An Invitation, Once Again

When Sakura Haruno returned from the Land of Snow and gave her report, she mainly talked about the mysterious Masked Man.

Seeing that it was getting late, the senior executives exchanged glances, indicating that they intended to end the questioning.

"Then, shall we stop here for now?" Tsunade gathered the documents on the table and suggested to the Konoha High Command sitting around her.

"Wait a moment, I have another question, unrelated to the mission," the Third Hokage gestured with his thin hand to Tsunade, then turned to the girl standing in the middle of the office and asked, "Sakura, you just used a Ninjutsu that can see objects at a distance to find them. Would you mind demonstrating this technique? If it's inconvenient, that's fine."

Sakura Haruno waved her hand and laughed, "It's just a trick!"

Without even using Hand Seals, she conjured a crystalline cylindrical ice pillar in her hand. "Ice Release: Telescope Technique!"

Next, she modified the appearance using Shape Transformation, turning the transparent outer tube into a glossy black shell. After completing the Ninjutsu, the girl now held a pair of binoculars. Sakura Haruno handed the binoculars over, and the Third and the others were somewhat surprised. After trying them out, they exchanged smiles and said, "We should have thought of this earlier."

Indeed, telescopes existed in this world long ago, but ninjas never cared about their principles, so they never thought of using Ninjutsu to replicate them, and thus never created such Ninjutsu.

"Ordinary ice is too opaque to be used as a lens," Tsunade took the telescope. "Achieving this level of transparency and purity requires a very high level of Ice Release Nature Transformation skill!"

"Water Release should be able to do something similar?" The Third took a drag of his cigarette, stared at the rising plume of smoke for a moment, and pondered, wanting to try to conjure a telescope himself.

"Of course you can. It's just that the effect will be less pronounced and less stable." Ice Release's Shape Transformation are more stable, but Water Release isn't out of the question either; Sakura Haruno had already considered this issue.

Next, Sakura Water Release Hand Seals create a hand seal; the Third Hokage tried a few times and succeeded, but he didn't control it very well, and the image was a bit blurry.

"Could this technique be widely adopted?" Tsunade tried creating one herself, glanced out the window, and quickly realized its significance. "It's a technique with great reference value; it's not just about technique!"

The advisors exchanged glances, Koharu Utatane solemnly declared, "From now on, Water Release ninjas can also double as reconnaissance ninjas. This is a Ninjutsu with strategic value!"

The Third chuckled, "Being called a half-reconnaissance ninja is a bit of an exaggeration. This technique is far inferior to the Byakugan! Moreover, to use this technique well requires extremely high skill in Water Release and precise control over Ninjutsu. It's not widely available yet; ninjas who can't control Water Release well will probably never be able to use it in their lifetime! However, being able to achieve this level is already quite remarkable."

Tsunade frowned slightly and said, "It's just that the principle behind this technique is obvious at a glance, so it can't be kept secret and other villages could easily learn it..."

"Let's promote it in the Anbu first!" She thought for a moment and made a decision.

"That's all for today. You can go back now." The Fifth Hokage stood up, saw Sakura Haruno out, and then closed the conference room door.

This happened several months ago: it was February, Sakura Haruno had just returned from the Land of Snow.

After completing her performance review and submitting crucial intelligence, Sakura Haruno was not suspected by anyone; they all assumed that this intelligence was obtained after Sakura's arduous pursuit and battle.

Actually, no.

Okay, at least there was fighting. But the reason they were able to obtain this information was because of a secret between Sakura Haruno and her Tsunade. The events that happened in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran are still kept secret by the two of them. In short, it wasn't as some of the Konoha High Command imagined, that Sakura traveled all over those remote countries and then discovered Akatsuki's whereabouts in an unexpected corner of Konoha.

Therefore, Orochimaru's plan is likely to fail.

Even if he couldn't find any evidence, no one would believe him; even if he produced solid evidence and made a big fuss, it wouldn't be possible to force Sakura to the point of betraying the village.

In the past year, she has grown to such an extent that she has begun to make many contributions to the village; intelligence and Ninjutsu —these were things that Konoha used to cultivate in her, and now Sakura has begun to give back to the village.

In the past, the village protected her; now it's Sakura Haruno's turn to protect the village!

Therefore, the girl is no longer the insignificant girl she used to be.

Before Sakura Haruno commits any heinous crime that harms her fellow villagers, a minor flaw or stain might have some impact on her future ambitions to become Hokage, but it wouldn't escalate to the point of defection.

Even if she did something taboo in the village!

Therefore, although she was a little flustered by Orochimaru's threat, Sakura Haruno quickly calmed down.

Having figured this out, she calmly looked at Orochimaru, not denying that she had conducted human experiments outside the village, but simply said, "Is Moryo all you can do? It's a pity, the bond between the village and me cannot be severed by a few actions!"

Sakura Haruno took another step forward and stood in front of Orochimaru.

"How disappointing, Orochimaru," Sakura said slowly. "Where has your former spirit gone? Is your focus on these petty squabbles because you've been hiding in a hole for too long, or because you've been reincarnated as a woman for too long and your spirit has been corrupted by the original owner's?"

The two stood a dozen meters apart, a distance that, for two Kage Level beings, was practically face-to-face.

With Orochimaru's keen eyesight, he could even see the fine downy hairs on the girl's face.

Therefore, Sakura Haruno's eyes were clearly visible.

She wavered for only a moment, but quickly regained her resolve.

When the girl looked at him with those burning eyes, Orochimaru realized that his verbal probing had failed. The girl before him had grown into a powerful ninja recognized by the village, and it was almost a pipe dream to try to sever the bond and trust between her and the village with some underhanded tricks.

What a pity...

Orochimaru really wanted her. He firmly believed that if Sakura Haruno could do research with him, the results might be even more tempting than the Uchiha bloodline!

Orochimaru's plan was to force Sakura to defect, and then take her in and accept her when she was desperate. He had this plan the moment he first saw her. He was very successful in luring her onto the forbidden path, but he got stuck at the most important step.

So, if verbal probing doesn't work.

Orochimaru also took a step forward.

"Aren't you really going to consider it? Join my ninja village... You'll get everything. You can have any knowledge you want, any experiments you want to conduct, and you won't have to be so restricted like you are in Konoha!" He opened his arms as if to welcome her. "In this world, only I truly understand your talent!"

His expression was incredibly honest... because Orochimaru truly thought that way!

"Is this your purpose, Orochimaru?" Sakura Haruno remained unmoved and said calmly.

Orochimaru's invitation was indeed very tempting to some extent... If she went there, the few Ninjutsu that were currently holding her back would immediately receive tremendous support, and her progress would be much faster than when she was in Konoha!

But...

"I'm sorry, I can't agree."

No reason was given, nor is any reason required.

Orochimaru understood perfectly why Sakura made that choice. She was like another side of him; and it was indeed a choice he would make if he were to embark on a different path in life.

While feeling regretful, Orochimaru inexplicably didn't feel too disappointed.

It seemed as if it had been expected all along.

The moment their eyes met in mid-air, they seemed to see right through each other's hearts.

"You chose a great battleground... You deliberately brought me here just now, didn't you!" Orochimaru suddenly remarked.

"So, are you going to admit defeat?" Sakura Haruno asked with a slight smile.

"Hmph..." Orochimaru sneered.

Their gazes turned cold simultaneously.

If they're not allies... then they're enemies!

Ice Release: Four-Pillar Prison!

Chakra surged forth, and Sakura's hands Hand Seals that instantly erected four thick ice pillars beneath Orochimaru's feet!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh--!

The hard ice pillars rose wildly and grew rapidly, soon becoming as thick as several people could hug, determined to crush Orochimaru to death within their embrace!

Orochimaru neither dodged nor evaded, but suddenly spat out a long sword from his mouth. The blade was incredibly sharp, instantly severing the hard ice pillar blocking his way. His neck extended like a water snake, shooting towards Sakura Haruno!

That's the Kusanagi Sword! Sakura Haruno's pupils contracted as she saw the gleaming blade transform into a streak of cold light in mid-air, piercing towards her with lightning speed!

Sakura Haruno remained unmoved, her expression unchanged, her body motionless, but in the next moment, she suddenly appeared on the ice pillar next to Orochimaru.

"Ice Body Flicker Technique..." Orochimaru had missed its mark, suddenly turned around and, unsurprisingly, discovered the girl who Body Flicker Technique to his side.

Suddenly, she possessed a pair of crystal-clear, beautiful butterfly swords. The icy blades, still radiating a chilling aura, exuded a sharp killing intent. The girl swung her swords, the ice blades slicing through the air with a short, sharp whistle, aiming for Orochimaru's chest!

Despite having undergone Soft Body Modification, Orochimaru withstood the full force of the Star Cannon Hammer, but ultimately could not withstand the sharp blade and was cut in two by Sakura.

Splash! Orochimaru's body dissolved into a puddle of water and vanished into the sea!

"Water Substitution..." Sakura Haruno coldly stared at Orochimaru's true form, which appeared not far away.

Sakura's mind raced as she analyzed Orochimaru's fighting style; he must have immediately used his Water Clone to break free of his restraints the moment he shattered the ice pillar, and then swapped positions with the clone using the Substitution Technique!

This happened in an instant!

As expected of Sannin, the Orochimaru who has researched and used Ninjutsu the most... This kind of move simply cannot defeat him!

So, shall we have something bigger?

Without any pause, Sakura Haruno, who had just finished one move, immediately launched another attack!

The girl's Chakra surged frantically, releasing a massive amount of energy from the Yin Seal, instantly filling every cell in her body!

Never before had she controlled such a massive amount of Chakra, and Sakura Haruno felt as if her entire body had become much heavier! She took a deep breath, her hand Hand Seals struggling slightly as she instantly converted the enormous Chakra into the energy of Ninjutsu!

"Hey!" the girl shouted, her Chakra surging wildly. The calm air was stirred into a raging whirlwind by this energy, and a cold wave surged out of Sakura Haruno's body like a flood, freezing everything within sight into solid ice in the blink of an eye!

The waves solidified, the spray froze into ice in the air, and shattered upon hitting the ice; the entire ocean froze in that instant!

On the sea, endless ice shards, radiating a chilling aura, lay crisscrossed and densely packed, covering the entire area where Orochimaru was located like a forest!

(Fourth update delivered, sorry to keep you waiting! Writing this much is really tiring... but a good fourth update is done! Bonus chapter for [Study hard, don't want to masturbate]!)

(Entering bonus chapter mode, at least three chapters every time, 10,000 words! One bonus chapter for every 00 monthly votes!)

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(I'm writing extra chapters to celebrate this excellent work!)