Chapter 151: True Nature

Hokage's Office

The advisors had left. Tsunade had ultimately failed to convince them, but they hadn't managed to prevent her from agreeing to the renegotiation either.

Tsunade sat in her office, a dark expression clouding her face as she spaced out. She detested the advisors' meddling, but there was nothing she could do about it. Although the advisory council sometimes clashed with the Hokage's opinions, they did serve as a check to correct the Hokage when problems arose.

"Hm?" Tsunade's brow furrowed, and she turned her head towards the window. "Who's there?"

"Haha, you caught me," a white-haired man said as he entered from outside the window.

"Didn't you leave? Jiraiya," Tsunade asked, looking at him.

"Ha, I was just passing by when I saw the advisors here. Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Jiraiya said with an apologetic smile.

"Hmph, and what did you glean from it?" Tsunade snorted, turning to look at Jiraiya.

Taking a seat, Jiraiya said slowly, "Actually, you wanted to say that the Sand's visit this time is related to the assassination attempt on you, right?"

"So what if it is? It is related."

"Sigh~ Actually, the Sand wouldn't renegotiate without some kind of information. I've seen the compensation amount. If the Sand weren't fools, they wouldn't have agreed to it. Since they did agree, and it was Danzo who proposed it, there's definitely something fishy going on. But the Sand probably doesn't have any solid evidence," Jiraiya speculated.

"I know that. That's why I'm gathering evidence," Tsunade said, exasperated.

"But if the Sand doesn't have irrefutable proof against Danzo, I don't think the advisory council will let you off the hook," Jiraiya teased.

"Hmph," Tsunade turned her head away, remaining silent.

Seeing Tsunade's petulant expression, Jiraiya smiled slightly. She was still the same as always... Tsunade...

"So what are you going to do? The village is already on high alert. Bringing in outsiders at this juncture will cause unrest," Jiraiya sighed inwardly.

"I'll send a small team to escort the Sand Village's envoy," Tsunade said after a moment of thought.

"Hm? To get information ahead of time? That could work," Jiraiya, the spymaster, stroked his chin. "So, who are you planning to send?"

"I'll send... Team 7," Tsunade said, looking at the ninja roster in front of her, pausing briefly.

"Hm? Team 7?" Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with a constipated expression.

Team 7's members were Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. Their abilities were sufficient, but the problem was that none of them were specialized in reconnaissance. For gathering intelligence, it was better to use reconnaissance ninjas. Jiraiya thought the Aburame clan would be well-suited for this mission.

"Yes, Team 7. Sakura recently became a Chunin, so this mission will be good training for her," Tsunade said, seemingly to herself.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, speechless. After all that, she just wanted to train her disciple.

This mission could be considered a B-rank mission. It wasn't particularly dangerous, and even gathering intelligence wasn't mandatory. It would be better to obtain information in advance, but it wasn't a big deal if they didn't. The main objective was to ascertain whether this envoy team harbored any malicious intent towards Konoha.

A blinding ray of sunlight shone on the girl's face. Her closed eyes felt uncomfortable under the bright light, and she squeezed them shut, her eyebrows furrowing.

Sakura felt an itch in her nose and couldn't help but sneeze. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a red-haired girl grinning mischievously, tickling her face with her hair.

"Hi..." Sakura greeted Karin, closing her eyes again to continue sleeping.

One second after closing her eyes, Sakura abruptly opened them and sat up.

The red-haired girl was startled by Sakura's sudden movement and flinched.

"Ka... Karin, you're awake!?" Sakura asked, looking at Karin sitting beside the bed, her voice slightly shaky with excitement.

"Yep," Karin replied with a sweet smile.

"Uh... When did you wake up, Karin?" Sakura remembered clearly that last night, she had been slumped over the bed, while Karin was lying on it. Now, she woke up to find herself lying in the bed and Karin beside it.

"Just now," Karin said, propping her head up with her arms, gazing at Sakura from the bed.

"Uh... Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" Sakura felt that Karin was a little different from before, as if she were more cheerful. But looking at her now, she seemed the same as always. Was it an illusion?

"Nope, I'm fine, Sakura," Karin said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Sakura, as if she wanted to devour her.

"Uh... Why are you looking at me like that? Are you alright, Karin?" Sakura felt a little creeped out by Karin's intense gaze.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Sakura," Karin said, and then she suddenly embraced Sakura.

"Uh... Let go of me first, Karin," Sakura said, feeling a little breathless from Karin's sudden hug.

"Thank you so much, Sakura. I felt so much, so much... in the genjutsu," Karin said, her voice becoming choked with emotion.

"What did you feel?" Sakura asked. She was still embraced by Karin, and seeing her emotional state, she didn't force her way out.

"Hehe, I'm not telling you..." Karin suddenly released Sakura, stuck her tongue out at her playfully, and then skipped away.

Sakura was baffled by Karin's behavior. Did she suffer some brain damage? Was this the same Karin who was usually quiet and somewhat dependent on her? This change was a bit drastic...

"Hey, Karin, don't go yet. Let me check you over," Sakura said, pulling back the covers, preparing to get out of bed...

"Ah~~~~~" A startled cry escaped her lips, and the girl quickly covered herself with the blanket.

Sakura realized that her clothes had been completely stripped off.

"Karin~~~~~~"

It couldn't have been anyone else but Karin. This Karin really needed a beating.

As she sat on the bed, wondering what to do, Karin returned, carrying clothes in her arms.

"Karin!!! Where are my clothes?!" Sakura asked through gritted teeth.

"Here they are," Karin said, handing the clothes to Sakura. "You fell asleep last night, and I saw your clothes were dirty, so I washed them for you."

This reminded Sakura of something. During yesterday's battle, she had been using Earth Style to hide underground, so her clothes were covered in dirt.

"So, did you take my clothes off?" Sakura asked, clutching the blanket.

"I didn't take them off, silly. When I woke up last night, I saw you naked, with your clothes beside you," Karin said, suppressing a laugh.

"Wha... what..." When Sakura heard Karin say this, she didn't know how to feel. Embarrassment? Anger? Indifference? A little bit of everything. Sakura's expression changed continuously.

Could it be that someone had... done something to her last night? But she didn't feel anything...

"Hahahahaha, I'm just kidding! Of course, I took off your clothes," Karin said quickly, seeing the change in Sakura's expression.

"Are you looking for a beating, Karin?" Sakura said through clenched teeth, realizing she'd been tricked.

"Don't be angry, let me hug you," Karin said, her face showing no sign of remorse, smiling cheerfully as she stepped forward to hug Sakura.

Sakura looked at Karin, speechless. Could it be that the genjutsu Karin had been under was Kotoamatsukami...?

Or was this Karin's true nature...?