Sakura Haruno carried her lunchbox and headed towards the training ground.
Sasuke's attitude towards her has improved significantly recently, and he even accepts the bento she brings him, which greatly boosts Sakura's confidence. The thought of Sasuke eating the bento she made herself fills her with indescribable joy.
The training grounds are located in a slightly remote area from the residential areas of Konoha, mainly to prevent information from leaking out while they are practicing Ninjutsu.
"Excuse me, please don't go any further." A voice came from behind the tree.
Sakura Haruno looked to the side and saw a fat man walking out. He had strange orange hair and a purple shimenawa (sacred rope) around his waist.
Sakura decided to ignore him and continued walking forward. Sasuke must be hungry after training for so long.
"Can't you hear me? Don't go any further!" The man jumped into the middle of the road and pointed at Sakura Haruno.
"Who are you? Why are you blocking my way?" Sakura had never seen this person in the village before, and his attire was rather strange, with a purple shimenawa (sacred rope) wrapped around his waist, a style somewhat reminiscent of Orochimaru.
"Who am I? Little girl, you'd better not guess! Otherwise, don't blame me!"
"You are... Sound Ninja?" Sakura, a little uncertain.
The fat man laughed and said, "Since you guessed it, you're not leaving now. You'd better stay here obediently!"
After saying that, he rushed over and reached out to grab Sakura's arm.
Sakura flipped backward and jumped, putting the bento box she was holding aside.
This is meant to be eaten with Sasuke, so we can't just break it like this.
"This is Konoha. Aren't you afraid someone will come here soon?" Sakura didn't expect these people to be so bold as to dare to attack her in Konoha.
The fat man chuckled and said, "Then you don't need to worry about it."
He opened his arms and hugged Sakura.
Sakura quickly dodged and leaped up into a tree, looking down at the fat man from above.
Since this person is from the Otogakure, he must be Orochimaru's subordinate, and he's definitely after Sasuke. Since he's blocking my way, there must be someone else causing trouble for Sasuke.
No, I have to go save Sasuke right now!
The fat man under the tree looked at Sakura on the tree and chuckled. He wrapped his arms around the tree, which was as thick as a water bucket, and with all his might, shook the tree vigorously.
The tree shook violently, almost knocking Sakura off. She pushed off the tree with both feet, jumped to the side, grabbed a branch of another tree with one hand, swung on the tree, and landed steadily on the trunk.
This guy is incredibly strong; he almost snapped a tree as thick as a bucket in half. Sakura quickly considered her options. The person below was clearly no ordinary ninja; she was probably no match for him.
The fat man ran over again, picked up the tree, and snapped it in half!
No, this fat guy is too strong, I can't conserve my Chakra.
Sakura flipped over and landed on the ground, quickly Hand Seals.
The fat man leaped forward, his muscular arms clasped together, and gave Sakura a tight hug.
As Sakura's last seal fell, a stream of water swirled and rose from the ground.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
The fat man wrapped his arms around the water, but was bounced away by the rapidly flowing current. The water flow grew larger and larger, forming a majestic water dragon about ten meters high.
This is a simplified Ninjutsu with Shinsei's help; it requires less Chakra and is more powerful. Water Dragon twisted its body and lunged at the fat man beside it.
The fat man hurriedly jumped away, but the water dragon twisted its head and swung him away.
The fat man got up, looked at the water dragon that was biting again, gritted his teeth, and threw a punch to meet it.
" Jirobo, stop playing around and hurry up and take care of her." A woman's voice came from the distant woods.
Oh no! There are more people! Sakura's heart tightened, and she continued to control the Water Dragon Bullet.
The massive water jet crashed into Jirobo.
Jirobo lay prone on the ground, his hands digging deep into the soil. His hair grew longer, and his body became darker and stronger.
What kind of Ninjutsu is that? Sakura looked at the transformed Jirobo in the arena, never expecting that he could withstand the Water Dragon Bullet.
No, I can't linger here. I have to get to Sasuke quickly. Sakura hardened her heart, biting her lower lip as she gripped two Kunai in her hands. With a push off the ground, she leaped into the air, sending the two Kunai hurtling towards Jirobo.
Jirobo easily dodged it and continued grabbing at Sakura.
Sakura landed on the ground and ran straight ahead without looking back.
Whoosh!
Two Shuriken shot out from the forest, blocking Sakura's path. Sakura had no choice but to dodge them. Just then, Jirobo caught up from behind and grabbed Sakura's arm.
Suddenly, Sakura vanished into Utakata —it was a clone.
Another Sakura darted out from behind the tree and ran forward at high speed.
I have to save Sasuke! I have to save Sasuke! With only this one thought in her mind, Sakura ignored everything else and just kept running forward.
A golden arrow shot out from the forest. Sakura caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye and instinctively leaned to the right to dodge the incoming arrow.
The arrow, however, seemed to have eyes. It made a turn in the air, and the long silk thread attached to its fletching pierced through Sakura's thigh and shoulder, pinning her to the ground.
A sharp pain struck, and his entire thigh and right arm went numb, hanging limply to the ground.
Sakura propped herself up with her left hand, the golden arrow passing right through her shoulder. She grabbed the silk thread attached to the arrow's tail and bit down on it. The thread, however, was surprisingly resilient; no matter how hard Sakura bit, she couldn't break it.
Tears streamed down Sakura's face.
Jirobo walked over, raised his fist, grinned, and swung it hard at Sakura!
"Ah!"
After a loud shout, Jirobo rolled his body and fell more than ten meters away.
Sakura looked up and saw Naruto standing there with an angry expression. He grabbed the thread attached to the arrow's tail with both hands and tore it off with force.
Naruto turned his head, and his eyes had quietly transformed into vertical pupils.
"I'm going to kill you all!" Red Chakra erupted from Naruto's body, forming a tail cloak.
" Naruto, hurry and Sasuke!" Sakura reached out and shoved Naruto's shoulder. The moment her hand touched Naruto, the red Chakra burned her like boiling water, making her quickly pull her hand back.
Jirobo scrambled to his feet and shouted into the woods, "Aren't you going to come out and help?"
"What a waste! You can't even handle two little brats." A woman's voice came from the woods.
"That's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Be careful not to delay Lord Orochimaru's business!" Jirobo shouted in dissatisfaction.
Several figures Issen, and three more figures appeared on the open ground.
" Tayuya."
" Sakon."
" Kidomaru."
The Sound Four arrived!