"Oshi... Hyaaaaa...." Naruto shouted loudly, and the rubber ball in his hands popped explosively.
"I did it..." Naruto looked at his battered hands, a happy smile spreading across his face.
After half a month of practice, Naruto had finally completed the second step. He looked at Sakura, who was sitting quietly nearby, wanting to approach her but also feeling apprehensive.
Naruto knew Sakura was practicing a new skill. He'd heard Pervy Sage say it was something called Storm Release.
But over the past half-month, all Naruto had seen Sakura do was sit in meditation. He didn't quite understand how that was a form of training.
Fine beads of sweat dotted Sakura's forehead. The chakra within her body was turbulent. She fought against the rising frustration, striving to control her chakra and produce two different nature transformations.
She emptied her mind completely, focusing all her attention on the transformation of her chakra. She was almost there, just a little bit more.
She carefully controlled her chakra, preventing it from transforming into either Water or Lightning Release. She needed both chakra natures to transform simultaneously. Gradually, Sakura felt a chakra different from both Water and Lightning Release beginning to take shape.
Sakura cautiously controlled the chakra throughout her entire network, gradually transforming it into this new element.
Once she had a starting point, everything else flowed naturally. When all of Sakura's chakra had been converted to this new element, she felt a surge of comfort throughout her body.
She had expected to feel exhausted, but her spirit was unusually energized, and her body felt lighter than before.
She stood up and used medical ninjutsu to examine herself. There were no obvious differences, but the revitalized sensation in her body was incredibly pleasant.
"I guess I succeeded!" Sakura thought. "But how do I use Storm Release?"
Sakura channeled chakra to her hand, using the same method she used for her water blades, and then combined the two elemental nature transformations.
"Huh, that was surprisingly easy," Sakura discovered that manifesting both chakra natures simultaneously had become incredibly simple. It no longer required intense concentration; it was as natural as using Water or Lightning Release.
"Then I'll use the water blade method to shoot it out." Sakura aimed at a nearby rock and released the chakra using the same technique she used for her Water Blade jutsu. A white laser beam shot out, piercing directly through the rock.
Sakura tilted her finger, and the laser beam shifted with her hand's movement. The rock was instantly sliced in two, yet Sakura didn't feel the strain she usually felt with her water blades.
It felt like slicing through tofu. This was something Water Release couldn't compare to. Moreover, it didn't require the build-up and compression of chakra that water blades needed. Storm Release only needed a sustained output of chakra. For the same effect, Storm Release was considerably more efficient.
"I finally did it! Huh? Naruto, did you finish?" Sakura stretched her body and noticed Naruto looking at her with a fearful expression from a distance.
"S-Sakura-chan, did you... did you succeed?" Naruto was startled by the incredible power Sakura had displayed. He had been happy about completing the rubber ball training, but in an instant, he felt utterly deflated.
"Yeah, I did. What about you? Did you finish the second stage?" Sakura tilted her head and asked.
"I did."
"Then show me. Let me see," Because of Sakura, during times when Jiraiya was busy, Sakura had taken over the instruction of the Rasengan.
"Okay, watch closely, Sakura-chan..." Naruto took out a rubber ball, gripped it with both hands, and shouted, "Hya!" The ball burst with a loud pop.
"Not bad. Then let's move on to the final stage," Sakura was in a great mood and happily guided Naruto's training.
"Um, how do I do the final stage?" Naruto asked expectantly. Although he was taken aback by Sakura's new jutsu, he was also happy for her. This was the first time Naruto had seen Sakura struggle with a jutsu for so long.
"The final stage is maintaining the rotation. Combine the first and second stages, maintain the chakra output, and finally, release it," Sakura explained.
Naruto started practicing. Even though he tried his best to control it, he couldn't maintain the stability of the chakra when he released it.
"Haha, looks like you need more practice. There's no trick to this step, just keep practicing," Sakura saw Naruto about to speak and quickly cut him off, preventing him from asking any questions.
Sakura believed that using Shadow Clones to create the Rasengan was an inherently unstable factor. The Fourth Hokage had developed the Rasengan, a seal-less ninjutsu, to complement his Flying Thunder God Technique for swift attacks.
But Naruto had turned it into a jutsu that required hand seals, completely contradicting the Fourth Hokage's original intention. That's why Sakura didn't want to tell him about using Shadow Clones; she wanted him to learn it as a seal-less jutsu.
Sakura refused to believe that Naruto, as the Fourth's son, couldn't learn to release it with one hand.
"Naruto, it's getting late. Let's head back. We can practice again tomorrow." The sun was setting, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Sakura felt a pang of melancholy as she watched the fading light.
"Sakura-chan, you go ahead. I'm going to practice a bit more," Naruto naturally wouldn't give up so easily. If he obediently went back with Sakura, he wouldn't be Naruto.
"Alright then. Be careful and don't get kidnapped by any weirdos," Sakura teased.
"I'm not a little kid. How could I get kidnapped...? Hmph...." Naruto grumbled in protest and continued practicing his Rasengan.
Under the setting sun, watching Naruto's determined silhouette, Sakura felt a stirring in her heart. She was moved by Naruto's persistence, almost to the point of tears.
"Wait a minute, that's not right," Sakura instantly became alert. "When did I become so sentimental? I wasn't like this before. Just this little scene with a guy and I almost cry... impossible..."
"Could it be... a hormone thing...?" Sakura thought of her body's ongoing development. Her estrogen levels were starting to affect her physical changes.
The occasional tenderness in her breasts, the increasing fat around her hips, and various other symptoms were all bothering Sakura. She realized that her body was starting to enter the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
But this was also a good thing for Sakura. She had just created her Kekkei Genkai, and now she was entering puberty. Her chakra reserves were about to experience explosive growth.
"Pain and pleasure, huh? When this mission is over, it's time to prepare some things," Sakura thought as she walked back towards the town.
When Sakura found Jiraiya, he was, unsurprisingly, indulging in his usual pursuits.
Seeing Sakura approach, Jiraiya quickly settled his bill and came out.
"Huh, that's rare. Usually, in this situation, shouldn't you be giving me money to leave you alone?" Sakura asked curiously.
In the past, whenever Sakura and Naruto found Jiraiya enjoying himself with women, they would give him money and send him away, while they went off to find a place to eat.
Sakura knew Jiraiya was very wealthy; if she didn't take advantage of him, who would she take advantage of?
"Something's come up," Jiraiya said, without his usual jovial tone. He led Sakura to a BBQ restaurant.
"Huh? Where's Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, noticing that Naruto wasn't with Sakura. Usually, Naruto would stop training to eat when it was mealtime. But today, having just completed the second stage, he wanted to push through and complete the jutsu in one go.
"He's still training. He finished the second stage," Sakura replied.
"So fast? Looks like he's been working hard," Jiraiya commented.
"So, what did you mean by 'something's come up'?" Sakura asked.
"Cough cough... Today at the casino, I heard that someone else besides us is looking for Tsunade," Jiraiya said.
"Someone else?! Who?" Sakura was shocked. That wasn't right. Orochimaru's hands weren't injured; he had no reason to look for Tsunade. Although she'd forgotten a lot of the details of the Naruto storyline, Sakura was certain this part of the plot shouldn't have changed. The sudden appearance of another person searching for Tsunade made her uncertain. Was this something that had always been there, but she'd forgotten? Or had her presence altered the storyline?
"I don't know. According to the people at the casino, the person was wearing all black and a bamboo hat, obscuring their face. They later kidnapped a few people, and after examination, it was discovered they had been subjected to genjutsu," Jiraiya said.
"Genjutsu?" Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Could it be him?
"Yes, but it was a very low-level genjutsu, only capable of making people forget their face. It seems the person is intentionally concealing their identity," Jiraiya said seriously.
"So...?? What should we do now?" Sakura was completely unsure who this person was. She could only listen to Jiraiya's plan.
"Find Tsunade as quickly as possible, or find that person. Whatever their goal, we have to get there first," Jiraiya paused. "That's why I might not be able to look after you two as much."
"So, Jiraiya-sensei, you want us to go back to the village?" Sakura was confused. Couldn't he just get to the point? Why did she have to guess?
"No, stay with me. But you'll need to guide Naruto's training. I probably won't have time," Jiraiya said.
"That's all?" Sakura's mouth twitched. Hadn't she been guiding Naruto's training all along? He had some nerve.
"That's just on the surface. I need you to keep a close eye on the people around Naruto," Jiraiya added.
"People? Why?" Sakura didn't understand.
"Because their target might also be Naruto," Jiraiya took a sip of sake. "Or rather, the thing inside Naruto."
"You mean there's a possibility they're using a diversion tactic, pretending to look for Tsunade to distract you, and then secretly attacking Naruto?" Sakura understood Jiraiya's meaning.
"That's right. According to my investigations over the past few years, there's an organization in the ninja world that has been gathering information on the Tailed Beasts. Their purpose is still unclear, but they might be targeting the Tailed Beasts. You probably know a little about Naruto's situation, right?" Jiraiya said.
"I understand," Sakura nodded solemnly. If it was the Akatsuki, things would be difficult.
"Of course, this is all speculation right now. So, I need you to be vigilant. If you see any suspicious people, have Naruto use the contact toad to inform me," Jiraiya said.
"Okay," Sakura was a little subdued. This was something she hadn't anticipated at all. She had thought this mission wouldn't be dangerous. Orochimaru wasn't injured, and the Third Hokage wasn't dead, so the chances of encountering Itachi or Orochimaru were almost zero. But now, it seemed things weren't so simple.
Sigh, what a headache...