Companions

What appeared before Sakura Haruno was a huge, sunken pit.

And in the deep pit, there were several shabby buildings that were gradually rebuilt.

In her mind, this place... should be the most prosperous and central area of Konoha.

Katsuyu had told her that Konoha suffered heavy losses in the Pain invasion, but words were far too weak, so much so that Sakura Haruno was speechless when she saw the devastation in the village.

I've completely forgotten what to say.

"The village... it has actually become like this..."

Sasuke's voice was trembling.

Looking at the scene before him, he imagined the terrible state of things that had happened, and his whole body went cold, as if he had forgotten to breathe.

Kakashi patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "But thankfully, Naruto eventually submitted to him, Pain ultimately used the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive the dead."

"But that doesn't guarantee that if something like that happens to us... Pain will be subdued by Naruto," Sakura Haruno said coldly.

"Don't worry... I'll give you detailed information about Pain." Kakashi glanced at her, then turned to her and said, "That way, you'll be able to prevent the tragedy from happening."

He continued, "Because the Eight-Tails -Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails Nine-Tails Chakra the most chakra, Akatsuki has designated them as their last targets for collection. Akatsuki has only just begun its collection of Tailed Beast, so they won't be attacking Konoha anytime soon."

These words reassured Sakura Haruno and Sasuke somewhat; at least for the time being, they didn't have to worry about seeing Konoha in ruins again after returning to their original world.

Of course, the development of the two worlds is not entirely the same, and the information here can only be used as a reference.

Sakura Haruno thought to herself, "I need to find a suitable opportunity to go to the Land of Rain and investigate Akatsuki's stronghold."

As the girl was pondering this matter, a ninja dressed Anbu suddenly appeared before them. "Kakashi, Yamato, you're finally back! The two advisors have been looking for you."

He glanced at Sakura Haruno and Sasuke, who were also wearing Anbu masks, with a questioning look.

Unfamiliar Chakra and appearance?

She seems pretty strong... When did the Anbu get a pink-haired girl with decent skills?

Konoha has just experienced a great calamity, and everyone is a bit paranoid, becoming suspicious at the slightest sign of trouble.

"They're one of us." Kakashi noticed his confusion, gave a brief introduction, and then gestured for him to lead the way. "Don't waste time, let's go."

Kakashi almost got chosen as the Sixth Hokage after that trip; but let's leave that aside.

On the other side.

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke joined Naruto, Lee, and the others, who were idling around, at a corner of the village.

Since the task allocation center had not yet been rebuilt, the young people had neither work to do nor the mood to cultivate, so they could only sit together chatting and daydreaming.

"I rarely have such leisure time after becoming a ninja..." Shikamaru said lazily, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, counting the white clouds above, as he lay on several large wooden planks.

"Very nice!"

"According to the reconstruction schedule, the main functional buildings will be completed soon, and we'll be very busy starting tomorrow," Neji, leaning against the side. "If you want to be idle, today is the only day."

"Someone's coming..." Shino interrupted their conversation.

Everyone turned to look, and the barking of Akamaru could be heard from afar.

"It's Naruto and the others!" Hinata smiled shyly, resisting the urge to hide—ever since that impulsive public confession, she had learned to control the urge to blush and faint.

"Everyone's here..." Shikamaru glanced at the group of people walking in step. He found it a little strange that Naruto was accompanied by two Anbu Ninja, but seeing that they were smiling, he didn't pay much attention to it.

They were probably the Anbu who escorted Naruto back.

Shikamaru thought for a moment, then jumped down from the pile of wood. "What's the situation with Sasuke?"

"Don't worry about this, leave it to me," Naruto said calmly. "I'll handle him myself."

This answer will obviously not satisfy everyone.

"Sasuke's matter is a major issue concerning the village, how can we let you handle it alone?" "We cannot agree to such a capricious decision!" "You wouldn't be using the pretext of dealing with Sasuke... to protect him, would you?" "What exactly happened...?"

Anxiety, doubt, and opposition suddenly surged towards Naruto.

"No one but me can fight Sasuke... That's all I mean! As for the rest, I'll come out when the time is right."

Naruto's response was stiff, pale, and weak.

"Ride, Kiba, and Sai, you guys went along too," Neji ignored him, his sharp gaze sweeping over the group behind Naruto, and said in a deep voice, "Do you all agree to his nonsense? And Sakura too?"

Sakura opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Naruto's decision may seem absurd, but what could she do?

Should we go up and help?

Having witnessed the previous battlefield, Sakura knew that she had absolutely no room to intervene in a confrontation of Naruto and Sasuke's caliber.

The girl once again deeply felt the bitterness of helplessness.

"Please try to understand Naruto," Sakura Haruno sighed, stepped forward, and adjusted her mask, saying, "He has his own reasons."

Sasuke stepped forward, shook his head, and defended his good friend, saying, "To be honest, Naruto doesn't want you to get hurt... Your power is far inferior to Sasuke Uchiha's."

"Who are you? Your voice... sounds familiar?" Neji frowned and glared at the blunt Anbu member.

"Neji- Neji..." Hinata activated her Byakugan, staring at Sasuke in shock, and stammered, "This person's... this person's Chakra... it looks like Sasuke's!"

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

The young ninjas, who had been lazily lying, sitting, or reclining just moments before, suddenly stood up, looking at Sasuke with surprise and even vigilance!

"Sasuke? How dare you show your face here!"

Neji Byakugan angrily, assuming the Bagua stance, Chakra surged unconsciously!

He pushed off the ground with his toes, creating spiderweb-like cracks as he charged toward Sasuke.

Then--

"Calm down, Neji."

The girl's voice suddenly came from behind.

Neji's body froze instantly: a pale white hand appeared on Neji's shoulder at some point, forcefully suppressing his charging momentum, pressing Neji down like a mountain, firmly suppressing him under that palm.

"W-what!"

Such speed, such power!

What if that hand wasn't on his shoulder, but instead was choking him...?

Neji's eyes widened in shock and horror. His body stiffened, and he dared not move an inch for a moment.

"Stop!" "Let go of Neji!" "Who are you?!" The Konoha Ninja, unaware of the situation, quickly shouted to stop them.

Hinata's voice rang out weakly.

"This person, this person looks like... Sakura!"

The air fell silent for a few seconds.

Everyone turned their heads, looked at Sakura next to Naruto, and then at the girl wearing Anbu mask behind Neji.

Sakura Haruno removed her mask and smiled slightly, "Um... it's me."

"Cherry?!"

The entire room was astonished.

"Two Sakuras, and the unexpected appearance of Sasuke..." Shikamaru assumed a thoughtful posture, his brows furrowed as he pondered deeply. "And Sakura's unusual strength... what on earth is going on?!"

Shikamaru's thoughts didn't last long, because Sakura then stepped forward as well.

"You might not believe it when I tell you," Sakura unconsciously used Kakashi's words, "It's like this..."

She recounted the story that had unfolded before her.

The people present were all young and had a good ability to understand, so it didn't take much explanation for them to understand Sakura Haruno and Sasuke's identities.

However, the previous conversation of jointly condemning Sasuke could no longer continue—it was quite awkward to have another Sasuke present and be overheard about them wanting to fight or kill Sasuke.

Naruto, on the other hand, insisted on solving Sasuke's problem himself.

The conversation even veered towards the question of "why not kill Sasuke on the spot?"

"Madara Uchiha's Space-Time Ninjutsu is very powerful; he can instantly become intangible or teleport. With Madara's help, it will be very difficult for us to kill Sasuke..." Sakura Haruno defended Naruto.

However, the truth is that the Masked Man can only protect himself at best, Sakura Haruno and the others are fully capable of forcibly killing Sasuke.

They just wanted to give Sasuke another chance.

Shikamaru and Naruto others didn't believe this explanation: Naruto could defeat Pain, and Sakura Haruno from another world whose strength was no less than his, were both there. How could Sasuke possibly escape?

The conversation ended unhappily, and no one was in the mood to discuss the other world anymore. They soon left in a huff.

The four members of Team 7 didn't separate. They walked around the dilapidated Konoha a few times, chatting idly.

Naruto was fascinated by the harmonious Team 7 in that world, and he asked Sasuke many times about their daily interactions. It seemed that even those ordinary daily routines could touch Naruto's heart.

Not long after, an Anbu received Kakashi's order and summoned Sakura Haruno. During dinner, the three of them went to Ichiraku Ramen, but unexpectedly, Naruto was suddenly summoned back to Mount Myōboku by Toad.

Suddenly, only Sakura and Sasuke were left.

When the two finished their ramen and walked out of the shop, the sun was already setting.

The dusty road was deserted, with only Sakura and Sasuke walking silently.

"That..."

"Stand up..."

The two suddenly spoke in unison.

[I went out today, and I wasn't in good shape while writing tonight, so there will only be one update. Sorry... I'll make up for the missed updates tomorrow.]