Tsukuyomi's Failure

Despite having the advantage of the Mangekyō Sharingan, which put Uchiha Itachi in a very favorable position in this mental battle, he was still unable to effectively break through Sakura Haruno's mental defenses.

The latter's mental fortitude far exceeded Itachi's imagination, to the point that ordinary methods were simply ineffective against her!

Sakura Haruno was thus bound to the frame, unable to move, at the mercy of the weasel, and he was powerless to do anything about it. The Tsukuyomi World expands one second into seventy-two hours, which in itself is a tremendous mental strain on the caster. If the enemy's psychological defenses cannot be broken down, this stagnant dragging on will only waste one's physical and mental energy...

Itachi was well aware of this.

Against ninjas with strong will and resilient spirit, Tsukuyomi isn't as effective as you might imagine. Don't try to kill the enemy instantly; often, it's a double-edged sword that hurts both sides more than it kills the enemy.

For example, Itachi never considered using this Secret Technique on Jiraiya. Beneath that man's rugged exterior lay a heart as firm as a rock, making it virtually impossible to break him mentally! After using this move, who would fall to Tsukuyomi ground— Jiraiya or Uchiha Itachi? The latter was far more likely... In Shippuden, which Sakura hadn't seen, Sasuke withstood this attack unscathed simply with his Mitsudomoe and boundless hatred for Itachi, further proving that Tsukuyomi wasn't invincible.

Moreover, Sakura Haruno...

Are they truly powerless to resist?

The long sword in Itachi's hand whistled as it swung down.

Although Sakura Haruno appeared unfazed by the pain, Itachi, with his exceptionally strong will, wouldn't be swayed by a few words. Even if she could truly ignore the pain, Itachi wanted to verify it himself before considering any other methods!

And then at this very moment—

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out from Itachi's wrist. His eyes narrowed as he saw that someone had suddenly appeared on the field, moving with lightning speed and firmly grabbing his arm!

Before Itachi could react, a sudden gust of wind arose from the other side, and a heavy kick from who-knows-where struck his abdomen; he felt an immense force coming from his stomach, and then he was blasted straight away by that overwhelming power!

Boom!

The itachi, flying backwards through the air, had his internal organs and bones turned into a bloody pulp by the force of that kick!

In the real world, that kick would have killed him instantly, beyond any hope of survival. But in the Tsukuyomi World, after enduring the intense pain, Itachi's body instantly returned to normal. He regained his balance in mid-air, his cold, sharp eyes sweeping over the two people who had suddenly appeared on the field!

Two... Sakura Haruno?

The man, who remained unmoved even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, finally showed a change in expression.

Her composure even when a long sword was pointed at her could be explained by Sakura Haruno's extraordinary resilience; but what about the fact that there were three Sakura Haruno on the field?

Itachi landed on the ground, his pupils shrinking as he warily stared at the three people in the center of the arena.

Ninjutsu cannot be used in the world of Tsukuyomi, so the other two Sakura Haruno are not clones, nor are they other people who broke in using the Transformation Technique. Both the Chakra they sense and their appearance and demeanor indicate that all three of them are the real Sakura Haruno.

But--

They are also different. The differences are quite obvious upon closer inspection.

Of the two new characters, one is slightly taller than the real Sakura Haruno, with a more mature and spirited face, and a somewhat boyish air; the other is half a head shorter, with a more youthful face and a somewhat blurry figure.

The girl tied to the frame is the image that is completely identical to the real Sakura, more delicate and clearer than the other two.

The tall girl picked up the long sword that the weasel had dropped, and with a few swift strokes, cut the ropes binding the girl, rescuing her.

"Who... are you?" Itachi let them untie Sakura, without making a move, and simply asked coldly.

The short girl glanced at him, then lowered her head and remained silent.

The taller one chuckled, looking at him with amusement. "Oh, Itachi God..."

Itachi God? This strange title made Itachi frown slightly, but the two girls each said something and then fell silent, preventing him from delving into the hidden meaning in their words. Sakura Haruno stepped forward, took the hands of the two girls, and in a flash, they were sucked into her body.

"As you can see, they are both me..." the girl said seriously.

"Multiple souls?" Itachi pondered for a moment, recalling this extremely rare situation.

"Think what you want," Sakura Haruno smiled slightly. "Anyway, it seems Tsukuyomi has only trapped one of the core elements of my soul!"

Her situation is more complicated than simply having multiple souls. The original Sakura Haruno was born with two souls, and with the transmigrator's soul as the dominant one, there were a total of three soul cores that merged to become the Sakura Haruno of this world.

The mysteries of this were difficult even for Sakura Haruno herself to understand, since she didn't have any methods to study the soul. It was the Sage Katsuyu who first discovered and told her about the special condition within her body. However, this multi-core characteristic of the soul didn't seem to be a bad thing, at least it was very effective in dealing with mental Secret Technique, such as the Yamanaka Clan's soul-stealing Secret Technique, which was ineffective against her.

Sakura hadn't expected that even Tsukuyomi would only have a partial effect on her...

"I see... However, you have only broken free from the constraints, not from the world of Tsukuyomi." Itachi pointed at her and said slowly, "And this world is still under my control!"

He conjured a long sword in his hand again, and his clones behind him stepped forward in unison, preparing to attack.

"Come on, Uchiha Itachi!" Sakura Haruno raised an eyebrow and sneered, "You couldn't do anything to me when I was tied up before, let alone now!"

Since no one dies in the Tsukuyomi World anyway, let's hurt each other and see whose spirit breaks first!

Sakura Haruno is absolutely confident in this; her spirit is no less than that of Uchiha Itachi!

Unfortunately, this is Itachi's territory. If Sakura were in her own mental world, she would have many brilliant ideas to make Itachi suffer... Swords, guns, cannons, missiles, nuclear bombs, Frostmourne, Fire Blast—from modern times to the future, from science fiction to fantasy, she has countless powerful weapons in her mind. She could conjure them all up and let the enemy taste their power, which would be far more effective than Itachi monotonously stabbing her a few times with his long sword...

Itachi frowned deeply, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Sakura's words, but he stopped his prepared attack.

"And besides, didn't you use Tsukuyomi to create an unmonitored space to transmit intelligence to Konoha?" Sakura Haruno walked over gracefully and said loudly, "You've fought, you've put on your act for the comatose people outside, now it's time to fulfill your duty as Konoha spy, isn't it?"

"Or have you already abandoned your identity Konoha spy and are planning to completely defect from Konoha?"

(I'm going out for dinner tonight, I'll try to write another chapter when I get back)