The Walking Tower

"It's so big," said Sakura in wonder. "And sooo long… can I touch it?"

"Don't touch anything," said Temujin sharply. "Follow me."

Sakura was standing at the base of the largest human-made structure she had ever seen in this life. As far as she could tell, it was some sort of earth-moving machine, though she could hardly fathom how such an enormous skyscraper-sized marvel of engineering could even move— and what power source in this era could be powerful enough to achieve such a feat.

Temujin led Sakura through the entrance and down a corridor until they reached a lift. The interior lighting was powered by electricity, and the decoration seemed to be based on Art Deco— it was quite unlike anything Sakura had ever seen before.

"We're… behind… cutting off…" Sasuke's voice crackled in Sakura's ear, as she entered the lift. "Naruto, you moron…! ('I wanna talk to Sakura!' came Naruto's voice) … Quit pulling on that—!"

Sakura discreetly tapped her earpiece as the lift's doors closed.

The connection seemed to have cut off— there was something about the walls that was interfering with the radio waves. Perhaps it only affected a certain range of waves, as these mysterious people also possessed the power of wireless communication— Sakura was fairly certain there was a miniature radio embedded in Temujin's knight's helm, as she had witnessed him talking into thin air to his master a few times during their journey.

Sakura felt the lift lurch as it began its ascension, the machinery humming gently as it went. A few seconds later, the lift's doors opened again, and Sakura found herself in a large oval room. At one end stood a dais, whereupon a rather corpulent man sat on a throne. Hyde, perhaps?

"I have returned, my lord," said Temujin respectfully, as he went down on one knee.

"I am gladdened to see you return unharmed, Temujin," said Hyde genially.

Hyde put aside the book he'd been perusing and peered at Sakura through his monocle.

"I trust this is the girl you have mentioned in your reports?" Hyde then asked, before turning to Sakura. "Temujin tells me you possess an intriguing power."

"That's correct," said Temujin. "Allow me to demonstrate it to you."

And without missing a beat, Temujin turned on Sakura, drawing his sword in a split instant and slashing at her. Fully expecting a sneak attack, Sakura turned to face him and clapped her chakra-coated hands, stopping his blade with her palms within an inch of her nose.

Without wasting another second, Sakura slid her right hand down the length of the blade— and with a slight rotation of her shoulders, she exerted pressure on the blade with her two hands, snapping it cleanly in half.

"Temujin, cease this at once!" Hyde cried out in alarm. "Violence should always be a last resort!"

"I'd say we've played around enough," said Sakura, rubbing her biceps in a manner she meant to be menacing. "Why don't you tell me what this is all about, before I lose my patience?"

Despite the prodigious strength she had just demonstrated, Sakura's arms were quite thin and unmuscular, so what was meant to be intimidating ended up looking more like she was stretching, resulting in her threat going unnoticed.

"Very well," said Hyde gently. "Our goal is to create a utopia— a world where the weak aren't oppressed and where there are no more wars."

Sakura snorted.

Like peace was going to happen any time soon— and it wasn't some random filler character who'd bring it about. Besides, if there were no more wars or downtrodden, then there would be no more need for shinobi— and she'd be out of a job.

"You mock Master Hyde's words," Temujin hissed. "You have no idea of his greatness—"

Hyde raised a hand, instantly shutting up Temujin.

"Please forgive Temujin, he is perhaps too loyal to my cause," said Hyde with a laugh. "Our homeland, a faraway continent overseas, is a war-torn land— he is one of the many orphans I have taken under my wing."

"So, why have you come here, then?" Sakura queried.

Hyde sighed.

"Alas, even though I have travelled far and wide, preaching to those who would hear it, it would appear that the only way to bring about meaningful change is through violence, I'm afraid," he explained, immediately contradicting his earlier words. "To bring about lasting peace, we require power— a power known as Gelel energy, which can be found in Gelel stones."

Suddenly, the great excavating machine's PA system crackled to life, and a woman's voice rang out in the room.

"Master Hyde, there is a problem— the second fleet we sent to the Land of Wind as backup has been annihilated. Just as you predicted, the enemy combatants received reinforcements, but their powers exceeded our expectations."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, though she remained stony-faced.

In this timeline, Orochimaru had wrought much more devastation on Konoha than in the original timeline, so Suna hadn't seen it necessary to sue for peace as much… until now. Was this why the Hidden Sand had suddenly decided to sign a Mutual Defence Agreement with the Hidden Leaf, completely out of the blue? Because they were being invaded by this Hyde person? Then, didn't that mean her village was currently at war against these guys?

Furthermore, why was Hyde here in the Land of Fire, instead of overseeing the war effort in the Land of Wind? Most likely, the war was just a distraction, meaning that his true goal was something that could only be found in Sakura's home country…

"I'm on my way," said Temujin.

And just like that, he picked up the two halves of his sword and his helmet, before running out of the room and taking the lift down.

Sakura glanced at Hyde, who didn't seem overly concerned to have been left alone in a room with a strange girl who was fast and strong enough to snap swords with her bare hands. Either he was extremely naïve, or he was extremely confident in his own abilities…

Once again, a woman's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Sir, Fugai has just returned," the voice said. "She's taken a prisoner— she's awaiting instructions in Cell Block A."

"I'll be there in a moment," Hyde called out, before turning to Sakura. "If my understanding of this land's customs is accurate, then you should be a… shinobi, is that the word?"

Sakura nodded.

"In that case," said Hyde, "I should like to… how do you say this? Request your assistance for a mission?"

"I don't see why not," said Sakura casually, though she could have cited at least ten regulations stating how inappropriate it would be for a shinobi to accept a mission without the mission request first going through the village. "Lead the way."