Kikyō Town
"Y-You... You... What do you think you're doing?" the greasy middle-aged woman stammered, pointing a trembling finger at Sakura, her voice shaking. "Charging a fee is the Hokage's order! If you do this, you'll be branded as rogue ninjas!"
"Oh, is that so?" Sakura asked, clenching her fists. "And which Hokage gave that order?!"
"It... It... It was the Third Hokage's order," the woman stuttered.
"Then where's the order? Show it to me!" Sakura pressed, not letting up.
Sakura didn't believe for a second that it was the Third Hokage's order. Hayama had just explained everything clearly. Konoha ninjas didn't have to pay to stay here; only merchants and civilians did. This inn was funded by the village.
The Land of Fire's Daimyo's army was stationed here year-round. Although Konoha ninjas were also stationed here, the personnel weren't fixed and were frequently rotated. Therefore, the village funded the establishment of this rest stop.
It provided a place for ninjas on border defense missions to stay. If Konoha ninjas were passing through on missions, they could also stay for free, as long as they provided proof of identity.
It was a small perk for Konoha ninjas, but it wasn't entirely closed to the public. It also accommodated passing civilians and merchants.
And civilians and merchants were willing to stay here because Konoha ninjas were present. In this turbulent border town, this place was undoubtedly much safer.
Don't assume that the presence of ninjas meant that bandits and robbers wouldn't dare to attack. Ninjas only acted when they received a mission. Ninjas didn't engage in labor or production; it all cost money. No ninja would do volunteer work.
And in the past month or two, due to the tense situation, the number of passing civilians and merchants had decreased significantly. The middle-aged woman managing this place was a local resident hired by Konoha.
In a town where bandits and robbers frequently appeared, this job was a plum position. It had both the protection of ninjas and income. At first, the woman was in awe of the Konoha ninjas.
But over time, she realized that the ninjas sent by Konoha weren't just adult ninjas, but also brats. So, sometimes, when there were no adult ninjas leading them, she would charge the unsuspecting youngsters as well.
At first, she was apprehensive, but then she discovered that those brats were just inexperienced ninjas. A little deception and they'd obediently pay the room fee. Moreover, some of them wouldn't return after staying here once, so she gradually became bolder.
For ninjas who stayed here for a long time, the woman would choose to bribe them. Over time, those bribed ninjas, because of the extra income, turned a blind eye to these matters.
For the ninjas, this wasn't a big deal. It wasn't a lot of money. So, this inn had essentially become the woman's own, and the village never collected any revenue from the inn, letting the woman invest it in the inn's operation, and even subsidizing it every month.
But the woman hadn't expected to encounter a tough customer today. These brats weren't as easily fooled as the previous ones.
"Th-This..." The middle-aged woman was racking her brain to figure out how to explain when she suddenly saw several people dressed as ninjas entering the door. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Kawaiso-sama, these brats are enemy spies! Kill them quickly..."
The middle-aged woman was also cunning. She didn't say they were rogue ninjas, but spies. If they were rogue ninjas, they would be listed in the Bingo Book, and Sakura and her team definitely wouldn't be on it. If she said they were spies, in this tense situation, they might be killed outright.
Even if she was exposed later, she could say that they were trying to wreck the shop, so she thought they might be enemy spies. She wasn't a ninja, so a misjudgment was understandable.
Sakura's lungs nearly exploded with anger when she heard the woman's shouting. What a classic case of the guilty party filing the complaint first.
However, Kawaiso, who was behind them, had already thrown shuriken at Sakura and the others.
Pulling Karin beside her, Sakura dodged the shuriken with a Shunshin.
Sasuke and Naruto also drew their kunai and deflected the shuriken.
"Wait a minute! We're not enemies! We're Konoha ninjas!" Sakura shouted quickly at the ninja named Kawaiso.
"Hmph, do you think I'll believe you? Surrender immediately!" Kawaiso, seeing the shattered counter, didn't believe Sakura's words.
"Sigh, there's no other choice," Sakura, seeing that Kawaiso was determined to capture them, didn't waste any more words.
She activated her chakra, quickly closed the distance, and punched towards Kawaiso.
Kawaiso seemed to be quite skilled. He dodged Sakura's punch and retreated rapidly, forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A Great Fireball engulfed Sakura.
"Sakura-chan!!" Naruto rushed forward anxiously, but was blocked by another ninja who was with Kawaiso.
"Karin, keep an eye on that middle-aged woman," Sasuke said to Karin. He also engaged another ninja.
Karin, upon hearing this, drew her kunai and blocked the fleeing woman, saying coldly, "If she gets hurt, I'll kill you."
The woman was now filled with regret, her body trembling uncontrollably. She had thought Kawaiso could quickly deal with these brats, but she hadn't expected them to be so skilled. Now, everything was ruined.
Kawaiso watched the fire engulfing Sakura warily. Suddenly, he felt the ground beneath his feet become soft. In a moment, most of his body was sunk into the ground.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The fire disappeared, and Sakura appeared before Kawaiso, unharmed, her hands pressed to the ground. There were also traces of Water Release around her.
As the Great Fireball approached, Sakura had used Water Release: Water Wall to block the fire. While Kawaiso couldn't see, she had also used Swamp of the Underworld to trap him.
Although it seemed simple, this wasn't something just anyone could do. Sakura had started forming hand seals for the Earth Release after releasing the Water Wall. Maintaining the Water Wall relied on Sakura's ability to multitask and precisely control her chakra output. It was equivalent to simultaneously releasing two ninjutsu that required hand seals.
Before merging her bloodlines, the only ninjutsu Sakura could release simultaneously was the Water Blade, which didn't require hand seals. It was very difficult for her to simultaneously release more complex ninjutsu that required hand seals.
Merging her bloodlines had elevated Sakura's understanding of chakra to a higher level, allowing her to do things like this now.
"Hey, are you guys done yet?" Sakura looked at Sasuke and Naruto's battles and saw that they had already defeated the two ninjas.
"We're done. What now?" Sasuke asked, wiping his sweat.
"Karin, bring that obasan over here," Sakura shouted to Karin inside.
"Sakura-chan, what do we do now? They're Konoha ninjas," Naruto asked, a little worried.
"Don't worry. Captain Hayama will probably be here soon," Sakura said, kicking the fat, pig-like middle-aged woman with disgust.
Sure enough, before long, Hayama Shirakumo arrived, leading a large group of people who surrounded Sakura and the others.
"Haruno Sakura, what is the meaning of this?! Who are you people?" Hayama Shirakumo asked, drawing his sword.
The situation was tense, and they were at the border. Although he had seen Haruno Sakura and the others' identification, he couldn't be certain now. He had to be cautious.
"Ask her," Sakura said, kicking the still-trembling greasy woman.
"Hayama-sama... I was wrong, Hayama-sama... I'm guilty. Please forgive me," the greasy woman immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Hayama Shirakumo.
"What happened?" Hayama sheathed his sword and asked.
The greasy woman stammered out the whole story, including all the schemes she had been involved in over the years.
"Alright, take her away and hand her over to the Anbu back in the village," Hayama ordered the ninjas beside him. "And take these ninjas away as well."
Kawaiso was the ninja the greasy woman had bribed.
Kawaiso and his lackey's faces were ashen. Their ninja careers were completely over. No ninja village would tolerate ninjas who betrayed the village's interests for a little personal gain.
"I'm very sorry, Captain Haruno Sakura. This happened. I apologize," Hayama Shirakumo said to Sakura.
"It's alright, Captain Hayama. It's not your fault," Sakura said. "Now, we're going to rest. We've been traveling all day. By the way, is there anything to eat here?"
"Yes, there is. There are still people managing the inn. I'll have them prepare something," Hayama Shirakumo said, ever the professional.
Hayama Shirakumo's attitude was truly commendable. Although he was a Jonin, he didn't put on airs and treated Haruno Sakura, who was also a captain, as an equal.
Team 7, after being hungry all night and engaging in a fight, finally got to eat dinner. After eating and drinking their fill, they all went to rest, waiting for the arrival of the Sand Village's team the next day.