Before the Storm

"You lost, Killer B!"

Sakura Haruno stood on the ground, looking at the Jinchūriki in mid-air, and smiled wryly.

Despite her laughter, the girl's hands were anything but hesitant. A chilling aura erupted from her palms, condensing into ice crystals as she combined the two butterfly short swords into a single large blade!

A giant ice blade, wider than the girl's body, materialized from Sakura Haruno's hand.

"You'll take this cut too!"

With a loud shout, she dragged her ice blade and was about to leap high into the air to slash at Killer B, who had nowhere to dodge in mid-air!

"Stop!"

Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from the sidelines!

With that shout, a figure rushed into the arena where the two were dueling with lightning speed.

The heavy arm armor blocked the ice blade in Sakura Haruno's hand, while a large, rough hand pressed down on Killer B's head.

The newcomer had thick eyebrows and a white beard, and was tall and strong; he was none other than the Fourth Raikage A.

"That's enough sparring!" A glared at Killer B, who was still smug, and snapped, "Aren't you going to put away your Tailed Beast Transformation, Bee?"

Sakura Haruno also noticed the changes in Killer B —several giant tentacles, taller than the girl herself, suddenly extended from behind the Jinchūriki!

In order to evade Sakura Haruno's attack, he actually entered Partial Tailed Beast Transformation form.

"Using this move in a friendly spar?! Have you lost your mind?! You idiot!" The Fourth Raikage angrily smacked Killer B on the head.

As Perfect Jinchuriki, Killer B can maintain his self-awareness and transform into the Eight-Tails form, in which every Isshiki he makes becomes extremely destructive; the Raikage is genuinely worried that in the heat of the moment, he might unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb that vaporizes the Konoha envoy, or even fire a Tailed Beast Bomb into his own village...

The Jinchūriki chuckled sheepishly, retracting the octopus tentacles behind him into his body. "It's just Partial Tailed Beast Transformation ~ I know my limits~"

He started rapping again...

It was rare for Sakura Haruno to be serious for a moment during the battle. She sheathed her ice blades, speechless as she watched Killer B start trembling again, silently rolling her eyes at him.

Noticing Sakura Haruno's gaze, Killer B turned his head.

"You use Body Flicker Technique ~ I have Tailed Beast ~ This fight~ is a draw~" He chuckled, feeling that his rap actually rhymed quite well, and quickly took out his notebook to write it down.

Sakura Haruno smiled faintly, "I used the Body Flicker Technique first... Actually, I lost."

In terms of swordsmanship alone, she is indeed no match for Killer B, who specializes in weapons; there's no denying that.

The reason Sakura Haruno used Ice Body Flicker Technique to turn the tide of the battle was simply due to her strong competitive spirit.

After all, this sparring match wasn't limited to a mere swordsmanship contest, was it?

Of course, she has the Ice Body Flicker Technique, and Jinchūriki can also Tailed Beast Transformation. Ninjas of Sakura Haruno and Killer B's caliber have their own ways to deal with enemy attacks, even when they are in mid-air with nowhere to hold on.

If the fight continues, it will be an endless cycle of each side unleashing their trump cards. Sakura Haruno uses Water Release, Ice Release, Water Blade Technique, and even Sage Mode; Killer B uses Lariat, enters his complete Eight-Tails form, and unleashes Tailed Beast Bomb...

To determine a victor, the fighting must be so fierce that the earth changes color, rivers change course, mountains collapse... until one side is completely defeated!

There's no need for such a life-or-death struggle in a mere friendly sparring match.

Even if the Raikage doesn't intervene, Sakura Haruno will probably stop after probing for some information.

"Winning or losing doesn't matter~ As long as you have fun~ Konoha envoy~ Let's be friends?"

Killer B didn't dwell on winning or losing, readily skipping the part, and walked over to the girl, extending his fist.

"Huh?"

Sakura Haruno was taken aback. What kind of etiquette is this...?

"A fist bump." Sai noticed Sakura's confusion and leaned closer to explain in her ear, "It's a very formal gesture of respect used by Kumogakure Ninja to express approval."

"You seem to know quite a lot?" The girl tilted her head and said softly.

"I've seen this in the Root of the document before."

Sai wrote, and then retreated.

Sakura Haruno blinked, then without further hesitation, extended her right hand.

Smack

Fists collided.

"I'm Sakura Konoha Ninja from Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you." The girl smiled sweetly and withdrew her arm.

"Killer B." The man smiled slightly on his rugged face and said, "You're quite good, I can sense that!"

"Aside from always singing off-key," he added earnestly after thinking for a moment.

"Ruined a good song."

Sakura Haruno's smile froze instantly.

Having lived two lives, she has no musical talent whatsoever—and Chairman Zhou's songs are inherently difficult to sing with the original flavor.

"Who has time to study singing like you!" she said indignantly, her thin eyebrows raised.

"Hehe, don't worry about it."

Killer B waved his hand and said seriously, "Your eyes are very clear! Unlike many people, you don't harbor prejudice against Jinchūriki..."

This is very rare.

The situation of Jinchūriki is the same in every village. After Killer B became Jinchūriki, he gained power, but he also suffered countless Byakugan and discrimination in the village, so he knows how important Sakura Haruno's attitude is to Jinchūriki.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, is he your teammate?" he asked.

Sakura Haruno nodded. "Yes... to be precise, he's my companion."

"Companions?" Killer B's lips curled into a smile. "Well done!"

The sparring session ended in time, much to the relief of the onlookers, the Kumogakure Ninja and Konoha envoys.

However, this is not good news for another group of people who have hidden themselves even further away and in more seclusion.

"Their Chakra has calmed down," White Zetsu said to Obito as he emerged from the ground again. "They should have stopped fighting."

"It seems it really was just a friendly sparring match..."

Obito calmly admitted that he wasn't particularly disappointed with the result.

Unlike White Zetsu, who, upon noticing signs of a clash between the two Chakra, assumed that Konoha and Kumogakure Ninja had clashed and that there was an opportunity to exploit, Obito knew from the beginning that the people of Konoha wouldn't be foolish enough to try to kill their Jinchūriki right at Kumogakure Ninja's doorstep.

"However, this won't affect anything." He stood up and said slowly, "My plan never needed to rely on such an accident to be completed."

"At the very beginning of the talks, Konoha and Kumogakure Ninja were at their most vigilant..."

Obito, concealing himself beneath a mask, paced slowly through the eerie base.

He explained to White Zetsu.

"During this period, whatever we intend to do will be easily discovered by them."

After taking a few steps, he paused, turned to look at White Zetsu: "Don't forget, a few days ago when you were monitoring the Konoha delegation, that girl entered Sage Mode and dragged you out to kill you one by one..."

Recalling that scene, White Zetsu's face darkened.

"Sage Mode... Now that Sakura Haruno has mastered this technique, she won't be easy to deal with." White Zetsu thought for a moment, then clicked his tongue and said, "Even you, Obito?"

"So, if you had listened to my advice and called Pain over, things wouldn't be so complicated now!"

"But you just won't listen."

White Zetsu wrote in a rambling, incoherent manner.

"Shut up!"

Obito's face turned cold, his scarlet Sharingan with a chilling killing intent as he glanced at White Zetsu.

"My plan can be completed without that person getting in my way... Once the Tailed Beasts are collected, Pain's power will be back in my hands!"

"As for now, we still need to wait... wait until the Konoha and the Kumogakure Ninja think they have sensed the other's sincerity and lowered their guard..."

Obito squinted, gazing into the vast darkness ahead.

"Regarding that technique... I'm ready."

He wrote, then subconsciously touched his eye socket.

Later that same day, as the sun was setting, in Konoha, a Senri away.

At a training ground near the Forest of Death.

Boom!

The purple giant swung his sword fiercely, precisely slicing the two attacking water dragons into countless splashes of water.

"Huff, huff!"

Beneath the giant, the black-haired boy, his hands supporting his knees, gasped for breath, his face pale.

"Alright, Sasuke, that's enough for today! If you keep practicing, your eyesight will suffer." Standing across the training ground, the white-haired ninja who was spitting out water dragons looked up at Iroha and said, "It seems you've basically mastered the Susanoo technique."

Sasuke straightened up and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

The purple giant behind him trembled and slowly disappeared into the air.

He rubbed his slightly sore eyes, shook his head, and said, "It's still far from enough, Kakashi-sensei! According to records, the most powerful Susanoo has two legs and two wings, stands upright on the ground, and is incredibly powerful... But my Susanoo doesn't even have two legs yet."

Even Sakura's Susanoo is much stronger than mine.

Kakashi walked straight over, squinting his eyes and smiling, "Why are you comparing yourself to Sakura... She's not like me, a complete waste, who spent over ten years trying to adapt to the Sharingan's power. Sakura, even without your Uchiha Clan's body, can fully unleash the Mangekyō's power with her superior Yin Release abilities."

"However, on another note, your Mangekyō Sharingan has only been awakened for less than a month, and you've already mastered it to this extent, which is quite impressive!"

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally and found a clean spot to sit down.

His gaze was fixed on the distance, lost in thought.

"To Sakura..." He sat on the wooden post, resting his chin on his left hand, glanced back at Kakashi, and asked, "She... she's been gone for a week now, she should have arrived at Kumogakure by now, right?"

The last rays of the setting sun shone on Sasuke's face, turning the boy's handsome profile into a dazzling gold.

Kakashi stepped forward.

"If we're going fast, we'll already be on our way back." He stroked his chin, calculated for a moment, and said slowly, "Even if we're going to be slow, we should have reached Kumogakure by now."

"So at the latest, she should be back in the village by next week."

Kakashi turned his head, looked at Sasuke, and smiled, "What? Are you worried about her?"

"Yes." The boy nodded and explained, "They discovered Xiao's spies watching them after they left the village."

"I'm worried that Xiao's people might be plotting something or setting a trap there..."

Kakashi chuckled and patted Sasuke on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Kumogakure is a village no less large than Konoha... Akatsuki wouldn't dare to make any rash moves there!"

"And you must also trust Sakura..."

Sasuke hesitated for a moment.

"Let's go, it's time to go back for dinner!"

After dinner, Sasuke rubbed his stomach, said goodbye to Kakashi, and returned home alone.

"I'm back!"

Sasuke's words echoed in the deserted living room, and the lack of response in the room only highlighted the boy's loneliness.

However, unlike in the past few days, something seems to have appeared in this house.

Sasuke Genin shoes, walked into the hall, and headed straight for a corner.

There stood a sealed scroll.

[First update.]