As expected, after Sakura sent Karin home and went to the Hokage's office, her master Tsunade and the two elders were already waiting for her.
Tsunade nodded at Sakura. "The two elders are also here to ask about Lord Third. Just tell them what he said to you."
"Understood." Sakura nodded. Tsunade's meaning was clear: the elders weren't here to question her, but simply to find out what the Third Hokage had said.
"Lord Third called me over just to ask how I've been recently," Sakura began, choosing her words carefully. "Then, as we were talking, he suddenly started coughing up blood. I rushed over to check his pulse, but I couldn't feel anything."
...
Silence filled the office. After a long moment, Koharu Utatane spoke. "And that's it?"
"Yes, that's all that happened," Sakura confirmed with a firm nod, then added, "Also, before he passed, he told me to protect Konoha. That's really all there was."
Homura Mitokado and Koharu exchanged a glance, then looked back at Sakura. "You may go, then," Homura said. "Since Lord Third entrusted you with protecting Konoha in his final moments, we hope you will not fail to live up to his request."
Sakura was slightly taken aback, but she said nothing more, simply nodding before exiting the Hokage's office.
After she left, the three remaining in the office fell into a heavy silence. Finally, Koharu was the first to speak. "She is definitely hiding something from us."
"She absolutely did not kill the Third," Tsunade stated. "I've already examined his body. His internal injuries appear to be quite old..."
"Hmph!" Homura snorted, a strange look on his face. "We don't suspect her of killing the Third Hokage. On the contrary, we believe she would never do such a thing. Tsunade, my girl, don't think of us as another Danzo."
"Oh? So you're aware of what kind of person Danzo was. Then why did you still support him?" Tsunade retorted with a snort of her own, completely ignoring him calling her "my girl."
"You're naive. Governing a village isn't as easy as you think," Koharu said with a sigh. "To be honest, I don't believe Danzo's contributions to the village were any less than the Third's. But he walked in the shadows for so long that he eventually fell into darkness himself. It's truly a pity."
Now, of their generation of Konoha's leadership, only the two of them remained. It was hard not to feel a sense of shared sorrow, like a fox mourning the death of a rabbit.
"Sakura was framed by Danzo, and Danzo died at her hands," Homura continued, pointing a finger at Tsunade. "The Third had already retired when that happened. If there's anyone she should resent the most over the Danzo affair, I think it would be you, Tsunade—the one who stripped her of her forehead protector."
Tsunade was silent for a long time. "You're right," she said finally. "If she were to resent anyone, it should be me."
"Besides, you've already examined the Third," Koharu added. "You may not be much of a Hokage, but no one can dispute your medical skills."
A dark line appeared on Tsunade's forehead. The two of them had been taking jabs at her since the conversation started. If they weren't discussing Sakura, she would have kicked them out by now.
"The issue now is what Sakura is hiding from us," Homura continued. "What did the Third Hokage really say to her?"
Watching the two of them go back and forth, Tsunade felt her blood begin to boil. After a sharp throb in her temples, she asked through gritted teeth, "Then what are you two proposing?"
...
After a heated discussion, the two elders finally left. Tsunade watched them go, lost in thought. They didn't truly trust Sakura, but they knew Tsunade would never allow them to investigate her.
So, their words today were purely for her benefit—a strategic retreat to gain an opportunity to investigate later. Heh... Tsunade suddenly felt exhausted. Not even negotiating with Kirigakure under the pressure of war was as tiring as this battle of wits with the two of them.
It's true, she thought with a sigh, looking at the documents the two had left on her desk. I really am not suited to be Hokage.
...
...
When Sakura left the Hokage's office, she found that the crowds on the street had thinned. Many people had gone to the Memorial Stone to pay their respects to the Third. Not everyone could go to the platform on the Hokage Tower, so the civilians had gone to the Memorial Stone after he was laid to rest.
A light rain was still falling. Sakura looked up at the sky, wondering how Yakumo was doing. Telling her the truth so suddenly... if it had been her, she would have been devastated too.
But her shadow clone hadn't sent any news, so she was probably alright. However, when Sakura got home, she found only Karin. Yakumo and her shadow clone were nowhere to be seen.
"Sakura, your shadow clone left this note," Karin said, walking over and handing her a piece of paper. "But the writing on it is really strange."
Sakura took it and couldn't help but give a wry smile. It was written in Chinese. No wonder Karin couldn't read it.
Shadow clones were useful, but they had one major drawback: they didn't transmit any information until they were dispelled. It was like being blind.
If a clone used the Transformation Technique, you might not even recognize it face-to-face. Only someone with a dojutsu or a superhuman sense of smell, who could see or smell chakra, could identify their own clone by its chakra signature or scent. That was how Sakura had ended up fighting her own clone before.
Without those abilities, if a clone transformed after separating from the original, it was impossible to recognize. There were ways around it, of course, like using pre-arranged signals.
But Sakura had never encountered such a bizarre situation before, so she hadn't even considered it. From now on, though, she wouldn't make the same mistake.
The note was simple. It said that Yakumo had left wearing black mourning clothes, and the clone had followed her.
She wore the mourning clothes, Sakura thought, nodding. "You stay here," she told Karin. "Uh, make something to eat. The shops probably won't open tonight. Make enough for three."
"Okay, sure," Karin agreed, then asked, "Are you going to look for Yakumo?"
"I'm going to check on her," Sakura replied.
"She wasn't hostile toward you at that moment," Karin said. "I think... she'll probably stay."
"Oh, really?" Sakura looked at Karin in surprise. "Do you think I did the right thing?"
"You mean telling her the truth?" Karin thought for a moment. "I think being kept in the dark is more painful."
"Thank you, Karin," Sakura said with a sigh. She knew Karin was trying to make her feel better. But ever since the Third's death, she had already decided to tell Yakumo the truth. Not for any other reason, but to live in the present.
Out on the street, Sakura walked slowly toward the Memorial Stone. It should still be crowded now. By the time she got there at this pace, the crowd should have thinned out. If Yakumo had put on mourning clothes, that was the only place she would go. Otherwise, she wouldn't have worn them at all.
The oppressive atmosphere on the streets made it hard for Sakura to breathe. The sound of sobbing occasionally reached her ears. Tonight, Konoha was more unified than it had ever been. Everyone was dressed in black, and everyone wore a look of grief. It was a clear sign of just how influential the Third had been in the village.
After a long walk, Sakura finally reached the Memorial Stone. There were still quite a few people, but not as many as she had expected. Scanning the crowd, she immediately spotted her shadow clone and Yakumo.
The clone was standing behind Yakumo, who didn't seem to have noticed it. Sakura dispelled the clone, and its memories flooded into her. It was just as she had thought. After staying in her room for a long time, Yakumo had silently put on the clothes and come here.
Sakura waited for a long time. The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving Yakumo standing blankly before the Memorial Stone. Sakura emerged from the shadows and came up behind her.
"You're here..." Yakumo said, as if she knew it was Sakura.
"Mhm," Sakura replied. "Let's go home and eat. You're weak. You need to eat."
"Okay." Yakumo nodded and turned around.
Seeing her red, swollen eyes, Sakura felt a pang of guilt. She raised a hand, and the green light of the Mystic Palm Technique covered Yakumo's eyes. Yakumo didn't resist, just stood there quietly as Sakura healed her.
"What are your plans now?" Sakura asked. "Are you going to leave the team? But even if you leave, I'll still train you to become a ninja. Consider it compensation."
Yakumo was taken aback for a moment, then she shook her head and said softly, "Our deal isn't over. You can't just terminate it on your own..."