Sealing Hatake Sakumo, Going to the Sarutobi Clan to Demand Someone

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

On the arena platform, Hinata still stood where she was, her expression stern. But... Sakura's body had hunched over, her eyes wide with disbelief in their vacant gaze!

Just now,

Just a moment ago, Hinata seemed to have struck her stomach with a single palm.

But... when had she attacked? Sakura had not even noticed Hinata's movements.

In that brief instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but in the end, she simply had no idea how she had been hit.

Cough—!

As thoughts continued to race through her mind, her stomach churned, and she coughed up two mouthfuls of sour liquid streaked with blood.

Her body then dropped stiffly to her knees. Even now, disbelief lingered in her eyes. She had lost just like that—and so easily.

And she had lost without even knowing why!

When she had gone on missions with Kakashi-sensei, she had fought jonin before. Back then, she had been able to sense the trajectory of their attacks, yet she had not even seen Hinata's attack clearly!

Was this the gap between them?

She was unwilling to accept it. She had grown up alongside Hinata, so why was the difference between them so great? And why had she lost so badly?

"Remember this: Xuanyu has never been trash. You are not even worth one of Xuanyu's fingers!" Hinata's icy voice rang beside Sakura's ear, stripped of its earlier softness.

She should not have insulted Xuanyu and called him trash!

Sakura raised her head to look at Hinata. Her eyes had already turned somewhat lifeless. She had never expected Hinata to punish her just because she had called Xuanyu trash?

But... wasn't Xuanyu trash?

Though Hinata was strong, that did not change the fact that Xuanyu was trash.

She struggled to