Sakura's Awakening

The night in the Forest of Death was suffocatingly quiet.

Massive roots twisted together, forming a natural tree hollow hideout. Drenched in sweat and panting heavily, Sakura Haruno dragged the last person—Ye Tian—deep into the tree hollow.

"Whew... whew..."

Sakura collapsed onto the ground, looking at the three men sprawled before her, overwhelmed by a profound sense of helplessness.

Naruto was unconscious, the seal on his stomach still faintly burning; Sasuke's entire body was scorching hot, and the black Curse Mark on his neck was terrifying, like some living creature; as for Ye Tian...

Sakura reached out and tremblingly touched Ye Tian's forehead.

"So hot! This temperature... even a fever shouldn't be this absurd."

Ye Tian's face was as pale as paper, his brows tightly furrowed, as if he were trapped in some terrible nightmare. As for Tanaka and Sato, the two jokesters from Team Eleven, Sakura simply could not carry them. She could only stuff them into nearby bushes and leave them to fate.

"Right now, I'm the only one awake."

Sakura stared at her trembling hands as the fear she had felt when facing Orochimaru washed over her again. All this time, she had been used to hiding behind Naruto and Sasuke, or being protected by Kakashi-sensei.

"I have to protect everyone... until they wake up."

Gritting her teeth and holding back her tears, she began setting simple traps around the tree hollow. Explosive Tags, tripwires, and crude warning devices. They were rudimentary, but they were all she could do.

The night grew deeper. She dared not light a fire, and the cold seeped into her bones.

Just as Sakura hugged her knees and was nearly falling asleep amid the overlapping chirps of insects, an oddly discordant set of footsteps crushed a dead branch.

Crack.

Sakura jolted awake, a shuriken instantly appearing in her hand.

"Well, well, what luck. Isn't this the little kitten that slipped through the net?"

Three figures slowly emerged from beneath the trees. They were Orochimaru's subordinates, the trio from Hidden Sound Village—Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

Dosu hunched his back, his single eye sweeping over the tree hollow. "Sasuke is in there, isn't he? We're here to kill him. Little girl, get lost if you don't want to die."

"Never!" Sakura stood in front of the tree hollow. Though her legs trembled, her gaze was exceptionally resolute.

"Hmph. You overestimate yourself."

The battle erupted in an instant.

But the difference in strength was cruel. Sakura's traps were easily seen through, while the Air Cutter released from Zaku's hands effortlessly blew away her shuriken.

Just as Sakura was about to despair, a green whirlwind descended from the sky!

Leaf Hurricane!

Rock Lee, with his thick brows and wide eyes, made a stylish entrance and kicked Dosu away.

"Sakura-san! I'm late!" Rock Lee gave her a thumbs-up, flashing a gleaming white smile. "I said I would protect you until death!"

"Rock Lee..." Sakura was moved to tears.

But the good times did not last. The three Sound Ninja were no ordinary opponents, and their methods were exceptionally vicious. After Rock Lee used the forbidden technique, Front Lotus, Zaku used Earth Release through the ground to cushion the damage. Then, in the instant Rock Lee's body stiffened, Dosu used a soundwave attack to stun him and rupture his eardrums.

Their strongest reinforcements had fallen.

"So this is the so-called protector of flowers? What a pathetic joke."

Kin, the only female Sound Ninja, sneered as she stepped forward and grabbed Sakura's prized long pink hair.

"Ah!" Sakura cried out in pain, forced to tilt her head back.

"Look at this hair of yours. You've taken such good care of it." Kin mocked, "Before becoming a ninja, you must have spent even more time dressing yourself up, right? You're nothing but a pretty vase obsessed with looking good."

At that moment, Sakura looked at Rock Lee, who lay helplessly on the ground; at the unconscious Sasuke and Naruto; and at Ye Tian, whose fate was unknown.

Scenes from the past flashed through her mind.

There was Naruto's back. There was Sasuke's back.

—"Sakura, get back!"

—"Don't get in the way, Sakura."

"I was always... always watching their backs."

Tears slid down her cheeks, but Sakura's eyes changed. They held determination, a farewell to the weak person she had once been.

"This time... it's your turn to watch my back!"

Sakura suddenly drew a kunai.

Kin thought she was about to counterattack and prepared to defend herself, only to watch in shock as Sakura did not stab at her enemy, but instead swung the kunai toward the back of her own head!

Swish!

Her pink hair drifted down in the wind.

That long hair, symbolizing vanity and the weakness of being protected, was severed by her own hand at that moment!

"What?" Kin froze.

Sakura took the opportunity to form hand seals and activated the Substitution Technique!

Over the next few minutes, the girl who had once known only how to scream fought like a lioness.

She was beaten, sent flying, and covered in blood, yet she rose again and again. She even opened her mouth and viciously bit down on Zaku's arm, refusing to let go no matter how he punched and kicked her.

"Damn crazy bitch!"

Zaku roared, Chakra gathering in his fist as he smashed it brutally into Sakura's head.

Bang!

Sakura's vision went black, and she finally collapsed powerlessly onto the ground. Her face was bruised and swollen, and she could no longer get back up.

"It's over."

Zaku shook the blood from his hand, his eyes vicious. "Kill this annoying woman first, then take Sasuke out."

He raised his hand, the air vents in his palm aimed at Sakura on the ground.

Just then.

A bone-piercing chill spread from deep inside the tree hollow without warning.

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop by more than ten degrees in an instant. Even the dust in the air appeared to freeze.

"Who?" Dosu suddenly turned around, his single eye filled with horror.

The sickly young man who should have been seriously injured and unconscious—Ye Tian—was slowly rising to his feet while supporting himself against the edge of the tree hollow.

In truth, Ye Tian had awakened long ago.

But he had been using the last trace of Spiritual Energy in his body to do something extraordinarily dangerous in secret—suppressing the Curse Mark within Sasuke, which was on the verge of going berserk. If he had not done so, Sasuke might have been swallowed by the Curse Mark and died while unconscious.

But now, he stopped.

Because the noise outside was really irritating him.

Ye Tian was in terrible condition. His clothes were tattered, dried blood still clung to the corners of his mouth, and his face was pale as a corpse.

But his eyes shone with terrifying brilliance. They carried an aloof gaze that looked down upon all living things.

He looked at Sakura, lying in a pool of blood with her hair raggedly cut, and a rare flicker of anger passed through his eyes.

Though she was only a temporary teammate, though this was merely a "plot," seeing someone bullied so brutally right in front of him truly made his blood boil.

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Tian covered his chest and coughed violently twice, his voice hoarse as though it had been scraped across sandpaper.

"Could you... keep it down?"

Ye Tian dragged his "heavy" steps out of the tree hollow, one step at a time.

"Huh? Who are you?" Zaku looked at the sickly weakling who seemed as though a gust of wind could knock him over and could not help laughing. "Is Konoha out of people? Why are they all useless trash like this?"

"Hey, sicko. If you don't want to die, get back in there and lie down!"

Ye Tian ignored their mockery. Instead, he bent over and leisurely picked up a few ordinary pebbles from the ground.

He weighed them in his hand. Their heft was just right.

"Although my body is completely empty right now, and I can't even cast a Fireball Technique..."

Ye Tian muttered to himself, lightly rubbing the rough surfaces of the pebbles with his fingers.

"Dealing with little trash like you only requires taijutsu and a tiny bit of 'skill.'"

He slowly raised his head and looked at Zaku, a cold curve forming at the corner of his lips.

"You hit women? And you hit them that hard?"

"You've chosen a very narrow path."

Before his words had faded, Ye Tian's wrist flicked sharply!

This was not a ninja tool throwing technique, but the pinnacle hidden-weapon technique of mortal martial arts from the cultivation world—Cloud-Piercing Force!

Even without Spiritual Energy to empower them, Ye Tian's perfect control over his muscle strength and spiraling force technique turned those ordinary pebbles into lethal bullets!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Their shrill whistles through the air were even sharper than shuriken!

"Wha—"

Zaku had no time to react. His vision blurred.

Pff! Pff!

Two dull impacts rang out.

Then came Zaku's piglike scream. "Aaaah! My hands! My hands!!"

Those pebbles had struck with incredible precision into the air tubes in Zaku's arms, then used spiraling force to burst a second time inside the tubes!

The exhaust pipes originally used to unleash Air Cutter had completely exploded, blood and shattered components spraying everywhere.

"How is that possible... just a few pebbles..." Dosu and Kin stared at the scene in terror, cold sweat pouring down their backs.

Was this really the repeat student from Team Eleven? That precision and force were simply monstrous!

Ye Tian dusted off his hands and covered his mouth as he began coughing again, as though that move had taken half his life.

"Cough, cough... sorry, my hand slipped."

Although Ye Tian apologized, there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes. He pointed at Zaku's ruined arms and said indifferently:

"I was aiming for the head, but I can't stand the sight of blood... consider it a small lesson for you."

Just as the three Sound Ninja were intimidated by Ye Tian's display and found themselves caught between advancing and retreating—

A vast, evil surge of purple Chakra shot into the sky from deep inside the tree hollow!

"Heh... hehehe..."

A chilling, low laugh echoed out.

Sasuke staggered out, his entire body covered in flame-shaped black markings. His eyes were no longer simply black, but crimson Sharingan, appearing particularly sinister beneath the glow of that evil Chakra.

Ye Tian glanced at Sasuke and sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, I was so busy showing off just now that I failed to suppress it... now he's really going to turn into a delinquent."

The situation reversed in an instant!