The shadow spat Sakura out into an unfamiliar side street of the village. She tumbled in the sand, quickly pulled herself up, and raised the sand around her feet to form spikes in the air. Her eyes scanned the area, but the shadow had vanished. The street was lined with civilian homes and bustling daycares filled with happy children.
"What just happened? Was I sucked into some portal and spit out like garbage?"
The village seemed almost too peaceful to be true. As Sakura walked up the path, she pondered the shadow, wondering if it was the exact mysterious figure Kankuro had described—someone who moved so fast they could not identify. The thought of the unknown gnawed at her, so she leaped onto a rooftop for a better vantage point. Something felt off, though she couldn't pinpoint what.
"Hey, excuse me," a female villager called out to Sakura from below.
Sakura looked down and saw the woman waving at her. "Yes, what is it?"
"A little girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, crying in the middle of the road. We can't find her parents. Could you help her?" the villager asked.
Sakura nodded and used her jutsu to leap from the building without causing herself any harm. She said, "Yes, of course. That's what I'm here for."
Only a few feet away, a little girl sat on the dirt road beside a small discount shop where many families shopped for clothes. As Sakura approached, she noticed the girl's beautiful, long, straight black hair and striking green eyes. The child was so lovely that Sakura briefly thought about adopting her if her family never came for her.
Sakura brushed her hair back from her face and asked gently, "Hey, what's your name?"
"My name is May," the little girl whimpered.
Sakura took her hand, looked around the area, and knelt to speak to her at eye level. "Where did you come from?"
Wiping away her tears, May replied, "My mommy brought me to the market to buy some watermelon, and suddenly everything got dark. I couldn't find my mommy anywhere. It was dark all of a sudden, and I fell asleep and woke up here."
Sakura gasped. "Did you see something dark? Was it like a shadow that surrounded you?"
May nodded, and Sakura knew it was no coincidence. The little girl had been placed near her almost immediately after she arrived. Sakura then noticed the layers of heavy robes May wore over her clothes. She asked, "Are you warm? Do you want me to take some of those layers off?"
May nodded and said, "Mommy never gave these to me."
"You woke up wearing those robes?" Sakura asked.
May nodded again. "I don't like it."
Sakura carefully removed the heavy robes, revealing the child's original clothes. "There, that should be better. We'll find your mommy, I promise."
"I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must be to wear so many layers on a hot day like this. Let's take them off, and then we'll search for your mommy," Sakura said gently.
"Okay," little May replied.
Sakura's top priority was the girl's safety. If she didn't remove the heavy clothing soon, May could overheat. Sakura began to carefully remove each layer, one at a time. As she peeled away the final layer, she noticed a strange, pull-apart button-down shirt underneath. With growing concern, she unfastened the buttons one by one until they all came loose at once, revealing paper bombs strapped to May's body under the layers of clothes.
Sakura gasped but forced herself to stay calm for the child's sake. She gently said, "May, don't move, okay?"
"How come?" May asked.
Sakura struggled to find the right words. How do you tell a little girl she has a bomb attached to her without terrifying her? After a brief pause, Sakura replied, "Well, I'm not quite sure how to explain, but trust me, it's important."
The civilians around them began to notice the paper bombs and panic, their screams drawing the attention of the Jonin.
A male Jonin approached cautiously and asked, "Lady Sakura, what is the meaning of this?"
"No, it's not me," Sakura said defensively, a tear escaping her left eye. She continued, "I found her like this. Please find Gaara and Kankuro. Bring them here immediately."
The Jonin exchanged glances and nodded, trusting her judgment as the Kazekage's Adviser. Sakura was terrified, seeing the little girl's body riddled with paper bombs, knowing an explosion like that could devastate several city blocks. Some of the Jonin hurried off to alert their superiors while the others stayed back, watching in shock.
Sweating profusely, Sakura yelled, "Don't just stand there, you idiots. Create a perimeter and make sure only Shinobi can get through!"
"Understood," one of the Jonins responded nervously.
Pouting and wide-eyed, Little May asked, "What's happening?"
Keeping the little girl calm was crucial. Sakura forced a smile and replied, "Don't worry, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay. We're looking for your mommy right now."
"I want my mommy," May whimpered.
"I know, me too," Sakura replied softly, recalling her mother's final moments. She remembered her mother lying on the floor, begging her to run to save herself. But Sakura never left anyone behind, and she wouldn't start now—not with this little girl who needed her the most.
The two stood there for an hour and a half while the Shinobi around them worked around the clock to secure the area. With Kankuro arriving on the scene drenched in sweat, Gaara finally arrived using his sand platforms to sail across the sky. He stood only a few feet behind the child, facing Sakura as she shook in fear. He was horrified for her safety.
Kankuro dropped to his knees and slid in the sand. With his right hand, he pulled a large scroll from his back and rolled it out in front of him. Out came the massive puppet tank known as Salamander.
Tears streamed down her face as Sakura whimpered, "Gaara, she's so tiny. I don't know what to do."
"You did the best you could," Gaara said, reaching her hand out for hers. "There's nothing you can do for her anymore."
Kankuro lifted the shield mechanism on Salamander. He stayed behind the shield, reached for her hand, and said, "Those paper bombs could activate at any second without notice. You have to jump behind our shields before they blow and kill you both."
"I don't want to leave her like this," Sakura whimpered.
Gaara frowned and replied, "I'm not giving you a choice."
Sakura gently rubbed the little girl's puffy cheeks and kissed her forehead as she stood up. She said, "Hey, May. I have to go now."
May began to whimper and cry as she replied defiantly, "No, why? Where are you going?"
"You see the giant puppet behind you; that's where I will be until your mother arrives. You'll be able to be with her again," Sakura replied.
May turned behind her to see the Salamander standing only inches from them. She cried and replied, "Why, what's wrong? What did I do?"
"No, sweetie. You did nothing wrong to deserve this. An evil man wants to hurt you, so we are here to save and protect you. So you have to listen to everything we tell you. Does that make sense?" Sakura replied
"Why me?" May asked, whimpering.
"That is what we are here to find out. As soon as I find out, I will tell you."
May reluctantly nodded as Sakura began to stand up and walk away from her sights. Sakura reached out to Gaara's sweating hands so he could take her away from the explosive paper bombs. He snatched her wrist and pulled her away as fast as he could in case the bombs went off. Thankfully, no one was harmed yet during this horrid ordeal. Sakura leaned into Gaara's arms and released all the tears hiding from the little girl. She felt so heartbroken that someone would want to kill such a sweet child who did not deserve to die.
"What happened out here?" Gaara asked. "I asked you to stay close until we exited the prison."
"I strolled away to take a break in a nearby alleyway, but a shadow on the ground inched towards me like a snake. I tried to block it with my shield, but the shadow climbed over it, consumed me, and teleported me here."
"Is that what happened to the little girl?" Kankuro asked.
"Her name is May," Sakura replied. "She was teleported elsewhere first and knocked unconscious. I found her here on the street, covered in paper bombs. She's going to die, isn't she?"
"I'm sorry," Gaara replied.
"All we can do is wait at a time like this," Kankuro said.
Soon, Jonin arrived with a woman with long brown hair tied in a French braid over her shoulder. Her eyes were similar to the little girls' and puffy from her crying everywhere. At a distance, Jonin pointed out May to the woman beside him.
The woman waved out her arm and yelled, "May!"
May turned to the right, where she noticed the figure waving her hand. Her face opened with a smile as if she had seen a large, brilliant, glittering tree on Christmas. May yelled out, "Mommy!"
The moment her daughter stepped towards the crowd behind the barrier, the civilians and the Shinobi ran in the opposite direction as far as they could go. Everyone screamed in terror, but May paid no mind to voices other than her mothers, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"No," Sakura yelled out.
Molly embraced her mother in the most comforting hug she had ever had, and suddenly, a light glowed between them. The light was so bright that Sakura looked away behind her sand shields and covered her eyes. The explosion blasted everything within its radius except for her sand shields.
The shield began to crumble but held firm. Sakura quickly opened her eyes, hoping to see the mother and daughter smiling and hugging each other. Instead, she saw only black soot and two shadows where they had stood at the moment of impact. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
Sakura dropped to her knees, crying, and asked, "Where did they go?"
"I'm sorry, there was nothing else we could have done for her," Gaara whispered.
"No, she was just a little girl who had barely begun to walk on her own two feet," Sakura whimpered.
Kankuro pulled out his Bingo book, flipping through the pages of their list of monsters. He found the entry for a black fog without a face. His Shinobi had been searching for this figure for over a year, and now they had a chance to find it.
"We might have a chance at finding him now more than ever," Kankuro said.
"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.
Gaara glanced around the village street and said, "Because he stayed behind to watch the proud work he's done. He wants us to find him."
"Someone would be sick enough to enjoy watching a child blown up with her mother," Sakura whimpered.
Kankuro sighed, shook his head, and replied, "So many people..."
They looked around the east and west dirt paths but were still looking for someone. However, Sakura wasn't looking for something human. She was looking for something slightly out of place. On a small food stand with a wired mesh lantern, Sakura spotted a black fog posing as a flame in the middle of the day.
Sakura pointed to the flame, frowned, and said, "Over there."
The moment they looked at the black flames, they spread from one lantern to the next, consuming buildings one after another, just as Sakura had described.
"We have to get out of here," Gaara urged.
"No," Sakura countered, "No more running."
She formed three walls of sand behind and beside them, creating a protective barrier from all angles except one. Kankuro readied his Salamander puppet, its armor gleaming as his invisible blue strings controlled it. They were prepared for a fight they hadn't anticipated.
"Sakura, stay back. He might be after you," Gaara whispered.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Sakura replied.
"I've warned you already, stay back," Gaara insisted. "Don't forget I am still your superior."
"That little girl was my responsibility, and I let her down. I have to see this through to the end," Sakura yelled, her voice shaking with emotion.
Gaara stepped closer, pulling her behind Kankuro's Salamander puppet. "And you will, I promise. But for now, as your Kazekage, I have to keep you safe. Someone as powerful as this needs to be captured by higher-ranked Shinobi like Kankuro and me."
Kankuro chuckled, "Well, you're not wrong about that. Don't worry, we can take him."
Soon, the wooden structures around them were engulfed in dangerous dark flames, leaving the three with nowhere to run. An eerie chuckle echoed from the shadows, but they couldn't locate its source. Sakura stepped back behind the boys, fear gripping her heart, and the sinister laugh grew louder.
"Where is that coming from? I can't see anything," Sakura whimpered.
"Hey, show yourself, coward!" Kankuro yelled.
"Don't provoke him; we don't want to underestimate his strength," Gaara cautioned.
"I don't care. He's not getting away from me this time," Kankuro argued.
A large black liquid began forming on the ground, spreading rapidly. They stepped back from the growing dark pool as it reached their feet. Sakura recognized it as the same black haze that had teleported her earlier.
"I think he wants us to fight him on his turf," Sakura said, her voice steadying with resolve.
"What do you think, Gaara? Is it worth the risk?" Kankuro asked.
Gaara turned to face them, his expression resolute. "Right now, I cannot leave the village. So, I am elevating this to an S-rank mission. A little girl was brutally murdered on our watch. Kankuro, find this scumbag and bring him back in handcuffs. Try not to kill him."
"Understood," Kankuro replied with a nod.
"What about me, Lord Kazekage? I was the one who found him first," Sakura interjected.
"Correction, he found you first. I need you to stay behind and help me uncover a paper trail on this rogue Shinobi so we can put a face to the name," Gaara responded firmly.
Sakura frowned but realized there was no point in arguing further. She nodded and silently watched Kankuro and his Jonin team as they passed her, heading into the unknown.
Kankuro stopped beside Sakura and gently rubbed her arm. "I know you really wanted to be part of this mission, but for once, I agree with Gaara," he whispered. "You're still recovering from the last mission. Please take it easy until we get back. You'll be the first to know when we return, alright?"
Sakura sighed and nodded at his gentle gesture. "Okay, and I'll do my best to find out any information we can about this mysterious shadow figure," she replied.
Kankuro smiled, gave her a reassuring thumbs-up, and said, "I'm counting on you." With that, he and his team vanished into the shadows, leaving Sakura and Gaara to handle the mission. Sakura watched in fear as the black hole in the ground disappeared, feeling a sinking dread that this might be the last time she saw Kankuro.