Chapter 119: Orochimaru, You Absolute Piece of Work
The woman was genuinely striking. The thick golden braid didn't read as plain on her — paired with sharp, imperious features, it carried its own kind of energy. If Sakura had to pick one word for it: feral elegance.
Which made sense, really. The Two-Tails was a cat.
"So this was all arranged in advance."
It wasn't a question. Sakura read the woman's composure and reached up, pulling her goggles off.
One hand found the cord knotted at her chest and gave it a light tug. The white snow cloak dropped to the floor with a soft sound, leaving black ninja gear — and a head of unmistakably pink hair.
Yugito studied the girl in front of her with a lazy, appraising look and a smile that barely committed to existing.
"You seem awfully sure of yourself."
Bang.
A dark shape dropped hard from above. The dark-haired Uchiha boy crushed a Kumogakure headband under his heel and walked forward, step by deliberate step. Kiba and Shino materialized at Sakura's flanks, both fixed on Yugito.
Yugito let them form up without concern. Her attention slid to Sasuke, and something sharpened in her eyes.
"The last Uchiha."
A slow smile.
"The catch is better than I thought. We'll bring him back to the village — I'm sure the breeding program would love him."
The words had barely landed before a mass of Kumogakure ninja closed the perimeter around all four of them.
"Now, now." A drawling voice cut in. "Can't pretend I didn't hear that."
A dark-skinned man with white hair appeared, expression somewhere between bored and amused.
Sakura's stomach sank another notch.
Darui. The Raikage's personal guard. Future Fifth Raikage.
Of all the people to run into here.
"Who exactly are you planning to pair him with?" Darui asked flatly.
"Samui. And Karui." Yugito crossed her arms, tone utterly casual, like she was discussing the weather. "They'd appreciate the pretty face."
Sakura jabbed Sasuke lightly in the ribs.
"Didn't realize you had fans outside the village too," she murmured.
Sasuke's expression didn't change.
"So then." Yugito's gaze swept the four of them with something like idle curiosity. "Do you surrender now, or do I beat you down first and then you surrender?"
"I have a question before we get to that."
Sakura pulled her black gloves from her pouch and began working them on, unhurried.
"Our spy — did he simply defect to Kumogakure, or did he hand over his contact methods with Konoha as well?"
Yugito looked at her for a moment.
"That man..."
"Who can say what motivates anyone."
"What can a spy actually gain? Money? Power?" A slight tilt of the head. "None of that moved him. All it took was one woman, placed in the right spot at the right time, and the feeling of something like a home. That was enough."
"And where is he now?"
"Dead."
A quiet exhale from Sakura.
"I see."
Yugito watched her with an expression that was hard to read.
"So, little one. Tell me your answer."
Sakura looked at the beautiful woman in front of her, and her eyes curved into a smile.
"My answer is—"
Heaven Stomp.
BOOM.
One foot came down like a verdict. Monstrous force transferred through the ground in an instant — and the floor in every direction within ten meters simply collapsed.
"You—!"
Yugito dropped into the crater, caught completely off guard.
"Sasuke!" Sakura was already moving. "The white-haired one — hold him off, I'll back you up!"
"Kiba, Shino — destroy the supplies!"
In the chaos of the collapse, she launched all three of them in separate directions.
"Damn you—!"
Yugito stepped up through the rubble, fingernails lengthening into claws, and launched herself at Sakura with predatory speed.
Sakura didn't back down. She charged to meet her.
I know everything about her. She knows nothing real about me. That's the edge.
Get in close. End it with one hit. Give her no window to transform.
Yugito saw her coming straight on and something strange flickered across her face — an odd smile.
Sakura's scalp prickled.
"Rat Sphere!"
The call came from above. Sakura's eyes snapped up — a second Yugito, on the second floor.
Which meant the one in front of her was—
A clone.
The clone's smile widened with smug satisfaction.
"Haruno Sakura. The Hokage's student. Monstrous strength jutsu. Yin Seal. Summoning contracts with the Great Monkey King and the Slug." A pause. "Thorough enough?"
—
That absolute—
Sakura's mind moved at full speed.
Orochimaru. It had to be Orochimaru.
He'd helped Suna launch the assault on Konoha — which meant afterward, facing Konoha's retribution, the Third Kazekage couldn't let him walk free. And Kumogakure was one of Sakura's own plan's victims. Rasa would have seen the value in a Kumo alliance.
Or Kumo had approached Rasa directly.
Either way — Orochimaru had leverage. Her file. Her real capabilities.
And he'd sold every word of it.
Not might have. Definitely had.
Who else even knew? Only the Third Hokage and Orochimaru held that information.
The old man would never sell her out.
Which left one answer.
The seed she'd planted back then had grown up tall and dropped its fruit right on her head.
The clone detonated.
Dozens of rats burst from the explosion, every one of them wreathed in blue flame, swarming toward her.
Oh, come on.
You're a cat. Why are you using rats?
Sakura's foot came down again — but this time with surgical precision, chakra control taut as a wire. Under normal circumstances a strike like that shattered everything beneath it. Instead the floor tilted like a seesaw, rising in a single solid piece.
A display of chakra control that defied what should have been possible.
The Rat Spheres crashed against the upturned floor. Blue fire erupted across the surface.
And from behind it, a voice rang out low and clear.
"Summoning Jutsu — Great Monkey King!"
(Chapter End)
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