The Ambusher

Whoosh whoosh whoosh--!

The darts, like a few cold stars, shot out in a sudden attack, aiming at the girl who was walking amidst the waves, completely unaware of what was happening.

The whistling sound was chilling. The female ninja who was ambushed seemed completely unaware, but her ears, hidden beneath her hair, were trembling slightly.

Only when the cold light touched her body did she suddenly react—the girl nimbly and gracefully twisted her waist and long neck, narrowly dodging the incoming hidden weapon with what seemed like a close call but was actually quite effortless.

"Sakura Haruno..."

The voice came from behind.

The attackers seemed not to have expected the darts to be effective from the start, but rather to treat them as a malicious and dangerous greeting.

"You really came."

The clear, cold voice rang out distinctly amidst the raging storm.

Sakura Haruno stood still, her eyelids half-closed, her expression neither surprised nor pleased.

The voice coming from behind her was unfamiliar; it wasn't Sasori of the Red Sand, Kakuzu, or any other Akatsuki member she knew.

In other words, the number of people Akatsuki dispatched this time exceeded the intelligence estimates—Akatsuki didn't send the duo she was familiar with, and even... it wasn't just one duo.

Yes, although Akatsuki always sends out only one team on missions, whether in this world or the "original" world he previously transmigrated to, who says Akatsuki has to send only two people?

Combined with what the visitor said, it's easy to form some very ominous suspicions.

Is this... a trap?

Sakura Haruno thought of all this, but her eyes remained calm and serene, like a still autumn lake.

"You should continue the attack." The girl parted her lips slightly, not turning her head, and said calmly to the enemy behind her.

"Why?"

The attacker raised his voice slightly, still wondering why his previous attempts to persuade the girl had failed to sway her heart.

Was she... didn't understand, or was she just too confident?

"Because that's your only chance of winning."

As she answered, Sakura Haruno suddenly turned around, her water blade shooting out in a burst, chasing after the sound of the attacker's voice, slashing through half of the air!

Whoosh--!

A bright silver light suddenly exploded in front of Sakura Haruno, and a silvery white water line shot out along the girl's slender and straight index finger. It was delicate and beautiful, but the whistling sound it produced was sharp and dangerous, so sharp that it made people's scalp tingle.

The unstoppable, ultra-high-speed water flow sliced through the air, splitting the attacker in two without hesitation before finally stopping, satisfied, and dissipating into the air.

Sakura Haruno's face showed no excitement at slaying the enemy; instead, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Her expression was solemn as she stared intently at the attacker hovering in mid-air.

That person was still alive.

It was a woman.

A beautiful yet cold woman.

She was around twenty years old, the most charming age for a woman; her features were delicate, her face beautiful, and she had a sexy lip piercing, yet her temperament was extremely aloof, her voice had a languid huskiness, and she exuded a fatal and seductive attraction.

The woman had a pair of huge paper wings attached to her back, soaring high in the air, her graceful figure gazing indifferently down at the girl on the sea.

What was more remarkable than the woman's appearance was her skill: she was cut in two at the waist, yet she did not die.

Sakura Haruno stared intently and saw that the wound that would be fatal to an ordinary person had not caused the woman to shed a single drop of blood; the severed lower half of her body had scattered into countless pieces of paper right before the girl's eyes, then gathered again at the woman's wound, restoring her body to its original state!

Clearly... her entire graceful body has transformed from a body of flesh and blood into a body of paper made of countless folded pieces of paper!

Clearly, this is an extremely profound Yin-Yang Release Secret Technique, capable of transforming oneself into a combination of paper pieces, thus becoming immune to all forms of physical attack, very similar to the Hydrification Technique.

Sakura Haruno's mind raced as she quickly recalled the information in her mind.

The Secret Technique of paper...?

The visitor's identity was now obvious.

"The Angel of God..." Sakura's voice was as cold as ice, her emerald eyes staring at her emotionlessly as she said in a chilling voice, "South?"

The woman's expression changed slightly.

A slight glint appeared in her clear, light orange eyes as she asked, "You know me?"

Who leaked the information about Akatsuki?

The woman was startled, but her expression remained haughty, aloof, and indifferent as she flapped her enormous wings and soared high into the sky.

Sakura Haruno had just cut her in two at the waist, but in the blink of an eye, her slender waist had returned to normal.

"Nagato, Pain, and you..." Sakura Haruno calmly recounted the top-secret information, "You don't actually think Jiraiya is dead, do you?!"

The real intelligence actually came from another world, Sakura Haruno naturally wouldn't come out.

She casually brought up Jiraiya as an explanation, not caring whether the other party believed her or not, since they would never guess the correct answer anyway.

"Jiraiya- sensei...?"

Nan lowered her eyes, her gaze flickering a few times.

Mentioning this person suddenly aroused her, her ample bosom trembled a few times, but she eventually calmed down.

Unfortunately, that man is now their enemy.

After calming down, Sakura Haruno brought up Jiraiya as an explanation, and Haruno could only accept it with some skepticism, since there was no better explanation.

Even Uchiha Itachi, the prime suspect, couldn't possibly know those three names; and the only people who knew her and his identities, besides Jiraiya, were Tobi, who called himself Madara Uchiha. However, despite their respective ulterior motives, Nan didn't believe that Tobi would leak Akatsuki's information to the people of Konoha.

Nan took a deep breath.

Whether Sakura Haruno's words were true or false, or whether Jiraiya had discovered their identities, none of that mattered anymore.

"It seems you've discovered some of Akatsuki's secrets and obtained my information as well..." the woman said indifferently, "However, this won't affect the final outcome."

"It won't affect your fate of losing here!"

Nan's tone was resolute and full of confidence.

Sakura Haruno frowned deeply.

Admittedly, she was somewhat surprised when she first discovered that the water blade hadn't killed Nan. Among the information provided by that world, there was very little information about Nan, so Sakura Haruno hadn't expected that Nan would have such a technique that made her immune to physical attacks.

Paper Release... Any Secret Technique that doesn't belong to the Five Elements Release Techniques is generally a type of Yin-Yang Release. If Nan is immune to physical attacks, then a significant portion of Sakura's attack methods are indeed ineffective.

But that's not all.

The problem is that she's finally being targeted.

However, this was something Sakura Haruno had anticipated. Any normally functioning organization would collect intelligence on a long-term adversary and make corresponding deployments—after all, she wasn't the protagonist of a white-text story and didn't have the aura of complete idiocy reduction.

Sakura Haruno has fought so many battles against Akatsuki, and even killed several Akatsuki members. It's no wonder she's being targeted.

Her attack style is predominantly physical; whether it's Water Release, Ice Release, Genjutsu Taijutsu, she tends to use physical attacks, and she's not very skilled in Fire Style. Nan's Paper Release is completely immune to physical attacks, so theoretically, this woman would indeed be quite effective against her.

But... is it really that simple?

Sakura Haruno gave a cold laugh.

"You're overconfident." She narrowed her eyes slightly, making her beautiful pupils appear long and cold, and said indifferently.

"The one who's going to lose is you, not me!"

As soon as she uttered those words, Sakura Haruno had already devised several strategies to deal with her!

"Yeah?"

Instead of being angered, Nan smiled slightly.

"Then I'll wait and see."

With a sudden surge of Chakra, a powerful and concentrated aura emanated from this beautiful woman, permeating the sea.

Its spirit is truly astonishing.

As expected of a full member of Akatsuki!

Sakura Haruno raised an eyebrow.

Judging from her aura alone, among all the outstanding and powerful women the girl had encountered, the woman before her was no less powerful than her master Tsunade and Mei Terumi!

Contrary to expectations, Nan was not merely a decorative figure or a foil to Pain, but a true powerhouse.

A powerhouse at the "Kage" level!

Among female ninjas, she was probably one of the top figures of her time.

That's truly remarkable.

However... the person standing opposite her was someone who was often mistaken for a pretty but useless vase with low combat power, but whose strength was one of the top among all ninjas in the world!

Yes, she is one of the strongest ninjas in the world...!

Sakura Haruno shook her neck and rubbed her wrists.

Yin Seal... Open!

Secret Technique: Cherry Blossom Impact: Stage Three... Activated!

The surging Chakra occasionally dissipated from the girl's body, transforming into a condensed aura that was almost tangible, suppressing the raging storm.

Suddenly, in this area of the sea, the wind seemed to change, the rain seemed to become finer, the waves seemed to become lower, and the sounds seemed to become quieter.

The girl raised her head and looked at Nan, who was flying in mid-air.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

The latter flew extremely high, and the smile on his face faded.

His expression turned serious.