A New Name

[The previous chapter was incredibly vulgar!!]

Two identical girls walked out of the forest hand in hand.

"Shadow Clone?"

Naruto's first reaction was that Sakura Haruno had used his usual Ninjutsu.

However, if it were just Shadow Clone, Sakura wouldn't be taking it so seriously.

"No, that's not right." Naruto was also a master of Shadow Clone. He focused his gaze and quickly discovered the unusual nature of the clone.

Shadow Clone and even Ice Clone all carried a stiff, physical feel, like solid Chakra.

But the Clone Duplicate was lifelike, with a lively expression, clear eyes, and full of vitality.

Real person?

He walked straight up to the clone—the difference in her eyes made Naruto recognize her at a glance—and poked her cheek with his finger.

Soft, smooth, and elastic.

That feeling is definitely not Chakra can simulate.

"This is a real person!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief.

The clone slapped away Naruto's mischievous hand with a snap, glaring at him with displeasure. "Am I some kind of dummy?"

The orange-haired boy was instantly dumbfounded.

I was completely dumbfounded.

"How rude of you, Naruto!" Seeing Naruto's stunned expression, the real Naruto chuckled and walked over, saying, "She's Clone Duplicate, different from a regular clone."

Seeing Naruto's blank expression, Sakura Haruno knew he hadn't understood at all, and laughed, "Anyway, just think of her as another version of me."

"Two cherry blossoms?"

Naruto was half surprised and half confused, rarely accepting this reality.

He frowned, gripped his chin, and his gaze shifted back and forth between the two Sakura Haruno.

At first glance, the original and the clone are almost identical, but Naruto, having been classmates and teammates with Sakura Haruno for so many years, can spot the differences upon closer inspection.

Eyes.

The clone was a bit colder than the original, with less gentleness and more icy eyes.

Form.

The original body, having trained regularly, possesses a slender yet well-proportioned and fleshy physique, far from the sickly thinness of a gaunt, bony form. In contrast, the clone exhibits a slenderness rarely seen in ninjas, stemming from insufficient training.

However, the biggest difference is still Chakra.

Naruto's gaze finally settled on the clone's eyes.

From there, he sensed a familiar, somewhat cold and sinister scent of Chakra...

"Heh, you felt it, huh?"

The clone smiled slightly, subconsciously lowering its eyes to block Naruto's view.

When she opened her eyes again, those clear, black-and-white eyes had transformed into a pair of eerily red eyes.

Sharingan...!?

Naruto suddenly realized that this wide-eyed, utterly astonished expression had appeared on his face countless times.

Having experienced so many shocks, the boy had finally developed some immunity. He rubbed his almost dislocated jaw and pointed at the clone beside him, stammering, "So... you, you're actually... Sakura Uchiha?!"

The cry of "Sakura Uchiha" was truly astonishing.

"Uchiha... Sakura!?"

Sasuke had been silently observing from the sidelines, couldn't maintain his composure any longer upon hearing this name. He burst into wild laughter. "Haha...! Sakura Uchiha!"

Sakura Haruno exchanged a glance with her clone, then shook her head, half helpless and half amused.

"Are you an idiot? I've never been Uchiha Clan!" The clone, both embarrassed and annoyed, flicked Naruto on the forehead. "Don't change my name so ambiguously!"

Sakura Haruno doesn't have the Uchiha's signature black hair.

Uchiha... Sakura?

Upon closer examination, she felt that the name was quite misleading.

It's like she has some kind of relationship with Sasuke.

After much effort, Sakura finally explained to Naruto the origin of her Sharingan.

"But calling it that makes it easier to distinguish between the clone and the real body." Naruto accepted her explanation, but still felt that his way of calling it was correct. He muttered, "The clone should have its own name too!"

"I don't usually use clones," Sakura Haruno explained with a smile, "So don't worry about getting confused."

She waved her hand, stopping Naruto from speaking.

"Alright, Naruto."

"We're here to train, right? Let's not waste time on this." Sakura Uchiha... oops, I mean Sakura Haruno's clone, picked up where the real one left off, saying, "Call me Clone Duplicate or Sakura Uchiha, it's up to you. A name is just a code."

As he spoke, the clone slowly poured Chakra into its eyes, transforming the Mitsudomoe into a four-cornered windmill-shaped Mangekyō.

"The key point is still the power I use... Similarly, my Sharingan can also be activated into the Mangekyō form," the clone said, pointing to its eyes.

"Oh."

Naruto nodded calmly, indicating that he understood.

Having experienced so many surprises in one day, he felt that he was no longer surprised by just another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan; then again, even Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō, so it would be strange for Naruto if Sakura Haruno's Sharingan ability was inferior to his!

"So Sakura Uchiha can also use Sasuke's technique?" he asked, pointing to the purple giant behind Sasuke.

"Hmph."

The clone smiled smugly and said, "Compared to that one, I can do even better!"

"Please step back a little."

The girl clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and a surge of powerful Chakra aura gradually emanated from her body, its overwhelming momentum filling the entire training ground.

Sakura Haruno pulled Naruto back to a safe distance, explaining, "Usually when my clones are fighting, I hide to the side, entering a 'stillness' state to absorb Senjutsu Chakra for the clones to use in battle."

Perhaps the reverse is also true.

Of course, entering Sage Mode by creating Katsuyu clones is also a method.

However, the Katsuyu's weakness is that the larger it is, the weaker it becomes. While Katsuyu small Katsuyu clone is fine for playing around, it becomes insufficient when facing unconventional enemies.

This is indeed a drawback of the Slug Senjutsu —on the other hand, Mount Myōboku has several large and powerful Toad specifically for ninjas to use when entering Sage Mode.

The First Hokage went further than Sakura Haruno.

He didn't need Katsuyu clone to absorb Natural Energy, clearly because he had sublimated into Sage Mode through his extraordinary talent and ability, breaking free from the shackles of Slug Senjutsu.

Of course, Sakura Haruno also has her own path to walk.

The next stage of Sage Mode, Star God Mode, absorbs the energy of fission radiation—the essential source of the endless energy generated by the core of planets in the Hokage world. Earth vein energy and underground magma are merely a drop in the ocean of planetary energy. In terms of the nature of energy, radiation energy is more powerful and domineering than Natural Energy. Therefore, Star God Mode, which is born from this foundation, is naturally more powerful and of a higher level than Sage Mode, which absorbs Natural Energy.

The even higher Yang God Mode absorbs the energy generated by the perpetual fusion of the sun—the source of all life and all Natural Energy on this planet—which is another indescribable stage; not even Hashirama Senju, let alone the legendary Sage of Six Paths of Six Paths, could probably reach this level.

These ideas, which seem like a dreamlike fairy tale, are actually beginning to show signs of coming to fruition thanks to Sakura Haruno's efforts.

Of course, at present, Sakura Haruno's strongest power is still at the level of Mangekyō and Sage Mode:

"Mangekyō Secret Technique - Susanoo!"

With a furious roar from the clone, a gigantic green giant rose from the ground and stood upright on the field!

Its size was far larger, more robust, and more imposing than the purple giant behind Sasuke.

It was as if a majestic mountain stood before Naruto.

The orange-haired boy held his breath.

He thought that nothing could frighten him anymore, but he was wrong.

The imposing, ever-changing, pale green giant before us was truly awe-inspiring!

Is it just my imagination?

Sasuke raised his head, gazing at the girl standing high atop the Susaku Giant's head, and murmured to himself.

I have a feeling... she's gotten stronger.

[First update. It's been a while since I wrote about Team 7's daily life; it feels so sweet! Chapter 2 will be updated around 1 PM.]