Let It Begin

21. Sasuke's decision

Somewhere near the desert, inside one of the highest buildings, with the highest view where you could overlook the whole city, Sakura was leaning against the window. She was looking outside, viewing the seemingly abandoned city. At first, it was truly abandoned, except for Nekobaa, Tamaki, and the cats who used to live here. But now a bunch of sound ninjas who had stayed loyal to Sakura also started to stay in this city.

Needing a place to hide, especially since Itachi had faked his death, they also needed to keep getting information about what was happening with the Akatsuki and the Leaf Village. Now that the news of Itachi's death had spread, the Leaf Village movements were important for Itachi. Sakura was curious about how the Head of the Leaf village would treat Sasuke now that his supposed protector was gone

With this in mind, remembering how a group of sound ninjas had told her that if she ever needed something, they would always be there for her, Sakura decided to send messengers to them asking if they were still interested in helping her. Sasuke was opposed to the idea, but Sakura was able to convince him that they needed a network of allies. They needed information, and this was the only way to get it. In contrast to Orochimaru and Sasuke's treatment of them as pawns, Sakura treated the sound ninjas with kindness. Now, even after Orochimaru's death, they remained very loyal to her.

Needing a place to hide for a while, they eventually agreed to return to Nekobaa. Sora-ku, the abandoned Sky City, would be their base of operations for the time being.

Nekobaa was shocked to see that Itachi was alive and well. Even more astonishing was the fact that these two brothers were standing in the same room without trying to kill each other. Overcome with emotion, she embraced the two brothers and thanked Sakura profusely for bringing them together.

Slowly, more and more sound ninjas began to move into the city. Seeing that the tallest building was also connected to the underground tunnel leading to Nekobaa, Sakura and the others decided to occupy this building and divide it evenly so that everyone had their own space. The top level of the building was used as an office, where only a few trusted sound ninjas were allowed to enter not only the building but also the office. They were also the only ninjas who knew that Itachi was alive.

For now, the fewer people who knew the truth, the better. It wasn't that Sakura didn't trust the others, but it was currently the safest option. They couldn't afford to let this secret out.

Sakura had managed to assign a role to each group. Group A was allowed to enter the office building, consisting of three members. Group B was responsible for observing and protecting the city. Group C was tasked with gathering resources, food, and drink. Group D was responsible for collecting information about the Leaf Village. Group E was tasked with collecting information about the Akatsuki, but not too close. If they noticed that it was becoming too dangerous, they needed to abandon the mission and hide in one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideouts.

Before she knew it, the city had started to show signs of life, albeit from the inside. From the outside perspective, it still looked like an abandoned city. This was one of her conditions. The ninjas were only allowed to occupy houses inside the city.

Sakura gazed at herself in the reflection of the window. She let out a sigh and leaned against the window, gazing out at the street. It had been a while since she could finally take it easy. Ever since she and Sasuke had returned from getting his eye drops, she had been relentlessly busy; moving to this city and everything else that followed.

Reflecting on her journey with Sasuke – staying at an abandoned building, waiting for his eye drops, and ultimately fighting against a monster that had drained almost all of her chakra – it was harder than she had expected. It had been a long journey, but one she hoped was worth it.