On the night of the full moon, starlight poured down from the sky.
The forest camp had finally quieted.
After a full day of silence and that heart-stopping battle, everyone was exhausted and preparing to rest.
By the lakeside, the campfire had long since died down to embers.
Sakura lay there with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
But she was not asleep at all.
Not really.
Every time she closed her eyes, the things that had happened in the woods came flooding back.
The whispered threats.
That hateful smile.
That suffocating sense of helplessness.
Her whole body still ached.
Her waist, her legs, her arms. Every inch of her felt sore, as if it were silently protesting.
And yet she did not dare move.
She did not dare let anyone notice anything strange.
Beside her, Ino had already drifted into a drowsy half-sleep.
At one point, she shifted and muttered something under her breath, as though she were talking in a dream.
"Sakura...?"
Her voice was soft and muddled with sleep.
"You only just came back...?"
Sakura's whole body went rigid.
"You... you were awake?"
Her own voice came out dry and strained.
Ino only let out a sleepy hum and rolled over.
"Maybe... you just went over there to sit for a while..."
"Really?"
Sakura's throat tightened.
But Ino did not answer.
She only mumbled something incomprehensible, adjusted her blanket, and settled down again as if she were about to fall completely asleep.
Then, after a moment, she gave a tiny sniff.
"Huh...?"
There was a strange smell.
Not blood.
Not sweat.
Something faintly like disinfectant, mixed with another lingering scent she could not place.
For a half-awake moment, Ino even thought of a hospital.
But her mind was too sleepy to make sense of it.
She only frowned slightly, then her eyelids drooped again.
Maybe I'm imagining it...
That was her final thought before her breathing gradually steadied.
Only then did Sakura finally let out a shaky breath of relief.
And then...
The pain came crashing over her like a wave.
She bit down hard on her lip to keep from making a sound.
That bastard...
The thought alone made her heart pound wildly again.
Most unbearable of all was not the pain.
It was what he had said to her in the end.
That cold, mocking threat.
That if he wanted to, he could ruin her completely at any time.
Make her lose everything.
Make her fall into a pit she could never climb out of.
Sakura curled up slightly, her fingers clenching the blanket beneath her.
Tears welled up again at the corners of her eyes.
Why?
What had she done wrong?
Why did it have to be her?
No one answered.
Only the night wind slipped softly through the trees, stirring the leaves and brushing the camp in silence.
After a long time, Sakura finally closed her eyes for real.
A tear still clung to the corner of her eye when she fell asleep.
...
Outside the camp, beneath a tree deep in the night.
Teizawa sat against the damp trunk with his eyes closed, as if he were merely resting.
But if one looked closely, they would see the faint upward curve at the corner of his mouth.
A trace of a smile.
He never opened his eyes.
Tomorrow...
There were still so many interesting things waiting for him in Konoha.
Hinata.
Tenten.
Kurenai.
Yugao.
And more.
He had to admit it.
This trip had become far more interesting than he had expected.
...
Three days later.
At last, Konoha's gates appeared before the group.
The two enormous iron doors slowly swung open to either side.
Leaves rustled in the breeze.
Sunlight shone against the great stone walls, casting the symbol of peace and stability into sharp relief.
"We're finally here..."
Someone in the group let out a quiet sigh.
For Sakura, those eight days had felt like torture.
She had always disliked noisy crowds to begin with, and now the constant pressure had drained what little strength she had left.
If she had to go through this again, she felt like she really might collapse.
She stood with her head lowered, saying nothing.
Teizawa, meanwhile, remained on the carriage, calm and composed, as if this were all perfectly ordinary.
Ahead of the gate, a group was already waiting.
At the front stood an elderly woman with white hair and a cane.
Her steps were slow and slightly unsteady, but her cloudy eyes remained sharp.
Koharu.
Beside her stood a middle-aged man, stern-faced and silent.
Homura.
Behind them was a young woman in dark robes, holding a little pink pig in her arms.
Shizune.
Tonton blinked blankly from her embrace.
And farther back stood another figure in a dark green haori.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
The moment Teizawa saw them, the smile at his lips did not change.
So this was Konoha's greeting.
A show of pressure right at the gate.
Interesting.
Koharu took a step forward and looked up at the carriage.
"Kazekage-dono," she said, her tone calm but edged with meaning. "What is the meaning of this?"
Teizawa remained seated where he was and did not move.
He only looked down at the gathered reception party from afar, his gaze sweeping over each of them as though he were searching for something.
Then his eyes settled, and he finally spoke.
His voice was even, but it sounded slightly lazy.
"What do you mean, 'what is the meaning of this'?"
The air suddenly fell silent.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly.
Homura's expression darkened.
Shizune instinctively hugged Tonton a little tighter.
Koharu tapped her cane against the ground.
"Kazekage-dono," she said again, "you have come all the way to Konoha with such a large escort and a jinchuriki in custody. Should we not ask your purpose?"
Teizawa looked at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
The laugh was not loud, but it made several people's expressions stiffen.
"What purpose could I possibly have?" he said. "Konoha invited me, so I came."
He paused, then tilted his head slightly.
"Or does the Hokage think my arrival is strange?"
Koharu's face tightened almost imperceptibly.
Homura took half a step forward.
"Hokage-sama has already arranged accommodations inside the village," he said in a low voice. "Please enter."
"Accommodations?"
Teizawa repeated the word, as though tasting it.
Then he turned his head slightly and glanced back at Sakura.
That glance made her body stiffen at once.
When he looked back toward the gate, the smile in his eyes had deepened ever so slightly.
"I see," he said. "Then lead the way."
He stepped down from the carriage at last.
The moment his boots touched Konoha's earth, the mood around the gate seemed to tighten.
This was the place where countless stories had begun.
The place where even Pain had once stood as an enemy.
And today, Teizawa entered it openly and without concealment.
Whispers immediately rose among the nearby villagers.
"So that's the Kazekage?"
"He actually came to Konoha..."
"Why does it feel like something big is about to happen?"
Teizawa ignored them all.
He lifted his eyes and looked deeper into the village.
He could already sense it.
This place...
Would be much more entertaining than Iwagakure.
"Let's go," he said lightly.
"Show me just how hospitable Konoha really is."
Koharu's expression grew even colder.
But before she could say anything more, Tsunade finally stepped forward.
Her gaze was steady, carrying the pressure of the Hokage.
"Kazekage," she said, "while you are in Konoha, you will abide by Konoha's rules."
Teizawa turned his head and looked at her.
For two full seconds, no one spoke.
Then he smiled again.
"Of course," he said. "As long as Konoha gives me enough reason to."
That answer made several faces change.
But Teizawa had already started walking forward.
Sakura followed behind the others with her head lowered, her hands trembling slightly at her sides.
She knew.
He was here now.
In Konoha.
In the village she had once thought could protect her.
And that meant the real nightmare had only just begun.
Step by step, the group passed through Konoha's great gates.
Inside, the village was peaceful.
Bright.
Orderly.
Almost unchanged from before.
And yet Sakura felt cold all over.
Because she knew something the others did not.
That man was here now.
And from this point on, Konoha itself would become part of his game.
(End of Chapter)
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