Chapter 29: Konoha's Chief Architect
Hokage Tower
A black-robed, one-eyed old man came storming into the Hokage's office radiating a frankly terrifying aura.
"Hiruzen!"
"That little brat of yours—"
"Last ni—"
Danzō's tirade choked off mid-sentence.
There was a small pink-haired girl standing in front of Hiruzen's desk, wearing the most pitiful, woeful expression imaginable, and tattling for all she was worth.
"Master, that man last night was so scary. Climbing in my window in the middle of the night, and when I asked who he was he wouldn't even answer me. I was terrified~~"
In Danzō's eyes, that pink-haired little girl had never looked more punchable.
He had sent one operative to politely "invite" her over. One. And this little demon had not played by anything resembling normal rules. First she'd nearly killed the man with an alarm clock, and then she'd whipped up the entire neighborhood into a mob to beat the wounded operative half to death.
And now here she was, playing victim first?!
God DAMN. Pink on the outside, pitch black all the way through?!
"Danzō. I was just about to bring this up with you."
Hiruzen, sporting two impressive dark circles under his eyes, looked at Danzō with open displeasure.
"Care to explain why you sent someone to my disciple's window in the middle of the night?"
"You took on a new student. Don't I have a right to inspect her?"
Danzō shot Sakura a glare. Sakura, undeterred, glared right back — though hers was significantly less intimidating.
"I already explained Sakura's situation to you, Danzō."
Hiruzen glanced at the girl half-hidden behind him, then back at Danzō, and his eyes hardened.
At this stage, Hiruzen did not want Sakura getting tangled up in any of this.
"Sakura. You can go now. Someone will come find you shortly. And from now on, no one will be climbing in your window in the middle of the night."
He patted her head gently.
"Yes, Master."
Sakura left without hesitation — though as she passed Danzō, she made a point of arching one eyebrow at him.
Danzō's face darkened another full shade.
Once Sakura was gone, Hiruzen's expression iced over.
"Danzō. Do you remember what I told you yesterday?"
As Sakura walked out of the Hokage Tower, she glanced back up at the second-floor office. She could just barely make out the sound of arguing — and then something about I am the darkness deeply buried beneath, blah blah blah.
Same old script. Honestly. Couldn't he get some new material?
But the old man had told her to leave, so... where was she actually supposed to go now?
She'd graduated, but she hadn't been assigned to a genin team. And Hiruzen had said someone would come find her? Who?
As Sakura was standing there at loose ends, a figure materialized behind her.
"Sakura Haruno?"
Sakura turned. A woman in ANBU gear stood there — long purple hair, a ninja sword strapped across her back, a bird mask covering her face.
"And you are?"
"Codename Yūgao. Member of ANBU Squad Three. By order of the Hokage, Sakura Haruno, you've been assigned to our squad."
The purple-haired woman regarded the small girl evenly.
So this is what the old man cooked up. Stash me directly in ANBU, where Danzō can't easily get at me?
"Lead the way."
"Keep up."
Yūgao gave the little girl one more puzzled glance. She honestly couldn't fathom why the Hokage would shove a freshly graduated genin straight into ANBU.
Then she vanished. Sakura immediately followed with a Body Flicker.
She'd had the Body Flicker for a while now and had been working hard to trim down the technique's startup and recovery lag. The startup was easy enough — it was just hand seals, and her Enhanced Strength training had given her the chakra control to handle that effortlessly. The recovery, though, was the real problem. After arriving at her destination, she still needed a one-to-two-second window to actually orient herself before she could act.
It came down to reflexes. If she had Minato Namikaze's reflexes, she could have nailed it overnight.
There was one other option — surgically implant a pair of Byakugan or Sharingan into her own eye sockets. But come on. That was pure fantasy. And honestly, Sakura was fond of her own original-issue eyes. The thought of someone else's organs in her face made her scalp crawl.
Reflexes would just have to come with practice.
Right now, though, this was just travel — not combat — and she could keep up with Yūgao without breaking a sweat.
The woman known as Yūgao — real name Yūgao Uzuki — glanced back over her shoulder in genuine surprise.
She'd already deliberately slowed down to accommodate the new kid. She had not expected the kid to be cruising along behind her looking bored.
She picked up the pace. Sakura kept up, expression unchanged, breath even.
Faster. Faster still. Yūgao felt herself approaching her own personal limit, and Sakura was still right there on her heels.
Another prodigy.
Yūgao couldn't help thinking of that one — the boy who had become an ANBU squad captain at thirteen.
Of course, that young captain was now an S-rank rogue ninja in Konoha's bingo book.
"We're here."
Yūgao slowed in front of a cave entrance set into the side of the Hokage Monument and took a moment to catch her breath. Sakura had never been to this part of the cliffs before.
"Follow me."
Sakura wordlessly fell in behind her, playing the role of the wide-eyed newcomer.
As they descended, the inside of the mountain opened up into something remarkable. Crisscrossing wooden walkways and chambers had been hollowed out of the rock — the entire mountain seemed to have been carved out from the inside. Now and then, figures flickered past overhead.
Yūgao led her to what looked like a changing room.
"This locker is yours. Your gear's inside. Get changed and come find the captain with me."
She pointed at a locker in the corner marked #233.
Sakura didn't think twice. She changed quickly and followed Yūgao to meet this so-called captain.
But when she actually laid eyes on him, she froze for half a beat. Wait — this guy?
"Yo. A cute little newbie."
"Nice to meet you. My codename is Tenzō."
A man with short hair waved at her with an easy, friendly smile.
Konoha's Chief Architect. The only living user of Wood Release in the entire village.
"Uh — hello. I'm Sakura Haruno."
Sakura looked up into those very, very large round eyes.