"So, what is it you want to know, Lord Jiraiya?"
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. They were in a wide, open clearing. Aside from a river in the distance, the area was barren, offering nowhere to hide.
"First, I need to confirm something." Jiraiya crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on Sakura. "Where did you learn to use Sage Art?"
"Did you bring me all the way out here just to ask that, Lord Jiraiya?" Sakura watched him with an amused expression. "I don't quite understand. If I were to ask you how to train in Sage Art, would you tell me?"
"This is different." Jiraiya shook his head slightly, his gaze unwavering as if trying to see right through her. "What I want to know is whether that bizarre Sage Art turned you into this, or if you willingly fell into depravity!"
"Depravity?" Sakura froze for a moment, then a mocking smile spread across her lips. Her shoulders began to tremble, the shaking growing more violent until she could no longer hold it in and burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahaha…."
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, his guard raised as he watched the seemingly crazed Sakura.
"Ha… haha… heh… heheh…" After her fit of laughter, Sakura panted for breath. She rested a hand on her head and looked at Jiraiya, her eyes filled with a pure, unadulterated admiration. "Lord Jiraiya, you are completely devoted to the village, but not everyone is like you. I already understand your intentions. So, what are you going to do? Save me like some kind of savior? Or…"
At this point, Sakura no longer wanted to hide anything. Her voice turned as cold as ice. "Are you prepared to kill me, or be killed by me? Heh…"
Sakura was done with the act. She could have probably kept up the charade and bluffed her way through, but she felt it was meaningless now. Jiraiya was onto her. Like the Third Hokage, he was a man who saw the village as his life.
Jiraiya hadn't yet figured out her true intentions, but that day wouldn't be far off. The moment she captured her first Tailed Beast, he would likely guess her real goal.
When Jiraiya used the word "depravity," Sakura instantly understood his true reason for bringing her here.
It seemed the incident from a few months ago had finally led to this. Once branded a traitor, the stain would never wash away. Even if her master, the Hokage, trusted her, it couldn't change the wariness and hatred of others.
For example, Hayate Gekko, the lover of Yugao Uzuki, whom she had killed during that siege. Or the two advisors who had planted a spy in her squad. And now, Jiraiya, standing right in front of her.
There had to be many others who hated her as much as Hayate Gekko did. Not every Anbu was an orphan, not even those from Root.
Many of Danzo's Root elites were chosen from the various great clans. And the Anbu under the Hokage's direct command had even more complex ties to family and friends.
She couldn't even remember how many Anbu had died by her hand back then, especially during her final 'Tsu Transformation' rampage. She had lost control completely, and the Anbu she killed were left without even bones to bury.
There were surely plenty of people in the village who wanted her dead right now. They were only silent because of her master's protection. But that silence was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. Now, Jiraiya was trying to defuse that bomb at its source.
"Don't look at me with those eyes. If I remember correctly, you don't have parents, do you, Lord Jiraiya? You could never understand how I feel." Sakura looked with disgust at the pity in Jiraiya's expression.
Jiraiya fell silent, his eyes still filled with sorrow as he looked at Sakura. "He said the same thing—that I couldn't understand him. But I believe he just took the wrong path. And so have you."
"Are you talking about Orochimaru? Well, whatever. Everyone has their own path," Sakura said, waving her hand dismissively. "I have a question for you, Lord Jiraiya."
"Go ahead," Jiraiya said, his body tense, already prepared for battle.
"Logically, today's main target should be Shuying, the one who attacked the village. Why did you suddenly turn on me?" Sakura was genuinely curious about this. No matter what, she was still a Konoha ninja, a comrade. Shuying was the enemy. Jiraiya's reckless action made no sense to her.
"An unstable internal factor, protected by the Hokage, is more dangerous than an external enemy," Jiraiya answered coldly.
Jiraiya knew that as long as Sakura was in the village, Tsunade would protect her to the end. From an emotional standpoint, it was understandable. The kid had been by her side for three years; even a stone would develop feelings, and she was no stone.
But from a rational perspective, as the Hokage, her actions were completely wrong. She knew it herself, but she wouldn't accept the truth until it was too late—just like the old man.
The Third Hokage, because of his feelings for Orochimaru, had failed to act when he first noticed the signs, ultimately leading to Orochimaru's defection and his attack on Konoha years later. Now, looking at Sakura, Jiraiya felt as if he were watching the same tragedy unfold.
As a firm believer in the Will of Fire, Jiraiya would absolutely not allow what happened with Orochimaru to be repeated. If he could save her, he would do his utmost. If he couldn't, then he had no choice but… to eliminate the threat for good. Even if Tsunade would blame him, he had to do it.
"Indeed. You're not wrong at all." Now that the cards were on the table, there was nothing left to consider. Sakura spread her hands and continued, "There's nothing left in this world that I care about. Someone once told me to cherish the present, and I truly believe that. But my actions cannot hide what is in my heart."
"Heh… that's right. If I still had any regard for the village… I wouldn't have caused such massive damage… The number of people caught in the shockwave of my attack is probably far greater than the number Shuying killed. The correct course of action would have been to lure the enemy out of the village. That's what you wanted to say, isn't it, Lord Jiraiya? Heh…"
When the aftershocks of her battle with Shuying had wiped out a third of the village, Sakura had realized in that instant that she truly no longer cared about the village. She had only been deceiving herself. The only thing she cared about was the implementation of her final plan.
"It seems you've made your choice. I will absolutely not allow a potential threat to remain in the village." Jiraiya reaffirmed his resolve.
He never thought the day would come when he would have to face this child in battle. He remembered her innocent face as if it were only yesterday.
"So you've made up your mind, Lord Jiraiya?" Sakura began to form hand seals, the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead starting to spread. The symptoms from her earlier battle had subsided. As long as she controlled her output, she would be fine.
"Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!"
Jiraiya quickly summoned the two Great Sages. Fukasaku and Shima looked at Sakura and immediately leaped onto Jiraiya's shoulders.
"It seems you've made your decision, little Jiraiya," Fukasaku said, already gathering natural energy.
"Mm. I can't let this go on any longer. It has to be settled," Jiraiya said, the toad-like markings of Sage Mode beginning to extend across his face.
Sakura felt the natural energy around her being continuously absorbed into the two toads, then transferred to Jiraiya.
"So this is your Sage Mode?" Sakura took out a kunai. Just like the other day, she infused it with pure natural energy, forming the Storm Release that extended into a long blade.
"What… terrifying power," Shima exclaimed, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead as she looked at the blade, which was even more solid than before.
"A battle between Sages. Don't get distracted, Ma," Fukasaku said.
"Here I come," Jiraiya said, already forming hand seals.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Wind Release, Fire Release, and Jiraiya's toad oil, all enhanced by natural energy, combined to form a massive Fire Release Sage Art.
Watching the ferocious combination jutsu approach, Sakura's eyes narrowed. It was illogical to use such a technique in this terrain.
But she had no time to think about that. With a light leap, she formed a hand seal in mid-air. The water molecules in the air, feeling the call of natural energy, instantly activated.
A deluge of water rushed down toward the great fire below. A massive cloud of steam enveloped the ground. Sakura, unable to find purchase in the air, began to descend.
However, as she was about to land, she found that the ground was still burning.
What… Sakura was startled, then realized. Of course, there's oil. It's not a pure fire. That was reckless. But…
"Is that all you've got?" Sakura curled her lip in disdain and landed squarely on the burning oil.
The moment her shoes touched the ground, they turned to ash. Even the legs of her pants were half-burnt away.
Sakura's feet had turned pitch black, but there was no trace of pain on her face.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft…
Before Sakura could even begin to search for Jiraiya in the thick mist, a dense volley of white senbon struck her body.
Wincing in pain, Sakura quickly spread the hardening jutsu, which had only been on her feet, to her entire body. Although it would slow her down, defense was the priority against such a dense attack.
After activating the hardening jutsu, the white senbon could no longer harm her.
As she moved out of the steaming mist, she pulled out one of the senbon embedded in her body. The moment it was removed, it went limp, like a strand of hair.
"Heh… as expected of Jiraiya. His attacks are methodical, his jutsu perfectly linked," Sakura mused.
But she knew this was all just a probe. Neither of them had gotten serious yet.
"Now then, I'll play with you properly…"