In the courtyard of Grandma Rika's house, Sakura Haruno stared blankly at the moon in the night sky, her eyes lifeless.
Even though she knew this was the Infinite Tsukuyomi, there was no solution. Sakura didn't even know whose body she had transmigrated into.
Confusion and helplessness were her current state. Staring blankly at the moon above, suddenly, Sakura noticed a small black dot in the center of the moon continuously enlarging, just like the pupil of an eye.
Heh, the Eye of the Moon? Sakura muttered to herself, watching the ever-expanding black shadow.
Gradually, the entire moon was covered by the black shadow. In a daze, Sakura's pupils constricted, and her body moved involuntarily.
It happened in an instant. With a pfft sound, a ninja sword grazed Sakura's arm and embedded itself in the dirt.
Drip, drip.
After reflexively getting up, Sakura saw that the dark figure was a ninja. The katana in their hand had been aimed precisely where her heart had been moments before.
However, although she had dodged the fatal blow, a large gash had been cut on her arm, and blood dripped down her arm onto the ground.
The black-clothed ninja pulled the sword from the ground, twirled it with a flourish, and pointed it directly at Sakura. "Prepare yourself! Today, I will definitely cut you down here to avenge my comrades from Kirigakure who died at your hands!!!"
The newcomer was indeed a pursuer from Kirigakure. Sakura pursed her lips. So they finally caught up. Even though she had narrowly escaped that fatal blow just now, it didn't cause any ripple in Sakura's heart.
After learning she was in this false world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Sakura's heart had already turned to ashes. All her efforts, all her careful calculations over thirteen years of life, had been overturned in an instant. This feeling made Sakura lose all hope.
What was the point of all my efforts? Fake. Everything is fake. Her mind in turmoil, she didn't even bother to treat the large wound on her arm.
"Just now... why didn't you stab me to death with one blow..." Sakura said, her voice low and hoarse.
"Want to die?!" The Kirigakure ANBU was stunned by her words, then said, "You will die."
With that, he gripped his ninja sword and slashed towards Sakura, his stance clearly intending to cut the young girl in two.
Come on then. Watching the Kirigakure ninja charge towards her, Sakura closed her eyes and opened her arms, welcoming the impending death.
I wonder what it's like to die in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Heh, probably can't die at all.
The anticipated pain didn't arrive. Instead, the hum of clashing metal reached her ears.
Slowly opening her eyes, the familiar figure from the past two months stood protectively in front of her.
Terumi Mei held the Executioner's Blade horizontally before Sakura, the massive sword clashing against the Kirigakure ANBU's ninja sword, sending sparks flying.
"Heh..." Sakura's expression was indifferent. As expected. The Infinite Tsukuyomi space won't let her die, so it's constantly applying patches.
The Kirigakure ANBU's eyes grew more solemn upon seeing Terumi Mei. He secretly exerted force, pushing Mei back a few steps, and simultaneously leaped backward, creating distance between them.
"Terumi Mei, you... why are you betraying the village?!" the Kirigakure ANBU asked after a moment of silence.
"What's wrong with you?!!" Terumi Mei ignored him and turned her head anxiously to Sakura. "Y-you're injured?"
"Ha, haha..." Sakura, looking at the situation before her, actually laughed out loud, her expression somewhat twisted as she laughed and muttered to herself, "As expected, as expected..."
Then, she reached out, pushed Terumi Mei aside, and strode towards the Kirigakure ANBU.
"Come on! Didn't you want to kill me to avenge your comrades? Come on, come kill me, hahaha..."
Sakura was already acting like a madwoman, walking step by step towards the Kirigakure ANBU. The collapse of one's worldview was difficult to bear, even for a transmigrator.
From the moment she was born into this world, she had strived to leave her mark, not only to change the fate of those people but also to integrate herself into this unfamiliar world, to have more connections with it.
Because to Sakura, this world had always been just a manga she had seen. And one would eventually grow tired of any manga.
Besides, how could an ordinary young person from a peaceful era be willing to stay in a world where death could come at any moment? She was past her chuunibyou phase; even ninjutsu couldn't attract her to a war-torn world.
For example, on Earth, if you were given firearms you normally couldn't touch, but were asked to go to a war zone, would you be willing?
In the end, she was just an ordinary person. She was you, me, him. She didn't have extraordinary courage, super high intelligence, or profound knowledge. She was one of the masses; she was just an ordinary person!
Since she had come to this world, she could only strive to survive in this world, strive to integrate into this world, adapt herself to it, form bonds here, and find a spiritual pillar to keep herself going.
However, the spiritual pillar that had always supported Sakura had suddenly collapsed. The fact that she hadn't gone completely insane on the spot was already a result of the tempering she had undergone since coming here.
"Come on, avenge your comrades! Hahaha, you can't kill me..."
The Kirigakure ANBU looked at the young girl before him, not knowing what had happened, but now was indeed a good opportunity to kill her.
His eyes sharpened. He raised the ninja sword in his hand and, with the force of a thunderbolt, thrust it towards Sakura's heart.
Watching the ninja sword stab towards her, Sakura had given up all resistance, quietly waiting for the Infinite Tsukuyomi space to apply its patch.
"No!!! Move!!!"
Puchi.
The sound of a blade entering flesh reached Sakura's ears.
Blood dripped from the tip of the sword. The person whose body had been pierced by the ninja sword also had a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of their mouth.
Terumi Mei turned her head with difficulty to look at Sakura, whom she had pushed aside, and forced a smile, saying intermittently, "L-little... sister, you... must... live on. I... I'm... no longer your burden."
With that, Terumi Mei's body went limp and fell to the ground. The Kirigakure ANBU also seemed stunned, the ninja sword still in her body, not pulled out. As Mei fell, the sword slipped from his grasp.
Sakura stared at the scene before her, completely dumbfounded, her mind shutting down.
"H-how... how could this be..." Sakura repeated this sentence over and over.
A moment later, as if regaining some ability to think, she rushed forward to check Terumi Mei's condition.
When she propped Mei up, the warmth of her body was already gradually turning cold.
"No, no, this isn't right." Her trembling hands pressed the Mystic Palm Technique onto Mei's chest, muttering, "The script isn't like this... No, this isn't right..."
The Kirigakure ANBU didn't attack during this time. Although he had already classified Terumi Mei as a rogue ninja last time, the village hadn't issued an official document. Terumi Mei was still a ninja of Kirigakure.
And he had indeed killed Terumi Mei by mistake; he would probably bear responsibility. If Sakura could save Mei, that would naturally be best. If she couldn't, then he would cut Sakura down here.
Terumi Mei's body grew colder and colder. Despair gradually filled Sakura's eyes.
"Dead. Really dead. She actually really died." Sakura's mind went blank for a moment, devoid of any thoughts.
...
"Heh, hehe, hahaha..." Suddenly, Sakura started laughing. "I'm such a fool. This is the Infinite Tsukuyomi space. She doesn't even exist."
Standing up, Sakura looked at the Kirigakure ANBU, stabilized her emotions, took a deep breath, and said, "Although she's fake, you must die. Even in a dream, it's the same!!!"
With that, she twisted her waist, bent her legs, and shot towards the Kirigakure ANBU like a cannonball.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi space made me shed these ridiculous tears. These tears will be repaid with this ANBU's life.