Ever since waking up, Sakura Haruno had never inquired about how the village planned to treat her. She understood that with Danzo gone, the village's policy direction would no longer be swayed by him. And Master Tsunade hadn't sought her out since that dinner. So, Sakura Haruno finally had time to plan her own affairs.
Standing in that room, which felt both familiar and somewhat strange, Sakura Haruno found a pen and notebook and sat at the desk, writing something. Karin had already been sent off to her sealing class. Her current understanding of sealing techniques was still insufficient. Although she possessed a bug-like sealing jutsu such as the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Karin's foundation was ultimately too weak and needed constant reinforcement. After all, in the future... what she would need to seal were Tailed Beasts...
Sakura Haruno picked up her pen, recording item by item: One-Tail in Sunagakure, Two-Tails in Kumogakure, Three-Tails just died, will take over two years to revive, Four-Tails' jinchuriki is... Roshi, a rogue ninja from Iwagakure, Five-Tails is also from Iwagakure... if I remember correctly, his name is Han, Six-Tails in Kirigakure, Seven-Tails in Takigakure, Eight-Tails... in Kumogakure, Nine-Tails...
Sakura paused her pen, looking at the words "Nine-Tails," and fell into deep thought. Nine-Tails... Nine-Tails... Naruto, is it...
She wondered how that guy was doing lately. Thinking of Naruto's goofy appearance, a faint smile touched her lips. The pen in her hand tapped repeatedly on the words "Nine-Tails" she had just written, indicating the turmoil in her heart.
The other Tailed Beasts were manageable; they had nothing to do with her. But the Nine-Tails alone was Naruto. Do I really have to do it...
If she wanted to achieve that jutsu, she, without her completed 'Tsu Transformation,' would have to rely on the power of the Tailed Beasts. That jutsu was very important to her. The moment Junko had thrown herself at her, she had been left with no other choice...
Junko, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have placed your hopes in me. I... I'm just a mortal... Your request... I can only...
Sakura Haruno leaned back in her chair, her eyes staring blankly at the sky outside the window, her thoughts already lost in the information Junko had conveyed to her in those final moments. All of this... the origin of all of this... began in Junko's era. Not with the Sage of Six Paths, nor with Kaguya...
It was an era so ancient it had been obliterated in the river of time. If not for Junko, perhaps that era would have been swept away like dust by the wind, unknown to anyone forever...
Besides shock, Sakura felt an undeniable responsibility. An era that had already died should remain eternally asleep in the past. So... the first step is... Red Shoal Island...
Closing the notebook, she tucked it securely against her body. Just as Sakura was about to leave the room, she suddenly turned towards the window. Gently pushing it open, Sakura Haruno addressed the canopy of the large tree opposite, "Come in, Sasuke."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, with a rustle of leaves, a masked figure leaped out and, with a flip, entered her room.
"You've gotten stronger!" the ANBU operative said after removing his mask.
"Heh, have I? I don't feel any different from before," Sakura Haruno said. She wasn't being modest; she genuinely didn't feel any different, apart from being able to use Seijutsu at will and some minor accompanying tricks... really no other changes.
"Are you looking for me for something? Casually entering a girl's room isn't very polite for a boy, you know!" Sakura Haruno teased, looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression turned serious. "Weren't you the one who told me to come in?"
"Uh..." Sakura's face flushed slightly. It seemed she really had told him to come in. But still, unconvinced, she retorted, "Well, it's still not right for you to spy on a girl."
"I'm ANBU. I have the right to monitor anyone within the village," Sasuke said nonchalantly.
"Uh..." Sakura was thoroughly embarrassed. How did Sasuke become so glib after joining ANBU? It seems I really can't keep him in line without resorting to some force.
Just as she was about to roll up her sleeves for a fight, Sasuke took out a stone. "This is yours, right?"
"Huh?" Sakura Haruno took the stone and weighed it in her hand. "What's this? Where did you find it?"
"This is the stone Karin threw at you. I hid it when we were cleaning up afterward," Sasuke explained.
"Uh... the Stone of Gelel..." Sakura Haruno instantly remembered. She had forgotten all about it. Karin had thrown this stone at her, and then somehow, the next time she opened her eyes, she saw Junko. The stone had been completely forgotten.
But why does it look like this now? Has its natural energy been completely absorbed? But I absorbed Gelel Stones on that giant fortress back then, and those stones didn't turn out like this. This looks like it's been corroded by acid.
"This stone is called the Stone of Gelel?" Sasuke asked. "What does it do?"
"Uh, it's nothing much, just a stone that stores chakra. It looks like it's broken now. I got it on a mission before I left the village," Sakura Haruno explained.
This was the last Stone of Gelel. To avoid a lengthy explanation, she just made something up.
"Oh." Sasuke, as expected, didn't press further. He then fell silent.
"Is there anything else?" Sakura Haruno asked, looking at the silent Sasuke.
"There is one thing." Sasuke's lips moved, and he hesitated for a moment before saying, "During the last incident, you said you had a jutsu that could make the dead speak. That jutsu... is that the jutsu you mentioned before?"
"Hmm?" Hearing Sasuke say this, Sakura Haruno remembered. Sasuke, Karin, and Neji had been beside her when she was questioning Junko. It seemed Sasuke had overheard.
Sakura also fell silent for a moment. "Yes," she said.
Hearing her affirmative answer, Sasuke's eyes instantly turned red. His body trembled uncontrollably, and his breathing suddenly became heavy.
"Can... can you give it to me...?" Sasuke's voice trembled as well.
"I promised Lady Fifth Hokage. I will not spread this jutsu," Sakura Haruno said, her tone flat.
"Hh... hh... Why... hh..." Sasuke gasped for breath, then roared in a low voice, "Were you lying to me all along?"
"Yes, I was lying to you," Sakura Haruno said, raising an eyebrow and looking at Sasuke, her tone flippant.
After Sakura Haruno finished speaking, the temperature in the room seemed to drop sharply. Sasuke's Sharingan activated, his crimson eyes fixed intently on the seemingly delicate figure before him.
She remained unmoved. "Actually, I only said that to stop you from going to Orochimaru. If you had followed Orochimaru back then, your strength now would probably have already surpassed mine. I only said that to prevent your strength from surpassing mine."
Sasuke gritted his teeth so hard a "kacha" sound came from his mouth. Veins bulged on his forehead. Beneath his ANBU uniform, his muscles tensed from the exertion. Then, Chidori instantly erupted from Sasuke's left hand, without even needing hand seals.
Sakura Haruno flashed out of the window and leaped onto the treetop where Sasuke had been moments before. Immediately after, Sakura Haruno watched as the window of her room was shattered, and a figure, lightning crackling in its hand, charged towards her.
Looking at those eyes, still with three tomoe, Sakura Haruno sighed inwardly, a little disappointed. So, the Mangekyo isn't that easy to awaken, huh? Itachi spent his whole life making Sasuke hate him, yet he didn't awaken it. But a few words from Tobi were enough to make him do it.
Should I tell him the truth and make him awaken it? The Mangekyo would be crucial for my upcoming actions. Combined with Karin's Adamantine Sealing Chains, the only enemies I'd probably need to consider would be Akatsuki.
But the truth doesn't seem to be the key to stimulating Sasuke to awaken his eyes. The key seems to be for Sasuke to kill Itachi first, and then be told the truth. Sigh, what a hassle. It's a long and arduous road... Sasuke...