On the next day, they were on their way to leave until Kakashi sensed 2 dangerously strong chakras. He alerted his students in urgency, preparing for the worst. The ninjas of the Leaf immediately told the bridge builders who were working to evacuate. Tazuna who escorted them to the bridge was confused.
"What's wrong??"
"Stay behind me, Tazuna-san!" Sasuke ordered.
A man who looks like a shark emerged. "So you've noticed us." He was dressed in a black cloak with patterns of a red cloud. It was the infamous icon of Akatsuki: a group of S-class criminals.
"That's Kisame Hoshigaki. Monster of the Hidden Mist." Sakura choked in a gasp. She was afraid, of course she would be. Prodigy she is, but a well-known fearful ninja she is not.
"So you know me, pink haired squirt." He teased.
She took in a deep breath, trying to call her nerves. His comment ticked her off, but thank goodness for that because she focused on her annoyance instead of her fear. "My name is Sakura Haruno, not a pink haired squirt."
"Kisame." A voice spoke from his back.
"A-Aniki??" Sasuke stuttered in shock.
The pinkette stared in disbelief, "Itachi-san.."
"It has been awhile."
"You left to join the Akatsuki?" Sasuke growled. Itachi's face showed no sign of emotion. Sasuke attempted to charge at him, but Kakashi held him back.
"They are S-class criminals. It's difficult to beat them, even for me." Kakashi explained to stop his students from being reckless.
"It's good that you know where you stand. Hand us the bridge builder." Kisame said with pride.
Neji wondered, "Gatou was desperate enough to send the Akatsuki?"
"Even so, we will protect him with our lives." Sakura declared, pointing at her headband. "This is our ninja way."
"They are too dangerous for you.. No matter how skilled you are, all of you have no experiences. To face such a strong opponent in the beginning of your journey..." Kakashi sighed. He doesn't have a choice.
"We won't die this way, believe in us Kakashi-sensei." Neji said.
The copy ninja nodded, "We won't go down without a fight."
"Leave Itachi to me." Sasuke growled.
"No." Kakashi immediately answered. "You are too unstable right now. Protecting Tazuna-san is our main priority."
Sasuke glared at him, but nodded in understanding. As much as he refuse to admit it, Itachi has always been the real prodigy in his clan. He was simply outstanding. It wouldn't be possible for him to defeat his older brother when he's merely a Genin.
The silver-haired shinobi revealed his sharingan hiding beneath his headband. "Itachi, your opponent will be me."
"Hmph. That leaves me with 3 little kids, what a joke." Kisame grunted in disappointment.
Neji and Sasuke activated their kekkei genkai while the other unsheathed her sword, holding it in front of her. The three Genins stood in a fighting stance, being alert of their surroundings.
Kisame smirked and unwrapped his sword, Samehada. It was in navy blue and the surface was an even. It looked like scales which Sakura recognised. She read it from a book before.
Immediately, she warned her teammates. "Whatever you do, don't go near that sword! It absorbs your life force!" Her two teammates nodded at her advice, knowing better than to disobey. She was second to Shikamaru in academics.
"I see you even found out about my sword.." Kisame smiled. "Very intelligent."
He charged at the pinkette, colliding his sword and hers. She struggled under his strength, using both hands to push his sword away from her. The two boys came to her aid, attempting a kick from each side. The Akatsuki member jumped backwards to avoid it. Immediately after he pulled away, Sakura did her hand signs.
"Cherry Blossom Release: Dance Of Cherry Blossoms."
She calmly stood as she combined herself with the petals floating everywhere. She jumped, twirled, and stepped on the ground in grace.
"1st Dance."
The petals formed a whirlwind around Kisame and sliced him like standing in an inverted chainsaw. She twirled on her spot like a ballerina, swinging her cherry blossoms onto Kisame.
"2nd Dance."
This petals gathered into several straight lines, stabbing his vital spots. He kneeled down because his calves were punctured, but he used his sword to reflect the cherry blossoms from hitting his organs. Unfortunately, this was a jutsu she hadn't mastered, making her aim inaccurate and the speed wasn't up to her satisfaction.
She hopped into the air spun like a ballerina.
"Final dance!"
The cherry blossoms formed a tornado, trapping him inside. It slowly contracted, trying to squash him. But it was too slow. The final dance wasn't fully developed. Kisame took that chance to use his sword and push off all the petals away, immediately ruining their formation; thus disabling her jutsu.
Kisame spat his blood onto the ground. "Not too bad, but not good enough."
The Haruno growled at her failure. If only she had more time to perfect that jutsu, she could have beaten him. Could she? After all, he's an S-class criminal. She raised her katana, ready to charge at him, but he was already running straight towards her.
When they finally met, he ran past her.
Sakura gasped.
He targeted someone else.
==
Dedicated to anime_is_life_force for commenting on this story and adding it to your reading list!
~Joelle
Published: December 2014
Rewritten: 21 April 2018