A Question

"Mangekyō Sharingan, activated."

"Sage Mode activated."

"... Yin Seal, open!"

The activation of the three powerful Secret Technique was like the sudden opening of three giant gates.

In an instant, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Sakura Haruno!

An astonishing aura surged forth from the girl's Chakra, transforming into powerful gusts of wind that swept up sand and stones, striking Kakashi's face.

Kakashi quickly put his hands in front of him, stood up, and stared at the girl not far away with a look of fear on his face.

Then, right in front of Kakashi.

A giant in pale green, rises up!

"Senjutsu, Susanoo submit."

Above Susanoo's head, Sakura Haruno spoke calmly.

At her feet, Kakashi held his breath.

What a magnificent and towering giant stood before him!

The giant's height of over a hundred meters meant that Kakashi had to strain his head to see the girl standing tall atop Susanoo.

Kakashi was standing right next to it, but he couldn't even touch its feet.

Even a casual punch or kick from Susanoo of this caliber would possess terrifying power that is unmatched, wouldn't it?

Kakashi was just now very confident in his Kamui...

Upon seeing this move, he was completely speechless.

They're not even in the same league.

The oppressive aura was so overwhelming that the white-haired youth could hardly breathe!

Even though he knew Sakura wouldn't attack him, Kakashi still felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively had the urge to flee.

"Is this all Sakura has achieved so far...?"

Suppressing his urge to run away, Kakashi finally caught his breath after a while. Gazing at the spirited girl high above, her clothes fluttering in the wind, he murmured to himself.

Even in Konoha, dozens of kilometers away, some perceptive ninjas felt a subtle stirring in their hearts.

Akamaru: "Woof?" (Kiba chimes in. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?")

Shino: "The insects seem a bit listless today..."

As for the Hyuga Clan... that's a bit too far for the Byakugan to handle.

Susanoo's head.

Sakura Haruno (a clone) stood on the giant's forehead and saw Kakashi's expression.

"Is that shocking?"

It's nothing more than using a massive amount of Senjutsu energy and highly Yin Release Nature Transformation Chakra to forcibly create a complete Senjutsu Mode Perfect Susanoo. It's powerful, but the technical sophistication is only average.

She smiled faintly, enjoying the howling wind high above, and gazed into the distance, saying regretfully, "It's a pity that it only showed the Susanoo form. I wonder what Kakashi would think if he saw Senjutsu - Majestic Attire God Warrior?"

Mangekyō Senjutsu - Majestic Attire God Warrior is Secret Technique she created by fusing almost all her methods, and it is extremely exquisite; in terms of power alone, it completely Perfect Susanoo beneath her feet!

The main Body Flicker Technique teleported onto the giant's shoulder and jumped to the side of the clone.

"Alright, have you had enough fun?" She pulled the split-body's hand and said, "Are you still thinking about using the Majestic Attire God Warrior? This Susanoo alone has already caused enough of a commotion!"

As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward Konoha.

Training Ground No. 40 is located extremely far from the core city of Konoha, separated by a Forest of Death with a diameter of 0 kilometers, and there are still tens of kilometers to go before reaching the edge of Konoha city.

Therefore, even from such a high vantage point, they could only see the tall, eerie ancient trees of the Forest of Death, their view obstructed by layers of barriers.

"Boring."

The split-body pouted, her pink lips pursed, and muttered. It was so boring to unleash such a powerful technique without a suitable opponent to fight with.

We can't exactly fight Kakashi.

Sakura Haruno understood her feelings, rolled her eyes at her, and said nothing.

The act of splitting off actually represents the thoughts of the original being, but they are suppressed within the original being and cannot be expressed.

"A suitable opponent... is also quite rare." Sakura Haruno stood beside her, tucking her Hayate hair behind her ear, and said calmly.

She thought of Pain, the leader of Akatsuki.

Susanoo, and even Senjutsu - Majestic Attire God Warrior, are nothing compared to Pain, who Pain Konoha in one move, and his various powerful techniques. Even with all the information, Sakura Haruno wasn't sure if she could defeat him in a real fight.

The clone nodded silently.

Because one of the clone's Sharingan was not yet a perfect Mangekyō, in order to conserve her eye power, Sakura Haruno only allowed the Senjutsu Susanoo to show itself briefly, just to give Kakashi a glimpse, before recalling Susanoo.

Clatter

The girls landed on the ground.

"How was it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura Haruno asked with a smile, "Not bad, right?"

"It's more than just 'not bad'..." Kakashi said with a wry smile, severely disappointed. "You've already left me far behind!"

"Hearing you call me 'teacher' always feels like an insult to me..."

The two figures pursed their lips and chuckled secretly.

"Without realizing it, you've grown to this level..." Kakashi sighed, saying with emotion, "Really, among the ninjas of this era, you're probably already the strongest, right?"

"No, not at all." Sakura Haruno quickly waved her hand modestly, "I know at least one or two others stronger than me, like the Kumogakure Ninja and the Stone Ninja."

Even disregarding the advantage in intelligence, Pain is one factor. If Orochimaru is well-prepared and summons the First Hokage at 80% of his power, she will still suffer a setback—although whether Orochimaru can control Hashirama 80% power is a question.

And Naruto from that world, who could simultaneously enter Sage Mode and Nine-Tails Mode, and even defeated Pain without sufficient intelligence support... she was far inferior to him.

And then there's that mysterious Masked Man. Although Sakura Haruno isn't afraid of him in a head-on confrontation, she can't do anything to him when he's not focused on fighting.

"Are there even stronger people...?" Kakashi blinked, unable to imagine just how powerful a ninja stronger than Sakura would be.

"Never mind that." He finally shook off these useless thoughts and laughed, "I'd better hone my Kamui first."

The white-haired youth felt a surge of energy welling up inside him.

"Keep training, Sakura!"

In the afternoon, an uninvited guest arrived at the training ground.

"You're all here!"

Sasuke's sudden appearance interrupted Kakashi's training.

"I searched all over the Forest of Death before I found you... Is Kakashi-sensei training for the Mangekyō Sharingan? How's it going?"

"Not bad, I guess."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "So, Sasuke, you've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan too?"

"Yes, it was just opened a few days ago."

Sasuke smiled slightly, a hint of smugness creeping into his expression.

Even within the Uchiha Clan, which is known for its exceptional talents, those who awaken the Mangekyō at this age are extremely rare.

Sasuke has every reason to be complacent.

"It was activated when we went out together," Sakura Haruno added, leaning closer.

She walked up to Sasuke, nudged his ribs with her elbow, and a mischievous smile played on her lips as she looked at him, "Right, Sasuke?"

The girl's tone carried a hint of mischievousness.

Sasuke's smile froze instantly.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked. He had heard about the conditions for activating the Mangekyō; it was said to require killing the most important person in one's life. Could it be that he killed Sakura back then?

However, Sakura Haruno is standing right here, perfectly fine.

"Nothing happened... Let's not talk about this anymore." The boy clumsily tried to change the subject.

Even now, when Sasuke recalls the scene, he still remembers the overwhelming grief and despair that rose from the depths of his heart when he saw Sakura Haruno's body. It almost crushed him and even gave him nightmares for several nights.

However, when he thought about how he had mistaken the clone for his real body and made such a big blunder, the deep sorrow in Sasuke's heart instantly turned into indescribable embarrassment and awkwardness.

I just wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

"Actually, back then... hehehe, never mind."

Seeing the dark expression on Sasuke's face, Sakura Haruno decisively backed down, stopping her teasing of Sasuke and suppressing a laugh as she asked, "So... Sasuke, is there something you need from us?"

Sasuke a straight face and said seriously, "There's a personal matter and a serious matter. The personal matter is that I want to join your training... because I also want to train my Mangekyō."

"The real reason is that Tsunade asked me to come and bring you back; she has something to discuss with you."

"Sakura, come with me."

"You guys go ahead." Kakashi waved to Sakura Haruno and smiled, "I'll practice a little more and then go back to rest. I've trained enough for today, so I'll stop here for now."

"... All right."

Since Kakashi said so, Sakura Haruno had no objection. She stopped the Clone Duplicate Technique, retrieved her spirit and clone, waved goodbye to Kakashi, and then silently left with Sasuke.

In a few Body Flicker Technique, the two left Training Ground 40 and crossed the Forest of Death.

As a classic test question in the Chunin Ninja Exams, the Forest of Death is a nightmare for many Genin. However, when Sasuke and Sakura revisit this place, they are completely at ease, transforming into streaks of afterimages as they swiftly traverse the perilous forest, as if strolling leisurely.

Sakura Haruno followed behind the boy, watching him turn his head several times, seemingly casually, to steal glances at her, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

I couldn't help but smile.

She seems to have been seeing similar expressions on her friends' faces quite often lately.

That night, on the way home, Sasuke "happened" to give her a ride. Before saying goodnight, he hesitated again when it came to the last question he didn't ask.

"Is there... something you want to say to me?"

When Sasuke turned his head for the fifth time as if it were an accident, Sakura, who was already prepared, caught him in the act.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question.

"Sakura... you have the Mangekyō Sharingan, don't you?"

Was I seen just now?

Sakura Haruno's expression remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic at being discovered.

Logically speaking, Sasuke should have been the first to know about this.

At that time, the clone simply closed its eyes. Later, when Sasuke fought against his other self from another world, he didn't notice that Sakura Haruno was retrieving it from the side.

"Yes."

Sakura Haruno calmly admitted.

[Second Update]

[Regarding Hinata's hair color, after looking up some information and comparing it with other people's opinions, there are blue, blue-purple, blue-black, purple-black, and black. I think it's black in the anime. I think Hinata looks best with black hair, so I'll stick with black! It's better for the main characters not to use unconventional colors. Sakura pink hair can't be changed now, so let's leave it at that.]