On the way back, neither Sakura Haruno nor Yamato spoke. Sakura was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and Yamato's subtle actions made her disinclined to talk to him.
Yamato also didn't initiate conversation with Sakura. Firstly, he vaguely sensed that Sakura might already be aware of his subtle surveillance. Secondly, it was to avoid leaking intelligence through excessive talk. Even if the Hokage trusted her, Yamato still couldn't.
As Sakura traveled, she pondered her next move. She had the vessels now; the question was which Tailed Beast to target first. Anything involving Tailed Beasts was bound to be a major undertaking. First, she had to exclude the Tailed Beasts officially possessed by the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Next, some of the more powerful Tailed Beasts also had to be ruled out. If they were too strong, she might not succeed in capturing them and would instead attract the attention of various powers.
By this calculation, the Nine-Tails, Eight-Tails, Two-Tails, One-Tail, Three-Tails, and Five-Tails were in Konoha, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure respectively. The Four-Tails was said to have defected from Iwagakure, but its jinchuriki, Roshi, was formidable. Moreover, Onoki was known to be protective of his own; Sakura couldn't rule out the possibility that if she went after the Four-Tails, Onoki might hire Akatsuki to assassinate her.
The Six-Tails seemed like an easier target. It wasn't in Kirigakure, and Kirigakure itself was currently in turmoil, likely too busy to bother with the Six-Tails. However, its jinchuriki's whereabouts were unknown; encountering it would depend on luck.
Sakura wracked her brains, recalling information about the Tailed Beasts and their jinchuriki, digging up every usable piece of intelligence. After comparing them all, it seemed the one with the least risk was the Seven-Tails, located in Takigakure—that small, isolated ninja village that didn't interact with other villages.
"Takigakure, huh..." Sakura murmured to herself. It seemed everything had started with that mission in Takigakure.
"What?" Yamato's voice sounded beside her.
"No, nothing. I was just saying, let's hurry back," Sakura said, turning her head with a slight smile before speeding up.
Watching Sakura's retreating figure, Yamato felt a vague sense of unease. It was as if a restless beast was hidden within that small body, waiting only for the right moment to unleash a sea of blood. This contrast gave Yamato a sense of unreality, yet every time he saw her lonely back, this feeling intensified.
"Perhaps I'm overthinking it..." Yamato shook his head lightly and quickly followed.
In the Hokage's office, Yamato stood opposite Tsunade, reporting on the mission. Sakura had said she was tired from several days of travel and hadn't come with Yamato.
Tsunade looked at Yamato, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Yes..." Yamato said. "Although you didn't ask me to monitor her movements on this mission, for the safety of the village, I still paid some attention."
"Hmm?" Tsunade nodded slightly. "What did you find?"
"Her mission this time might have been to meet someone," Yamato said. "She shook me off shortly after we set out. However, just in case, I planted a tracking spore on her. She stayed in one place for a short period..."
"Who was that person?" Tsunade's eyes narrowed, interrupting Yamato.
"I don't know." Yamato shook his head. "There were signs of a battle at the scene. But based on my reconnaissance, both sides were likely just probing each other. Judging by the footprints, both parties stayed there for some time, and the departing footprints were orderly. This indicates at least three things..."
"What three things?" Tsunade asked, her expression unreadable.
"First, the other party is hostile towards Sakura Haruno. Second, this hostility is not unchangeable. Third, Sakura Haruno and this person may have some clandestine cooperation." After saying this, Yamato shrugged. "Of course, this is just my deduction based on the traces at the scene. There might be a significant margin of error. It's possible... Sakura Haruno is already selling out the village's intelligence."
Tsunade didn't immediately refute Yamato's words. Although Yamato had violated her orders, Tsunade didn't find his actions inappropriate; in fact, she felt a sense of relief.
She was Sakura's master, and even more so, the village's Hokage. She understood how to deal with such a ninja. But that ninja happened to be the apprentice she had watched grow up. This filled Tsunade's heart with conflict.
"I understand. You may leave. I will talk to her about this," Tsunade said, waving her hand and standing up.
Yamato didn't leave. He just looked at Tsunade, and Tsunade looked back at him. The atmosphere was somewhat subtle. Given Yamato's usual temperament, he wouldn't act like this. But for some reason, Yamato was suddenly being stubborn today. At this moment, Yamato somewhat missed the Third Hokage, the man who had saved him from the darkness of Root, the man who wouldn't treat him as a tool.
Perhaps Lord Third Hokage really should have continued to serve as Hokage, such a thought suddenly popped into Yamato's mind.
"Is there anything else?" Tsunade asked again after a long pause. This was the second time she had asked.
"In Red Shoal Village, Sakura Haruno secretly slipped out at night. When I went to check, the torii gate at the village entrance was gone. I suspect she did it," Yamato reported, somewhat defiantly. He hadn't originally intended to mention this matter. After all, there was no evidence it was her doing. And even if it was her, it was just a torii gate. Would she really stay up all night just to chop down a torii gate? What was the reason? If he said it out loud, people might think he had a problem with his abilities.
As expected, Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this. "I know that after that incident, you don't trust her very much. But please believe me, she has trained with me since she was little. I know her better than anyone. She was completely framed by Danzo in that matter. As for what kind of person Danzo is, I think you should know better than I do."
"Er..." Yamato was instantly speechless. Yes, he knew better than anyone what kind of person Danzo was. He was the man who bore all the village's darkness, a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
But even though Tsunade said this, Yamato still couldn't forget the apocalyptic scene from that day. What kind of power was that? Was that a power humans could achieve? If gods truly existed, then that was probably the power of a god.
"I understand." Yamato said no more, but he secretly resolved to keep a close eye on her. He had to do this for the safety of the village.
Tsunade watched Yamato leave, then slowly sat down in her chair, holding her head in her hands, constantly replaying the mission intelligence Yamato had reported. She knew Sakura must have had a reason for requesting this mission.
So, after finding no reason to refuse, she had let her go. For this, she had even sent an Aburame clan ninja and Yamato to accompany her. The Aburame clan were top experts in tracking and investigation within the village, and Yamato was a trusted subordinate left by the Third Hokage. Although she hadn't given an explicit surveillance order, Tsunade had anticipated Yamato would do so. Sure enough, Yamato had indeed been monitoring her from the start.
However, the news Yamato brought back was hardly good news for Tsunade. His analysis had a certain degree of credibility. Sakura must have contacted enemies of the village. Thinking back to the months Sakura had been away, although she had been constantly laying low, some secrets couldn't stay hidden forever. Someone hostile to the village must have approached Sakura during that time.
Although Tsunade didn't want to doubt Sakura's loyalty to the village, she was, after all, just a fourteen-year-old girl. During that period, she had been betrayed by the village, and it was highly possible that an enemy had exploited her vulnerability...
The more Tsunade thought about it, the more agitated she became. She knew Sakura too well. When Sakura had first started training under her, she had been solely focused on learning ninjutsu. Tsunade hadn't taught her much about worldly wisdom, thinking she would gradually learn these things over time. But she hadn't expected such a turn of events now.
Regardless of Tsunade's troubled thoughts, Sakura herself was also quite troubled at the moment. It was infuriating that she lived in an apartment building; there was simply no space for so many logs of wood. These logs were crucial, and she couldn't just find any random place to process them. She had thought about using Earth Release to dig a basement under the building, but it turned out to be full of pipes and electrical wires.
"Looks like I need a bigger place," Sakura muttered to herself, looking at the sealing scrolls scattered all over the floor.
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