"So," said Sakura casually, holding up a hand in front of her to pretend like she was examining some imaginary dirt under her fingernails. "What's with all of this Gelel business, anyway? It doesn't seem like such a big deal to me."
"That is because you do not know the true terror held within the Stones of Gelel," said Kahiko, angered about the way Sakura was disrespecting his heritage. "Their power is real— they aren't some parlour trick, like the Box of Ultimate Bliss! These things once nearly destroyed the world, I'll have you know!"
Apart from the few clues she had gleaned from the tapestries in Hyde's trophy room, Sakura knew next to nothing about the Stones of Gelel and Gelel energy. As far as she knew, it was an alternative to chakra, but so what? Chakra was this world's main source of supernatural powers, so why have the off brand when you could have the original?
"They don't seem that impressive to me," said Sakura with a sniff, downplaying the stones' importance. "What can they do that chakra can't?"
The old man definitely knew a lot about the Stones of Gelel, or Hyde wouldn't have captured him and subjected him to enhanced interrogation. So far, Kahiko had managed to avoid spitting out the location of the mine under torture, so in Sakura's opinion, he probably saw himself as a guardian of sorts— which meant that Gelel was very important to him, one way or the other.
If she played her cards right, she would probably be able to wheedle information out of him…
"They can do anything you can imagine, like producing light and heat, feeding cattle and crops, and even halting the ageing process, just like with Nerugui here," Kahiko explained, patting his ferret. "The stones hold enormous amounts of life energy— enough to destroy this entire country as well as a large part of the continent it sits on, which is precisely why the royal family had them sealed away."
Halting the ageing process— wasn't that basically eternal youth? Now this, Sakura was definitely interested in…
"The royal family?" Sakura prompted.
"They're the only ones who can forge the ore mined from the Gelel mine into Stones of Gelel, and implant the stones into living flesh, so that their powers may be used at will," explained Kahiko. "They're also the only ones who can destroy them, which is why my clan hasn't destroyed the mine yet."
The royal family had sealed away the mine, and in doing so, sacrificed their immortality to save the world. However, they had not destroyed it— leaving the future of Gelel to their descendants.
"But these people sailed over here from the other side of the world," Sakura insisted. "They're clearly using Gelel energy, so they must have found a way to harness it."
"They must have a descendant of the royal family among them, that's the only explanation," said Kahiko stubbornly. "The royals sailed away from this continent precisely to avoid having their bloodline misused."
Sakura had learned a lot from her interrogation of Kahiko— most notably that the Stones of Gelel could confer immortality when implanted into one's body, and that only those of royal blood could fuse flesh and stone. Which meant that she needed two things: the mine's location and royal blood…
'I hope the royal is that girl we saw earlier,' said Inner Sakura wistfully. 'If it's Hyde or even that Temujin bloke, then we'll have to wait until we unlock the power to turn men into women…'
"This machine we're standing in right now can strip mountains bare, so it's only a matter of time before these people find the mine," said Sakura soothingly, layering her words with hypnotic breast chakra. "The Leaf— no, I can help you keep the stones out of their hands, but only if you tell me where it is…"
The old man's and the ferret's eyes glazed over, the lights in their pupils dimming as pneumatic visions danced before them.
"Not far from here," Kahiko said dully. "About fifty kilometres south-west from where I was captured, the forest ends, and a mountainous area begins. There, you'll find a great waterfall that feeds into a canyon, where our ancestral kingdom and the mine are hidden…"
Suddenly, the distant rumble of an explosion reverberated through the air, making the floor tremble faintly beneath Sakura's feet. The overhead light flickered violently before going out, briefly plunging the cell into darkness. The light then sputtered back to life half a second later, accompanied by the familiar hum of alternating current as the building swapped to its auxiliary power source.
"Eh?" said Kahiko, blinking. "What's going on?"
This time, an even stronger explosion rocked the earth-moving machine, rattling it to its very core. Sakura stumbled, barely managing to keep her balance as the ground beneath her shook. Above her, the overhead light shifted from white to red, as an alarm began blaring shrilly through the structure's intercom…
"What's going on, is that it's time to go," said Sakura grimly. "Now, don't move… Chakra Scalpel Jutsu!"
The instant Sakura had performed the last hand sign, sharp chakra flooded into her palms. With four quick and precise karate chops, Kahiko was freed from the chains binding him, and he crumpled into a pile on the floor, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
After undergoing torture, the old man was in no state to walk, so it looked like she'd have to give him a piggyback ride…
"Yoisho," Sakura grunted, heaving the old man over her shoulder and onto her back. "Hold on tight, this might get a little rough…"
Sakura walked up to the exit and gave the metal door a light shove with her chakra-empowered muscles, causing it to crumple outwards like tinfoil. She then poked her head out of the doorway and looked both ways— nobody seemed to be guarding Kahiko's cell any more.
Obviously, Naruto and Sasuke had been keeping busy in her absence…
"What are you waiting for?" Kahiko screeched into Sakura's ear, much to her annoyance. "Get us out of here!"