NOVEL WEB Chapter 170: A New Hope
"Foggy again," Sakura muttered to herself, holding out a hand through the window to feel the damp air on her skin. "Is it natural, or is it man-made…?"
It had been a day and a half since the assault on the Kurosuki family had occurred. Luckily, the two Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist hadn't yet managed to find their base of operations in the Curry of Life Shop, but the situation remained dire— Naruto was the only one among them who was still at 100%.
Tenten might possess the combat experience of someone three times her age, but in Sakura's opinion, Tenten's exhaustion didn't seem like a bluff. Sakura didn't know exactly which benefits Tenten's regression had brought her beyond enhanced spiritual energy, but one thing remained unchanged: her chakra reserves were drained. The Flying Thunder God Jutsu, like most Space-Time Ninjutsu, was fairly chakra intensive.
While Sakura was looking out of the window, the rest of her teammates were interrogating their prisoners in the dining area of the restaurant.
"Please let me talk to Zabuza-sama," Haku was telling Sakura's teammates. "Our goals aren't necessarily opposed— if we could just convince Raiga-sama to join our cause, he'll naturally leave Katabami village, and everyone wins."
"But there's no way we're letting you walk away with the gold," Naruto retorted. "The villagers worked hard for it, ya know."
Haku's words resonated with Sakura.
A bloodless resolution to this conflict would indeed be ideal, especially considering their present states. They had the hostages to force a dialogue with the two Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, too— the only problem was that once they handed Ranmaru and Haku over to Raiga and Zabuza in exchange for Katabami village's freedom, nothing would be stopping them from going back on their deal and massacring them…
"You're raising money to hire an army to rebel against the Fourth Mizukage, aren't you?" asked Tenten. "You do know that weaklings like the Kurosuki family, no matter how many there are, could never defeat that person, right?"
It was possible for ants to defeat a tiger— the Third Raikage had managed to fend off tens of thousands of Rock shinobi for three days and three nights before finally succumbing from exhaustion. However, overwhelming numbers wouldn't work as a tactic against Yagura; for the simple reason that he was a Perfect Jinchūriki and had infinite amounts of chakra— he'd tear through a small army before even needing to eat, drink and sleep.
"Zabuza-sama plans on hiring a mercenary group known as the Akatsuki to help with the assassination," Haku revealed. "A senpai from the Hidden Mist— I believe Zabuza-sama told me his name was…"
"Hoshigaki Kisame," Sasuke interjected.
"How did you know?" Haku asked in surprise.
Only three of the 'original' Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had survived their encounter with Might Dai: Kurosuki Raiga, who had inherited the Kiba blades from Ringo Ameyuri; Biwa Jūzō, the previous wielder of the Kubikiribōchō; Suikazan Fuguki, the previous wielder of the Samehada. Of these three, Jūzō had already died fighting the Fourth Mizukage alongside Itachi. Fuguki had also already died, assassinated by Kisame on the Fourth Mizukage's orders for selling state secrets.
Subsequently, Zabuza and Kisame had inherited Jūzō's and Fuguki's swords respectively… only to then turn traitor and flee the Hidden Mist.
"Just a hunch," said Sasuke darkly.
As far as he knew, the Akatsuki operated in pairs, and it just so happened that his brother Itachi was Kisame's partner… which meant that if the Akatsuki accepted to undertake the Fourth Mizukage's assassination, he would know exactly where and when Itachi would be!
"Don't even think about it, Sasuke," said Tenten warningly, having guessed what he was thinking. "If the Leaf gets tangled up with the Mist's affairs, it will mean war."
Sasuke said nothing.
Meanwhile, Sakura was still keeping a lookout from the window, barely keeping track of what was being said behind her. She squinted her eyes and peered through the mist— there wasn't much to see, except the dense veil of mist, and…
"Oneeeeee-samaaaaa!"
Sakura recoiled away from the window in surprise— a fiery mane of hair attached to a wiry girl had just burst through the mist and dived through the window, arms outstretched— and she was knocked to the floor, as a crimson-haired girl crashed into her midriff and buried her head in between her breasts.
"OW, OW, OW!" Sakura yelped in pain. "MY ARM!"
Karin rubbed her nose in Sakura's cleavage and breathed in deeply, before raising her head and flashing Sakura a sheepish grin— though Sakura could only see Karin's eyes from behind the twin mountains on her chest.
"Onee-sama, you're hurt!" Karin squealed, realising with a jolt that she'd accidentally hurt her beloved Sakura. "Here, drink!"
"I already told you I wouldn't do that if it wasn't an emergency," said Sakura crossly, pushing away the proffered forearm. "Don't sell yourself out so cheaply— oomphf!"
Ignoring Sakura's protests, Karin bit her tongue until she drew blood and leaned in for a kiss.
!!!
For the first few seconds, Sakura tried to wriggle weakly out of the embrace, but Karin boldly intertwined her tongue with hers, exchanging her fluids for Sakura's— and after a few seconds, she let go of Sakura's lips, leaving her a hot and bothered mess twitching on the floor.
"That looked a lot hotter than when I accidentally kissed Sasuke," Naruto mumbled to himself in awe. "Or when I practise with my Shadow Clones…"
"You should take better care of yourself, onee-sama," said Karin breathlessly, her cheeks turning as bright red as her hair. "Your health is something I'll never compromise on."
Feeling rather lightheaded, Sakura touched her lips absentmindedly, unable to string even two words together. That had been her first kiss ever— in both of her lives!
"What are you doing here, Karin?" said Tenten at last, once she'd picked up her jaw from the floor. "Did Tsunade-sama send you here as backup?"
"Without Neji, the Hokage thought you'd need help from a Sensor-nin and a Medic-nin to fight against a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, so she had me join you!" said Karin brightly. "From now on, I'm the newest member of Team Guy— pleased to meet you!"
Lee struggled to his feet and staggered over to Karin from his improvised bed on the restaurant's tatami mats.
"I require healing as well," said Lee with a grimace.
"Eh? Was there something wrong with you?" Karin asked disinterestedly. "Apart from your face, I mean."
"It is my stomach," Lee groaned. "I believe I might have indigestion from eating too much curry!"
Karin shifted slightly, sliding her handbag's strap off her shoulder, before placing the bag at her feet. She then rummaged through its contents and retrieved a handful of senbon needles…
"I learned a bit of acupuncture from Lady Tsunade right before I left," said Karin, twirling a senbon expertly between her fingers. "Did you know the acupoints for voiding the bowels and for improving digestion are just a millimetre apart? Now, which one was which, already..."
"On second thought," said Lee, his face turning as white as a sheet, "I already feel much better, thank you very much!"