An Enemy Approaching from Another Direction!

The ninjas of Konoha didn't have so many complicated schemes, and they were naturally very grateful to Gaara for helping them. Although the two teams were working together, there was a difference between internal and external operations, so it wasn't unusual for one side to retreat first instead of covering for the other when danger came.

Such genuine acts of treating allies as partners are truly heartwarming.

"Thank you, Gaara!" Konoha said sincerely.

The Sand shinobi, on the other hand, are much more conflicted.

At first, they avoided Gaara the plague, but now they have to rely on his power...

Gaara quickly realized their mindset. He didn't argue, nor did he intend to embarrass them further, and casually changed the subject. "Was the one fighting Sasori... Sakura Haruno?"

Of course he still remembered her, the girl with the broad forehead.

The most unique person he met in Konoha was Naruto Uzumaki, who shared his plight but gained the approval of his comrades.

Of the remaining people, most either hated him, loathed him, or feared him.

But some people's eyes were different from those of the others.

For example, Lee—that Taijutsu master only saw him as a challenger, and Gaara now feels very guilty for hurting him so badly; for example, Sasuke —he sees Gaara as a target that must be defeated, and his eyes are very sincere.

And that girl who's really good at Water Release and Ice Release.

Sakura Haruno.

This is the first time Gaara has encountered a girl other than Temari who doesn't see him as a monster.

It's probably because Naruto is her teammate! She and Naruto have a very good relationship, so she extends that affection to him and doesn't dislike him Jinchūriki of the Sand shinobi Village.

He still vividly remembers every smile and gesture of that girl.

Her light green eyes, clear and clean like a stream, seemed to extinguish the flames of anger in his heart when she looked at him calmly.

Sakura is indeed a unique ninja.

Only...

Neither of his two close encounters with her were pleasant. The first was when they confronted each other at the hospital, where she displayed extreme anger and icy killing intent for the first time in front of Lee. The second was Chunin Ninja Exams when they escaped Konoha. The fates of the three people were in her hands. Sakura hesitated, her expression shifting between light and dark, but in the end, she let them go.

"Since Naruto believes in you, then I believe in you too." That's what she said.

If Gaara and Naruto are biological "brothers," not blood relatives, and therefore Gaara can be trusted by Naruto, then this girl is the first person outside of his "family" to trust him...

Over the past six months, Kankuro and Temari have witnessed Gaara's transformation, and the three have gradually returned to a normal family relationship. However, outside of Sunagakure still perceive him as cold and ruthless.

Deep-seated prejudices are everywhere.

When he discovered how difficult it was to gain the approval and bond with his companions, he realized how precious Sakura Haruno's words, "I believe in you," were.

Sakura Haruno...

How is she now?

After returning to Sunagakure, Gaara kept track of news there; he knew that Lee had fully recovered, that Naruto had left the village to travel and train with others, and that many of those who took the exam that year had grown up very quickly.

When Temari returned from Konoha a few days ago, besides mentioning Shikamaru, she also talked about Sakura, saying, "She seems to have grown up all of a sudden, becoming very beautiful..." She skipped over the details that only girls care about, and then added, "And she's very strong; I could feel it when I stood in front of her. She might even be stronger than your younger brother..."

If someone is stronger than him, they should be able to hold their own against Sasori of the Red Sand for a while, right?

"How long can Sakura Haruno and the others hold out?" Gaara suddenly asked as they traveled.

"I don't know..." Hoshino Uo replied, "I can still sense that her Chakra is stable. Maybe she can hold out until we get reinforcements, or maybe she'll be taken down soon..."

"She won't be killed so easily," the Konoha captain suddenly said. "She's strong! Maybe she can even defeat that so-called Sasori of the Red Sand!"

Gaara turned to look at him with some surprise.

"The opponent is Sasori of the Red Sand," he said, a hint of concern in his voice, "Although I know Sakura is very strong..."

The Konoha captain turned around and met his gaze.

"You don't know yet... Sakura previously confronted the other members of Akatsuki head-on, and then returned unscathed."

"However, they are still in danger regardless," the captain said, accelerating again from his already excessive cruising speed. "We must pick up the pace!"

The Konoha Ninja disregarded everything and pushed their speed to the limit without hesitation; the Sand shinobi, however, looked at each other, hesitant, and finally all turned their gazes to Gaara.

"Let's follow," he said calmly.

He instantly accelerated and rushed out, naturally taking the lead among the Sand shinobi, with the rest of the Sand shinobi following behind.

Hang in there!

Another direction, not too far from the battlefield.

The man in the kimono walking in front suddenly stopped.

"Can you feel it, Kabuto?" he asked, turning to his companion behind him.

The bespectacled youth stopped, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the situation. "Hmm... there's a battle ahead, Lord Orochimaru."

The two were none other than Orochimaru and Kabuto, who had emerged from an unknown base.

"I can feel the aftershocks even from this far away... Who are the two sides fighting, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru climbed to the top of the hill and glanced into the distance.

"It's normal that you can't sense them from this distance," he said with a wicked smile. "The two people fighting right now are old acquaintances of ours! Kabuto, why don't you guess who they are..."

Kabuto followed and stood behind Orochimaru.

"One of them is Scorpion, right?" He pushed up his glasses, arriving at the answer matter-of-factly. "He hates waiting for people, and he hates people waiting for him, so he'll always be there on time..."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile, gesturing for him to leave; it wasn't difficult to guess that one of them was Sasori, but the other was Sakura Haruno, which was a different story for Kabuto.

"However, I don't know who the other one is." Kabuto frowned, pondered for a moment, and analyzed, "At this time, the most likely person to appear in that location is a ninja from Sunagakure. They must have discovered Sasori and Akatsuki's whereabouts... But after we killed the Fourth Kazekage, they shouldn't have any ninjas that strong anymore!"

He glanced at Orochimaru, whose pale, almost bloodless face held a half-smile, indicating that Kabuto's guess was wrong.

Dou paused for a moment, then pondered.

He added, "If it's not Sand shinobi, then it can only be someone from Konoha." There are quite a few ninjas in Konoha who are old acquaintances of Kabuto and Orochimaru... However, there are very few who can fight Sasori to this extent. Kakashi might be able to exchange a few blows with him, but with his Chakra reserves, he definitely couldn't put up such a show.

Could it be Tsunade? No... this is even more unbelievable than Kakashi's sudden surge in Chakra.

So, who exactly is it?

Seeing that Kabuto still couldn't figure it out, Orochimaru simply revealed the answer, "I'll just tell you directly, Kabuto! She is Sakura Haruno."

Dou was clearly taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously retorted, "How could that be!"

His impression of Sakura was still from that brief confrontation during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Kabuto had to admit that Sakura already possessed considerable strength at that time, and her strange Ninjutsu even gave him a headache. He wasn't confident he could defeat her in a short time.

But for her to be able to contend with Scorpion...

"Heh heh... Don't forget that time she fought Kimimaro." Orochimaru licked his lips, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. "She's grown even faster than Sasuke!"

Orochimaru's expression was somewhat amused.

In some ways, Orochimaru Sakura Haruno... are actually the same kind of people, both being talented Ninjutsu who pursue truth.

However, Orochimaru, who lost both parents at a young age and was exposed to too much darkness, and the girl who grew up happily and had two generations of Hokage protecting her, simply took different paths, one of darkness and the other of light.

So, in the Forest of Death, he didn't kill Sakura, not only because he needed someone to stay by Sasuke's side to take care of him, but also for other reasons.

Looking at her is like seeing myself walking down a different path.

Unlike Sasuke and Sasuke, who were treasures he coveted and capable subordinates, Sakura was a fellow traveler on the same path of exploration.

After learning that Sakura Haruno was the one who killed Kimimaro, Orochimaru felt regret and anger, but also a vague sense of anticipation.

"You've grown up so fast! You really are like me..."

Therefore, after discovering that Konoha was searching his base and looting his data, he deliberately left behind a complete set of information.

It wasn't that there wasn't enough time to destroy it... He knew Sakura was Tsunade's disciple and must have a way to access those documents.

That was actually for her.

"You'll definitely be unable to resist studying the information inside..." Orochimaru speculated, because if he were in that situation, he would make the same choice!

In this respect, he really knows Sakura Haruno very well.

"Will you follow in my footsteps and betray the village and your companions?"

He recalled those bright, defiant eyes from the Chunin Ninja Exams: "Hehehehe... I'm really looking forward to it! I can't wait to see your eyes dim and you flee like a defeated dog, Sakura Haruno!"

However, in this respect, Sakura Haruno and Orochimaru are not the same kind of people. Orochimaru wants to replicate his life trajectory in Sakura, but he doesn't really understand her other side—her easygoing, warm, and sunny side...

Pulling his thoughts back from his memories, Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto indifferently. "Let's go, don't miss the show!"

Dou nodded.

With two quick movements, the two disappeared down the road.

(Minimum guarantee/.)

(Please vote for me and subscribe! My new book is ranked tenth on the original content chart, and I'm about to be overtaken! My position is in grave danger!! I need your votes~~)

(More chapters to be added tomorrow.) 1089