Stumble [Rewrite]

Time

Yagura carefully scanned the scroll, looking for any sort of genjutsu or some trick of the light. Samehada had been lost to Kirigakure for years ever since it was lost to the possession of one Hoshigaki Kisame after he defected from his village. They were willing to accept the sword probably wouldn't fall into their hands again, but here it was. In perfect condition.

"You say Hoshigaki is dead?" he clarified. "Were you the one who killed him?"

Sakura shook her head. "But a Konoha shinobi did. They weren't aware Kisame kept Samehada, I think, but I was able to get my hands on it before they did."

He quirked an eyebrow. "So you decided to turn it in to me?"

"I don't see you complaining."

Yagura chuckled lightly and walked around his desk to store the scroll in a safe place. Once again, the girl had managed to surprise him in one of the unlikeliest of cases. It also further cemented the trust they had and the favors he owed her, especially now that she was already a ROOT member and was on her merry path to taking Shimura Danzo's place, just like she said she would.

"True. I'm not," he said. "But, this is something I owe you immensely for. That Kiri owes you. What do you want?"

She gave a little shrug and smiled politely. "Nothing much, Yagura-sama. I just hope this alliance doesn't fall apart."

It was a lot for a shinobi to ask of a Kage—a Kage that wasn't even hers—though Yagura found her single condition fair at all lenses he observed it through. She hadn't tricked him into any one of Konoha's plans and spoke honestly about the things she allowed herself to talk about. She'd divulged the location of Kabuto's body, helped his Kiri shinobi, and now had returned one of the village's biggest secrets when she had every opportunity to keep it for herself.

"I have no qualms with that, Haruno-san," he said. "And I only ask that what we've been doing all this time is to be kept quiet." Yagura extended his hand, and she took it to seal their deal of silence. "Is this all you've come here for?"

Sakura rolled her shoulders. "Well... that side mission you assigned me. The man's name is Nagato."

"How sure are you? Have you met up with him?" he questioned curiously. The slight urgency in his tone edged along his words, but soon melted when she denied his latter claim.

"I haven't met up with him, per se..." she lied. Her pointer finger made circles in the air as she mulled over her next words. "But we've come to a mutual understanding."

"So you've had correspondence?"

"Yes," she said. "He's been mislead to believe some things, but we've cleared it up for him and he shouldn't be a problem in the future. If he is, I'll take full responsibility and handle his situation."

Yagura considered her for a few seconds before he sat down in his chair with a light sigh. "If you hold that much faith in him, I don't see any reason to disagree." He smiled. "Thank you for your service, Haruno Sakura. You've done my village and my people a great deed even if they don't know it."

"It's been my pleasure, Yagura-sama," replied Sakura, bowing courteously as any decent shinobi would. She turned to exit, but threw one last mischievous look over her shoulder. "Don't be afraid to ring me up if you need something else done, because once I kick Danzo's ass out of his seat, I'll have a little more elbow room to work with."

::

The stares of his clan members dropped a pressure on his shoulders, and even as he stood as straight as his spine allowed, his muscles strained and tensed under all the unwanted attention. They were whispering too—wondering why he was here and if he decided to follow in his father's footsteps.