However, if you can defeat someone once,
you can defeat them a second time, a third time...
countless times.
--- Real World ---
Emerald-green eyes slowly opened, still unaware of the surroundings, when a big hug suddenly engulfed her.
"We won!"
"We won!"
"Sakura won!"
Karin, who had used her chakra to help Sakura defeat Inner Sakura, could sense everything that had happened in the inner world through her chakra perception. Naturally, she had also heard Sakura's words about her.
"Karin is not useless."
"We won," Tsunade said, watching the scene before her, and with a wave of her hand, she released the Diamond Seal that had trapped Sakura.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had learned from their previous mistakes, and this time, they had managed to pull through.
Feeling Karin clinging tightly to her, Sakura gently patted Karin's back, signaling her to let go.
"How's the situation?" Tsunade walked over, lifting Karin up like a kitten, and then turned to Sakura.
Sakura stood up, clenching her fist. A pink, almost tangible chakra flame blazed fiercely on her hand.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she observed the scene. This feeling... it was that guy's power. Yet, under Sakura's control, this once-violent chakra now seemed remarkably stable.
But that was to be expected. In a sense, Inner Sakura was a part of Sakura's own power.
"Is she dead?" Tsunade asked the crucial question.
Sakura shook her head. "No. Because the Yin Release is too vast, she's only fallen into a deep sleep after being suppressed this time. I can only use the maximum amount of Yin Release chakra that my body can handle. After all, if that 'thing' were to die, this Yin Release would drive me insane."
Tsunade looked slightly disappointed but quickly adjusted her mindset. After all, Inner Sakura, in a way, acted as a safety valve for Sakura's Yin Release, keeping it at a level that wouldn't harm Sakura's consciousness. If Inner Sakura's personality were more stable, they wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble to suppress her.
"Anyway, this time, we owe a lot to Karin," Sakura said, stroking Karin's smooth red hair, then turned her gaze to the black-haired boy who had stayed back.
"Of course, and Sasuke too."
Karin beamed at this, while Sasuke remained calm, watching Sakura. Now that Sakura's problem was resolved, it was time for him to focus on improving his own strength.
Sakura glanced back at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Old man, can I finally join the battle now?"
Hiruzen nodded, then said to Sakura, "Sakura, come with me. And you too, Tsunade."
Hokage Building
Hokage's Office
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief as she read the battle report in front of her. Even Tsunade looked at Hiruzen with skepticism.
Old man, are you kidding me? If the Aburame clan's poison insects were this powerful, why would they ever be overshadowed by the Hyuga clan? You might as well hand over the Hokage's seat to the Aburame!
Four thousand people?
Four thousand shinobi!
Was Danzo Shimura just sitting around doing nothing? That's four thousand shinobi! Not four thousand pigs, not four thousand civilians, but four thousand shinobi!
Sakura frowned deeply as she stared at the report.
Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear could steal hearts and gain the chakra nature of their original owners. Sakura knew this all too well. But she hadn't expected that Earth Grudge Fear could take Aburame Torune's heart and directly control the nano poison insects.
Then again, if a Kekkei Genkai user's heart were stolen by Earth Grudge Fear, could it also steal their Kekkei Genkai? For example, Gari's Explosion Release, Pakura's Scorch Release, Haku's Ice Release, or even Mei Terumi's dual Kekkei Genkai of Lava and Boil Release.
If that were possible, then Orochimaru's decades of research on the Ghost Arm technique would be a joke. The Hidden Waterfall Village might as well ask for royalties.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts.
"So, what will happen to Danzo Shimura?"
Even if this wasn't Danzo's intention, and he had wanted to kill Kakuzu, as the commander of the Land of Rivers, such a grave mistake on his watch was unforgivable.
"He must be brought back to the village and sentenced to death!" Tsunade declared fiercely.
This village was the legacy of her grandfather and great-uncle. Now, because of one mistake, four thousand capable shinobi had been wiped out. Such a loss was unbearable, even for a Hokage.
Four thousand shinobi could die in battle, or fall to enemy ambushes, but they could not die because of a commander's mistake! Especially not by the hands of their own abilities!
Danzo Shimura, as the commander of the Land of Rivers, must pay the price for these four thousand lives!
"I have already ordered Homura Mitokado to lead two thousand shinobi to replace Danzo as the acting commander of the Land of Rivers. Danzo is currently on his way back to Konoha under guard," Hiruzen said calmly, puffing on his pipe.
"Moreover, Danzo is a Konoha elder and made significant contributions during the Second Shinobi World War. Executing him is out of the question."
Hiruzen quietly threw his old friend a lifeline.
"Old man!" Tsunade glared at Hiruzen in frustration.
Sakura, still staring at the battle report, frowned deeply.
Kakuzu now had the power to control nano poison insects. This made him even more dangerous...
Sakura, who had just gained a power boost and was in high spirits, now found it hard to smile.
"How do we deal with this Kakuzu?"
No matter what, Kakuzu must die. With four thousand shinobi lost to the nano poison insects, Kakuzu needed to be dealt with immediately. This wasn't just about avenging those four thousand shinobi; it was also about demonstrating Konoha's strength to the outside world.
Just like in this war, at the very least, Kakuzu's heart containing Aburame Torune's power had to be destroyed.
"Yay! I get to team up with Sakura!"
The girl let out an excited cheer upon learning that she could join Sakura's team.
"But, why do I have to team up with this red octopus?!" Ino complained, glaring at the pink-haired girl beside Sakura.
"Huh? You think I want to team up with you? Stuck-up Ino!" Karin shot back, hands on her hips.
"What did you say?!"
"You red octopus!"
"Stuck-up wild boar!"
"Octopus!"
"Wild boar!"
"Octopus!"
"Wild boar!"
Sakura stood to the side, watching the two girls bicker with a look of utter exasperation.
"Ah, women are so troublesome~~~" Shikamaru muttered, squatting by the roadside with his usual dead-fish eyes.
"Uh, of course, that doesn't include you, Sakura," he quickly added after glancing at her.
"It's fine. You can treat me as a guy," Sakura said nonchalantly, crossing her arms and nodding in agreement.
"..."
Sakura's response left Shikamaru speechless.
"But speaking of which, you and Sasuke are heading to the Land of Frost battlefield, and even Kakashi-sensei is there. What about Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, looking over at Asuma, who was busy arranging supplies for the Land of Frost front.
This time, before heading to the Land of Frost, Sakura had proposed to Hiruzen the idea of combining Karin's Sage Mode sensing range with the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques to create a network covering the entire battlefield, connecting all Konoha shinobi for real-time intelligence updates and deploying elite squads to counter the Cloud's guerrilla tactics.
The old man immediately agreed and arranged for Asuma's Ino-Shika-Cho team, along with Sakura, Sasuke, and Karin, to accompany the supply convoy heading to the frontlines.
"Naruto, huh..." Sakura crouched beside Shikamaru, gazing at the sky.
"He's probably off with Rock Lee, singing praises to youth or something..."
--
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