Another new day dawned. Sakura woke early and checked their supplies in the cave – completely empty. Looked like she'd have to go "robbing" again. While she really disliked doing it, it wasn't just her own stomach she had to worry about now; there was also a patient to feed. Who had the time and energy to actually earn money under these circumstances?
"Hey, I'm hungry!"
Mei Terumi's voice drifted over. Sakura turned, sizing her up for a moment before retorting, "Do you have any idea that you're currently my prisoner?"
Mei simply shook her head. "Nope!"
Sakura was momentarily speechless. She wanted to put on a stern face and intimidate her, but this woman clearly wasn't scared. Damn it, she thought, I should have just let her keep thinking I was eating her meat.
Neither of them was inherently bloodthirsty, and with the cannibal misunderstanding cleared up, the atmosphere between them had become somewhat subtle and awkward. Thanks to a burgeoning case of Stockholm Syndrome, Mei harbored quite a few positive feelings towards Sakura. As for Sakura, while Mei's initial actions had thoroughly angered her, finding out her identity had somewhat tempered that rage.
Ultimately, despite living in this world, Sakura still hadn't entirely escaped the influence of the manga. Later, seeing that she had reduced the future Fifth Mizukage to tears had further cooled her anger. The most significant factor, however, was that Sakura herself had emerged virtually unscathed, whereas Mei had ended up in a rather pitiful state. If their situations had been reversed, Sakura most likely wouldn't have let things go so easily.
Sakura found a packet of medicinal powder, mixed it with a little water, and brought it over to Mei. "Drink this."
"Hm? Is it medicine?" Mei took the bowl, sniffed it cautiously, and frowned. "What kind of medicine is this?"
"What, afraid I'll poison you?" Sakura scoffed. "If I wanted to harm you, would I need to resort to drugs?"
"But this medicine isn't for healing," Mei observed.
"Enough nonsense. Drink it!" Sakura ordered coolly.
Seeing Sakura's firm attitude, Mei decided not to argue further. She tilted her head back and drank the mixture in one go. "You really didn't need to do this, you know," she said afterward. "I don't have an ounce of strength left in my body right now."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm the one who performed your surgery. You think I don't know exactly how you're recovering?"
Mei fell silent. Truthfully, when she woke up earlier, she'd already felt considerably better than the day before. Getting out of bed probably wouldn't have been an issue.
"Just stay here quietly," Sakura instructed. "I'm heading down the mountain to procure some supplies. Is there anything you want to eat?" She immediately waved a hand dismissively. "Actually, never mind. You can only have liquid food right now. Forget I asked."
With that, Sakura found a length of rope and proceeded to tie Mei's hands and feet. Seeing her meticulous caution, Mei couldn't help but ask, "Can't you just hunt some game nearby? Why insist on going to a town? Besides, you probably don't have any money, right? Doesn't that mean you're stealing?"
"Oh, right!" Sakura slapped her forehead. She really could be stubborn sometimes. Why did she have to go to town for food? As the saying goes, live off the mountains if you're near mountains, live off the sea if you're near the sea. The conditions here were perfect! Just hunting a few wild boar would provide food for ages.
"Even so, I still have to tie you up. Don't even think about escaping," Sakura stated, finishing securing Mei's bonds. She couldn't afford to be careless; if Mei ran off, Sakura would be in deep trouble. I'll talk to her properly when I get back from hunting.
Mei looked speechlessly at Sakura. Seriously giving me zero opportunities. Oh well. Her wounds would heal eventually. Since this girl wasn't killing her, it meant she had some reservations or concerns. For now, focusing on recovery was best.
Sakura glanced at Mei, securely bound hand and foot, and nodded with satisfaction. Grabbing a kunai she'd confiscated from Mei's gear earlier, she headed out.
Wild boar from the mountains, mushrooms, some vegetables, then catch some fish… That's the plan.
Thinking back, her luck recently had been abysmal. Framed by Danzo – though honestly, Sakura wasn't too worried about that old scoundrel; his downfall was inevitable. She considered this period a forced vacation. Besides, she held a trump card capable of turning the tables, though it still lacked two key components. Once she obtained those, she could make her move anytime. Then there was her plan to go to Red State Island, which got derailed when she ran into Itachi Uchiha. She'd tried following him to see what Akatsuki was up to, but lost him halfway there. Then she arrived in the Land of Water only to get into a massive fight with Mei due to a misunderstanding, and now Mei was lying there like some demanding ancestor, waiting for Sakura to fetch her food.
Could her luck be any worse? She'd literally picked a random person to ask for directions and ended up tangling with the future Fifth Mizukage. It was unbelievable. Why wasn't Mei in Kirigakure campaigning for the Mizukage position right now instead of wandering around aimlessly?
Hmm? A thought occurred to her. Could Itachi have come to the Land of Water to hunt Yagura? No, probably not. Yagura was being controlled by Tobi; he'd be the last person Akatsuki would target. Sakura admitted she didn't actually know when Yagura died, only the basics: Fourth Mizukage, Three-Tails Jinchuriki, controlled by Tobi. Ah, forget it. She wasn't strong enough to meddle in those affairs anyway. Her initial plan was just to cause some minor trouble for Itachi, but she'd lost him, so that was that. The priority now was figuring out how to handle Mei.
The mountains truly teemed with wildlife. Sakura had barely walked a few steps before encountering wild rabbits and snakes. She hadn't spotted any boar yet, but smaller game was plentiful. Carrying a burlap sack, her kunai flashed repeatedly, harvesting the wild bounty. Soon, the sack was nearly full. Suddenly, a flash of dark movement caught her eye. Turning her head, she focused – it was a mountain pheasant. Sakura threw her kunai, but unexpectedly missed.
The pheasant flapped its wings a few times and actually flew away.
Definitely wild, Sakura thought, surprised. Even the chickens can fly. She retrieved her kunai from the ground and gave chase, closing in on the pheasant. Just as she prepared to end its flight with another throw, the bird seemed to shimmer and vanished.
"Huh?!" Sakura rushed forward, searching frantically. The pheasant was nowhere to be seen. "Did it just disappear into thin air?!"
Already in a less-than-stellar mood, Sakura felt thoroughly provoked at being tricked by a mere chicken. Determination hardening her expression, she formed the necessary hand seals. Strength of a Hundred Seal: Activate! Enhanced by Sage Art chakra, her senses sharpened, detecting several presences underground just behind her original position.
Investigating, she found a cave entrance cleverly concealed by tall grass. No wonder I couldn't find it. Deactivating the seal, she used Earth Release. The ground before the entrance arched upwards, and Sakura carefully manipulated her chakra to crack open the disturbed earth.
Ha! Found you! Inside were not only the original pheasant but four or five others, all similarly dark-feathered. Feeling her spirits lift considerably, Sakura dispatched them all with swift kunai throws and added them to her sack.
As she was packing up to leave, she noticed several white objects partially hidden beneath some dry hay. Pushing the hay aside revealed several oval eggs.
Haha! See? My luck can't be bad all the time! It's finally turning! Sakura accepted the bonus find with a grin.
This trip had yielded a bountiful harvest! All sorts of miscellaneous game – enough for a proper feast. She hadn't really eaten her fill earlier; now she could finally eat with abandon.
Right, water. She scouted around, figuring a mountain this large and full of wildlife must have a water source. Sure enough, she soon discovered a crystal-clear stream, teeming with fish.
This place is actually perfect for setting up camp. Delighted, Sakura used her kunai to spear several fish, then filled a few buckets she'd presumably brought or fashioned. Heading back, however, she realized she had too much to carry – the sack of game was manageable, but the buckets of water were too cumbersome. Left with no choice, she created a few Water Clones to help carry everything back to the cave.
"Rest is crucial for healing injuries." Mei Terumi had taken this principle to heart. Seeing she was tied up and had been forcibly drugged, leaving no chance for escape, she had simply decided to sleep. An unknown amount of time later, she groggily sensed someone pinching her nose.
Forcing open her heavy, sleepy eyes, Mei saw Sakura leaning over her. The childish action made her instantly infuriated. Her metaphorical fur stood on end as she glared. "What are you doing?!"
Mei was already twenty-seven, a mature adult both mentally and physically. Sakura, on the other hand, looked barely thirteen or fourteen. Even Mei's own students, who weren't much older than Sakura, treated her with utmost respect. Sakura's disrespectful gesture sent Mei's anger skyrocketing.
Sakura, however, paid Mei's fury no mind. Seeing her awake, she said simply, "Stop sleeping. Get up and work." With that, she untied the ropes binding Mei's hands and feet.
"Work? What work?" Mei asked, rubbing her slightly numb wrists.
"If you want to eat, you have to contribute!" Sakura retorted, exasperated. "Hello? You're the prisoner here, not me! Since when does the captor cook for the captive?"
"Then let me go!" Mei sat up, offering a sweet, challenging smile. "If you release me, you won't have to cook for me anymore!"
"Dream on," Sakura snapped. "Come here. Stand in front of me."
"Seriously? That drug you gave me left me totally weak. I can't get out of bed!" Mei tried to feign helplessness.
"Do you need my help? You think I don't know exactly what that drug does?" Sakura sneered, shooting Mei a sideways glance.
Mei knew pushing further would likely make Sakura explode. Resigned, she reluctantly complied, carefully swinging her legs out of bed. Standing up slowly, she felt dizzy and her legs were weak – it was the first time she'd been on her feet in two days. "Alright, now what?" she asked, steadying herself against the cave wall. "Why did you want me to stand in front of you?"
Without a word, Sakura reached out and pulled down Mei's pants.
"What are you doing?!" Mei cried out, flustered. Even though they were both female, she still felt embarrassed.
"Body check!" Sakura replied curtly. She pulled off the bandages on Mei's legs and observed the wounds closely. Looks like they're healing pretty well.
Placing a hand over the wounds, she channeled the Mystic Palm Technique, accelerating the healing process.