Late at night.
Sakura was feeling a bit conflicted.
Because the Whirlpool Mountain Technique used by the duo of Karin and Ino was so crucial, the two of them had been practically glued to Sakura lately.
They ate together, stayed together... and naturally, they also slept together.
Soft jade and warm fragrance—this was pretty much what it was like.
Karin and Ino were practically clinging to Sakura, their warm and soft bodies not stirring any restless thoughts in her. Instead, she felt somewhat helpless.
At first, it was quite lively, but after a while, Sakura started to feel numb to it all.
Ino and Karin were like two sworn enemies, constantly bickering and butting heads whenever they had differing opinions.
And both of them loved using Sakura's arm as a pillow, only to mumble in the middle of the night, "You're pulling my hair..."
Sakura was utterly speechless.
Like, seriously? You're the one crushing my arm, and you're complaining about me pulling your hair?
Can we at least try to be reasonable here?
Headache.
As dawn broke...
Sakura woke up groggily, feeling the numbness in her arms, and her eyes snapped open.
Oh crap, my arms... I can't move them...
Sakura silently pulled her arms back, looking at the red marks left on them. She rubbed them vigorously, only to suddenly freeze.
Huh?
A killing intent?
"Sa...ku...ra..."
A faint voice came from behind her.
Sakura turned her head stiffly, only to see a certain red-haired octopus slowly stirring, a red mark on her forehead, her eyes glowing as she stared at Sakura...
Sakura had accidentally knocked over a water bottle while rubbing her arm, and it had landed right on Karin's head...
"Uh, heh, Karin... good morning..."
"Saku...ra!!!"
!!!
And so, another chaotic day began...
Ino, woken up by the commotion, rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at the two of them, speaking listlessly:
"You two are so noisy..."
"What did you say, Ino-pig?!"
Ino: ???
"What did YOU say, you octopus?!"
...
Sakura sat silently on a small stool at the entrance of the tent, while behind her, Ino and Karin were glaring at each other as they got dressed.
It had been half a month since Sakura had returned to the Land of Frost.
After dealing with the over hundred members of the Cloud's guerrilla squad, their guerrilla tactics had become increasingly rare.
It was clear that they had realized their guerrilla tactics were no longer effective, and continuing would only result in unnecessary casualties.
Sakura stared blankly at the still-smoldering bonfire not far away.
The fact that the Cloud Village had such a good grasp of the Leaf's situation was undoubtedly due to Zetsu's efforts.
Up until now, not a single Zetsu had been caught, which showed that even though the Akatsuki had provided assistance to the Cloud, that assistance was limited.
Zetsu's value was undeniable, and they wouldn't abandon a single one.
Compared to the Sand Village, the Cloud Village was much stronger, which was precisely why the Akatsuki hadn't provided them with direct combat support.
What they wanted was for the ninja world to be in complete chaos, not to help one side quickly defeat the other.
Sakura stood up.
Her gaze turned cold.
Whatever the enemy wanted to do, she would stop it, disrupt it, and make sure they failed.
That was the most correct choice.
Since the Akatsuki hadn't immediately sent combat members to assist the Cloud, she would suppress them with lightning speed.
Now that the Cloud ninjas were lying low, she had to push forward with overwhelming force.
Force them out!
Being a turtle hiding in its shell wasn't so easy!
If you won't come out, I'll push you to the border of the Land of Lightning!
"Ugh, you're so annoying."
Ino, now fully dressed, walked out of the tent, giving Karin a disdainful look.
"Like you're any better."
Karin crossed her arms, glaring back at Ino.
"Hey, where's Sakura?"
The two of them walked out of the tent but didn't see Sakura anywhere. Only the small stool at the entrance proved that Sakura had been there.
Ice PlainsReefsCoastline
On the coastline of the Land of Frost, a graceful figure struggled to climb out of the sea.
Terumi Mei, in order to evade her pursuers, had been forced to abandon her small boat when it was still a fair distance from land and dive into the ocean.
Then, relying on her exceptional swimming skills, she had managed to swim all the way to the "Land of Iron" from the vast, endless sea. Her determination was truly remarkable.
The blue-clad woman, drenched and shivering, stumbled along the beach.
Her chakra had dropped to a dangerously low level, and if she didn't find a place to rest soon, her body would give out.
The cold wind around her made her shiver uncontrollably, and she was struggling to endure it.
The Land of Iron was really cold...
In Terumi Mei's plan, to shake off her pursuers, she hadn't headed straight for the Land of Whirlpools and then made a beeline for the Land of Fire.
Instead, she had planned to detour through the Land of Hot Springs, then circle around to the Land of Iron, using its status as a neutral country to sneak into the Land of Fire.
Everything had gone according to plan until she entered the Land of Hot Springs, but then things went south.
Her pursuers seemed to have a dog's nose, always managing to find her no matter what.
This forced her to jump into the sea to escape.
But at least she had successfully entered the "Land of Iron."
It was all worth it.
"Halt!"
A low shout made the shivering Terumi Mei look up.
But when she saw the forehead protector on the person who had spoken, she was momentarily confused.
Why were there Leaf ninjas in the Land of Iron?
Had she gotten lost at sea?
Where had she ended up?
Terumi Mei didn't think it was possible that she had swum all the way to the Land of Fire.
Given the distance between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Fire, if she had reached the Land of Fire, it wouldn't have been by swimming—she would have had to float there.
The distance was so great that even if she drained all her chakra, it wouldn't have been enough.
In front of her was a standard four-man squad, all wearing white winter coats with green Leaf vests underneath and forehead protectors bearing the Leaf's symbol.
"I... I'm a missing-nin from the Hidden Mist... Terumi Mei."
"I have important information to relay to your leader."
"It's extremely urgent."
Terumi Mei pursed her pale, frozen lips and spoke with difficulty.
The reason she could so openly reveal her identity was because of one person in the group whose distinctive white eyes were unmistakable.
The Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
Since they didn't know her identity, there was no need for them to deceive her by posing as Leaf ninjas.
If they wanted to harm her, given her current state, she was like a cooked duck—no way to escape.
Moreover, with a ninja's natural wariness, Terumi Mei's words didn't reveal who she intended to notify.
The leader of the Leaf squad looked at the woman suspiciously, seemingly pondering whether to bring her back to camp.
But then the woman spoke again.
"Could you give me a coat? I can't take much more of this."
With her chakra nearly depleted, her stamina drained, her nerves frayed from prolonged tension, and her soaked clothes nearly freezing in the cold, it was a miracle that Terumi Mei, a ninja specialized in ninjutsu, had held on this long.
The Leaf squad leader looked at the woman, her face pale from the cold, her wet clothes almost frozen, and finally took off his own coat and handed it to her.
"Th... thank you."
Terumi Mei shivered as she spoke.
There was no denying that Terumi Mei's looks were striking, especially now, with her pale face and pitiful appearance.
The Leaf squad leader narrowed his eyes slightly, unmoved by her beauty, and simply said:
"Follow us."
With that, he led Terumi Mei toward the Leaf camp, the four-man squad surrounding her as they walked.
This was both for her protection and to ensure they could subdue her at any moment.
Terumi Mei understood this perfectly but said nothing.
All she needed was to meet the leader of this Leaf squad (or so she thought).
If they were truly Leaf ninjas, that would be ideal.
But if they were someone else, she would have to play it by ear.
Meanwhile, Sakura was discussing the next steps in their offensive against the Cloud with Kakashi and Jiraiya.
Regarding Sakura's proposal to take the initiative and force the Cloud out, Jiraiya didn't object.
But Kakashi raised a question.
"If we can't locate the enemy..."
"What if they choose to avoid battle, take a detour, attack our rear, or even make the same move and invade the Land of Fire's border?"
After all, there was only one Karin, and no matter how vast her sensory range was, it couldn't cover the entire Land of Frost. Karin could only stay in the center of the troops to ensure they weren't ambushed.
The Cloud had already proven through multiple actions that they had more than one ridiculously strong sensory ninja.
The benefits of attacking the Land of Lightning's border versus attacking the Land of Fire's border were completely disproportionate.
What did the Land of Lightning have?
High mountains and steep cliffs?
What else was there?
But the Land of Fire was different.
The Land of Fire was vast and rich in resources, the most abundant in the ninja world.
From a strategic standpoint, the two were incomparable.
Moreover, the Land of Fire was currently fighting on two fronts. Not long ago, they had lost four thousand ninjas on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers, and Homura Mitokado had taken another batch of ninjas to the frontlines, leaving only three to four thousand ninjas in the village.
They were in no position to withstand an attack led by the Raikage himself.
And what about the Land of Lightning?
Thanks to the Third Raikage's sacrifice, holding off ten thousand Rock ninjas alone to cover the Cloud's retreat, the Cloud Village had preserved a significant amount of its fighting strength.
In this war, they had likely only deployed half of their forces.
They still had a considerable number of ninjas in reserve.
If this Leaf force didn't quickly conquer the Land of Lightning, they would be caught in a pincer attack.
Sakura didn't argue with Kakashi's point.
But she didn't refute it either. She was fairly confident that the Raikage wouldn't engage in a home-swapping strategy.
The village still had the old man and Tsunade, either of whom would be a tough opponent for the Raikage.
Either one of them leading troops could defend the border, and then it would be unclear who was surrounding whom.
Moreover, the Raikage couldn't afford to gamble.
Even if he invaded the Land of Fire and seized a significant amount of resources...
Then what?
Could he take them with him?
With Jiraiya and Sakura leading the Leaf's frontline forces in front, and Tsunade or the old man leading the defensive forces behind, even if Killer B joined the fight to form the so-called "A-B Combo," they wouldn't be able to turn the tide against Sakura, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi.
If the A-B Combo could turn the tide, Sakura would change her name to B!
Most importantly, Sakura was strong now.
How strong? She wasn't entirely sure.
But she was confident she could react to the Raikage's rage. She could defend and counterattack like she had with Inner Sakura before, using Inner Sakura's unique pink chakra to disrupt her opponent's chakra.
Sakura even wanted to try facing the A-B Combo's signature "Double Lariat" head-on!
The only real trouble would be Killer B's perfect Tailed Beast transformation.
But that was fine—let Kakashi handle it!
After all, he could hold his own against anyone.
Even against Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Kakashi had managed to exchange a few moves.
Let alone Killer B.
Ahem.
Getting off track.
But the real issue was that the Raikage couldn't take the resources he plundered from the Land of Fire with him, and more importantly, he couldn't afford to gamble!
Why were most of the Cloud's Jinchūriki perfect hosts?
The reason lay in the Turtle Island.
If anyone found out about the existence of Turtle Island...
The Cloud Village would become the next Uzushiogakure!
The Raikage surely understood the saying, "A man's wealth is his own ruin."
The real reason for the Cloud's perfect Jinchūriki was the combination of the Turtle Island's Truth-Seeking Waterfall and the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques!
Knowing the Eight-Tails' strength, would the Raikage dare let Leaf ninjas into the Land of Lightning?
After all, the strongest Tailed Beast was never the Eight-Tails!
Seeing Sakura's gaze, Jiraiya stroked his chin.
He could roughly understand what Sakura was thinking.
But if the Raikage really led his forces into the Land of Fire...
"The old man wouldn't be able to explain that to the Daimyō."
Jiraiya gave Sakura a regretful look.
Clearly, he was rejecting Sakura's proposal.
Sakura remained calm and didn't say much.
She hadn't considered that.
She had only been thinking about how to win the war.
As for the Land of Fire?
Wasn't that supposed to be the Leaf's backyard?
For the first time, Sakura felt a sense of dislike for the ninja system.
Even with the power to overthrow everything, they still had to tie their own hands and be controlled by others.
Had they gotten too used to being subordinates?
The ones in charge were a bunch of powerless mediocrities.
As for the Land of Fire's Daimyō?
Sakura had met him.
A middle-aged, effeminate man.
Always waving a fan and prattling on, with enough powder on his face to weigh a pound.
It made Sakura sick to her stomach.
If it weren't for the need to impose resource sanctions on the Land of Wind, Land of Lightning, and Land of Earth, she wouldn't have bothered with him.
Just then, someone outside the tent touched the barrier, and Sakura and the others fell silent.
At Jiraiya's signal, the person entered the tent and addressed him respectfully:
"Lord Jiraiya, a missing-nin from the Hidden Mist has arrived at the camp."
"She wishes to see you."
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