In front of a dilapidated house on the outskirts of Red Leaf Village, two figures, one large and one small, tiptoed to the door.
"Are... are we sleeping here tonight?" Terumi Mei asked, looking fearfully at the somewhat gloomy house.
"Mhm, let's go in," Sakura Haruno nodded. She reached out, placed her hand on the door lock, and with a gentle squeeze, the lock made of refined iron snapped.
Although she had already planned to summon Grandma Rika using Impure World Reincarnation, she didn't have a suitable sacrifice at the moment. So, she decided to investigate this house first; perhaps she could find some clues.
Pushing open the main gate, what greeted them was a courtyard overgrown with weeds. The medicinal herb garden that Grandma Rika had cultivated on one side of the house was also overrun with weeds. The house itself, however, was intact, exactly as it was when she left.
Stepping into the courtyard, the evening breeze rustled through the wild grass, making a shua shua sound that made the house seem even more gloomy and eerie.
Even Sakura couldn't help but shiver. It was indeed a bit creepy. Although Sakura didn't believe in ghosts or gods, ghosts did exist in this world. In fact, Impure World Reincarnation was a ninjutsu that summoned ghosts.
Then, she crossed the courtyard and approached Grandma Rika's detached house. Opening the door, the scene inside was revealed to the young girl.
Nothing had changed; it was the same as when she left.
Hm!! Wait.
Sakura, using the moonlight, noticed a faint footprint on the ground. Because no one had lived there for a long time, the floor was covered in dust. But in one spot, although there was dust, it was noticeably thinner than in other places, thus highlighting the shape of a footprint.
Waving her hand for Terumi Mei to wait at the door, Sakura squatted down and examined it carefully. Although she had primarily learned medical ninjutsu from Master Tsunade, Tsunade hadn't only taught her medical ninjutsu. After all, Sakura was a ninja and needed to be knowledgeable in various aspects.
And although Sakura understood this principle, she had only paid it cursory attention. After all, for someone with a god's perspective, time was always insufficient. She could only focus on essential learning, leaving peripheral skills for later. This led to a situation where she had strength, but if her strength couldn't overwhelm her opponent, she would be relatively passive, and could even be defeated.
If it were other ordinary ninjas, they would inevitably learn ninjutsu and techniques simultaneously, as the two complemented each other. Some ninjas who were skilled in techniques could even defeat enemies whose ninjutsu was much stronger than their own.
Generally, genin and chunin, unable to access powerful ninjutsu, would hone their combat techniques. Whether it was ninjutsu or kunai, as long as it could kill, it was fine. The key was the person using it.
But there were also some eccentric ninjas who had specialties in certain areas and thus abandoned techniques, for example, Sakura and Naruto.
During their academy days, they completely abandoned the learning of techniques and instead diligently studied ninjutsu.
Naruto didn't have any problems; he had vast amounts of chakra and could overwhelm opponents with sheer power. As for Sakura, if she didn't have the Yin Seal, she would probably have to diligently practice techniques, at least in the early stages.
Fortunately, Sakura became an apprentice early and learned the Yin Seal early, which allowed her to directly abandon the learning of techniques and use the extra time she had compared to others to hone her ninjutsu.
But then again, it also had something to do with talent. If an ordinary ninja had no talent, even if they started learning ninjutsu in the womb, their achievements wouldn't necessarily be very high.
Getting sidetracked.
From the footprint on the ground, Sakura deduced that this person was likely male and possibly a ninja.
Continuing to look inside the house, she found there wasn't just one footprint, but quite a few. After carefully examining the entire house, she roughly determined there had been three people: two men and one woman.
Two men and one woman, this formation... is somewhat familiar. Sakura's lips twitched. It was probably people sent by Master Tsunade to investigate.
Thinking about it, since I'm already here, how could they not come to check? It seems I've been a bit too cautious.
"Come in," Sakura called out to Terumi Mei at the door.
Then, Sakura began to seriously search every corner of the house, trying to find evidence of Junko's existence.
However, as the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. After searching the entire house over and over again, she couldn't find a single trace that Junko had ever lived here.
The clothes here belonged only to Grandma Rika, there was only one set of daily necessities, the shoes belonged only to Grandma Rika, and many other items all indicated that an elderly woman lived here alone.
Although there was a cabinet containing some baby clothes, those clothes were still very new, clearly never worn. And it wasn't just baby clothes; there were a total of 19 sets of clothes there, each set larger than the last, as if for a child growing year by year.
Seeing this scene, Sakura fell silent. These clothes seemed to prove that the ramen shop owner hadn't lied. These clothes were probably prepared by Grandma Rika for her grandson or granddaughter, but unexpectedly, her son and his wife were killed before they could have children.
If she had a granddaughter, these clothes wouldn't be placed here so neatly.
"Wh-what on earth is going on..." Looking at the neat rows of clothes, Sakura felt a sense of panic in her heart. Such an incredibly bizarre thing had actually happened to her.
A sense of agitation welled up in Sakura's heart. She clutched the scroll in her arms, the desperate desire for answers in her heart like a runaway horse, impossible to rein in.
"Maybe... I should just go grab someone now and perform the reincarnation!"
A crazy thought appeared in Sakura's mind. Although Sakura had killed quite a few ordinary people since her defection, it was never her intention, or they were caught in the crossfire of her battles, or they were truly evil people.
Actively killing someone carried a much greater psychological burden than accidental killing. Of course, this was Sakura's feeling. Although she had lived in this dog-eat-dog world for over a decade, Konoha was still relatively friendly. Plus, her worldview had been formed in a peaceful place like Earth; she still had moral constraints.
But for some reason, once this thought arose, that spark could no longer be extinguished, until it consumed her entire being.
Then, Sakura disappeared from the room.
...
...
Looking at the unconscious woman in her hand, Sakura dragged her towards the courtyard with a blank expression.
This woman had been abducted from a villager's home in Red Leaf Village. She was a mother. The child she was holding in her sleep had been killed by Sakura with a single finger strike to prevent screaming, and she herself had been knocked unconscious by Sakura.
Terumi Mei had already fallen asleep. Sakura no longer wanted her to perform the Impure World Reincarnation for her; there was no need.
Standing at the spot where Grandma Rika was buried, Sakura first used Earth Release to dig Grandma Rika out.
Grandma Rika had already decomposed beyond recognition, but it didn't matter; it wouldn't affect the Impure World Reincarnation.
Lifting the woman and tossing her forward, Sakura began to form hand seals. The jutsu formula and operating principle of Impure World Reincarnation were already memorized in her mind.
"Tiger - Snake - Dog - Dragon."
Finally, with her hands clasped together, Sakura pressed them to the ground. Seal-like markings swept towards the woman. The surrounding dust quickly covered her body. Since she was unconscious, only a muffled grunt was heard, and then she was breathless.
In no time, the dust had completely covered her. Grandma Rika was already standing in front of Sakura.
"Impure World Reincarnation complete!"
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