Recovery
Chapter 46 Recovery
The steady beep of heart monitors were the only thing keeping Hatake Kakashi from snapping. His students, who he barely knew, had nearly died. Even from his position in the doorway, he could smell the fear and pain wafting off of Sasuke’s body. Naruto still carried the scents of his fight, his skin singed and the stink of fox clinging to his clothes and bed. They had run into Orochimaru, or rather the Sanin had targeted his team specifically.
“They’ll live,” Sakura’s voice was hoarse from screaming and though she’d already healed the damage the inflammation would take another hour to settle. The rosette was behind him, her chakra suppressed and footsteps silent. Even her scent was sealed away, thanks to the ANBU tattoo on her left shoulder currently proudly on display. Her mask was clipped to her belt, her pink hair left loose and her emerald gaze peaking out between long bangs that usually were braided together or held in place by clips to keep them out of her eyes. “But they’re going to need a sensei.”
“Aren’t you their sensei?” Kakashi’s usual teasing tone was gone, though Sakura easily recognized the man in front of her. Hatake Kakashi played aloof but Hound was terse, stoic and disciplined. Where Kakashi would be late, joke around, tease and fail utterly at being a jounin-sensei Hound was on time, deadly serious and the best captain in ANBU.
“You’re their sensei Hound. I’ve been filling in. They’re recruits, they need conditioning, training, the works. They are my age, bring them up to speed. Anko will help, if you ask.” Sakura replied, her voice cold and calm. Kakashi knew she’d been taken into Root and heavily conditioned, that she’d nearly received her seal and lost her name, though he rarely saw that side of her. Sakura’s emerald eyes were piercing and Kakashi suddenly felt utterly exposed. The girl was practically looking through him, comprehension dawning on her face and her lips twisting downwards into a frown. “If it hurts you so much to teach them, Izumi would be more then willing to replace you as sensei. They don’t have to be your responsibility.”
“They’re my students.” Kakashi didn’t even realize he’d spoken until his own words registered in his ears. Slowly, Sakura arched an eyebrow, tilting her head forward and meeting his one exposed eye with a look that was utterly unimpressed.
“Then act like it. Naruto never had a childhood and never will. I gave him happiness when I could but he’s a genin now. If you coddle him without removing his rank, he’s going to get himself killed.” Sakura’s voice was calm, accusation missing from her tone though Kakashi felt it all the same. He knew she was a prodigy, but she was often so painfully human compared to the other prodigies he knew that it didn’t fully register every minute of the day. “Satsuki can learn from Naori or Izumi. The only reason you’re her sensei is because you’re not Uchiha, it’s politics. If you can’t teach her, if it hurts too much, then step back and let someone else do a better job.”
“It’s not a kindness to raise them for peace when all they’ll know is war.” Sakura added softly, her eyes falling from Kakashi’s face and moving over the two genin. For a moment, Kakashi could smell loss and pain wafting off the girl before her ANBU seal compensated and the scent vanished. He understood that pain well, but Sakura had always been more human than him, she could still relate to her peers in a way Kakashi had never been able to.
“You really think I can?” Kakashi asked, looking at the two genin and wondering if he even deserved that right. He was terrified of them, two twelve year olds had his heart in a vice grip. He’d failed to help Itachi, hadn’t seen the signs of his downwards spiral until it was too late. Naruto was worse, the spitting image of his parents and Kakashi had abandoned him for years. Everything about Naruto scraped at what little remnants of a heart Kakashi had left.
“I think you need to answer that question and if you can’t, you need to find someone who can.” Sakura’s voice was suddenly tired and Kakashi was forced to remember just how close his kouhai had come to death. She’d been given a clean bill of health by the medics at the hospital, though whatever Orochimaru had done to her had exhausted her completely. Still, all her results came back healthy with no foreign substances or side effects detected. “After all, this isn’t about you, it’s about them. If you can’t handle being their sensei, that’s fine. What’s not fine is them not being taught when Satsuki is the last pure blooded Uchiha and Naruto is our village’s jinchuuriki.”
Kakashi shifted uneasily and looked at both children. He wasn’t sure why Sakura was calling Sasuke Satsuki but that was just more proof he had no idea what he was doing. He’d never been a good teacher, his ANBU teams had all come to him with the basics firmly established and the necessary drive to improve on their own. He’d whipped them into shape, running them through drills to build stamina and reaction time, forced them to snap off hand seals at a moment’s notice and train their awareness so they wouldn’t be caught off guard but that wasn’t teaching genin.
“Anko you said?” Kakashi asked, looking at Sakura who nodded.
“And Izumi, Naori is too busy since she took my place as captain.” Sakura added and Kakashi hummed in response, some of Hound’s rigidity bleeding from his frame. He had an out and he knew if he didn’t take it Sakura would bring this up with Bear-sama. Even Hiruzen would listen if the ANBU commander spoke up and after this incident, well, the Hokage wouldn’t be able to overlook his poor teaching any longer.
‘Seems I’m going to have to speak with the Uchiha survivors.’ Kakashi thought, wondering how he’d manage that particular conversation. He doubted they’d be happy to see him, though the thought of giving his students away roiled his stomach and frayed his already ruined nerves. ‘What am I going to do?’ Kakashi wondered before flickering out of the hospital, a pair of keen emerald eyes watching his flight.
***
Screams reverberated through Satsuki’s skull as Sakura fell to the ground, sobbing and holding her head between her hands, threads of pink silk sticking through her fingers. Over her stood Itachi who met Satsuki’s eyes, his mangekyo burning bright amid the darkness of the clan compound.
“Weak,” Itachi’s voice echoed in Satsuki’s ears. Her sense of reality was splattered across the floor, her ability to differentiate what she was seeing from what she knew had happened shattered by the cursed seal burning on her shoulder. “Not even a threat.”
The world fell away and Satsuki slammed into the cold asphalt of the bridge to Nami. Waves lapped at the piers below her and her breath misted in front of her face as she saw Sakura on the floor, laying in a puddle of her own blood.
“She keeps sacrificing herself for you, for your clan. You’re too weak to help her, too weak to save her. Eventually she’ll run out of luck, she won’t get back up.” Haku’s voice was wooden, dead but Satsuki ignored the hunter nin, her eyes stuck on the motionless form of the girl who had somehow managed to sooth the pain of losing Itachi. She wasn’t a replacement, but Sakura was Satsuki’s anchor, her most precious person. It wasn’t romantic love, but it was love all the same and Sakura kept suffering for it.
“You’re far too weak to save her though.” Orochimaru chuckled as he stood over Sakura’s writhing form. The rosette’s body flickered and burned with demonic chakra, skin transforming into stone and flaking off leaving bloody patches of exposed muscle. “And even if you became stronger, you’d never save her from the dangers lurking within Konoha.”
All at once, Satsuki’s breath came back, her body waking up and her eyes locking with their golden opposites. Orochimaru shifted, a sly smile on the serpent’s face as he knelt down and gently brushed Sakura’s bangs off her face.
“You know I’ve had my eyes on her for years.” Orochimaru’s tone was conversational and while Satsuki heard every word, was forced to comprehend them, she still charged forward, fist cocked back and ready. The serpent didn’t even dodge as Satsuki’s knuckles passed right through his body, doing nothing as the sanin chuckled softly. “Do you know of Shimura Danzo?”
“Yes, what of him?!” Satsuki shouted, transitioning from her failed punch into a kick that glided through the illusion of the serpent.
“All of this happened because of him. Every trauma Sakura-chan has faced, every tragedy in your life was ordered by the highest power in Konohagakure.” Orochimaru caressed Sakura’s cheek, his lips peeling apart to reveal his serpentine fangs. The world changed once more, twisting before spiraling into focus to reveal the Hokage’s office. Hiruzen sat in his chair while beside him Danzo looked out on the village.
“That will be simple enough, I have secured his cooperation in Operation Downfall.” Danzo’s gravely voice was low but perfectly audible. Satsuki knew exactly who he was and watched as Hiruzen considered the man’s words.
“I haven’t given that the go ahead yet. Eliminating the only remaining founding clan will weaken Konoha in the eyes of the world.” Hiruzen countered and Danzo turned, meeting the hokage’s gaze. The two men looked serious but neither were grim, in fact Satsuki could almost see the excitement in their eyes. Hiruzen wanted to be convinced and Danzo was eager to rise to that expectation.
“They will strike within the month, can you really risk all of Konoha for a clan that needs to be put down? You’ve weakened them to the point that they can’t ignore it anymore. They know you’re plotting against them, my spies inside the clan have confirmed that. Hiruzen, give me the go ahead.” Danzo met his old friend’s gaze and Hiruzen let out a tired sigh before nodding. “In writing.”
“You wish to tie me to this?” Hiruzen demanded, indignation coloring his face red but his anger was quelled by a single hard glare. “Very well, I’ll sign it in blood and chakra, that is what you want yes?”
“And your clan’s seal.” Danzo replied, earning a grimace from the hokage. The Shimura watched as Hiruzen raised the seal and pressed it firmly into the mission scroll and flared his chakra, activating the security seals that lined the paper. “The operation will go ahead Friday night. Have your ANBU patrol elsewhere.”
“I’ll have it handled.” Hiruzen promised as Satsuki suddenly found herself back in the void, Sakura now shifted to Orochimaru’s lap while he played with her wild pink hair. The image almost looked familial, the expression on Orochimaru’s face easily mistaken for care or affection though the sadistic gleam in his serpentine eyes gave him away.
“Get away from her.” Satsuki growled, her eyes burning as they shifted into her mangekyo. She knew each use stole away her vision but it would be worth it to keep this monster, this youkai away from her sister.
“Now, now, she was mine first.” Orochimaru chided, “but I’m surprised Satsuki-chan, you already knew everything I just showed you, didn’t you?” Orochimaru’s voice was dripping with false sweetness and Satsuki took a step backwards as the Serpent’s aura began to choke the air from her lungs. “You’ve been planning with the other survivors, revenge perhaps? Oh but you’d never survive it, Hiruzen would make sure of it and killing Danzo, even if Hiruzen was gone…”
“You’re not offering answers. Say your piece then get lost!” Satsuki shouted, rage bolstering her courage. Orochimaru’s fingers wound into Sakura’s hair and he lifted her up from his lap, her eyes blank and empty as pale fingers forced her mouth open, revealing a tongue with seal mark burned into it.
“Danzo gave her to me once and he gave her to me once again. Do you think he’s going to just ignore her? Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi and of course yours truly, every prodigy in this village was pulled into Root. Hiruzen has ever been eager to turn our best and brightest into weapons of mass destruction. Root was officially disbanded after the massacre, but unofficially it thrives and Hiruzen knows. When Sakura-chan gets taken off the roster for mental health concerns, where do you think she’s going to end up?” Orochimaru started to laugh as liquid bone bubbled up from Sakura’s sealed tone, forming a blank white mask that hid her face. Satsuki staggered backwards as dead emerald eyes fixed themselves upon her.
“Get out of my head!” Satsuki screamed, reaching for her chakra and trying to force herself awake. Orochimaru’s laughter echoed around her, the floor suddenly losing its solidity and she slowly began to sink into the inky black sludge at her feet.
“Now, now, Satsuki-chan, if you’re going to change anything you need to become stronger. Now accept my gift, after all you’re too weak to do anything on your own.” Orochimaru’s poisoned whisper was the last thing Satsuki heard before her head slipped below the surface and she drowned in darkness.
***
“Easy there,” Anko’s words broke through the panic and Satsuki squinted against the light spilling into her hospital room through the windows. Anko looked exhausted, with her arm in a sling and the whites of her eyes red and bloodshot. “Satsuki, you with me?”
“Yeah,” Satsuki rasped, blinking and taking in the world around her. Gone was the horrid nightmare that Orochimaru had trapped her in, though her shoulder still ached and throbbed angrily. “What happened?” Anko grimaced and opened her mouth to speak when the door slid open and the entire surviving Uchiha clan walked in. Izumi was grim while Naori looked ready to rip someone apart. Sakura followed alongside them, her face deathly pale and forced into a strained smile.
“You’re awake,” Sakura’s tone was pure relief and she wobbled on her feet before Naori caught her. The older Uchiha sent her a cautioning look and Satsuki knew that somehow the rosette had gotten involved in the chaos unleashed by the second exam. “Thank the Kami.”
“What happened?” Satsuki asked as Sakura sat down on her hospital bed. Izumi and Naori moved inside, standing next to Anko who was still seated across from her. It was obvious they’d all come directly from their patrols as everyone save Anko were in their ANBU uniforms, masks clipped to their belts.
“Orochimaru infiltrated the village. He was after you and Sakura here. He injected her with something and put a seal on her stomach, though it burned away in the process of whatever he was doing. Medics swear she’s fine now but…” Anko’s face twisted into a grimace and Satsuki could understand why. She knew next to nothing about Konohagakure’s second most famous missing nin but what little she did was enough. Orochimaru was dangerous in all the worst ways.
“So what now?” Satsuki asked as Sakura slapped down a privacy seal. A burst of static electricity danced over the hospital bedding, causing Satsuki’s hair to stand on end as any electronic bugs or listening devices in the room were fried. Seals lined the walls, unfurling from the privacy tag as chakra barriers snapped into existence. Once the room was secured, Sakura let herself fall into the bed and let out a long, tired sigh.
“Now we’re going to prepare.” Sakura’s voice was half muffled as she lay sideways on the bed. “I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. Anko wasn’t strong enough to kill Orochimaru and I know you Satsuki, you want to get stronger too.” Sakura’s emerald eyes were warm and full of understanding as she looked up at Satsuki from her position resting on the sheets. Her lips were pulled back to reveal her shark like teeth and Satsuki couldn’t help but return the smile despite it all.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Satsuki asked and Sakura pushed herself up dramatically, pink hair fluttering around her head with the motion. Satsuki couldn’t see any injuries on Sakura’s body and her eyes were alive and well, her emotions filling her chakra with color and the cool minty forest sensation that defined Sakura wrapped around Satsuki in a comforting embrace. “How do you do it?”
“Do what Satsuki?” Sakura asked quietly, though somehow Satsuki was certain the rosette understood exactly what was being asked. Sakura tilted her head back, exhaustion becoming apparent in every line and angle of her face. She had always looked older then Satsuki, seemed years more mature yet they were the same age. Distantly, Satsuki wondered what Sakura would have been like had she grown up at a normal rate, but she couldn’t picture it, couldn’t imagine any other girl in place of her sister.
“How do you just carry on. You’ve been crushed and beaten and you’re still so, how are you so strong?” Satsuki couldn’t put it to words. Sakura had lost constantly, in front of her, yet the rosette never seemed weaker for her defeats.
“I am Uchiha Madara’s second, I share the burden of keeping the curse of hatred at bay. I carry the fate of the Uchiha in my hands and I am aware that I am only twelve years old. Satsuki, we’re children and if I fought Uchiha Itachi right now, as he was at twelve, I’d win.” Sakura met Satsuki’s eyes and let her sharingan spin into their mangekyo state. Satsuki’s breath caught and Sakura gave her a wry smile. “I cannot compare myself to adults, it would be unreasonable. Itachi and Izumi might look young but after the massacre they’ve lived many decades longer then any of us. Naori is almost thirty and has fully developed chakra reserves along with a decade of experience on me.”
“Anko is a prodigy, a real one, not a fake like me.” Sakura’s smile turned self depreciating as she shook her head. “I’m no prodigy. I live two days for every day the rest of the world lives and I work hard. People are too quick to attribute the results of tenacity and perseverance to genius.” Satsuki watched as Izumi reached down and flicked Sakura’s head, causing the girl to lean sideways and let out a yelp.
“Low self esteem isn’t cute, it’s unhealthy.” Izumi chided lightly, smiling slightly when Sakura shot her a glare. “Tell me I’m wrong? Or are you not the youngest chunin in Konoha’s history? Are you not the youngest jounin? ANBU captain? It might only be by a few months but you beat those records. You’re upset because you keep losing when it matters, you know who had a similar track record?”
“The Yondaime.” Sakura let out a tired sigh and ignored the gleam in Izumi’s eyes. The older woman had made her point and throwing a pity party wouldn’t help their situation. Sakura ran her fingers through her hair then clapped her hands together. “Alright, fine, but I still need to get stronger and I wasn’t wrong about being a child. Prodigy or not, I’m physically smaller and my reserves aren’t anywhere near their peak.”
“Nobody was denying that.” Izumi replied calmly and then shifted her attention to Satsuki. “How are you feeling now, physically?” Izumi’s question caught Satsuki off guard but she quickly focused on her body and found herself lethargic and weak but otherwise alright. She told Izumi as much and the brunette nodded, shifting her attention to Anko. “You’ll handle her training?”
“Me and Hatake, yeah.” Anko confirmed, her grin turning sinister and Satsuki shivered as Anko focused on her. “I’m going to bring you up to ANBU level conditioning.”
“Oh,” Satsuki swallowed nervously and glanced at Sakura for support. The rosette simply offered her an apologetic look and Satsuki realized that she wasn’t escaping this. ANBU were at the pinnacle of human fitness and while she was in excellent condition, ANBU were beyond human. Many of the village’s medical secrets revolved around ANBU conditioning and Satsuki knew this was not going to be pleasant. “And Kakashi-sensei?”
“No idea, he’s still unsure about teaching you lot.” Anko replied with a tired sigh. Satsuki didn’t comment, she was well aware by now that the man didn’t want to be their jounin sensei. So far it hadn’t mattered, Sakura had given them more then enough attention to make up for the lack of a conventional sensei but now she’d need to focus on her own training and the issue had thus finally come to a head.
“And Naruto?” Satsuki asked, noticing the blond still past out in the corner of the room. This time, Naori grinned, her fangs on full display and her onyx eyes glittering with flecks of crimson flame. Satsuki knew that look, Naori was usually quite calm but occasionally she would show her Mizu heritage.
“His godfather is in town. The bastard is going to teach Naruto properly, Izumi and I will take turns spying on him, when we’re not helping Sakura-chan.” Naori explained, her killing intent rolling out of her like waves and lapping at the chakra of all present. Her lips tugged into a slight frown and the pressure vanished as her smile smoothed into her usual demure grin. “Sorry about that, I do not like him but he is very talented. More importantly, Naruto is owed much by this village, including a summoning contract and some hereditary jutsu. The Uzumaki were a clan after all and his family have much to pass on to him.”
“Oh, I knew that but I never realized…” Satsuki trailed off and watched as Naruto’s chakra slowly began to gather itself. “How long where we unconscious?” She asked as Naruto stirred, a groan slipping from his lips as he pushed himself upright and stared at the room without seeing for several long seconds before his eyes zeroed in on the Uchiha clan clustered around Satsuki.
“What happened?” Naruto asked, blinking before stiffening. “Sakura-sensei, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, we’re in the hospital and Orochimaru is gone.” Sakura replied, answering a several questions before they could be asked. Naruto let out a sigh of relief and pulled himself out of bed, walking over to Satsuki’s and climbing into it. Satsuki shifted over, letting Naruto lay beside her without protest and even bumping her shoulder against her friend’s. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got slapped by a house sized snake dattebayo.” Naruto answered with faux bitterness before grinning. “But you should see the other guy.” Naruto’s words drew chuckles from the gathered kunoichi and he let out a tired sigh. “So we’re training right? Because we got creamed.”
“Well put Naru-chan.” Sakura replied cheerfully, earning a grin from the blond. “You’ll be working with Naori, though there will be a preliminary bout at the end of the second exam. The Hokage is expecting more then three teams to pass after all.” Anko nodded in agreement and Naruto shrugged and waved it off.
“We’ll win ‘ttebayo.” He stated confidently and Satsuki grinned in agreement. Sure they’d lost to a sanin, but against any of the other genin in the tournament both Naruto and Satsuki were confident they would come out on top. “Hey, where is Sai?”
“Who cares? He’s Root.” Anko drawled, earning a look from Naruto. The blond opened his mouth then closed it when Anko’s glare sharpened. “So, you two need rest up for your preliminary and focus on being ready for a month of the hardest training of your life.”
“Alright!” Naruto cheered, completely unaffected by Anko’s sadistic smile. Satsuki rolled her eyes and grinned despite the very literal pain she knew was coming. Strength required sacrifice, it required time and effort, discipline and determination. Power was not something easily gained or granted, even the sharingan required practice to master and suffering to unlock.
“I’ll be ready.” Satsuki promised, determined to prove Orochimaru’s nightmare wrong. She might not be strong enough right now, but she didn’t need that snake’s help. She’d earn her strength and be beholden to nobody but the bonds she chose and cherished.
***
The sun was just starting to near the horizon by the time Sakura arrived back at the Senju compound. The familiar nature chakra buzzed and welcomed her, the wards an odd mix of friendly and hostile. ‘The Nidaime and someone else made them.’ Sakura couldn’t place the second friendlier chakra but it certainly wasn’t Tobirama’s, nor was it the natural chakra that had grown to love her presence after years spent trying to replicate the mokuton.
“Tobirama would probably be rolling in his grave if he knew Uchiha were living here.” Sakura told Izumi who arrived next to her without a whisper but Sakura could still feel her presence. Izumi was the most skilled of their group thanks to the decades spent in Tsukoyomi but Sakura could still detect the presence of her first friend in Konoha with ease. Izumi’s chakra was icy and windy, yet it was full of love and warmth, a bright sunny mountainside that stood out amid the sea of chakra that was Konohagakure.
“Good thing he’s dead.” Izumi replied cheerfully, more then happy to throw hate towards her great grandfather. The man was the reason the Uchiha had gone from co-founder of the village to maligned outcasts and ultimately exterminated. It was his hatred and his teachings that had molded both Hiruzen and Danzo, his words and phrases that colored the public’s views on the once most beloved clan of Hi.
“If he wasn’t I’d kill him. I tried you know, at the sacking of Sora-ku. Nearly bit his throat out when Butsuma intervened.” Sakura explained, earning a strained look from Izumi. The woman wouldn’t exist if Tobirama had died but Sakura also knew he hadn’t, so all her attempts at killing him would fail. “What?”
“I thought my own circumstances were difficult.” Izumi replied with a wry grin as she lead the way to the Senju archives. The building was sealed, physical barriers, genjutsu traps and more lined the walls, surrounded the perimeter and a massive kanji for forbidden was inked over the main doors. “Well let’s get this open.”
“I wonder…” Sakura looked over the seals and felt the two chakras here were out of balance. Tobirama’s was present, a layer of defenses that had once been part of an equal parring but was now all but completely overwhelmed. The second, friendlier chakra hung thick in the air here and swathed the building in defenses thick enough to survive anything short of a bijuu’s wrath. “I know these chakra, but I can’t bypass them.”
“You can’t, but I think I can.” Izumi replied cutting her palm and smearing it over the forbidden seal. The blood stood out against the white paper before chakra flashed before their eyes and the liquid vanished. A moment later a gap opened up in the barriers and the doors swung open. Izumi looked at Sakura whose mangekyo were active. “You’re the fuinjutsu expert.”
“Not an expert, not yet.” Sakura murmured, eyeing every thread of chakra and kanji in sight. The seal was letting them in, but it would lock once they were inside. There was likely a way to deactivate it from the inside, but Sakura didn’t want to take that risk. “Make a shadow clone and give it some of your blood, just in case?”
“That’s a good idea.” Izumi agreed, flickering from the archives to their home to retrieve a small corked vial which she left some blood in before creating a shadow clone. Once they had their emergency clone readied, the two cautiously advanced.
The Senju Archive was roughly half the size of the Konoha jutsu library. Unlike the library however, every scroll and book was devoted to jutsu or theory. There were no books on other nations or primers for academy students. Jutsu formula, chakra theory, fuinjutsu scrolls created by Tobirama, Mito or gifted by Uzushiogakure before their ultimate demise lined the shelves. The meditation techniques used by the Senju to sharpen their chakra control and bolster their reserves were at Sakura’s fingertips. There was a whole section devoted to the Mokuton that Sakura could read to her heart’s content. Perhaps most importantly though, copies of Tsunade’s medical works were neatly stored, rows upon rows of medical journals, jutsu and fuinjutsu just waiting for the rosette to memorize.
A pulse of chakra flashed through the archive as the doors slammed closed and the second chakra that Sakura had felt suddenly intensified. Chakra seals flickered on, bathing the archives in soft light, bright enough to read but gentle enough not to harm the century old paper filling the building. In the center of the archive, a seal flashed across the floor, spirals of chakra swirling inwards and a woman with vivid crimson hair shifted into existence. Her eyes were the color of steel and her face was aged but Sakura instantly recognized her, after all she would never forget Uzumaki Mito.
“Mito-san?” Sakura asked, unable to hide her surprise as her sharingan informed her the woman before her was a shadow clone or at least based off of a shadow clone. The redhead eyed the rosette, steel eyes taking in the active mangekyo before shifting her attention over to Izumi.
“My seals inform me that over seventy years have passed since your disappearance Byakko.” Mito’s voice was deeper, dignified and controlled unlike the fiery passion of her youth. Her chakra wasn’t cold but it certainly wasn’t friendly or open either. Her steel eyes seemed to pierce Sakura, seeing through her calm facade to the nerves hidden underneath. “You realize this should be impossible.”
“The gods always have their say.” Sakura countered and saw the moment Mito’s eyes shifted from guarded to curious. The woman didn’t approach them but distance was not equivalent to safety and while Sakura was talented for a child, Uzumaki Mito was another legend of the Warring Clans period. She had been Senju Hashirama’s equal, the first jinchuriki and a master of fuinjutsu. Even with Izumi’s help, if a fight broke out Sakura would have to go all out to have any hope of surviving.
“That they do. Tobirama would be on the warpath if he saw you here. He actually set traps for both you and Madara along with any descendants you may have in this building, just in case. I disabled them once he passed.” Mito informed her and Sakura’s expression twisted into a savage grin. She loathed Tobirama, the man who had engineered a genocide from beyond the grave and knowing how heavily she weighed on his mind, how much he feared her was incredibly gratifying. “It was the least I could.”
“The least you could do?” Sakura asked and Mito nodded, her eyes softening for the first time since she appeared. Sakura felt uncomfortable seeing an aged version of someone she knew standing before her. Tsukiko was the ANBU commander and often wore a disguise to hide her identity. They rarely talked and most of their interactions were professional, if friendly, so it was easy to figure out how to behave. Here though, there was no established relationship. It felt like an ambush and Sakura suspected that was very much the point.
“The least I could do. Uzushiogakure fell but those who trusted Inari-Okami’s daughter found refuge at the furthest colony. A true hidden village, unknown to the world. That is all I will say.” Mito’s expression twisted and Sakura felt her chakra churning with regret.
Uzu or rather Uzushiogakure had been utterly destroyed during the second shinobi war. The city had been larger then Konohagakure at the time but far less militarized and it had been raised to the ground, its citizens butchered and the surrounding isles scoured of human life. Thousands had been dragged back to Kirigakure as slaves while clan children with kekkei genkai had been taken and raised in the traditions of Kiri, so painfully similar to the ways of Uzu for they were both of the Isles but different enough to matter. Their identities were stolen, overwritten and the clans of Uzu became clans of Kiri. It had been a true genocide, utter and absolute, an entire nation and all its cultures extinguished.
“I see,” Sakura murmured, eyes never leaving Mito but despite knowing the woman was a threat, she couldn’t hide her sadness. Sakura had seen Uzu at its height, before the first war had devastated its armies and bled its people white. Uzu no Kuni had made Sakura’s heart sing and the mountainous island had felt more like home to her then Hi no Kuni ever could.
“Enough about the past. You are here for strength and knowledge. I do not now how you are here as a child but your chakra signature and your presence is proof that you do not yet know or perhaps do not remember the techniques you wielded in your prime.” Mito gave Sakura a considering look. “Every technique of the Senju is here in these walls as well as everything Tobirama developed, with one exception. Use the information how you wish, it is your right as a child of Uzu.”
“Thank you Mito-san.” Sakura gave a slight bow, but never took her eyes from the woman. Mito’s lips quirked upwards into a sharp smile, her steel eyes sparkling with approval at the gesture before they shifted to Izumi.
“You have been patient, or perhaps you take after your great grandfather.” Mito’s words were answered with a silent scoff to show exactly what Izumi thought of that comparison. A moment later Izumi’s eyes spun into sharingan, only briefly, before returning to their usual onyx. Mito blinked before barking out a short, sharp laugh. “Oh he’s rolling in his grave.” Mito’s smile was a vicious bloodthirsty thing. “The bastard who ruined Hashirama’s dream has an Uchiha descendant. Perfect.” Mito’s laughter was dripping schadenfreude and when she stopped, her lips pulled back into a smile that was all teeth.
“I am sad I never lived to truly meet you. I wish this clone could send its memories to the pure lands.” Mito’s tone was more controlled as she spoke but the savage mirth in her eyes was undimmed. “Considering the compound is empty and you’re the only Senju in the village, I recognize you as the current clan head. The seals around the compound will now react accordingly.” Mito’s image wavered slightly and her lips twisted downwards as she let out an annoyed sigh. “Unfortunately the seals have not been charged in a very long time so my time for today is up. I can see the compound’s defenses have been vastly improved but many of the older seals are poorly maintained. As the clan head, I expect you to recharge them. I will handle the rest.”
“Understood Mito-sama.” Izumi gave a graceful bow, keeping her head angled so that Mito was just barely in her peripheral vision. Mito gave the girl an approving nod before vanishing. “That was unexpected.”
“Mito-san was never boring.” Sakura replied earning a huffed laugh from her friend. Izumi shook her head, a fond smile on her lips as she looked around the room. “Where are we going to start?”
“We’re going to work towards your strengths. Even without your sharingan you’ve got a photographic memory and a keen mind. Fuinjutsu, iryo-ninjutsu and poisons are all knowledge based disciplines. If we’ve only got a month, you won’t gain enough new muscle memory, physical strength or chakra reserves to turn the tables on a significantly stronger opponent but why fight harder when you can fight smarter?” Izumi’s smile was deceptively sweet and Sakura couldn’t help but answer in kind as her lips pulled back to reveal her razor sharp fangs. Senju Butsuma’s days were numbered and one of his own descendants was going to help ensure his end.
“Well I’ve got a few ideas then.” Sakura turned towards the section dedicated to Uzumaki fuinjutsu and began looking through titles. Her Gunbai was perfect but her scythe needed work as it couldn’t even survive her full grip strength. She needed to change that and she already had a few ideas on how to go about rebuilding the weapon. A constant stream of suggestions and questions began to flow back and forth between Inner and Outer as Sakura picked up several scrolls on space time ninjutsu, her eyes tracking to Izumi who was looking through the section dedicated to Tobirama’s research. The brunette had gravitated towards his kenjutsu scrolls and Sakura’s sharingan revealed the title of the scroll she was currently carrying.
‘Izumi’s chakra control and fighting style with that weapon? That’s a terrifying concept.’ Inner noted as Izumi sat down at one of the many tables and unfurled the scroll detailing the creation of the Raijin no Ken.
‘Not as terrifying as what I’ve got planned.’ Outer pointed out as she carried her bounty over to the same table and sat down. Sakura exchanged a glance with Izumi, both of them so hungry for knowledge they had forgotten their exhaustion, and then she dove into the dusty notes, notebook already open and pen in hand as she began scribbling down her own ideas and formula as she read.