Probing

Sakura Haruno's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

It absorbs Chakra quickly and in large quantities, capable of draining the Chakra of a Ninjutsu in an instant. This alone is troublesome enough. Coupled with its extremely strong healing ability, Samehada is practically an unsolvable problem, combining offense and defense.

Seeing Kisame so lively and energetic, where was the dying look from just now? Sakura hadn't been able to notice and stop Kisame's transformation in time because her mind was mainly focused on healing, and more importantly, Samehada had completed the healing in just a few seconds, leaving her no time to react!

The series of unexpected events left Sakura Haruno feeling rather distressed.

However, no one knew beforehand that Samehada possessed extremely strong healing abilities, and Sakura couldn't shift the blame onto anyone. She could only feel helpless as Kisame quietly escaped his inevitable death.

"Samehada, your Chakra tastes like snowflakes, very sweet and delicious, and there's plenty of it too. It's rare to see it so excited!" Kisame flexed his hand; his wounds had healed to the point where they no longer hindered his movement, and his right hand seemed to move freely. He then leisurely continued, "However, that punch you gave it really hurt. All the Chakra it just ingested was used to heal itself and me..."

Samehada twitched a few times with a strange, almost sentient quality, emitting a series of crackling sounds. The blade, which had been bent into an L-shape, was now perfectly straight. Had it healed itself? Sakura Haruno noticed this detail out of the corner of her eye. Steel doesn't revert to its original state on its own; this sword was, in essence, a living being after all!

"As repayment for that punch, I'll cut you a few more times!" Kisame brandished his greatsword in mid-air, speaking with chilling malice.

The implication was that Sakura was already like meat on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.

"How arrogant!" Sakura Haruno raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

It was unclear whether Kisame's words were genuinely contemptuous of her or a deliberate act to provoke his opponent.

Sakura Haruno remained unmoved. She didn't have time to respond further, nor would she be agitated by such provocative words. Of course, she wouldn't be surprised or doubtful by Kisame's confident demeanor.

After two rounds of combat, aside from expending some Chakra and confirming information about their opponents, neither side made any significant progress in the battle, and neither gained a clear advantage. Instead, they were back to Qidian one.

In this way, Sakura Haruno still has full confidence in defeating her opponent.

Because of her arrogance and underestimation of her enemy, she was nearly killed in a single move. This erroneous girl has already deeply reflected on her mistakes. But this does not mean that Sakura will go from one extreme to the other, from despising her opponents and being arrogant to being overly cautious and self-deprecating. The latter can be aptly described by one word: following one's heart.

Finding the right balance between the two would be to strategically despise the enemy while tactically taking them seriously—having complete confidence in defeating Kisame, but also being sufficiently cautious in specific tactics.

"Samehada's abilities are indeed formidable," the girl said calmly.

In fact, Samehada's abilities go far beyond being fearsome. Compared to the other great Kubikiribōchō Sakura is familiar with, Samehada is on a completely different level. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu that a ninja uses, as long as it involves outward Chakra release, will be absorbed by Chakra Samehada, causing the technique to fail. Therefore, apart from those with exceptional Taijutsu skills, over 90% of ninjas will be countered by Samehada's ability.

Compared to absorbing Chakra and healing the user, the ability to recover by only sucking blood is utterly weak; after experiencing Samehada's abilities, Sakura Haruno had only one thought: the Kubikiribōchō is completely unworthy of being ranked alongside Samehada among the Seven Swords of the Mist Ninja, it's shameful, it should be removed from the group!

"However, its abilities are not invincible. Some special Ninjutsu cannot be destroyed by Chakra absorption, such as—" she drawled, staring intently into Kisame's eyes, " --Sharingan."

Most Sharingan Genjutsu are activated through intangible eye contact, and Samehada cannot absorb the Chakra techniques. Having spent several years with Uchiha Itachi, Kisame was well aware of this fact. Because of this, Itachi's strength surpassed his own, which was a major reason for Kisame's respect for Itachi—even though he was also burdened with the secret mission entrusted to him by Madara to monitor Itachi.

However, after Sakura Haruno's deliberate provocation, another thought suddenly popped into Kisame's mind: who was actually restraining whom—it was Uchiha Itachi, whose abilities were a perfect counter to his own?

Normally, such thoughts would never have crossed Kisame's mind. But Sakura's words just now seemed to have planted a nail in his heart. He defected from the village to escape the ugly and false abyss of Kirigakure, and joined Akatsuki and "Madara" because of a promised home. But what if the defection itself was a manipulation by Madara Uchiha?

As a missing-nin hiding in the shadows, Kisame had survived for many years in a treacherous environment, making him extremely suspicious. He felt this way about Sakura Haruno, and it was inevitable that he would harbor some wariness towards Madara Uchiha as well. Although he could only believe about 10% of what Sakura Haruno said, and thought most of the time it was information the girl was deliberately misleading him, once the seed of suspicion was planted in a person's heart, it was extremely difficult to eradicate.

Of course, given Kisame's unwavering resolve, this bit of suspicion wouldn't affect his battle at all, nor would it show any trace on his face. Sakura Haruno guessed from those secret documents that there might be some hidden secrets, which is why she deliberately tried to test him with words. However, even with her almond-shaped eyes wide open, the girl couldn't glean any clues from Kisame's face with such a clumsy test.

It seems impossible to gather any information about Akatsuki and that mysterious man who calls himself Madara Uchiha from here. An enemy of this caliber would only reveal information he deliberately lets you know. To find out more, you'd have to defeat him and then use Genjutsu to pry his mouth open.

Realizing her hopes had been dashed, Sakura Haruno didn't seem to care, simply saying coldly, "Don't think that this kind of special Ninjutsu is exclusive to the Uchiha Clan..."

In terms of intangible and formless techniques, her Illusion Sound Technique is also without substance; or things like high-pressure jets, which are extremely lethal even without Chakra. Sakura also has several techniques that are not countered by Samehada.

The only downside is that her Nintaijutsu isn't very effective against Samehada. While she possesses immense Monstrous Strength, the risk of having her Chakra drained makes it too difficult to clash head-on with Samehada. Might Guy's Taijutsu, which only consumes Strong Fist and doesn't use Samehada, is the nemesis of Chakra.

"If it were Might Guy, opening the Sixth Gate wouldn't be good, but the Seventh Gate would probably completely overwhelm Kisame. He's too much of a counter..." The girl silently compared them in her mind. Of course, she also knew that style. Sakura Haruno's Nintaijutsu was essentially a combination of ordinary Taijutsu and Monstrous Strength Technique. Based on her fist techniques from her previous life, she incorporated the Gentle Fist and Strong Fist knowledge she learned from Hinata, Might Guy, and Tsunade in this life. After rigorous practical training, she finally formed her current Nintaijutsu.

Sakura is, after all, a Kage-level ninja. She has fought many opponents of the same level. Even if her Taijutsu is weak, it won't be too bad. In terms of close-quarters combat skills alone, she can be considered a master among Taijutsu practitioners. However, if she were to fight like Might Guy and Lee, with her thin arms and legs, she would probably be unable to do so without Chakra enhancement or the use of Nintaijutsu.

However, even without using Nintaijutsu, the final outcome won't be affected...

"Stop looking at people... or you'll make the same mistake I did!" she said quietly.

"Is that so?" Kisame grinned, revealing his menacing fangs. "Then I'll wait and see!"

He didn't take Sakura Haruno's words to heart.

Having spent so many years in the Shinobi World, aside from those two people with the Uchiha name, Kisame hadn't encountered anyone he could truly fear. Even without using Samehada, Kisame's strength was already among the best of the Kage Level; the "Tailless Tailed Beast" and the "abyss-like amount of Chakra" were no joke. With Samehada, he was even more powerful, standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world, regarding most ninjas as ants beneath his feet, and not even taking the power of the Tailed Beast seriously.

Kisame had seen his share of so-called special Ninjutsu. So what if it was the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique? He could still easily defeat them... Pshaw, Samehada could absorb the Chakra of these Secret Techniques, rendering them useless, and then completely Secret Technique them.

This isn't just Kisame boasting; countless ninjas who died at his hands proved it with their lives. Kisame has also slain many so-called clan Secret Technique and Kekkei Genkai. Anyone who involved Chakra release was defeated without exception by him and his Samehada. On the contrary, it was only pure Taijutsu, or the Mist Ninja Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure back then, that posed a threat to him.

Sakura Haruno's so-called special Ninjutsu is probably just some Ice Release with special effects, right? But she probably doesn't know that there are differences between Kekkei Genkai. Kisame has seen quite a few Ice Release ninjas and Ice Release Secret Technique, and he doesn't think that Ice Release can compare to the Sharingan of the Uchiha in any way.

By the way, who was the last Yuki Samehada? That was before he defected from Mist Ninja.

Sakura Haruno pursed her lips but did not respond.

The final verbal exchange before the battle ended there. The verbal sparring did not shake either side's beliefs, and the near-decisive confrontation did not cause either side to lose confidence in defeating the enemy.

The two exchanged a glance, knowing that words would be powerless against each other, and fell into a tacit silence.

Then came the even more intense third round of battle.

Sakura Haruno completed her Ice Release even faster— Kisame confirmed this once again. Sakura's Ninjutsu was indeed slightly better than his. He could only see the girl's slender and nimble ten fingers dancing in front of her chest, turning into afterimages. The speed of her Hand Seals and Chakra manipulation was unimaginable. In just one or two breaths, she completed the Ninjutsu before him.

Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm!

The girl clasped her hands together in a final mudra, her fingers pressed tightly together. Then, her Chakra surged forth like a whirlwind, violently lifting her clothes and long hair upwards!

"Drink!"

With a clear shout, the pool of water beside Sakura Haruno suddenly boiled, as if scooped up by an invisible giant hand, and abruptly rose into the air. The chilling aura of her Ice Release swept over it, instantly condensing into countless crystalline, glittering, four-pointed ice darts! The girl raised her right hand high and swung it forward with force. Hundreds of ice darts, each as tall as an adult and gleaming with a cold light, whistled through the air and shot towards Kisame at high speed!

Whoosh--

Over a hundred giant shuriken transformed into streaks of cold light, rushing towards Kisame in the blink of an eye; the gleaming shuriken, beneath their beautiful exteriors, seemed to conceal extreme danger. This move, originally just an ordinary Ice Release Ninjutsu from the Land of Snow, took on the aura of a highly advanced Ninjutsu under Sakura Haruno's full power, completely enveloping half the sky in front of Kisame!

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Kisame's Ninjutsu was a beat too slow. The water wall, which was not yet fully formed, rose hastily and only lasted for a moment before being blasted apart by the highly penetrating shuriken, turning into a spray of water.

"This doesn't seem so simple!" Kisame frowned, a sinister smile playing on his lips, and raised Samehada to meet Sakura Haruno's Ninjutsu.

Clang!

The shuriken collided with the broadsword, producing a crisp, metallic sound. The sensation from the blade sent a chill down Kisame's spine! The shuriken hadn't disappeared after Chakra absorbed its Samehada, as he'd expected, nor had it been crushed into dust like ordinary ice upon impact with the hard broadsword. In fact, Samehada hadn't absorbed much Chakra from the ice shuriken at all, and its hardness far exceeded Kisame's expectations!

"Interesting!"

The Kisame gill-like stripes on Kisame's face twitched, and the sharp gust of wind from the dart hit him. The burly man was only surprised for a moment before he reacted.

Ice darts are formed from naturally occurring water, not Chakra- mimicked ice. Therefore, they don't simply disappear after Chakra absorbs their Samehada. Utilizing the environment is common in Water Release techniques, and Sakura Haruno's ability to apply it in Ice Release is simply due to her exceptional skill and deep understanding of Ice Release Nature Transformation; it's nothing extraordinary. As for why ice darts are so hard, Kisame didn't understand the principle that the colder and purer the ice, the harder it is, nor did he know how difficult it was to instantly extract pure water and cool it to around -100 degrees Celsius. However, this didn't prevent him from understanding that ice darts are extremely hard—even much harder than Samehada itself!

He wielded Samehada, the massive pufferfish-shaped blade seemingly weightless in the hands of this Mist Ninja missing-nin. A flash of cold light and a flurry of blade shadows filled the air as Kisame charged forward against the onslaught of shuriken. He slashed and sliced, unleashing dozens of precise and powerful strikes that intercepted the relentless ice shuriken. In the blink of an eye, he had broken free of Swallow Snow Storm's range!

Sakura Haruno formed a sword finger with her left hand in front of her chest, keeping a close eye on Kisame's figure. She was constantly observing and preparing, ready to unleash a series of ice crystal explosions or use Ice Body Flicker Technique to leap over and deliver a heavy blow if Kisame showed the slightest opening.

However, until Kisame broke free from the range of Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm, the girl did not find a single opportunity. Her left hand, gloved in black, remained motionless at her chest as she watched Kisame wield his heavy sword with effortless ease, calmly and steadily knocking down and absorbing the Chakra of each ice shuriken, severing its connection with the caster, making it impossible for him to be destroyed by Sakura Explosion or used as a coordinate for Body Flicker Technique.

All the intelligence reports emphasize Kisame's extremely strong Water Release, his Chakra, and the bizarre nature of Samehada's abilities.

But before that, don't forget that he is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist Ninja!

"The attempt... failed."

Sakura Haruno raised her head and murmured to herself.

Above her head, Kisame, who had charged through the swarm of darts, did not stop but maintained his charging stance. He leaped high and slashed down at the girl from above.