The Goal... Surpass Hashirama

"That would take at least seven or eight years, wouldn't it?" Tsunade frowned slightly and asked, "That's too long. By then, Sakura might have developed some kind of technique that won't even be useful for Senjutsu..."

Tsunade's exaggerated claims inadvertently revealed the truth. Once the planned Yang God Mode is fully developed, what will the Senjutsu Mode even matter?

"It doesn't necessarily have to wait until it's fully developed..." The Katsuyu stopped shaking and pondered for a moment, "Hmm, if Ice Release has only been modified for a year... Lady Sakura, has Aoi started to appear yet?"

"Uh... well... not yet, right?" This blunt question made Sakura Haruno a little embarrassed.

She had been anxiously waiting for this for some time, and had even carried emergency supplies with her, since ninjas are very sensitive to the smell of blood... Fortunately, as medical-nin, they had a way to deal with it so that it wouldn't affect their daily battles or missions.

"So..." The Katsuyu shook its head slightly, seemingly conversing with its main body, "Well, the main body told me that your first period might have been delayed by the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, because it's readjusting your body's development plan so that your body can grow more adapted to Ice Release. That's a good thing, hmm, how so?"

"It's just that your original physical attributes were too poor. According to your original genetic development, even if your body were fully developed, your Chakra reserves wouldn't be very high, and your physical attributes, speed, and reaction time would be quite average..." Tsunade mercilessly criticized the girl, seemingly complaining about how she had taken on such a poorly endowed disciple, "Except for your decent Monstrous Strength."

Sakura's face darkened, and she rolled her eyes, utterly speechless. Was this someone who had inspected the product and used it for a while before complaining about its poor quality?

"It's clear that without Ice Release, Lady Sakura's original physical attributes weren't ideal. If that were the case, I would have refused her Lady Sakura to learn Senjutsu without hesitation," Katsuyu added, echoing Tsunade's words. "But things are much better now. Has Lady Sakura noticed that her Chakra is growing much faster than before, and thought she's entered puberty? Actually, not yet. This is just normal for a boy with Kekkei Genkai; the rate of Chakra growth..."

Just like a truly good book, even without any recommendation slots, it receives more recommendation votes than some flopping Water Release that made it onto the Sanjiang recommendation list... And once it makes it onto the Sanjiang list, it'll be even more incredible!

However, according to the Katsuyu's method, wouldn't her growth rate during puberty be slower than Sasuke's growth rate during childhood if she didn't have Kekkei Genkai?

This world is truly full of malice towards non- Kekkei Genkai ninjas.

However, Sakura Haruno never felt that her Kekkei Genkai was anything to be proud of... Her greatest strength was still her self-created Ninjutsu, Ice Release was just icing on the cake.

This is where she truly falls out of place in this world: while everyone else considers her Kekkei Genkai her Kekkei Genkai asset, Sakura only sees it as a part of her strength—she could still grow into a powerful being even without Ice Release.

Sakura Haruno believes in the principle that nobility is determined by birth, yet the Kekkei Genkai, a power passed down through bloodlines, blatantly promotes the idea that bloodlines are superior...

So now she somewhat regrets developing the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!

"The biggest mistake I ever made was mastering Ice Release," Sakura Haruno thought to herself with a smug grin.

At this moment, the Sage Katsuyu suddenly raised its head from the acidic lake, revealing a glimpse of its head, and said, "I can sense that your Ice Release Chakra is already extremely pure. The power of your Kekkei Genkai has been fully activated. Lately, have you felt that you're becoming more and more adept at using Ice Release? This is only the beginning... You were born with an amazing affinity for Chakra, coupled with extremely high mental strength, so it's not surprising that you can utilize your Kekkei Genkai to this extent. If you can integrate Yang Release into your Kekkei Genkai in the future, your power will be even more astonishing!"

Tsunade couldn't help but interject, "Like my grandfather, Hashirama Senju?"

"Hashirama? He also mastered Sage Mode on my back back then..." The Sage Katsuyu fell into a brief moment of contemplation, remaining silent for a while. Fortunately, it quickly realized there were still two guests present and continued, "Hashirama's talent is so rare that perhaps only one person emerges every few centuries. Sakura is still far from achieving that. However, if Sakura can also complete her training in Yin-Yang Release and Sage Mode, she might not be far from Hashirama. In that case, we might see a female version of Hashirama Senju...!"

"..." Tsunade glanced at her disciple with a complicated expression, and then fell silent.

The look in his eyes held both expectation and a sense of pride in the Yangtze River generation surpassing the older.

Hashirama Senju? Sakura Haruno bit her lower lip, savoring the name.

In the Shinobi World, this name has long become a symbol, to the point that even having once fought against Hashirama Senju —even if it was just throwing a Kunai at him from 800 miles away—is considered a great honor.

Becoming the second "Hashirama Senju" is probably a dream come true for most ninjas!

However, she doesn't like being compared to others like this.

Sakura Haruno, on the contrary, didn't feel that receiving the title of "female version of Hashirama Senju" was a great honor for her...

Becoming the next so-and-so seems to erase all her years of hard work in an instant.

Doesn't she have a name of her own?

While Tsunade and the Sage Katsuyu both fell silent.

The girl suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry, Master Tsunade, Sage Katsuyu," she said calmly, "I have no intention of becoming a second Hashirama Senju, a second God of Shinobi."

Her voice was cool and serene, almost indifferent.

Hashirama Senju... that wasn't just a goal she looked up to, but a goal she wanted to surpass!

This is not arrogance, but rather stems from a certain self-confidence.

Because what propels her forward is another world, the culmination of the wisdom of 6 billion people!

Tsunade turned around and looked at her disciple with some surprise.

Sakura Haruno.

Her eyes were clear and bright.

"I don't intend to become any strong person's shadow," Sakura Haruno said calmly. "I will eventually surpass them... My name 'Sakura Haruno,' not 'the second Hashirama Senju,' will be sung for generations to come."

That's incredibly boastful.

Tsunade instinctively wanted to retort, but seeing the girl's determined gaze, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to utter that unrealistic criticism.

Tsunade saw confidence and the fearless spirit of a newborn calf in that still somewhat childish face.

Yes, Sakura Haruno firmly believes that she can surpass these predecessors.

Surpassing Grandpa? Tsunade was stunned for a moment.

Even if it's unrealistic, having a lofty goal is a good thing, isn't it?

She was slightly touched, lowered her eyes, and stood silently to the side.

Moment.

"Haha! That's ambitious!" the Sage Katsuyu laughed. "Tsunade, look, while you all look up to the peerless Hashirama Senju, there's this tiny girl who declares she'll look down on Hashirama! She may be small, but her magnanimity surpasses all of yours."

"However, while aiming high, you must also be down-to-earth, otherwise it's just wishful thinking. Sakura, before you surpass Hashirama, what you need to do first is catch up with him, so practicing Senjutsu Mode is still necessary."

"Hmm... the adjustments to your body from your Ice Release Kekkei Genkai will be finished soon. In a few months, you'll enter your true puberty... Come back to me around this time the year after next! By then, you should be ready to learn Senjutsu Mode!"

"That's all I want."

This is tantamount to telling them to leave.

Tsunade and Sakura exchanged a glance. The latter actually had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but she had to hold them back and wait for another opportunity to ask.

He then said, "Well then, Sage Katsuyu, we'll take our leave!"

"Go, go~" the Sage Katsuyu said, waving his tentacles, and used the Reverse Summoning Technique to send the two back to Konoha.

It merged its back into its body and leisurely submerged into the acid lake.

Humans... are truly amazing!

Amidst the gurgling sounds, the Sage Katsuyu exhaled bubbles and muttered to itself.

"That girl's soul was actually composed of two cores, no, it seemed like three? Most strangely, one of the cores gave me an inexplicable, eerie feeling..."

"Forget it, humans are mostly strange anyway, let's not go out... That girl is probably still a young human, and they're all pretty sensitive, so if we rashly reveal someone else's secret, it might not be able to handle it and might never come back."

"It's been so long since Hashirama came here to play... and it's also very difficult to summon my true form. It's so lonely!"

"Sigh, humans are so complicated! Never mind, I shouldn't think about it anymore. I should have lunch first..."

The enormous Sage Katsuyu swam to the base of an equally enormous ancient tree—their sizes were a perfect match—and began to gnaw on the trunk and bark.

"Hmm... the bark of this tree is crisp and fragrant. Don't eat it all at once, save some for later!"

Soon, the Sage Katsuyu turned its attention to food. After all, human affairs were just a minor episode in its long lifespan. Only events at the level of the Nine-Tails or even the Ten-Tails would have any impact on it...

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