Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings: A Puppeteer's Ingenuity

“...And that's when we got back here. Ami said she didn't know what happened before she passed out, so I guess they got her too. They left her puppet behind.” 

The air in Tazuna's kitchen was quiet and grim as Tsu finished recounting what she found in the clearing. She placed the scroll containing Sakura puppet on the table with a gentle calm that did little to hide the rage burning behind her eyes. The Inuzuka was pissed.

And she wasn't alone. Nobody present was happy that their comrade had been taken by the enemy. Being captured alive was often a fate worse than death in their profession, and though Tsu had a feeling that a couple of these kids hadn't wisened up to how things worked yet, they at least had the smarts to realize that this wasn't good.

“What should we do, sensei?” Hikari was the first to break the silence. The Hyuga was sitting stiffly straight-backed in the chair with their hands on their lap. Tsu didn't need to be beside them to know that their hands were clenched hard enough to bend iron.

Iwabi stared at the scroll silently and Tsu could see his mind working behind his eyes. Though her sensei's face was stoic, she knew that he was running through dozens of scenarios, trying to pick one that would help them get Sakura back home safe and sound.

“We know what we gotta do! We gotta get her back!” Naruto broke the silence with a boisterous roar, slamming his palms down on the table and rattling the furniture. His face was a mixture of anger and determinations, which quickly shifted to annoyance at the scoff from the big next to him.

“We don't even know where they took her, genius. We can't just run around the woods hoping we bump into her.” 

In comparison to his much louder teammate, Sasuke was almost aloof when it came to the matter, leaning back in his seat with crossed arms.. Tsu would normally be annoyed, but she could tell by the tightness in his eyes and the way his fingers were digging into the meat of his bicep that he wasn't as unaffected as he seemed.

“We don't have to worry about that.” Kakashi interjected, stopping Naruto's impending snap back before it ever really had a chance to start, “Iwabi’s team specializes in the subtler aspects of shinobi culture, and it just so happens that we have a pair of fine trackers on our hands.”

He glanced at Tsu and the girl nodded, fishing in her tool pouch and pulling out a scrap of fabric, “Tadao found this in the area. It probably belongs to whoever took Sakura. We should be able to track them down as long as they didn't wander too far. The mist around here makes it hard to keep on a trail.”

Naruto grinned widely, punching his palm, “So we follow the trail and beat these jerks up and save Sakura!”

“It's not that easy.” Iwabi shook his head at his student's exuberance, “We aren't dealing with bandits here. This shinobi, whoever they are, were able to defeat Sakura and her puppet and escape before Tsu even noticed. They're extremely dangerous.”

“And that isn't even mentioning Zabuza himself.” Kakashi added, “If I'm nearly back to one-hundred percent, then he probably is too. I may have been caught by surprise last time, but that doesn't mean that he's an opponent to be taken lightly. We'll have to be careful about this.”

Iwabi nodded, “He's right. That said, we aren't leaving Sakura in the hands of the enemy. I'll join Tsu and Hikari in tracking down this mysterious nun. Once we find where they took Sakura and figure out what we're dealing with, we can plan our assault from there.”

Tsu and Hikari nodded with grim expressions, resolute in their shared desire to find their friend.

“So what will we be doing?” Sasuke asked as he realizes that their names had been suspiciously left out. Kakashi patted him on the shoulder, giving him a smile.

“We will be protecting Tazuna like we were hired to. He's still a target and Zabuza's still out there. We can't slack off and let him get hurt. Team 3 is more experienced so we'll let them take care of rescuing Sakura.

Sasuke’s face twisted unhappily that he was being left out of the action but he withheld his protests. Kakashi gave him another pat before standing, “I can hear Ami moving around upstairs. Why don't you two go check on her while Iwabi and I talk?”

The two genin and jonin disappeared, leaving only Tsu and Hikari sitting at the kitchen table. Neither of them spoke, a heavy silence settling between them that seemed to stretch for miles. Tsu looked at the scrap of fabric she was clenching between her fingers and bit her cheek.

“What do you think they're doing to her right now?” 

Her voice was quiet but her words rang like a bell in her teammate's ears. Hikari tensed, going stiff as a board in their chair as their imagination worked overtime filling their head with all sorts of horrible things that could be happening to their wayward teammate.

“I don't know.” The Hyuga spoke carefully, “I would like to believe that they won't hurt her any more than they already have but…”

Zabuza was a veteran shinobi, and there was nothing more valuable to a veteran shinobi than information on the enemy. Information that Sakura had.

“Yeah.” Tsu didn't fill in the gaps. She stared at the swirls in the wood grain on the table in front of her, tracing each individual loop and curve in her mind, before raising her head, “Do you think she'll be able to hold out if worse comes to worse?”

“She will.” Hikari’s voice was confident. Unwavering.  “Sakura’s mind is stronger than both of ours combined. There's nothing they can do to her that she can't endure.”

Tsu hoped she was right. She’d heard horror stories of kunoichi who got caught by enemy nin, of the things that were done to them just to make them talk, and Kiri were some of the worst. 

“If we find her, I'm doing whatever it takes to rescue her.” Tsu said resolutely, “I don't care what sensei says, we aren't leaving her there. I'll fight Zabuza and whoever else Gato's hired myself if I have to.”

“Not by yourself, you won't.” Hikari gave her a crooked smirk that was all teeth and no mirth, “You’ll need someone to watch your back, and while I trust Tadao, I feel it would be best not to put the fates of both of my teammates in the hands of a juvenile ninkin.”

“You're lucky he isn't around to hear you say that.” Tsu returned, but her words lacked their usual snark and her smile faded as quickly as it appeared. She glanced to her side at the sword resting against the wall nearby, and an awful feeling settled in the out of her stomach, accompanied by a knot in her throat.

“What… What if she–?”

“Don't.” Hikari's hand reached across the short gap between them, settling on the Inuzukas’s shoulder as they gave Tsu a severe glance, “Don't even entertain the thought. Sakura is strong. She is strong and she is smart and we both know she is not going to die before she achieves her goal. Having doubts right now will only cloud your mind.”

Tsu stared at her teammate for a long moment, digesting the words that were spoken, before deciding that Hikari was right. Sakura was too stubborn to die this early in her career. She always went on and on about becoming a puppet master, and there was no way that she'd accept her journey ending here.

A shaky smile appeared on Tsu’s face, growing stronger with each passing second as she thought of her teammate's stubborn passion for her goal, “Yeah… Yeah you’re right.”

“I know I am.” Hikari said smugly, leaning back into their seat, “And if you ever need reminding of that fact, then I am right here.”

Ignoring her teammate's arrogance, Tsu shook her head, doubts disappearing by the second, “Honestly, I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Anyone who can keep up with us is automatically a badass.” 

Hikari giggled, “Indeed. Knowing her, I half expect her to already be gone by the time we get there.”

~~~

‘Come on, come on! I just need a Three or lower. Three or lower, come on!’

Gin Kujisawa watched with anxious eyes as the dealer pulled a ratty card from the deck they were using, holding it flat for a moment to build suspense like an asshole.

“Aaannnd… it’s seven! Bust!” The dealer laughed and the men around the table laughed as Gin groaned, slamming his hand on the table as he went smooth over the twenty-one he was looking for. Someone put an arm around his shoulder and he looked over, scowling at the bearded face of his buddy, Josuke.

“Why the hell did ya hit on eighteen, idiot? You coulda won the whole game right there!” Josuke laughed in his face, souring Gin’s mood even more. He threw the man’s arm off of him, standing up and scowling.

“I'm going to check on the prisoners.” He grunted, stepping away from the table. Jeers and laughter followed him as he disappeared down the stairs, lamenting the loss of so much money.

“Shoulda fuckin held.” He groaned as he realized he was suddenly out all the money that he had earned in the past week, “I bet they stacked the deck. Assholes…”

Sighing, he walked down the cell block, making his way to the very back where the prisoner was held. The other cells were empty or held nothing but rats and similar vermin. He didn't really agree with keeping a little girl down here but the boss’s word was law and it wasn't like Gin hadn't killed a few brats himself.  He didn't like to draw it out though.

“Wonder what he's got planned for her.” The mercenary muttered, “Public execution probably. The boss loves those.” 

Gin wandered towards the cell, talking on the bars and peeking inside, “You awake in there kid? You didn't escape did you–?”

Gin froze as he glanced into the cell. The kid was there; she hadn't escaped but she didn't look healthy either. She was laying face down in the middle of the cell, surrounded by a pool of blood and completely still. Her hair shadowed her eyes so he couldn't see if they were open but she didn't look like she was breathing.

“Shit!” Gin unlocked the cell with fumbling fingers. Did she kill herself!?He prayed not. Gato said to keep her alive. If she died down here while he was on duty, that was gonna be his ass!

As Gin stepped inside to check on her, there was suddenly a pressure and then a sharp prick on the back of his neck, making him jolt. He brought a hand up to the back of his neck and his fingers brushed something fuzzy, before there was a flash of green and the body on the floor suddenly surged upwards and slammed a tiny hand into his throat, strangling his surprise before he could even verbalize it.

Gin stumbled backwards, one hand going to the sword at his hip as he stared at the child who had seemingly been resurrected. A wave of nausea suddenly slammed into him a moment later, coursing through his body with such force that he barely even had time to choke on his vomit before it suddenly spewed across the front of his shirt.

His knees buckled and he fell on his face, landing where the girl had just been as he began to convulse and seize. The last thing he saw were murderous green eyes and a childish face morphed into a glare before his vision blurred and everything went black.

~~~

Sakura pulled the bandanna tightly over the top of her head, stuffing her hair inside so that her bright pink hair was hidden as much as physically possible. The smell of vomit was thick in the air as the body of the bandit stared back at the genin with empty, bloodshot eyes and Sakura stared at him for a moment, observing what Kii’s poison had done to him, before reaching down to grab the sword beside him, looping it into her belt just as he had.

Leaning down, she ran her hand along the filthy floor and brought it to her face, smearing the dirt and grime into her fair skin. The sweat made sure that it stuck, obscuring her girlish features and making her look like any other unwashed bandit. Adding to the charade were the clothes she had taken from him, though they didn’t quite fit her small frame. There was also a deep stain on the front of the shirt even though she had turned it inside out, but it was mostly covered by the musty coat she was wearing. Hopefully that would be enough to mask the smell and sight of vomit.

It was degrading but necessary. She could use a henge but she doubted she’d be able to concentrate on it with the throbbing pain in her wrist and if it came undone at a bad time, then she was done for. She’d have to do this old school.

Sakura dragged the bandit’s body into the seal that she had painstakingly drawn on the floor. The dried blood chipped as she pulled him through it, but the seal remained intact as she laid him in the center, curling him up so that his entire body fit into the circle. Stepping back, she sent a chakra threat towards the edge of the matrix and activated it, closing her eyes as she did so.

The matrix glowed and did its job, charging the air and delivering a spark that quickly morphed into a towering pillar of flames so high that it scorched the ceiling. The smell of burning flesh wafted into Sakura’s nostrils for a brief moment before it was burned away like the rest of the man’s body, leaving nothing but smoke and ash to remember him by. 

As the flames disappeared, Sakura examined the mark left behind, the imprint in the ground that had once been a human being, and turned away. She had maybe half an hour before they sent someone else to check up on her and found this instead. She needed to move quickly.

Sakura gathered Kii and placed him on her chest, giving the spider a small smile, “You did a good job, Kii. I’ll definitely need to extract some of that venom later; that stuff is nasty.”

“I am the greatest of my brood. You do well to recognize my power.” Kii chittered as he climbed into her clothes, slipping into the sleeve of her coat and taking position in the crook of her elbow, “Escape is far and your enemies are numerous. You will have to be careful.”

“I’m always careful.” Sakura muttered as she left her cell behind, “And I’m not escaping yet. Gato’s here and my mission is to take him out.”

Kii shifted against her arm, fuzzy legs tip-tapping against her skin, “It won’t be easy. There is a colony’s worth of humans here. They will see you.”

“They will. But hopefully they won't realize I'm me.” Sakura muttered as she ascended a staircase at the end of the hall. She walked up several flights, ascending from the dank, dark basement and into the building above. The silence that she’d known for hours gave way to laughter and cursing as she exited the staircase and found herself in a dimly lit room with several men scattered around the table.

She turned her face away as they noticed her, feigning to look at a group of barrels so they couldn’t get a good look at her face.

“Oi, Gin!” One of them, a man with a large beard, called, making her tense, “How’s the prisoner? She still breathing?”

Sakura nodded, not trusting her voice to not give her away. The man raised an eyebrow at her lack of response, “What? You ignoring me now? I told you not to hit but you're the one who wanted to be an idiot and lose all your money.”

“Ah, lay off him, Josuke.” Another said, “If he wants to be a whiny bitch then let him. Doesn't chance the fact that I got all his money. Speaking of which-”

“Ah, shit!”

The man as he was quickly dragged back into whatever game they were playing by his friend, ignoring her in favor of cursing his rotten luck. As eyes left her, Sakura slipped out of the nearby door before they could pull her in as well.

Pretending to adjust her bandanna as she walked into a large, open room, Sakura brought her arm up to her mouth, speaking softly as she looked around to make sure nobody was paying especially close attention to her, “I’ve got a plan but I’m going to need your help again. How well did you map this place out earlier?”

“Well enough.” Kii spoke, “The humans do not pay attention to those who lurk in the shadows. There are few places I haven’t been within the walls of this compound.”

That was good news. Sakura grinned sharply, her plan slowly solidifying itself in the halls of her mind, “Good. Then for starters, I need you to show me where they keep their weapons.”

Following her summon’s instructions, Sakura spent a good chunk of time just wandering around the base and visiting every area of interest while doing her best to avoid any and all human interaction. She was almost caught and dragged into a conversation once or twice, but she managed to slip away by pretending she had somewhere to be.

Two hours later, after leaving her mark on just about every place of note, Sakura was left with one more thing to take care of.

Sakura’s damaged hand shook as she walked down a long hallway near the top of the building and she had to look down to make sure that she wasn’t leaving a trail of blood everywhere she went. The pain was getting worse now, probably not helped by all the moving around she was doing, but she didn’t’ slow down, knowing that getting caught here meant that all of her previous efforts would have been rendered completely useless.

Stiffening her posture, she continued forward, heading towards the end of the hall where a set of large doors loomed. Two men were standing in front of them, guarding what lay beyond from any unwanted visitors. They were big for civilians, with thick, muscular builds and intimidating weapons attached to their bodies. 

They glared at her as she approached, and she gave them a disarming smile, holding her hands out to show that she meant no harm, “Hey! I-I’m here to see the boss? I was told he needed to see me.”

“The boss didn’t tell us nothing. You ain’t getting in.” The one on the right said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Sakura didn’t back down, scratching her head with a confused look, “Uh, are you sure? Daiki said that I needed to come up here right away.”

“Don’t know Daiki, don’t know you. You ain’t getting in.” The same man repeated, a small amount of anger flaring in his eyes as she failed to leave after the first refusal.

He took a step towards her and Sakura took one away, keeping her nervous smile on her face as she led the man backwards and away from his partner, “Come on! Why would I lie about that? Just let me see the boss and he’ll tell you!”

“You ain’t seeing the boss, kid. Now turn around and fuck right off or else.” The man reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, shoving her backwards and Sakura’s eyes sharpened. The moment she took a step backwards, she flung her hand out, sending the spider hidden in her sleeve directly at the man’s face. He shouted, stumbling as Kii bit into his soft flesh, and his sounds of panic were accompanied by the rasping of steel on leather as his partner unsheathed his blade and ran towards them.

Sakura calmly sidestepped his sloppy strike and unsheathed her own blade in one smooth motion, reaching up and sliding it across the meat of his neck as she passed him by. His sword clattered to the floor as he clamped his hands on his neck, trying to stop the bleeding, and Sakura watched dispassionately as he fell to his knees and then on his face, going limp as blood-loss and oxygen deprivation settled into his brain in mere moments.

“You should have just let me pass.” She said, leaning down to collect Kii from beside the convulsing body of the other mercenary. He reached out and gripped her ankle as she walked away, holding on to some semblance of life, but Sakura easily pulled herself out of his grip and continued towards the door.

The dark wood opened with a soft creak, almost unnoticable underneath the sounds that buildings this large naturally made. The space inside was an office, with a desk and a chair and a large, open window that looked out over the country. Sakura caught the sight of trees and even buildings in the far distance, making her realize that this entire building had been sat upon a large cliff, before her eyes narrowed on the chair.

It was facing away from her and towards the window, but Sakura could see the shadows on the floor, a bulge in the otherwise flat surface that spoke of a person sitting upon it. She adjusted her grip on her sword, holding it in a clenched fist as she raised it up and took aim, before throwing it with all of her might towards the back of the leather where she knew that the short man’s chest would be positioned.

Instead of the visceral tearing of flesh and bursting of blood, Sakura froze at the sound of ringing metal as her sword spun away and clattered to the ground, stopped by some unseen force before it could hit its target. And then, a voice spoke, raspy and not at all the one she knew belonged to the tyrant she had come to kill.

“Straight for the kill, huh? That’s the kind of attitude that I can get behind.”

The chair turned, revealing a tall, thin man instead of the short stubby one that was supposed to be there. He faced her sideways, one leg crossed over the other as he turned his head to look at her, revealing the gleaming Kiri headband situated around his neck. A sword was laying in his lap, the hilt held between his legs as the blade itself rested against his shoulder blade. Sakura’s eyes locked onto the weapon, recognizing the danger it posed. 

It was strange, long and so thin that Sakura couldn’t even see the actual edge. The hilt was wrapped in bandages and the pommel took the form of a large ring, like the eye of a needle. If Sakura were asked to wield such a weapon, she wasn’t even sure where she would start, and not just because it was almost as tall as she was.

Despite its strange shape and size, the man wielded it expertly, twirling it between his fingers despite its length as he stood and turned to face Sakura directly, giving her a good look at his face in the process. He was gaunt and sickly, with sunken eyes and thin brown hair that dangled around his face in long strands. His teeth were sharpened to points, and they and his lips were stained red with what Sakura suspected was his own blood. The rasping sound in his lungs when he talked spoke of illness, as did the rest of his appearance.

Sakura backed away from the man as he walked forward but something long and thin pressing against the back of her neck made her freeze. She slowly turned her head to the side, eyes wide as she saw the gleaming wire that had somehow stretched across the room when she wasn’t looking. What in the world?

Turning her gaze towards the Kiri nin, she watched as the man grinned and tilted the hilt of his sword ever-so slightly. Dozens of gleaming wires suddenly burst into view, catching the light for the first time since she had entered the room. They cross-crossed the floor, from foot to head height, stretching taught like metal spider webs all across the floor and walls.

That was what stopped her sword, she realized with a start, regarding the man far more warily than she had already been. For her not to notice any of this before now–heck, for him to put a wire up in the doorway while she was talking to him… he was dangerous. More dangerous than she could handle with a messed up hand and no weapons other than the one lying on the floor.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to leave so soon! You worked so hard to get all the way up here; I’d hate to see your efforts go unrewarded.” The man gestured around the room, motioning to the desk, “Come, sit! I’d like to hear all about your adventure.”

Sakura had no intention of staying now that she knew that Gato wasn’t here. This man gave off a dangerous aura, deadly and sharp like the edge of a well-honed blade. She wasn’t going to beat him in a straight fight. She doubted she’d manage it even if she had Teashi on her side.

With that thought in mind, Sakura returned the man’s grin with one of her own as she placed her good hand behind her back, forming a seal, “I’m sorry to reject your hospitality but I’m afraid I have other things to do. And so do you.”

“Oh?” The man raised an eyebrow and Sakura’s chakra flared brightly, washing through the entire compound in a single wave, resonating with the dozens of seals that she had left around the building.

The walls and floor shook violently as numerous powerful explosions sounded throughout the compound. They popped one after the other like a line of firecrackers, each boom corresponding with the destruction of another key element of Gato’s compound. Supply rooms, structural supports, barracks, all of them went up in a burst of flames and smoldering ash, depriving Gato of vital resources and sending the place into a panic.

Except for the man before her. He looked around, barely affected by the shaking and shouting that they could hear below them, “Explosive seals, huh? Set the place on fire to stop them from coming after you or even noticing you’re gone. Smart. You’re pretty clever for a little brat.”

Though Sakura was a bit put off at how quickly he managed to sniff out her plan, she didn’t let it deter her, giving him a sharp grin, “I’ve been told I’m nothing if not resourceful.”

And then she was moving. Knowing that running into that forest of wires was suicide, Sakura leapt upwards and onto the wall where none had been attached. Using her chakra to keep herself upright, the kunoichi pumped her legs and sprinted forward, locking eyes with the shinobi as she rushed towards the massive window that provided Gato with his vaunted view of the town he was steadily destroying.

The man made no move to stop her, staring her down with a sharp-toothed smile even as she kicked one of her sandals at the window, breaking the glass and leaping towards it and the forest just outside.

Landing on the willow-thin branches of a dying tree, Sakura looked back at the burning compound, listening to the panic that she had carefully constructed. Her gaze moved upwards and she tensed as she locked eyes with the nun, standing in the window that she had just leapt out of. He made no move to attack or even pursue her, just staring at her with bright blue eyes and a lips quirked in an almost interesting expression.

Their stare-off lasted for almost ten seconds before the man’s smile seemed to grow larger and he lifted a hand, giving her a cheery wave before turning and retreating back into the office, much to Sakura’s shock and confusion. She had been fully expecting him to chase after her, but instead he had seemingly let her go.

Sakura didn't dwell on it for long, taking the bone that had been thrown her way and running with it. She moved faster than she ever had before, turning the trees into blurs in her vision as the compound burned behind her. As she moved though, she couldn’t help but recall the man’s expression, that final tilt of his lips that he regarded her with before disappearing back into the compound.

 He almost seemed impressed.