After leaving the cutlery shop, Sakura Haruno couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. The owner seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words, and although she hadn't heard what the people around her were saying, she felt it had something to do with her.
However, this was only her second time in the Land of Waves, and she didn't know those people. Why would they react that way? Could it be because there were no ninjas on this island, so they were surprised by her after hearing the owner's words?
Sakura couldn't figure it out, but they were just ordinary people. If they really intended to harm her, they would be the ones to suffer.
Anyway, she was leaving tomorrow. Since she couldn't get ninja tools, she would see about it when she reached the Land of Rivers. Although the Land of Rivers also had no hidden village, it was relatively more prosperous, and there were ninja activities, so they should have some.
Just as Sakura was thinking of returning to the inn, a flash of inspiration struck her. She remembered Zabuza's Executioner's Blade. Zabuza had been killed in the forests of the southern Land of Rivers.
At that time, her strength was still very weak, and Kakashi-sensei was exhausted. Although the Executioner's Blade was one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swords, it wasn't suitable for her, nor did the blade seem particularly powerful. So, to lighten her burden, Sakura had buried the sword where Zabuza died.
She wondered if the sword was still there. Back then, her strength was insufficient; even wielding such a heavy sword was difficult, let alone fighting with it. But now...
Sakura looked at her own small arms. Wielding that sword now should be much easier.
Although she had never used a sword, it was a famous blade, after all. It didn't seem like a loss to practice swordsmanship for the sake of the Executioner's Blade's reputation.
It's decided then. I'll go back, hurry up and make the supplies, and then go to the Land of Rivers to retrieve the sword.
Returning to the inn, Terumi Mei was already asleep on the tatami mat. A table in the room was laden with delicious sushi.
Seeing Mei sleeping as peacefully as a cat, Sakura didn't have the heart to wake her. She carried the materials for making Military Ration Pills that she had left in the lobby, trying to be as quiet as possible.
But the heavy stone mortar still accidentally made a noise. Mei's eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Mm~~ You're back," Mei said, rubbing her eyes and looking at Sakura. "What are these?"
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Sakura said. "These are materials for making Military Ration Pills. Since you're awake, let's eat together."
"Mhm," Mei nodded obediently, then said, "While you were out just now, the owner said the hot springs here are free. After we eat, let's go soak in the hot springs, okay?"
"Er, no," Sakura said, conflicted. "I'd like to soak in the hot springs with you too, sister, but they're cracking down on 'driving' these days. If we get caught, we'll end up in the 'little black room.' You don't want to go to the 'little black room,' do you?"
"Wuwu, I don't want to go to the little black room," Mei's expression changed.
"Mhm, then let's eat quickly. We have to process all these materials tonight. I'll teach you how to make Military Ration Pills. We're leaving early tomorrow morning," Sakura said, sitting down at the dining table.
"Mhm," Mei obediently sat down at the table and began to have dinner with Sakura.
After eating, the two began to make Military Ration Pills. It had to be said, Mei was quite talented. Sakura only demonstrated the process once, and Mei had already memorized the proportions and steps.
Generally, Military Ration Pills tasted quite bad. In the past, when Sakura made them, she would add various supplementary ingredients to change their unpleasant taste.
But now, she didn't have the conditions to make various flavors. She did it the simplest way possible. She had originally thought it would take all night, but with Mei's help, they finally finished processing all the materials by midnight.
The night passed without any disturbances. Waking up in the morning and seeing the warning traps intact, Sakura shook her head, thinking she had probably been overthinking things due to her recent nervousness.
"Get up, it's time to go," Sakura said, looking at Mei who was still sleeping, and gently nudged her.
"Mmm~" Mei hummed in her sleep, turned over, and continued to snore softly.
"..." Sakura looked at her speechlessly. It was really hard to connect this with the assertive woman from before. This demure, feminine demeanor didn't feel a_t all forced; it was so captivating that even Sakura felt a little moved.
When the sun was high, Sakura and Terumi Mei walked across the great bridge of the Land of Waves towards the Land of Rivers. It had to be said, it was indeed because of this bridge that the Land of Waves had changed for the better.
The bridge was bustling with people coming and going. Various horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, and vendors traveled along this bridge, bringing prosperity to the Land of Waves.
Because of Sakura's decision at the time, Zabuza had been dealt with early on, and the subsequent events hadn't occurred, so this bridge was...
Oh, for crying out loud! Sakura stared in disarray at the four large characters at the head of the bridge: Sakura Great Bridge.
This... Sakura stared blankly at the name on the plaque. What the heck? Why is it the Sakura Great Bridge? Shouldn't it be the Great Naruto Bridge or something related to the Land of Waves???
"What's wrong?" Mei asked, noticing Sakura staring blankly at the bridge's name.
"N-nothing," Sakura pulled Mei hastily onto the bridge. Does Tazuna have some kind of masochistic tendency? My attitude back then was terrible, not just bad, I even threatened to kill him from time to time. Who would have thought he'd name it after me?
Sakura didn't think anyone else could be the "Sakura" in the name. But she didn't have time to question him now. She'd deal with it later if she had the chance. This is too embarrassing. It definitely needs a new name.
Crossing the Sakura Great Bridge led to the Land of Rivers. Following the direction from her memory, Sakura led Terumi Mei towards the location of their battle back then.
Although more than a year had passed since the Land of Waves mission, because it was her first mission encountering ninjas, and an S-rank rogue ninja at that, the impression was quite deep.
Terumi Mei, walking behind Sakura, suddenly tugged at her sleeve, leaned in, and whispered, "I... I think those few people behind us are a bit suspicious. They seem to have been following us."
"Hm?" Sakura looked at Mei with approval. "You're very observant. It's fine, they're just some samurai, nothing to worry about."
Actually, Sakura had already noticed them. But their crude tracking skills made her judge that they weren't ninjas. Besides, she had seen a few of them in the cutlery shop yesterday.
However, there were still many people on the road, and Sakura didn't want to cause trouble here. When they reached a deserted place, they naturally wouldn't be able to hide anymore.
Gradually, as Sakura ventured deeper into the southern forests of the Land of Rivers, the people behind them, seeing they were about to be unable to hide, simply revealed themselves.
Sakura looked at the eight people of varying heights and builds, armed with different weapons, blocking her path, and sneered, "What do you all want?"
Among the eight, a sturdy man holding an oversized spiked club stepped forward. He took out a small notebook from his pocket, looked at the girl opposite him, then looked back at the notebook in his hand.
"Although your makeup is quite good, judging from your behavior in the cutlery shop yesterday, you're the wanted person," the sturdy man said.
"Wanted?" Sakura was stunned. She knew she was wanted by Kirigakure, but wouldn't they know her strength? Why would they send such people? And they didn't look like ninjas at all. Sending such people was just sending them to their deaths!
Seeing the girl's stunned expression, the sturdy man put away his notebook and said, "It seems you don't know you're wanted yet. You are suspected of murdering the princess of the Land of Water and have a bounty of twenty million ryo placed on you by the Daimyo of the Land of Water. If you don't want to suffer physical pain, then come with me obediently."
"H-how much?" Sakura's eyes nearly popped out. "How much did you say the bounty was?"
"Twenty million ryo! Tsk tsk, the Daimyo of the Land of Water is really rich. A little brat like you can have a bounty of twenty million ryo. I say, Yoshida, what are you blabbering on about with her? Just cripple her and take her away," a short, thin man with a sharp chin and shifty eyes shouted from the side.
Twenty million ryo! Kirigakure is really going all out. That's not much less than Asuma's bounty. Heh, Kirigakure, you can go to hell. After my little Sasuke receives the Six Paths' power, I'll crush you first. I won't leave you a single Tailed Beast.
And Naruto, when the time comes, we'll unite with other ninja villages and squeeze you dry. With two gods on our side, I dare you not to be afraid.
Yoshida shook his head and said to the girl, "Although you're not very old, even a child, since you've committed murder, it's up to us bounty hunters to bring you to justice."
"Bounty hunters?" Terumi Mei was taken aback and whispered to Sakura, "Aren't we bounty hunters too?"
"Heh, let's not talk about that for now. They're all yours. Let's see if your strength has recovered during this period," Sakura's lips twitched. Kirigakure's actions had even made her feel a little annoyed with Mei.
Mei seemed to sense that Sakura's mood had soured, and it was because of her. She nodded aggrievedly, then looked at the eight men with an unfriendly expression.
"You've angered me!!" Terumi Mei formed hand seals, and after a flurry of afterimages, "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Not good, this woman is a ninja! Dodge quickly!"
Before the eight men could react, a monstrous flood instantly appeared in the forest. The eight men were like small boats in a vast ocean, scattered by the flood.
However, the flood showed no signs of stopping; instead, it grew larger and larger, the waves surging higher and higher. It looked as if this forest was about to turn into a huge lake.
"As expected of the future Fifth Mizukage, to be able to create such a massive amount of water in a place with no water," Sakura said, watching the monstrous flood with some admiration. If it were her, she might be able to create such a spectacle, but her chakra would probably be exhausted.
It clearly wasn't worth it for a battle. Seeing the angry look on Mei's face as she looked at those men, Sakura felt a little touched. Was it because my tone was a bit off just now? She's really cute.
They're just a few small fries. Was it necessary to greet them with an A-rank ninjutsu? Sakura stood on a treetop, looking speechlessly at the area that had now turned into a huge lake.
After the flood, the ground was riddled with puddles, and the air was filled with a damp smell.
And those few men had already been tied up by Mei. Although most of them had fainted, they were still tied together.
Sakura looked at Mei's somewhat tired expression and shook her head. "That's not how you use Water Release. Doing it like that, apart from wasting chakra, has very little effect. Look, not a single one of them died."
"S-sorry," Mei said pitifully. "I... I was just a little angry with these people."
"Water is both extremely hard and extremely soft. For Water Release to be damaging, you need to embody its characteristics, for example, pressure," Sakura said, extending a finger. A water blade shot out directly, striking a nearby rock.
Then, the rock was sliced in two by the water blade.
"Do you understand? There needs to be pressure to demonstrate the power of Water Release. What you did just now would be fine for creating favorable terrain, but if you're attacking an enemy, covering too wide an area will cause the chakra-generated pressure to dissipate," Sakura explained.
"I understand," Mei said, looking at Sakura who had returned to her former self, and nodded obediently.
"Mhm, alright, let's check on these guys first," Sakura turned and looked at the only sturdy man who was still conscious, seemingly named Yoshida.
"Actually, I have no grudge against you. I know that you bounty hunters help the authorities capture wanted criminals. But this is a ninja's feud. If you don't want to die, stop now. Besides, this is a conspiracy by the Land of Water and Kirigakure; you shouldn't get involved," Sakura advised kindly.
Sakura knew about bounty hunters. She had encountered them during her three years of training with Master Tsunade. Although they did it for money, most bounty hunters also had a strong sense of justice, essentially acting as outsourced government officials.
However, there were also those bounty hunters who would do anything for money, but usually, such types wouldn't last long before ending up on the government's wanted list.
"Hmph, so what if you're a ninja? If you kill someone, you should face the law. I've captured quite a few ninjas over the years. But this time, I admit defeat. Kill me if you want!" Yoshida was surprisingly tough, not begging for mercy. He closed his eyes, awaiting the arrival of death.
It wasn't that any ninja could easily defeat a samurai. Ordinary genin and chunin might not necessarily win against more skilled samurai. What truly set ninjas and samurai apart was that the upper limit for ninjas was several times higher than that for samurai.
The fact that Mifune could fight Hanzo to a standstill proved that samurai who trained to the extreme could still compete with ninjas. However, very few samurai could train to that extreme, while ninjas' strength grew much faster and their upper limit was higher, so samurai weren't entirely obsolete.
After all, there were still many people who lacked the aptitude to become ninjas and chose to become samurai instead.
"Let's go," Sakura said to Terumi Mei.
"Hm? Aren't you going to kill them all?" Mei asked, puzzled.
"No need," Sakura shook her head. "They're not bad people, just misguided by the Land of Water."
From Yoshida's conversation from beginning to end, Sakura felt he was a person with a strong sense of justice. Although it was for money, the general environment was like that. To have such spirit, he didn't seem like someone who would do anything for money.
"Let's go. I'll take you to see a great treasure," Sakura said to Terumi Mei with a smile.
It's been buried for a year. It's time for it to see the light of day again. Executioner's Blade!!!