Teamwork

Sakura Haruno's "I understand" sincere, or just a feigned agreement?

Shino had no idea.

Flat-chested... To be fair, if Shino himself were in this situation, he would never do nothing and just watch his teammates be abandoned.

Yugao glanced at Ying a few times, seemingly lost in thought, but unsure what to do.

As for the cat-faced girl herself, she simply kept her head down and kept walking without saying a word.

The air suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of three ninjas stomping and moving through the woods.

However, beneath the seemingly calm surface of the cat-faced masked girl hurrying along, a turbulent undercurrent lurks.

Are we going to face Orochimaru again?

Sakura Haruno recalled her match against Orochimaru Chunin Ninja Exams.

No, it shouldn't be the fight against Orochimaru, but the one where he toyed with Orochimaru.

Before Shippuden, the manga's depiction of Orochimaru's strength was extremely limited, so having not read the later parts of the manga, she had no idea how high the ceiling of an opponent of Orochimaru's caliber really was.

With the fearlessness of a newborn calf, she went to war with Orochimaru, but looking back, Sakura was filled with lingering fear.

As Sakura's strength increased, she became increasingly aware of Orochimaru's unfathomable power. After all, at the beginning of Shippuden, Orochimaru, even with his Hand Seals, was still able to easily defeat Naruto in his Four-Tails form. Although she didn't know this "plot," as a ninja who had experienced many battles, she naturally possessed the most basic quality of a ninja: the ability to judge just how strong an enemy is.

Even now, if she faced a fully-fledged Orochimaru, she would probably still be easily toyed with. Chunin Ninja Exams, the only reason she was able to escape with her life was because Orochimaru showed Sasuke was unconscious and needed care, Orochimaru didn't want someone else to eat the food he ordered before it was even served.

What about this time?

This time, she is no longer an ally for Orochimaru in seizing Sasuke, but rather an obstacle to his efforts... Will Orochimaru still let her go out of respect for her talent?

The answer is probably not optimistic.

There's no need to calculate the odds of victory. If Orochimaru goes all out, even with Sasuke, they wouldn't stand a chance. While she may have advantages in certain Ninjutsu, she's completely outmatched in terms of overall Ninjutsu mastery, Chakra reserves, combat experience, and various unpredictable and deadly Secret Technique for survival and surprise attacks.

Even with the Yin Seal already mastered, the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals - Stage Two fully developed, and Sasuke's cooperation, the outcome will still remain unchanged.

However, just as Shino had guessed, although Sakura Haruno verbally said she would avoid Orochimaru, she had already made up her mind. Knowing that facing Orochimaru would have dire consequences, she would still do it.

If it were when Team 7 had just been formed, she would have turned around and run away immediately in this situation, and would not have risked her life for Sasuke. However, after a year of spending time together, she had come to regard Sasuke as her brother.

If she simply watches her brothers die because the enemy is too strong, what makes her stand by her life's principles? If a person can't even uphold some of the most basic principles, what's the difference between them and a salted fish?

Sakura suddenly recalled two lines of dialogue from her past life's novel, The Legend of Wukong. [Note]

Is this a journey from which there is no return?

Then they will never return!

However, the situation wasn't so dire that it was certain they would never recover; they still had reinforcements from Konoha...

Although the chances of defeating Orochimaru are slim, there are ways to stall for time and wait for reinforcements!

Sakura quickly moved forward while mentally devising delaying tactics.

The three members of the Fourteenth Squad were all very fast, and within a morning they arrived near the area where the distress signal had been found.

"I can sense Sasuke's Chakra!" Sakura's spirits lifted immediately. However, she was not a sensory ninja, and at such a distance, she could only vaguely sense that Sasuke's Chakra was nearby, but she did not know his exact location.

"Really? There are many unfamiliar Chakra around here. They shouldn't be from the village, since we were the first Anbu to arrive... It seems they must be Sound Ninja." Shino stopped and carefully sensed the surroundings. He wasn't very familiar with Sasuke and couldn't pinpoint his presence from the mixed Chakra, only sensing that there were many ninjas nearby.

"The good news is, we haven't found Orochimaru!" Yugao said with her eyes closed, a hint of surprise in her voice.

All three of them had witnessed Orochimaru and were deeply impressed by the chilling quality of his Chakra. Sakura and Shino were also intrigued upon hearing this, and after carefully sensing his chakra, they indeed could not detect any of Orochimaru's Chakra!

Are they still on their way, or are they hiding somewhere?

Regardless, the fact that the Fourteenth Squad hasn't directly faced Orochimaru yet is undoubtedly the best news today...

The cat-faced girl felt a great sense of relief.

As long as she doesn't face Orochimaru, she doesn't take those weaklings from the Sound Ninja seriously at all!

But Shino remained completely unfazed.

"Orochimaru is indeed not here," he said calmly, "But the enemy is already surrounding us."

That's right, the Sound Ninja reacted very quickly, and several Chakra sources were already rushing towards them.

The cat-faced girl gazed into the air.

"They're here," she thought to herself.

The next second, the Sound Ninja's attack suddenly launched from above!

Ninja Art - Spider Bind!

A huge spider web loomed over them.

"Heart!" Yugao roared, drawing her sword and charging forward.

Whoosh—a flash of silver light, drawing a crescent moon in the air, instantly slashed away the spider web along with the Sound Ninja who suddenly appeared behind it!

"Tch..." Yugao snorted coldly, retreating to Shino and Sakura's side. She watched as the Sound Ninja had fallen to the ground got up, seemingly unharmed by her attack. She said gravely, "Looks like our opponents aren't as easy to deal with as those Chunin from before!"

As a signal from Yugao's strike, about a dozen Sound Ninja arrived and blocked the Fourteenth Squad's path.

The four leaders began to have numerous Cursed Seal appear on their faces, and a dense, dark Chakra transformed their bodies into a bizarre form.

"Cursed Seal - State One!"

The Sound Ninja Four-Person Group? Seeing their signature Cursed Seal, Sakura Haruno recognized them immediately.

The strange Chakra emanating from them almost gives them the feel of Special Jōnin, and with their State Two and various unpredictable Secret Technique, even ordinary Jonin would have a bit of a headache dealing with them...

Add to that the Sound Ninja who are always ready to intervene in the battle, and once a fight breaks out, we might be entangled with them for a long time.

"Captain, let's split up!"

The cat-faced girl suddenly spoke.

The fighting power of the Fourteenth Squad is half on Shino and Yugao, and half on Sakura Haruno. Because the team's coordination and teamwork are not yet well-developed, the two are still only about equal. Therefore, splitting up the squad is actually the best choice to fully unleash the team's fighting power.

The Sound Four possess several Secret Techniques, and she roughly remembers some of the "plot," possessing some information about them. Her techniques are more effective against these unconventional ninjas, making her the most suitable Sound Four. Conversely, leaving Shino and Yugao behind would only waste the Team Fourteen's time and resources.

Aside from the Sound Four with Cursed Seal, the Sound Ninja are mostly ordinary ninjas. After crossing this interception line, you'll likely encounter many Sound Ninja like them. Their offensive abilities aren't great, but they're all incredibly skilled at survival techniques. These are better suited to be dealt with by the experienced Shino and Yugao.

So she continued hurriedly.

"Captain, Yugao, this isn't the time for teamwork. I'll hold them off here. You two go support Sasuke. I'll catch up with you soon!"

This was the first time Shino had heard Sakura speak to them in such an unquestionable tone.

(Note: After checking, I found that it's not a line from "The Legend of Wukong" or "Monkey King: Hero Is Back", but just lyrics from an obscure song.)

(1/. The next update will be on the afternoon and evening of the 17th. ~Please recommend, comment, and add chapters~~)