Since Katsuyu was playing dumb, Sakura Haruno couldn't do anything about it. After all, their relationship was one of equals. However, from Katsuyu's attitude, she could tell that she already possessed a small amount of natural energy.
But she herself hadn't noticed it. This meant that Seijutsu had actually succeeded in absorbing natural energy, but she couldn't observe it. This way, it seemed she couldn't use it either; being unable to observe it also meant being unable to utilize it.
Katsuyu could observe it, which meant Katsuyu had a way to use it, but she was unwilling to tell her...
"How tragic," Terumi Mei's voice came from behind.
Sakura, her thoughts interrupted, looked at Terumi Mei who had caught up and said, "Let's go check the other explosion sites. There's nothing here."
However, the matter at hand still needed to be resolved first. After a quick scan and finding nothing suspicious here, she ran towards the next explosion site.
But as time passed, Sakura increasingly felt that it probably wasn't Kirigakure's pursuit team, because she hadn't seen them at all until now.
If this was a trap set by them, since she had already gone to check the explosion sites, they should have shown themselves by now and then forced her towards their trap outside the city.
But she had already reached the second explosion site and still hadn't seen anyone jump out. If they weren't the ones causing the explosions to lure her out, then it was someone else.
What was their purpose? Sakura felt it was better to figure it out. If they were really after her, now that the enemy was in the open and she was in the dark, she could gather some intelligence. If she left the city now, they might be waiting for her.
"What's this?" Suddenly, Terumi Mei held out her hand to show Sakura a dark object.
Sakura looked at the object in Mei's hand. It was entirely black, but it didn't seem to be its original color; it looked more like it had been dyed black.
"Where did you find it?" Sakura asked.
"There was some at that place earlier too. I only noticed it here as well," Mei said.
Sakura scanned the ground and indeed found some dark objects. She casually picked one up from the ground, squeezed it – it was soft in texture – and rubbed it with her hand, turning it into a muddy paste.
Sakura froze. This... this is... clay???
At this moment, a louder explosion sound came from the distance. Looking up, Sakura saw that it seemed to be the location of the inner city.
She then instructed Mei to wait where she was while she went to the inner city to investigate. If it was to deal with her, she could prepare. If not, she could leave with peace of mind.
When she arrived at the inner city, the scene was even more tragic than outside the city. None of the soldiers lying on the ground were intact; they were either missing arms or legs or their entire bodies were blackened, clearly having been poisoned.
"This is..." Sakura felt nothing in her heart looking at the tragic scene here. However, besides the corpses, another thing caught her attention.
A puppet. It was a humanoid puppet. The puppet had been split in two, its intricate internal structure exposed. This was the first time Sakura had seen such an exquisitely crafted puppet.
Speaking of which, she had also seen Kankuro's puppets during the Chunin Exams, but they didn't seem as complex as this one before her.
A puppet master? A Sand ninja. Sakura continued walking inwards, but a sense of familiarity kept nagging at her.
Black clay, puppets... Wait, could it be those two? Sakura slapped her forehead, a jolt of realization, and suddenly remembered two people: Sasori and, Dei... Dei... Dei???
Dei-damn-whatsit? The image of that person had already appeared in her mind, but she couldn't remember the name. It really was because too much time had passed; she couldn't even remember the names of some characters.
But what were those two doing here? Sakura felt a little nervous. Those two were genuinely Kage-level in strength. If it wasn't necessary, and given her current suboptimal condition, there was no need to start a fight, although Sakura wouldn't be afraid of them if they really fought.
If she remembered correctly, that Dei-damn-whatsit's... thing was countered by Lightning Release, and her Lightning Release was quite decent. As for Sasori's puppet jutsu, her reaction speed wasn't slow; she wouldn't necessarily be dominated if she faced him. The main thing was that she knew both of their weaknesses; that was the power of intelligence.
But even so, Sakura still had to be cautious when necessary. If there was no absolute reason to fight, there was no benefit in fighting them. Even if she won, she wouldn't gain much.
At this moment, two figures suddenly ran out from around a corner. One of them, upon seeing Sakura, cried out in surprise, then gripped a kunai, looking at her warily.
"Hm? Ino?" Sakura saw Ino and a gorgeously dressed girl following behind her.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Ino said nervously.
"What am I doing?" Sakura paused, then smiled. "I'm not doing anything."
With that, Sakura turned and walked outwards. Since she had confirmed it was those two, and it seemed to have nothing to do with her, it was better to slip away quickly to avoid any more trouble.
Ino, seeing Sakura leave, breathed a sigh of relief and said to the girl beside her, "Princess Chiyo, let's go quickly."
"Mhm," Princess Chiyo nodded.
When Sakura arrived at the second explosion site, Terumi Mei was still obediently waiting for her. Sakura walked up and said, "Let's go. We're leaving the city now."
Then, Terumi Mei followed behind Sakura, and the two of them walked out of the city one after the other.
Akatsuki once accepted missions in the ninja world as mercenaries. As long as there was money, they would do anything. The reason those two appeared here was probably because they were hired by someone to invade this small country. If their target was me, why would they attack the Daimyo's residence?
Leaping through the branches of the forest trees, Sakura figured out a reason why they might have appeared here. As long as the target wasn't her, it was fine.
Just like that, the two of them advanced towards their destination in the jungles of the Land of Rivers, one after the other.
Suddenly, Sakura felt an inexplicable tightening in her heart. Her speeding steps came to an abrupt halt, and then she did a backflip, landing beside Terumi Mei who was behind her.
"What happened?" Terumi Mei asked, not understanding.
Sakura didn't speak, looking at a black iron rod with a pointed tip stuck where she had been standing just moments ago.
This thing didn't even make a sound. Because the iron rod was slender and not very long, its contact surface with the air was small, making much less noise than a kunai. She had been distracted just now; if it weren't for her sixth sense's warning, she might have been pierced through.
"Who is it?!" Terumi Mei also saw the black rod and shouted sharply at the surroundings.
The jungle rustled, and then a person wearing a black robe with slicked-back hair walked out, holding a three-bladed scythe in his hand.
Seeing this figure, Sakura froze. What day is it today? Why are Akatsuki members everywhere?
Although this was the first time she had met this person, his appearance was unmistakable: Hidan, the one with the immortal body.
"Looks like you're very lucky," Hidan said, pulling the black spear from the ground. "But Lord Jashin won't be happy about this!"
"Why did you attack me?" Sakura asked coldly.
"Hehehehe," Hidan covered his head with his hand and let out a series of strange laughs. "Do I need a reason? You should thank me for sending you to see Lord Jashin!"
"Hooo~~" Sakura took a deep breath. It seemed this fight was unavoidable. She might be a bit wary of facing Sasori and Dei-damn-whatsit, but against Hidan, hmph, he was just courting death.
Hidan's ability was his biggest secret. If it were known, Hidan wouldn't be able to cause much trouble. Although he was immortal, his immortality only ensured he wouldn't die; if he were dismembered, he still wouldn't be able to move.
Moreover, as far as Sakura knew, his attack methods were monotonous, and his cursing process was cumbersome. He could only bully rookies or rely on an intelligence gap.
"You step back. Remember, absolutely do not get injured by his weapon, and more importantly, don't bleed. Understand?" Sakura instructed Terumi Mei beside her.
"Um, can I help?" Terumi Mei asked cautiously.
"No need, you just watch..."
Before Sakura could finish her instructions, Hidan on the other side couldn't wait any longer and threw his three-bladed scythe.
"Move!" Sakura dodged to the side while simultaneously kicking Terumi Mei away.
Attacking just like that. Sure enough, villains aren't brainless either, blabbering on before a fight.
"Heh!!!" Sakura directly entered her Chakra Activation Mode and ran towards Terumi Mei.
Reaching Terumi Mei, who had been knocked to the ground by her kick, Sakura pulled the Executioner's Blade from Mei's back and, turning, swung it towards Hidan.
Being unarmed was too much of a disadvantage, especially when the enemy was using such a long weapon. And Sakura knew the opponent's details clearly, so there was no need to use ninjutsu against him.
Hidan seemed a little annoyed that his attack had missed. Seeing the young girl charging at him with a large sword, his heart couldn't help but leap with joy. The reason he had made the three-bladed scythe like this was also to conveniently collect blood when encountering enemies who attacked from a distance.
Close combat suited Hidan's taste perfectly. He raised his scythe to block the girl's oncoming sword strike, then Hidan suddenly retracted his scythe, and the large sword directly struck his shoulder.
Hidan was well aware of his own weakness. If he hadn't blocked that large sword a bit, half of his body would have been lopped off. Although he wouldn't die, his movements would be restricted.
So, after neutralizing the force of the large sword, Hidan directly pulled back his three-bladed scythe, letting the sword land on his shoulder.
Hidan looked at Sakura with a cold sneer, expecting to see a look of astonishment on the girl's face, but he only saw her calm demeanor.
A faint sense of foreboding arose in Hidan's heart, but the current situation was the best opportunity to collect blood.
After retracting the three-bladed scythe, Hidan swung it horizontally towards the girl's abdomen.
Sakura, seeing this, also sneered. She knew exactly what Hidan was planning; how could she let him have his way?
The young girl, gripping the hilt, lightly leaped up into a handstand, dodging the scythe's attack. The Executioner's Blade, using Hidan's shoulder as a fulcrum, didn't fall. Then, the girl used her waist strength to swing.
Her hands, gripping the Executioner's Blade, exerted force. The blade, embedded in Hidan's shoulder, instantly unleashed a surging power, a force that directly pressed Hidan to his knees.
Infusing chakra into the Executioner's Blade, Sakura used her waist strength again, gripped the hilt with both hands, and, still in a handstand, did a direct backflip.
The chakra-infused Executioner's Blade tore through Hidan's body from his shoulder, and Sakura completed the sword-gripping backflip.
A beautiful full-moon slash appeared in Terumi Mei's vision. Although the process seemed complicated, it all happened in an instant.
Mei saw Sakura charge at Hidan, but her attack was blocked by Hidan's scythe. Then she saw Hidan pull back his scythe, allowing Sakura's large sword to land on his shoulder.
Then the scythe was thrown towards Sakura, but Sakura directly stood up, did a backflip while holding the Executioner's Blade, not only dodging Hidan's attack but also completing a full-moon slash with the Executioner's Blade, splitting Hidan in two.
That set of fluid movements left Terumi Mei completely stunned. Is that the correct way to use that sword?
Retracting the chakra from the Executioner's Blade, Sakura finally understood why Zabuza didn't infuse chakra into it. It consumed way too damn much chakra. The Executioner's Blade was already heavy; the damage from a normal slash wouldn't be much lower than one infused with chakra.
Looking at Hidan, who was split in two and lying motionless on the ground as if he were really dead, Sakura sneered. Trying to fool me? Hmph, someone else might have fallen for it, but unfortunately for you, you encountered me.
Extending a finger towards the bisected Hidan, she directly used a Storm Release laser to cut off his head.
But even so, Hidan didn't speak.
"Still pretending with me!" Sakura extended both hands, all ten fingers sparking with Storm Release lasers, and slashed at Hidan's body a couple of times. Instantly, Hidan's body turned into a pile of minced meat.