Just after leaving the Hokage's building and wandering aimlessly down the street, Sakura's attention was suddenly drawn to a crowd gathered up ahead.
Seeing the noisy group, Sakura could vaguely make out a few head of cattle surrounded by people. She glanced at their location – it was right in front of the beef shop Ryuta had opened.
A thoughtful expression on her face, Sakura quietly approached the back of the crowd and peered through a gap between people. No choice, she thought, not when you're this short.
Inside the circle, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant and a guard leading several cows were being accosted by two shop assistants. The merchant, however, seemed to be arguing with them.
"No! I must see Lady Sakura Haruno today. Otherwise, I will not hand over these cattle to you."
"Hey, why are you being so stubborn? She's out of the village on a long-term mission. Just leave the cattle here, and we'll inform her when she returns."
The middle-aged merchant shook his head. "Ryuta is dead now. I must see Lady Sakura Haruno. Otherwise, you won't get these cattle, and we won't be supplying any more in the future."
"I say, you're just here to make money, aren't you? What does it matter who you deal with? Why insist on this one person?" a voice called out from the crowd.
As if in response, others around chimed in.
"Exactly! So many of us merchants would be happy to work with you."
"The person you're talking about is a ninja. Ninja can die at any time. She might even be dead already. You should find someone else to deal with."
Hearing the surrounding comments, the two young shop assistants looked rather uncomfortable but could only echo the sentiment. "You've come all this way; it wouldn't be right to go back empty-handed. How about this: we'll raise the price for this shipment, and we'll stick to this new price from now on. What do you say?"
These two assistants were house servants Ryuta had hired to look after the beef shop. They were the first to discover Ryuta's death. After being questioned by the Hokage that morning, they had been released.
The Taniichi "clan," so to speak, actually consisted only of Ryuta and his older brother, along with some servants who managed their estate. First, his brother had died, and then Ryuta himself.
The two servants, war orphans, had seen their comfortable jobs about to disappear. They'd quickly decided to continue running the beef shop Ryuta had put them in charge of. Regardless of how the village might eventually deal with the shop, they figured they'd make some money first. After all, they weren't ninja; without money, they could very well end up as beggars.
However, such a profitable business was coveted even by some ninja, let alone the neighboring butcher shop owners.
When the cattle merchant had mentioned he had a letter for Lady Sakura Haruno, the assistants had recited the usual lines Ryuta had given them. But the merchant insisted on delivering it directly into Sakura's hands.
Regarding the beef supplier from Ise Town, Ryuta had stumbled upon them by chance during a patrol. Using the business acumen he'd picked up from his brother, he'd pulled a fast one: he created a clone, transformed it into Sakura, and intercepted the shipment of cattle.
Neither the cattle merchant nor his guard were ninja, and they hadn't had much contact with Sakura. Seeing that the fake Sakura matched the description given by the Ise Castle Lord perfectly, they hadn't suspected a thing.
And so, using the excuse that the real Sakura was away on a long-term mission, Ryuta had appointed himself as the liaison. Since the real Sakura had already been declared a rogue ninja, Ryuta wasn't worried about being exposed. Even if he was, these merchants were in it for the money; who they partnered with didn't really matter.
Ryuta had told a modified version of this story to the two house servants when the shop first opened.
Although the Ryuta brothers weren't exactly upstanding individuals, they had treated their servants quite well, so the two men had never doubted Ryuta's words.
Now, faced with the merchant's demand, they naturally couldn't comply. However, they didn't reveal the "truth" they knew. After all, Ryuta was dead, and they wanted to make one last bit of money to secure their future.
"If I don't see her, it's not just today; we won't be coming back ever again," the merchant declared, then fell silent. He was a merchant from the Ise Castle Lord's establishment. He had some understanding of why they were supplying beef to Konoha from so far away, which gave him the confidence to speak so firmly.
Hearing his words, the crowd erupted again. The onlookers were mostly owners of nearby butcher shops. Since this beef shop had opened, their businesses had suffered somewhat. But who would turn their nose up at money? They all wanted a piece of the pie.
Sakura listened for a while and roughly understood the situation. Her desire for revenge hadn't completely clouded her judgment at the time; she hadn't killed any of Ryuta's household servants. Looking back, perhaps she had been too soft last night. She should have just finished these two off with a single stroke.
Although she didn't know all the specifics, having lived for two or three decades in her past life gave her some insight. Ryuta had intercepted the cattle meant for her shop. Then she'd dealt with Ryuta. Now, these two shop assistants were trying to usurp the business.
Sakura heard the onlookers relentlessly trying to persuade the merchant. She was about to step forward and reveal herself but suddenly paused.
Heh heh. A sly thought came to her. I was just looking for a reason to leave the village, and isn't this it? If this trip to Red Shoal Island doesn't turn out badly, then in the future, wherever I want to go, missions will just happen to be posted there. The thought is actually a little exciting.
So, Sakura decided not to rush in and reveal her identity. It wasn't good for too many people to know about her connection with them, especially ninja. Right now, only some civilians knew, and Konoha's population was large; those who knew her were confined to specific circles.
In this era of poor communication, becoming famous wasn't easy. Those who did achieve fame had undoubtedly done something earth-shattering. She hadn't deliberately publicized the fact that she was the Hokage's disciple. Firstly, it was unnecessary, and secondly, it was for her own protection. If it became too widely known, she'd be an easier target for enemies during missions.
After a long while, the surrounding crowd, seeing that the merchant wouldn't budge, gave up. They weren't robbers, and this was Konoha; they couldn't exactly force a sale.
Gradually, the onlookers dispersed. The merchant and his guard breathed a sigh of relief. This was Konoha, after all, someone else's home turf. If a conflict had broken out, they, being only two, would likely have been at a disadvantage. Thankfully, the people of Konoha were relatively law-abiding.
"Perhaps we should go to the Mission Assignment Hall and ask," the guard said, frowning at the two somewhat dejected shop assistants. "I have a feeling something isn't right here."
"Good idea, good idea," the middle-aged merchant said, wiping sweat from his brow.
And so, the two men led their four cows towards the Mission Assignment Hall. Sakura, seeing this, moved to follow them from behind. Once they turned onto another street, Sakura quickened her pace and approached them.
Just as Sakura was about to call out to them, the guard suddenly spun around, his right hand already in a sword-drawing stance, eyeing her warily.
Sakura froze. The guard froze too.
"It's you!" "It's you!"
Sakura and the guard exclaimed simultaneously. The guard was none other than Ryuichi, Lord Chino's guard, whom she had met during her mission on Red Shoal Island.
Sakura was stunned for two reasons. Firstly, she hadn't expected the guard to be an acquaintance; she hadn't seen his face from her position squeezed in the crowd. Secondly, Ryuichi had actually sensed her approach.
Although she hadn't deliberately concealed her presence, it wasn't something a mere samurai should have been able to detect. It seemed Ryuichi truly possessed some skill.
"How has Chief Soga been lately?" Sakura asked softly.
Although Ryuichi recognized Sakura, he knew ninja could use transformation techniques, so he didn't let down his guard. If he had been the one escorting the first caravan, this situation wouldn't have occurred.
Ryuichi suspected that the first caravan had most likely been deceived, but he had no proof. Now, hearing Sakura mention Chief Soga, Ryuichi finally relaxed. Officially, both verbally and contractually, Ise Town was supplying beef to Sakura Haruno, but he knew that in reality, it was Chief Soga who was doing business with her.
"Don't say anything. Follow me," Sakura said quickly as Ryuichi was about to speak.
She then led the two men to the building where her apartment was. After they found a place to tie up the cows, she took them upstairs.
Once they were seated, Sakura spoke first. "Don't ask about anything else. Just tell me the purpose of your visit. You're not just here to deliver cattle, are you?"
"Yes, yes, yes," the merchant quickly replied. "This time, I was entrusted by the Castle Lord to deliver a letter to you. The Castle Lord instructed me to deliver it into your hands personally." He then took out a wax-sealed letter from his robes and handed it to Sakura.
Sakura took the letter and saw that the wax seal was intact. She then opened it and read the contents. It was written by Chief Soga, not Lord Chino.
She quickly scanned it. Chief Soga was essentially asking about the progress regarding the curse. Finally, he casually mentioned that Ōkami Shinju had undergone some changes. Although this sentence was rather inconspicuous amidst the lengthy text, Sakura pondered for a moment and understood: this was the crucial point.
Regarding Ōkami Shinju (Great God/Spirit True/Real Tree), after receiving the final intelligence from Junko, Sakura knew that the correct term for that thing was "Shāi."
As for its function, Junko hadn't provided more detailed information, or perhaps even Junko herself didn't know what it was used for.
Sakura guessed that Junko, in her own era, was probably akin to a civilian in the ninja age; her knowledge of things was superficial.
It was also possible that Junko had lost a significant amount of memory after awakening, which was why more detailed information couldn't be obtained. But it was hard to say for sure. Perhaps Junko only wanted her to know what she should know, and concealed what she didn't want her to know.
Or perhaps, Junko's explanation of her origins was also a lie, just like Black Zetsu.
Although Sakura had learned about that vanished era through Junko's intelligence, Junko still felt like an enigmatic figure to her.
Regarding Junko, Sakura could say she understood her, and yet, she knew nothing at all. The Junko she understood was the one who had saved her in Red Leaf Village. But when they met again, Junko seemed like a completely different person.
She had initially thought she had implicated Junko, causing her to lose her family. But who would have thought Junko's origins were so mysterious? The only thing Sakura could confirm now was that the "Shāi" on Red Shoal Island was the beginning of everything.
Ever since she had taken a part of the "Shāi" from there, this chain of cause and effect had been set in motion. If it had been the original Sakura, she probably wouldn't have gotten involved in so many troublesome things.
If she hadn't taken a part of the "Shāi," then she would never have witnessed this buried era.
Although her initial goal had been to avoid stirring up trouble, reality was now forcing her to do just that.