Sakura Haruno's Little Secret
Sakura Haruno still remembers the feeling of seeing Jurassic Park for the first time when she was a child in her previous life.
The lifelike and enormous ancient beasts, even just on screen, were enough to terrify her, making it difficult for her to sleep.
As she grew older, gained more experience and courage, she gradually stopped being afraid of these monsters; however, during the Chunin Ninja Exams, she faced the giant snake and Gamabunta. When these enormous creatures, tens of meters in size, appeared before her, their massive size, imposing aura, and the overwhelming Chakra they exuded still deeply shocked her.
Even the ugly and wretched Toad, once it grows to this size, possesses a fierce and powerful aura that inspires longing and makes one fantasize about fighting on the head of such a ferocious ninja beast.
However, at this moment, compared to the Sage Katsuyu is several thousand meters tall, giant creatures like Gamabunta and Manda are nothing.
Even just turning her head away made Sakura Haruno's heart pound wildly, even though she knew the Sage Katsuyu was her Summoning Contract partner and meant her no harm. This was the subconscious panic she felt when encountering an invincible creature.
The difference in size and strength was too great. The Sage Katsuyu didn't even need to make any hostile moves. If someone was careless, such as when he bent over and his body formed a fold, he could crush a person to death on the spot.
Faced with such an enemy, the girl suddenly felt that her recent inexplicable arrogance was somewhat ridiculous.
Since defeating Kakuzu, she has started to consider herself a "Quasi-Kage" with the strength, believing that she has developed so many powerful Ninjutsu and has already established a foothold in the Shinobi World.
Only now do I realize that I have also begun to become arrogant and conceited.
What would she do if her opponent were the Sage Katsuyu before her?
Of all the Ninjutsu Sakura developed, apart from the Yin Seal combined with Ice Release which could freeze a tiny fraction of the Sage Katsuyu's body, the other Ninjutsu posed absolutely no threat to it.
Even the girl's most prized Wind Blade Torrent might be able to open a large gash in it, but a cut is meaningless to Katsuyu with its extraordinary regenerative abilities.
As for other Ninjutsu, they might not even be good enough to scratch Katsuyu's itch.
"Leviathan's Wrath?" Perhaps the real Leviathan is even larger than the Sage Katsuyu; but when she wields it, it's only slightly longer than the Sage's tentacles.
They are no match at all.
How ridiculous! Faced with such a magnificent creature, Sakura felt her own insignificance for the first time!
Even the Sage Katsuyu didn't need to exert any effort; the acid mist surrounding it was enough to defeat Sakura Haruno without a fight.
Therefore, after the initial shock, Sakura Haruno's gaze towards the Sage Katsuyu gradually became more complicated.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you..." Sensing Sakura's unease, the Sage Katsuyu "softly" comforted her, conveying the message that "although I'm large, I'm very gentle."
Well, considering its size, that thunderous, booming sound is actually quite gentle.
Sakura sighed. Although the Katsuyu's comforting words were completely irrelevant to her mood, this distraction helped the girl recover from her gloomy state.
Ultimately, her current strength is something she has achieved step by step through her own hard work. Even if she can't beat the Katsuyu, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Sakura is a proud person after all. Even if she feels down for a while after encountering a setback, she won't stay dejected forever.
Moreover, the Sage Katsuyu isn't her enemy... What she'll have to deal with in the future is still that group of "Akatsuki" members hiding in the shadows, or others, who, given the nature of shonen manga, will eventually jump out and threaten to destroy the world—a group of delusional chuunibyou BSS.
She shook her head, shaking off the negative emotions, and a gentle smile returned to her face.
"Sage Katsuyu, let's get back to the main point. After all, even with this child's Ice Release protecting him, we still can't hold out for long..." Tsunade crossed her arms—or rather, cupped her chest—and looked up at Katsuyu, saying, "You've been observing for a while now, does Sakura Haruno possess Senjutsu talent?"
"Tsunade, Sakura, I'll speak to you using a clone. It's too tiring for you to keep your heads up like this..." The Sage Katsuyu's thunderous voice gradually faded away.
Sakura looked up, only to see it retract its head, submerging most of its body back into the acidic soup. Considerately, it used a less oppressive clone to communicate with the two of them.
"Lady Tsunade, as you know, Senjutsu Mode training is only suitable for people with a large amount of Chakra. This is because only those with a large amount of Chakra have enough power to tame Natural Energy. Otherwise, even if you learn Senjutsu, it's meaningless," said the Katsuyu beside her—although it was as tall as a three-story building, Sakura already felt she should call it a "Katsuyu."
"Lady Sakura Haruno's Chakra reserves might be considered exceptional for her age, but it's still insufficient to control such a vast amount of Natural Energy. Even with the Yin Seal, it's not enough; only Chakra contained within the body can resist the erosion of Natural Energy," Katsuyu calmly stated the facts. "However, if Lady Tsunade wishes to learn Senjutsu Mode, given your current conditions, you could certainly give it a try..."
"I'm already Hokage, I don't have that much time to spend training, and without Sakura's Ice Release armor, I can't stay in this environment for too long... It's a pity, Katsuyu. This idea lacks feasibility." Tsunade shook her head and said.
She glanced back at her disciple. "As for Sakura's insufficient Chakra, she has only mastered the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai for less than a year; she wasn't born with Kekkei Genkai. The Ice Release Kekkei Genkai has only just begun to improve her physique. Although her Chakra is not much now, it will become abundant in the future."
"So she actually mastered the First Kekkei Genkai source of her Kekkei Genkai! No wonder!" Katsuyu exclaimed in amazement. "My main body just observed Lady Sakura in detail... Lady Sakura's spirit has two, or perhaps three, cores. Perhaps that's why Lady Sakura was able to develop her Kekkei Genkai at such a young age!"
Two, or even three spiritual cores?
Sakura Haruno listened in stunned silence. One was herself, and the other was the original Sakura, wasn't it?
It turns out I can easily use the technique of multitasking, master Ice Release, and even have the advantage of time travel...
She had mixed feelings. Although the biggest secret of her time travel had not yet been discovered, in front of the Sage Katsuyu's true form, she felt as if she were completely naked, her whole body, inside and out, laid bare before her, with absolutely no secrets left to hide...
Besides sheer physical strength, immortals also possess such supernatural abilities.
However, Sakura Haruno felt that even if her secret of time travel were revealed, it wouldn't really matter.
She has always been open and honest. Having lived in Konoha for so many years since birth, she is already the "real" Sakura Haruno. So what if she's been exposed? Her family, friends, teachers, and so on, all acknowledge her as the transmigrator, and that's enough.
"May I ask, does Lady Sakura suffer from schizophrenia?" The Katsuyu is clearly not as intelligent and powerful as the original form; this should be obvious at a glance.
"Of course not!" Sakura's face stiffened. Although there were two cores, there was only one will. She was not mentally ill.
"Uh... I'm sorry, the main body just told me that the connection between your two cores and your spirit is very harmonious and natural." The Katsuyu shook its tentacles vigorously, seemingly expressing a sincere apology, and continued, "Lady Sakura's spiritual power is many times stronger than that of ordinary people, but unfortunately, her physical strength is relatively weak, which hinders her Chakra reserves. But don't worry, once her body has fully developed and the Ice Release's enhancement of her physical attributes has come to an end, her Chakra reserves will be more than ten times what they are now."
"By then, you'll be roughly qualified to practice Senjutsu."
The prerequisite for using Senjutsu Mode is having a sufficient amount of Chakra... Sakura's current Chakra level is far from sufficient to train in Senjutsu Mode.
(Guaranteed 1/. Bonus chapter 0/.)
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