At Daggers Drawn

Inside the cave.

The hidden cave chosen by the two Root ninjas was not large. They entered through the entrance in the mountain wall, then turned two corners, and arrived at the deepest part of the cave.

There was only one path in the entire cave, without even any hidden folds. However, Danzo was still somewhat surprised when he found Sakura Haruno standing openly in the center of the cave without any ambushes.

"Long time no see, Shimura Danzō." The pink-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, watching Danzo and his group enter the small cave. Her expression was indifferent as she coldly said, "So you're here to collect these two's corpses...?"

"Or are you already impatient to find someone to collect your corpse?"

A cold and solid killing intent permeated the air, lingering between the girl's lips, accompanying Sakura Haruno's threatening words.

"You bastard, how dare you be so disrespectful to an adult!"

The Root ninja at the front narrowed his eyes and shouted sternly.

"Enough, Terai! Step back." Danzo suppressed his subordinates who were itching to teach Sakura a lesson. There was a huge gap between a "Kage" and a "Jonin." Even if Sakura Haruno was exhausted and her strength was greatly reduced, she was not someone his subordinates, who were at most slightly stronger than ordinary Jonin due to their strange Secret Technique, could provoke.

He stepped forward, his face stern, and said in a deep voice, "Sakura Haruno, I've come here to question you about something... Why did you let Uchiha Itachi go?"

Surprisingly, Danzo actually put on a righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, portraying himself as the guardian deity of Konoha.

Sakura Haruno scoffed, looking at Danzo with utter mockery. "How amazing... Danzo, are you getting old and your eyesight is failing you? Wasn't it your decision that Uchiha Itachi was a spy planted in Akatsuki by Konoha?"

"Hmph, since you knew he was Konoha spy, why did you stand by and watch the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki be captured by Akatsuki?" Danzo's face was as cold as ice, revealing neither joy nor sorrow, and he only sternly rebuked, "You are highly suspicious... no, you are clearly colluding with the enemy and have a grudge against Akatsuki!"

"Heh heh..." The girl's smile grew even more sarcastic as she pointed at Danzo, "He just fought a bloody battle with Akatsuki, and you immediately slap such a huge label on him. How amusing! And who was it that led a full-strength elite squad, sneaking around outside the battlefield, watching their fellow villager fight a powerful enemy while remaining inactive, only to come out and demand an explanation after the battle was over..."

"In my opinion, the person most likely to betray the village is you, right?"

"Shimura Danzō?"

The fierce aura of a Kage Level expert reached its peak in the last sentence, erupting in a mighty and unrestrained manner, pressing down on Danzo's ninjas without any mercy!

The atmosphere in the arena reached its peak of tension, with the air Yakumi, as if a single spark could ignite it all!

However, the two people at the center of this oppressive and gloomy atmosphere, Sakura Haruno and Shimura Danzō, were not angry at all; on the contrary, they remained very calm.

After a heated argument, Danzo showed no signs of anger; only the gloom in his eyes deepened.

Sakura Haruno dropped her mocking smile and simply stared at him coldly.

"Neither of us is the type to resolve enemies and problems with words... So you've come all this way to me just to spout some useless nonsense, haven't you?" She narrowed her eyes, her gaze filled with a dangerous and sharp aura, like a knife Danzo's face. "Or are you already prepared to bear the wrath of someone you can't afford to provoke?"

Danzo was not a fool, nor would he do anything unexpected due to a sudden impulse. On the other hand, Danzo's fear of her stemmed more from her strength than from her identity.

Now that Danzo dared to emerge from his rat hole to intercept her, it could only be clear—

"Bluster...!" Danzo sneered, his cold, harsh voice echoing through the cave. He pointed at Sakura Haruno, "We could sense it clearly from outside. After two consecutive battles, your Chakra and stamina are almost completely depleted!"

"Right now, your fighting strength is probably less than one-tenth of what it usually is..."

I see...

Sakura Haruno suddenly realized where Danzo's confidence came from.

The act she and Itachi put on not only fooled the White Zetsu on the field, but also the Root members! That's truly...

What a pleasant surprise!

"What do you want?" Sakura Haruno found the person in front of her increasingly ridiculous; there was a reason why so many people disliked her.

A sad detail is that, having already broken off all pretense of civility, he didn't dare to charge at Sakura Haruno like a ninja, but instead tried to subdue her with words. He was timid and furtive.

How narrow-minded they are!

Accustomed to walking in the shadows, accustomed to profiting through intrigue rather than the righteous path, and accustomed to petty Danzo, Danzo probably forgot that Chakra is a combined reflection of body and mind. A narrow mind often means a weak Chakra. Therefore, throughout history, there have been ruthless, kind, wicked, and righteous masters in the Shinobi World, but none of them have been narrow-minded.

This is why Danzo can never compare to the Third Hokage.

Danzo was oblivious to the disdain Sakura Haruno felt for him, and simply said indifferently, "'Root' needs a strongman of your caliber, so join Root and become my subordinate."

What if I don't?

"You have no choice. Either cooperate willingly, or..." Danzo's eyes grew even colder as he lowered his eyelids and said, "Be forcibly joined 'Root' by us!"

"Heh heh..." Sakura Haruno chuckled coldly, "The consequence of refusing isn't death? You're truly merciful!"

The sarcastic taunts didn't dampen Danzo's Danzo, who was already convinced he had his prey. He even offered a few words of explanation. "As one of Konoha's top ninjas, killing you would greatly weaken the Konoha's strength. So even if it's a bit troublesome, I must spare your life..."

"Alright... then one last question." The Ice Release Girl's smile faded, and she looked at Danzo meaningfully. "Since you know perfectly well that I know Uchiha Itachi's identity, then what makes you so certain that Itachi and I had a direct 'battle'?"

"Given that I possess the Yin Seal, what makes you so certain that my stamina and Chakra are exhausted?"

Danzo's squinting, cloudy old eyes suddenly widened.

Could it be... that Sakura Haruno still retains most of her fighting strength?

Was her weak and listless appearance an act?

The girl's pretty face, which carried a faint smile, suddenly became repulsive in Danzo's eyes!

"You..." he managed to utter a single word, "You what?"

However, Sakura Haruno didn't continue to mock Danzo with words. She simply removed the alluring purple mark from her forehead, and intricate, almost transparent patterns instantly unfolded on the girl's forehead.

Chakra, a powerful and surging Chakra, then burst forth!

The Root ninjas stared wide-eyed, almost completely stunned, speechless with shock at the astonishing Chakra aura emanating from Sakura Haruno.

Danzo's expression remained unchanged, but a storm was brewing within him.

Sakura Haruno's fighting power hasn't diminished in the slightest!

The swirling Chakra energy emanating from the pink-haired girl stirred up gusts of wind within the cave!

A fierce whirlwind howled through the cave, slapping against the faces of the people in front of the girl, stinging their cheeks.

(Update complete.)