Leading the Team

At this time last year, Sakura Haruno was still in the Land of Snow, while Haku went to the Land of Waves alone.

This year, Sakura Genin squad, and since she usually had a relatively relaxed schedule, she went there with Haku.

When they brought Uncle Tazuna Land of Waves, it took them two weeks; but with the speed of elite ninjas Sakura Haruno and Yuki Haku, they arrived in the Land of Waves in just over a day.

The Land of Waves, the Great Bridge of Courage. [Note]

In a secluded valley.

A shimmering green river flows gently from the valley and merges into the sea; its ripples are like silk, its water clear and blue, meandering and winding, creating a beautiful landscape.

Zabuza rests here forever.

His tomb, marked with Kubikiribōchō, stands near the new bridge, deep in the valley.

Surrounded by tranquil green mountains and clear waters, far from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Along the river, which resembles a brocade ribbon, the girls tread on the light green water, stepping into this landscape of mountains and water, verdant peaks and fragrant blossoms.

A series of ripples spread out behind them.

They arrived at the barrier protecting Zabuza's grave.

"The barrier is still intact; no one has been here recently," Sakura said after checking.

When they left the Land of Waves, to prevent anyone from coveting the Kubikiribōchō and disturbing Zabuza's peace, the thoughtful Haku asked Kakashi to leave a protective barrier around the grave.

If anyone tries to forcibly break the barrier, its power will sink Zabuza's grave, along with his Kubikiribōchō, into the nearby underground, a place no one can find.

Only Team Kakashi and Haku know the key to unlocking the barrier.

"Let's start breaking the barrier," Sakura Haruno said with a slight smile.

Bai Qiang chuckled and nodded.

Seeing these objects brought back memories, and her mood somber. Everything that happened in the Land of Waves was only two years ago; the painful past was still fresh in her mind, and recalling everything made Shiro feel extremely melancholy.

She forced a smile, simply because she didn't want Sakura to worry about her too much.

Sakura Haruno sighed inwardly. There was nothing she could do about it. She could only let Shiro adjust his emotions on his own.

Chakra glowed from her fingertips as she pressed the hand seal to dispel the barrier. A soft hum resounded from the transparent barrier before her, and something seemed to vanish into thin air, white light dissipating. Then the barrier dissipated and disappeared. Sakura nodded, "The barrier is gone. Let's go."

She took Bai's wrist and was about to go inside when the smile on her face suddenly vanished.

On the other side.

"Orochimaru, is the Kubikiribōchō really inside the barrier?" the silver-haired youth asked the person walking in front of him without any respect.

The person in front of the silver-haired youth turned around and glanced at him indifferently with his snake-like, murky yellow vertical eyes.

He was wearing a white kimono with a thick purple rope belt around his waist; he was none other than Orochimaru, who had disappeared for more than half a year.

After the deaths of the Sound Four and Kimimaro, Orochimaru recruited a new group of capable subordinates through abduction and training.

However, perhaps because he was a newcomer, or perhaps because of his frivolous nature, the silver-haired young man behind him didn't seem to know how to respect his superior.

Fortunately, Orochimaru didn't seem to mind this level of offense.

"Don't be impatient, Suigetsu..." he said indifferently, "According to intelligence, after Zabuza was killed by Kakashi Hatake, the Kubikiribōchō was not brought back to Konoha, so it was left here. If it can't be found nearby, then it can only be inside the barrier."

"Hmph... Can't this barrier be broken by force?" The man called Suigetsu sat on a nearby rock, frowning. "With your abilities, opening this barrier should be a piece of cake!"

"This barrier was left by Kakashi; he set a trap here," Orochimaru said without turning his head, touching the barrier that emitted a faint silver glow. "Forcibly opening the barrier would trigger the trap, Kubikiribōchō and Zabuza's corpse deep underground... What an interesting and insightful setup, Kakashi!"

He smiled with interest, sticking out his long tongue to lick his lips.

"In that case, the person who wants the Kubikiribōchō is in a dilemma," Suigetsu said with a sudden realization, then frowned. "What do we do, Orochimaru? We can't force it open, and we don't know how to dispel the Hand Seals. Are we just going to watch?"

Orochimaru glanced back at him and sneered.

"Of course not! This barrier was opened last year on this day. Do you know what that means?"

The silver-haired youth pondered for a moment before replying, "Today is Zabuza anniversary. Someone came to pay their respects to him last year!"

"That's right, it must be that woman Yuki Haku. That's why I chose to come here today... If I'm not mistaken, the barrier will open soon!" Orochimaru, his face lowered, seemingly deep in thought. "Not only the Kubikiribōchō and Zabuza's remains... but if all goes well, I can also get my hands on the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!"

The man with snake-like eyes and a face as white as wallpaper paused, inexplicably thinking of another person with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

It's probably because of that person that Orochimaru has now become interested in Ice Release.

After a while, Suigetsu and Orochimaru stopped talking and began to silently wait for the barrier to disappear.

They didn't have to wait long before a surge of Chakra caused the barrier to tremble slightly!

Then, the transparent barrier that was emitting a silver glow dimmed little by little, as if the lights had been turned off!

"The barrier has been lifted!" Suigetsu suddenly jumped up from the rock and shouted.

"The barrier has indeed been dispelled." Orochimaru's lips curled into a sinister smile. "It seems Yuki Haku has arrived... Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Just then, Orochimaru took a step forward and suddenly stopped, his expression extremely interesting.

"I didn't expect there to be so many people here today!"

He snorted coldly and suddenly jumped up!

A thin, silvery-white line suddenly shot out, slashing diagonally through the air and catching up with Orochimaru's figure in mid-air!

Call out--

In an instant, the silver-haired youth on the ground was shocked to discover that his superior had been cut in two by a thin thread!

With a few swishes, the water line spun in the air, slashing horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, instantly cutting Orochimaru's body into several pieces!

Pat-pat.

The corpse, broken into several pieces, fell to the ground, with bright red, unidentified chunks of flesh scattered all over the ground!

"What? Orochimaru, you're dead already?" he shouted, leaping up from the rock.

But then, the bald head of Orochimaru on the ground suddenly opened its mouth violently, widening it to an eerie and unsettling angle. Then, the unharmed Orochimaru crawled out of the corpse!

He shook off the sticky, transparent liquid from his body, ignoring Suigetsu's astonishment, and coldly stared at the other end of the valley, where the silver line had come from.

"Long time no see, Sakura Haruno." Orochimaru revealed a sinister smile. "That was a sharp greeting!"

A pink-haired girl appeared before him, exuding a murderous aura.

She stood atop the mountain, looking down at the two people below.

"Orochimaru..." His sharp eyes swept over the kimono-clad man at the foot of the mountain, then over Hozuki Suigetsu behind him.

His brows furrowed sharply.

"There's one more person..." Sakura said coldly. Orochimaru's new subordinate...?

She suddenly raised her hand, her left hand abruptly extending and pointing straight at the silver-haired youth.

"Huh?" Suigetsu felt a sudden jolt in her temple as the girl abruptly pointed at her, and her scalp went numb. Then, she saw a second silvery-white stream of water shoot out from the girl's slender index finger!

Bang--!

In an instant, the silver-haired youth's head exploded!

Only...

"Headless, yet he's still alive?" Sakura Haruno muttered, her brows furrowing even deeper.

The silver-haired youth opposite her had his head shot off, yet he stood there nonchalantly, his Chakra showing no fluctuation whatsoever. Was he completely immune to physical damage?

"Oh dear, what a dangerous Ninjutsu!" the silver-haired youth exclaimed dramatically. "A terrifyingly violent woman who attacks without warning!"

As he spoke, a spray of water flew over and flowed onto his neck, and then his head returned to normal.

Did your body turn into water?

Sakura Haruno didn't dwell on the matter.

Based on her intuition and Chakra judgment, this person's strength was merely decent; he posed no real threat to her...

"What are you doing here, Orochimaru?" She ignored the man and turned her gaze to Orochimaru, speaking coldly.

With her current strength, she's already qualified to stand opposite Orochimaru. In fact, the proximity to the sea should be an advantage for her...

So Sakura stepped forward with complete confidence.

However... neither of them were opponents that could be easily defeated, so Sakura Haruno could only patiently ask a question first.

"Isn't our objective obvious?" Orochimaru said, head held high. "My new subordinate needs a suitable weapon..."

"So you've set your sights on the Kubikiribōchō." Sakura gave a predictably sarcastic smile.

"That's right! Rather than letting it rot in the ground and dance with the dead, it's better to let it continue to show its splendor in the hands of the living!" The silver-haired youth spread his arms and shouted.

"Are you going to stop us?" Two long snakes crawled out of Orochimaru's sleeve, their tongues flicking menacingly. "This time, there won't be another Jiraiya coming to save you!"

"This is the seaside, Orochimaru."

Sakura Haruno placed her hands in front of her chest, assuming a Hand Seals posture.

Her Cherry Blossom Impact and Yin Seal had already been quietly activated, raising her combat power to its highest level.

"Why don't you think about whether there's anyone else who can come and save you?"

With a sudden flick of her right hand, her slender, nimble fingers rapidly changed hand seals; not far away, she drew out all the water from a river as vast as the sea, transforming it into a giant dragon hundreds of meters long in the air, its body swaying as it quickly filled in the details.

Dragon horns, dragon claws, dragon teeth, dragon eyes, dragon scales, dragon body...

Each one was sculpted from Chakra!

In the blink of an eye, under Sakura's exquisitely masterful manipulation of Water Release Shape Transformation, it transformed into a lifelike giant dragon!

Aww--

With a sudden swing of her arm, the giant dragon roared and charged towards Orochimaru!

"Interesting..." Orochimaru's lips curled into a wicked smile, and his hands quickly Hand Seals!

"Summoning Technique: Gate of Hell!"

A menacing gate, tens of meters thick, appeared between the two of them with Orochimaru's gesture, blocking the way for the snarling water dragon!

Next.

Boom--!!!

Two equally powerful Ninjutsu clashed violently!

At the epicenter of the impact, the ground seemed to leap violently, as if the earth itself trembled from this earth-shattering collision!

The thick, solid gates of hell were blasted open by this attack; the water dragon that broke through the Rashomon lost its momentum and scattered into a torrential downpour.

"I never imagined you'd grown to this extent..." Orochimaru jumped onto the top of the crumbling gate, looked at the strikingly beautiful girl opposite him, and said calmly.

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