The Sakura Legend

Red Shoal Island

After the merchants trapped within the earth walls were released, they immediately started clamoring about reporting Sakura—most of them were merchants from the Land of Fire. The actual merchants from Ise Town weren't making a fuss about leaving; they had been fishermen in Ise Town before all this.

Sakura took the tattered flag to Kiba. They returned to the torii gate, comparing the fresh bite marks on the fabric to the older ones on the wood.

"Looks like a match. The bite marks are identical," Kiba confirmed.

"What should we do now, Sakura?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Sakura thought for a moment. "We make our move tonight. I'll negotiate with Headman Soga again. I'll handle the setup; you three stay away from the beach tonight."

"Are you planning to lure the monster out?" Kiba asked.

"Exactly. We should have done this yesterday after getting that intel. We can't keep dragging this out," Sakura stated resolutely.

As Sakura turned to leave, something occurred to her. She looked back at the three. "Do your best to borrow some cattle from the surrounding pastures and gather them at the one near the beach. Tell the owners it's to help them get rid of the monster. If they refuse, tell them it's an order from Headman Soga."

"Mm, got it. Don't worry," Kiba said.

Sakura went to Headman Soga's house again, but this time, she didn't mention anything about dismantling the torii.

The torii has to be moved secretly, she thought. If I keep bringing it up with Headman Soga, he'll get suspicious and post guards. Right now, it just serves as the entrance gate to Red Shoal Town, and nobody's watching it.

Instead, Sakura discussed tonight's plan with the headman. She requested that he gather all the islanders in a safe location to prevent accidental injuries during the operation. She also explained the need to borrow cattle from the surrounding pastures and concentrate them near the beach.

The dual purpose was clear: it would make it easier for Sakura to secretly move the torii, and the cattle would serve as bait to attract the monster.

Sure enough, as long as dismantling the torii wasn't part of the discussion, Headman Soga agreed readily. Seeing how agreeable he was, Sakura couldn't help but dread his reaction when he eventually learned the truth. Besides, she mused, it's not like dismantling the torii means it's gone forever. I can put it back when we're done... assuming those monsters don't chew through it too quickly. Hopefully, there'll be something left.

Leaving the headman's house, Sakura wandered around the island. It wasn't large; Red Shoal Town took up about a quarter of it, pastures covered another half, and the remaining quarter consisted of uninhabited mountain peaks.

From the highest peak, she currently had a panoramic view of the entire island. Down in the town, people were bustling about, clearly having received the headman's notice about the impending battle tonight. In another direction, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were herding cattle towards the pasture closest to the sea.

Over the past two days, all the island's mysteries seemed to revolve around that torii gate—or perhaps, more accurately, around the wood it was made from.

Neither Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, nor Shino could sense anything unusual about the wood itself. Yet, various pieces of circumstantial evidence strongly suggested it emitted some kind of strange energy.

This energy seemed to have a powerful effect on biological growth, yet humans couldn't perceive it, while animals apparently could...

Once I deal with those monsters tonight, secretly taking a piece of this wood shouldn't hurt, right? Sakura decided. Mm, that's the plan.

Actually, the wood wasn't the only strange thing about this island. There was also the fact that Headman Soga, seemingly an ordinary old man, had managed to approach a fully alert ninja without making a sound.

Sakura knew her sensory skills weren't on Karin's level, but she shouldn't have let a normal person get that close without noticing anything.

Yet, according to Sakura's senses, Headman Soga truly was just an ordinary old man with no signs of chakra training. She had initially suspected his true abilities might be leagues above her own.

But if Headman Soga really possessed such power, dealing with the monster should have been trivial. If he wanted to hide the island's secrets, he wouldn't have needed to risk exposure by hiring ninja from Konoha. So, Sakura had discarded that theory.

And then there were the carvings enshrined in that room in Soga's house. Before the Lord of Chino Castle discovered this island, it supposedly had no written language. Yet, those three pillars carved with the characters "天" (Heaven/Sky), "高" (High/Tall), and "神" (God/Spirit) had supposedly existed since Soga was a child.

Who would deliberately try to erase this island's history? And what kind of history were they trying to hide...?

Thinking about it all, everything felt shrouded in mystery...

Using Earth Style, Sakura created a simple bed for herself on the mountainside and decided to get some sleep.

...

...

When Sakura woke, the sun was setting. Gazing at the vibrant red clouds painting the evening sky, she stood up and stretched her stiff limbs.

She looked down at the town – the streets were deserted. Then she looked towards the coastal pasture – large groups of cattle were gathered there. Sakura nodded in satisfaction.

"Time to get to work," she murmured. "Wonder where Hinata and the others are." She started running down the mountain.

Arriving at the torii gate, she found the three of them sitting around it.

"Ah, you're all here. Perfect timing. Let's get to work," Sakura announced.

"Hey! Where'd you disappear to all day? We didn't see you at all!" Kiba demanded, sporting dark circles under his eyes.

"Sleeping, obviously. We've got a long night ahead. Weren't you guys resting?" Sakura asked, looking at the three of them strangely.

"..." "..." "..."

The three felt a sudden urge to cry, or possibly just beat Sakura up.

"Hinata, can you check if anyone's nearby? Kiba, Shino, you guys... actually, never mind. You too." Sakura reconsidered. Moving the torii was something she could probably handle alone; she didn't really need their help.

"Earth Style: Pilfering Jutsu!"

Muttering the made-up name, Sakura placed her hands on the ground, channeling chakra into the earth beneath the torii, attempting to shift the structure by manipulating the soil around its base.

"..." "..."

"Huh? Wait," Sakura stopped abruptly, cutting off her chakra flow.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Kiba asked, seeing her pause.

Sakura didn't answer him immediately. She stared blankly for a moment, then activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal. Once more, she pressed her palms flat against the ground and poured chakra into the earth.

Slowly, the look of concentration on Sakura's face morphed into one of utter horror.

"This isn't right!! This thing isn't a torii!!" Sakura scrambled backward, collapsing onto her backside as she stared up at the ancient, gate-like structure.

"Calm down, Sakura. What happened?" Shino asked, moving closer.

"Hinata!" Sakura yelled. "Use your Byakugan! Look underground, beneath this structure!"

"Ah, yes! Byakugan!" Hinata activated her dōjutsu and peered downwards. Gradually, an identical expression of shock spread across her face.

"Hey! What the heck is going on?!" Kiba demanded impatiently.

"Th-This... this thing," Hinata swallowed hard, struggling to get the words out. "The part buried underground... I can't see the end of it!!!"

"What!!!" "What do you mean?!" Kiba and Shino exclaimed simultaneously.

"It means," Sakura murmured, her voice faint, "that what we see sticking out of the ground... is just a tiny fraction. The roots of this thing buried beneath us go down incredibly deep... unbelievably deep."

"That's right... My... Byakugan can't see the bottom," Hinata confirmed, still straining to look deeper, her expression remaining grave.

"So... what's going on? This thing isn't actually a torii?" Kiba asked, tapping the structure uncertainly.

"Probably not," Sakura said with a wry, almost bitter smile. "Looks like we were fooled by its appearance. No torii gate has roots that deep."

"Then what is it?" Kiba asked, sniffing at the weathered wood.

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Sakura pushed herself up, dusting off her pants. "Hinata, do you know? Have you ever read about anything like this in your clan's records?"

"Uh..." Hinata thought for a moment. "I don't know. I... I don't think so."

Sakura carefully examined the structure again. Knowing it wasn't just a torii, she could now discern subtle differences in its form, previously masked by its ancient, decaying exterior.

"What do we do about the mission now?" Shino asked logically.

"Well..." Sakura hesitated, suddenly uncertain.

The unknown is always the most terrifying, she thought, a chill tracing its way down her spine. If this 'torii' is just a tiny exposed part... if this thing is actually alive... then the creature must be absolutely massive.

As the sensation of those bottomless, unfathomable roots registered through her chakra, Sakura felt herself enveloped by a profound fear, a kind she hadn't experienced since facing the threat of death as a young child.

This time, it was the terror of the unknown.