Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings

[SleepyKamo]

"Normally traveling to the Land of Rice tales about three days! But I think if we keep a steady pace and conserve our energy, we can make it in three!"

Click to shrink...

Missing something here or mistyped either or.

 

[Sadguychet]

A couple days later, Team 3 walked through the village in which their mission objective was held. Compared to most, the village was large but compared to Konoha, Sakura couldn't help but think it was somewhat underwhelming, both in size as well as interesting things to look at.

Though apparently the villagers didn't agree with that sentiment. Sakura had never felt so many eyes on her in her life, following her every step as every villager they passed decided that Team 3 was the most interesting thing they had ever seen in their lives. It was like they were the main attraction in a carnival, with men, women, and children alike watching them with wide eyes as they made their way to the largest building in town.

When they stepped through the doors and the world outside was closed off by several inches of oak, Sakura almost sighed in relief. Being a ninja brought a lot more attention than being a merchant's daughter.

They walked up to the reception area, and the genin hung back while their sensei spoke to the woman at the desk. They exchanged a short barrage of words that Sakura was too far away to make out, before Iwabi handed over a thick scroll and the woman gave him a green slip of paper in return.

Iwabi held the paper up as he walked back to the rest of the team, "Mission complete, everyone. Good job."

Sakura blinked, "That's it?"

Iwabi nodded, "Our mission was to get the scroll here and we did it. Now all we have to do is take this little slip of paper to the proper place and we'll get paid."

Sakura frowned, "Oh."

"What were you expecting?" Tsu asked, amused at Sakura's clear disappointment..

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know, but this all feels so… anticlimactic, I guess. Business like."

"Well it is business." Hikari chuckled, "Not every mission has to be eventful, you know? Exterminating a bandit camp is about as eventful as it should get."

"And it's better that way." Iwabi said, "Trust me. I know some people who couldn't have a normal mission to save their lives. One thing always goes wrong, one way or another."

"I guess." Sakura relented, "I expected C-Ranks to be a bit more exciting though. We just dealt with some bandits and brought a scroll from one place to another. That's not very ninja-like."

"Well when you become a chunin, you can go on B-Rank assassination missions and if you're lucky, you might even be brought along on an A-Rank or two. Those are a lot more fun." Iwabi chuckled.

Tsu perked up as they exited the building and walked into the streets beyond, "Oh hey, speaking of which, the Chunin Exams are coming up, aren't they? Are you gonna let us enter this time, Iwabi-sensei?"

Iwabi made a conflicted face and Sakura tilted her head in slight confusion, "Chunin exams?" She asked.

"They're exams held bi-annually where genin hopefuls can compete for the chance to become chunin." Hikari explained, "They are formatted differently each time, but the final task is almost always a tournament bracket. They're held in a different village every year, and this year it's Konoha's turn."

"Which is why I think we should totally be allowed to compete!" Tsu said enthusiastically, "Last time we weren't able to because we just became genin and they were in Kusa, but this time they're on our home turf! There's no way we can miss out!"

They all looked to their sensei, even Sakura. A chance to become a chunin so soon after graduation sounded like a great opportunity.

Iwabi didn't answer immediately, visibly debating with himself, "I'm not sure." He finally said, "You three have what it takes, that's for sure, but there's more to bring chunin than just strength. I'd like to bring you guys on a few more missions like this before I make a decision, Sakura especially. You only graduated a few months ago. No need to jump rank so soon."

"Aww come on, sensei!" Tsu whined, "It could be a good lesson for her, for all of us!"

"Tsu's right, we could use the experience, even if we don't make the cut." Hikari agreed.

Iwabi chuckled, "Alright alright, I'll think about it. But that's all you're getting from me." He said, and the team shared silent looks of triumph at his words.

They walked back through the village, though Sakura noticed that instead of heading towards the outskirts of the village, they instead made their way deeper into it. She looked at her sensei, wondering where he was leading her.

"Where are we going, sensei?" Tsu echoed her thoughts.

"We're going to the embassy. That's where we'll get paid and also where we'll be staying for the night." He said as they approached a long building that was much better maintained than the rest around it. Two Konoha Shinobi met them at the door, recognizable by their flak jackets and glinting headbands. They nodded at Team 3 as they walked by and headed inside the building, before returning to their duties.

Iwabi nodded at the receptionist but apparently had no need to speak to him as he walked right past the front desk and down the hall. Coming across a pair of rooms side-by-side, Iwabi pushed the door open, revealing a room with two small beds that were already made up, "Tsuyoka, Sakura, this will be your room. Just put your things anywhere but don't unpack. We aren't staying too long."

As Tsu and Sakura stepped in, Iwabi pulled out the slip of paper he'd gotten from the mission, "Hikari and I are gonna go get our money and take care of some post-mission paperwork. In the meantime you two get comfortable."

He didn't have to tell Tsu twice. The moment the door closed, the Inuzuka practically jumped on her bed, relishing in the soft fabric underneath her instead of the hard ground she had come to know. She groaned loudly, "Oh my god, this feels so much nicer than sleeping on dirt. I feel like an old lady with how much my back's been hurting these last few days."

Tadao barked as he joined his master, running around in circles to get comfortable, before plopping down right beside her head. Sakura rolled her eyes, "It's your fault for forgetting your sleeping bag."

As Tsu and Tadao got comfortable on the bed, Sakura settled into her own space, placing her pack by the foot of the bed. She then reached into her tool pouch, pulling out the scroll that she had taken from the bandit camp. Since they were going to be here for a few more hours, she might as well see what was on it.

She undid the small blue ribbon and set it off to the side, before slowly unfurling the scroll. The moment she did, her eyes locked onto the long, dark strokes of ink that she had come to associate with sealing and as she unfurled it even more, her eyes widened at what she was met with.

The entire scroll was one complicated mess of seals, most of which Sakura couldn't even identify. Along the bottom of the scroll, written in normal ink, was a set of instructions for what seemed like some kind of jutsu, hand seals included.

Ignoring that for now in favor of the much more interesting part of the scroll, Sakura's analytical mind went into overdrive as she tried to parse out the components that were delicately woven into the thick lines of the matrix before her. She could pick out some things that she recognized from her own studies, but most of it was completely unknown to her. The only thing that she could say for certain that she knew was that the seal was blood activated, as she could see the blood recognition matrix linked to the outer rings of the inner chakra lattice.

"Whoever made this really knew what they were doing. I've never seen a style like this before." Sakura muttered as she poured over the delicate inscriptions. She searched for anything that might be dangerous, a trap or alarm that would sound if she messed with it the wrong way, but couldn't find anything. There was something along the outer edges of the seal that she just barely recognized as a modified linking matrix, meant to connect the seal to somewhere else, but she couldn't actually see what it was supposed to be connected to.

"Woah!" Sakura jumped as Tsu's voice sounded right behind her, and she whipped her head around to find the Inuzuka staring at the scroll with wide eyes, "Where in the world did you manage to get your hands on a summoning contract?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked back towards the scroll in disbelief.

"I got it from the bandits… You really think it's a summoning contract?"

"Oh yeah. It's definitely a contract, see?" Tsu pointed at a line near the bottom, "Once you make a contract, your name gets written here in blood. Usually, it's permanent even if the contract gets broken, so maybe this one hasn't been used yet?"

Sakura looked at the scroll in a new light, and now that she actually had an idea of what it was for, the seals began to make sense. The reason there wasn't a destination for the linking seal was because it wasn't anywhere nearby! It was meant to summon creatures or people from far away.

Sakura gazed at the empty line where the recipient was supposed to sign, noticeably blank just like Tsu had said. Was it a new contract? Or maybe one that had been remade. Why was it with the bandits? Had they stolen it? Or was it fake?

No, it definitely wasn't fake. Sakura might not recognize most of the seals here, but they were definitely real. There was a consistent pattern and style in each brush stroke, indicating that the sealer had an intent behind what they were doing.

"What contract do you think it is?" Tsu asked as she leaned over Sakura's shoulder, "The scroll was wrapped in blue so maybe it has something to do with water."

Sakura snorted, "Or maybe they just liked the color blue? I'm not sure a ribbon is really a good indicator of what's inside."

"What's inside what?" Hikari asked as they walked in the room, closely followed by their sensei. They gazed curiously at the scroll in Sakura's hand as Iwabi tossed two bundles of cash towards the girls on the bed.

"Sakura apparently nicked a summoning contract from the bandits and we're trying to figure out what it summons."

"Really?" Hikari gave the scroll a surprised look, "That's quite a find, Sakura."

Iwabi also looked surprised, gazing at the scroll with interest, "Hikari's right, those scrolls are extremely rare. Konoha has maybe five and there are probably less than thirty in all the Elemental Nations. If you decided to sell it, you could probably get as much as an A-Rank mission from the village."

Sakura looked down at the scroll, not really all that surprised by how much it was worth. Summoning contracts were insanely rare, just like Iwabi said, and coming across one was basically like coming across a massive uncut diamond if you could find the right buyer. Which wasn't all too hard considering any major village would be stupid to give one up.

The question was, did Sakura want to sell it? Having a summon was basically a requirement for any legendary ninja. The Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, Hanzo the Salamander, all of them had a summon backing them up and helping them on their journey. And here was a chance for Sakura to get her own…

"I think I'll keep it." Sakura decides, rolling the scroll back up, "I'm not sure what summon it even is, but any summon is better than none, right? Even if I'll probably never be able to summon anything big with my chakra stores, they could still be useful to have."

Iwabi gave her a proud look, "That's a good call. Always better to have another trick up your sleeve than another zero in your bank account. Ninja don't usually retire, but with an attitude like that, you might be one of the few who do."

"If you don't like the animal you get, can I have the contract?" Tsu asked, only to yelp and jerk her hand off of the bed, rubbing at her stinging wrist tenderly, "Ow, dammit Tadao! I was kidding!"

The ninkin just growled, gnashing his teeth and threatening to bite her again. Sakura giggled, "I don't think your partner would like that very much. From what I heard, ninkin can be pretty jealous."

"Yeah, well you heard right." Tsu gave Tadao the stink eye, "Keep the scroll. I'd probably have to burn it to keep him from chewing my wrists off."

"Alright, you three." Iwabi clapped his hands, "We'll spend the night here and get some rest, and go back to Konoha in the morning. I'd advise actually getting some sleep in a comfy bed while you can. The return trip is never any easier."

~~~

The next morning, the genin of Team 3 raced through the forest towards their home country all by their lonesome. Their sensei had stayed back to take care of something in the village and had professed that he'd simply catch up to them in an hour or so, trusting them to make the relatively short journey to the Rice Country's border by themselves.

They set a steady pace, making sure not to deviate from the path they had approached on so that their sensei would know exactly where they had gone. As always, Hikari was in the lead.

"Do you think we should set up and wait by that waterfall we passed on the way?" Tsu asked from Sakura's left. Tadao was still with Iwabi as the pup had caught a bad case of food poisoning from something he had gotten into the day before and was sleeping it off. Tsu was sure he would be fine in a day or so, but wanted to let him rest a bit before traveling with him.

"We could." Hikari took the suggestion into consideration, "I have a feeling that he's probably right behind us anyway. He didn't tell me what he was doing exactly, but he didn't seem to think it would take long."

"So where are you guys headed?"

"!" "AH!" "HOLY SHIT!"

The voice came from directly behind them, startling everyone present. Sakura whipped around, her hand automatically pulling out a senbon from her tool pouch and chucking it directly at whoever had snuck up on them. It caught the figure in the shoulder, and they grunted, backing away from the group and onto an adjacent tree branch as everyone present came to a halt.

As she and her team formed up, Sakura scrutinized the person that had somehow managed to sneak up on all of them, even Tsu. It was a girl around their age, with straight black hair hanging down to her waist, pale skin, and poisonous purple eyes. There was a sword strapped to their back and they were wearing an open, fur-collar jacket that allowed everyone present a generous view of their low-cut top and ample bust.

Any jealousy that Sakura might have felt was completely wiped away at the gleaming metal band hanging just above her breasts, three gleaming clouds inscribed into the metal. Kumo.

The girl looked down at the senbon embedded into her shoulder, completely nonplussed, "Ow, right in the shoulder blade." She said as she poked it lightly, ignoring the blood spreading across her jacket, "That's some pretty good aim you've got. It's been a while since I've gotten pegged like that and-oh! Is that poison? Nice touch."

Sakura watched with wide eyes as the girl ripped the senbon out of her shoulder like it was a splinter. The poison coursing through her veins should have been making it hard for her to stand without falling over, but it was like she wasn't affected at all!

"Here, you can have this back." She tossed the senbon back at Sakura, who snatched it out of the air, "Guess that's what I get for sneaking up on you guys, but I've never seen ninja from Konoha before so I guess I got a little excited."

Team 3 shared cautious glances with one another. Kumo wasn't Konoha's enemy and hadn't been since the last war, and some could even say relations were improving between them barring a certain incident a few years back, but it wasn't unheard of for groups of their respective villages to find each other in the open and come into conflict.

"Uh, sorry about that. I sorta just reacted on instinct." Sakura apologized to the girl as she stowed her senbon away, "Are you okay? I have the antidote right here."

To her surprise, the girl shook her head, "Nah, don't worry about it. I can't even feel it really. Besides, I'm really excited right now and I don't want to waste any time!"

Her words set off red flags with Sakura's entire team. They shared tense looks, liking this less and less by the second. Who was this girl, and why was she following them? And more importantly, where was the rest of her team?

"Why are you excited?" Sakura hesitantly asked as she stepped closer to Tsu and Hikari.

"Oh, that's simple, but you're probably not going to like the answer." The girl's purple eyes practically glowed as she leaned forward, uttering the next words in an almost calm manner that was undercut by a childish amount of eagerness hidden just below the surface, "I'm excited because if that poison was your go-to, I can't wait to see what else you have in store for me."

Sakura blinked and that was more than enough time for the girl to close the distance between them and slam a fist into her face, knocking her off of the tree and sending her plummeting down to the forest below.

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