Sasori's Battle Wisdom

The full power of the Nintaijutsu was unleashed.

A blue light suddenly appeared on Sakura Haruno's body, and an incredible power surged in her hands.

She actually grabbed a giant scorpion that was hundreds of thousands of times her size!

"Drink—!" she gritted her teeth, her eyebrows furrowed, and shouted angrily, "Here you go!"

With veins bulging on her face, she suddenly unleashed an unstoppable, immense force with both hands, propelling herself forward a few steps before flinging the giant scorpion far away into the shadowy direction!

Then, Sakura slowly exhaled and quickly Hand Seals.

Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent!

Whoosh—the waterline slashed past, the first cut, the second cut,...

Before the giant scorpion could even land and burrow into the ground, it was mercilessly torn to pieces by Sakura!

They gave us absolutely no chance.

The water jet also killed more than a dozen Human Puppet; the remaining puppets scattered like flies being chased away, falling to the ground and vaguely hiding among the rubble and pits.

Sakura Genin and withdrew her hand.

Looking across at the opposite side, a black figure emerged from the gaping hole in the giant pincers.

Scorpion's delicate and lovely face was revealed.

Sakura Haruno suppressed the urge to shoot a water jet directly at that pretty face.

Scorpion's "true form" has disappeared somewhere. If this puppet is destroyed, he has more than a hundred replacements. Sakura can't use Wind Blade Torrent more than a hundred times in a row.

The only certainty is that Scorpion was hiding inside the giant pincers, in a position close to the puppet that was just standing on the pincers disguised as its true form, which misled Sakura's perception.

"How did you see through the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals?" Sakura glanced at him indifferently and asked.

Just now, she had learned from the lesson of the last battle. She had used Swallow Snow Storm's giant dart as a coordinate to Body Flicker Technique there, making her too obvious. Kakuzu saw through her reliance on ice at a glance.

In her battle with Sasori, she only used the Body Flicker Technique of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals twice. The first time she used it, Sasori clearly didn't see it. The second time, she used the entire ice layer as a medium to appear behind the Kazekage Puppet, disguised in a way that was not much different from ordinary Space-Time Body Flicker Technique.

Scorpion probably missed the key point.

"So that's what it's called?" Scorpion chuckled. His puppetry skills were extremely refined. Although it was just a substitute, its eyes were lively and its facial expressions were lifelike.

"Your Body Flicker Technique speed is very fast and also quite stealthy, making it difficult to detect. The secret of this Body Flicker Technique requiring ice as a medium..." he explained, "At first, I also thought it was just an ordinary Body Flicker Technique."

"If that's the case, how did you guess it?"

"Because you have a few weaknesses," Scorpion said, looking at the girl. "First, if your Body Flicker Technique is really that convenient and useful, why didn't you use Body Flicker Technique when you shattered Hiruko in the first place? You charged straight at her, which wasn't slow, but it was ultimately dangerous and inefficient... And in the later battles, I didn't see you use the Body Flicker Technique at will."

"So, I've come to a guess: what conditions must be met for your Body Flicker Technique to be used...?"

"Then, I noticed you expended a lot of Chakra to lay a layer of ice on the ground and attacked with ice shards. This move is far less powerful than your Monstrous Strength and those Water Release techniques, and it consumes a lot of chakra. It's completely unlike your previous style... Unless this move has some other purpose!"

"Scorpion said slowly."

Sakura lowered her eyes, her face expressionless, and said, "So you guessed that my Body Flicker Technique requires ice as a medium?"

"That's right. The key point is that when you used Body Flicker Technique to dodge my Fire Style and Giant Scorpion attacks, you appeared in the same spot both times. This can't be explained by coincidence. Although the riverbed blocked my view, I'm certain that your Body Flicker Technique requires some kind of medium; and the most likely candidate is these ice blocks on the battlefield filled with your Chakra..."

The girl remained silent for a moment.

"So when you were manipulating the giant scorpion to bury itself, you deliberately destroyed the ice layer on the ground, leaving only two spots, and then set up a series of traps. You used a puppet to disguise yourself as the real thing to lure me into attacking, while you hid in the gaps in the giant pincers," she said calmly.

His attention to detail was truly perfect; he even managed to utilize the hole that Sakura Haruno made in the giant pincers.

"Sharp."

Sakura's praise was heartfelt.

"No, even so, I couldn't hurt you. A ninja like you is truly formidable..." Sasori said, "Your Water Release and Body Flicker Technique are indeed fast, but your reaction speed is the fastest."

Sasori's combos were incredibly well-connected, but in the end he was defeated by Sakura's unique Ninjutsu and Cherry Blossom Impact Secret Technique.

Sakura didn't respond to his question, but instead raised an eyebrow. "Are your weapons all soaked in poison? Judging from your tone, it's like you'd win if you hurt me?"

The scorpion smiled without saying a word.

Turning his head, he continued, "A few months ago, you were no match for Kakuzu, but now you've pushed me to this point. To be honest, I carry four scrolls that seal powerful Secret Technique, Kakuzu requires me to use two of them! And against you, I've already used the third scroll..."

Of course, when she was fighting Kakuzu, her Yin Seal wasn't nearly as strong as it is now. For this battle, she used up all the reserves she had accumulated over the past few months!

Her biggest weakness is her Chakra. Once the Yin Seal makes up for this weakness, it's not surprising that she can unleash tremendous power. Moreover, Sasori's puppets are particularly countered by her Monstrous Strength and water blades, especially that giant scorpion.

"Strength and weakness are relative and not reliable indicators," Sakura said calmly. "Is what you sealed in your third scroll these puppets?"

"That's right," Sasori said, controlling the puppet, "They are all Human Puppet I handpicked, over two hundred in total, each retaining most of their strength from their lifetime! But don't worry, Sakura Haruno, I won't put you in this scroll... With your strength, you should be replacing the Third Kazekage Puppet!"

He was becoming more and more satisfied with this girl.

Exquisite appearance, formidable strength... If it were made into a puppet, it would surely be a more perfect masterpiece than the Kazekage Puppet.

Of course, she might be even more perfect when she's a few years older, but by then, he might not be able to beat Sakura Haruno!

"Disgusting..." Sakura's face immediately darkened. "I'm a completely different person now compared to when I fought Kakuzu. You'd better keep your boasting."

"Completely transformed" might be an exaggeration, but "a significant improvement in strength" is certainly true.

In her previous battle with Kakuzu, she had only just developed her Ice Release combat system and wasn't yet proficient in it. More importantly, she hadn't coordinated it well with her Water Release techniques.

However, after experiencing extremely intense battles, strong opponents like Kakuzu and Kimimaro acted like whetstones, smoothing out the unnatural edges of her tactical system. Sakura's Ninjutsu became more refined and skillful through this process!

During this period, Sakura hardly learned any new techniques, and apart from the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, she didn't continue to develop her old Ninjutsu.

Following Tsunade's advice, she calmed down and reviewed her progress over the past period.

After mastering Ice Release and developing Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and Cherry Blossom Impact, her combat power indeed increased by leaps and bounds, and her strength faintly touched the edge of Kage Level.

However, Tsunade saw her hidden dangers: her progress was too fast, her foundation was not solid enough, and she was still suspected of over-relying on powerful Ninjutsu; her mentality was also somewhat impetuous. So she took Sakura to Shikkotsu Forest, where the immense presence of the Sage Katsuyu made Sakura restrain her arrogance; then she suppressed her research progress in cloning technology. In the Land of Snow, Sakura spent more time practicing Ice Release and Water Release Ninjutsu with her Ice Clone or with Sasuke.

After returning to the village, the leisurely and peaceful daily life and the easy tasks allowed Sakura Haruno to spend more time refining her combat system.

So now, her strength has taken another solid step forward.

He has already stepped out of the Elite Jonin level and completely entered the threshold of "Kage" level - if calling him "Kage" level is too exaggerated, the title "Quasi-Kage" level might be more appropriate.

Of course, in the world of ninjas, there isn't a very strict distinction between levels of strength. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. When facing an opponent who has a natural advantage, or when possessing particularly powerful and unpredictable Secret Technique or Ninjutsu, they can often unleash a higher level of combat power to defeat their opponent.

To use an inaccurate term, it would be to "challenge opponents of a higher level".

However, in the bloody and brutal battles of ninjas, determining a winner often means life or death... To describe such a process as a challenge beyond one's level is too frivolous and superficial!

Sakura's battle is not over yet, so let's get back to the main topic.

Sakura Haruno felt no pride whatsoever upon hearing Sasori's words of praise.

She didn't fly into a rage because Scorpion wanted to claim that she would be used as Human Puppet.

Instead, he remained extremely calm.

And while talking, he calmed down the throbbing pain in his meridians.

(Bonus chapter for 1/100 monthly votes completed. Chapter 2 will be updated at 7 PM tonight, and the bonus chapter for 00 monthly votes is also in progress!)

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