A Bystander; Team 7's Disagreement

Before leaving, Sakura Haruno went to see Shino.

That guy took a nap in the hospital bed and just woke up; he seems to be in good spirits.

When she arrived, Shino was holding a lunchbox and eating his lunch with gusto, clearly in good health.

"It's just a few broken bones," Shino said. "They've been set, and I'll be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days!"

Because of Medical Ninjutsu and Chakra, ninjas don't need to follow the proverb "a hundred injuries are worth a hundred times over."

Seeing him eating happily, his face flushed, Sakura hesitated for a moment before keeping her thoughts to herself.

Anyway, he'll find out about Yugao's situation soon.

I wonder what Shino thinks about the disbandment of the Fourteenth Squad?

She wanted to keep the answer to this question to herself and didn't want to know Shino's reply now.

What are his thoughts on Yugao temporarily stepping back from her duties to go home and have children?

The ninja's mindset is different from that of people who lived in a peaceful environment in their previous lives.

Even a powerful ninja like Yugao can fail in missions, and this outcome serves as the best warning. To put it more seriously, being a ninja is a dangerous profession with an uncertain future. Therefore, Yugao's choice is not surprising within the ninja community.

You can't spend your whole life risking your life, only to get old and unable to fight anymore before returning to your hometown to get married, can you?

That said, Yugao was only spared this time because she returned to get married after the fight was over. Otherwise, if she had set this flag before the fight, not even a god could have saved her...

In short, marriage is a purely personal choice, and no one cares if a woman like Tsunade is still unmarried.

Looking at Shino sitting in the ward, smiling and greeting her, she felt a tightness in her chest. She exchanged a few words with him briefly, not wanting to disturb his rest.

"Dr. Terumi Ijin, please take good care of Shino. Make sure he recovers fully before being discharged."

Before leaving, he gave the doctor a final piece of advice.

Dr. Terumi, who was in charge of treating Shino, happened to be Haruno Clan's new neighbor. Due to the unexpected events of the Chunin Ninja Exams, the family that lived there had unfortunately passed away, Terumi's house was destroyed in the battle, so they moved in.

That's how cruel this world is.

The Haruno Clan and that family had been neighbors for over ten years. They weren't ninjas, just ordinary civilians. A few years ago, they had a daughter, and Sakura had even held her in her arms. She was a very cute little girl. And just like that, the entire family of three perished at the hands of the Sound Ninja.

Sakura wants to become a ninja, and to stand at the top of the ninja ranks. One of the main reasons is that she doesn't want to become an ordinary person powerless to control her own destiny in the midst of war.

However, becoming a ninja actually brings one closer to danger, especially for the Anbu who frequently carry out missions that teeter on the edge of life and death. As a result, many people yearn to return to an ordinary life.

Perhaps that's what Yugao was thinking.

When Sakura returned to her front door, she ran into her neighbor's daughter.

He was also a ninja, not much older than her, and seemed to have recently been promoted to Special Jōnin.

"Good day, Yuzuki- nee." She greeted Yuzuki Terumi casually as she opened the door.

Yuzuki nodded slightly. "Good afternoon, Sakura."

The two exchanged a glance and then parted ways.

Because both families were ninjas, they were always very busy, especially in the last six months when they were often out early and back late, making them hard to find. As a result, Sakura had only met them a few times, and they were just nodding acquaintances. In particular, Yuzuki was usually very low-key, always with short hair and an unremarkable appearance, so Sakura didn't have a deep impression of him.

The neighbor, who had been a familiar face for over ten years, became a new acquaintance with whom one only had a casual relationship. Only those who have experienced it can understand the melancholy. Sakura is not usually such a sentimental person, but so many things have happened in the past two years. She happened to meet her usually stingy neighbor, and that's when she felt compelled to express her feelings.

Who can truly know what she's so troubled about?

After going upstairs, she didn't even change her clothes before lying straight on the bed, wrapping herself in the blankets, and falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, Sakura Haruno's mood had mostly recovered.

She swiftly Sasuke into her laboratory and told him about the Land of Snow.

"You're going to build a base in the Land of Snow?" Sasuke sat on the table with his arms crossed, noncommittal. "Is it really necessary to go that far?"

"Hmm... it's necessary."

Sakura Haruno walked to the other side of the laboratory and leaned against the windowsill.

She had already decided to lay out her plans completely, and without hesitation, after a moment's thought, she spoke frankly.

"I found something at Orochimaru's base."

"Orochimaru's base?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, asking with some surprise, "What did you take from there?"

What good stuff could Orochimaru's base possibly have?

Sasuke had absolutely no liking for this person. During the Chunin Ninja Exams, he inexplicably placed a Cursed Seal on him, and it took a lot of effort to seal it away with Tsunade's help; then he set a trap to try and capture him and bring him back to the base.

She repeatedly expressed her desire for his body.

And then there was his subordinate, that guy named Kimimaro, who performed that ugly and disgusting transformation during the battle, leaving a deep impression on Sasuke.

Or perhaps it's better to call it a deep psychological shadow.

In short, to describe her using Sakura's words... she's a pervert!

"In my memory... besides his immense strength, Orochimaru was a crazy human experimentation maniac." Sasuke frowned, watching Sakura open a sealing scroll, and said, "Sakura, you wouldn't be thinking of doing human experiments like Orochimaru, would you?"

That being said, Sasuke didn't believe that his teammate, such a bright and cheerful person, would learn from that sinister and eerie Orochimaru and conduct evil human experiments.

It's completely unimaginable that this girl would be soaking wet and covered in slime, mingling among snakes, or perhaps having a sinister, dark gaze and a terrifying smile...

The art style has completely changed!

However, Sasuke actually fell for it.

"This is what I found at Orochimaru's base..." Sakura Haruno took out the data stored in the scroll, hesitated for a moment, and said, "... data about stem cells and human cloning."

Sasuke taken aback.

He walked over, picked up a book, flipped through it, and his expression immediately turned serious.

She waved the book in her hand; it was "The Basic Principles and Implementation Methods of Cloning Technology," the complete version of which Sakura had found in the main base.

Sasuke looked directly at the pink-haired girl, handed her the book, and asked earnestly, "Do you know what this is?"

Sakura lowered her eyes and sighed.

She took the book, casually flipped through a few pages, and saw many gruesome and bloody pictures and evil experimental content.

It's no wonder Sasuke opposed it so bluntly.

"Of course I know what this is... You mean, this is Konoha's forbidden human experimentation, right?" Sakura said calmly.

She raised her head, meeting Sasuke's sharp gaze directly.

Although the black-haired boy didn't say anything, she clearly received the question in his eyes, "If you know this, why did you do it?"

"As a medical-nin, I think I know this better than you do!"

Her gaze was unwavering and unyielding.

"Don't be misled by the gory pictures and experimental design above. Let me explain, Sasuke... if you don't mind, I'll give you a biology lesson."

Perhaps the discussion about cloning should begin with how humans reproduce?

Regardless, Sakura must gain Sasuke's support; she will need to rely on the power of her Sharingan to establish a base in the Land of Snow.

(1/.)

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