Interlude

Anbu areas.

Sakura Haruno had lived here for over a year, and although she hadn't been here much lately, she still knew the place well.

The Anbu is a place with many rules and strict regulations.

However, many times, the rules set by people will automatically become invalid when facing people of a certain level or above. For example, Sakura Haruno didn't wear a mask to hide her identity, wasn't wearing Anbu uniform, and had no reason to enter or leave the Anbu building, but the girl just Earth Flow in casually, and no one stopped her.

On the contrary, the two Anbu at the gate nodded respectfully and greeted her, "Lady Sakura Haruno."

People in every circle will consciously or unconsciously assign a place to themselves and others.

Even among the Elite Jonin, Sakura Haruno belongs to the top tier of the food chain; so while it may seem comical that people in the Anbu circle address an underage girl as "sama," the underlying logic is actually quite clear.

Although Sakura Haruno herself doesn't act like a big shot at all.

Please don't call me that...

Sakura Haruno felt a little embarrassed. She was only fifteen years old, and being called an adult made her feel uncomfortable.

Just call me Sakura. Or you can just call me Sakura Haruno.

After exchanging a few polite words, we entered the room.

With no major wars for over a decade, the ninjas, who have enjoyed peace for so long, have started to value personal connections... It's hard to say whether this is a good thing or not.

She went to find Shino first.

--That guy goes to the exam hall to work as a new recruit examiner whenever he has free time, so he's the easiest to find.

"Sasuke's been working in the Interrogation Division lately, doing the work of interrogating former Root ninjas. I guess he's either on a mission or training on his own right now," said Shino, who hadn't appeared in a while. "You still remember the location, right?"

"Of course." The girl nodded, then vanished in Body Flicker Technique before Shino's eyes. "Thanks, see you later!"

"Huh? Wait a minute... why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Shino had only stretched out halfway when Sakura Haruno had already disappeared from his sight.

The last time the two met was two months ago at Yugao's house.

So why can't she stop and chat for a bit?

Looking in the direction the girl had gone, Shino blinked. "That guy... could it be... could it be?"

"Tsk tsk tsk."

The Interrogation Division was located in a remote building in the Anbu district, which was connected to the underground prison, thus giving it a somewhat sinister and dark atmosphere.

Due to the special nature of interrogation work, this department does not place much emphasis on combat ability, but rather on interrogation skills, observation skills, and Genjutsu skills—of course, the Byakugan and Sharingan are the most popular.

So it's not surprising that Ibiki Morino would borrow Hinata and Sasuke at the same time.

"Alright, Iken, take Number 8 away." Ibiki's cold voice rang out emotionlessly in the interrogation room.

After the No. 8 former Root ninja was taken away, Ibiki's expression softened slightly as he looked at the two young men sitting beside him. "How are you? Tired, aren't you?"

Sasuke wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting heavily, too exhausted to speak.

All morning, he used Sharingan Genjutsu in conjunction with Ibiki's rhetoric and interrogation techniques to try to break through the psychological defenses of the person being interrogated.

Even if the Genjutsu itself isn't very demanding, using it too many times is enough to leave Sasuke breathless.

Hinata nodded silently.

She was also covered in sweat, and didn't seem much more relaxed.

Sasuke is responsible for casting Genjutsu, so the task of observing Chakra falls to her, who possesses the Byakugan.

Although the Byakugan is much less burdensome than the Sharingan, it can't withstand the long duration— Sasuke still has room to rest, but Hinata has to keep her Byakugan open to prevent the interrogator from secretly using Secret Technique.

Hinata was exhausted after using her Byakugan continuously all morning.

However, there was no other way. Ordinary methods were unlikely to be effective against such stubborn former Root ninjas who had been thoroughly brainwashed, but based on Tsunade's philosophy of healing and saving lives, it was not good to use harsh methods on these people who might become her comrades in the future.

Ibiki also found the situation difficult.

He doesn't have a good solution right now, so he can only try to work things out slowly, which is tough on the two young men who were temporarily transferred here.

"How are you? Can you still hold on?"

Ibiki asked.

The two were silent for a moment.

Hinata's words, "Let's take a break," stuck in her throat. She resisted the urge to shake her head and glanced at Sasuke.

Just then, Sasuke also looked over.

Two sharp gazes collided in mid-air.

"I... I can still manage." Sasuke gasped for breath, gritting his teeth as he uttered those four words.

Can Sasuke hold on?

Hinata was taken aback, then gritted her teeth, her eyes becoming incredibly determined.

"I... I'm fine too!"

The Hyuga Clan must never lose to the Uchiha Clan!

Hinata simply doesn't want to lose to Sasuke!

The girl with the Byakugan suddenly stood up, her aura blazing, and declared, "I can hold on a little longer!"

The determination is commendable.

However, the problem was that she was already exhausted. When she suddenly stood up, her legs went weak and she fell backward.

Then the back of my head hit something soft yet slightly hard.

"Huh?!" Hinata was taken aback.

This familiar touch, could it be...?

"Besides stubbornly insisting on being strong," Sakura Haruno suddenly appeared behind Hinata, caught her, and laughed, "What else are you insisting on?"

She helped Hinata to a chair and sat her down.

"You're back, Sakura," Sasuke said weakly, slumped over the table.

"Mm." Sakura Haruno nodded.

"I got back this morning. Then, when I handed over the mission, I got a scolding from Master Tsunade." The girl pouted.

"So, Sakura Haruno, you just finished reporting your mission and came straight here to find them?" Ibiki teased, "So eager?"

"It's quite urgent," Sakura Haruno replied.

Then he looked at Sasuke and said, "So, Sasuke, come out with me for a bit."

Sasuke dragged his exhausted body out of the building, leaned against the wall to bask in the sun, and lazily asked, "What do you want?"

He would never normally be so lazy, but at this moment, exhausted, he couldn't care less about his image.

"Let's go to your place," Sakura Haruno said after looking around.

"Um?"

"Remember that scroll I entrusted to you for safekeeping before I left...?" Sakura Haruno leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "I need it urgently now."

Sasuke frowned.

The girl's breath tickled his ears as she spoke.

He shrank back, thought for a moment, and then simply shoved the key into the girl's hand. "I'm exhausted, and I have to keep working this afternoon, so I won't be going back... Go get it yourself, and give it back when you're done!"

To prepare for Hinata's challenge that afternoon, Sasuke must conserve his energy; the honor of the Uchiha cannot be tarnished by her!

"The scroll is placed in a corner of the hall, in a very conspicuous place; you will see it."

"Also, don't go through my things!"

Sakura Haruno looked at the keys in her hand and gave a slight smirk. "You trust me quite a bit... Alright, go and rest now."

She went and took the scroll without mentioning it.

After retrieving the scroll, Sakura Haruno headed straight for the outskirts of Konoha, swimming upstream along a branch of the Naka River to her secret underground base.

Open the scroll and inject the reserved spiritual power into the clone to activate it.

The Clone Duplicate wakes up on the table.

She opened her eyes, and her beautiful, bright black eyes suddenly turned into an eerie blood red. Several Tomoe flowed gently. Then, her Chakra fluctuated again, and her Mitsudomoe Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The clone climbed off the bed and stared at Sakura Haruno with her eerie, four-cornered, windmill-shaped eyes.

"It actually awakened me..." The clone searched its memories, its expression somewhat grave. "What trouble did you encounter, main body?"

"In the Land of Lightning, I encountered a very strange and powerful Genjutsu..." Sakura Haruno said slowly, "Although I broke the technique, I need to use the power of my Mangekyō Sharingan to confirm whether the Genjutsu's effects have truly disappeared."

"What if you were indeed affected by that Genjutsu?" the split body asked.

Sakura Haruno glanced up at the split body.

"Then... use the Kotoamatsukami Technique on me!"

[Second update. My brain got foggy towards the end, so I hope I didn't leave any bugs...]