"Ngh~…"
A fraction of a second after the initial cut, Sakura felt a second surge of pleasure, and her bust surged outwards by the length of a centimetre— which was rather odd, because Nanashi wasn't nearly large enough to provoke such growth on Sakura's part.
Suddenly, a shrill scream cut through the chaos of the battlefield. Sakura spun around, and...
"Sakuraaa!!" screamed Ino, who had returned to her own body. "What have you done, you cow!?"
When a member of the Yamanaka clan possessed another's body, any harm inflicted on their target would also affect their original body, as the Mind Body Switch Jutsu would entangle their chakra together. Since Sakura had cut Nanashi's breasts, she had also accidentally attacked Ino!
"I'm so sorry, Ino!" gasped Sakura. "I didn't realise—"
"I'm flatter than a washboard!" hissed Ino. "You'd better fix this, you fat-chested—!"
The Manyuu clan's sword techniques would permanently cleave a woman's connection to the Breast Vein, but the Munamori clan's Breast Flow pretty much worked the opposite way— not only could this marvellous technique manipulate breasts like pouring water from one container to another, Breast Flow could also heal any severed Nyūmyaku connections.
Since Sakura used both techniques in conjunction with each other, the damage she inflicted on others wouldn't necessarily be permanent. If she was lucky, Ino might be able to keep growing out her breasts… though Sakura wouldn't bet her life on it.
"I haven't fully mastered Breast Flow yet," said Sakura apologetically, "but when I do, I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll return two— no, three— times what I took from you, okay?"
"Okay," sniffed Ino. "How long do you think that'll take?"
Sakura rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly.
"Well, I'll only be considered to have mastered this Jutsu when I understand motherhood, so… until I have a baby, I guess?"
Ino put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled broadly, though her eyes remained as cold as ice.
"In that case, I won't interfere any more— I fully support your romance with Sasuke," she said, her sinister smile widening. "So make sure to have lots of babies together, 'kay?"
Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but one sharp glare from Ino shut her up instantly. If Sakura had actually possessed the ability to read minds, all she would've heard from her was: 'Plap! Plap! Plap! Get pregnant, get pregnant, get pregnant! Plap! Plap! Plap!'
Meanwhile, Naruto had handily defeated Yoroi and Misumi by swarming them with Shadow Clones, and he was currently engaged in a game of whack-a-mole with Isaribi, who kept popping out of the sea to nip at his heels.
"Oi, where did the girl we were fighting go?" said Ino, nudging Sakura's arm and pointing at her feet. "She should be unconscious, so she couldn't have swum away…"
Sakura reflexively looked down, but all she could see were two large, creamy globes.
"I don't see anything," said Sakura, leaning forward slightly. "I… eep!"
Sakura felt two slimy hands wrap around her ankles, and before even she could react, she was abruptly yanked underwater without even a chance to take a deep breath. Cold, salty water instantly rushed up her nostrils, painfully filling her airways and disorientating her. A few bubbles of air escaped her lungs— she was drowning!
Once her initial panic had dissipated, Sakura forced herself to open her eyes underwater. The salt was stinging her open wounds and her eyeballs, but that pain was in no way comparable to that of her lungs screaming for air, so she persevered.
Some kind of red-eyed humanoid beast covered in green scales was holding her by the ankle, using his other webbed hand and his webbed feet to propel them farther into the dark depths of the sea…
'No Shadow Clones,' said Inner Sakura dizzily. 'Need to think…'
The shock of losing more than half of her chakra all at once, paired with her oxygen deficiency, would probably knock her out on the spot, which would automatically dispel her Shadow Clones, rendering the effort moot.
Sakura couldn't concentrate— not with her consciousness slipping— so, she had to fight back using something simple— a C-rank Jutsu at most, and one that didn't require too much thinking…
'Of course…' Inner Sakura murmured tiredly. 'That… should… work…'
Sakura slowly weaved her hand signs, concentrating on the rays of sunlight filtering prettily through the water above her.
"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu!"
Sakura had cast the simplest, most unimpressive Genjutsu in existence.
Typically used to subtly mislead opponents into making mistakes— in and out of combat— by slightly tweaking their surroundings, the False Surroundings Genjutsu wasn't known for its special effects. But out here, surrounded by nothing but dark water, it hadn't taken much brainpower for Sakura's illusion to seem completely convincing…
Suddenly, Amachi found himself swimming towards the surface.
He stopped moving and blinked in surprise— hadn't he been heading to the bottom of the sea, just now? He glanced behind him. The pink-haired girl was still alive and wriggling, so he would need to dive deeper in order to drown her, just in case she broke out of his grip— she was much stronger than she looked.
And so, Amachi turned and began swimming in the opposite direction, heading towards what he believed was the seafloor. But to his shock, when he reached it… he broke through the surface of the water instead!
"An illusion!" growled Amachi. "You fooled me into thinking up was down, and down was up!"
Sakura spat out a lungful of water and breathed in deeply.
"I've had just about enough of the sea," grunted Sakura, seizing Amachi by the wrists. "I think I'll stick to the mountains for the summer vacations, thank you very much."
Amachi writhed, trying to slip free using his slick, fish-like skin, but no matter how he struggled, Sakura's vice-like grip wouldn't budge.
"Chakra Enhanced Grip Strength!"
Sakura squeezed, and Amachi's wrist bones snapped, his webbed hands falling limp. Enraged, Amachi lunged at her throat, fish teeth bared— but she headbutted him before he got the chance, slamming her forehead protector into his face and shattering every last tooth in his mouth.
"Please save me, Lord Orochimaru!" groaned Amachi, spitting out blood and broken teeth. "Please, I will serve you faithfully, as I always have!"
"You've disappointed me, Amachi-kun," Orochimaru called out to him, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You were given every opportunity to succeed, and yet you've failed at every turn. No, I'm afraid the time has come for us to part ways…"
Startled by Orochimaru's voice, Sakura spun on the spot, using Amachi's body as a human shield— but by the time she had turned around, he had already disappeared. No doubt Reverse-Summoned elsewhere…
"Come back, you coward!" shouted Naruto angrily. "Fight us fair and square!"
"Shut-up-Naruto-he's-letting-us-go!" snarled Sakura in one breath, just in case Orochimaru was still hanging around nearby.
Neji, who was holding an unconscious Nanashi in his arms, turned to face his former companions one last time, a melancholic expression on his face.
"Come back with us, Neji," Naruto pleaded with him. "Bushy Brows, Bushier Brows-sensei and What's-Her-Face are still out looking for you, every single day, y'know!"
"I can't," said Neji simply, before disappearing as well.
Upon seeing the last of the enemies flee, cheers erupted from the grounded ships. The battle was won, the sea monsters captured, and the money was safe, which meant that the Kaima Capture Mission was a resounding success!
However, Sakura felt their victory to be rather hollow and bittersweet.
It was clear that Orochimaru had let them go on purpose, though why remained a mystery. On top of that, having never played any of the Naruto games, Sakura still knew nothing of Uchiha Nanashi, leaving her completely in the dark about the origins of the mysterious Uchiha girl. And to make matters worse… the missing-nin Neji, one of the original members of the Konoha 12, had somehow fallen into Orochimaru's hands.
Sakura needed to get stronger, much stronger… she just needed time to master all of the S-rank Jutsu she had obtained and to fulfil the requirements for the System's special techniques. Only then would she be able to protect herself and her friends from what was to come!