At Sakura's house, Karin had prepared a table full of hot, steaming dishes. It was clear she had been cooking often while Sakura was away; Sakura didn't remember Karin having these skills before.
Yakumo sat across from Sakura, eating heartily. Karin, sitting to the side, noticed Sakura hadn't touched her chopsticks. "What's wrong, Sakura? You don't like it?"
"Ah, no, I was just thinking about something," Sakura said apologetically, then picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Back at the Memorial Stone, Yakumo's answer had surprised her. She couldn't quite figure out why she had decided to stay. People were strange like that. Sometimes, you prepare yourself for a loss, but when it doesn't happen, you're filled with suspicion instead.
Sakura shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it. Since Yakumo was willing to stay on the team, she welcomed it with open arms. Things were about to get busy.
With the Third Hokage gone, no one would be able to guess the ultimate purpose of her team. His death had only strengthened Sakura's resolve to see her final plan through. In a way, it was fortunate he had passed away. If he hadn't, she might have truly ended up breaking with Konoha one day. And if her plan failed then, she would have lost even more.
...
...
On the road from the Land of Tea to the Land of Fire, two figures ran one after the other in a staggered formation. It was Jiraiya and Naruto. They had been traveling through the night to get back to Konoha sooner, but now the heavens were against them, as a light rain began to fall.
"Naruto, let's stop," Jiraiya said, looking up at the sky.
"But if we don't hurry back..." Anxiety shone in Naruto's blue eyes.
"Stop. There's no need to rush," Jiraiya said, seeing how exhausted Naruto was. "Let's rest at the post town up ahead. At this rate, we should arrive by noon tomorrow anyway."
It was raining, and Naruto was already panting from the long run. If he got soaked, he might fall ill by morning. Though Jiraiya was anxious too, it was clear Naruto wasn't in any condition to keep running in the rain.
"Pervy Sage, didn't you say you were out of money?" Naruto said with a pout, looking at the brightly lit inn town ahead.
"Heh heh..." Jiraiya rubbed his nose smugly. "Let me teach you another lesson. A ninja must always leave themselves a way out. Heh heh."
Looking at the Pervy Sage ahead of him, Naruto wanted nothing more than to beat him to a pulp. Not only did he have money, but he had also tricked him out of the rabbit he had worked so hard to catch. He was the worst...
"Let's go, Naruto. When we get back this time, we can stay in the village for a while. Aren't you always talking about Sakura? You'll get to see her tomorrow," Jiraiya said, turning and waving to the grumbling Naruto behind him.
At the mention of Sakura, Naruto's spirits lifted instantly, and his resentment toward the Pervy Sage was forgotten.
...
...
The next morning, Sakura had just woken up when a fragrant aroma wafted in, causing her stomach to rumble in response.
She got up and went into the living room to find Yakumo already sitting at the dining table, while Karin was busy in the kitchen.
"Morning," Sakura said with a yawn, pulling out a chair and plopping down.
Yakumo had always lived alone in that small villa on Satomi Hill. After the incident with her parents, her house had been burned down, and because she was so unstable at the time, the Third had arranged for her to live there by herself.
But it had been too late last night, so Yakumo had stayed over at Sakura's.
"What's the training for today?" Yakumo asked.
"Hmm, same as yesterday," Sakura said. "Your physical condition won't improve overnight, so we'll continue to focus on concentration training. If you can make progress with Genjutsu True Creation, your situation will change."
According to the information from her shadow clone yesterday, Yakumo's training hadn't yielded any substantial results.
"Okay, I understand. I'll be in your care today, then," Yakumo said with a nod, her face unreadable.
"Karin, is it ready yet? Come and eat!" Sakura called toward the kitchen.
"Almost! Just a minute, there's still one more soup!" Karin's flustered voice came from the kitchen.
A simple but warm breakfast ended with Karin finishing the last of her soup. Sakura turned to her. "What are you doing today?"
"Me?" Karin thought for a moment. "Kurenai-sensei wasn't finished teaching me yesterday. I'm going to continue learning from her today."
"Okay, sounds good," Sakura nodded. "I'll be training Yakumo for a while, so I won't be able to look after you. Sorry."
"It's fine," Karin said, shaking her head. "I can manage on my own. You don't have to apologize to me."
Sakura nodded without another word and stood up. "Well then, let's go. Time to start today's training."
But things didn't go as planned. When Sakura arrived at Training Ground 3 with Yakumo, another Anbu appeared before her. Honestly, Sakura was getting used to it. An Anbu showing up never meant anything good.
"Don't say it," Sakura said, cutting the Anbu off before he could speak. "It's the Fifth Hokage who wants to see me this time, right?"
The Third was dead. The Anbu were the Hokage's direct subordinates. No one but Tsunade could command them now.
"Alright, I get it. If there's nothing else, you can go. I understand," Sakura said, looking at the Anbu with a weary expression.
The Anbu nodded and vanished in an instant, dismissed by Sakura without having said a single word.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sakura formed the seal and created a multitude of clones. She then turned to Yakumo with an apologetic tone. "I was going to supervise your training personally, but it looks like I can't."
"It's fine. I can handle it," Yakumo said nonchalantly.
"Alright, then. I'll check on your progress when I get back. If you're ready, we'll move on to the next stage of training," Sakura said with a wave, then left the training ground.
When she pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, Tsunade didn't seem to notice her, her eyes fixed on a stack of documents.
"Ahem..." Sakura cleared her throat, trying to get her attention.
"Ah, Sakura..." Tsunade looked up at the sound. "You're here."
"What is it today, Master?" Sakura asked.
Tsunade didn't answer right away, pondering for a moment before asking, "What are Karin and Yakumo doing?"
"Them?" Sakura wondered why Tsunade was asking about them, but she answered anyway. "Yakumo is at Training Ground 3 training with my shadow clones, and Karin went to Kurenai-sensei for genjutsu lessons."
"Hmm..." Tsunade stroked her chin. "It's like this. Sooner or later, you'll be returning to Team 7..."
"Even if Naruto comes back, Sasuke won't. He's with Orochimaru," Sakura interrupted. "My current team is just fine."
"Do you know something about Sasuke?" Tsunade asked with a frown. For Sakura to be so certain, it would be strange if she didn't.
"Er..." Sakura smiled and changed the subject. "We're not here to talk about Sasuke today, are we?"
"You're right." Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to answer, Tsunade didn't press the issue. She hadn't called her here to talk about Sasuke. She could ask about that later.
"The village elders are very pleased that you've taken the initiative to guide new ninja," Tsunade said, getting to the point. "But given the difference in your skill levels, you can't take them on every mission. And if you're not there, their strength as a two-person team will be diminished. So, the elders have decided to assign another member to your team to stabilize its structure."
So that's it. Sakura had guessed they were going to stick someone on her team the moment Tsunade mentioned Team 7. And sure enough, it was the elders' idea. It seemed they hadn't fully believed her story yesterday.
What's done is done. The fact that Tsunade-sensei was telling her this meant she couldn't refuse. If she could have, she would have already. Sakura trusted her that much. Anyone could see that this was a blatant attempt to monitor her.
Because Sakura had started following Tsunade before she became Hokage, they had spent more time together, and their bond was naturally much closer than in the original timeline.
But this is fine, too, Sakura thought. Right now, the team isn't strong enough to capture Tailed Beasts anyway. By the time we are, heh heh, Yakumo's genjutsu will make him live in a dream.
"Sure, I agree. Who is it?" Having thought it through, Sakura shrugged, her tone casual and unconcerned.
Tsunade gave her a surprised look. She had expected strong opposition. It was an obvious political move that anyone could see through. But since Sakura didn't object, it saved her a headache. She called toward the door, "You can come in."
The door opened gently, and a boy with unnaturally pale skin and a handsome face, wearing a black, midriff-baring top, entered the office.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Sakura. My name is Sai. I look forward to working with you."
A face with a smile that felt completely fake appeared before Sakura.
"Hello..." Sakura's facial muscles felt stiff as she replied mechanically. It's him.
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