"Target located. Yellow, intercept." Sakura lead the team with her intelligence, all to catch their prey.
A proud feline hissed dangerously…
"Umm... Okay, Pink! What about Blue?" Naruto was feeling scared, but approached it nevertheless.
He couldn't catch it without getting closer.
"He seems to be brooding in the back." Sakura sighed, and wanted to tell him off for such things.
He was being too uncooperative.
"Understood! Intercepting the target now!" Naruto lunged forward and grabbed the cat that had gotten lost. Even though this low-level mission would normally get on Naruto's nerves, he enjoyed Sakura's attention. She was more intimate lately.
Plus, he wasn't desperate to prove himself right now.
"Hey, Blue, we can't become a seasoned team if you don't help." The pink-haired girl spoke to boy standing beside her. He seemed to be thinking of a lot of things, unlike their reckless and hasty friend.
In response to her nagging, Sasuke threw out some kunai and shuriken in Naruto's direction.
Sakura was stunned momentarily, but chose to trust that he knew what he was doing.
The two throwing weapons ricocheted off each other. Their trajectories altered mid flight…
…and ended with one of them accurately landing in front of the runaway cat. Their target for today.
The little feline was scared still by the kunai that landed in front of it, giving Naruto the chance to catch it the way he was advised to. He restricted the little creature from using its claws.
Sakura ticked another Mission from the list on her notepad. They returned to complete their mission.
This was how she played the supporting role in their team.
The girl knew both Sasuke and Naruto were enough to handle these Missions alone.
It may seem like she was slacking. That she was staying away from fighting to avoid getting hurt.
However, her true reason for being so laid back…
…was so they didn't find out that the person they were talking to, was only a Shadow Clone!
Hehe… She couldn't believe Sasuke fell for this.
Since she already knew about Tazuna's (the old man with a grandson's) dilemma, she went there to deal with the loan sharks. Those incredibly cartoonishly evil guys that were harassing people.
Gato's schemes was stopping the old man's village from being able to build a bridge to the outside.
Something that could improve their lives overall.
Instead of waiting for old man Tazuna to give the false information about his village, she headed there herself without her teammates. It was so they wouldn't be heavily injured like the last time.
At least, that's what she told herself.
Even without using the Flying Thunder God Technique- Level 3, her speed was extremely fast.
Her basic Body Flicker had reached such a level.
She let out a breath after finally getting there…
"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" After getting to the village, she was seen by a few thugs.
Those who seemed to be monitoring the villagers.
What they saw before them was a young girl wearing black head to toe (and a fox mask), the only feature that stood out about her was the pink hair. She couldn't be bothered covering that up.
Hiding her identity wasn't the problem here.
All that mattered was having an 'Abby' identity…
"I'm here for Gato. Tell me where he is." Her words didn't seem to be taken seriously at all.
They started to laugh.
This confused Sakura for a brief moment.
Then she remembered that they weren't born and raised ninjas, but regular civilians turned to crimes.
Though they seemed somewhat stronger than the average people her team was currently getting Missions from, such vermin were more a blight to society. Sucking on the marrow of the citizens.
It was like what they were doing right now.
Isolating this village from the rest of the world, all so they could make money of their suffering.
'Sickening…' Sakura thought with disgust, and she felt this emotion deepening with every breath took.
It was a strange sensation…
As if something abnormal was going on within…
"A little brat like you wants to see our Boss? Now that I'm looking, aren't you a runaway ninja? You can become a great 'tool' of our Boss if you join us." The bald man seemed to think she was either an orphan or runaway to seek out Gato for shelter.
However, he mistook how much danger he was in.
There was a blade-like sharpness in her eyes. She walked towards them with pure fighting intent.
"Answer, or die." Before the man could pull out his blade and point it towards her, Sakura approached.
*CRUNCH*
He suddenly found his arm twisted awkwardly.
This was followed by a feeling of dread. The young girl ruthlessly stabbed his friend's heart using one finger. She didn't even give him any chances to retaliate. His friend fell powerlessly after her poke...
"Choose." The young girl spoke like a demon.
What made the man more frightful was the fact that he couldn't feel pain from his broken arm, as if it was gone. The strength this little ninja showed was beyond his comprehension. It was without hesitation that he rat his boss, Gato, out.
That loan shark could deal with this himself…!
After acquiring his location, she quickly headed where he was. Coming across more on the way.
'Annoying…' She felt a darkness swallowing her heart, and was unable to tell why that was so.
She didn't personally hate these ignorant thugs…
They were no match for her anyway…
So why weren't they stopping?
Was she being too merciful to them?
It was at that point a random gangster with a scar over one eye charged at her. Throwing a fist at her.
She met it with her own explosive knuckles.
Sakura intended to non-lethally take him down. Her earlier ruthlessness was just an act she put on.
Even though the others had been crippled, she hadn't taken anyone's life just yet. It was her will.
Even that guy she poked earlier was only unconscious. He would wake up after a while.
But the moment her fist hit the thug's own, the result was far different that she had expected.
*POP*
A red spider lily bloomed. The body of the goon under Gato's leadership blew up like a balloon.
Leaving behind what used to be his bones…
'What?! NOOO!!!' Sakura roared on the inside, as someone who had never killed in her young life.
She didn't know what was overcoming her.
But by the time she noticed something wrong, the thoughts of regret had all been washed away.
Leaving behind a frigid coldness in its wake,
'They would tell Gato about this- No, it is their fate to die here. I am merely a tool of destiny.' The whites of her eyes pulsed red at this thought. She was unaware what caused this transformation.
Not noticing she went from cold to extremely psychotic. Taking lives without even blinking.
Judging others as if she was a god herself.
This situation stemmed from the past. The exact moment she 'digested' her future memories.
Unknowing that the more she drank from this tainted well, the more that it would infect her.
Turning her king similar to that crazed woman who electrocuted herself. Unkind to her own body.
She left the scent of death in her wake while approaching Gato's hideout. Her eyes bloodshot.
Sakura only stopped when she got to the room where Gato was. All his underlings killed so silently that they didn't make a peep. The man was telling Zabuza and Haku to hurry up in killing Tazuna.
'Looks like I don't have to look around. I'm fortunate they're all in one place.' The kunoichi's thoughts started to calm down. She opened the door, which scared the people inside by how she infiltrated Gato's base without making a sound.
The sight of the recently deceased corpses outside made Zabuza'e eyes constrict. Haku felt it too.
This child was a demon…
But they too weren't angels. Both of them had seen their fare share of slaughters up to this point.
"What are you here for?" Zabuza was the first to speak. He pointed his Executioner's Blade at her.
One of the seven deadliest weapons in the entire Mist Village. It's length almost reaching Sakura.
Haku seemed worried their employer would die before they got their payment, so he decided to protect him.
"You two are very good mercenaries despite being fugitives, aren't you? I want to enlist your service today." Her words struck a chord in both of these two 'mercenaries'. They looked at her with more suspicion than they did before.
What faction did she come from?
Hidden Mist? Leaf? Anbu?
Haku was currently wearing his disguise, but he was unsure of his mask would trick 'genuine' Anbu.
She was too confident to be an inexperienced assassin. Such a person could have came to assassinate Gato, but it didn't look like she came here due to any tough circumstances.
Instead, her demeanour seemed to imply that her age could not be guessed by her looks.
A result of intaking too much future memories…
"We've already taken this assignment for now. Tell whoever sent you now isn't the best time." Zabuza tried to feel her out.
But Gato was surprised instead.
"That's unnecessary. After all, you two will surely die the same way as those before you, who were hired by this 'famous' and rich businessman." Her eyes turned towards the crook and continued:
"Hey, isn't it easier to get Ninjas to kill each other rather than pay them uprightly?" Sakura asked while looking towards Gato, who was currently hiding behind Haku. Though she could only sigh when she saw him not reacting to her at all.
She thought that saying his sins out loud would make him flustered, but she forgot that this man couldn't have become a great businessman if he didn't know how to bluff. Moreover, he was cold-blooded. Uncaring of the death of his underlings.
Zabuza finally made up his mind on how to handle these circumstances. He covered his mouth.
The ninja swordsman decided to attack her to destroy any who could spread their location.
His massive blade seemed light as a feather as he hacked. Showing his mastery of swordsmanship.
A demonic edge swung towards the cruel ninja…
Looks like I’ll have to finish this work to get more ‘exposure’. Those who have read it before will notice some differences.
I’m going to make this the main work I’ll be focusing on for the sake of appearances. It has already beat my original work despite having 1/10th the chapters published. So I guess I have no choice.
‘Stories of the Incubi’ will also be brought back since that had some readers too. Originally called ‘The Incubus Hated Sweet Girls’.
The next chapter will be newly added.