Chapter Text
"… Water, you say?"
"Yes."
"But why? Why here?"
"It’s… confidential. I need you to trust me… I am not even aware of the full details of my own mission."
A few seconds of silence passed. Two women stared at each other from opposite sides of a rounded desk, while three other individuals stood further behind them, silent and watchful. The room was vast, its floor covered by an enormous blue carpet, its walls interrupted by large windows battered relentlessly by pouring rain. The atmosphere inside the grand office grew heavier with every passing minute.
"… Konoha has been responsible for many wars," one of the men standing behind the desk finally cut in, crossing his arms in obvious distrust. "It is always difficult to place your faith in a village with so much blood on its hands."
"No village has done more than Konoha since the end of the Fourth Great War to ease tensions and encourage trade between nations," the woman sitting across from the desk replied sharply, her pink hair shifting slightly at the accusation against her village.
"Hmph… Perhaps. But Konoha still favors certain countries over others… Kirigakure has not been as fortunate as Sunagakure."
"That is enough, Ao."
The other woman sitting behind the desk interrupted him with an irritated gesture. Her long brown hair moved slightly as she turned her single visible green eye toward her advisor, sharp and commanding.
The man named Ao lowered his gaze with a falsely apologetic expression. The woman then turned back toward her guest.
"Peace has lasted for four years, and that is thanks to everyone. To us, the Kage… but also, and above all, thanks to the goodwill of every single nation," she insisted, bringing her one remaining eye back onto the young woman with pink hair standing before her.
"I am not here to discuss politics. Once again, I simply wish to have access to the water from the Haku Spring… This water is one of the five elements I must bring back to Konoha. I cannot obtain it without your authorization, Terumi-sama."
Sakura had spoken those last words with her upper body slightly inclined, showing just enough submission to make her request respectful. Just enough, she hoped, for the other woman to feel in control and accept her request.
But it was not proving as simple as she had hoped.
"What are the other elements you need to bring back?" the Mizukage asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
"I cannot tell you more."
"Have you found them?"
"… Yes."
"And what will they be used for?"
Sakura hesitated, then answered honestly.
"That… I do not know yet. I have not been informed of the details myself."
This time, Mei seemed genuinely surprised. Ao’s expression darkened further, his arms crossing over his chest. The two other people present remained completely still and silent, their faces hidden behind white masks with narrow horizontal openings at eye level. Four small grey waves decorated those openings, the symbol of Kirigakure.
"How were you sent alone, so far away from your village, to request something apparently so important, without any protection or explanation?" Ao asked bluntly.
"It was not planned for me to go through official channels," Sakura admitted with a slight grimace. "I was not supposed to be noticed by anyone, and I was not supposed to make contact with anyone either. But…"
Her thoughts raced. Arguments collided in her exhausted mind after weeks of travelling and searching.
"The source of the water I am looking for is under strict surveillance here, and I do not want to appear as though I am challenging your authority or trying to do this behind your back. I would rather ask you directly, because we trust you and your discretion."
Ao let out a mocking laugh.
"Admit it. Your new, somewhat impulsive Hokage simply did not think for a second about how to retrieve this water other than coming here to beg for it."
"This request does not come from Naruto," Sakura cut in, irritation creeping into her voice.
"Kakashi-sama?" Mei asked, genuinely curious.
"No. It does not matter." Sakura’s expression hardened as she looked toward Ao. "Naruto is a great Hokage. Let me remind you that he is the hero of the Fourth Great War. It is because of him that we are all still standing here today."
"It was not only him!" Ao snapped, his arms falling open as his fists clenched beneath his anger. "We all contributed! Every village! We all shed blood to save this world!"
Sakura noticed the two Kiri Anbu behind Mei subtly adjust their grip on their weapons. Their fists tightened around the long metal blades they carried, making the cold weapons tremble almost imperceptibly.
The young kunoichi had not expected resentment to still run so deep, even this far away from the end of the Great War. Over the past few years, she had come to understand that the villages had struggled to prove their courage and worth in the eyes of a Konoha that had become overwhelmingly powerful. Of course, every shinobi had contributed in their own way to the end of the war. Every grain of sand formed the desert. Every drop of water became part of the ocean. Naruto had proven time and time again that friendship and cooperation could shake even the strongest enemy. Every grain of sand mattered. Every grain of sand could change the fate of a battle, turning defeat into victory. That was Naruto’s Nindo, after all.
And yet, one reality remained undeniable. The main figures behind the peace, the "heroes" of the end of the Great War—as people loved to call them—had all come from the Land of Fire. It was simply a fact. And yet, Sakura had felt that Konoha’s diplomatic and commercial efforts during the reconstruction of the new world had quickly erased that reality, giving every nation its own voice and place on the board.
Perhaps she had been too naive.
“That’s enough, Ao,” Terumi interrupted again, raising one hand in annoyance. “I am tired of hearing this for years.”
The man crossed his arms once more, his expression as grey as the accumulation of dark and furious clouds behind the office windows.
“Do you truly know nothing about why these elements are needed?” Mei asked again, her curiosity obvious.
“…”
“I cannot believe you know absolutely nothing. And Kirigakure needs to understand at least the basics before granting you what you are asking for… You can understand that, I imagine.”
The emerald eyes of the two women met for a few moments. Sakura hesitated. But she had expected this situation might happen. After all, Konoha would have reacted the exact same way.
Her shoulders lowered slightly, and she finally conceded a few explanations.
“It is a mission… entirely internal to Konoha. Nothing diplomatic. We need this water and the other elements to break a seal.”
“... To break a seal?” the Mizukage repeated, surprised.
“Tsunade-sama recently discovered an old scroll within her family archives. It contains a particularly powerful Juinjutsu… but one that could potentially be dangerous.”
“Why not simply destroy the scroll?”
“She cannot. She did not tell me more than that…”
“What does our water have to do with it?”
“The scroll states that five elements must be gathered in order to break the seal. The water from Mount Haku is one of them.”
“…”
“That is all?”
“That is all.”
The Mizukage remained thoughtful, much calmer than the three shinobi around her, who still appeared visibly tense.
“It is apparently a technique affecting the mind,” Sakura continued, sensing that Mei was waiting for more information. “A type of mental alteration.”
Mei narrowed her eyes, considering the information carefully.
“I see… And… is it currently active on someone?”
“I do not know.”
Sakura paused.
“Simply… This type of Juinjutsu is completely forbidden in Konoha. It was created using a forbidden technique. We do not want it to be used for the wrong reasons. It must be destroyed.”
A few seconds of silence passed.
“I understand.”
Unexpectedly, Mei Terumi seemed to reach her decision quite easily. She joined her hands in front of her lips, her expression becoming determined.
“I trust you. I trust Konoha.”
“Terumi-sama,” Ao interrupted, stepping forward in disbelief.
“My two Anbu will accompany you to retrieve this water, Sakura-san,” Mei continued, her tone surprisingly gentle.
Before Sakura could even bow in gratitude, relieved that the Mizukage had finally agreed to her request, she noticed Ao’s disapproving gaze fall upon her like the storm raging outside over Kirigakure. She also noticed the hesitation of the two Anbu behind Mei, who took several moments before finally moving to obey their leader’s command.
“I do not tolerate this kind of technique,” the Mizukage explained calmly. “I am aware of the danger it can represent. The threat may seem distant, but one can never be too careful…”
She smiled slightly.
“You have my permission.”
“Arigatō gozaimasu,” Sakura whispered with relief, lowering her head once more.
She answered the Mizukage’s knowing smile and turned around to follow the two Kirigakure Anbu, who had already reached the main door. Ao remained behind with the Mizukage, visibly troubled. Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief as she followed the two masked shinobi outside, jumping slightly every time lightning struck above the village.
She had no idea whether the spring containing the water was nearby or far away, but she already knew she was about to get soaked. She cursed herself for not bringing a more suitable outfit for the rain. The young woman forced herself to push those useless negative thoughts away. She was finally reaching the end of her mission. She would finally retrieve this water. She would finally be able to return home. One month. A month was long. Much longer than she had expected.
And yet, despite the positive turn the situation had taken, Sakura could not completely shake the uneasy feeling that lingered inside her.
Terumi-sama’s decision had clearly not been unanimous in that office. She had felt it. But unable to draw any conclusion from it, she focused instead on the two Anbu ahead of her and followed them through the pouring rain, forcing herself to forget her bad feelings.
A few days later, in Konoha
“Oi, Sakura-san! Well, finally back!”
The kunoichi with pink hair slowly turned around, still weighed down by the mission bag on her back. A young man with brown hair waved at her, one hand resting in his pocket, slowly approaching until he reached her side.
“Good evening, Shikamaru-san!” Sakura smiled. “Finally back, yes… It was more complicated than expected.”
That was an understatement. The young woman was completely exhausted.
She had eventually managed to retrieve the water, but she had felt it immediately: the Anbu had not gone easy on her. She had needed to push herself beyond her limits to keep up with the pace they had imposed on her and reach the long-awaited spring after several hours of running. After that, she had taken her time returning from Kirigakure, drained by the four long weeks of intense searching she had spent alone.
Why had she insisted on carrying out this mission without a teammate? She did not know. But, looking back on it, she regretted it.
She had used discretion, speed, and the lack of available shinobi as arguments — many were currently away on missions helping protect the construction of the famous trade route between Konoha and Suna.
She had just entered her home village, and the sight of the large green gates had immediately brought an automatic smile to her face. A warm feeling spread through her chest.
The scent of the first cherry blossoms of spring filled her lungs as she arrived, and that familiar fragrance finally settled the feeling of comfort she had experienced since returning.
But it was late. The sun was already disappearing beyond the horizon, allowing the cool evening breeze to slip through her clothing and making her shiver involuntarily.
“I had to use all my best arguments to stop Naruto from going after you himself, you know…” Shikamaru grimaced, completely unaware of her thoughts.
“Everything went well,” she reassured him. “It was just that the distances were longer than expected. The elements were difficult to find… And besides, I wasn’t attacked even once during the entire month! I never felt in danger…”
And it was true. Peace truly seemed to have settled in. She smiled at the thought. Looking back, the only moment during her entire mission when she had felt genuine hostility had been inside Kirigakure’s office, facing Ao. But once she had reached the spring, once she had left alone toward Konoha with the precious water safely stored in her bag, nothing unusual had happened.
She had quickly forgotten that bad feeling that had overwhelmed her there.
“Four years since the war ended…” the Nara added thoughtfully, his eyes slightly unfocused. “The tensions haven’t resurfaced… It’s almost surprising.”
“You’re not actually complaining about that, are you?”
“No. But sometimes, for someone like me who enjoys playing Go…” He sighed. “It lacks stimulation.”
“Don’t tell me you’re running out of work. You’re the ones helping maintain peace now! Just because there is no war doesn’t mean there is nothing to do…”
“Don’t remind me…” Shikamaru muttered.
After asking Sakura where she was heading, he accompanied her toward her small apartment with his usual lack of enthusiasm.
They left the lively center of the village behind — the laughter, the noise of cutlery scraping against plates in crowded restaurants — and reached the quieter residential districts on the outskirts.
“All this diplomacy, all the paperwork, all the administrative responsibilities…” Shikamaru continued along the way. “If I had known it would be this much, I don’t know if I would have accepted the position.”
“Naruto needs you,” Sakura insisted as she walked beside him. “He’s so young to be Hokage… He needs his advisor.”
“Why did Kakashi-sama leave so early?”
The question came out with a tired, resigned sigh. Sakura did not know how many times she had been asked that since the announcement one year earlier. She had stopped counting after the sixteenth time in less than two hours, when she had dared to go take a bath with Ino at the hot springs the day after the unexpected announcement.
Shikamaru knew his question was purely rhetorical. So he continued without waiting for an answer.
“Naruto is obviously in the right place. It’s just…” He rolled his eyes, already exhausted. “I have to calm down his completely absurd generosity, remind him of the absolute minimum requirements of diplomatic behavior between world leaders…”
He paused.
“I even have to correct the spelling mistakes in his official reports, you know?”
“You complement each other perfectly, then,” Sakura said mischievously.
Shikamaru gave her a blank stare.
“That doesn’t sound very flattering for me, does it?”
“What kind of generosity were you talking about?” she asked, pretending not to hear his comment.
“Hmm…”
The Nara looked thoughtful.
“Gaara recently asked Naruto for additional financial help to establish the famous trade route between Suna and Konoha. Kakashi-sama had worked a lot on this project before resigning, and he had managed to reach a fairly balanced agreement between both sides. Fifty-fifty.”
Sakura listened carefully.
“But Gaara recently asked to renegotiate the shares, claiming unexpected financial problems…”
“Let me guess,” Sakura interrupted. “Naruto offered to pay for everything?”
Shikamaru nodded, defeated.
“He would have spent the entire budget for the next ten years.”
Sakura laughed genuinely.
“It’s reassuring. Naruto really hasn’t changed.”
As they continued talking about the countless incidents caused by the new Hokage, the two shinobi eventually reached the bottom of Sakura’s apartment building. She looked up at the familiar façade in the growing darkness. The climbing plants had bloomed during her absence, brightening the cold white concrete with wide touches of purple and pink, as they did every spring. Sakura smiled at the sight. She had always loved coming home to that view.
But her smile faded as her eyes moved toward her small balcony on the fifth floor. It was exactly as she remembered it. Her pink camellias stood proudly, beautifully maintained by Ino during her absence.
“Anyway… I’m glad to see you here,” Shikamaru said, noticing her distant expression. “You deserve a good rest.”
“Thank you,” Sakura replied, slightly absent-minded. “I’ll give you my mission report tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Shikamaru seemed hesitant before turning away.
“Nani?” Sakura asked.
“Sakura-san…”
He paused.
“I haven’t seen Sasuke in your absence. I haven’t received any news from him, and as far as we know, he hasn’t asked about you either…”
A shadow passed over Sakura’s eyes.
She immediately forced herself to appear confident.
“That’s… normal. He’s still secretive. He prefers being alone.”
“…”
“If you say so.”
She ignored his doubtful tone, as well as the sadness hidden behind his expression. She turned away and walked toward the entrance of her building, nervously searching through her bag for her keys.
“Say hi to Temari for me!” Sakura called out, displaying a large fake smile in the dim light.
She closed the door with a loud slam.
Behind it, she remained still for a few moments, her arms and the back of her shoulders resting against the heavy door. Relief washed over her at the thought of ending the conversation. Once she had gathered herself again, she slowly climbed the stairs leading to her apartment.
She unlocked the door quietly, removed her shoes, and carelessly dropped her mission bag and equipment pouch in the entrance. She did not even bother turning on the lights.
She remained there in the darkness, staring through her balcony window at the apartment lights flickering across the street. Distant laughter and the clinking of glasses reached her ears easily, carried by the quiet night surrounding her own apartment. Her home felt cold. Humid. The accumulated dust from the month she had spent away irritated her nose and seemed to tighten around her chest.
Or perhaps it was the silence. That unbearable, frozen silence.
Or maybe both…
She walked past the small living room table and noticed a bouquet of freshly cut hydrangeas sitting in the middle of it. As she approached, she spotted a small card tucked between two stems. She pinched it between her index finger and middle finger, bringing it closer to her face. She immediately recognized her best friend’s handwriting, written on a business card from the Yamanaka family shop.
Without even looking at the clock, and ignoring her stomach protesting after being neglected all day, Sakura tossed the card aside in irritation. She walked down the hallway toward her small bedroom at the back of the apartment and collapsed onto her bed without even changing clothes.
The relief and happiness she had felt upon returning to Konoha had quickly faded. The familiar feelings she had hoped to forget returned to her chest and her body. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh filled with exhaustion and frustration.
Why was she feeling this way? There was no reason for it. It made no sense. Especially not after three months…
But this time, she did not have enough energy left to torture herself with questions.
Sleep claimed her quickly.
A dreamless sleep.