11-08-2006, 02:36 AM
Just a little plot bunny I wish to exorcise.
So Sasuke departs Konohagakure, looking to hook up with Orochimaru. He refuses Sakura's tearful pleas to stay and as he walks away doesn't see that behind the mask of tears is a grim determination and a deeply surpressed anticipation.
The next morning, Tsunade gets a report from ANBU that somehow two of their empty cells are now occupied. One by Sasuke, who appears mostly catatonic with exceptions of hysterical fear of anyone he recognises as a kunoichi. The other by an entirely calm and composed kunoichi a couple of years his elder wearing a konoha hitae-ai and bearing a distinct resemblence to Haruno Sakura... who is missing. And it should be noted that the ANBU have NO idea how someone got past their security. Ibiki's throwing an absolute fit and all he can get out of the girl is that she's 'coming in from the cold'.
So it's down to Naruto and Kakashi to investigate just what happened to Sasuke, where Sakura is and who the new arrival is. What they discover is, shockingly, that despite having passed all security checks to enter the academy there is in fact no Haruno Sakura on record prior to the day she entered the academy. There is no Haruno family, in fact.
The logical conclusion is that 'Sakura' is a deep cover agent. This is correct: she's a genius kunoichi on par with Kakashi at that age, specialising in infiltration and impersonation. Worse, she's actually been operating multiple identities around Konohagakure for years. One of them a chunin. Obviously, there is NO way that she could do this without powerful conspiracy within the village, to cover up for her. It's equally obvious that the girl in the cell is the girl behind Sakura.
Ultimately, Naruto and Kakashi manage to trace the conspiracy back to the office of the Hokage and discover two key secrets. Firstly, with the support of the Hokages, there has always been a clan of ninja operating within Konohagakure in disguise as civilians and other ninja. They are nameless, always using the names of their roles from an early age. (Some are listed multiple times as different ninja in village records, others aren't listed at all so that they can fill in for others who need to appear at the same time as their other identities).
Secondly, seven years ago, an eight-year-old member of this clan was assigned by the Sandaime Hokage to infiltrate the academy and watch over Naruto and Sasuke to make sure that no outside village managed to take them away (as Hidden Cloud tried to do with Hinata). The Hokage arranged for her to pass the security checks (he designed them and knew how to beat them) and for her to be on Team Seven, but when he died he took the secret of her mission to the grave, leaving her disconnected from the only person who could confirm her mission.
When Sasuke went rogue she broke cover and captured him (using a mangekyou-level genjutsu) and entered the ANBU prison because it was the only place she could be sure would hold him and remained there with him because she didn't want to appear a threat when he talked.
Of course, this leaves the question of her actual agenda now that her cover is broken, and how everyone reacts. I'm slightly tempted to have her vanish and the teams shuffled with Naruto ending up on the same team as Lee... who is actually one of the identities used by various of Sakura's family at need... and Tsunade ordered her to get close to Naruto again...
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
So Sasuke departs Konohagakure, looking to hook up with Orochimaru. He refuses Sakura's tearful pleas to stay and as he walks away doesn't see that behind the mask of tears is a grim determination and a deeply surpressed anticipation.
The next morning, Tsunade gets a report from ANBU that somehow two of their empty cells are now occupied. One by Sasuke, who appears mostly catatonic with exceptions of hysterical fear of anyone he recognises as a kunoichi. The other by an entirely calm and composed kunoichi a couple of years his elder wearing a konoha hitae-ai and bearing a distinct resemblence to Haruno Sakura... who is missing. And it should be noted that the ANBU have NO idea how someone got past their security. Ibiki's throwing an absolute fit and all he can get out of the girl is that she's 'coming in from the cold'.
So it's down to Naruto and Kakashi to investigate just what happened to Sasuke, where Sakura is and who the new arrival is. What they discover is, shockingly, that despite having passed all security checks to enter the academy there is in fact no Haruno Sakura on record prior to the day she entered the academy. There is no Haruno family, in fact.
The logical conclusion is that 'Sakura' is a deep cover agent. This is correct: she's a genius kunoichi on par with Kakashi at that age, specialising in infiltration and impersonation. Worse, she's actually been operating multiple identities around Konohagakure for years. One of them a chunin. Obviously, there is NO way that she could do this without powerful conspiracy within the village, to cover up for her. It's equally obvious that the girl in the cell is the girl behind Sakura.
Ultimately, Naruto and Kakashi manage to trace the conspiracy back to the office of the Hokage and discover two key secrets. Firstly, with the support of the Hokages, there has always been a clan of ninja operating within Konohagakure in disguise as civilians and other ninja. They are nameless, always using the names of their roles from an early age. (Some are listed multiple times as different ninja in village records, others aren't listed at all so that they can fill in for others who need to appear at the same time as their other identities).
Secondly, seven years ago, an eight-year-old member of this clan was assigned by the Sandaime Hokage to infiltrate the academy and watch over Naruto and Sasuke to make sure that no outside village managed to take them away (as Hidden Cloud tried to do with Hinata). The Hokage arranged for her to pass the security checks (he designed them and knew how to beat them) and for her to be on Team Seven, but when he died he took the secret of her mission to the grave, leaving her disconnected from the only person who could confirm her mission.
When Sasuke went rogue she broke cover and captured him (using a mangekyou-level genjutsu) and entered the ANBU prison because it was the only place she could be sure would hold him and remained there with him because she didn't want to appear a threat when he talked.
Of course, this leaves the question of her actual agenda now that her cover is broken, and how everyone reacts. I'm slightly tempted to have her vanish and the teams shuffled with Naruto ending up on the same team as Lee... who is actually one of the identities used by various of Sakura's family at need... and Tsunade ordered her to get close to Naruto again...
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.