Sakura Haruno vs. Itachi!

Sakura Haruno is extremely fast. Her Ice Body Flicker Technique, Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, is best suited for close to medium distance movement, and its speed is only slightly slower than the Flying Thunder God of the Yellow Flash. However, it is equally impressive when used for long-distance travel.

Whoosh, whoosh!

The girl's figure flickered across the ground, each step landing on a crystal-clear mirror, like an ice and snow sprite traversing the battlefield.

From the moment she sensed the Super Electromagnetic Cannon being used to her appearance in front of Itachi and Sasuke, only a few dozen seconds had passed.

This speed was already incredibly fast, but Sakura was still a step too slow.

The Body Flicker Technique she appeared at the edge of the battlefield, she saw Sasuke groan, deactivate his demon form, and fall heavily to the ground, clutching his head.

Then she fainted in Sakura Haruno's arms as Body Flicker Technique.

"Is it Tsukuyomi...?" He didn't have any obvious serious injuries.

"Sasuke... you did it."

He successfully stalled the itch.

Sakura wanted to say something more, but found herself speechless.

She gently placed Sasuke on the ground, her heart heavy with indescribable sorrow, and stood up.

Itachi stood not far from her, enveloped by a ball of Chakra that had solidified into the shape of a giant. The purplish-red, semi-transparent giant exuded a dense and ominous Chakra aura, and even just standing there quietly, it emanated an inviolable and awe-inspiring presence.

Those blood-red eyes didn't contain the Tomoe commonly seen in Sharingan; instead, they had an eerie black windmill shape.

Both of them looked up and gazed at each other from a distance of several dozen meters.

Two cold gazes collided in mid-air.

"Uchiha Itachi." Sakura Haruno coldly uttered his name, each word deliberate and forceful, as if she were using all her strength.

The early summer wind whipped up the dust on the ground, swirling and churning, creating a somewhat noisy and hot atmosphere.

Sakura's words, however, were as cold as ice that had stood for millennia.

Itachi stared intently at the girl in front of him.

Sweat on her cheeks and temples, slightly rapid breathing, bloodstains and mud all over her body, untreated minor wounds, and clothes full of tears all revealed the girl's disheveled state after the battle.

But Uchiha Itachi's gaze grew even more serious, and after a long while, he slowly spoke.

"Sakura Haruno..." he said slowly, his blood-red eyes deep and cold, his voice slightly hoarse, "You're here..."

"That means Kisame has already lost."

The wind ruffled the ferret's hair, causing it to flutter gently across his forehead.

Although it was a question, Itachi's tone was quite certain, because after the earth-shattering Ninjutsu bombardment, he could no longer sense Kisame's Chakra fluctuations.

"It's a pity, he's dead." The girl's voice was as cold as an iceberg, but a malicious smile curled at the corner of her lips as she glanced at the underground passage. "But don't worry... at least your people have already collected his body."

Itachi's brows furrowed slightly, his thin, sharply defined lips pressed tightly together, and he stood silently. Then—

Boom!

Itachi's attack came without any warning!

Sakura Haruno didn't even see Itachi make any move or show any sign of preparing to fight. She only saw him standing straight with his hands hanging down naturally without moving. Then, without any warning, the purplish-red giant clenched his fist, which was bigger than the girl, and smashed it down on her with unparalleled momentum!

In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Itachi had completed a swift and fierce surprise attack!

Bang--

The purplish-red giant fist slammed down like thunder, striking the spot where Sakura Haruno stood, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The thick dust obscured the view, but it couldn't stop the Sharingan's perception of Chakra.

"We've been stopped..."

Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly.

His inner thoughts were far from as calm as his outward expression; instead, he was startled: A ninja skilled in Ninjutsu, yet his reaction speed was so fast, easily stopping such a sudden attack... No wonder he was able to defeat Kisame so quickly!

Indeed, thanks to Cherry Blossom Impact's enhancement of her nervous system, Sakura Haruno's reaction speed can almost be described as "acting before thinking"; even though the Crimson Giant's punch was as fast as lightning, Sakura had enough time to react!

As the dust settled, Sakura Haruno reappeared in Itachi's sight. In front of her, a solid and thick ice wall firmly blocked the giant's fist. The giant's crushing blow only left a few shallow cracks on the ice wall!

The translucent fist stopped less than a meter above Sakura's head.

"Chakra is released into the air and condensed into a tangible form...?" Sakura Haruno narrowed her eyes, carefully examining the strange and powerful Ninjutsu before her, lost in thought.

"This is no Secret Technique that White Zetsu's spore Ninjutsu can compare to!" Sakura made this decision almost subconsciously. Although she had firmly blocked the technique, intuitively, it gave her a deep sense of threat!

Even when facing Kisame, she had never felt this apprehensive...

"Is this the unique Secret Technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan — Susanoo?"

She had seen information about this Ninjutsu in secret documents—including some notes from Sasuke's family—only a few pages long, but the numerous characteristics described in those few words matched the Ninjutsu used by Itachi so perfectly.

However, Itachi's crimson giant Susanoo recorded in the annals: it held a gourd of sake in its right hand and a strange mirror in its left. Despite being two unremarkable objects, Sakura Haruno intuitively felt that they were extraordinary, and had a vague sense of familiarity, but she couldn't recall where she had seen information about them; in the midst of a battle, Sakura didn't have time to think carefully, so she had to give up.

However, the mirror was probably not an offensive treasure. It had a huge gash on it, and the giant holding the mirror also had damage marks on his left hand, obviously the price he paid for taking Sasuke's Super Electromagnetic Cannon head-on.

"You know this Ninjutsu..." Itachi God shifted slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Of course I know," the girl replied casually, without explaining why, and added, "I also know that the legendary Susanoo invincible in both offense and defense..."

At this point, Sakura gave a mocking smile, "But now it seems a bit overrated!"

"Invincible?" Uchiha Itachi lowered his eyelids. Perhaps even members of the Uchiha clan, including Obito, would be angered by such a questioning of the Uchiha's abilities, but he remained calm and said lightly, "There is no such thing as an invincible Ninjutsu..."

"There are no invincible ninjas!"

"Is that so?" Sakura Haruno's battles so far have been smooth sailing without any major setbacks, so she remained noncommittal. "But I haven't really lost much."

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes sharpening. "What... are you going to give me a taste of failure right here?"

"No." Itachi's tone remained calm, his eyes cold.

He reached out and pressed a strand of hair that was flying across his forehead, calmly saying, "I only... want to kill you."

The intense killing intent clashed fiercely in this place!

In the midst of this heavy atmosphere, the girl suddenly let out a snicker.

"Heh heh..." she chuckled, but there was no smile in her eyes, only a chilling coldness in them. "If you can do it, you're welcome to try!"

The moment the words left their mouths, the two launched their attacks almost simultaneously!

Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent!

"Secret Technique: Tsukuyomi!"

Sakura Haruno's Ninjutsu execution speed was even faster than Itachi's.

While those two alluring Mangekyō- like hands were still gathering Chakra to prepare for Ninjutsu, a white, misty line of water shot out from the girl's palm, slashing straight down the direction of her outstretched index finger.

The high-pressure water lines, imbued with the Nature Transformation of Wind Release and Water Release, surged towards the purplish-red giant. The unstoppable cutting lines Susanoo! This Mangekyō Secret Technique truly lived up to its reputation as Ninjutsu that could supposedly make one immune to attacks. This was the first time Sakura had ever cut through something so solid, and even the cutting speed of the Wind Blade Torrent had slowed down!

But it's just a slowdown.

The Wind Blade Torrent, whose power was pushed to its limit by Sakura Haruno, has never encountered anything it cannot cut. Even Itachi's Susanoo stop the fine thread shot from the girl's slender fingers!

Sizzle--!

A piercing scraping sound rang out from in front of Itachi, and a thin stream of water pierced into the crimson giant's body, reaching the cold-faced youth in the blink of an eye.

Swish.

A wisp of black hair that had been flowing across the weasel's forehead was cut off by the waterline and drifted leisurely down.

The sharp whistling of the water surged almost right up to Itachi's forehead.

But it came to an abrupt end.

In that instant, Tsukuyomi finally took effect!

At the same time, the high-pressure water line, having lost the support of Chakra, became a spent force. After breaking through the last bit of distance, it weakly struck Itachi's forehead, leaving a red mark, and then flowed down.

A few beads of sweat on his cheeks, along with black tears of blood in his eyes, flowed down silently.

Right opposite him, the girl who had been standing proudly suddenly swayed, her legs buckled, and she half-knelt on the ground.

"The outcome is decided..." The White Zetsu appeared out of nowhere, watching the two on the field from afar, and thought to themselves.

"Itachi won."

"Sakura Haruno, who crushed Kisame, was defeated by Itachi with just a glance. The Sharingan's power is truly incredible..."

"Yes... Tsukuyomi truly lives up to its reputation as the strongest mental attack. Just a glance is enough to pull the enemy into the Tsukuyomi Space, where they endure all sorts of cruel and agonizing tortures in a world where time and space are controlled by Itachi, until their minds break down... No one can survive such an attack!"

"Forcing Itachi to use this move, Sakura Haruno is already quite remarkable! At least this is the first time I've seen Susanoo beaten up like this..."

"Only those with the Mangekyō Sharingan can counter this Ninjutsu. Indeed, the Sharingan and Rinnegan are the strongest Kekkei Genkai; before them, other Kekkei Genkai are nothing but ants..."

"Huh... wasn't she under the Tsukuyomi? How come... she hasn't collapsed yet?"

Suddenly, one of the White Zetsu asked a question.

Sakura Haruno Tsukuyomi, having fallen under the Tsukuyomi Sharingan, should be unable to move and completely at the mercy of others!

(I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll stop here for now.)