Sakura Haruno's Choice

"The False Waterfall is a magical place that can reflect and transform the soul..."

The Raikage explained briefly, then continued, "In that place, we can replace you with another false personality loyal to the Kumogakure Ninja..."

"If you don't believe me, you can look at Killer B."

"What?" Sakura Haruno frowned slightly.

"Hmph! If we hadn't replaced the original personality, which harbored resentment towards the village, with a fake one, how could he have become Perfect Jinchuriki!" The Raikage pointed at Killer B, smiling smugly, and said proudly, "Jinchūriki grow up amidst resentment and hatred, their minds already twisted beyond redemption... So we created a personality that didn't care about the discrimination they once suffered, and replaced it!"

"This is a closely guarded secret of the Cloud Ninja Village."

"As you've seen, after undergoing a personality swap, aside from a slight alteration in your thoughts, nothing about you will change, and you won't suffer any harm... You'll still be you!"

Sakura Haruno frowned deeply and clenched her fists.

"Your personality has changed! Am I still myself? Don't be ridiculous! Do you think I would agree to something like this?" she said bitterly.

Judging from the Raikage's expression, the False Waterfall probably really exists. Sakura Haruno felt a chill Kumogakure Ninja, the consequences would be far worse than dying here!

She glanced at Shizune and her companions lying on the ground.

Abandoning her companions and running away alone was certainly not something Sakura wanted to do, but she probably had no better choice...

The Raikage noticed her gaze.

"You think you can run away?" the burly man sneered. "You don't actually think... we're unprepared, do you?"

"That's right, you do have an extremely fast Body Flicker Technique! However, your Body Flicker Technique requires ice as a medium to perform, and it can't teleport very far, am I right?"

Ai paused for a moment, observing Sakura Haruno's gloomy expression, and then said, "We've made thorough preparations! Barriers, Sealing Squad, sensory ninjas, and incredibly fast-reacting Storm Release ninjas... we can ensure that your Ice Mirror will be shattered before it fully materializes!"

"Hehe."

Sakura Haruno scoffed, "You guys are quite thoughtful! But have you ever considered... why I should run away like a stray dog, as you all imagine?"

"I can easily crush you all here and then swagger Earth Flow of here!"

The girl's aura gradually rose with her words.

However, the Raikage remained calm and composed.

"Defeat us?" He laughed as if he'd heard a huge joke. "You're quite confident!"

"Indeed, if you were to activate Sage Mode, the battle would become very difficult... However, with the Eight-Tails' sealing barrier locking this area and isolating it from external Natural Energy, how long can you maintain Sage Mode?"

Sakura Haruno squinted her eyes.

"Don't act like you've got me cornered! I refuse to believe... that all my skills have been completely countered by you!"

She lowered her eyelids slightly and said with a chilling aura.

"If you're really that confident, why are you wasting your breath talking? Why don't you just attack?" the girl scoffed.

So... you were just bluffing!

The Raikage waved his hand. "No, no, no!"

"If you really attack, we are confident we can capture you, but the Kumogakure Ninja will pay a heavy price in such a battle!"

"Don't forget, we still have a common enemy, Akatsuki. They're still lurking outside, eyeing us covetously!"

"I... I don't want things to escalate to a life-or-death situation! That would only weaken us and be detrimental to the overall situation of the five villages uniting against Akatsuki!" The Raikage, with an air of righteous indignation, patted his chest and promised, "As long as you agree to go with us to the False Waterfall, besides secretly pledging allegiance to Kumogakure, you won't change your personality, nor will you forget your comrades and family!"

"Shizune is your senior, and I understand your feelings for her... As long as you agree, Shizune won't die. You can safely return to Konoha with the rest of the delegation and continue your life. Everything will proceed as usual afterward!"

"Don't worry... I'm not a bloodthirsty person, and I won't sabotage the Five Villages Alliance's overall strategy against Akatsuki!"

The Raikage seems to have misunderstood something.

Admittedly, Sakura Haruno and Shizune are fellow disciples, but because they don't interact much, their relationship isn't particularly deep, not even as close as the one between Sakura and Ino.

If it were Sasuke or someone like him who were to fall here... Sakura Haruno would find it very difficult to make a decision.

The girl's eyes flickered, and she blinked.

Consider it from another angle...

It's certain that the Raikage wouldn't dare to disrupt the Five-Village Alliance at this time. Before defeating Akatsuki, he will definitely pretend to be a good ally of Konoha.

Therefore, if the Raikage does as he says, she will probably return to the village and everything will continue as usual; she will only be used as a hidden agent after Akatsuki is defeated.

Sakura Haruno suddenly remembered the scroll she had left for Sasuke before they parted.

In fact, ever since she obtained the Kotoamatsukami, Sakura Haruno has been on guard against the possibility of being controlled by someone else using the Kotoamatsukami.

Therefore, she kept the share of the Kotoamatsukami's attack for herself.

Similar to Itachi's Kotoamatsukami, Sakura Haruno's Genjutsu trigger condition is--

If her mind was forcibly changed by external forces.

Sakura Haruno left a portion of her spiritual power in that scroll, which was one of the conditions for her resurrection and could also serve as a backup of her personality.

If the Raikage truly intends to change her mind, the Sakura with the Mangekyou Mangekyō who remains in Konoha will use Kotoamatsukami to forcibly revert her to the Sakura Haruno she was when she set out.

It seems... feasible?

"Why would you go to all this trouble to do something like this?" Sakura Haruno suddenly asked. "Risking the risk of Konoha turning against Kumogakure Ninja, risking the collapse of the Shinobi World and the destruction of Kumogakure Ninja, what's the point of doing this?!"

The Raikage stared intently at the girl.

She seemed somewhat interested.

The Raikage pressed his advantage, saying in a deep voice, "Of course, it's because Konoha!"

"Just to deal with Sakura Haruno, we have to go to such lengths..." He frowned, raised a finger, and looked serious.

I thought this Ice Release Girl was only good at Ninjutsu, but who knew she could rival Killer B in Taijutsu!

Sakura Haruno is so young, yet she already possesses such power and has no obvious weaknesses. What will happen as she continues to grow?

The next Hashirama Senju?

Even if he's not quite on par with the First Hokage, he wouldn't be too far off.

The First Hokage's suppression of the entire Shinobi World was a nightmare that the Kumogakure Ninja experienced once, and they never want to experience it a second time.

"Not to mention, there are others among you, the young Uchiha, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kakashi Hatake..." A opened his palms and counted them one by one.

The more he counted, the gloomier his face became.

Each and every one of these individuals has the potential to grow into, or already is, a skilled Kage Level ninja!

In comparison, while the Kumogakure Ninja also possess high-level power, it is far inferior to the Konoha in both quality and quantity! Not to mention, the loss was caused by the capture of the crucial Two-Tails Jinchūriki by Akatsuki!

"The Five-Village Alliance to fight Akatsuki is fine," the Raikage said gravely. "The question is, what happens after that?"

How would Konoha, possessing so many super-powerful beings, view the other four villages?

"How can we guarantee that Konoha won't take this opportunity to annex Kumogakure Ninja, or even unify the Shinobi World?"

Sakura Haruno narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "So that's why you made this choice...!"

"That's right." The Raikage nodded. "This is the Kumogakure Ninja's last chance. Even if it's risky, we must try!"

"You don't want to start a war with us here, do you?"

"You have two choices: either refuse our terms and fight us here! Regardless of who wins or loses, the result will be a fight between two tigers, both of them will be severely injured... The Kumogakure Ninja be greatly weakened, and without the strength of the Kumogakure Ninja and you, the Five Village Alliance may not be able to withstand Akatsuki's conspiracy, ultimately leading to a great disaster!"

"And all of this happened because of you!"

"Or you can choose to agree to our terms. Nothing will happen. Shizune will be rescued, the delegation and you will return to Konoha as usual, and then the five ninja villages will work together to fight Akatsuki!"

"For the sake of the Shinobi World, consider carefully which of these two drastically different outcomes you should choose!"

Sakura Haruno lowered her eyelids.

The Raikage's eloquence had suddenly become so good; this change was truly abrupt.

What exactly happened that night?

Why does all of this seem so unreal to her?

Could it be... that she's under Genjutsu?

But these people before her were clearly flesh and blood, so lifelike. The feeling of their fists clashing during the battle was so real! With Shizune and the others' lives at stake, she dared not use overly violent methods to try and break the illusion... What if it wasn't Genjutsu?

Remembering that she still had backup plans in the village, Sakura Haruno composed herself and decided to feign agreement first.

"No, don't agree to him... Sakura..."

A weak female voice suddenly rang out at that moment.

Sakura Haruno was startled.

Turning around, the one who spoke was none other Killer B, whom Killer Bee had deemed Shizune!

She gasped.

What kind of willpower allowed Shizune to endure such pain and remain conscious until this point?

"Senior sister..." Sakura Haruno trembled all over.

Killer B frowned, walked over, and stomped on the woman's head, burying it in the dirt. He said viciously, "I spared your life, not so you could spout nonsense here! Shut up!"

However, the woman's voice continued, labored and broken. "Sakura... the enemy's words... cannot be trusted..."

"They made one request... and they'll make more... requests..."

So... don't betray the village... just do what you're supposed to do...

Killer B snorted coldly, angrily increasing the pressure of his foot. "Shut the hell up! What can a cripple like you do?!"

"Ahem," Shizune voice stubbornly emerged from beneath the grass, "I really... can't do anything more..."

"Only one last thing..."

Sakura Haruno realized something.

She stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the Shizune on the grass.

The captured Konoha Ninja behind Shizune also closed their eyes.

"You must survive... Sakura...!"

Bang!

The woman's body suddenly trembled.

It twitched once, then stopped moving.

Bang bang bang--!

The remaining Konoha Ninja also made the same move and fell to the ground in unison!

"He committed suicide..."

The Raikage and the Kumogakure Ninja looked extremely grim.

The last remaining Konoha Ninja stood in the courtyard.

The Amaterasu on her face.

It illuminated the two streams of clear tears that she couldn't stop flowing from her eyes.

The girl hung her head and wept silently.

"Thank you... Shizune."

I have received your advice.

"I... I know what I need to do."

If this was a Genjutsu, she would simply consider it a lesson learned.

If this were the real world...

She will make the Kumogakure Ninja pay for their crimes in blood!

Sakura Haruno looked up.

[Second update. Occasionally, some people have told me their comments have been deleted. Actually, I don't have the habit of deleting comments unless they are really malicious. I won't delete them, including the comment about my student-level writing style, which I still kept... However, the last chapter had some parts deleted by Qidian due to minor content violations, which may have affected you... Sorry.]