Chapter 29: Konoha's Chief Architect
The Next Day — Hokage Tower
An elderly man dressed in black with a single eye stormed into the Hokage's office, exuding a terrifying aura.
"Hiruzen!"
"That little brat of yours!"
"Last ni—"
Danzo Shimura's furious words were abruptly cut off.
In front of him, a pink-haired little girl stood beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, her face scrunched up in grievance.
"Master, that guy last night was so scary."
"Climbing up my window in the middle of the night and refusing to say who he was."
"I was terrified~~~"
At this moment, that pink-haired girl seemed utterly hateful in Danzo's eyes.
Last night, he had sent one of his subordinates to invite Sakura over discreetly. But who could have guessed that this damn girl wouldn't follow the usual script?
The moment his Root operative approached, she smashed him in the face with an alarm clock, then rallied the neighbors to beat the poor injured Root member into a pulp.
And now she had the audacity to get here first and play the victim?
Damn it! Is there anything in that pink head of hers that isn't pitch black?!
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his slightly darkened under-eye circles and looked at Danzo with dissatisfaction.
"Danzo, I was just about to talk to you about this."
"What were you thinking, sending someone to find Sakura in the middle of the night?"
Danzo gave Sakura a sharp glare and responded coldly, "Shouldn't I be vetting your new apprentice?"
Sakura met his glare without backing down, though compared to Danzo's oppressive aura, she looked more like a puffed-up kitten trying to stare down a panther.
"Danzo, I've already told you about Sakura," Hiruzen said sternly, glancing from Sakura—who was half hiding behind him—to Danzo, whose entire presence seemed shrouded in darkness.
At this stage, Hiruzen did not want Sakura involved in Root's affairs.
"Sakura, head on home for now. Someone will be coming to see you shortly. And don't worry—no more late-night window visits."
He reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"Yes, Master."
Without hesitation, Sakura turned to leave. But as she passed Danzo, she shot him a cheeky little eyebrow raise.
Danzo's face darkened even further.
After Sakura left, Hiruzen's expression turned cold.
"Danzo… do you remember what I told you yesterday?"
---
As Sakura exited the Hokage Tower, she glanced back at the second-floor office. Muffled shouting could still be heard—something about being the deep-rooted shadow of the village or whatever.
The same tired old lines. Can't they come up with anything new?
Still… now that the old man told her to leave, what was she supposed to do?
She'd already graduated, but he hadn't assigned her to a team. And someone would be coming to find her?
Who?
As she wandered aimlessly, a figure suddenly appeared behind her.
"Haruno Sakura?"
Sakura turned around to find a woman in full ANBU gear—long purple hair, a sword strapped to her back, and a bird-like mask covering her face.
"And you are?" Sakura asked, a bit puzzled.
"Nightingale. ANBU Third Squad."
"By Hokage's order, Haruno Sakura, you've been assigned to our team."
So this was the old man's arrangement?
Just shove her into ANBU and be done with it? That way, Danzo wouldn't have an excuse to interfere anymore?
"Fine. Lead the way."
"Follow me."
Nightingale gave Sakura a brief glance, still unsure why the Hokage would assign a freshly graduated Genin to ANBU.
With that, she vanished into the air.
Sakura quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to follow. She had already mastered the technique to a high degree, minimizing both the initial casting delay and the post-movement recovery time.
The initial cast delay was easily dealt with—just a matter of hand seals. Sakura's expertise in chakra control and monstrous strength gave her a clear edge here.
But the post-movement lag? That was trickier.
After using the jutsu, she still needed about one to two seconds to fully assess her surroundings before acting. A matter of reflexes—if only she had the insane reaction speed of someone like Minato Namikaze, this would all be a breeze.
Of course, there was another way: rip out a pair of Byakugan or Sharingan and stick them in her own eye sockets.
But just thinking about that made her scalp tingle in discomfort.
No way. I like my original eyes, thank you very much.
Reflexes, then—it would just take time and training.
Thankfully, this was just travel, not combat. Keeping up wasn't hard.
Nightingale—real name Yugao Uzuki—glanced back in surprise.
She had deliberately slowed her pace to accommodate the rookie, but to her astonishment, the girl was keeping up easily.
Yugao frowned slightly and picked up the pace.
Still, Sakura remained close behind, calm and unbothered.
Yugao pushed her speed to its limit.
And yet… Sakura stayed right on her tail.
Another genius, huh?
Yugao couldn't help but think of someone from the past—another kid who had become an ANBU squad leader at thirteen.
That one, however, is now an S-rank rogue ninja.
"We're here."
They arrived at a cave entrance on the side of the Hokage Monument.
Yugao took a moment to steady her breathing, then turned to the girl behind her.
Sakura looked at the cave in confusion. She had never been here before.
"Follow me."
Without a word, Sakura trailed behind, playing the part of the obedient rookie.
As they walked deeper inside, a whole hidden world unfolded before her eyes.
Wooden buildings crisscrossed the cavernous space. It was as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out. Shadows flitted across the ceilings—other shinobi, moving swiftly above.
Sakura kept pace with Yugao until they arrived at a room that looked like a locker room.
"This is your assigned locker. Inside is your gear. Get changed—we're going to meet the team captain."
Yugao pointed to locker #233, tucked away in the corner.
Sakura didn't question it. She opened the locker, found her uniform, and quickly changed.
Then, she followed Yugao once more.
Eventually, they entered a new chamber. At the far end stood a man with short hair and large eyes, who waved at her in greeting.
"Yo, aren't you a cute one?"
"Nice to meet you. My codename is 'Tenzo.'"
Sakura blinked.
Wait… this guy—
Tenzo smiled warmly.
Konoha's chief architect. The village's sole Wood Style user.
"Uh… Hello, I'm Haruno Sakura," she replied, a bit uncertain.
But inside, her curiosity was already beginning to stir.
---
(End of Chapter)