Maybe

She was ready!

Sakura knew that the old woman at the shop had lied. Sakura wasn't stupid, she knew most, if not all, of Konoha's laws by heart; be it the laws concerning civilians or ninjas.

She knew, but that did not stop her from wondering why the woman had refused to sell her the products.

Maybe she thought her too young to meddle with such poions?
Maybe she was against ninjas in general?

No, if that was the case she wouldn't own a shop that selled exclusively to ninja...
No matter the reason, Sakura was determined to get the ingredients as fast as possible, midday was approching and she was far from ready.

Turning at the corner of the street, Sakura performed a simple transformation jutsu, making her look like a middle aged kunoichi with dark hair. She also changed her clothes: it wouldn't be smart to walk around with the Haruno crest on her back.

Sakura wondered through Konoha, entering a district where she had never been before.
There were dark, narrow streets, with all sorts of people lingering the shadows ; from near-naked women to drunks and beggars.
There were also a lot of different shops and stalls, showing things she knew certainly weren't legal to sell.

When the young girl thought it was finally maybe a to just forfeit, a particular shop caught her attention:
Between two houses, in a small alley that smelled strongly of piss and other undesciptable scents, was a small boutique with a short inscription carved on the door.

"Apothecary"

Sakura peered at the window and saw several vials filled with liquids, little boxes of dried plants and even a few scrolls scattered here and there in the dimly lit room.

Feeling anxious at the idea of entering the small shop hidden in the creepy alley and even creepier neighbourhood, Sakura took a few seconds to weigh the pros and cons of going in.

On one hand, there was the (low) risk of being mugged. Maybe ambushed.

On the other, there was Nanami-shishou...

Creepy shop it is!

Still trembling a little, she pushed the door and stepped into the store. Immediately, she was hit by the horrid smell, making her gag.
It stank.
Really, really stank.     It was like the smell of a rotting corpse mixed with vinegar, salt and strong herbs...

Scrunching her nose, Sakura walked up to the counter, making sure to breathe through her mouth.
Seeing no one, the pink gennin rang a little bell, and almost right away a middle aged man stepped from behind a shelf. Having neither seen nor heard him, Sakura jumped, her hands reflexively traveling to her weapon pouch.

"Sorry for scaring you" the man apologised, not at all sorry.
"What can I do for you? Looking for anything special?"

"Yes, please" Sakura answered, showing the list of ingredients she needed. In a (possibly) dangerous situation, it never hurt to be polite, or so her parents always told her.
"Would it be possible for you to get these?" she inquired.

The man took the piece of paper and frowned slightly

"Yes, I have everything you need" He gave Sakura her list back, and dispapeared without a noise in the back of the shop.
Waiting patiently, Sakura's gaze wondered around, lingering on the small stack of fuinjutsu supplies.

Oh, how she longed to be able to do it. The Fourth, like her, came from a civilian background. But, unlike her, he had rose to great heights. When she had read of his exploit and genius: creating a jutsu like the hiraishin was no small feat, she had wanted to try sealing.
After all, if he had succeeded, why couldn't she?