The Land of Grass Mission

The first mission is related to Akatsuki... It's about purging the peripheral organizations abandoned by Akatsuki. The mission may not seem difficult, but if you actually encounter Akatsuki, it will quickly become a super high-level mission.

Sakura Haruno flipped through the task list at the back, and there were several others of the same nature.

"It seems like all the tasks related to Akatsuki have been assigned to me." Sakura pouted, feeling like she was being exploited as cheap labor again.

However, Konoha could only send her to complete this kind of mission; the village's few Kage Level experts were either the Hokage who had to stay in the village, or the other was training the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, gathering materials, and collecting information on Akatsuki. Therefore, this mission, which might involve directly confronting Akatsuki, could only be completed by Sakura.

Are you suggesting we let the Third Hokage do it?

The mission briefing devoted considerable space to a detailed description of the mission's background.

In short, intelligence indicates that a suspected Akatsuki peripheral organization has been discovered in the Land of Grass.

The Land of Grass is a country located between the Land of Fire, where Konoha is located, and the Land of Earth, where Iwagakure is located. It borders the Land of Waterfalls to the north and the Land of Rain to the south.

The battle at Kannabi Bridge, where Kakashi of the Sharingan was born, took place in the Land of Grass.

As mentioned earlier, countries sandwiched between major powers like a sandwich are usually "untouchable"... Whenever the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth go to war, this country is ignored by the ninjas of the two great ninja villages, who open up this place as a battlefield as if no one else is there, and their combat troops can freely move in and out of their territory.

The Kusagakure, used as a stepping stone, wouldn't utter a word at this point. They could only tremble and watch as the two powerful figures wreaked havoc on their land, allowing the flames of war to destroy their homes...

Then they prayed that the war would end soon.

Performing missions in a country like this is different from doing so in the Land of Wind... well, actually, you don't need to notify them.

Konoha and Kusagakure maintain good diplomatic relations. On the surface, Konoha will still give Kusagakure some face; if it's a legitimate mission, informing them is fine. However, Sakura is currently on a secret mission for the Anbu, so there's no need for her to bother with them.

The mission takes place in a city connected by the Kannabi Bridge.

It wasn't too far from Orochimaru's base—now Sakura Haruno's base—just to its west. After a swift journey, by evening, Sakura had arrived at the Kannabi Bridge. Crossing the bridge would lead to their destination, Kuiden City.

Sakura removed everything that could identify her, disguised herself as an ordinary person, and walked on the bridge.

The name "Shin-no-Kun" kept echoing in my mind; it seemed so familiar.

She hadn't had time to think much about it while she was rushing to her destination, but now that she was nearing it, she suddenly started to ponder it.

"Oh, right!" Sakura clenched her right fist and slammed it into her palm, muttering to herself, "It's the Kannabi Bridge battle where Kakashi-sensei obtained the Sharingan!"

Looking closely at the ground, one can indeed see the traces of the connection—the new bridge was built using a different Earth Release on the foundation of the old bridge. The style is different, so it is easy to distinguish from the old bridge. This is a bridge rebuilt by Konoha after the war to make up for the mistake of destroying the bridge during the war.

The bridge spans a deep valley over a hundred meters wide, with the river at the bottom of the valley two to three hundred meters above the bridge deck; this place can be described as a chasm.

The Kannabi Bridge, connecting the two sides, is one of the most important vital passages in the Land of Grass.

She crossed the bridge, entered the city, and walked along the street toward the location given in the intelligence.

According to intelligence, this peripheral organization set up a casino here as a cover; in reality, they were the ones keeping accounts for Kakuzu.

However, upon seeing the casino, Sakura realized the information was incorrect.

The truth is that, while they appear to be Kakuzu, they are actually the true owners of this luxurious casino!

When she saw the magnificent casino, a thought flashed through her mind: perhaps her master had been to this place before... However, since Jonin, she had rarely been in contact with entertainment venues like casinos that cater to ordinary people.

Even ordinary people rarely come into contact with them anymore. Ninjas and ordinary people sometimes seem to live in two different worlds.

The girl shook her head and stepped inside.

The bustling casino immediately made her realize that the biggest challenge of this mission might be finding the casino owner...

It's actually quite simple; all you have to do is cause trouble.

Sakura Haruno was thinking of a reason to cause trouble when a middle-aged man who looked respectable but had a sleazy demeanor walked over. He was drunk and immediately tried to grope her.

They probably assumed she was someone who did some low-class job.

"Get lost." Sakura Haruno said coldly as his groping hand reached out with obvious intent.

The man ignored Sakura's warning—the girl hadn't released any murderous intent, and she didn't seem dangerous at all—and his hand reached out without hesitation.

Then there was a loud bang.

Sakura Haruno's movements were far too fast for ordinary people to see. No one saw what happened, or even that Sakura made a move. In an instant, the man was kicked away and slammed into a gambling table, overturning it and scattering gambling equipment and chips everywhere. Several gamblers were also injured in the crash. Someone screamed.

Sakura Haruno stood out from the crowd, and only then did everyone realize that she was the one who had done it.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?!" The casino reacted swiftly, and soon several burly thugs approached, pointing arrogantly at Sakura Haruno and saying, "You dare cause trouble in our casino? You're asking for death!"

Being threatened by an ordinary person was a first for her since becoming a ninja; Sakura was both amused and exasperated.

It has a funny feel to it, like adults playing with children.

Fighting an ordinary person as a ninja? This was her first time trying it.

These thugs were only superficially fierce; they were effective at scaring ordinary people like her from her previous life. But to Sakura Haruno, who was already a ninja, their aura was utterly laughable. They didn't even have a hint of killing intent, yet they stood in their stances trying to imitate ninjas and unleash their killing intent—truly a case of trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog.

If she were to unleash her aura, coupled with a few simple Genjutsu, everyone present would likely be so frightened that they would collapse or faint, just like Orochimaru did in the Forest of Death.

Although Sakura doesn't exude such a strong killing intent, her strength is considerable. If she gets even slightly serious, these ordinary people wouldn't be able to withstand her!

However, in order to make as much of a scene as possible without scaring away the casino owner, she merely acted as a girl with a little bit of Taijutsu skill; even so, it was enough to knock these seemingly strong but actually weak fools to the ground.

"Where's your boss?" she asked, crouching down and addressing one of the thugs who was still groaning.

"He... he's behind you!" he stammered.

Sakura Haruno turned around and looked.

"Who gave you the audacity to cause trouble at my casino!" A man with two hideous scars on his face stood imposingly and said, "Haven't you heard of my name, Kuiden Scarface?"

Bang bang bang--!

Ten seconds later.

The arrogant man who called himself Kuiden Scarface, covered in blood, was wailing and crying, wiping away snot and tears. "I'm sorry, I was wrong, please, don't let this monster eat me!"

He lay sprawled on the ground, pinned down by the monster— Alien —created by Sakura Haruno Water Release. The alien, its long drool dripping down its back, opened its gaping maw filled with sharp teeth and roared.

Then, it brought its face to his neck, sniffing his scent, as if choosing where to bite; the cold breath emanating from its mouth and nose terrified him so much that he couldn't move.

The air was soon filled with the stench of urine.

"Its name isn't Monster... Haven't you heard of the Alien?" Sakura Haruno sat cross-legged on the gambling table, frowning as she coldly looked at the pleading man. "Tell me Kakuzu's secret, and I might spare your life!"

"Me, me!" the scarred man shouted, "Kakuzu hasn't contacted us for a month. He ordered us to lie low and await his orders..."

"Then why didn't you hide?" the girl asked, squinting as she waved away the Alien.

Scarface chuckled smugly, "Heh heh, I also have some businesses here..."

The interrogation ended after a short while.

This spineless man revealed everything after being slightly frightened by the Alien. Sakura confirmed it with her Genjutsu —which at least works on ordinary people—and as he claimed, he indeed didn't know any secrets.

The Genjutsu also made him confess to his crimes. As the underground emperor of this place, he was simply utterly wicked... She originally intended to keep her promise and spare Scarface's life, but after hearing what he had done, Sakura killed him without hesitation.

"Hmph... scum." Sakura snorted coldly as she walked out of the casino. She felt helpless that she had once again rid the people of a scourge; this kind of thing should be done by the local government and ninjas.

The Land of Grass is widely known to be extremely corrupt, with a thriving underworld and vibrant social organizations. Sakura Haruno has only caught a glimpse of this firsthand.

On her way back from leaving Kuiden City, Sakura decided to visit the old battlefield to pay her respects. However, after wandering around, she found nothing; all traces of the past had vanished. Realizing this, she had no choice but to give up.

She rushed back to the temporary base in the Land of Fire under the stars and moon. The Ice Clone she left behind had been maintained for a whole day, but it was about to collapse and dissipate. Sakura quickly took over the clone's work.

I had a busy night, and only when the sun rose did I find a moment to lie down and rest for a day.

That night, Sakura left her clone behind to guard the house while her main body continued her mission.

(First update delivered, guaranteed 1/!!)

(This is the fourth update, I'll try for five! I haven't broken my promise in the past few days, and I've already updated 80,000 to 90,000 words in the last six chapters. The update schedule has been pretty good, even for the most difficult parts. So! Please vote for me!! Please subscribe!!!)

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