"Infiltration, alteration, exploitation... Surely a fellow user of Space-Time Ninjutsu possesses such basic skills?" A smirk appeared on Tobirama's lips as he rapidly advanced along the trajectory of the Flying Thunder God's markers Sakura had previously set.
Having confirmed Sakura had learned his techniques, he now regarded the girl as his successor, blood relation or not.
Therefore... it was time for some master-disciple bonding!
"Tch!"
Sakura clicked her tongue and punched the ground, incinerating all her Flying Thunder God's markers.
'This old fox is cunning! He didn't record such crucial information in the scroll. Was he planning to keep it as a trump card to surprise everyone from the Pure Land?'
Clang!
A kunai and an Armament Haki-infused fist collided mid-air, sparks flying. Afterimages appeared and vanished instantly.
The two fought over control of the Flying Thunder God's markers like players capturing chess pieces.
Alteration, forgery, misdirection, traps... All manner of underhanded tactics were employed.
The clash between Space-Time Ninjutsu's users was unimaginably fast. Even her Observation Haki perception was segmented into disjointed glimpses by the high-speed spatial jumps.
"Ahahaha! The way this Jutsu is used is so pirate-like!" Sakura laughed mid-teleportation, causing the diligently teaching 'Tobirama-sensei' to sprout mental question marks.
'Pirate? You don't have some side business outside the village, do you?!'
On the other side, Hashirama, his power severely suppressed, was constantly being destroyed and reformed.
Unlike Tobirama, who relied on technique, Hashirama's strength lay in his sheer stats: an impossibly long health bar, a peak-condition body, Chakra-stealing Wood Release, and Sage Mode.
But his current body possessed none of these. His output was capped, reducing his threat level and making him a side character in Sakura and Tobirama's duel.
"Sigh, I told you not to develop so many forbidden techniques. Now you're causing trouble for the younger generation!" Decapitated again, Hashirama's head spun through the air before landing in Tobirama's hands.
"Hmph! If it weren't for my Jutsu, you wouldn't see such an excellent successor!" Tobirama snorted, channeling Chakra as he exchanged another blow with Sakura mid-air.
But his strength couldn't match hers. After brief resistance, another arm was severed.
Flying backward, Tobirama noticed Hiruzen's state and called out, "Stop using your Scorching Release! Sarutobi can't hold on much longer!"
Sakura expanded her Observation Haki.
Hiruzen, locked in a Ninjutsu duel with Orochimaru, was in terrible condition, his labored breathing making it hard to hold his Adamantine Staff.
"Understood." She snapped her fingers. A pillar of white light shot skyward from her.
Reversing her ability, defying physics, she used her will to alter reality, manifesting a miracle.
Overturning heat into frost, she effortlessly froze the arena-turned-inferno, summoning a snow-covered landscape.
"Oh? A technique like this exists?" Tobirama's lips curled slightly.
The sudden extreme shift from heat to cold caused the earth dust constituting Tobirama's body to destabilize and partially explode.
His Flying Thunder God sequence was briefly interrupted by his leg crumbling, giving Sakura an opening.
She stomped on him, and ice spikes erupted, piercing both Hashirama and Tobirama before freezing them solid.
In the icy mist, someone, thinking Sakura would lower her guard, seized the chance to attack.
"Now! Fu, Torune!" A hoarse voice commanded.
Two Root's members sprang into action alongside Danzo.
A man with orange hair framed Sakura with his thumb and forefinger. Another Ninja, shrouded in black, had purple patches spreading across his skin instantly.
Danzo formed hand seals, pulled out a shuriken, and blew on it, "Wretched brat! Today I rid Konoha of a scourge!"
The shuriken spun, an invisible wind blade forming around its edge.
The Wind Release Shuriken shot forth, blocking Sakura's escape routes. The Yamanaka Clan's Ninja launched his Mind Body Switch Technique. While Aburame Torune, covered in nano-poisonous insects, would deliver the kill.
That was the plan. However...
"Hmph!"
A Conqueror's Haki swept out, agitating all minds present.
The restrained dark lightning struggled violently, its residual sound transforming into a deafening roar.
The weapon forged from will, talent, determination, and killing intent pierced the mental connection, shattering Fu's psyche… teaching the rebel what monarchal authority meant.
Unlike the one used on Ino, Sakura's Haki now was violent and aggressive.
The unreserved Conqueror's Haki shattered his soul, sending him painlessly from this world.
"Fu!" Torune felt immense grief but suppressed it. After all, for a Root's member like him, the mission came first.
He desperately seized the brief opportunity Fu had created!
Removing his glove, he grasped Sakura's exposed skin with his insect-covered hand.
"Insect Secret Technique: Virulent Poison!" He injected all his venomous insects without regard for cost, pain filling his bloodshot eyes.
"Thinking you're so clever!" Sakura grabbed Torune's neck, lifting him to block Danzo's two Wind Release shuriken.
The overflowing Chakra carved a deep gash on his back, the shuriken's teeth pierced through him.
'Cough... How...' Torune, organs damaged, coughed blood as he looked down at Sakura.
"Mirror Mountain!" Sakura tilted her head. Her body flashed like a mirror. Tiny ice crystals shattered, shaking off the frozen nano-poisonous insects.
"So that's how..." Torune tore his clothes open, revealing a pre-drawn sealing formula on his abdomen. His blood circulated rapidly, activating the technique.
A three-dimensional sealing array formed by reversely utilizing the Four Symbols Seal's power expanded dozens of meters.
Danzo, hiding behind everyone, finally reached Sakura. He thrust his palm forward, the Self-Cursing Binding Seal and Four Symbols Seal spreading from his hand into her body, crawling across her skin.
"I see. This was your plan?" Sakura's snow-white eyes shifted to Danzo.
"This time, you won't escape!" Danzo's bandages were removed. Shisui's eye in his right socket glared ferociously.
Having learned from his Flying Thunder God failure, he enhanced the binding seal with the Four Symbols Seal to restrain Chakra.
Sakura could no longer use Ninjutsu. She would be consumed by the Four Symbols Seal.
Danzo would then use his last Sharingan to activate Izanagi after death, escaping fate.
Kill Sakura, then deal with Hiruzen. He believed the Hokage's seat is within reach!
"It's quite ingenious. I'll give you credit." The restrained girl showed no despair, only an incomprehensible smile.
"But I'm not alone anymore. So..." Sakura looked up cheerfully, "Help! Leviathan!"
Black feathers scattered from the sky. From expanding darkness, a thin black line flickered.
The bird cried, spreading dark wings, pulling the sealing array space into darkness.
"He's the enemy. Pluck his right eye!"
"Okay~"
A lazy voice sounded by Danzo's ear. Before horror registered, intense eye pain overwhelmed him.
Shisui's eye was gouged out. Worse... Sakura, whom he had restrained, had vanished.
Danzo stumbled forward, landing face-first.
In the pitch-black sealing space, Danzo couldn't even determine direction to flee.
When Leviathan carried Sakura out and darkness receded... before Danzo was the grotesquely twisting, inwardly collapsing form of Torune.
The black tide of the Four Symbols Seal filled his vision, forcing a final, unwilling roar.
"Haruno Sakura!!!!!"