The Queen of Masks [Sakura Haruno Story]

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Sakura had everything sealed in summoning scrolls and was ready to go.

She had packed a tent, a self-inflatable bed, some toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) all in one scroll about the size of her thumb. In another scroll, a similar size to the first, Sakura had packed weapons and rope, as well as some other tools that may be useful.

And finally, she had sealed her fox mask in a third scroll. It had become an obsession of hers to carry it wherever she went.

Sakura walked around her room, humming a soft melody. She brushed her hair, and tied her headband into it. She then applied some mascara and lipstick. She also applied a bit of concealer underneath her eyes, covering up the dark bags that had seemed to have permanently stationed themselves there.

Sakura hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Apart from the fact that she went to bed very late and she woke up very early, the few hours that she got were fitful and restless. You would think that after a day of hard work, Sakura would fall asleep right away when she crawled into bed each night. But it seemed that the stress was getting to her, and she would usually lay awake until the morning hours.

No one knew about this, not even Kisaki-sensei. Sakura didn't want this to make her sensei slow down her training. She wanted to be a strong as possible, as soon as possible.

Once she was finished, Sakura pulled on a heavy cloak, and walked out the door.

Sakura was the first to arrive at the front gates, so, deciding to use the time she had, she sat down with her back against the gates and closed her eyes, meditating.

Sakura no longer meditated to expand her chakra reserves, but was now working on creating a chakra seal on her forehead, somewhat like what Tsunade had. If her calculations were correct, Sakura would be able to activate it within the next two or three months. And meditating every few hours really helped speed up the process. Therefore, the more she meditated, the sooner she could activate the seal.

She felt Kakashi's subtle chakra approach her, but he didn't interrupt her, so Sakura continued to channel her chakra to her forehead.

However, when she felt Naruto's chakra approaching, Sakura opened her eyes and stood up.

She was ready to go save the Kazekage.