Tactical Espionage Action and Infiltration

Eh? The sword's summoning formula had just appeared in Sakura's head for no reason?

Kakashi was stunned upon hearing Sakura's explanation. If what she was saying was true, then she might have very well awakened a Kekkei Genkai! It wasn't unheard of to have inborn Jutsu; once someone had awakened a nature transformation Kekkei Genkai or Kekkei Tōta, their special Jutsu would become inscribed in their genes.

Then, if their descendants awakened their bloodline, they would be able to instinctively learn those dual or triple nature transformation Kekkei Genkai techniques, even if they hadn't been taught the specific Jutsu; though they would still need some time to figure them out if they hadn't been taught directly.

Take Haku, for example; his mother had never taught him any special techniques, but he had still been able to revive those lost secret Ice Style Jutsu. Or take the Mangekyō Sharingan, or the Rinnegan, for instance: Nobody had ever taught Sasuke how to shape chakra in the form of a Susanoo, and nobody had ever told Nagato that he could use Six Paths Jutsu or summon the Ten-Tail's husk, the Gedō Mazō; they just instinctively knew how to do it; it was in their eyes' genetic memories.

Chakra had always been meant to be the power to connect; Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki might not have been able to bring about peace on Earth, but he had at least managed to connect families through time, by allowing the effort that had gone into developing Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu to be inherited and built upon by future generations!

Kakashi rubbed his masked chin thoughtfully; perhaps he'd have Sakura undergo a blood test upon returning to the Hidden Leaf…

---------------------------------------

Training continued over the next few days, although Sakura was dispensed from having to participate. Just as she had feared, Kakashi had her shadow Tazuna, since additional chakra control exercises would be pointless for someone like her. Someone had to keep an eye on the bloke, anyway.

It would have been a shame to come all this way, only to fail the mission at the last minute by letting the client get assassinated!

As a result, Sakura's plans to ambush Haku in the forest while he was picking medicinal plants fell through.

'Are you an idiot?' Inner Sakura sighed. 'You can be in two places at once, remember?'

Sakura snapped her fingers; oh yeah, the Shadow Clone Jutsu! Sometimes, she would forget that she had these awesome powers. Come to think of it, the original Sakura probably had this problem as well, seeing as she had basically never bothered to master any Ninjutsu with her formidable chakra control. She only ever used her chakra to heal or to punch…

At any rate, one Shadow Clone probably wouldn't be able to beat Haku by itself, but it could take care of other business… And at the same time, she'd be able to test a theory of hers, if she was lucky…

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a poof, a second Sakura appeared next to her, causing a few of the bridge builders' heads to turn and stare in wonder; out here in the boonies, they weren't used to seeing such magical abilities.

"I'm just going to send her scouting," Sakura lied with a sunny smile on her face.

The Shadow Clone knew what she had to do, so she immediately got to work. She summoned chakra beneath her feet, before flickering to the top of a crane to get a good view of the surrounding area.

Sakura wasn't a sensor-type, and neither was her clone, but she did have a good pair of eyes, unlike her future daughter. The Shadow Clone soon spotted a few rough-looking men carrying swords; they were keeping an eye on the bridge builders; Gatō's hired rōnin, no doubt.

They were standing on the edge of town, near the bridge, but judging by the way they moved, they didn't appear to have awakened their chakra. Appearances could be deceptive, though. And they weren't hiding by any means, but neither were they actively scaring away or intimidating the bridge builders. Was Gatō afraid of pushing the townspeople too far until he had enough manpower? The Shadow Clone made herself comfortable on top of the crane; it might be a while until something happened.

---------------------------------------

Hours later, Sakura's Shadow Clone saw some more of Gatō's thugs approaching the bridge. After watching them for a while, the Clone let out a sigh of relief; this wasn't the grand finale of the arc, it was simply their turn to watch over the bridge's progress.

With the changing of the guard complete, the rōnin had no more reason to stay, so they began making their way out of town at a rapid pace. The Clone silently followed them from a distance, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, until she had reached the last house, at the edge of a mangrove forest. Once inside the forest, the group of rōnin continued at a more leisurely pace, so the Shadow Clone slowed her pace accordingly.

The Shadow Clone followed them, until at last, a peculiar shape suspended in the trees came into view. She had finally found what she had sought: Gatō's secret hideout. Gatō's home base was an enormous tree house made out of wood and straw, built around a particularly large tree trunk, and suspended in the air with cables; probably to avoid getting it flooded during monsoon season. Several footbridges connected the main structure to lookout spots, built higher up in the trees, where half a dozen sentries patrolled.

Taking care not to accidentally destroy herself, the Clone chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully as she chose her infiltration route. If there were Genin or higher-ranked shinobi among the guards, she might have some trouble entering the tree house unnoticed, but if the guards were all regular humans, then this would be incredibly easy! She picked an isolated sentry; he would make for easy prey!

Sakura's Shadow Clone waited until her prey was no longer in his fellows' sightlines, before gathering chakra under her feet and flickering up onto the closest footbridge behind him, barely rocking the suspended bridge upon her arrival. Slowly but surely, the Shadow Clone reached out behind him, and… the last thing the guard would feel before falling into unconsciousness was the blessed feeling of two soft mounds pressing into his back.

"Transformation Jutsu!"

With a small poof of white smoke, Sakura's Shadow Clone took the appearance of the guard she had just knocked out, before picking up his long sword.

Whoa, she wasn't used to being this tall… Her balance was also off, she was missing the usual counterweights in front of her…

'Disguise acquired!' the Shadow Clone's Inner Sakura cheered. 'Go get 'em!'

The Shadow Clone dragged the unconscious body somewhere out of sight on the lookout tower, before setting off across the footbridge to the main building, suspended in the trees.