Onoki knew, in his heart of hearts, that this had moved fully beyond the realm of coincidences. The Byakko had survived or at least her descendants had.
“Did she have sharingan?” Onoki asked because he had to know. If the girl had the sharingan, then there wasn’t even a shadow of a doubt who she was related to. On the other hand, if she lacked the mirror wheel eyes, she would still be a threat, and almost certainly related to the forgotten legend, but she would be unable to claim legitimacy in any meaningful way and could be ignored, for now at least and she certainly wouldn’t be worth assassinating and starting a war over.
“No, her eyes were green and she’s not an Uchiha. She’s a civilian actually, I heard rumors about her before we rushed back. Apparently she was allowed to graduate early to appease the civilian council, she’s not that strong or fast and she only got me because I didn’t expect her fire jutsu. Her teammates were much stronger then her and we still managed to catch all of them off guard.” Kurotsuchi explained and Onoki felt himself relax. He was still worried of course, because if she really was only five years old then there was plenty of time for her eyes to develop. On the other hand, Iwagakure utterly lacked a jounin corps and their equivalent of ANBU was a shell of its prewar self.
“I see, well I suppose I could always train you myself. You never know, she just might beat that Uchiha boy.” Onoki was not going to take any chances with his granddaughter. If this pink haired child truly was related to the Uchiha tigress, then anyone who stood against her was in mortal peril. “Now what do you know about particle style?”
***
Hiruzen had not been lying when he said her training would be brutal and every night when she arrived in the Uchiha fortress she could feel Madara and Tajima’s worried looks. The Warring clans period was a time of brutality, but it lacked the kind of casual cruelty that seemed to define the modern era. Still, despite her sore muscles and throbbing chakra core, Sakura trained hard and could feel herself getting stronger. The Eagles’ breathing technique that Madara was teaching her improved her stamina and recovery rate, including how fast she could generate chakra. It wasn’t a monumental change but it was the kind of difference that would add up over the coming months and years.
Sakura was so busy she only ever saw the Haruno family in glimpses after she scarfed down an early breakfast and ran out to train with the Hokage. It was a blessing and Sakura knew in the back of her mind that she was technically an adult by law and fully independent. If she wanted to she could move out, but for now, with the minimal contact she was having she decided to save what money she had earned for herself and take advantage of having cooks prepare her a free breakfast.
The days to the final exam seemed to rush by and Sakura found herself unable to find time for her teammates. Hiruzen drilled her relentlessly, overworking her muscles and bones until they frayed and cracked, then while he healed her, Sakura expended her chakra on attempts to revive a fish and once she ran dry on chakra, she studied the basics of fuinjutsu. He had even drawn up a schedule for her after the exam came to a close, though he would no longer be able to oversee it nearly as often and thus her strength training would fall to her to finish if she ever wanted to truly rival Tsunade.
A week before the exam found Sakura resting on the edge of a training field. Her lungs ached from recently being healed, her diaphragm was a muscle after all. Her stomach hurt as well, in a strange nebulous way that she couldn’t quite place. Still, Sakura couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips because for all that Hiruzen set off her instincts, she had learned a lot from him. Just this afternoon, she had managed to revive her fish, the first step of training as a proper medic. Of course reviving a fish and healing wounds weren’t the same thing but she was improving and that was what truly mattered to her.
A deathly still chakra appeared on the edge of her senses and Sakura looked away from her textbook to see one of the Hokage’s elder council approaching her. The man was covered in bandages, though she could feel the chakra hidden under the white wrappings was off, different then the rest of his network. His right eye was covered by bandages as well and he wore formal clothing, the kind often used at the royal court and utterly unsuited for shinobi.
“Haruno Sakura?” The man’s voice was deep, gravelly and his tone was utterly flat. She considered him carefully and nodded. She knew that not all of the ANBU guards had left the area. Hiruzen wanted to ensure she wasn’t skimping on her work and being told to keep reading by an animal masked ANBU was sufficiently motivating for most children. “How goes your training for the chunin exams?”
“Well sir,” Sakura couldn’t remember which clan this man belonged to. His looks were generic, which meant he belonged to a clan that didn’t have a bloodline. Something about him was distinctly familiar though and if Hiruzen set her instincts on edge, this man might as well have been waving a neon sign around that screamed evil. “Can I help you sir?”
“Straight to business eh? An admirable trait in a young kunoichi.” The man murmured and Sakura felt like she had made a mistake. She did not want this man to think anything of her. She didn’t want him near her and she suddenly found herself searching for the ANBU guards’ chakra signatures. She wouldn’t find them, they were simply too good at concealment for her to manage such a feat but she still tried, desperate for some sense of security. “I run an organization that trains Konoha’s most elite shinobi. The best of the best have all come from my program, I’m sure you’ve even heard of a few of them.”
“I apologize sir but I don’t recall your name.” Sakura offered, hoping to find out exactly why her instincts were so on edge. The man could be a Senju, that would explain her fear but his chakra was too cold and sharp for a clan usually associated with earth and water. Still she wouldn’t assume he wasn’t a Senju until she knew exactly who he was and why she was so damn uncomfortable under his gaze.
“Shimura Danzo, elder council to the Hokage.” Shimura Danzo’s introduction explained why Sakura was so instinctively afraid of him. She knew what kind of training the Shimura clan put their doll soldiers through and she had absolutely no interest in ending up as one. She could likely resist the conditioning to some degree, if only because her mind would escape to the Uchiha clan at night, but she had no desire to test that theory.
“I am afraid I will have to turn you down Danzo-sama. I trust my sensei’s guidance and have been fortunate enough to have gotten private lessons from the Hokage himself. I have clear goals and I am not so hungry for power that I am going to spread myself thin seeking it. Thank you for the offer but I decline.” Sakura knew she couldn’t defeat the man if he attacked her but she could escape. She would have to push herself into chakra exhaustion but a reverse summons would get her to safety. She stealthily cut her finger, using her textbook to hide the motion as the man considered her.
“I see, perhaps I will ask again when you are a little older then.” Danzo’s chakra shifted slightly, as if considering an attack. Sakura’s chakra rose to answer, her guard sharpening and her eyes narrowing as she prepared her escape. She only needed a split second for the reverse summons and her tensing wasn’t missed by the man. “Konohagakure does not tolerate wasted potential child. You would do well to remember that.” Danzo’s words might have been a warning but could just have easily been a threat. The man turned ane left without another word. Sakura, still tense and covered in cold sweat from training, pushed herself to her feet, her heart beating frantically against her ribs.
‘I think we’ll finish our day in the Hokage’s office.’ Inner said softly and Sakura agreed, forcing her exhausted body across the village and into the hokage’s office through the window. Hiruzen looked at the pale, exhausted girl as she tumbled onto his floor and slowly pushed herself upright. The man raised an eyebrow as Sakura caught her breath, clearly shaken.
“Shimura-san scared me. I turned him down.” Sakura explained and wasn’t surprised to see acceptance on the old man’s face. He knew Danzo would approach her and had allowed it to happen. She didn’t know if he would tolerate the other man kidnapping her or forcing her through his brainwashing program but until she could inform Naori-sensei, the Hokage tower was likely the safest place in Konoha for her.
***
The day of the third exam, Sakura carefully strapped her armor into place and double checked her weapons. She had rested the day before and received a full checkup at the hospital to ensure there were no remaining hairline fractures in her bones or tears in her muscles. During the night she had eaten a hearty meal with Inari who had even given her rice balls to eat for breakfast. The kitsune food was rich with natural chakra and Sakura could feel the foreign chakra in her network, seeping into her muscles and becoming a part of her the more she ate of it.
Grabbing her scythe, Sakura secured it against her armor and checked herself in the mirror. She looked utterly ridiculous, at least to her own eyes. With bright pink hair, large emerald eyes and pale skin, she didn’t look at all like a shinobi. No matter how much time she spent in the sun, she remained ghostly pale thanks to her Mizu blood. A grin revealed her razor sharp teeth, which helped a bit but considering Sakura was all of five years and eight months old, she looked utterly ridiculous in her child sized armor and she knew it.
‘Well let’s get this over with.’ Sakura thought, pulling her cloak on and making sure the hood hid her face. She was going to be standing and fighting in front of a crowd and the last thing she needed was for them to realize just how nervous she was. Chunin did not get nervous after all and Sakura would need a clear head if she was going to pull off her little choreographed match against Itachi. They had agreed on how things would play out, but making it look believable was going to be difficult, even for the Uchiha Prodigy.
Sakura took the rooftops across Konohagakure and arrived at the arena early. Anko was already there, along with Naori-sensei. The two had brought hot breakfast for the whole team and Sakura accepted a small bowl of steaming miso soup since she’d already eaten. Anko was wearing a large light brown trench coat made from leather and Sakura could feel chakra flowing through it. At the small of her back Anko had strapped two tanto, weapons that she had occasionally toyed with before the month long training break but never used regularly.
“Heard your training was brutal.” Anko said carefully, giving Sakura a worried look as the younger girl drank her soup and occasionally picked up a piece of tofu which she had to chew carefully due to her shark like teeth. Sakura swallowed what she’d been chewing to clear her mouth and nodded.
“Yeah, it wasn’t fun. I can see how Orochimaru went crazy.” Sakura said quietly and Anko bumped the other girl gently with her shoulder. It was a show of support, one the rosette greatly appreciated because the truth was this had been the hardest month of her life. Even with Madara’s support, Tajima’s concern and Inari’s mothering, Sakura had spent the entire month in an emotionally detached haze. Hiruzen did not train humans, he forged weapons and she was immensely grateful it was over.
“Well hopefully you’ve learned enough to give the judges what they’re looking for. Itachi is going to be a tough opponent.” Naori said quietly, patting Sakura’s short pink hair. The girl leaned into the touch greedily, new behavior for her but one Naori was glad to see. Sakura hadn’t had a childhood to speak of, thanks to the Haruno’s idea of discipline and a graduation at far too young an age. “Do your best alright?”
“I will,” Sakura promised as Izumi finally showed up. The Uchiha-Senju looked like she hadn’t slept a wink and her long hair, usually worn free, was tied up into a tight bun with a few senbon stuck through it to anchor it all in place. Izumi flashed Anko a nervous smile, which was immediately returned before she scooped Sakura up off the ground into a hug.
“Sakura-chan! It’s been way too long! How have you been? You’re so much heavier and you’re wearing your armor!” Izumi said cheerfully, inspecting her friend even more carefully then Anko had though she hid it well. Sakura felt Izumi’s chilly chakra buzzing with nervousness and worry, which somehow translated into a warmth spreading through the rosette’s chest.
“I’m fine Izumi, but I am never training with Hokage-sama ever again.” Sakura said as Izumi put her down. The rosette knew she was going to have nightmares about what Hiruzen had put her through and while she couldn’t argue with the results there had to be a better way. The sheer amount of agony she had experienced could thoroughly qualify as a kind of training all its own and Sakura knew her pain tolerance had been forever altered.
“Sakura-chan, Anko-san, Izumi.” Itachi’s young voice interrupted the conversation and the trio of girls along with their sensei looked over at the new arrival. Itachi was wearing his usual clan clothes, a navy blue shirt with dark gray shinobi pants. Bandages were wrapped around his arms and he was wearing two holsters, one on each thigh along with an extra pouch full of weapons on his belt. “Good morning.”
“Mornin ‘Tachi, here,” Izumi, much to everyone’s amusement pulled out a small styrofoam container full of dango and handed it over to the Uchiha heir. Itachi blushed slightly but still accepted the treats, taking a bite from one of the skewers almost immediately. Sakura could feel Naori’s chakra bubbling up happily and a glance showed her sensei’s sharingan had activated briefly, her onyx eyes glowing with remnants of crimson as they returned to their usual state.
“You shouldn’t activate your sharingan in the village. It’s a waste.” Itachi stated and Sakura felt a sudden rush of cold. If the Uchiha had forgotten to view the good times with their sharingan, they would be consumed by the horrors they witnessed in battle. Sakura knew she had no right to butt in and even Izumi would grow suspicious if she pressed her for answers. After all what justification could Sakura manage for why she wanted to know?
“My eyes, my rules.” Naori replied with a sly grin, amused at being lectured by the child. Sure he outranked her socially but as a jounin of Konohagakure she was beyond the reach of her clan. They could bring a complaint against her to the hokage but considering the current political state in the village, she knew who Hiruzen would back. Sakura watched the exchange with a small but visible frown, silently stressing over her inability to properly lead her clan. “The proctor has just arrived so you all best go down there with the other hopefuls.”
Sakura knew a dismissal when she saw one. Naori didn’t want to argue with Itachi and gave him a chance to save face. Sure the genin were congregating down on the sandy soil of the arena but there were still a few minutes before the exam would officially begin. If Naori had wanted, she could have given Itachi a lecture or dressing down for trying to order her around but she had chosen to divert attention instead.
‘I like her,’ Inner whispered and Sakura agreed wholeheartedly. Naori was definitely someone special to her, an aunt perhaps or maybe an older sister. Inari had recently filled the role of mother, at least to Sakura’s instincts but Naori was definitely a close second after the year they’d spent together. The only thing keeping from Sakura viewing the woman as a parent was the fact that Naori was Sakura’s commanding officer.
“Come on,” Anko said cheerfully, taking Sakura’s hand and quite literally pulling her from her thoughts. The two Konoha teams quickly made their way down to the arena and formed up with the two foreign teams. Across from them, the proctor for the third exam stood looking utterly put out. Sakura recognized him instantly from the bingo book as Hatake Kakashi, prodigy and youngest chunin in Konohagakure’s history. He was six when he earned his rank, three months older then Sakura currently. She’d beat him, just barely, if she managed to earn her flak jacket today.
“Alright, the rules for the exam are simple. Anything goes but if I’ve decided there is an obvious winner I’ll end the match. Get knocked out or killed, you lose. You can forfeit at any time and your opponent will stop attacking, or else.” Kakashi swept his one exposed eye over the group of children and kept his thoughts thoroughly to himself. This was the youngest group of finalists in the history of the chunin exams, with five of the twelve candidates being ten years old or younger and none of them being over the age of sixteen. “Alright, the first two contestants will stay down here, that’s Kamizuru Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure and Shi of Kumogakure.”
Sakura along with the rest of the contestants quickly moved up to the viewing boxes and watched the fight unfold. Shi was a medic, a talented one at that and he was one of the more experienced genin of the group. The entire Kumo team were older then their competition and Shi made immediate use of that. Kurotsuchi put up a good fight, but she was too reliant on ninjutsu and when Shi bypassed it and closed in for a taijutsu match, she went down fast.
“Kamizuru Arata VS Mabui,” Kakashi called out, sounding utterly bored and the match went differently then the first but ended the same. Mabui wasn’t able to close with Arata thanks to the cloud of bees he summoned, so instead she simply drove him into a corner with her superior speed and shuriken skills then blasted him with a lightning jutsu. The Iwa genin survived, but left the arena covered in nasty electrical burns that would require chakra healing to prevent permanent nerve damage.
“Gorou VS Samui,” Kakashi called out and no sooner had he done so then Samui closed in on her opponent with a sword. She took Gorou apart almost instantly, her blade wreathed in lightning and leaving afterimages as it cut through the stone Gorou raised to stop her then shocked him into submission as she drove it through the younger shinobi’s shoulder.
“Wow, looks like Kumo swept Iwa.” Anko drawled as Samui returned to the stands. The girl looked towards Anko who flashed a wide grin and waved, unbothered by the blond’s glare. Anko had bigger things on her mind at this point and Sakura knew Izumi was equally focused as Kakashi called out their names.
“Mitarashi Anko VS Uchiha Izumi,” Kakashi shouted and Sakura’s teammates jumped down to the arena together. Sakura swallowed, a lump forming in her throat as her friends squared off against each other. Anko had the advantage in everything but chakra control and kinetic vision, but Izumi was no push over and her nin-kenjutsu had been improved by a month of hard work and dedication. “Begin!”
Anko started the match with a volley of senbon which Izumi cut from the air as she drew her jian. For a moment, both girls just stood still and Sakura held her breath. Then the two charged forward, Izumi’s sword lit up with chakra, the edge visibly glowing and moving so fast she was little more then a blur as Anko threw her arm forward and unleashed her shadow snakes.
Blood sprayed through the air as Izumi unleashed a burst of chakra, her eyes spinning sharingan red for a half second as she twirled her blade. Steel slipped through the muscle and bones of the serpents with ease and Izumi arrived under Anko’s guard before the purple haired kunoichi could react. The Uchiha stabbed downward, driving her sword through Anko’s thigh and the crowd roared their approval at the apparent injury dealt to Orochimaru’s apprentice.
Thanks to her chakra control, Izumi was just as much of a sensor as Sakura however and the girl jumped skyward right as the ground behind her transformed into a stone column and rocketed for her back. Izumi spun over Anko who melted away into a puddle of mud, revealing herself to be a clone. When Izumi’s feet touched down on the sandy earth, a hand stuck to each of her heels without revealing themselves to the surface and yanked downward.
Izumi pulsed her chakra, breaking Anko’s grip and slashed her sword through the dirt. Anko dodged upwards, erupting from the ground, landing a hard punch on Izumi’s stomach and sending the Uchiha tumbling backwards. A flurry of senbon forced the Uchiha to substitute and a high speed game of tag ensued as the two girls flickered about the arena. Steel rang against steel and sparks flew as the two traded senbon and shuriken.
Finally, Anko grew tired of doing nothing other then wasting her supplies and ran through the hand seals for a katon jutsu. A moment later she blanketed the field in fire, forcing Izumi to react by calling up a wall of water to defend herself. The brief moment Izumi stopped moving was all Anko needed and a snake emerged from the ground, its fangs sinking into Izumi’s calf and delivering a large dose of venom.
“I surrender.” Izumi called out the moment the snake released her. It stung her pride but she knew when she was beat and even if she somehow won, she wouldn’t be able to compete in any further matches. Anko grinned and walked over, handing her the antidote without prompting. Izumi drank it, not even hesitating and then returned Anko’s smile.
“Good match Izumi-chan,” Anko’s words were boosted by the viewing jutsu so everyone in the stadium heard her sincerity. “Your kenjutsu is ridiculous, you know? If you had been trying to kill me I might not have won.”
“Says the girl who could have just crushed me under a snake summons. Thanks for the match though, it was fun.” Izumi bumped Anko’s shoulder playfully. Sakura could tell both girls were upset over fighting each other. Anko threw her arm over Izumi’s shoulder to try and provide some silent support. Izumi had wanted to win, but Anko was just too far ahead of her. Izumi hadn’t started taking her training seriously until she befriended Sakura while Anko had been a genin for a few years by that point, learning directly under Orochimaru.
“Come on, let’s go cheer for our teammate.” Anko’s words faded as she walked off the arena but the effects were obvious. Up until that point, she had been seen as another Orochimaru. Wild and unhinged, a threat just waiting to manifest. In just a few minutes however, that reputation had been smashed to pieces and the residents of Konoha had seen her for who she truly was, a young girl with a lot of potential that cared dearly for her friends.
“Interesting match,” Kakashi’s drawl was unexpected but it said quite a bit that the Hatake Kakashi felt the need to comment. “Aburame Youji VS Suzukaze Himuka”
The match between Itachi’s teammates was, compared to all that came previously, kind of embarrassing. Youji was a bog standard Aburame and Himuka was a determined if ordinary genin. Neither really had any business being in the chunin exams and it was obvious they had been carried on Itachi’s coattails. Ultimately Youji claimed victory, though he lost most of his colony of kikaichu, making it a Pyrrhic victory at best.
“Uchiha Itachi VS Haruno Sakura,” Kakashi’s voice was followed by utter silence as the audience held their breath. Sakura turned and looked at Itachi who gave her a small nod. It was showtime.