Among Konoha's Four Flowers, Sakura was now the only one who hadn't received a buff, so she became even more enthusiastic.
She sent Ino out of the kitchen and took care of the entire dinner herself.
The food tasted pretty good, but unfortunately, she couldn't get her attitude in order, and she never earned the approval of the Chat Group system—or, more accurately, Mo Chen.
Sakura was furious. She hadn't even finished eating before she stormed off.
[Sakura Haruno: If I ever give Mo Chen the time of day again, I'll be a pig!]
[Ino Yamanaka: That sounds pretty good, Sakura Pig!]
[Tenten: I have to be fair here: you can't blame Mo Chen for this.]
[Hinata Hyuga: I think if you want to get a buff, you have to be genuinely nice to Mo Chen. And Mo Chen-kun really is a pretty nice person!]
[Sakura Haruno: Right, right. In the first Future video, he force-kissed you. Since he's so nice, why not find a chance to return the favor? Maybe you'll even level up once or twice!]
[Hinata Hyuga: ...]
[Ino Yamanaka: Sakura Pig, have you lost your mind? You snap at everyone! This is your own problem. You just blamed Mo Chen, and now you're blaming Hinata?]
[Sakura Haruno: Ino Pig, are you looking for a fight?]
[Ino Yamanaka: Like I'd be scared of you!]
[Tenten: Sakura, if you keep acting so unreasonable, don't blame us for leaving you out next time! And don't forget Rule Two of the Group rules. You've already crossed the line.]
[Sakura Haruno: I must be so lucky to have you all as friends. I don't need you to take me along, either. I'm drawing a clear line between us right now. Whoever wants to stay in this lousy group can stay. I'm leaving right now... Aaaahhh!]
Clearly, just as Tenten had said, Sakura had violated the Group rules again.
Rule Two of the Group rules was that members had to get along harmoniously.
The system had verified that Sakura had disrupted the harmony among the group members.
Since her attitude was much worse than during her previous violations, the punishment was harsher this time, too.
Before she could confirm that she wanted to leave the Chat Group, the punishment came down.
The currents running over her body were several times stronger than before, and this time they were accompanied by heavenly flames. Together, their power was enough to turn her to ash in an instant.
But with some kind of force sustaining her, Sakura could clearly feel the pain without suffering any actual physical harm.
The electric shocks made every inch of her flesh and every bone ache as if they were about to burst. It felt as though countless ants were devouring her, leaving her in agony and numbness.
The heavenly flames were not only painful; their heat made the ordeal almost unbearable.
Sakura's body floated in the air as thick bolts of lightning and flames flickered across her. She let out a hoarse, anguished scream.
But her voice couldn't get out. It was as if something blocked it, trapping it in that tiny space.
Sakura wept tears of regret. She couldn't bear the pain, but she couldn't make it stop. She couldn't faint, and she couldn't endure it. For the first time in her life, she felt utterly helpless and terrified.
She wanted to apologize and ask the other girls in the group for help, but she couldn't even send a message.
The punishment lasted a full ten minutes. Each second felt like a year to Sakura, and she screamed until her voice went hoarse.
The experience became a lasting trauma. After going through it once, she didn't dare risk a second time.
When the punishment ended, Sakura collapsed on the ground, eyes rolled back and drool running from the corner of her mouth.
At that moment, she looked as if she'd just been pulled out of the water. Sweat soaked her from head to toe, and her clothes clung tightly to her body.
A light squeeze would have wrung out a large amount of sweat.
The punishment lasted ten minutes, but it took Sakura two hours to recover somewhat.
Strangely, not a single passerby had appeared during that time.
Sakura hadn't even taken a dark alley!
And though it was getting late, it wasn't all that late yet. People usually passed by here from time to time.
When Sakura came to her senses, she was terrified. The first thing she did was try to leave the Chat Group.
She couldn't stay in this awful place any longer. Who knew when she'd be punished again?
But just as she was about to confirm, she saw the messages in the Chat Group and froze.
[Ino Yamanaka: Serves you right. You got punished again, didn't you? You were screaming so terribly. This punishment must have been worse than the last one.]
[Tenten: Sakura, use your head for once. Surely this will teach you to be smarter, right?]
[Hinata Hyuga: Sakura really did go too far this time.]
When the other three girls heard Sakura's screams, they understood what had happened.
But they carried on eating and drinking as if nothing had happened.
"If I leave the Chat Group, all my memories connected to it will be erased. Then all the times I've suffered so far will have been for nothing?"
"Besides, they've all gotten buffs. The gap between us will only keep growing!"
"Won't I look even more like a clown then?"
Sakura felt a flicker of resentment toward the three fair-weather friends in the group. They'd all ganged up on her, and now they were kicking her while she was down as she suffered her punishment!
"No! I can't just leave!"
"I have to find a way to get a higher-level buff, then write down everything that's happened in the group and seal it in a scroll. After that, I can leave the Chat Group!"
"Hmph. Then I'll be the one looking down on them!"
Sakura quickly came up with what she thought was the cleverest plan: get the benefits of the Chat Group, then dump it. Perfect!
She'd just have to be more careful with what she said and did from now on. She never wanted to go through that kind of punishment again.
Once she'd sorted out her thoughts, Sakura dusted herself off and stood up. She continued home as if nothing had happened.
Back at Mo Chen's house, Sakura had stormed off in a fit of temper. Though Ino and the others had acted unconcerned in the group, they were still a little worried in person.
They waited until Mo Chen wasn't paying attention, then quietly discussed it among themselves.
In the end, though, they all agreed that Sakura deserved the punishment!
If Sakura straightened out her attitude after this punishment, they could pretend nothing had happened.
Otherwise, it would be hard for them to keep thinking of Sakura as one of their own.
Mo Chen hadn't missed their little secret conversation. He'd only pretended not to notice.
After they had eaten their fill, the girls chatted for a while. They had all gotten a little more familiar with one another.
"Mo Chen, I heard your abilities are strong enough to easily defeat even a Jonin, but you haven't mastered them yet. Want to go train at the training ground together?" Tenten brought it up first.
In the Future video, she and Mo Chen had been the ones facing off.
Now that they knew the future events were real, and the outcome had been beneficial to everyone, they might as well follow the video's lead.
Ino chimed in, "Come on, let's go. I've gotten a lot stronger recently, and I want to try it out in a real fight, too."
"I... I do, too!" Hinata agreed, blushing.
She had just gotten a buff, and she really did want to try it out.
Mo Chen shrugged. "Since you all put it that way, it'd be rude of me to refuse. But just so we're clear, Tenten-senpai, I still can't use that ability you mentioned!"
"That's exactly why we should practice!" Tenten didn't give Mo Chen a chance to be modest. She grabbed his arm and led him outside.
In their first sparring match in the Future video, Mo Chen had used two ninjutsu in a row and easily defeated her.
But that Tenten hadn't had a buff.
She really wanted to see how well she could fight Mo Chen after making use of her buff.
Before you continue