Questioning

"Lord Raikage!" His voice came through the earpiece, his anxiety evident in the distorted sound, "Sakura Haruno's Chakra Body Flicker Technique towards the village!"

"I know!" Raikage said, rubbing his forehead. "All combat teams, listen up! Those blocking her path, do your best to hinder her movement! The rest of you, return to the village immediately!"

In that instant, he had recovered from his despair and knew he had to do something, otherwise...

The Kumogakure might be wiped out overnight!

The Raikage forced himself to calm down and continued, "Also, immediately evacuate all non-combat personnel from the village! Sealing Squad, assemble and await my orders!"

He quickened his pace as he wrote.

"Everyone, remember this: do not engage in battle with Sakura Haruno before I return to the village! She is extremely dangerous!"

"I'll get back as fast as I can! Wait for me... three minutes!"

Raikage gritted his teeth, his face tense, his mind racing with anxiety.

Given how things have developed, it would be self-deception to insist that his decisions as Raikage were without fault.

Of course, this does not mean that the Raikage admits that his plan to brutally Konoha delegation and force Sakura Haruno to submit to them was wrong.

They are heroes, I am their enemy, that's all.

If we can absorb a powerful fighting force into the Kumogakure Ninja, greatly enhancing the village's strength, what does it matter if we're a hundred times more ruthless? What does it matter if a hundred or a thousand more Konoha envoys die?

It was Konoha Ninja died, what does that have to do with the Raikage!

The Kumogakure Ninja will only cheer for his wise decision and regard him as a hero of the Kumogakure Ninja!

A hero who built his achievements upon the countless corpses of Konoha Ninja.

The Raikage didn't think he had done anything wrong—nor would the Kumogakure Ninja or the Kumogakure Ninja Village residents.

His only mistake was that tonight's operation plan had a flaw. It was very well-prepared at first, but later, when Sakura Haruno was determined to break through the encirclement, the Raikage moved too many people to defend the direction towards the Land of Fire, causing a loophole in the encirclement on the opposite side!

That was the mistake he made.

His mistake was that he wasn't thorough enough, cunning enough, or ruthless enough in dealing with Sakura Haruno.

His mistake was that when dealing with Sakura Haruno, he harbored illusions, thinking he could subdue the young girl with words, so he left himself room to maneuver and did not go all out to defeat her.

If he had to do it all over again... he would never choose this option. Instead, he would lead his elite troops to ambush them on their way back, capture Sakura Haruno Chakra, and then take her back to brainwash her.

Raikage was extremely frustrated, but he also knew that frustration would do no good.

Now that things have come to this, all he can do is try to salvage the situation... Hopefully, Sakura Haruno won't really be that heartless!

Unlike Kumogakure Konoha ninja, with a small proportion of civilians. Therefore, the village population is not large. In addition to the 20,000 to 30,000 active combat ninjas, there are about five times that number of retired ninjas, civilian ninjas, ninja students, and civilians who provide services to the ninjas.

There are approximately 150,000 people.

The Raikage tried his best not to think about... what terrible consequences it would cause if a ninja of Sakura Haruno's caliber ran rampant and caused chaos in the village, even for just a minute!

On the other side.

In the Kumogakure.

The village was peaceful, the night was quiet, and a bright moon hung in the deep purple starry sky, its silvery moonlight shining directly on the ground.

Sakura Haruno did not go on a killing spree in the village and annihilate the entire Kumogakure as the Raikage had imagined.

She just made a casual swipe.

The thin stream of water that shot out from the fingertips cleaved the towering Raikage Peak and Raikage Building, along with several other mountain peaks behind them, in two.

With a deafening roar, the Raikage Peak and the magnificent Funnel Building, which the Kumogakure Ninja regarded as spiritual symbols, collapsed into ruins, no longer bearing any trace of their former proud stature.

Under the cover of night, the girl stood alone, draped in a silvery veil of moonlight, her beautiful hair fluttering gently in the night breeze.

She stared indifferently at the crumbling Raikage Peak before her, her eyes cold, her posture like that of a vengeful goddess.

Sakura Haruno stood there for a moment, then turned around, the silver threads between her fingers flickering erratically, as if searching for her next target.

Just then, a Kumogakure Ninja, whether brave or reckless, rushed forward.

"Stop, you bastard!"

The newcomer was someone Sakura Haruno recognized—it was Omoi, the one who had led the way. He glared at the girl and said fiercely, "What right do you have to destroy our village?"

"On what grounds?"

Sakura Haruno laughed as if she had heard a huge joke, coldly staring at the angry young Kumogakure Ninja before her, and retorted, "As the Kumogakure Ninja who committed the crime, you are questioning me?"

"I'd like to ask you a question in return... What gives you the right?!"

"Your Konoha, with its most prosperous and fertile land, the most powerful Kekkei Genkai clan, and the most powerful Tailed Beast, yet you remain complacent and plagued by endless internal strife!" Omoi stood before Sakura Haruno, his tone earnest yet arrogant, speaking righteously, "So it's no wonder your Konoha has declined! We, the Kumogakure Ninja, have nothing! Therefore, we can only grow to our current strength through continuous hard work, relentless progress, and unity!"

"Hehe."

Sakura Haruno scoffed. The angrier she became, the calmer her expression and tone grew. "So, for the sake of your village's interests, the Kumogakure Ninja can persecute Konoha's envoys with impunity?"

"So, in order for your Kumogakure Ninja to become stronger, I should just surrender?"

"Then why don't you join the Kumogakure Ninja?" the young man answered matter-of-factly, even posing a sincere question tinged with concern for everyone. "If you had joined the Kumogakure Ninja, wouldn't there have been no conflict tonight? Wouldn't you have been able to help us, who are striving for progress, unify the Shinobi World and bring peace to the world?"

Sakura Haruno narrowed her eyes.

The girl could discern the emotions in Omoi's words. He so naturally regarded himself and his village as the center of the world, without considering the feelings of others. His genuine questions about the unusual events of the night were also undisguised and unpretentious.

It's like saying, "I took your things, why did you fight back? You fought back, and we both got hurt, isn't that your fault? If you hadn't fought back, wouldn't everyone have been safe?"

So, following this logic, the reason the Konoha Ninja died was because she refused to surrender?

Omoi's demeanor is strikingly similar to the line, "You're unwilling to surrender, yet you're unwilling to die; we're in a difficult position too." [Two words have been changed to avoid suspicion.]

But his tone was unusually serious.

Sakura even had an absurd feeling that she had done something wrong.

When Omoi was her guide, her impression of him was that he was a young man who, although a bit talkative, had a good personality and upright character.

For some reason, it seems that everyone's personality has changed 180 degrees tonight.

The world suddenly seemed strange and eerie.

What exactly happened?

She gave an impatient snort, having lost all interest in continuing the conversation, "Are you done spouting nonsense?"

"Hmph. Tonight, I not only destroyed the Kumogakure, but I also killed many Kumogakure Ninja!"

So... what can you do to me?

[Third update. The fourth update is 500 words short, please wait.]