"Is she out of her mind?!"
Tsunade's furious yet incredulous voice echoed across the battlefield, causing both Tendo and Jiraiya, who were still locked in combat, to instinctively pause and look toward her.
Her face was covered in dust, her teeth clenched in anger, like she had just heard something infuriating. But her eyes… weren't filled with rage. If anything, they held more pain than anything else.
Jiraiya glanced at Tendo. Seeing that he wasn't attacking, Jiraiya quickly backed off and landed next to Tsunade. "What happened, Tsunade?"
Tsunade gritted her teeth, then spoke each word slowly and clearly. "That idiot Sakura… she burned through too much chakra and couldn't maintain her healing jutsu, so she forcefully activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal before it was fully charged… just to keep her medical ninjutsu going."
Jiraiya was stunned. Of course, he knew exactly what the Strength of a Hundred Seal was.
Hearing Tsunade's words, he instinctively turned toward the depths of Konohagakure. Within Sage Mode's sensory field, that overwhelming surge of chakra stood out like a beacon.
He sighed. "That kid… I don't even know what to say."
Technically, they should be scolding her. Unsealing the mark early meant years of effort had gone to waste. But none of them could bring themselves to say anything. Instead, a deep sense of guilt settled in.
For Konohagakure, for the wounded…
Sakura had made this choice herself.
"If we had finished this fight sooner, she wouldn't have needed to do that, right?" Jiraiya said, his voice heavy with regret.
Tsunade clenched her fists but said nothing.
Seeing her expression, Jiraiya forced himself to shake off the sadness. He put on a casual smile. "Don't worry too much. Sakura's still young. She has plenty of time to train again. It just means she'll be delayed a few more years, that's all."
Tsunade shot him an annoyed look before letting out a long sigh.
"Sakura has always been chasing after Naruto and Sasuke. Even though she knows she can't catch up, she still pushes herself to follow them… just to keep up with those two."
"Even if she can't reach them, she at least wants to see their backs. Just seeing them ahead is enough for her." Tsunade's gaze drifted into the distance, her expression filled with quiet sorrow.
"She said… she didn't want to be the one holding them back anymore. So no matter how hard the training got, she never once complained."
Medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, sealing techniques—none of them were easy to master.
In three years, Sakura used all her strength to catch up, turning herself from someone with no value into who she is now. Only Tsunade knows how much she has given.
If the Yin Seal were also completed, she could become a powerful ninja in an instant. Even if she still couldn't catch up to Naruto and Sasuke, the gap would be smaller. If she continued working hard, there would still be a chance to catch up.
But right now, she gave up. For the sake of Konohagakure, she gave up that chance...
And now, she has to wait another three years.
Sigh...
This fool.
Tsunade clenched her fist.
If earlier, she had chosen to bet with Jiraiya, believing that Jiraiya wouldn't die, and gone to support, taking over Sakura's role in maintaining the healing efforts, would she have been less foolish?
But... Tsunade turned to look at Jiraiya, a bitter smile on her face. "Sorry, Sakura. I'm just as selfish."
Jiraiya had been watching Tsunade from the side, and only when he saw her bitter expression did he gently step forward and pat her on the back. "If you're regretting it, think about Sakura. Do you think she'll regret the decision she's making right now?"
Tsunade froze, looking up at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya smiled. "Don't forget, I know Sakura too. Though she didn't have many strengths before, you've seen her change in the past three years. You should know better than anyone whether she's the kind of person who would regret her choices."
Tsunade lowered her head, and Sakura's image appeared in her mind.
From the beginning, when she was so weak, to asking to become her disciple in order to grow stronger, then mastering medical ninjutsu with speed that even surprised herself, and continuously growing, constantly getting stronger, completing even the hardest training.
She has never regretted it.
Tsunade took a deep breath, raised her head sharply, and her gaze became determined. "I understand now. I won't let her efforts go to waste."
She turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, we need to deal with the enemy."
"Uh..." Jiraiya awkwardly pulled back his hand. "While I agree with your idea, you know how tough Nagato is. We definitely won't be able to handle him quickly."
Nagato is really strong, or rather, Pain is strong. Without the other five puppets, Nagato's control over Pain is incredibly smooth. The two of them together can't solve this problem in a short time.
The biggest problem is that Konan is still constantly interfering. Without the Paper Jutsu that ignores physical damage, Tsunade and Jiraiya would have already... well, not completely dealt with it, but they would definitely be able to handle Pain right now.
This Pain, apart from Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in, is only good at Taijutsu. But Taijutsu is precisely Jiraiya and Tsunade's strong point. No matter how strong Nagato is, when it comes to Taijutsu, he can't match either of them.
Tsunade turned with a serious expression, facing Pain and Konan, who had been inactive for some reason. "Konan's chakra won't last much longer. Right now, she's just at her limit. Once her chakra runs out, that will be their end."
"You're right." Jiraiya couldn't disagree.
On the other side, Pain wasn't completely inactive, but rather... Nagato was the one making moves.
A phantom figure appeared in front of Nagato. Through the chakra of the Rinnegan, Nagato could clearly feel someone using the Genjutsu Technique.
The phantom figure gradually solidified in front of Nagato, and a cold, murderous voice came from within the figure. "Can't you see... the chakra interference?"
"I can hear it." Nagato's eyes shifted slightly as he mimicked Pain's voice.
A voice slowly sounded.
The Genjutsu technique was controlled through the Rinnegan, so he could also control who could see his illusion. Normally, he used the Deva Path's identity, but since the Deva Path was in battle, he had to take action himself.
"Is that so?" The other side clearly didn't care and said directly, "The mission is 90% complete, there's still one troublesome guy left."
"What's going on?" Nagato frowned, his tone showing displeasure.
The cold voice on the other side remained unaffected. "The intel was wrong. That guy went crazy the moment he saw us. That place is his turf, and dealing with him is a hassle, so Sasori used some other methods. As a result, he managed to escape."
Bang—
Nagato slammed his fist into the chair below him, his eyes filled with killing intent. "You all know how deadly Sasori's poison is. If we fail now, we won't get a second chance."
Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had already surpassed normal limits. If they failed this time, they would have to wait for those two to die before they'd get another chance.
But would they even be alive by then?
Oh, Kakuzu and Hidan might still be around.
"Don't worry, Sasori knows that guy's importance, so he eased up a little on the poison. That guy can hold on for a few more days." The cold voice seemed to have a hint of a mocking laugh. "We're tracking him, but do you know where his target is?"
Nagato narrowed his eyes and immediately understood the implication in the words. "Konohagakure..."
"That's right, Konohagakure." The cold voice snorted. "Boss, I heard Konohagakure still hasn't been taken care of?"
Nagato's face darkened. "Stay out of my business, Kakuzu."
Kakuzu's illusion flickered. It wasn't that Kakuzu was scared, but Nagato's emotions had affected the Genjutsu.
Kakuzu didn't even change his expression. "I'm just saying, when I get to Konohagakure, if you haven't taken care of it yet, don't mind if I go ahead and take a few heads to sell, right? I saw someone at the last exchange place... Hmm, the Twelve Guardian Ninjas? One of them should still be alive and in Konohagakure."
"Quite valuable, 35 million." Kakuzu's tone became less cold when talking about money.
"It's the Twelve Guardian Ninjas." Nagato looked at Kakuzu coldly. "Once the mission is done, you can do whatever you want. And..."
Nagato, through the Deva Path's eyes, looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were clearly in high spirits. His killing intent grew even stronger.
"And there are also two bodies of the Legendary Three Ninjas."
"Oh?" Kakuzu's tone finally shifted, no longer cold, but showing clear interest. "The price of the Legendary Three Ninjas is much higher than the Twelve Guardian Ninjas. Boss, I'll thank you in advance."
"Don't thank me. You'll be handing over the money to Konan anyway."
Nagato sneered but didn't speak, just quietly deactivating the Genjutsu technique.
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