A Winner Decided? (Part 2)
Pain was aggressive, but Sakura Haruno, who was at a disadvantage, refused to back down an inch.
She abruptly stopped in her retreat.
She had already gathered information about Pain before the battle and had naturally devised a plan to deal with him!
"You think I'm helpless without Monstrous Strength Technique?" The girl narrowed her emerald eyes dangerously, coldly staring at Pain. "Don't underestimate me!"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Sage Mode, activated!
Sakura Haruno activated an ancient and powerful Secret Technique. In an instant, as if she had applied exquisite makeup, purple eyeshadow suddenly appeared in Sakura Haruno's eyes, and gorgeous mysterious patterns suddenly lit up. Intricate fairy patterns spread from the eyeshadow to Sakura's fair cheeks, making her beautiful face deep and serene.
The empty body Chakra. This time, the source of energy was no longer just the Yin Seal on the forehead, but the entire world filled with Natural Energy!
Senjutsu Chakra!
The powerful energy surged into her body the instant it was efficiently amplified, greatly enhancing the power and speed of her punches and kicks, much like her Nintaijutsu greatly amplified her physical abilities.
Sakura once tried to enhance her physical body simultaneously with Monstrous Strength Technique and Senjutsu Chakra; that was during Genjutsu in the Land of Lightning.
What incredible power that was! Back then, she exchanged blows with the Fourth Raikage, a master of Taijutsu, and even though he was at full power, she still managed to dislocate his bones with a single punch, causing him to cough up blood and end up in a sorry state!
Currently, she can only use Sage Mode alone, but the power she can unleash is vastly different from what she used before.
Clang!
Pain slashed down from mid-air, while Sakura Haruno, whose left hand had somehow materialized into a dark blue short staff, met the attack head-on.
The Black Key and the blue rod suddenly clashed in mid-air. Both were Yin Release creations formed from the solidification of spirit, and both were exceptionally sharp and tough. When they collided, they produced a sharp and piercing sound like metal colliding with stone!
It's blocked!
A flicker of surprise crossed Pain's eyes. He didn't know any Senjutsu, and was immediately puzzled. Unable to use his Monstrous Strength Technique, where did the girl's slender figure get the power to contend with him?
Little did they know that Sakura Haruno was also dissatisfied with her own power!
While Pain's Taijutsu wasn't top-tier, the Preta Path was constantly absorbing Sakura's Chakra, even her Senjutsu Chakra. The rate at which the latter absorbed her chakra was just about equal to the rate at which Sakura generated Senjutsu energy, which greatly reduced the power of her Sage Mode and made her power amplification efforts much less effective!
With the two forces canceling each other out, Sakura Haruno's power was now roughly equal to Pain's.
They even dared to absorb her Senjutsu Chakra! They're courting death! Sakura Haruno glanced coldly at the Preta Path out of the corner of her eye.
Sakura didn't focus on dealing with the absorption of her Chakra, because she knew that the Preta Path would soon reap what it sowed, and also because Pain, despite his failed attack, didn't back down but instead entangled her!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Pain swung the Black Key in his hand like short swords, slashing through the air with continuous whistling sounds, launching an impenetrable offensive; though he was puzzled, his killing intent grew even more resolute!
We must take care of Sakura Haruno now, otherwise... Pain had a feeling things would get very troublesome!
Despite her greatly diminished strength, Sakura Haruno remained fearless, gripping her Willpower Staff in one hand as she charged forward.
If you want war, then let's fight!
Since there is no clear winner in terms of strength, then skill will determine life and death.
Pain's Taijutsu were Jiraiya, making him a pure Hokage. Through years of combat experience, he naturally developed his own unique system, which was simple, efficient, fierce, and had a constant stream of killing moves, similar to most experienced strong fighters.
Although he is Ninjutsu- type ninja, his Taijutsu and swordsmanship should not be underestimated.
Sakura Haruno is a different story.
Few people know that she is also skilled in swordsmanship—of course, compared to her commonly used Nintaijutsu and Water Release Ninjutsu, "skilled" would be a more appropriate word here than "proficient in".
Swords and blades are extensions of the arms, an enhancement to fists and feet. Weapons are used to compensate for the lack of power in pure physical fists and feet. However, Sakura Haruno's Nintaijutsu itself has the power to split mountains and shatter rocks. A punch from her is more powerful than a swing of a sword. It seems that she doesn't need to learn swordsmanship.
In fact, Sakura Haruno's Kunai and shurikens are just the kind of weapons that are commonplace in the Shinobi World, but she does possess a truly remarkable swordsmanship.
Because it's useful.
Because Sasuke skill was swordsmanship.
Sakura Haruno and Sasuke have sparred many times, and the training of swordsmanship requires another skilled swordsman as a whetstone. Kakashi is that skill, and Sakura Haruno can certainly be one as well.
The transmigrated girl's swordsmanship originated from the Eight Slashing Blades Technique of Wing Chun in her previous life. Through many battles and sparring with strong opponents, she honed her skills and constantly refined them, eventually forming her unique swordsmanship.
The moves are delicate and subtle, the movements light and swift, seemingly beautiful, yet containing deadly danger.
The slender, dark blue staff in the girl's hand subtly lengthened and widened, a handguard extending from the grip onto her fair wrist. The staff broadened and sharpened, transforming into a blade with a sharp, sword-like edge protruding from the tip, and a butterfly dagger appeared in her hand.
Close-quarters combat!
As their trump cards and hidden moves were revealed and countered one by one, and as powerful and unpredictable Ninjutsu became mere expendable resources in their battles, these two arguably the strongest ninjas of their time finally brought their fight back to the most fundamental and bloodiest Taijutsu of taijutsu combat.
Ding ding ding--!
Light and shadow flickered, swords flew, and figures clashed.
In just two seconds, the two exchanged blows no less than ten times. The whistling of the Black Key and the short sword, and the clear sounds of swords clashing, rose and fell, almost becoming a continuous chorus.
Soon, the two who had been dodging and weaving suddenly stopped, and a winner was decided.
Sakura Haruno is injured!
Taijutsu combat is the fastest way to determine victory or defeat in ninja battles. Often, winning or losing is just a matter of a moment.
Just a moment ago, the Preta Path suddenly increased the rate of Chakra absorption, causing Sakura Haruno's strength to falter, and her weak attacks to become full of openings!
The next second, the Black Key pierced through the girl's palm, and the butterfly dagger fell to the ground!
Now, Sakura Haruno couldn't move either of her hands.
The outcome... is decided.
Pain was overjoyed!
"The battle is over... You lost!" Pain said proudly. With that, he withdrew the Black Key, aimed it at the girl's long neck, and raised it high.
As he swung his arm down, Pain looked at Sakura Haruno, hoping to see despair and pain on the girl's face.
To his astonishment, Sakura Haruno showed no negative emotions whatsoever; instead, she remained calm and composed, with a half-smile on her face.
"It is true that a winner has been decided... but the loser is you!" the girl said calmly.
Beside her, the Preta Path, having absorbed an excessive amount of Senjutsu Chakra, was so distorted that it was unrecognizable as human, and sank into the sea! This was the consequence of indiscriminately eating things! Without sufficient certainty, how could Sakura Haruno rashly choose close combat?
Facing Pain's attack, the girl went to meet him.
"Nintaijutsu: High Roundhouse Kick!"
Happy National Day!