Amidst the ruined basin near the coastline of the Land of Water, two figures, one large and one small, faced each other. Sakura Haruno and Yuan stared intently, the distant sounds of wailing and crying rising and falling around them.
A heavy, murderous intent coiled in the air between them. Sakura's aura surged, growing stronger by the moment. Her body, invigorated by Sage Art chakra, filled her with explosive confidence. Gathering power in her legs, she launched herself toward Yuan. To Sakura, the surrounding landscape seemed to blur and recede rapidly behind her.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan saw the girl opposite her vanish. Shunshin?! Yuan barely had time for surprise before a potent sense of crisis flared from behind her.
No, that's not right—it's just pure speed! Yuan desperately threw herself forward, but Sakura was too fast. Before Yuan could fully react, a fist slammed violently into her back. The immense force sent her flying involuntarily forward, while an agonizing pressure, like a thousand-pound stone, crushed her chest, her face flushing a deep red.
A spray of blood erupted from her mouth. Yuan landed hard, kneeling on the ground, coughing relentlessly before struggling back to her feet. She turned, glaring furiously at Sakura.
"Is that all you've got?" Sakura asked, stalking slowly towards Yuan.
"You… cough, cough… what did you do?!" Yuan watched her warily. Not only had the girl's aura changed, but her strength had undergone a heaven-and-earth shattering transformation. What on earth had she done?!
Honestly, Yuan was already bordering on despair. If Sakura could maintain this state for much longer, defeat was certain. Yuan could only gamble that this power boost was temporary; otherwise, she stood absolutely no chance.
Sakura didn't answer. She clenched her fist again and charged.
Yuan's pupils constricted sharply. Ignoring the searing pain in her chest and back, her hands flew through seals.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
This time, however, the jutsu wasn't aimed at Sakura. Instead, it formed a sphere, completely enveloping Yuan.
Through observation, Yuan had deduced that this girl was likely a nin-taijutsu specialist. Her physical resilience, her rapid healing – it all seemed geared towards close combat. Ordinarily, Yuan, with her corrosive abilities, would be the perfect counter to a taijutsu user. But Sakura's monstrous regeneration had completely flipped that dynamic.
Given Sakura's speed, Yuan felt forced into this passive defense. If it could just hold, she might still have a chance.
"Heh, a little creative," Sakura paused, eyeing the massive, cocoon-like sphere. "But naive, too."
Seeing Yuan seal herself away, Sakura instantly guessed Yuan had pegged her as purely a taijutsu fighter. Heh, how naive, she thought. Just because I haven't used ninjutsu doesn't mean I can't.
Truthfully, Sakura had always considered herself primarily a ninjutsu-type ninja. Yet, despite minimal dedicated taijutsu training, her breakthroughs in ninjutsu had passively boosted her physical prowess to a level nearly on par with her ninjutsu skills.
Sakura raised her right hand, extending her index finger towards the sphere. "Sage Art: Storm Release Laser!"
A beam of violet light, thick as an arm, shot from Sakura's fingertip. It pierced straight through the lava sphere. A muffled grunt sounded from within, followed by silence. This woman has to die, Sakura decided, no longer caring about revealing her Storm Release.
Just as Sakura prepared to move forward and drag the woman out, a large volume of white mist suddenly billowed from the hole created by the laser. Sakura shook her head. "Trying to escape? You won't get the chance."
She initially dismissed the white mist as a simple smokescreen, a common enough tactic in Kirigakure. But as she stepped closer to the sphere and was enveloped by the mist, something felt terribly wrong.
Every breath was agony. Her throat and lungs burned with a pain even worse than when she'd been caught in the corrosive solution earlier. Lifting a hand, she saw raw, bleeding flesh. The mist itself was corrosive, perhaps even more potent than the initial liquid.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sakura immediately activated Creation Rebirth. She avoided keeping the seal active unless absolutely necessary; not only did it consume enormous amounts of chakra, but it also shortened her lifespan. It was reserved for fatal injuries or fights against opponents significantly stronger than herself.
With Creation Rebirth active, the pain persisted, but the damage was no longer life-threatening. Sakura tore open the weakened sphere. Inside, Yuan was slumped over, gasping raggedly, one hand clamped over her abdomen. Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Sakura.
"You… huff… huff… you really… huff… are my nemesis…!" Seeing Sakura standing in the acid mist, seemingly unharmed apart from a pained expression, Yuan's voice held a note of exhaustion and utter despair.
Sakura ignored her. Stepping forward, she delivered a sharp chop to Yuan's neck, knocking her unconscious. She then placed a hand over the gaping wound in Yuan's abdomen, channeling the Mystic Palm Technique just enough to stop the bleeding. Seeing the hemorrhage controlled, Sakura hefted Yuan onto her shoulder, stepped out of the dissolving sphere, and began rummaging through the ruins of the town she'd helped create. After finding a few sets of clothes, she departed with Yuan in tow.
While Creation Rebirth could heal her body, it couldn't mend fabric. The fight had left the clothes she'd borrowed from Karin in tatters, barely clinging to her. She was dangerously close to being completely exposed, though thankfully, the devastated town seemed deserted now. Even if someone was around, they likely wouldn't be paying attention to her.
Carrying Yuan, Sakura ventured deeper into the Land of Water until she finally located a secluded cave. Inside, she gently laid Yuan on the ground. Sakura then tore off her own ragged clothes and pulled on one of the outfits scavenged from the town.
She wasn't sure if the clothes were just small or if she'd… developed… recently, but the top felt uncomfortably tight across her chest. Still, under the circumstances, finding anything better seemed unlikely. She'd just have to make do.
Sakura then turned her attention to the pale woman lying on the cave floor. No, not Yuan. Mei Terumi.
She'd had her suspicions earlier, but in the heat of battle, hadn't dwelled on it. The final clue – the acid mist – confirmed it. This woman was the dual Kekkei Genkai user, Mei Terumi.
Looking at the long brown hair and refined features, Sakura suddenly understood why the woman had gotten angry when she'd called her 'old hag' earlier. Wait, no, that's not the point! The point was, she'd somehow forgotten what Mei Terumi looked like and ended up in a pointless, brutal fight.
Has it really been that long? she wondered. Are my memories of the Naruto timeline already starting to fade?
Okay, so if this was Mei, she definitely wasn't a human trafficker. But that still didn't explain why Mei had drugged her. Just asking for directions to Kirigakure shouldn't warrant being drugged and attacked, right? Back in the Land of Fire, people didn't get jumped just for asking the way to Konoha.
Now, what to do with her? Sakura felt conflicted. Knowing it was Mei didn't magically erase her anger. Anyone would be furious after being randomly drugged and nearly dissolved, not to mention beaten up so badly.
But she couldn't just let Mei die, either. Sakura was already a missing-nin from Konoha. Getting a bounty placed on her head by Kirigakure as well would be a huge pain. She didn't know Mei's current standing in Kiri, but what if she was important? If Kiri then rallied the other Great Nations for a joint manhunt… Sakura shuddered. She'd probably have to flee to Ikarus and seek asylum with Ranke.
Sakura carefully examined Mei's injuries again. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound piercing clear through her abdomen needed proper treatment soon, or infection would set in. Mei wouldn't last long. The wound itself was easily wrist-thick, her intestines clearly visible within. Sakura's Storm Release Laser had obliterated everything in its path. Without surgery to reconnect Mei's intestines, she might never be able to eat properly again.
Sakura patted her pockets. These scavenged clothes, predictably, contained no money. She scouted the area outside; it was deep wilderness. Forget a hospital, there wasn't even a sign of civilization.
Looking back at Mei lying unconscious in the cave, Sakura muttered under her breath, "Whether you live or die is up to your luck now. Looks like I'll have to play master thief for a bit."
With that, she used Earth Release to subtly camouflage the cave entrance, making it less obvious at a glance. Then, with a few swift leaps, she vanished into the wilderness.