Outside Konoha's Perimeter
"There," Sakura said, releasing Sasuke's hand. "That should do for now. We'll deal with it properly once we're back in Konoha."
Sasuke's left arm was splinted with branches Sakura had scavenged, then wrapped securely with bandages. As a final touch, Sakura had tied a rather fetching bow on top.
Sasuke's expression was slightly awkward as he looked at the bow. "How did you break free of the genjutsu?"
"I broke free a long time ago," Sakura said smugly. With the immediate threat gone, she felt a wave of relief.
"Then why didn't you help?" Sasuke's face showed a flicker of understanding. He knew that genjutsu wouldn't have held Sakura for long.
"To buy time, of course," Sakura said, spreading her hands. "Karin was still trapped. We were completely outmatched by those two. If we could fall for a genjutsu without even realizing it, I'd probably have been caught again in an instant if I'd tried to fight directly. So I had to look for an opening to ambush them."
In reality, Sakura hadn't broken free of the genjutsu nearly as quickly as she claimed. After Karin had "died" within the illusion, Sakura had calmed down and realized something was off. Karin's special abilities failing might have had a specific reason, but the fact that her own Mystical Palm Technique had no effect whatsoever made Sakura suspicious.
Naruto and Sasuke's disappearance made Sakura realize she was likely caught in a genjutsu. But no matter what she tried, she couldn't break it. This was the first time Sakura had ever encountered such a high-level genjutsu; she had no idea how to escape. Neither pain stimulation nor disrupting her chakra flow seemed to have any effect.
Then, for some unknown reason, her chakra began to leak out. This drastically altered her surroundings. Sakura found herself still sitting on the ground, with an unconscious Karin in front of her.
Immediately afterward, she heard someone say, "Kill him." She turned her head just in time to see the shark-faced man raise his massive sword to strike at Sasuke. In a panic, Sakura first used a Storm Release clone to charge at the shark-faced man, then used Earth Style to pull Karin underground with her.
Then came the ambush on the shark-faced man, the rescue of Naruto, and the enemy's retreat. Sakura recognized the ninja who hadn't moved as Uchiha Itachi, but she couldn't, for the life of her, remember who the shark-faced man was.
Damn it... Who was Itachi's partner? It felt like she should know, but the memory simply wouldn't surface.
"Let's head back," Sakura said, pulling Naruto and Karin out of the bushes.
"How's Naruto?" Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto who was sleeping soundly.
"Naruto's fine, just exhausted his chakra," Sakura said after checking Naruto's condition. She then looked at Karin. "Karin's situation is a bit more complicated. I can't dispel her genjutsu."
"Let me take a look," Sasuke said, stepping forward. He activated his Sharingan, observed Karin, then deactivated it and shook his head. "Karin isn't under a genjutsu."
"She's not!?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.
Sakura hadn't detected any signs of genjutsu on Karin either, but Karin remained unconscious. Sakura had assumed her own skills weren't sufficient, but now Sasuke confirmed her initial assessment.
"There's no indication of genjutsu. I don't know why she hasn't woken up," Sasuke said with a shrug.
"Huh." Sakura, not quite convinced, checked again. Karin's vital signs were stable, she wasn't injured, and her brain showed no signs of damage...
"Let's take her back to Tsunade-sensei," Sakura said, having run out of options. She hoisted Karin onto her back.
"Boom...!"
A tremendous explosion echoed from the distance, shaking the ground. Sakura and Sasuke stumbled, nearly falling.
"Looks like those two enemies were caught by the village's pursuit teams," Sasuke said, looking back towards the source. A massive plume of smoke was rising into the sky.
"We were lucky. It was Uchiha Itachi," Sakura murmured to herself.
Sasuke didn't know the full extent of Itachi's situation, but Sakura certainly did. Otherwise, they'd be waiting for the village to collect their corpses.
Sasuke carried Naruto on his back, while Sakura carried Karin. They rushed towards the village without stopping.
Because of the recent events, it had grown completely dark. Under the moonlight, the two of them moved through the forest, one after the other.
When they reached the village gates, the area was under heavy guard. Searchlights swept down from the high walls.
As soon as Sakura and Sasuke approached, they were surrounded by ninjas.
"Halt!"
Two beams of light focused on Sakura and Sasuke. They squinted, looking at the approaching ninjas.
"I'm Haruno Sakura, a disciple of Tsunade-sama," Sakura announced first.
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke, a disciple of the Third Hokage," Sasuke added.
"Hmm... Who are you carrying?" the ninja asked diligently, clearly not about to be lax just because they claimed to be disciples of the Hokage.
"She's Karin, also a disciple of Tsunade-sama. And that's Uzumaki Naruto, a disciple of Jiraiya-sama," Sakura rattled off the names, each one a status that ordinary people could only dream of.
However, the ninja in front of them didn't seem impressed. Clearly, background and status weren't as effective in the ninja world.
"Wait here. The Third Hokage will be here shortly."
"Um, what exactly is going on? Even if two enemies were discovered, this seems like an excessive response," Sakura said, resigned to waiting at the gate with Sasuke.
Before long, the Third Hokage arrived. Seeing that it was Sakura and Sasuke, he let them pass.
"Where have you two been?" the Third Hokage asked.
"We were attacked. Tsunade-sensei, where is she? Karin seems to be injured, and I can't heal her," Sakura said urgently.
"Hm? Attacked?" The Third Hokage said as he led Sakura toward the Hokage's office.
"Yes. I suspect the reason the village is under such tight security is because of the people who attacked us earlier," Sakura guessed.
"Hmm, the village is on high alert because we discovered intruders. The entire barrier team that maintains the village's defenses was caught in a genjutsu," the Third Hokage said thoughtfully, sharing the information with Sakura.
"That must be it. Team Seven was also lured out of the village because we were caught in a genjutsu," Sakura said.
"We're here. Go on up. Tsunade is still in her office," they arrived at the Hokage Tower. The Third Hokage dismissed the ANBU that had gathered around. "I won't be going up."
"Yes. Sasuke, take Naruto to the hospital. He's fine, he just needs rest," Sakura told Sasuke behind her.
"Got it," Sasuke said without further comment, turning and heading towards the hospital.
Although it was evening, the Hokage Tower was still bustling with activity. Clearly, this intrusion had made Konoha very tense. And understandably so, given that the village had been invaded repeatedly in recent months. It was no wonder the higher-ups were on edge.
Arriving at the Hokage's office, Sakura didn't even knock. She pushed the door open and barged in.
However, once inside, Sakura realized that Tsunade wasn't alone. Two elderly people were also present. Sakura vaguely remembered them; they were probably the advisors...
Tsunade, sitting behind her desk, saw Sakura burst in and her face darkened...
"What is it, Sakura?! Don't you know how to knock?!"
"Uh, sorry, sensei," Sakura said, seeing the tense atmosphere in the office and realizing she'd come at a bad time. She stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "Karin was attacked. I can't heal her condition."
"Hmph, you can't heal her, and you say it so confidently!" Tsunade's voice grew even colder.
Oh great, I've walked right into it. Sakura could tell that Tsunade was furious, and she didn't know what to do.
"Never mind. Take Karin to the resting room next door. I'll be there in a moment," Tsunade said, her tone softening slightly as she saw Sakura's bewildered expression.
"Yes," Sakura replied, not wanting to say anything more. She quickly fled the scene.