The Disappearance of "Her" (Happy Family)

Chapter 43: The Disappearing Them (Happy Family Time~)

That Transmigrator chose to help the Sound Ninja!

Does this mean the Transmigrator's faction is hostile to Konoha, and therefore they're targeting us?

Sakura keenly picked up on this piece of information, but before she could ponder it further, she saw Zaku raising his hands with a ferocious expression, revealing the hollows in his palms.

"Severing Air Wave!"

The air in front of Zaku visibly distorted, and a violent wave of pressure surged towards Sakura.

"Boom!" Sakura's body was torn to shreds by the Severing Air Wave, instantly turning into a puddle of water.

"A clone?" Zaku's scalp tingled. He saw Dosu, entangled by Rock Lee's bandages, spiraling directly towards the ground like a drill!

Zaku shouted a warning, but soon, a strong gust of wind came from behind his head. Without hesitation, Zaku ducked low, narrowly dodging a heavy punch from Sakura's true body!

If it had landed squarely, Zaku's head would have been split open on the spot, ending his fight with a GG.

"Jingle~" Just then, Sakura suddenly heard a crisp ringing sound.

She turned her head to see Kin charging directly at Lee and Dosu. Sakura's eyelids twitched; she hadn't anticipated events unfolding this way.

Sakura's mind raced: Was it because I kept Zaku occupied that I changed the plot, causing Kin to change as well?

That's right, in the original story, the Sound Ninja had been dominating Sakura before the Twelve Genin arrived to support her. Kin never even had a chance to act, only grabbing Sakura's hair before letting her escape.

Just as Sakura was about to step forward and intercept, the scene before her rapidly shifted. In an instant, Kin appeared right in front of Sakura!

"Zaku!" Kin shouted, throwing a barrage of Senbon at Sakura.

A genjutsu!

Sakura's lips twitched. She dodged the Senbon and charged towards Zaku's position. At this critical moment, Zaku chose to plunge his hands directly into the ground, causing loose soil to rapidly surge towards where Dosu was falling!

"Gotta catch up..." Zaku gritted his teeth and shouted, but the clear ringing sound echoed again, making him feel dizzy.

Arriving behind Zaku and about to punch him into confusion (literally), Sakura saw double. For a moment, she couldn't distinguish which was Zaku's real head.

It was too late.

"Bang!!!"

"Bang!!!"

Two loud explosions rang out. One came from Rock Lee's direction; Dosu had ultimately dodged the worst, his head landing on the soft earth, sustaining only minor injuries.

The other came from Zaku's direction. He was sent flying backward, his chest visibly caved in, spewing blood that sprayed onto the pink-haired girl's face.

The strong metallic scent filled Sakura's nostrils, making her stomach churn with slight discomfort.

She quickly recovered, pulling Rock Lee back to avoid Dosu's potential counterattack.

Although this close-quarters exchange allowed Dosu to survive, incapacitating Zaku was still a gain.

It's just a bit of a shame for Shino. In the original story, he stepped on Zaku to establish himself. Now, his presence will probably be even lower...

"Lee, take a break. I'll handle these two." Sakura pushed the somewhat stubborn Rock Lee back. Lee initially wanted to insist, but he found her grip unusually strong and reluctantly stood in place to recover from his injuries.

Sakura-chan, she's truly the woman I've set my sights on, Rock Lee thought excitedly.

Sakura scanned her surroundings again, looking at the contorted expressions of Dosu and Kin, her confusion deepening.

Why isn't the Transmigrator making a move?

If they're an enemy faction, they should have seized this valuable opportunity while we were separated to pick us off one by one. But in reality, it was all talk and no action, just constant text-based harassment.

Sakura couldn't help but put herself in the Transmigrator's shoes. If it were me, I would have attacked and killed Sakura when she ambushed Zaku, or gone around to finish off Sasuke. Of course, I would have spent time dealing with traps.

But they gave up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This can only mean the Transmigrator has other concerns and didn't act.

Could it be because of Orochimaru? Are they unable to directly harm Sasuke? Then why not target me directly?

Sakura realized there was too little information to make a judgment and decided to put it aside, focusing on dealing with the two in front of her.

Just then, a dense purple smoke erupted from Sasuke's body. His eyelids began to twitch incessantly, as if he were about to fully awaken.

Now, Konoha's advantage will only grow larger. What will you do then... Sakura tensed her body. She had a premonition that something unexpected would happen during the transition period before and after Sasuke's awakening.

"What an astonishing jutsu..." Dosu twisted his head, glaring at Lee and Sakura with undisguised apprehension and anger.

In just one exchange, that guy Zaku was beaten like this... Dosu rolled up his sleeves again, preparing to defeat both opponents before him.

He launched himself forward, only to see the girl smash her fist fiercely into the ground.

"Bang!!"

A huge crack instantly appeared on the ground, greatly disrupting Dosu's movement. At the same time, faint flames appeared on the ground around Dosu!

Landmines! Sakura directly detonated the buried landmines!

"Rumble!!" Within a few breaths, the battlefield was unrecognizable. The green vegetation had nearly vanished, leaving only a gray, dusty ground in disarray.

But the sound of footsteps approaching Dosu grew clearer. He looked up and saw Sakura throwing several large rocks into the air, shattering them with a punch, and sending the fragments spraying towards Dosu!

She knew she couldn't get too close to Dosu recklessly, so she chose to increase the distance and look for an opening.

Dosu deflected the fragments with the holes in his arms, but Sakura's rate of shattering rocks was too high. He had no choice but to continuously increase the output of his Chakra, pulverizing everything around him.

The two continued their back-and-forth, but it was clear their expressions weren't particularly pleasant.

Rather than a battle of skill, this was a battle of stamina.

Either Dosu would run out of chakra, or Sakura would collapse from exhaustion.

But this was clearly more advantageous for the latter. The reason was simple: Sasuke's awakening was only a matter of time, and if her guess was correct, Tenten and Neji were also heading this way. A prolonged stalemate would definitely not be at a disadvantage.

Sakura remembered a tactic from her past life playing Soul Game bosses: she'd equip all her gear for HP, then forgo dodging and rolling, instead directly trading blows with the boss. If her health got low, she'd immediately chug potions. It was a battle of resources, commonly known as the "full damage" style.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, a clear bell sound echoed through the air once more, causing both of them to falter.

"I knew you'd use this move, but so what? I still have the upper hand..."

Before he could finish, Sakura froze in place, and the bell sound stopped in sync.

She stared blankly at Dosu, and Dosu gazed back at her, only to feel a sudden surge of intense pain in his chest.

Dosu looked down at his chest.

A kunai, seeping black blood, protruded from his chest.