Naruto: Reborn as Sakura with Manyuu Chifusa Template

The atmosphere in the colosseum crackled with energy. The stands were packed to the rafters with spectators— it seemed as though every last soul from the Hidden Sand Village had turned out to watch the third phase of the Chūnin exams.

Sakura glanced up at the V.I.P. lounge that loomed above the arena, where the daimyō of the Land of Wind was entertaining a gaggle of foreign dignitaries— laughing, gesturing broadly, and quite obviously ignoring Gaara's speech altogether.

"And so, as my first official act as Kazekage of Sunagakure, it is my honour to inaugurate the final round of the Chūnin Selection Exams!" Gaara declared, his voice ringing out across the colosseum. "Once again, my deepest thanks to our honoured guests from afar, who have travelled across the desert to witness this proud moment for our village!"

Gaara's speech was received with polite applause.

"So, without further ado," called the man who had murdered Hayate, his voice carrying clearly from the arena floor, "Team Mei of Kirigakure Versus Team Dokuho of Sunagakure!"

This time, the crowd reacted with thunderous applause.

"Who do you reckon'll win, Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked, glancing shyly at the handsome boy beside her as the six 'Genin' began their descent to the arena floor. "The Hidden Mist or the Hidden Sand?"

With the woman who would have been the Fifth Mizukage standing on the opposite team, Sakura offered a silent prayer for the unfortunate Sand Genin about to receive the thrashing of their lives.

"The Hidden Mist, obviously," Sakura scoffed, looking hungrily at Chōji's bag of crisps.

"Who cares what you think, Top-Heavy?" said Ino, scowling at her. "I asked Sasuke-kun!"

The Chūnin candidates were so numerous this time around that they'd been given their own box in the lower tier of the stands. As usual, everyone had managed to segregate themselves by nationality without a word, with shinobi from the Leaf, Sand, Mist, Rain, Grass and Waterfall keeping to opposite corners like magnets repelling each other.

But wait— wasn't there someone missing?

"Hold on, where did Fū go?" asked Sakura worriedly, looking wildly around her. "I don't see her anywhere."

"She probably just went to the bathroom or something," Ino said coolly, annoyed at Sakura constantly interrupting her attempts to flirt with Sasuke. "Honestly, if you miss her that much, why don't you go hold her hand?"

Down below in the arena, the first match had already concluded with predictable results— the Sand Genin had used up their two initial tag-out opportunities in quick succession before getting crushed by their Jōnin-level opponents.

"Team Mei clinches the victory!" Baki called, his voice echoing through the arena. "Team Saya and Goji of Sunagakure— you're up!"

Sakura wormed her way through a crowd of Sand Genin towards the two men she had seen hanging around Fū over the past week. They wore Takigakure forehead protectors and were still staring down at the arena, even though the match had ended half a minute ago.

Sakura's stomach tightened.

Since the pair of Taki-nin hadn't reacted to her approach, Sakura laid her left hand on the nearest man's shoulder and formed the tiger seal with her right. "Release!" she commanded sharply. The man jolted as if waking from a nightmare, looking awfully bewildered. He blinked rapidly, taking in his surroundings in a daze.

"Where's Fū?" asked Sakura urgently. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Wha…?"

Realising her questions were getting nowhere, Sakura opened her Sharingan and peered deep into the man's memories, sifting through them backwards as if rewinding an old cassette tape. For the most part, he'd spent hours staring blankly at the wall of his room, until suddenly—

A pair of crimson eyes gleamed out from the darkness.

"Gwak—!" Sakura yelped, clutching her head as the Genjutsu backlash hit her like a hammer.

Uchiha Itachiii!!!

In all likelihood, he was behind Fū's sudden disappearance. Furthermore, he had used a Transcription Seal to embed a Genjutsu trap in his victims' eyes, just in case someone thought to comb through their memories.

Had it been anyone but her, they'd have slipped into a coma. As it was, all she suffered was a nosebleed and mild irritation to her cornea. Keeping her Sharingan open was starting to ache, so she quickly deactivated her Dōjutsu.

Despite this setback, she had obtained the information she'd been seeking: three days— that was how long it had been since Itachi had walked unchallenged into Sunagakure; hypnotising Fū and her guardians, before quietly slipping out of the village, with no one the wiser.

"What on earth is Tenten playing at?" groaned Sakura, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Isn't she meant to be on top of all this?"

Still seeing stars dancing before her eyes, Sakura stumbled back through the crowd of Suna Genin to the corner of the box where her friends stood.

"You're bleeding," Sasuke said sharply, his eyes flicking to her bloodshot gaze and the blood trickling from her nose. "Who did this to you?"

Sakura ignored him and scanned the worried faces around her, searching for Karin's.

"Where's Karin?" croaked Sakura. "I need her help to find someone."

"She just went to the bathroom," said Ino, putting her hands on her hips. "Sakura, just tell us what's going on, and we'll try our best to help you!"

Sasuke, Lee and Chōji nodded in agreement.

"A friend of mine has gone missing," explained Sakura, the dull pain in the back of her skull gradually lessening. "Ino, I need you to use your Sensing Jutsu to find Tenten. She'll be able to help me."

Ino closed her eyes and concentrated. She spread her web of chakra, searching for Tenten's familiar chakra signature, until…

"Found her," said Ino at last. "She's a few kilometres from here, but her chakra is disturbed— she's under a Genjutsu."

It seemed Tenten had underestimated Itachi and lived to regret it. As a Regressor, Tenten might have access to information that Sakura didn't, but as a Transmigrator, Sakura knew better than to look down on the Uchiha clan's greatest son.

"I'm coming with you," said Sasuke firmly.

"I can't let you risk your lives for someone from another village," said Sakura weakly. "This has nothing to do with you."

If she could help it, she didn't want Sasuke slipping back into his old ways. Watching Itachi victimise her would almost certainly be enough to tip him over the edge all over again.

"If our comrade Tenten is in trouble, there is no way we can stand still and do nothing!" declared Lee. "We are coming with you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was touched by their offers— but unlike hers, their matches were fast approaching. They couldn't all vanish now; the Hidden Leaf's reputation was on the line. And besides, if her suspicions were correct… she was about to walk straight into an ambush.