Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Sarutobi Hiruzen was having a rather pleasant day. The jounin exams were in full swing and with eighty five candidates it was a promising crop for once. Konoha’s jounin corps had suffered during the last war and with the loss of the Uchiha, the village’s strength was at an all time low. Of course, that didn’t meant they wouldn’t recover, Konoha was special, blessed by the legacy of the Senju and now that the Uchiha were no more, much of their wealth and inheritance had been quietly seized by the village and put into the shinobi library for the general forces to make use of. Tobirama would have been proud.
A knock on the window drew Hiruzen from his musings and his eyes met verdant green. Haruno Sakura, current candidate in the exams and resident child prodigy of the village pushed open his window and stepped inside. Her short hair was ruffled and wet though her chakra was smooth and steady. The girl had no signs of physical injury, though considering her skill with iryo-ninjutsu and the lack of chakra restraints that was rather self explanatory.
“Sakura-chan, how can I help you?” Hiruzen asked calmly, mildly confused about her presence but keeping his imperturbable facade.
He’d seen many, many things over the years as Hokage. The shinobi of Konoha were unhinged as a rule and the ones you had to really watch out for were the ones who appeared sane on the surface. Especially if they had sharingan, Uchiha or not. Fortunately, Sakura lacked the crimson eyes of madness but she was still far too polite and well behaved on the surface. He was aware of her and Naruto’s pranks, all of which provided him with a great laugh. The two had quite the comradery going and both knew what it was like to be the target of prejudice so Hiruzen never disciplined her for her oddness. It helped that she hid it so well.
“Well, I don’t know where the third stage of the jounin exam is supposed to be. I knocked out Morino-san and escaped T&I without confirming it.” Sakura admitted, having left her weapons behind. She didn’t need them, not when she had her inhuman strength and perfect chakra control. Besides she knew they’d all be returned to her after the exam so she wasn’t in a rush.
“I see,” Hiruzen was fairly certain the Yamanaka seal was supposed to handle the exfiltration instructions but Sakura was a medic with perfect chakra control, a penchant for fuinjutsu and had been the victim of Uchiha Itachi’s sharingan so it was likely she’d developed defenses for her mind. It didn’t help that she’d been in Root for a week following what Itachi had done to her and it was a miracle she hadn’t been sealed. It would have made Hiruzen’s job propping her up as the next showpiece of the village far more difficult if she was an emotionless block of ice.
“So could you tell me where the third exam is? And what it is? I don’t know.” Sakura admitted, looking like a perfectly innocent and quite bashful child. Hiruzen felt a flash of guilt as he looked at her.
Despite her savage blood and her razor sharp teeth, Sakura was a child of Konoha. Her family undoubtedly hailed from the Isles but Sakura was kind and patient, looking after both Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Every report that Hiruzen had on the girl spoke of a gentle soul that only fought when provoked physically. She shrugged off insults and slights with ease and only ever defended herself when things became kinetic. She wouldn’t even bait those who insulted her, ignoring them or politely dismissing them rather then picking a fight or trading barbs.
“Training ground forty four, you’ll be assigned to a random team and given an objective. The objective will vary from exam to exam but usually it’s rather reminiscent of the chunin exams.” Hiruzen explained and Sakura nodded in thanks. She moved to the window and Hiruzen watched as she froze and met his eyes.
“I want my weapons back, they’re gifts from my summons.” Sakura’s face was remarkably serious and Hiruzen didn’t hesitate to give her a nod. He knew her weapons had Uchiha heritage and her pink hair had, briefly, brought to mind something his sensei had once spoken of, however Haruno Sakura did not have a drop of Uchiha blood within her. He’d run her blood tests through on three separate occasions to confirm it. After all, child or not Hiruzen couldn’t let a descendant of the Byakko and Uchiha Madara run around his village.
***
Training ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death was one of Sakura’s favorite training grounds, though that was true of everyone in Team 7. The deadly monsters that stalked the overgrown trees, the poisonous plants and dense air were perfect for survival training. If you could survive in the Forest of Death, any forest would be easy by comparison. The fact that the dense nature chakra allowed chakra reserves to refill faster was just an added bonus, one that Sakura and Anko abused regularly.
Arriving outside the training ground, Sakura found herself with quite a bit of time on her hands. Settling down in the soft grass just beyond the shade of the massive trees that made up the training ground, Sakura began to meditate, ensuring her reserves were topped off and then stretching them just a bit as she gathered more chakra just in case. She couldn’t truly store more then her normal capacity, that was a secret only the Uzumaki knew, but she could give herself a slight boost thanks to her perfect chakra control.
“Team 4 will be Haruno Sakura, Yuuhi Kurenai and Kanden Tekuno.” Sakura heard the call out once all those who had passed the second exam were gathered. Kurenai she recognized instantly, the woman was Anko and Izumi’s age, fifteen and quite young for a would be jounin. She’d done well so far though, since she’d made it through the first two exams, and while her hair was a ruined mess and her eyes were slightly red and bloodshot from whatever torture she’d experienced, she was still standing.
Kanden Tekuno on the other hand was at first glance utterly unremarkable. He had brown hair so curly it defied gravity and was cut short to prevent it forming a fully fledged afro. He was lightly tanned and had the kind of face that would easily get lost in a crowd. Perfect for a shinobi, though perhaps not the kind that would ever become a legend. In fact everything about him screamed mediocre and Sakura had to wonder if he truly had what it took to become a jounin.
“Your mission is within this scroll.” A proctor handed Sakura a scroll and she felt the eyes of her two teammates on her back. This was intentional, the proctors were already trying to cause discord among the trio by who they’d given the scroll to. Sakura accepted the scroll and unrolled it so her teammates could read it with her.
‘We have to capture a flag while defending our own flag and we’ve got three days to do it.’ Sakura looked over the map of the Forest of Death in the scroll and frowned. They couldn’t move their flag or seal it in a storage scroll, which meant someone on their team would have to guard it. Worse they couldn’t simply bring two flags to the tower, they needed their flag and another team’s flag. The locations of the various flags were unmarked but finding one was probably part of the exam.
‘Ichirin would be perfect for this.’ Sakura knew she couldn’t risk summoning a kitsune within the walls of Konoha. Too many remembered their distinctive chakra signature and even though her summons lacked the burning wrongness of the Kyuubi they still felt like foxes. It was hard to explain exactly what that meant but after experiencing the Kyuubi’s chakra, Sakura would never fail to see the similarities.
“We’re going to have to decide who goes on the offensive and who stays behind.” Sakura said as she looked at her two temporary teammates. Tekuno nodded, eyes hard and serious while Kurenai was visibly nervous. The woman was a chunin and had to have some hidden talent if she was already applying for jounin. No amount of beauty or manipulation could get three recommendations approved. Sarutobi Hiruzen was many things but he wasn’t careless.
“You’re a rather offensive fighter if I remember correctly.” Tekuno had seen her chunin exams and Sakura nodded in agreement. Her scythe and weapons were currently absent but she didn’t need them, not when she had her summons and jutsu. If she was really pressed, Sakura could always fall back on her taijutsu or just steal a weapon from her opponent if they were careless.
“Yes and I have a lot of experience in sneaking around and taking out guarded targets.” Sakura knew what her words implied. Tekuno nodded while Kurenai grimaced, both of them catching onto her meaning. Neither were in ANBU, Sakura would have recognized their chakra but that didn’t mean they weren’t skilled, just that they weren’t combat focused.
“I’m on the barrier team, I specialize in defensive tactics. Bodyguard missions, border patrol, that kind of stuff.” Tekuno explained and Sakura knew the man was their best choice for defending their flag. He had the experience and they needed to play to their strengths. It also meant the team was well balanced, which implied the other teams were likely made up of similarly balanced trios. “And you Yuuhi-san?”
“Genjutsu and shurikenjutsu. I know some fuinjutsu as well but nothing I could use in combat.” Kurenai explained and Sakura wondered just how the woman had made it this far. Perhaps she truly was that talented a seduction specialist, the Hokage was a man after all and Kurenai was beautiful. Sakura didn’t voice her thoughts however and instead looked over at Tekuno.
“I can cover myself with genjutsu and I’ve got experience in infiltration, you two should defend our flag and I’ll find a vulnerable team to steal from.” Sakura suggested and ignored the look Kurenai sent her way. The woman was only five years older then her after all and if she was hiding her talents from her teammates then she would just have to deal with being treated as a potential liability.
“Sounds like a plan.” Tekuno looked over at Kurenai who bristled slightly but nodded. The trio were silent for an awkward minute before the proctors called them to their entry gate. From there they made their way to the flag they would be defending. “Good hunting kid.”
“Thanks.” Sakura grinned as she made a quick series of hand seals and summoned one of her smaller tigers. “It’s time to hunt, but no killing.” Sakura told the tiger which answered her with a toothy grin. Sakura took to the trees, the great cat hot on her heels and only barely caught Kurenai’s soft huff of annoyance. She knew the older woman didn’t trust her and likely found her disconcerting but so long as they didn’t lose their flag and Sakura captured another team’s flag she didn’t care. Kurenai could dislike her all she wanted, she’d likely never have to deal with the woman again.
***
Sakura moved through the trees at a quick pace, rapidly closing in on a team that had sent two of its members on the offensive. The one remaining was an Inuzuka that Sakura vaguely recognized. She had the distinctive clan markings on her cheeks and three nin-dogs to help her guard the clearing. With hand sign, Sakura sent her tiger charging forward. Tigers were common in the Forest of Death and so the woman didn’t immediately realize she was under genuine attack.
“Come on really?!” The Inuzuka shouted as the tiger slammed one of her dogs into the dirt. The other two charged forward, while she spun, performing the Inuzuka signature jutsu. Sakura quickly went through the hand seals for several genjutsu, layering them over the woman and her hounds. She distorted their field of view slightly, toyed with their sense of balance and lowered their reaction times just enough to catch them off guard then shot forward.
Sakura knew the Inuzuka were sensors of a sort. They had superhuman hearing and a sense of smell to match it so she wasn’t surprised when the woman noticed her before she could land her surprise attack. Still, she didn’t manage to escape as Sakura unleashed a flurry of punches, quickly breaking past her guard and landing a decisive kick on the Inuzuka’s knee. The snap of bone breaking was music to the rosette’s ears and she quickly spun on her heel, her foot catching the older woman on the chin and the Inuzuka crumpled like a puppet with severed strings.
Grabbing the team’s flag, Sakura whistled for her summons which immediately moved in to escort her as she retreated back towards her team. Sakura hadn’t even needed to use the seals hidden under her armor and was still mostly topped off on chakra as she reached her temporary teammates.
“You’re back, did you get injured?” Kurenai asked and Sakura answered by flashing the captured flag before returning it to its hiding place under her breastplate. Kurenai’s lips pressed together in a thin line and Sakura knew the woman was less then happy by her success. Unnerved eyes followed the child’s footsteps as she settled in to a hiding spot above their flag, her eyes searching the forest for threats.
“Yuuhi-san, could you hide us with genjutsu?” Sakura asked softly and the woman shot her a look before nodding. As it turned out, Yuuhi Kurenai was a genjutsu prodigy, her skills in the field almost overcoming her glaring weaknesses in other areas. Then again genjutsu was extremely rare in Konoha right now as the Uchiha had specialized in it and as a whole it was an uncommon art. Few had the mental capacity for weaving illusions and among those that did, only a handful found teachers willing to part with their hard won secrets.
The rest of the day passed the trio by, Kurenai’s genjutsu holding with ease. The following day, the team Sakura had taken the flag from tried to hunt them down, but even with an Inuzuka in the lead, they couldn’t break Kurenai’s genjutsu. The third day was much the same and as the sun set and the all clear sirens rang through the trees, Sakura grinned, her lips pulling back to reveal her razor sharp teeth as she moved with her teammates to the tower in the center of the forest.
“We did it.” Kurenai whispered, clearly caught off guard by their success. Tekuno nodded, smiling happily. The man had been all business but now that they’d secured their place in the fourth exam, his stern facade had given way to friendly smiles. Kurenai shot a glance towards Sakura who smiled back, not bothering to hide her fangs. “How did you get the flag Sakura-chan?”
“They were too aggressive and only left the Inuzuka to defend their flag. Inuzuka might be good at sensing incoming attacks and their nin-dogs can allow them to fight multiple opponents but they tend to be poor duelists. They’re either tracking specialists or focused on taking down larger numbers of weaker opponents.” Sakura explained, her experiences in the warring clans period providing her with ample knowledge on the various clans in Konoha. More then ample as she’d killed members of just about every clan at this point. She didn’t think too much on it and never allowed herself to dwell on that fact. After all, that was then and this was now.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kurenai replied, her chakra easing slightly. Her nervousness around Sakura had lessened over the three days they’d been together and Sakura had done her best to be polite and professional. Kurenai offered her a smile, still forced but it was a peace offering and Sakura let her own expression soften slightly, her lips pulling closed to hide her fangs.
***
The fourth and final portion of the jounin exams was instantly familiar to Sakura. Much like the first and third exams, it had echoes of the chunin exams within it. Sakura looked at the bracket, not recognizing any of the names except her teammates. She hadn’t mingled with the regular forces at all since entering ANBU, which was the bulk of her career and now that was biting her in the ass. On the other hand, Sakura knew a lot about the clans she’d be up against and nobody knew about her, which was an advantage.
“Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hitomi, please enter the ring.” Sakura heard the proctor call out the command and quickly walked down to the arena floor. They were inside the Arena within the tower at the heart of the forest of death, which added a new element to the fight. Namely restraint, as they couldn’t risk destroying the building and bringing the ceiling down on their own heads. It was an environment that favored precision and control, necessary traits for a would be jounin.
The Hokage was present, along with the jounin commander, Bear in her role as ANBU commander and the elder council sans Danzo. They would judge the combatants and decide whether they advanced or not, though in truth the Hokage had the final say one way or another. Sakura pulled her eyes off the judges and onto her opponent. Hyuga Hitomi was a main branch member, a slaver and Sakura was going to enjoy taking her apart.
‘Be mindful of their speed on the ground.’ Inner reminded as Sakura took up her stance opposite the Hyuga. The other woman was older then Sakura, easily double her age and Sakura grinned, letting her blood lust leak into the air as her fangs flashed in the brilliant lights glaring down on the arena. The Hyuga didn’t react besides a slight narrowing of her eyes and the two shot forward the moment the judge swung his arm down, signaling the beginning of their spar.
“You’re in range,” The Hyuga announced arrogantly but Sakura was two steps ahead. The Hyuga were nothing if not rigid and they clung to their clan techinques even when they weren’t effective. Sakura was clad from the neck down in chakra conductive steel, her armor easily capable of shrugging off Hyuga taijutsu. During the warring clans period, the Hyuga wielded weapons just like everyone else, their gentle fist reserved for unarmored combat. Clearly that bit of knowledge was not so common anymore.
The Hyuga managed to land two blows on Sakura before the rosette caught her wrist and crushed it, the bones shattering under her superhuman grip. The Hyuga let out a furious hiss and Sakura stamped on her left foot, breaking it and then finishing the match by snapping the woman’s right knee with a downwards punch. Stepping back, Sakura met the woman’s eyes as she made the hand seals for a fireball but didn’t call up any chakra. The message was clear and the Hyuga bowed out without a word.
“Victor Haruno Sakura!” The proctor called out and Sakura grinned as she flickered back to the waiting box. Her match was over but much like the chunin exams this was an elimination tournament. Leaning against the wall, Sakura watched the other matches until her turn came around once more.
“Shimura Tetsuo, Haruno Sakura.” The Proctor called out and Sakura made her way down to the arena for the second time. Her opponent this time was clearly a classic Shimura with spiky brown hair, flint eyes and a grim expression. His chakra was subdued, though far from blank like the Root dolls. He wore a sword at his side, a tachi judging by the length, and Sakura prepared herself for a tough fight. “Begin!”
Sakura darted backwards as her foe charged forward. ‘I’m only going to get one chance at this.’ The rosette thought as she prepped her chakra and reversed, closing rapidly with Tetsuo now that she was ready. Her opponent, caught by her sudden charge drew his sword and slashed in one smooth motion. Chakra flooded the shield seal in Sakura’s right gauntlet, stalling the sword as she cocked back her left fist and punched forward. The Shimura dodged, jumping backwards and Sakura immediately moved through the seals for a fireball. Blue flames spilled from her lips as she created a ball of burning chakra and fired it forward.
The Shimura hit the ground, his hands racing through seals of his own as he conjured a wall of earth to defend himself. Sakura grinned, killing intent laser focused on her foe and a paralysis genjutsu riding it. The girl flickered, radiating chakra to allow her to see while moving through a shunshin as she came around the Shimura’s wall. The man was ready and Sakura flickered a second time, leaving a brief after-image clone in her place and casting a seamless genjutsu as he cut through the illusion, fake blood splattering the arena.
The whole room held their breath as the clone hit the ground, illusory blood seeping from its chest as the Shimura had cut it open from shoulder to hip. Sakura appeared behind the Shimura and kicked him through his own wall and ripping his sword from his hands as he went flying away from her. Moving into another shunshin, Sakura intercepted the Shimura as he landed on his feet and swung for his chest. To his credit, Tetsuo leaned backwards, avoiding the slash and then charged forward, tackling the girl and sending the sword skidding across the ground.
The two rolled across the floor as Sakura sunk her chakra into her body and reinforced her muscles, allowing her to throw the man off her. The two watched each other briefly, both breathing hard from the amount of chakra they were burning through. Sakura was strong, but she was young and while her reserves were large for a child, she was still a child and had to spend that much more chakra to reinforce her muscles and augment her speed just to match her adult peers.
“You’re pretty talented.” Tetsuo offered, fingers moving through a series of seals she recognized as an earth jutsu. Rocks shot from the arena floor, wind whistling around them as they forced Sakura to dodge. Shuriken followed hot on the heels of the jutsu and Sakura ignored them, letting them clatter off her armor as she wove a quick genjutsu, pushing it into her opponent’s chakra and then flickered forward. Tetsuo had been expecting her to attack however and pulsed his chakra while drawing a kunai. The two met each other with simultaneous attacks, Sakura’s fist stopping just over the man’s heart while his kunai came to rest against her throat.
“Double knockout!” The proctor announced, breaking the tension between the two shinobi. Tetsuo offered her a polite smile and pulled his kunai back.
“Good fight Haruno-san.” Tetsuo said, his eyes moving over her in slow appraisal. It was obvious at this point that her armor was anything but standard issue, as even steel couldn’t stop chakra reinforced kunai or shuriken. Sakura’s armor wasn’t even scratched, the lacquer only slightly scuffed despite the fierce battle they’d just been through.
“Thank you for the spar, Shimura-san.” Sakura replied, ever the polite little girl when within the bounds of Konoha or at least beyond the walls of the Senju compound. She knew that her behavior and reputation would reflect greatly on the Uchiha clan, once she began working to restore it with the other survivors. Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Elder Council would not live forever and once they were dealt with, the village would have to be willing to accept the changes that would follow. After all Konoha was founded for a reason, even if it was a dream that was slowly rotting away.
***
The Hokage tower was fairly peaceful as Hiruzen sat among his most trusted subordinates. Nara Shikaku was looking rather contemplative as he leaned over a mug of steaming coffee, his eyes focused on the inky black liquid. Nearby Hatake Kakashi sat in ANBU uniform, his mask clipped to his belt and his expression utterly blank. Bear sat beside Hatake, a cup of tea in front of him, and Hiruzen hid a chuckle as he watched the man put a surprising amount of honey in the drink, but no milk or cream.
“So, quite the promising year.” Bear had been part of the official meeting which had already taken place. Her fake male voice was just as deep and velvety smooth as ever and she cocked her head to the side slightly as she looked over at Hiruzen curiously. “But I’m guessing this secondary meeting is about a particular candidate, seeing as Hatake and I are present.”
“Indeed,” Hiruzen agreed, letting out a tired sigh and pulling out his pipe. He knew no one would mind if he lit up and did so without hesitating. Puffing out a few clouds of smoke, he allowed his nerves to calm. “Haruno Sakura has become quite the kunoichi.”
“You ordered me to train her.” Kakashi drawled and Hiruzen nodded in agreement. He had ordered Hatake to prepare the girl and the man had pulled through wonderfully. The room fell silent for several seconds as everyone waited for the Hokage. “If she hadn’t been separated from her equipment because of a mishap in the second exam, she would have won the tournament.”
“Are you so sure Hatake?” Shikaku asked, raising an eyebrow. The Nara looked at the ANBU captain with visible disbelief. “She’s the same age as my son.”
“She’s stronger then Itachi was at that age.” Kakashi replied calmly, bringing up the elephant in the room. The Elder Council and Hiruzen knew the truth but officially no one else did. The Civilian Council and the Council of Clans were terrified of a repeat. Some had even called for the girl to be struck from the ranks, just in case she was another Itachi in the making. Her connection with the Uchiha Prodigy did nothing to calm the emotions circulating and if Root hadn’t been shut down, Hiruzen knew the girl would have been thrown at Danzo simply to get her away from the rest of Konoha and onto the tightest leash the village had to offer.
“She is quite talented, works hard and has been forced to grow up young. There is no undoing that.” Bear spoke calmly, knowing all too well what Sakura was experiencing. She didn’t know how it was possible or why it was happening but that didn’t change the reality Sakura was facing. What she did know was that the Hokage was feeling a wave of guilt, his unease clear as day. He thought himself solely responsible for the girl’s trauma and early exposure to conflict, he was wrong but that didn’t diminish his guilt.
“She scored a perfect grade on her written exam.” Shikakau said, letting out a ragged sigh. His eyes were still firmly focused on his coffee, which was almost cool enough to drink. The Nara’s lips twisted into a grimace as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “She also fought Shimura Tetsuo to a tie without weapons.”
“Are you suggesting we promote her despite the council’s objections?” Hiruzen asked and Shikaku clicked his tongue and looked away. Shimura Danzo had lead the charge in trying to drag the girl down, going so far as to suggest handing her over to him. Oh he certainly wasn’t going to restart Root but clearly Konoha couldn’t take chances after Itachi and his program would ensure her loyalty or so he had claimed.
“Unless you’d rather she were handed over to Danzo?” Bear replied and Hiruzen let out a cloud of smoke in response. Silence reigned for several long seconds before Hiruzen nodded his head.
“Very well, she will be promoted.” Hiruzen turned his attention to Kakashi who waited patiently for his Hokage to speak. “Hound, I’m pulling you from ANBU.” The words were spoken without preamble and caught everyone in the room off guard. Kakashi or rather Hound tensed, his one exposed eye narrowing into an icy glare while his chakra went almost completely blank, hiding away his ire.
“Why?” Kakashi asked and Hiruzen wished he’d been more careful with the boy. It had been a time of war though and Konoha had needed its heroes, legends who could prop up moral. He’d made the mistake of putting far too much pressure on the young Hatake and when Minato had died, he had handed the boy over to Danzo, hoping his old friend would be able to salvage something from the emotionally destroyed child.
“In two years time, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto will be graduating the academy. They will need a sensei and for all that I trust Uchiha Naori and Senju Izumi, I think it best that he was taught by someone who didn’t have connections with his clan. I hear that might worsen his trauma.” Hiruzen hadn’t spared a handful of half bloods just to watch the Uchiha clan rise once more. He needed their combat potential and their kekkei genkai in the village but he did not need the village’s greatest internal threat restoring itself.
“Very well,” Hound wasn’t happy and he flickered away without another word. Hiruzen looked over at Bear, expecting a complaint but the ANBU commander simply nodded deferentially. Bear almost never spoke up or interfered in politics, it was why Hiruzen trusted the man so thoroughly. Bear’s agenda was keeping ANBU up and running, nothing more and nothing less.
“Is that all Hiruzen-sama?” Bear asked and Hiruzen gave the commander a tired smile. The Hokage knew that if Bear truly objected, he’d have said something, just like how he’d spoken up over the handling of one Haruno Sakura.
“That is all for now Bear-san, though when Naruto and Sasuke do end up on a team, I’m thinking of using Minato’s old squad as a blueprint. Young Haruno deserves some time around children her age, don’t you think?” Hiruzen asked and Bear nodded her head. Of course the fact that Sakura was a jounin would make the team terribly unbalanced, but considering the targets that would be on her teammates’ backs, it was probably for the best.
“I think she’ll enjoy it.” Bear agreed, rising to her feet and giving Hiruzen a differential bow. “Have a good evening Shikaku-san.” The Nara grunted, aware he’d have to discuss the finer details of the more questionable candidates with the hokage well into the night. Hiruzen watched the commander vanish and then turned his attention to the mountain where Senju Tobirama’s face was carved. He could almost imagine his sensei smiling down on the village, proud he hadn’t made the same mistake once again. Haruno Sakura would not follow in the footsteps of the village’s other prodigies. Hiruzen was sure of it and she certainly wouldn’t become a second clan killer, not that Itachi was truly guilty. No that sin belonged to him and Danzo alone.