Meeting Uchiha Itachi Again

Since graduating from the Ninja Academy, Sakura Haruno had never shared her training plans with her family. So when she announced that she was going to learn Senjutsu Mode, especially when she understood the dangers of Senjutsu, Sakura's mother, Mebuki Haruno, was really shocked.

I've been talking about this on and off for several days now.

"Sakura's already so amazing, why does she still need to learn such dangerous Ninjutsu!" The next morning, while Sakura Haruno was having breakfast at home, her mother nagged again, "Honestly, what's the point of a girl being so powerful? Running off on dangerous missions, how is she going to find a husband in the future! Honey, you need to go and reason with the Lord Hokage, is Konoha short of talent? Why does it always send my Sakura on dangerous missions? Now she even has to learn that dangerous Senjutsu Jutsu, it's not like she's going to become a sage, why is she learning that stuff!"

"Mom..." Sakura Haruno said helplessly, "I wanted to learn that myself!"

"You're talking back! Your mother raised you with so much care, it wasn't easy for her. Can't you be a quiet, gentle, and beautiful girl like Yuki Haku? Look how cute Shiro-chan is, she's a doctor at the hospital, her job is safe and stable, and lots of boys are chasing after her, blah blah blah..."

Sakura shrank back, burying her head in her food and not daring to utter a sound.

Fortunately, Sakura's father, Kizashi Haruno, spoke up for his daughter, "Honey, stop nagging Sakura. She's all grown up now, a full-fledged ninja. Isn't it normal for her to have her own ideas? Just let her be, and trust your daughter! Has Sakura ever let us down in all her years? No, right?"

"Not yet?" Sakura's mother's voice suddenly rose an octave. "You've never brought a boy home to meet anyone before! Wasn't Naruto from last time quite nice? Or maybe that guy with the black hair, who's pretty handsome?"

"..." Sakura Haruno was speechless. While biting into her fried egg, she hurriedly slipped out of the house.

The first step was to meet up with the students.

The Chunin Ninja Exams are just a few days away.

Therefore, Sakura Haruno kept a close eye on them. However, Sakura wouldn't teach them anything new, and even if she did, they wouldn't have time to learn it. The training mainly consisted of repeated practical combat, which helped them solidify their foundation and integrate the Taijutsu Hinata had taught them into their own combat system.

After meeting the children and training with them for a while, Sakura Haruno left a few clones to spar with them while her main body left first.

She also has her own things to do.

Outside Konoha.

In a secluded corner, underground.

There is a secret base established by Sakura Haruno.

Sakura Haruno developed a habit of building secret bases underground... Well, she admits Orochimaru's tactic is quite effective.

However, despite being a secret base, it was really just an underground laboratory.

It's quite well hidden; the only entrance connects to an underground river, and you have to swim to get in and out... People who don't know the way probably can't even imagine it.

This was no problem for Sakura, who was skilled in Water Release.

As the girl swam in the river, she resembled a mermaid, her slender legs swaying gently and her waist graceful. The current seemed to be her arms, propelling her forward and constantly increasing her speed. In just a few minutes, she reached the base.

When she emerged from the water, her wet clothes clung tightly to Sakura Haruno's body, revealing her slender figure.

Sakura Haruno climbed ashore and walked barefoot onto the smooth ice floor; she shook her hands and Water Release to remove the moisture from her clothes, instantly returning to dryness.

Descending dozens of meters underground, the only connection to the outside world is this underground river and a few hidden ventilation vents. The entire base is surrounded by high-strength ice walls up to two meters thick. The temperature of minus one hundred degrees Celsius and the extremely high purity of the middle layer make the ice two levels harder than ordinary steel. Its exaggerated defensive power is enough to withstand attacks from S-rank Ninjutsu and the spying of certain monsters that like to move underground.

This base boasts unparalleled security and secrecy.

It was precisely because of this base, painstakingly built, that Sakura Haruno dared to confidently reveal her secrets here.

For example, Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.

If I'm not mistaken, she should be able to complete her pair.

The first one was taken from Danzo. Sakura Haruno soaked it in a container of orange-yellow nutrient solution and placed it on the table next to her.

Then, the second one.

The girl took a deep breath, Hand Seals, and forced out a deeply hidden Chakra that Itachi had injected into her body.

Vomit...

Sakura Haruno gagged somewhat inelegantly, spitting out the large black bird from her throat once more. The weasel's Kurogarasu fluttered its wings and landed on the table as if it were alive. Sakura focused her attention on the Crow's head, and as expected, its left eye socket contained a red eyeball, with several black Tomoe swirling around.

"It really is it."

Sakura Haruno smiled slightly and reached out to grab the Crow, but unexpectedly, the large black bird suddenly transformed into countless black feathers that fluttered in the air!

"Huh?" Sakura was caught off guard and grabbed at empty air, her brows furrowing.

Then--

"Sakura Haruno?"

A man's voice suddenly came from behind.

The girl was startled and turned around abruptly, Kunai in her hand to protect her chest.

"It's you..." She recognized the person and breathed a sigh of relief, "Uchiha Itachi."

No, that's not right. Sakura Haruno can sense that the person in front of her isn't the real Itachi.

To be precise, he was merely an image of Itachi, or... a wisp of Genjutsu Chakra that Itachi left within her.

"The technique I left inside you shouldn't have been triggered so soon..." Uchiha Itachi stood in front of Sakura, looked her over, and asked, "Where's Sasuke? What happened to him?"

Sakura Haruno tilted her head, looking at him with great interest.

"Sasuke?" The girl smiled. "Sasuke isn't here. He's probably training with Kakashi-sensei, or he's on a mission. Anyway, he's fine."

"Is that so?" Itachi frowned. As a fragment of Chakra left behind by his original self, it could only be maintained for a short time before disappearing, so he had no way of knowing whether the girl in front of him was lying. However...

Sakura Haruno should be trustworthy, he thought.

"So you deliberately triggered the Genjutsu I left inside you? You were actually able to see through my Genjutsu. It seems I underestimated you, Sakura Haruno."

Sakura Haruno smiled slightly, offering no explanation.

The Crow had gone in and out of Sakura Haruno's beak several times, leaving her mouth full of bird feathers; she could forgive it for not noticing Itachi's trickery the first time, but with Sakura's abilities, even the most exquisite Genjutsu couldn't fool her twice.

"Why did you leave this Genjutsu and Shisui's Sharingan inside me?" she countered. "What does it have to do with Sasuke?"

"What happened between him and me is none of your business, Sakura Haruno," Itachi said calmly.

"May we meet again someday."

The black-haired man raised his index finger, preparing to transform back into Crow, fly out of the base, and bring the Sharingan back to its original owner.

Then, Sakura Haruno suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps the clone was too weak to see clearly, or perhaps Sakura was too fast. In any case, in that instant, just as Itachi gathered his Chakra, he saw the girl suddenly appear in front of him as if several frames had disappeared from a movie!

Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!

In a laboratory surrounded by ice walls on all sides, the speed of Ice Body Flicker Technique is simply incredible!

Without giving Itachi any time to react, in less than the blink of an eye, Sakura Haruno was right in front of Itachi and grabbed his hand that Hand Seals.

"You can't escape," the girl said with a perfect smile.

"Uchiha Itachi."

[I'm very busy today, so it's even later tonight...]