Sakura has alway been more than just a fighter. In this novel, she must use not only her wits and her fists but also her heart to solve the mystery of the attacks behind the Konoha. Here is an exclusive excerpt from Naruto: Sakura's Story by Tomohito Ohsaki (Author), Masashi Kishimoto (Creator), Jocelyne Allen (Translator). Available May 3rd.

First came the pain in her neck. It was like her consciousness gradually returned through the doorway of that pain. Soon, she felt something cool and hard against her shoulders and back. She realized she was lying on the floor in an unnatural posture.

She tried to move her arms and legs, but couldn't.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her hands were bound behind her, her ankles tied together with some metal restraint.

She felt vaguely nauseous, but this passed after a while.

She was in a bare concrete room. Big, empty. Directly in front of her was a rusted iron door. There was no window, so she couldn't determine if she was underground or not.

She had no idea how much time had passed since she had been kidnapped.

She tried forcing her arms apart; maybe she could break the restraints. But she couldn't muster up much strength. They had injected something into her neck when they took her. This lack of strength was probably the effect of that.

The iron door had a tiny window in it, and she could see someone wearing an Anbu mask peeking in through it.

"She's awake. Tell Master Kido."

After these words, she heard the footsteps of someone else running off.

Master Kido, the mask said. So this was one of Kido's hideouts.

The memory of the kidnapping came back to her.

It had been cheap theater. The Anbu holding down the newly returned Sasuke. There was no way something like that would happen right next door to Sakura.

And she had been suspicious at first. But she let her guard down for an instant. And for shinobi, an instant was deadly.

I am such a disaster…

Sakura closed her eyes. She was ashamed of herself for getting caught in such an obvious trap.

She could hear the footsteps of several people, and then the door opened to allow a man with a hooked nose in. Beside him was a fair-skinned man with a monocle.

Hook Nose was wearing a coat over his uniform, while Monocle was in a white robe. Two masked Anbu members stood behind them, probably the pair who had been watching over Sakura outside the door.

"So you're…Kido, then" Sakura said to Hook Nose, haltingly.

"I am. Haruno Sakura. You don't happen to know where Uchiha Sasuke is?"

"Where…Sasuke is? I'd like to ask…you the same thing." Her posture made it hard to speak. She was on her side like a caterpillar with her interlocutor looking down at her. The humiliation made Sakura's eyes hard. "So you're the one…who cobbled together the fake...Sasuke and sent him out, huh?"

"I am. I thought doing so might make him return to the village. But he has not. Which is why we kidnapped you."

"To make...Sasuke come back..to the village…?"

You kidnapped me?

"You're his classmate. Same team. Friends who fought together in the Great War, yes? Once he hears that you've gone missing, he will come back."

Learn more on our Naruto: Sakura's Story page. You can also see everything Naruto here.