The Purpose of Cherry Blossom Blizzard
"Hmph... aren't you also taking advantage of our conversation to recover your strength?" Kidomaru sneered, "Using such a large-scale Ninjutsu to trap us here, you must be struggling too!"
"Your Taijutsu and that Water Release technique aren't actually unbreakable. Taijutsu requires close combat, Ninjutsu requires Hand Seals, both of which take time... So, as long as we react quickly enough, we can dodge your attacks! And there are three of us here, no," he glanced at the summoned creature Tayuya had conjured, "It's six against one now..."
"..." Seeing the enigmatic, confident smile on Kidomaru, Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Let me correct you. I don't feel any burden at all when using this kind of Ice Release..."
After activating the Yin Seal, she doesn't even flinch when using such large-scale Ninjutsu.
Seeing the smile on Kidomaru's face turn into astonishment, she said calmly.
"The reason I waited so long for you is because I also needed some time to adapt to the second stage of Cherry Blossom Impact, although the second stage of this technique hasn't been fully developed yet... Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway."
Because Phase Two was not yet fully developed, this was its first time being used in actual combat.
Despite being only a partially completed Stage Two Cherry Blossom Impact, Sakura Haruno discovered that its effects were still very significant, far more powerful than Stage One, which the girl had already adapted to.
The concept is that once Phase Two is completed, the time it takes for nerve signals to travel from the brain to the hands and feet will be compressed to an incredible limit. Compared to Cherry Blossom Impact - Stage One, Phase Two can further reduce Sakura's reaction time by another fifty milliseconds!
It will be five times more effective than Phase One.
This is the effect of so-called digitizing the nervous system.
At that level, the so-called "intention and action in tandem" and "mind and hand in sync" are nothing more than this: as soon as a thought arises, it will immediately be reflected in the movements of the hands and feet.
Of course, the second stage of Cherry Blossom Impact is not the limit. The next stage after "intention and action" is "action before intention" and "extreme action with hidden intention". According to Sakura Haruno's understanding, the generation of "thought" also takes time. The third stage of Cherry Blossom Impact will try to compress the time for the brain to process information. Such a battle looks like the hand moves before the thought has even formed in the mind. This is probably "action before intention".
However, at present, the version of Cherry Blossom Impact - Stage Two that she has started is only half completed. Although it is much stronger than Phase One, it cannot be described as "intention and action in tandem" yet; it can only be considered as a relatively strong "intention precedes action".
"Phase two shouldn't last too long..." Sakura reminded herself.
The unfinished second stage will become unstable after being used for more than twenty minutes. This problem can only be solved after she has fully studied this stage.
However, if she only uses Phase One, she won't be able to unleash the full power of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals's super-fast Body Flicker Technique... Only by mastering these two Ninjutsu will she have the ability to save people in front of Orochimaru.
Even last-minute preparation can be effective.
Before facing Orochimaru, she needs to gather some experience points from her subordinates!
"However, two minutes will be enough!"
I spent about ten seconds getting used to the feeling of using the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals in conjunction with the second stage of Cherry Blossom Impact. The extremely high reaction speed was a huge advantage in this kind of Body Flicker Technique combat.
The sense of imbalance caused by the Body Flicker Technique that had always troubled her has been greatly reduced by Cherry Blossom Impact, which shortens her reaction speed and makes her a master of the Body Flicker Technique... although she is not as skilled as the Fourth Body Flicker Technique.
This experience is truly exhilarating—after the Body Flicker Technique ends, in the moment you feel unbalanced and want to regain your balance, your body has already made a move to stabilize yourself.
The thought of attacking had barely formed in his mind when his hand was already raised to his chest.
A few fallen leaves swept past my eyes. On a whim, I instantly produced an ice Senbon from my hand, raised it and shot it out, stringing the fallen leaves into a long strip.
Where the mind goes, the action is already completed.
As he dodged the arrow shot by Kidomaru, he subtly turned his head at the last moment, letting it graz his cheek.
As Tayuya manipulated the Doki to charge at her, she even had the leisure to count how many nails were in the spiked club in the summoned creature's hand. Then, just as the spiked club was about to smash into her face, Body Flicker Technique away in the absolute limit and appeared on another ice mirror.
Seeing something triggers a reaction; thinking about something leads to action.
Therefore, what would normally be a critical moment of life-or-death situation is still more than enough in Cherry Blossom Impact - Stage Two.
Is this what it feels like to be a speed-type ninja? Is this how the Raikage, the Fourth, and White Fang usually fight?
She felt stronger than ever before.
This technique should be a useful tool in our fight against Orochimaru.
I briefly tested the feeling of Cherry Blossom Impact - Stage Two, easily dodging the first wave of attacks from the Sound Ninja, and then the Sound Ninja made a new move --
Boom boom boom!
Jirobo slammed his hands into the ground, instantly creating hundreds of earthen walls that concealed the three figures behind the rocks.
"Are you trying to cut off my vision to prevent me from being locked onto by Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent?"
Sakura quickly saw through her opponent's intentions; the Sound Ninja were indeed very wary of her Ninjutsu. However--
"A pointless action."
The cat-masked girl Body Flicker Technique appeared in the ice mirror above the Sound Ninja's heads, surveying the battlefield from above. The Sound Ninja's attempts to hide were clearly exposed from this angle, as the stone wall was unmarked; and the Sound Ninja obviously didn't realize that their enemy was already above them...
"Before facing Orochimaru, we need to familiarize ourselves with the feeling of Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals - Stage Two, and its coordination with Cherry Blossom Impact. This is the first time we've used these Ninjutsu in actual combat, so we can't afford any mistakes... Hopefully, they can hold out for even a minute!"
She murmured softly to herself.
The cat-faced girl stood upside down, calmly Hand Seals.
The fluctuation of Chakra immediately caught the attention of the Sound Ninja: "Look, she's attacking! Watch out for her Ninjutsu!"
The Sound Ninja instinctively tried to dodge, but to their surprise, Sakura Haruno didn't use Wind Blade Torrent, but rather a simple Ninjutsu.
Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!
With the surge of Chakra, hundreds of ice darts, each half a person tall, suddenly appeared in the air and then shot fiercely towards the enemy below!
"Drink!"
The Sound Ninja reacted quickly. Jirobo once again channeled his Chakra, raising and lengthening the stone wall in front of the three of them, blocking the ice darts aimed at their heads.
Thud thud thud—the remaining ice darts scattered and stuck into the ground beside the three of them.
"Heart, these darts will explode!" Sensing that there was still a trace of Chakra remaining on the ice darts, Kidomaru's expression changed. He reacted the fastest and immediately warned the two of them.
"Secret Technique: Sticky Gold Armor!"
As he spoke, Kidomaru had already prepared his defensive Ninjutsu. His Sticky Gold Armor could coat his body with a special layer of spider silk, which, after drying and hardening, was much harder than steel. Presumably, even an explosion of ice darts wouldn't be able to harm it.
However, Sakura Haruno's tactics are not simply another Swallow Snow Storm combined with shuriken explosions.
The Chakra attached to the ice darts has another purpose!
(1/ ~Please recommend, comment, and add chapters~~ I'll update again at 7 PM and 9 PM tonight.)
(I have to thank my editor, Yuan, for securing this opportunity for me, especially since it's been featured on Sanjiang and other recommendation lists. If it performs well, there might be other recommendations after Sanjiang, maybe even a strong push, and then it will be published on the platform, which will lead to a surge in updates.)
Okay, so I'm still asking for recommendations and favorites!!!