Calculations

"... If this continues, that woman from Akatsuki will undoubtedly lose," Rondo said to Chōjūrō.

They were currently hiding on the sea, about 60 or 70 miles from the battlefield, crouching low, conserving their Chakra, and trying to conceal their presence, like ants watching giant elephants fight.

The sea was turbulent, and the aftershocks of the battle would occasionally stir up unusual waves. Rondo and his companion, their backs bent, appeared and disappeared in the waves, becoming two inconspicuous black dots.

"Because neither Sakura Haruno nor Minami has a move that can effectively defeat the other." Rondo noticed the confusion on Chōjūrō's face and explained in a low voice, "So do you know what will determine the outcome of this battle?"

"It's physical strength, it's Chakra." Rondo revealed the answer directly.

Chōjūrō seemed to be deep in thought.

Rondo continued, "It's true that it's hard to say who's the winner in the short term. But after playing like this for so long..."

At this point, Nan finally realized that Sakura Haruno's previous words were not just empty boasting.

She really is... better than me!

In the air, the Paper Angel was struggling to fly.

The pair of magnificent, enormous, pure white wings had their left flap roughly torn off, dragging away large chunks of flesh and blood as it was pulled, like a rag doll ravaged by a mischievous owner. Countless new pieces of paper gathered at the wound, brutally filling the gruesome opening. The missing wing quickly regenerated, its feathers stained with blood, filthy and disgusting, making the woman look particularly wretched.

Rain and sweat soaked her hair, which streamed down her cheeks. She gasped for breath, her chest heaving, her breathing heavy.

She gazed at Sakura Haruno, who stood on the sea not far away, her eyes filled with gloom.

Just as she had predicted, the girl remained remarkably calm, not shedding a single drop of sweat despite the fierce battle.

She was only slightly out of breath.

"Hmph...!" Nan Yin gritted her teeth, trying to calm her rapid breathing, but her heart was in turmoil.

She initially thought she could easily defeat Sakura Haruno with her Secret Technique; however, after a short time, she changed her mind and decided that she could wear her down through attrition.

Unexpectedly, despite having a significant advantage in Secret Technique, she was beaten so badly!

The Paper Angel it clear that if she continued fighting, she had no chance of winning.

However, Nan had other plans.

Not far away, Sakura Haruno stood calmly, her clear eyes reflecting Minami's slightly disheveled figure.

The girl tilted her head slightly, looking at Nan, whose face was gloomy, with great interest.

They've already realized they're going to lose, haven't they?

So, what would you do?

As Sakura pondered, she manipulated her Chakra, transforming the floating ice on the sea into countless sharp weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds, which she then suddenly thrust towards the south in mid-air!

Without giving Minami a chance to catch her breath, Sakura Haruno launched another offensive!

Far away.

"Senior," Chōjūrō scratched his head and asked, "Why didn't that woman named Minami retreat?"

"Since she knew she would only lose if she continued fighting!"

Rondo was slightly taken aback.

Because he was so focused on sensing the changes in Chakra and deducing the details of the two women's battle, he actually missed such a simple yet important detail.

"Knowing they can't win, why not retreat?" Rondo's brows furrowed sharply, his head bowed, his mind racing. "Either they're covering their retreat to buy time..."

The man paused for a moment.

"Or," he suddenly realized, raising his head sharply, "There are reinforcements!"

Ignoring the startled Chōjūrō, Rondo closed his eyes, shifting his senses away from Sakura Haruno and Minami, and probing further away—

Aimless searching is tedious and difficult, especially over such a long distance.

A sensory ninja's detection of targets outside their field of vision is more like finding a unique piece among a group of similar-colored blocks. Sakura Haruno's battle with Minami was so intense that it was as noticeable as an ink stain on a white sheet of paper. But finding a moving target further away is as difficult as finding a tiny, slightly whiter spot on a huge sheet of paper.

Sweat quickly beaded on Rondo's forehead.

Fortunately, the target he was looking for possessed a massive amount of Chakra and made no attempt to conceal his presence.

"Found it!" Rondo suddenly shouted, "A huge Chakra reaction is moving towards Sakura Haruno at high speed!"

"Distance from Sakura Haruno..."

"Less than a hundred li!"

For a Kage-level ninja, this distance was already dangerously close. Chōjūrō's face paled in alarm, and he immediately shouted to Rondo, "Senior, two against one Sakura Haruno is already dangerous! We have to go warn her quickly!"

"It's too late." Rondo shook his head, his face grave, and said bitterly as he looked into the distance.

For safety's sake, the two of them were several tens of kilometers away from Sakura Haruno, not much closer than the fast-moving target. By the time they arrived at the battlefield, they would most likely see Sakura Haruno already engaged with that person.

Don't remind Sakura Haruno when the time comes; it would be good enough if you didn't become a burden to her!

Rondo's face was grim. A sense of powerlessness and anger welled up inside him.

He was, after all, a veteran Anbu. Even if he couldn't compare to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his strength was still considerable, making him one of the best Jonin. Unexpectedly, when he encountered Akatsuki Sakura Haruno's group, he was completely helpless and could only hide on the sidelines, watching the battlefield like a rat scurrying into a dark corner.

"There's nothing we can do right now," Rondo clenched his fist and whispered. "The only thing we can do is stay on the sidelines, gather intelligence, and trust that our allies can handle this!"

He patted Chōjūrō on the shoulder heavily.

We can only trust her.

Chōjūrō frowned, forcing himself to calm down.

He took a deep breath, his eyes flickered a few times, and suddenly asked, "Wait! Since we were able to discover this problem, could Sakura Haruno also guess something?"

Rondo shook his head again. "If that's the case, she should have sped up the pace and defeated Nan to end the fight!"

"Unless--"

Rondo and Chōjūrō exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up.

"Unless she did it on purpose!" Chōjūrō blurted out, "Sakura Haruno deliberately wanted to lure that person out!"

So... is that really the case?

On the battlefield.

Sakura Haruno's battle with Minami is nearing its end.

"Got you?"

The pink-haired girl stretched out her arm, her five slender, white fingers spread out, and then—suddenly clenched her fist!

The rapidly growing ice block grabbed the ankle of the Paper Angel, who had narrowly escaped the Ice Release with various daring maneuvers, and then spread up the woman's long, straight thigh.

Crack! Crack!

The ice block grew rapidly, emitting strange friction sounds, and quickly imprisoned Nan's lower body within it.

"Damn it... move!" The woman kicked and flapped her wings desperately, struggling a few more times with great effort, her face filled with anxiety, but in the end she still couldn't take off again.

"Snort."

Sakura Haruno looked at the woman struggling in vain before her and sneered.

[I had originally planned to write more in this chapter, but I'm too exhausted to continue; my mind just won't work. I'll just have to post it like this for now.]