Sakura Haruno, Jounin ranked Kunochi  of Konohagakure, had been on a relatively simple mission before.  Only a C-Rank for the distance, and she only took it because things had been quiet. Deliver a scroll to a border post and check up on a hospital in a nearby town.

So of course she stumbled on an attacked caravan. She'd just been passing by, when there was a heavy burst of chakra, like a signal flare. By the time she arrived she found two wrecked wagons scattered across the gravel road, two dead guards, and no sign of any other people. She could tell the fight had been about half an hour ago, but the chakra burst had been barely five. Nothing else seemed all that remarkable. There were scattered clothes likely from ripped open bags, a few burn marks on one of the wagons, and two kunai stuck in the heads of the bodies slumped beside the other wagon.

"Strange. Maybe the burst was something they took from the caravan?" She wondered, and decided to try and summon a slug messenger to send a warning back to the outpost or Konoha...

...But nothing happened. Had she fumbled the summon technique? Again and again, it failed, like something was blocking certain jutsu. Then there was another burst of chakra, and she decided whatever the probable missing-nin were doing, she had to stop it.

"No summons, no way to call for assistance without whoever's behind this escaping... I guess I need a clone," She sighed.

She knew how to make assorted clones, but she'd always disliked using the stronger techniques owing to how much chakra they took - she still had her issues with reserves despite everything. Still, a shadow clone to act as a scout seemed a good plan. Send it in,, have them see what she was up against, plan from there. Meanwhile, she could try figure out what this caravan had carried.

The puff of smoke resulted in Sakura looking at herself, a small feeling of relief that one worked at least.

"I'll keep investigating these wagons while you scout, then I'll catch up," she instructed her chakra duplicate.

"Of all the times to wish Naruto was here, huh?" The Clone smirked as it went away.

'The fact that every shadow clone seems to be a smartass if it's just us is another reason I hate using that technique...'

She watched it go for a second, and then she sifted through the wreckage....

***

The Shadow Clone dashed along the trees, and soon enough neared the place the more recent burst seemed to have come from. Soon enough she found a clearing, where a ninja with no visible signs of allegiance stood, a pale skinned woman in a green shirt that seemed to be made of a kind of scale armour, with dark blue tight fitting shorts and brown bandages around her knees and feet. The other kunoichi's hair seemed to be done into a number of braids, and she wore a pair of goggles, examining a number of odd trinkets. She strangely had what seemed to be a tiara-like thing around her head instead of a headband, mostly silver with a yellow gemstone.

"I know you're there, clone. Come on out," The Kunochi said suddenly.

The Cone winced. She'd been spotted that easily?

"I know the real you is back at the caravans. These little things are so very useful."

The Clone gave no reply, nor made any move, but tried to get a good look at whatever the probable missing-nin had looted. A small jade statue, a small silver mirror, a golden cup....

"They're quite special. See, this one, it's blocking all summoning for miles. That one, it's letting me track any chakra in the area...." She pointed at the jade statue, and then the mirror.

"...And this lets me hear what clones are thinking," She pointed at the strange headwear.

'Okay, she's got to be making some of that up,' The Clone thought, but barely had another moment to think as the woman was upon her in a flash, and she was dispelling herself almost reflexively.

The actual Kunochi sighed.

"Nice try, but no luck..."

The Clone, very much not dispelled, was extremely confused, and felt weakened. Half her chakra was gone, but she hadn't fully dispelled? How....

"Okay, what the hell is even going on here?" She managed to say.

The other Kunochi smirked.

"Oh, easy, the cup I didn't mention? It's stopping you dispelling on your own...."

***

The real Sakura had been looking at some smashed chests, sensing some seals on them. She had no idea what could have been there for the moment. But as she investigated further she'd noticed an oddness to some of the gravel. It seemed a different shade on some large piles, and on close inspection, some of the rocks seemed very oddly shaped....

Before she could consider it though, the sensation of her clone dispelling hit her, but far heavier than a single clone should, and with the memories a haze...

"Gha!" She groaned as her head throbbed from the small backlash, her vision spinning for a moment until she regained her bearings.

All she got from the memories was the kunoichi's attack. Everything else from The Clone was hazy, even speaking to Sakura a few moments ago. And then to her confusion, she was hearing a faint voice.

"...And now you're linked up to your creator, thanks to trying to dispel. Which means bad times for you both."

Sakura felt a phantom hand on her arm and face, and for a second was seeing out of different eyes, as those hands forced her to look at something, hearing another faint voice and seeing something glowing.

And then she felt a chill across her whole body, a stiffness spreading rapidly. She tried to do something but her body simply couldn't move....

***

The Kunochi sighed as she watched the shadow clone freezing and crumbling.

"Huh, guess since they're chakra your clothes get affected too," She noted, watching as the copy of Sakura turned grey all over, fractures spreading rapidly and chunks of rock with piles of dust falling away as the petrified duplicate fell apart.

"Wonder what's happened to the real you? You breaking to bits as well, like everything else when I use my Stone Dust jutsu? Ah well, I'll soon find out, probably something worth looting from the dust pile."

And with that she walked off as the copy-Sakura's rapid collapse neared the end. She took a slow pace heading to the caravan wreckage, confident the area was clear, but confused as she saw a figure standing by the wreckage, unmoving, and.... Dressed like the Shadow Clone had been pre-dusting?

"Oh, wow.... That's different," The Kunochi mused, heading over.

Sakura stood there, her real form now stone from head to toe, pale flesh and pink hair the same shade of grey, her unaffected clothes fluttering in the soft breeze. She had a look of utter bewilderment etched on her face, and apart from a few small lines of cracks, she seemed....

"Perfect... Huh, so a linked clone takes the destructive part of my Stone Dust jutsu but the real body just petrifies? Maybe something to do with the artefacts... Gonna be tricky to test out again...."

Sakura gave no reply, blank eyes staring off in eternal confusion, as her petrifier studied her frozen grey form.

"Well, you're a bit heavy to carry but I can always pickpocket your statue," The Kunochi mused, then had some ideas.

She'd looted some sealing scrolls from the caravan, the kinds to carry large objects, and now she thought about it, maybe the Stone Dust jutsu could be modified to perform this petrification effect without the crumbling.But first, she had to test one other thing out. Opening the scroll, she used it to seal away the petrified Sakura, and then released the statue. With a puff of smoke, Sakura's stony form emerged, wobbling slightly, but no worse for wear.

"Aha.... A method of transport, and if I can adjust my jutsu.... Looks like I have a new career! All thanks to you, Konoha statue!"

Sakura could not accept the thanks. Her petrified ears were deafened in stone, and a moment later, sealed away like the inanimate object she had become.

"Yeah, with those chakra manipulating artefacts I've got extra protection against some other ninjas.... And I can already think of ways to adjust the jutsu actually. Just need to find some test subjects. Maybe another caravan on the road? Then I can have a career in art instead of risking my ass robbing caravans...."

The Kunochi put the scroll away, going over the ideas in her head and hoping to run into someone to help out....