Chapter Text
"Sakura Haruno..."
"Ma'am, please don't do this. I need this job or else I have nowhere else to go. My family is miles away and..."
Sakura's boss turned around and put her hand up to stop her rant. There was an office rumor going around that all intelligence agencies were cutting out their members like Raid spray on ants. When Sakura's head reporting agent was let go last week, Sakura thought the rest of the department and under her were goners.
"I'm not firing you, Sakura."
Sakura looked up at Tsunade Senju. In a matter of 10 years, this woman managed to graduate with her Ph.D in Forensic Sciences and become head of Department of Foreign Affairs and Security for the Suna Intelligence Agency. Sakura had moved to Suna after Tsunade offered her a position higher and better paying than the office job she was working for in NISA in the Konoha. The only drawback was that she had to have a completely different identity in Suna and needed to perfect the art of lying.
"Ma’am... I don't understand. You fired Nakajima-san last week and he was my boss.”
"I'm the overall boss of this department. That makes me your boss. It was not Nakajima-san.”
“But why did you fire him?"
"If you would like to know, Nakajima-san violated a code of conduct and revealed his identity to the love of his life. That puts a civilian in danger and I can't have that."
Tsunade went back to flipping through Sakura's files, while Sakura waited to see why she was called into the head office. From the outside, it looked like Sakura was a child getting verbally scolded in front of her mother's desk. Everyone, who was watching through the small window of Tsunade's office, never expected Sakura to be called in because she was the perfect employee, quiet and loyal.
"Now, Sakura Haruno.... 25 years old. You were the top of your class for Behavioral Science in Konoha University. You were hired as a forensic psychologist at the National Forensic Science Training Institute at the age of 20 and then transferred to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) a year later. You have 3 year background training in one-on-one combat, 2 years in technology and spyware, and 1 year in the field as a secret agent. Your hiring officer for National Intelligence Center said, 'Small and cute, but deadly.' Am I missing anything?"
"I'm an only child?" confused as to why this was still happening.
“Ms. Haruno, you are the top spy here. Everyone in this agency knows your name, well your fake name at least, and you've successfully completed all your missions on uncovering drug lords without ever blowing your cover. That is correct, am I right?"
Sakura nodded her head, not really able to say anything.
"Our connections over Konoha sent over a request a few weeks ago and the Board of Directors have recently approved of it."
Tsunade pushed forward a contract and Sakura stepped up to the desk to look at it.
=====================================
AGENT S. HARUNO TRANSFER PETITION
It is with this governing board that we, the Board of Directors of National Intelligence Center, approve of the transfer of Sakura Haruno to the National Intelligence and Security Agency of Konoha.
A variety of Board of Directors will debrief Agent Haruno on the mission prior to her arrival in Konoha. All information will be discussed in private between Dr. Yakushi and Agent Haruno prior to the signature of the employee.
Signature of the following contract on this day of April 20, 2022:
* Terminates Agent S. Haruno's agent status at National Intelligence Center.
* Commences S. Haruno's agent status at the National Intelligence & Security Agency.
* Grants the agent dual citizenship between Wind and Fire Country.
* Grants the agent diplomatic immunity, if they Tsubakide by the Code of Conduct and no term of this contract have been violated by the agent.
* Grants the agent compensation of 15,000,000 ryo plus medical and retirement benefits to her and her beneficiaries upon completion of mission
Please sign and date on the following line if you understand and agree with the aforementioned terms.
_______________________________
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"I'm going back to Konoha?" holding the piece of paper, overwhelmed with what she had just read.
"Agent Haruno, please sit down."
Sakura slowly lowered herself into the chair and waited for the debriefing. Tsunade had shut all the blinds, dimmed the lighting, and lowered the projector screen. Sakura didn't even realize that five other people, who she assumed were a variety of board members from Suna and Konoha, had walked in and taken a seat around her.
"Please confirm that you are Agent Haruno by stating your full name and date of birth," some man on a computer had said.
She looked around the room, curious as to how top security this new mission was that they needed to go through this type protocol. When she was first assigned as an agent for this department, she just had a few interviews in front of a panel, some blood work and fingerprinting, and a binder full of her "new identity." They never went to this length of security that mission, or any of her missions for that matter.
After gaining some level of consciousness, she did as she was told.
"Sakura Haruno. March 28, 1995."
Tsunade sensed her nervousness and reached over her desk to give Sakura's hand a gentle squeeze. Tsunade seemed like a hard woman on the outside, but she had a motherly touch to just about anything she did. For that, Sakura was very fond of the woman and easily inspired to reach that type of achievement.
A man stood up and walked to the screen before turning to face them all.
"Ms. Haruno, Dr. Yakushi, Dr. Shizune, Mrs. Terumi, General Kurosutchi, and Mr. Kato..."
Tsunade nodded towards the man, "General Sarutobi."
"The crime rate and drug use in Konoha have been on a steady decline since 2017. A sharp fall," General Sarutobi had pointed to the graph on the screen. "... was evident as the effect of the increase in jobs due to the presidential executive order. But NISA and NIC have been slowly monitoring a new group that may ruin the well-being and health of the people of Konoha."
Sakura was handed a binder and she wasn't kidding when she thought it weighed at least 5 pounds. She opened it to in depth profiles of who she assumed were the targets of this mission.
"The new group is called Isan PharmaTech. They are a pharmaceutical biotechnology company that was founded in 2013 by this man, Fugaku Uchiha."
A picture of a man in his 60s popped up on screen.
"He's a Doctor of Pharmacy from Oto and opened up a branch of his company in Konoha. He has since retired from the company, so our main suspect was the head of their Konoha branch, Rokuro Gokyo. Fugaku reported fraud and theft from the company's main account, accusing Gokyo, but he was found not guilty on lack of evidence. Since the accusation, Fugaku has been receiving threats without a concrete suspect. Rokuro Gokyo was found dead on December 16, 2020, but there were still notes about drug mobility in the neighboring areas of their building."
"So..?" Sakura was confused on what this mission required her to do. "How do we even know that they're in charge?"
"They're the biggest pharmaceutical company in the nation. They have the chemicals, technology, resources, buyers, and investors to keep that place in check. Even with health hazard checks every 6 months in that place, we're convinced that they have people working on the inside to keep them in business. It's the perfect cover up. If they sold cocaine to the general public, no one would know unless they were users of the product, because they are the ones to provide prescribed medicine to the public."
"So what's my job? Do I find who killed Gokyo? Who's threatening Dr. Uchiha? What's my purpose?"
Mrs. Terumi stood up and took a place on the opposite side of the screen. "Ms. Haruno, your purpose is to find the mystery person behind these dealings. Who's the real man in charge of that company, because it is sure as hell not this guy."
A man in his early 30s popped up on screen.
"Neji Hyuuga is the current CEO of this company, but we've done several background checks and have people following his every move. He's cleaner than a new toilet bowl."
"So the real boss has no identity?" Looking up at the screen at was blank except for the generic outline of a person.
"The real boss has to have some connection with the company, most likely working from the inside. We just don't know," Dr. Yakushi told Sakura from the side.
"How do I even get in there? I have no background in chemistry, laboratory work... nothing," flipping through the binder, hoping it would give her more information. "And I can't just go back without telling my parents, but this sounds like it would put them in danger."
A picture of Sakura popped up on screen. "Sakura... meet your new persona. Tsubaki Miyawaki. You're a 24-year-old from Shimo moving to Konoha to get your Master's in Health Policy Studies at Hashirama University, on the basis that you're close to your 'aunt and uncle.'"
The new picture was that of Sakura's family. "Your family will be debriefed as soon as you agree to the terms and conditions of this mission."
"Okay... So, I'm Tsubaki? That still doesn't tell me how I do anything."
"You'll be the new roommate to..." and a picture of a man in his mid-20s popped up. "Fugaku Uchiha's son residing in Konoha. Sasuke Uchiha is 27 years old who works for Kazahana Films. He graduated from Madara University with a Bachelor's in Advertising and Public Relations. Currently living in Indra District and in need of a roommate."
"I'm lost... I'm supposed to live with some GQ model wannabe?"
Mrs. Terumi laughed before continuing, "Sasuke Uchiha is a shareholder of Isan PharmaTech and is friends with the CFO, Naruto Namikaze. Due to their relation, Sasuke is frequently there. But since his father is a target of the bad guys, this puts him in danger."
"I have to babysit a man-child?"
"No," General Sarutobi started. "You get close to the Uchiha boy as Tsubaki. Get into his life so you can go to PharmaTech. After a while, propose that the company needs to renew their policies and offer your services as a corporate psychologist. Make it seem like you just want to help the company grow. This way... you meet all the employees and have the time to psychoanalyze all of them."
Sakura finally understood everything. Her mission was to weasel her way into the company through the former CEO's son. As much as she didn't want to do this, the compensation she would be receiving through this would be a great help to her family and she gets privileges to be near them after years of being in Suna.
After a few moments, she took the pen from Tsunade's desk and signed the contract. Everyone cleared the room, leaving her with her (now former) boss. Sakura stood up to leave, but Tsunade cleared her throat, making her turn around.
"Ms. Miyawaki... Be careful who you trust, okay?"
The sincerity in her voice calmed Sakura down from the anxiety she was feeling. It wasn't that she was incapable of being a new person, but being in a close proximity with someone that is connected to an unknown dangerous force scared her. If they were able to unveil her real self, that puts her whole family and this new boy in even more danger. But Sakura smiled back, internally saying goodbye to her safe and secluded life in Suna.
“Okay."
TBC
