Beneath the azure moon, in a forest clearing.
Sakura had been sitting cross-legged on a smooth, rounded rock for over ten minutes.
Jugo waited nearby. Though he had memories of his previous life, this was his first time dealing with Sakura in this one.
Pragmatic by nature, he naturally harbored doubts about her abilities.
"Are you done yet?"
With her eyes closed, Sakura calmly explained, "This island's magnetic field is very unusual. Precisely identifying the chakra the Tailed Beasts left in the atmosphere is no easy task, but I'm almost there..."
"Identification complete..."
Jugo jumped onto the rock as well. "What do you need me to do next?"
"Manipulating natural energy requires the power of senjutsu. For you, that means your Cursed Seal. Infuse its power into my body..."
Fleshy growths bulged from Jugo's hands as he pressed them onto Sakura's shoulders.
"Let me warn you first. When I release my Cursed Seal, my bloodlust surges along with it. Though the Sharingan has strengthened my mental abilities and improved my control over that bloodlust, it still isn't completely safe...
"I could lose control and snap your neck from behind. Are you really all right with that?"
But Sakura was no longer that frail girl. Faced with Jugo's warning, she smiled with gentle warmth. "It's all right. Sasuke chose you and trusts you, so I trust you unconditionally too..."
"..." Jugo fell silent.
She puts her own trust on exactly the same footing as Sasuke's? No wonder she was the only girl for Sasuke in our previous life...
Sakura smiled. "Come on, Jugo. Let your wild side loose!!"
"As you wish."
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..." Jugo's body began transforming under the Cursed Seal, his hands covered in fleshy growths as they pressed against Sakura's shoulders!!
"Boom...!!!!" Cursed Seal markings spread over Sakura's