That night, Sakura Haruno was woken by Yamato. Although they weren't expecting to encounter any enemies on this mission, keeping watch was still necessary. So, when the latter half of the night arrived, Yamato woke Sakura up.
Rubbing her sleep-filled eyes, Sakura Haruno yawned and got up.
"The second half of the night is yours," Yamato said, patting Sakura Haruno's shoulder.
"Got it," Sakura Haruno replied, stretching lazily.
Actually, it was easiest to get drowsy during the latter half of the night. Yamato had originally intended to take that watch, but Sakura had insisted on it, so Yamato had reluctantly given in to her.
Sitting on the rooftop, the cold night wind blew around her, and the chirping of insects filled the air. Sakura Haruno shook her still somewhat groggy head, forcing herself to wake up quickly.
Sakura had her reasons for insisting on the late watch; she wanted to slip away from Yamato and proceed alone. Regardless of whether Yamato was monitoring her or not, there were some things Sakura didn't want more people to know.
Especially other ninja. The less the outside world knew about any intelligence from that era, the better. Once it spread, it was bound to attract some ambitious individuals.
If this trip to Red Shoal Island didn't yield the answers she sought, she might have to risk being labeled a rogue ninja again and destroy the island.
Junko's era was like a Pandora's Box; once opened and known to the world, the entire world would undergo earth-shattering changes. Compared to such potential upheaval, the wars of the shinobi world would seem like child's play. Therefore, she had to eliminate this possibility, no matter what.
After waiting a moment, Sakura heard Yamato's breathing inside the house become steady and even. Knowing he had fallen asleep, she executed a swift kip-up, landing softly from the roof. She then quickly set up some wire traps around the house.
Yamato was a jonin, after all. The sound from the wire traps would be enough to wake him. This mission had no enemies; even if they were unlucky enough to encounter bandits or mountain thieves, they wouldn't be enough to give Yamato pause.
Standing outside the house, Sakura whispered a soft "sorry," then turned and vanished into the jungle. She estimated it would take another day and a half to reach Ise Town in the Land of Rivers.
In reality, this continent was quite vast. Only ninja could travel such distances on foot. If ordinary civilians wanted to go anywhere, they had to take a carriage; otherwise, relying solely on walking, even a slightly distant place would take months to reach. That was why merchants were usually the ones who frequently traveled far.
However, Sakura had also seen trains in some places, though those were mostly in mining areas. It was truly a coexistence of the advanced and the backward. Despite having trains convenient for transport, they were rarely seen in civilian use.
But this situation was likely due to the existence of ninja. Ninja were far more destructive than constructive. Even if a country invested in such a large-scale project, without a stable environment, even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire couldn't afford the upkeep.
It made sense. Destruction was certainly easier than construction. Ninja frequently engaged in battles; even if it wasn't a Great Ninja War, the minor skirmishes were more than ordinary people could bear. Furthermore, with bandits and robbers around, such projects couldn't operate even if they were built.
Unity is indeed necessary, she mused. Since ninja cannot be eradicated, unification is the most fundamental element for developing civilian livelihood.
As she moved through the mountain forest, Sakura's thoughts unintentionally strayed quite a bit. Heh, unification? How could it possibly be unified? But none of that is my concern. Reaching Red Shoal Island as soon as possible is what matters.
As the sky began to lighten, Sakura picked up her pace. Yamato would definitely pursue her after waking up and finding her gone. She needed to create a half-day lead to complete her own business.
Traveling with a single-minded focus, another day passed. Her stomach rumbled. She had been sustaining herself on soldier pills all day; it seemed she really needed to eat some proper food now.
Soldier pills were only for emergencies; they couldn't replace real food. Looking back, Yamato indeed hadn't caught up. It seemed she had pulled far enough ahead, and he also needed rest, so she wasn't worried about being overtaken.
"What should I eat..." Sakura extended her senses. Instantly, within her perception's radius, no breathing creature could escape her notice.
In no time, Sakura raised her arm, pointed a finger in one direction, and a Storm Release laser flashed. The dark jungle was illuminated for a moment before dimming again.
She walked over to the bushes she had hit and pulled out a gray, arm-thick snake from within. Roasted snake meat would do.
Since she couldn't use Fire Release, Sakura could only resort to a standard lighter to start a fire. She had no intention of learning Fire Release; her current Earth, Water, and Lightning Release jutsu were sufficient. What she lacked now was how to further refine the ninjutsu she already knew.
Speaking of which, although Storm Release was a kekkei genkai, Sakura had never really developed this particular jutsu. This bloodline limit had mostly provided her with additional offensive means, enhancing her previous Water Scalpel technique's attack methods.
To Sakura, the Storm Release Clone seemed more like a way to reduce pressure when facing multiple opponents, or for sneak attacks. If the Junko incident hadn't happened, perhaps she would have considered further developing Storm Release's potential.
But now, Sakura only wanted to achieve that ultimate goal. Before that ultimate goal was accomplished, developing more ninjutsu would be futile. Therefore, focusing energy on exploring Storm Release's potential felt like a bit of a waste.
Smelling the aroma of roasting snake meat, Sakura's stomach growled even louder. Soldier pills were like nutrient solutions; no matter how many she ate, they didn't satisfy her hunger.
The snake fat dripped onto the fire, making "crackle-pop" sounds. Sakura picked up a skewer of snake meat and was about to put it in her mouth.
However, something suddenly changed. Before the snake meat could enter her mouth, the skewer in her hand was knocked away by a powerful force. A cold sweat instantly broke out on her back, and she froze on the spot.
Staring at the black rod pinning the skewer of snake meat to the ground, her pupils constricted. This is bad, she thought. She then flipped up, her senses fully extended, and stared into the depths of the jungle.
But she sensed nothing. A faint sense of crisis rose in Sakura's heart. I hope it's not who I think it is.
A few "swish-swish" sounds came from the woods, and several figures emerged from the shadows. Sakura instantly drew a kunai, glaring at these uninvited guests as if facing a formidable enemy.
Although it was their first meeting, by the light of the campfire, the ripple-like patterns and purple eyes of the six individuals clearly revealed their identities.
Sakura swallowed hard. No wonder she hadn't detected anything before being attacked. If there was any flaw in the Seijutsu-derived perception she possessed, it was its inability to sense inanimate objects.
And though these six people stood before her, they were all dead. A bitter smile touched Sakura's lips. Are they deliberately making things difficult for me because they think I have too much free time?
If there was one enemy in this ninja world Sakura least wanted to encounter, it was Obito. The other was the person before her now: Pain!
She just didn't know how she had attracted Pain's attention. Could it be because she also had a plan to collect Tailed Beasts, so he wanted to eliminate a potential threat in advance? But it seemed no one except Sasuke knew about her plan.
Could it be Sasuke... No, it can't be him. Sakura was completely baffled. She wasn't a jinchuriki, nor did she possess any Tailed Beasts. What could possibly warrant Pain coming after her personally?
"Sakura Haruno!" Pain's cold voice rang out. "Konoha labeled you a rogue ninja to maintain their so-called peace. Now, because they need your power, they've accepted you back. Is such a hypocritical world what you desire?"
"Er..." Sakura listened to Pain's words, unsure what he was trying to say. However, it was best to pretend she didn't know him for now; otherwise, there would be endless trouble later. "Who are you?"
"I am God, Pain." Pain's purple eyes stared at the kunoichi.
"God?" Sakura almost wanted to laugh. The man who used to make an entrance with his own background music... now, without the BGM, hearing such grandiose words almost made her chuckle.
However, she managed not to laugh. Although Pain's words were incredibly cringeworthy, she wasn't confident she could take him on with her current strength.
"What do you want with me?" Sakura, having found a slight release from that near-laugh, finally felt a bit more relaxed. How could she not be nervous? She couldn't beat him.
"Join us. I will rebuild this ugly world, make the world understand pain, feel pain, know pain, and thus eliminate all war. For this ideal, I need your power," Pain said in a low voice.
Clearly, Pain was not a very good persuader, Sakura thought. She was somewhat surprised by his invitation to join Akatsuki, but she was more interested in how he had targeted her.
This was very important, otherwise, in the future... Forget it, let's get through this first and worry about the future later. It seemed a fight was inevitable, no matter what. Otherwise, she really would die this time. This was different from when Hanzo, half-crippled, had fought her.
This time, she was facing, in a sense, a true god.