The Search

It was a cold night in the ancient city of Rōran.

After the young Konoha Ninja came out of the hall, they found a complete house, Sasuke started a fire, and then they all went to sleep.

Sakura Haruno is quite resilient; even after such an event, she was able to fall asleep peacefully. Lying on her bed, she began to snore softly within minutes.

With a heavy heart, Sasuke tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

As soon as he closed his eyes, images of a destroyed Konoha and himself in another world after he had defected from the village flashed through his mind.

So he simply opened his eyes, sat in the corner, stared blankly at the raging fire in the middle of the house.

Then she quietly watched Sakura Haruno was fast asleep beside her, for a long time.

The girl, lost in a sweet dream, still wore a faint smile. The once graceful and spirited girl now seemed serene and gentle. In the bright light of the campfire, her peaceful face glowed like jade, like a crescent moon reflecting a soft light.

Perhaps this is what Sakura Haruno looks like in this world?

Thinking this way, he suddenly felt much calmer.

"He can really sleep..."

Sasuke poked at the campfire and suddenly burst out laughing.

He turned over and lay down again, his bright eyes gazing at the ceiling, silently lost in thought, before unknowingly falling asleep.

When Sasuke woke up, Sakura Haruno's bed had already been taken away.

It was freezing cold this morning.

He shook his head, the rising Chakra expelling the chill from his body, and then he rolled over and jumped up.

He quickly walked out of the house and saw Sakura Haruno standing silently at the highest point of the ruins, her eyes closed. Her face was covered with gorgeous purple patterns of unknown purpose, and her eyes were adorned with exquisite purple eyeshadow. The scent of Chakra emanating from her body had become unfamiliar and powerful.

This added a mysterious and captivating charm to her.

This was the first time Sasuke had ever seen that appearance.

"Ah, you're awake." She opened her eyes and calmly greeted Sasuke.

"This is Sage Mode?"

Sasuke jumped up in a few swift movements, stood next to Sakura Haruno, and asked with great interest.

"Hmm... I'm searching for our Chakra in this world," Sakura nodded in reply, "But I haven't found it."

She sighed.

Sakura Haruno in Sage Mode theoretically possesses a wide-range Chakra perception ability, but her first attempt at using it ended in failure, making her seriously doubt whether she had cultivated a fake Sage Mode.

"The last time Katsuyu summoned it was in Konoha..." Sakura Haruno rubbed her temples, looking puzzled. "But I searched Konoha for a long time and couldn't sense her or Naruto's Chakra."

Katsuyu don't know much.

Unlike the Toad of Mount Myōboku, the Sage Katsuyu prefers to huddle in Shikkotsu Forest, never showing its true form, and doesn't care about the events happening in the ninja world... Tsunade and Sakura didn't tell it about all the recent events either, so the information they obtained from it was quite limited.

The key issue remains finding Sakura and the others, or at least someone they know.

Sasuke frowned and thought for a moment, "Can you distinguish your Chakra in this world? Perhaps Sakura 'Chakra in this world is different from yours, or too weak, so you didn't recognize it."

"Surely I could sense Naruto's Chakra? I remember that strong Nine-Tails scent very clearly, and Naruto's Chakra fluctuations were so great..."

"..."

Sasuke fell silent, unable to think of a better solution for the moment.

"Could he not be in Konoha?" he suddenly wondered.

"If she's not in Konoha, where could she have gone?" Sakura Haruno murmured, biting her soft lower lip, and turned her search from due east to north.

A moment later, her expression suddenly turned strange.

"I think I sense something..."

She glanced at Sasuke and stammered.

What did you discover?

"It's you..." Sakura Haruno said with a straight face, "I sensed the Chakra of Sasuke Uchiha from this world."

"Very strong!"

"And... a fierce battle is underway."

"With whom?" Sasuke was slightly taken aback.

"I sensed the presence of Kazekage, Gaara Mizukage, Mei Terumi, as well as two powerful ninjas I don't recognize, probably the Raikage and the Tsuchikage... I must say, you really know how to pick your opponents, Sasuke!"

After finishing, Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then immediately deactivated Sage Mode and took a step without hesitation.

He rushed towards Sasuke's direction!

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke sprinted at full speed, their speed was astonishing. They emerged from the ruins of Rōran, crossed the Land of Rain, and traversed half of the Land of Land of Fire. In just one morning, the two arrived at the border of the Land of Land of Iron in the north of the Land of Fire with a cold climate and covered in ice and snow all year round.

Here, Sakura Haruno suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Damn it! Your Chakra is gone!" She frowned, her voice tinged with annoyance.

Sasuke, who had been fighting the whole time, had a very noticeable Chakra fluctuation. Even without entering Sage Mode, Sakura Haruno's senses could detect his presence. But now... he has suddenly disappeared.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as she braked.

"I don't know... The fighting has stopped, you might be injured."

Sakura Haruno quickly Hand Seals, summoning the Katsuyu again. "Thank you for your help. I need to enter Sage Mode and search again."

The Katsuyu effortlessly transformed into an elbow pad, attaching itself to her left arm and absorbing Natural Energy into her body.

A surge of powerful Senjutsu Chakra rose from the girl's body, and intricate and beautiful Sage Marks and eyeshadow instantly appeared on Sakura Haruno's face as she entered a mysterious Sage Mode.

The color of his eyes deepened in this state; his dark green eyes became even more profound than usual, like a bottomless pool of water.

She stared coldly in the direction she had just sensed.

"I still can't detect your Chakra fluctuations. Only the Chakra of other Kage is present."

"He might be dead."

Sakura Haruno in Sage Mode seems more indifferent and cold than usual.

Sasuke's face immediately darkened.

"Yeah...?"

Although he didn't particularly like himself in this world, Sasuke's mood was inevitably affected when he learned that he might be dead.

"Sister Sakura, Sasuke- nii! I smell Naruto- nii's scent! He's nearby!" Yoru Uo suddenly poked her head out from Sasuke's arms.

This fat cat, because Naruto fed it dried fish a few times, has always been obsessed with its taste. Yoru Uo possesses the best sense of smell among cats (see Chapter 8), and theoretically is an excellent support-type Ninja Cat; however, this seems to be the first time it has played a role.

"Well done, Yoru Uo!" Sasuke stroked Yoru Uo's fluffy, soft head, his mood improving considerably. He then turned to Sakura and said, "Shall we go find Naruto first?"

In my panicked use of Demon Body Mode earlier, I mistakenly summoned Yoru Uo. Unexpectedly, this mistake turned out to be a stroke of luck, as Yoru Uo played a crucial role at this moment! Things seem to have become simpler.

Sakura Haruno pondered for a moment.

"No," she said, patting Yoru Uo's head, "You go find Naruto, I'll go check on Sasuke in this world. You have search abilities now, so don't worry about getting separated."

We must determine whether he is alive or dead.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, we can't just leave him like this..."

"By the way, be careful when you encounter Naruto... observe him discreetly first, and don't reveal our presence or identities until we figure out what's going on here!"

Before parting, Sakura Haruno gave him some advice.

Sasuke understood what she meant and nodded solemnly.

She Earth Flow and patted Sasuke on the shoulder.

"Be safe."

Sakura Haruno smiled sweetly and looked at him.

"The same to you."

For a moment, Sasuke thought she would come over and take his hand... He smiled, turned around, and vanished into the snow in Body Flicker Technique.

Sakura Haruno's gaze returned to its previous direction, its gentleness instantly turning icy.

It exudes a menacing aura.

"Are you stirring up trouble again?"

Sakura Haruno didn't tell Sasuke was that she also sensed another person's Chakra this time.

"That guy who calls himself Madara Uchiha..."

(First update. I suddenly couldn't log in to the Qidian author backend, which wasted half of my time as I tried various methods...)