Sakura—or rather, Inner Sakura—held Sasuke's sword as she walked step by step over to Danzo Shimura, who was unable to stand.
An arrogant smile played on her lips as she leaned down slightly, planting her foot firmly onto his chest and lightly slapping his rapidly swelling face with the flat of the blade.
"What's the matter?"
"Did you enjoy casting Kotoamatsukami on me just now?"
"Felt like victory was already in your grasp, didn't you?"
"I bet you've even figured out exactly how you were going to 'discipline' me later, haven't you?"
At that moment, Danzo Shimura felt as though a massive mountain was pressing down on his chest, rendering him completely unable to move.
Hearing her completely unhinged and filterless words, Sasuke felt the veins on his forehead throb violently.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, was left rather embarrassed and speechless.
"You...!"
Danzo Shimura stared in terror at the pink-haired girl who had suddenly gone berserk. Even if he could comprehend why she was able to ignore Kotoamatsukami, surviving was his top priority right now!
"Let go of Lord Danzo!"
Dozens of Foundation members instantly surrounded Inner Sakura.
"Hmm?"
She slightly raised her emerald eyes, and an invisible, crushing pressure instantly suppressed the entire field!
Those dozens of Foundation ninja felt as if an insurmountable mountain had suddenly collapsed onto their shoulders. Let alone stepping forward to protect Danzo, even moving a single inch forward felt like an absolute luxury.
What on earth was this?
Was this the strength of the so-called Witch?
To think she could suppress dozens of shinobi with nothing but pure bloodlust!
Clearly, these Foundation members had made the exact same misjudgment that Rasa once did.
But it didn't matter anymore.
"This Yang Release is incredibly useful," Inner Sakura muttered, nodding with satisfaction as she took in the scene.
Inner Sakura was the manifestation of Sakura's Yin Release, meaning she normally had absolutely no contact with Yang Release. She could only use Yang Release when she was in control of Sakura's main body. Now, however, Sakura had specifically used Yang Release to create this particular Shadow Clone, infusing it with a massive amount of chakra. Thanks to this, Inner Sakura was able to borrow and wield its power.
"Though I have to admit, I really should thank you."
Her gaze fell back onto Danzo beneath her foot.
"By using Kotoamatsukami to temporarily suppress the consciousness of this clone, you gave me the chance to come out."
"Three years..."
"Do you have any idea how I've lived these past three years?!"
As she said this, Inner Sakura looked back at Sasuke and Karin, who were on high alert, and Hikari Uchiha, who was raring to go, itching to take a swing at the pink-haired girl.
With a swift kick, Inner Sakura sent Danzo Shimura flying toward Homura Mitokado. She then held out her hand and beckoned toward Sasuke and Karin, curling her fingers.
"You guys, get over here."
"Let me give you a good beating."
Back then, it was Sasuke who had used his Sharingan to channel Karin's chakra into Sakura's body. Karin's chakra had then transformed into a Golden Staff, which ultimately led to Inner Sakura's defeat at Sakura's hands. She had held onto this grudge ever since. Therefore, Inner Sakura's top priority right now was to give Sasuke and Karin a thorough thrashing.
"Hmph."
Faced with the provocative challenge from that infuriating pink-haired girl, Sasuke let out a cold snort and prepared to strike. However, a figure beside him had already dashed forward impatiently!
It was Hikari Uchiha!
Although she didn't understand why the pink-haired girl had suddenly turned into someone completely different, it made no difference to Hikari. They were both pink-haired anyway—what did it matter which one she fought?
Flames erupted along the blade of her long sword as she slashed down directly at Inner Sakura!
"I say, what are you getting in the way for, you airhead?" Inner Sakura grumbled in annoyance as Hikari lunged at her. With a single hand, she raised her sword and effortlessly blocked the flaming blade.
'Airhead? Who? Is she talking about me? You piece of ****!'
The pink-haired girl in front of her seemed to possess a built-in mechanism for indiscriminate insults, which instantly infuriated Hikari Uchiha.
Tsukuyomi!
In a mere fraction of a second, Inner Sakura was dragged into a mental dimension by Hikari Uchiha!
"Ah, how boring. This move again," Inner Sakura sighed. In this black-and-white world that looked like old film stock, Inner Sakura was the only entity that still retained the colors of the real world.
"Who are you?" Hikari Uchiha stared at the Inner Sakura ahead of her, finally realizing something was off.
'What powerful Yin Release! That pink-haired girl was hiding a trump card like this?! Was this prepared specifically to guard against me?! What a sinister, scheming pink-haired brat!!'
"Me?"
"I'm your daddy!"
With those words, the mental world shattered instantly!
As her consciousness snapped back to reality, Hikari Uchiha was utterly consumed by rage! Even if her father had taught her from childhood to be tolerant and open-minded, she could not tolerate this! This wretched pink-haired girl was practically begging for a beating!
However, just as Hikari Uchiha was about to get serious, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Stop."
Sakura Haruno had finally arrived. The moment she realized her connection to her Shadow Clone had suddenly severed, she knew something was amiss.
"Huh?"
"Another Sakura?"
Naruto scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.
"Are you going back on your own, or do you want me to send you back?"
By now, Sakura's Yang Release had reached mastery. There was absolutely no hope of a turnaround for Inner Sakura, who was formed purely of Yin Release. If Sakura wanted to, she could suppress Inner Sakura by herself at any given moment. Had it not been for the fact that Inner Sakura had voluntarily helped her three years ago, Sakura wouldn't have kept her around until now.
Inner Sakura's twitching lips gave away her annoyance at Sakura's arrival.
"How could you do this to me?! I finally managed to come out and get some fresh air!"
"You're taking this too far!"
Abandoning Hikari Uchiha, Inner Sakura scurried over to Sakura, her face full of righteous indignation.
"This is wicked capitalism! Even the most ruthless boss wouldn't exploit their employees as hard as you do!" Like a disgruntled worker throwing a tantrum, Inner Sakura grabbed Sakura by the collar and refused to let go.
Sakura couldn't help but feel speechless as she looked at Inner Sakura. This girl... was acting just like a child.
"I don't care! I want to—"
Before Inner Sakura could continue her tantrum, Sakura directly dispelled the Shadow Clone. As the Shadow Clone vanished, all the memories of its experiences rushed back into Sakura's mind.
However, Sakura's expression changed slightly.
Danzo Shimura had hit her Yang Clone with Kotoamatsukami, successfully tripping her up and causing her control over the Yang Clone to become unstable. Inner Sakura had managed to exploit this vulnerability, using the Yang Clone to surface. This meant that from now on, whenever Sakura used a Yang Clone, Inner Sakura would be able to emerge. Unless, of course, Sakura completely abandoned the Yang Clone technique in the future, or suppressed Inner Sakura entirely.
'Even prisoners get yard time... It wouldn't hurt to let her out once in a while in the future.' After all, Sakura still remembered what Inner Sakura had said to her back then. If it hadn't been for her, Sakura would have been captured by the Raikage long ago. However, if Inner Sakura wanted to come out, they would need to establish some ground rules.
Furthermore, the Yang Clone was an incredibly practical technique. Although it was derived from the Shadow Clone Jutsu, it was far more durable, and its overall stats could reach roughly eighty percent of the original's power. And for a stat-monster like Sakura, eighty percent of her capabilities required no further elaboration. It would be a crying shame to discard such a useful technique over a minor issue like this. As far as the Yang Clone was concerned, it was more than enough to beat Rasa to death.
"Was that consciousness just now yours?" While Sakura was deep in thought, Hikari Uchiha walked over furiously, glaring at her with an interrogative look.
"Uh, well... yes." Even though Sakura didn't want to admit she possessed such a foul-mouthed inner personality, she had no choice but to acknowledge it.
"You've hidden it deep, haven't you?!" Hikari Uchiha gritted her teeth as she stared at Sakura.
A Yin Release powerful enough to forcefully shatter Tsukuyomi... it was hard to say if even Yachihoko could withstand it. She must have developed this in secret just to counter her! No way, absolutely not! How could she let herself be countered by this pink-haired girl? She needed to go back and train her taijutsu; otherwise, she would never beat this pink-haired menace!
Watching Hikari Uchiha stomp away in a huff, Sakura scratched her head, somewhat bewildered.
Karin stepped forward, an anxious look on her face as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Don't worry. I'm completely different from who I was back then," Sakura said, instantly knowing what Karin was worried about and motioning for her to ease her mind. Seeing how confident Sakura was, Karin could only suppress the lingering anxiety in her heart.
Sakura walked over to Danzo, looking down at his pathetic, withered state before glancing at the severed arm not far away, which had already transformed into a tree. The moment Danzo deactivated Izanagi, Inner Sakura had launched a sudden assault and severed his arm, completely crushing any hope of survival he had left. At this point, Danzo had exhausted all his trump cards. Aside from the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique meant to drag his enemy down with him, he had absolutely no room left to maneuver.
"Sakura..." Sasuke stepped forward, hesitating as if he wanted to say something.
"Do you want to finish him off with your own hands?" Sakura asked, looking at Sasuke. To her surprise, however, Sasuke shook his head.
Sasuke glanced at the others...
"Oh my, I forgot to bring in the laundry back home, and it looks like it's about to rain~~~" Jiraiya suddenly clapped his hands together, then immediately ignored Naruto's protests and dragged him away by force. "Sakura, I'll take him and head out first. We'll go check on Hiruzen in a bit."
Homura Mitokado cast a silent glance at Sakura, hoisted the defeated Danzo up from the ground, and turned to leave. He, too, had things he wanted to discuss with Sakura, but now was clearly not the right time.
"Settle that minor Daimyo somewhere," Sakura said, watching Homura Mitokado's retreating back. "From now on, Konohagakure will be the capital of the Land of Fire."
Homura Mitokado paused for a moment, gave a quiet grunt of assent, and walked away silently.
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