-> ''What a horrible night to be lurking around.''

Once upon a time Haruno Sakura was recruited as a spy. What follows is a tale of her struggles under all the difficulties this entails. Most would be crushed under the pressure, the never-ending questions (do they know, do they suspect?) and the constant prodding, demands for more information. Instead of melting down, Sakura rises to the occasion, heroically... somewhat.

Sakura's story follows her repeated attempts to circumvent her Cursed Seal, recover information without arousing suspicion, and survive both the rigors of ordinary ninja life while simultaneously evading discovery.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5316196/1/Loyalty Loyalty]] by [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/975220/A_True_Radical_Dreamer A True Radical Dreamer]] is remarkable for both exceptional pacing and general quality, and a realistic portrayal of espionage- such as it is in a world like ''Naruto.''

This fic comes highly reccomended.


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!!Provides Examples Of:

* [[spoiler:AnyoneCanDie]]
* BecomingTheMask: Sakura notes her own corruption, it worries her at first. Then she gets over it.
* CloakAndDagger: Fun times!
* DarkerAndEdgier: And how!
* DeepcoverAgent: Sakura. Also Kabuto.
* {{Determinator}}: Sakura at the climax of the ''Desert Arc''- Holy Shit!
* DishingOutDirt: Sakura gets a major power upgrade- and several earth jutsu -due to some serious motivation via Kabuto and knowing [[spoiler: Naruto is the Kyuubi container]].
* DeathByDisfigurement: Poor [[spoiler: Hinata has her eyes scooped out by a Rain-nin and left to die.]]
* DirtyBusiness: The aftermath of the fire pit traps Sakura uses against [[spoiler: the bandits in the ''Desert Arc'' is all about this. Sasuke is notably disturbed by Sakura's actions.]]
* DoYouTrustMe: Sakura asks Hinata this while the latter hesitates with giving Sakura the[[spoiler: exploding tags she needs while bandits attack their caravan in the ''Desert Arc''. She does.]]
* DriventoSuicide / DyingAsYourself: A major theme spanning the first two arcs. Subverted, played straight, and then double-subverted by Sakura. [[spoiler: She attempts both, then fails, as she lacked the willpower to go through with it. Then when she confronts Hinata's murderer it is played very straight and subverted, because Orochimaru still has use for her...]]
* EyeScream: What the [[spoiler: Rain-nin does to Hinata. While she is alive, no less, though it happens offscreen.]]
* GuileHero: Sakura.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: After feeling guilty about it for a while, Sakura eventually acknowledges this after having [[spoiler: killed dozens of bandits with her fire pit traps. If she hadn't done it, the bandits would've killed more people. Kakashi points it out to her as well.]]
* TheMole: Sakura, unwillingly, for [[spoiler: Oto, and specifically Kabuto.]] From the other side of the fence we have [[spoiler: Danzo]]
* ProperlyParanoid: Sakura.
* TheSpymaster: Kabuto, also Orochimaru, a little higher up the food chain.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler: After traversing the desert for days in hopes of saving Hinata, Sakura arrived too late and proceeded to not only chase but kill the Rain-nin who took her eyes, even if it left her near death.]]
* ShoePhone: Sakura gets her missions via a disguised journal sealed inside an (apparently) blank scroll.
* TeenSuperSpy: Deconstructed and played straight.
* TalkingThroughTechnique: An interesting case, ''musical notation'' is used as code.
* WarIsHell: Kakashi tells a guilt-ridden Sakura all about this after [[spoiler: she killed the attacking bandits with her improvised fire pit traps in the ''Desert Arc''.]]
* WhamEpisode: The ''Desert Arc''. Full stop.
* YouAreTooLate: Sakura thought she made it in time...
* YouCanBarelyStand: The end of the ''Desert Arc''.