ꕥ 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕥𝕦𝕤 𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕞𝕤 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕖 ꕥ

Third Stage 2

"Ino." Sakura acknowledged the blond with a nod, walking to the middle of the arena at the same time as her. She felt no obligation to hold back—in fact, she considered crushing Ino as a good idea, because that would make Ino grow stronger. She had too much of an inflated ego at the moment, mostly because of her clan.

"Sakura..." Ino showed hesitance but took up a defensive stance.

Sakura had chosen not to stand out in the village, choosing instead to simply mingle so as to not draw attention. As such, none of the villagers or ninjas new of her true skills—besides her teammates. She knew they most likely awaited her loss.

"START!"

The pink haired girl didn't move, waiting for Ino's first action. It was better to at least let her fight.

Seeing this, Ino sneered. "Alright." She leaped forward, kunai in hand, but Sakura dodged the first swipe for her arm easily, then dodged the next blow just as smoothly. After more desperate swipes, Ino leapt back in irritation.

"Take this!" She held her fingers up, forming a rectangle. "Chakra Transfer!"

The crowd held their breaths in anticipation. There was no way Sakura could avoid such a jutsu.

But suddenly, they all gasped. Sakura's body disintegrated into dirt, leaving nothing but air.

"What??" Ino lowered her hands in confusion. "Where did sh-"

"Yo."

The blond turned her body quickly, but it was too late. She was met with Sakura's fist, unable to blink even as it came towards her at an incredible speed. The girl's fist stopped a millimeter from her face.

Suddenly, a tremendous gust of wind rocked the whole arena, and from sakura's fist, huge amounts of chakra-caused wind made Ino fly strongly into the arena wall.

And that was the end for Sakura's match.

-

Soon after, the village was shook by the exposure of the Kazekage as Orochimaru in disguise. He had posed as the Kazekage to bring Sunagakure into an invasion of Konoha. Now he held the Hokage hostage in a barrier, preventing the other shinobi from being able to interfere.

Sakura gazed at the Hokage, seeing he held no fear in his eyes. The old man gazed back, as if telling her "you know what to do".

She did, in fact, know. As Naruto chased after the escaping sand siblings, Sakura leapt up to the roof of the arena, where Sasuke stood.
"Go with Naruto and the others. It'll be a good opportunity for you to see the true strength of the Junchuuriki."

Sasuke turned to her in surprise. "And the Hokage?"

"The Hokage is fated to die, and he's old now anyway."

The black haired boy deadpanned in response, though nodding in obedience. "As you wish."

-

The overwhelming defeat of the Sunagakure, and the loss of both Konoha and Sunagakure's leaders brought both villages into a solid treaty of peace.

The night after the invasion, Sakura awoke from her sleep at around midnight, slipping into a soft sweater and long skirt and walking outside into the chilly night.

Finding it colder than expected, she shivered as she made her way to the village gates.

"Sensei." The cold voice of Sasuke spoke from behind her.  "How did you know? That I'd leave today."

Sakura smiled. "You and your brother are more similar than you think. You make decisions quickly, and you execute the decisions just as quick."

She saw Sasuke's jaw feather at the mention of his brother, and the girl sighed. In a blink, she was in front of the Uchiha. He stepped back in surprise.

"Well, it seems you packed well. Do you have enough food and weapons?"

Sasuke grunted in embarrassment, trying to ignore his burning ears. "You taught me how to pack. It should be enough."

"Good. Orochimaru will try to do many things to attain your body as his vessel. It's creepy, I know, but don't kill him yet. Just let yourself get stronger, and I will come when you're ready." She smiled and lighting patted Sasuke's head, before turning to go. "Good luck and have fun."

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her around her shoulders, holding her tightly. "Thank you, sensei." Sasuke murmured against her neck. "You're soft. Please let me hug you for another minute."

"Alright."

From above the gates, a crow squawked and left, its red eyes glittering against the moonlight.