Memories of the Blossom Heart

Chapter 28: Alibi

"Did you catch that?" Iruka asked in puzzlement.

"Slightly," Kakashi said, pressing the tip of his finger against his ear to sense the familiar sound. "Hmm. Just as I thought. That howl is very preeminent."

"I better recharge up because it would benefit me to use my tracking abilities and seal them," Yamato said.

"I don't really have much ninjutsu. However, I'm getting fired up at this point," Guy stated.

"Hm. Remember that time when there was an incident that took place in our village with the wolf?" Iruka wondered.

"Ah, yes... I went out to do some night patrol until I noticed a white glowing creature roaming around the houses and saw Sakura going after it like she was drawn into it," Kakashi explained.

"I'm assuming she got hypnotized," Guy thought.

"Isn't Sasuke supposed to be the one? I don't mean to sound crude, but he's an Uchiha who holds visual prowess; the Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan. So why is Sakura the main target?" Yamato furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"No, that's not the case. You see, there is more to it than him taking his revenge on both villages. Sakura has a unique power that she possesses, which is far more than what her other kunoichi friends have," Kakashi explained.

"And the enemy wants to be in unison with her," Kurenai said in realization.

"This guy is very ambitious, eh," Guy said.

"It would be convoluted if that happens," Yamato stated.

"We got to prevent him from doing that," Iruka sighed.

"This battle is yet to come," Kakashi said calmly as the five of them began to scatter off to the locations they were about to be heading.

...

Earlier in the morning at the camping site, the pink-haired kunoichi continued to puke on the grass while Hinata was soothing her on the back.

She kept gagging until there's none of the food left in her stomach. Then, she exhaled out of breath, but her eyebrows went narrowed as she felt a minor headache. "Oh, gosh... That was horrible."

"You need to be taken to the hospital," Temari murmured worriedly.

"It's going to be hard if you keep pushing yourself," Hinata thought.

"Yeah. Plus, we are pretty much done with the activities," Ino said.

"And worn out," Tenten agreed.

Sakura grimaced and wiped both sides of her mouth gently, then pushed herself to stand up as she held onto her stomach. "I usually don't feel like this at all."

"Here, I'll assist you back in the tent," Hinata offered as she led her back to their place.

The guys were setting up the fire and placed the fishes on the wooden sticks to be cooked. Once they were heating up, Ino walked over to the two best friends and reminded them, saying. "Hey, guys. Can you do us a favor?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything," Naruto said.

"Will you and Sasuke try finding some medicinal herbs? There are a couple of ones upon that hill. Sakura hasn't been feeling well lately," Ino ordered briefly.

"Of course," the dark-haired ninja answered.

"Hmm, I think those things will be the one to cure her completely. We're up for it," the seventh Hokage said eagerly.

"Okay, good. Thanks, guys," she said, smiling brightly.

"See you then," Naruto waved at her as soon as he and Sasuke turned around before they transported off expeditiously.

Ino waited for them to disappear until she began to sigh in relief and went straight to her friends. "Phew. That was daunting. Anyway, I'm only doing this to give Sasuke mostly an alibi."

"Ah, that's sneaky, but smart. I like that," Kankuro nodded with a smirk.

"What can I say? I know how to convince my old crush with my mind tricks," Ino flipped her ponytail confidently and continued on, grinning. "In fact, I already have the herbs."

"Ooooh, damn. Double sneaky," Kankuro curled his fist against his mouth in levity.

"He won't notice a thing or two since Naruto is very talkative," Temari said.

"Don't underestimate him. After all, he's a Sharingan user and probably knows all," Sai stated.

"No worries, I even reminded Naruto here," Ino pointed lightly at her temple, indicating that she has used one of her Mind Reading techniques.

"Ah, so you've communicated with him. Clever," Sai said proudly with a smile and embraced her lovingly.

"Hehehe. Thanks, bae," Ino said heartily, pecking her lips on the side of his cheek.

"Is it possible to have more than six senses? Just curious," Lee asked.

"Yes," Kankuro nodded in reply.

"Gee, I thought you knew it already. Come on, we are ninjas. We have a lot of abilities that we acquire," Kiba said.

"Not me. I barely can keep up with my metabolism. Anyway, what's going to happen to Sakura?" Choji furrowed his eyebrows worriedly.

"That's what I'd like to know," Sai noted.

"I'll tell you guys, but you promised not to say any word. Got it?" Ino warned.

"Note taken," he said.

"Hmm. I can keep secrets as long as I can," Tenten hummed in response.

Ino sighed again and said. "Okay, listen up. I know that we've all witnessed Sakura's underlying status quo for much longer, so..." She trailed off of her words and bit her bottom lip in hesitation. The others were staring at her blankly, yet they were inquisitively waiting to let her speak. She then looked up at them and leaned in with a low voice, saying. "What I'm about to tell you is going to shock you and based on my observation, our dear friend is..."

She mouthed the words inaudibly, making their eyes widened in awe and astonishment, whereas Kiba and Lee, on the other hand, fainted on the grass afterwards.