When Haruno Akira rushed into the backyard of his home, frantically searching for his precious daughter, he was momentarily stunned by the scene before him.
Underneath the tree in the backyard, a few training mats had been laid out. But what caught his attention wasn't the mats—it was his daughter, seemingly... climbing a tree?
No, not climbing in the traditional sense.
She was walking on the tree.
Although Sakura's steps were a little shaky and unsteady, she was indeed walking vertically along the trunk of the tree.
Seeing this scene, the fire that had been burning in Haruno Akira's heart instantly died down quite a bit. Even though he had come wanting to ask his daughter why she had been so dispirited lately, it was obvious now that she was in the middle of training. He held back his urge to question her and instead watched quietly.
Haruno Sakura focused hard, carefully channeling chakra into the soles of her feet as she climbed step by step.
As a civilian-born ninja with no prestigious bloodline to lean on, her natural talent might not match those "cheat-level" prodigies—but her progress was still impressive.
Even in the Boruto era, after a major nerf to the powerhouses, Sakura still managed to hold her ground and stand out in her own right.
In fact, without even using the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she once completely beat down Uchiha Shin.
Now, Sakura found that her chakra control was surprisingly precise. Even though this was her first time practicing tree walking, she grasped the trick rather quickly.
Balance. Consistency. Stable chakra flow to the feet.
As she neared the top of the tree, her jade-green eyes flickered with a trace of darkness.
Since the original "Sakura" was no longer around...
Then she had no choice but to relentlessly pursue power.
She would take it one step at a time, and climb to the absolute top.
With that final step, she reached the summit.
Haruno Sakura stood atop the massive tree, glancing out across her surroundings.
The night wind blew gently through her cherry-pink hair.
That feeling… was unexpectedly pleasant.
—
Another day passed.
As usual, Haruno Sakura sat attentively in class at the Ninja Academy, absorbing everything Iruka was teaching.
But as she listened, she began to frown.
This is way too easy…
Her rate of learning could be much faster. But if she continued at this classroom pace, who knew how many years it would take before she could even touch the knowledge related to the Yin Seal?
She needed to skip grades…
Idly twirling her pencil between her fingers, the pink-haired girl glanced out the window.
Skipping grades had its benefits—but also came with clear downsides.
The benefits were obvious: access to more advanced and useful knowledge in a shorter time.
But the drawbacks were equally clear.
This class was filled with the future clan heirs of Konoha.
Hyūga. Yamanaka. Nara. Akimichi. Inuzuka. Aburame…
And, most importantly—
Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke!
The reincarnations of Asura and Indra!
If she could form good relationships with those two, she might be able to save herself ten years of hard work.
For a civilian like Sakura to even make it into this elite "crown prince class," she'd already won the lottery.
"Wow, Sasuke is so handsome…"
While Sakura was lost in thought, class had already ended without her realizing.
Iruka glanced her way once, but didn't say anything. As he walked past her desk, he noticed that her notes were neatly and thoroughly completed—so he had no reason to scold her.
After all, top students always received a bit of preferential treatment.
"Hey, Sakura, were you daydreaming about Sasuke just now?"
Ino leaned over with a teasing smile, her voice full of mischief.
But her clear eyes also showed a hint of nervousness.
After all, Uchiha Sasuke was the undisputed heartthrob of the entire class. All the girls adored him.
Even when he acted all cool and aloof, they still found him irresistibly attractive.
He was the second son of the Uchiha clan, an academic ace, and a powerful fighter.
Handsome. Wealthy. Talented. The complete dream package.
Compared to him, Naruto was like dirt on the ground while Sasuke was the moon in the sky.
Sakura gave Ino a strange look.
She knew Ino was probably like all the other girls too—crushing hard on Sasuke.
So she casually replied, "Nope. I was thinking about applying to skip a grade."
"Eh?!"
Ino stared at her in shock.
"Iruka-sensei's lessons are too simple. I understand everything the first time he explains it. The rest of the class just feels like a waste of time."
"I spend more than half the period zoning out. It's boring."
Hearing this, Ino looked like she was about to cry.
Is this what it feels like to be completely outclassed by a genius...?
She wasn't exactly a slacker, but she couldn't help feeling crushed by the sheer gap between her and Sakura.
"Skipping grades sounds like a pain…"
A lazy voice came from behind them—someone had clearly overheard their conversation.
"Shikamaru! You're eavesdropping on girls' private talk?!"
Ino turned and scolded the boy with the pineapple-shaped hairstyle.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, alright?" Shikamaru said with a sigh as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.
He couldn't understand why someone would voluntarily give up the easy life of coasting through six years of Academy training.
But… he had to admit.
Anyone capable of skipping grades at the Ninja Academy usually ended up becoming a formidable ninja.
Shikamaru glanced briefly at the pink-haired girl, then slumped back down on his desk, continuing his imaginary game of shogi with the Sandman.
Sakura didn't know what the lazy boy was thinking. But she knew she had no choice but to skip grades.
The Konoha Torture and Interrogation Division was like a Damocles sword hanging over her neck.
And that damn Yin Seal felt like it was forcing her to move forward, again and again.
In the original timeline, Sakura took three years to complete the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
She was only six years old now.
Even if it took her twice as long—six years—she'd still be twelve by the time she finished.
Conveniently, that's the same age she was when she got access to the Yin Seal method in canon.
And expecting someone to master the Yin Seal in a single night after just learning about it?
Yeah, right. Only an idiot would believe that!
Sakura took a deep breath, then stood up with resolve. She headed straight out of the classroom.
She was going to find Iruka-sensei right now, and ask for all the study materials for the first-year curriculum.
Her plan was to master it all as fast as possible.
Once done, she'd immediately request the second-year content—and so on, step by step.
She set herself a clear goal:
Two years.
That was the limit she was willing to push herself to.
It might be a reckless method, but for someone like her—born without clan backing—this was her only option.
As a civilian, her access to training resources was extremely limited…
Even after graduation, she'd have to find ways to get noticed by Konoha's higher-ups.
And what came after that? Still unknown.
With a heavy heart, Haruno Sakura stepped into the teacher's office.
"Ah, Sakura, you're just in time—I was about to look for you."
Before she could even explain her reason for coming, Iruka greeted her with a smile and spoke up first.
"I have something I'd like to ask you to help with."
Sakura blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected him to speak first.
(To be continued...)
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