Chapter Text
“Hm~ Hmm~,”
She hums along to the song playing from the gramophone she had bought from a merchant from Kaminari no Kuni. Her talking gastropod summon and friend hums along with her. When she first explained her plan to her shishō and their shared most loyal friend and partner, both were wholly on board. Katsuyu assured her that, anywhere she went, she would still have a means to contact her, since there was only one of her.
With that knowledge and her shishō’s blessing, there was nothing left for the new Slug Sage to do but leave.
Thankfully, this place wasn’t drastically different from her world. The Land of Lightning was still a forefront for musical devices and culture.
Katsuyu-sama had always enjoyed music. She was partial to classical but did love soul, jazz, and anything melancholic.
Sakura smiles as she prunes her garden. Some of the plants sing alone, and others thank her for the care.
“Oh my!” She exclaims quietly.
“Is everything okay, Katsuyu-sama?”
When Sakura stands up to turn around, she looks at her summon resting on a wooden stool.
The legendary slug, however, is turned in the direction of her front yard and entrance. Her optical tentacles twitch, and her little mouth drops into a frown.
“Sakura-hime…” She starts, almost hesitatingly.
Immediately, Sakura feels dread, “Yes?”
Katsuyu turns back to look at her, and Sakura can taste the drama about to ensue.
“There are about a dozen signatures about to run past here,” She explains. “Usually, I wouldn’t say anything…”
Sakura narrows her eyes and clenches her fists, “But?”
“.. There are also two smaller signatures.”
She can’t breathe, dreading the words the slug might possibly say.
No. No. No. Please…
“They seem to belong to this world’s Naruto-san and Sasuke-san. Judging by their signatures, they can’t be more than a few years old, by human standards.”
Sakura feels sick. Memories she wasn’t ready to confront by any means threaten to rush up.
“Their chakra is also sluggish. I believe they are what you would call, ‘kidnapped’.”
Before she can think or let Katsuyu ask the question, Sakura is running in the direction. Desperate. Determined.