In Kirigakure, within a tall tower centrally located in the village, a meeting room was convened. An elderly man sat at the head of the table, flanked by two ninja appearing to be in their forties. The conference table itself was surrounded by numerous other figures.
At this moment, all attendees remained silent, the atmosphere thick with unspoken tension.
Suddenly, the large doors to the meeting room burst open. A ninja rushed inside, his voice tinged with sorrow. "Lord Genshi! I have an urgent matter to report!"
"What is it?" one of the ninja beside the elder named Genshi demanded with a frown, before Genshi himself could speak.
"Wait," the other ninja flanking Genshi exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the object strapped to the reporting ninja's back. "That's… the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei! Why do you have Hiramekarei?!"
Lord Genshi slowly pushed himself up, leaning heavily on his snake-shaped wooden staff. He walked towards the reporting ninja, his heavily wrinkled face an unreadable mask. "What happened?" his aged voice rasped out. "Where is Hozuki Mangetsu?"
"Lord Mangetsu… he…" the ninja's voice trembled, heavy with grief. "Lord Mangetsu… has fallen in the line of duty!"
The declaration sent shockwaves through the room. Everyone present was stunned into silence. Lord Genshi's two guards stood speechless, their throats suddenly dry.
Genshi himself was visibly taken aback by the news, but as a long-standing Elder of Kirigakure, he quickly suppressed his personal grief. "Was it the work of those two intruders?" he asked, his voice strained but steady.
"No!" the reporting ninja denied. "It was a young girl! I only caught a glimpse – she sent Lord Mangetsu flying with a single punch! Then she spotted me. When I realized she wasn't pursuing after I fled some distance, I went back to search for Lord Mangetsu… but he had already succumbed!"
"Impossible!" another ninja present, wearing a Kiri forehead protector, objected vehemently. "Hozuki Mangetsu was a genius, second only perhaps to the Second Mizukage himself! Not only is it inconceivable he could be defeated by a single punch, but his clan's Hydrification secret technique grants immunity to physical attacks! You are clearly lying!"
"I brought Lord Mangetsu's body back with me," the reporting ninja stated quietly.
"You had better tell the truth right now, or else—" the objector began threateningly.
"Enough arguing!" Lord Genshi's sharp voice cut through the tension, rebuking them both. "Kirigakure is facing a dire crisis! All of you seated here are the village's elite. The Fourth Mizukage was assassinated mere moments after the genjutsu controlling him was lifted! We have confirmed his actions were indeed manipulated by an outside force. This is a debt that must be repaid with vengeance! However, if we do not stand united, we risk allowing our enemies to exploit this vulnerability!"
(Lord Genshi was an Elder of Kirigakure, over ninety years old, a figure hailing from the Warring States period itself. Within the village, his authority rivaled that of the Mizukage. In instances where the village Kage met with misfortune, Genshi held the power to act as regent.)
"Yes, Lord Genshi," the ninja who had questioned the report lowered his head in shame.
"Ao," Genshi addressed a ninja distinguished by a patch covering one eye, "come with me to examine Mangetsu's body." He then turned back to the reporting ninja. "Go and provide a detailed description of this girl. Issue a wanted poster immediately. The Land of Water has no land connection to any continent; if they intend to escape, it must be by boat. Deploy additional personnel along the entire coastline."
"Yes, sir!" the ninja acknowledged the order.
"Wait!" Genshi added as an afterthought. "Also issue the wanted poster in the Land of the Sea. Offer a reward to anyone who provides valid information leading to her capture: waive their ship escort fees for half a year."
"Understood!" the ninja confirmed before departing.
Panting heavily, Sakura arrived at a small coastal town, still carrying the unconscious Mei Terumi. Worried that being seen with a bound woman would attract unwanted attention and cause trouble, she had circled the town's outskirts before ducking back into the nearby woods to hide.
Seriously, the amount of greenery in this world is amazing, she thought fleetingly, appreciating how easy it was to find cover. But now, what to do about Mei… Carrying her openly into town was out of the question, but she couldn't delay here much longer either.
This town didn't seem to be caught up in the chaos gripping Kirigakure yet. But if she waited too long, Kiri pursuit might catch up, and she'd likely have to resort to fleeing across the water ninja-style. Glancing down at the still trussed-up Mei, a sudden idea sparked in Sakura's mind. Maybe… maybe I can try the Transformation Technique?
She knew the Henge no Jutsu involved using chakra to alter one's own appearance, mimicking other things – a sophisticated visual illusion, essentially. But applying it to someone else? She'd never tried that before.
Well, no time like the present. Sakura formed the hand seal for the Transformation Technique, channeling chakra towards Mei's body while mentally chanting, "You are a big potato, you are a big potato."
Poof! A cloud of smoke erupted. Sakura stared eagerly as it cleared… revealing Mei completely unchanged.
"It didn't work?" Sakura frowned. Right, transforming another living person probably wasn't that simple; they weren't inanimate objects. Okay, think of something else.
Wait! I should be able to transform an object, right? The idea hit her. I'll put Mei in the sack, then transform the sack itself!
Rummaging through her backpack, Sakura pulled out the burlap sack she'd acquired during her brief stint as a "master thief." She carefully stuffed the unconscious Mei inside, then formed the Henge seal again. This time, she focused her chakra on the sack, visualizing it as being packed full of potatoes.
Poof! The smoke dissipated. Success! The burlap sack now appeared realistically lumpy and heavy, looking exactly like a sack full of potatoes, completely concealing the person within.
Okay, phase two: disguise. Sakura quickly performed another Transformation Jutsu on herself, shifting her appearance to resemble a somewhat rustic country girl – completing the image of a simple farmhand carrying potatoes.
Time to slip away! Sakura adjusted the sack on her shoulder. Goodbye, Land of Water! Seriously, what unpleasant memories.
She walked into the small town. The innkeeper shot her a look filled with disdain as Sakura, appearing as a dusty country girl carrying a heavy sack of "potatoes," requested and entered a room.
"Truly unlucky today," the innkeeper muttered under his breath, waving a hand in front of his nose as if warding off a non-existent stench. "Where did this dirty country bumpkin crawl out from! Stinks to high heaven."
Inside the room, Sakura gently placed the sack containing Mei onto the bed and untied the opening to give her some air. Better here than leaving her in the woods, she thought. Too much risk of some Kiri ninja stumbling upon her by accident.
Her immediate plans were clear: first, go into town and inquire about the ship schedules departing from here. Second, buy a map. Third, "borrow" some funds from this charming innkeeper. "Don't think I didn't hear your muttering earlier!" she thought, glancing around the room's furnishings. Looks like a relatively upscale place. Should have plenty of cash on hand.
Being out here alone, Sakura was once again acutely aware of the difficulties posed by lack of money. Damn it, how is it that even in a high-powered world like this, I'm still constrained by money?! It's just not fair! No wonder even a terrorist organization like Akatsuki needed to constantly collect funds.
After gathering the necessary shipping information, purchasing a map and some dry rations, Sakura returned to the inn room to plan her route.
The map was clearly civilian-grade, likely handmade, only showing the general locations of various countries. After searching for a while, she finally located her current position: a small town on the southern coast of the Land of Water.
To reach the Land of Grass, her best bet seemed to be backtracking part of the way she came. First, travel to the Land of Tea. From there, navigate the inland sea towards the Land of Waves. Cross the Great Naruto Bridge into the Land of Rivers, then travel along the border of the Land of Rain to finally enter the Land of Grass.
Hmm. Sakura reviewed the route. It seems like the safest option for avoiding other ninja. The fastest route would be directly through the Land of Fire into Grass Country, which lay northwest of Fire. But that risked running into Konoha pursuit ninja. The smaller nations north of Fire all had their own hidden villages. To minimize potential trouble, taking the long detour through the Land of Tea and the Land of Rivers – both nations without active shinobi villages – seemed wisest. Any ninja encountered there would likely be on other missions and wouldn't bother her.
Okay, according to the shipping information she'd gathered, there were no direct boats from this town to the Land of Tea. However, ships heading to the Land of Tea did depart from the Land of the Sea, located southwest of her current position within the Land of Water.
Therefore, the first step was clear: catch a boat to the Land of the Sea.