Chapter 508: Haruno Sakura's Choice
"The Falls of Truth is a magical place that can reflect the mind and change the mind..."
The Raikage explained a sentence and continued: "In that place, we can replace the current you with another fake personality loyal to Cloud Ninja..."
"If you don't believe it, you can look at Killer B."
"What?" Haruno Sakura frowned slightly.
"Hmph! If we hadn't replaced that original personality holding resentment towards the village with a fake personality, how could he have become a perfect Jinchuriki!" The Raikage pointed at Killer B, smiled proudly, and said proudly, "Jinchuriki grow up in resentment and hatred from childhood, their minds are already distorted and incurable... so we created a personality that doesn't care about being discriminated against to replace it!"
"This is the unpassed secret of Lightning Ninja Village."
"You also saw that after accepting the personality replacement, apart from the thoughts being slightly changed, everything else about you will not change, nor will you suffer any harm... you are still you!"
Haruno Sakura frowned deeply and clenched her fists.
"With the personality changed, am I still myself? Stop joking! Do you think I would agree to such a thing!" She said resentfully.
Looking at the Raikage's appearance, I'm afraid the Falls of Truth is indeed real. Haruno Sakura felt chilling in her heart. If Cloud Ninja really controlled her, the consequences would be far more serious than dying in battle here!
She glanced at Shizune and her companions lying on the ground.
Abandoning companions and escaping alone is certainly not what Sakura is willing to do, but she might not have a better choice...
The Raikage noticed her gaze.
"You want to escape?" The burly man snorted coldly and said, "You don't think... we prepared nothing, do you?"
"That's right, you indeed have an extremely fast Body Flicker Technique! However, your Body Flicker Technique requires ice blocks as a medium to perform, and cannot flash for too long a distance, am I right?"
A paused, admiring Haruno Sakura's gloomy face, and added: "We have already made foolproof preparations! Barrier, Sealing Team, and sensory ninja, as well as extremely fast Storm Release ninja... can ensure that your ice mirrors will be shattered by us before they are completely condensed!"
"Hehe."
Haruno Sakura sneered: "You guys considered it quite thoroughly! But have you ever considered... why I should run away like a stray dog as you imagined?"
"I can completely crush you here and walk out swaggeringly!"
The aura on the girl's body gradually climbed with her words.
However, the Raikage still had a calm and confident look.
"Crush us?" He laughed loudly as if hearing a huge joke, "You are quite confident!"
"Indeed, if you are allowed to activate Sage Mode, the battle will become very tricky... However, after the Eight-Tails' sealing barrier locks this area down and the natural energy from the outside is isolated, how long can you maintain Sage Mode?"
Haruno Sakura narrowed her eyes.
"Don't speak as if you have completely eaten me! I don't believe... all my skills have been completely countered by you!"
She slightly lowered her eyelids and said with awe-inspiring killing intent.
"If you really have this certainty, why talk so much nonsense? Why not just attack directly?" The girl sneered and said.
"So... you are just bluffing!"
The Raikage waved his hand: "No, no, no!"
"If we really attack, of course we are sure to capture you, but for such a battle, Cloud Ninja will also pay a heavy price!"
"Don't forget, we also have a common enemy, Akatsuki. They are still eyeing us covetously outside!"
"I said, I don't want to turn today's matter into a life-and-death result! That will only weaken ourselves, very unfavorable to the overall situation of the five villages united against Akatsuki!" The Raikage looked profoundly righteous, patting his chest and promising, "As long as you agree to go to the Falls of Truth with us, besides secretly being loyal to Cloud Ninja Village, your temperament will not change drastically, nor will you forget your companions and family!"
"Shizune is your senior sister, I understand your feelings for her... As long as you nod, Shizune won't die. You can safely return to Konoha with the rest of the delegation, continue your life, and everything will be as usual afterward!"
"Don't worry... I am not a bloodthirsty person, nor will I destroy the overall situation of the five villages united against Akatsuki!"
The Raikage seemed to have misunderstood something.
Indeed, Haruno Sakura and Shizune were senior and junior sisters, but because they interacted less, their relationship was actually not particularly deep, not even as good as the relationship between Sakura and Ino.
If it were Sasuke and those people falling here... Haruno Sakura would find it very hard to choose.
The girl's eyes flickered and she blinked.
Thinking from another angle...
The Raikage wouldn't dare to destroy the Five Village Alliance at this time, this is certain. Before defeating Akatsuki, he will definitely pretend to be Konoha's good ally.
So, if she really does what the Raikage said, she would probably still return to the village afterward, and everything would be as usual; until Akatsuki is defeated, she would be activated as a hidden piece.
Haruno Sakura suddenly remembered the scroll she left for Sasuke before parting.
Actually, since the day she got Kotoamatsukami, Haruno Sakura had been vigilant against the situation of being controlled by others using Kotoamatsukami.
So, she kept a quota of Kotoamatsukami for herself.
Similar to the Kotoamatsukami placed on Itachi, the genjutsu trigger condition Haruno Sakura set was—
If her thoughts were forcibly changed by external forces.
Haruno Sakura left a part of her spiritual power in that scroll, which is one of the conditions for her resurrection, and can also serve as a backup of her personality.
If the Raikage really intended to change her thoughts, the Sakura with the Mangekyo left in Konoha would use Kotoamatsukami to forcibly restore her to the Haruno Sakura at the time of departure.
Seems... feasible?
"Why do you have to go to such great lengths to do this kind of thing?" Haruno Sakura suddenly asked, "Risking Konoha turning hostile with Cloud Ninja, risking the ninja world being overturned and Cloud Ninja also being destroyed, what exactly is the point of doing this kind of thing?!"
The Raikage carefully looked at the girl.
She seemed somewhat tempted.
The Raikage struck while the iron was hot and said in a deep voice: "Of course because Konoha is too strong!"
"Just to deal with you alone, Haruno Sakura, we had to take such great pains..." He frowned, raised a finger, looking solemn.
He originally thought this Ice Release girl was only good at ninjutsu, who knew she could also compete with Killer B in taijutsu!
Haruno Sakura is so young yet possesses such power, and has no obvious shortcomings. What will happen if she continues to grow?
The next Hashirama Senju?
Even if not up to the First Hokage, it wouldn't be too far off.
The nightmare of the First Hokage suppressing the entire ninja world single-handedly back then, Cloud Ninja had experienced it once and didn't want to experience it a second time.
"Not to mention, you have others, the Uchiha genius boy, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kakashi Hatake..." A opened his palm and counted one by one.
The more he counted, the gloomier his face became.
Every one of these could grow into or already is a top expert among Kage-level ninja!
In comparison, although Cloud Ninja also has high-level power, both in quality and quantity, it is far inferior to Konoha! Not to mention the loss caused by the important Two-Tails Jinchuriki being captured by Akatsuki just recently!
"The Five Village Alliance, united to fight against Akatsuki, this is no problem." The Raikage said with a sunken face, "The problem is what happens after?"
"How will Konoha, possessing so much super power, view the other four villages?"
"How to guarantee Konoha won't take the opportunity to annex Cloud Ninja, or even unify the ninja world?"
Haruno Sakura narrowed her eyes and said coldly: "So that's why you made this choice...!"
"That's right." The Raikage nodded, "This is Cloud Ninja's last chance. Even if it's a risk, we must try it!"
"You don't want to start a war with us here either, right!"
"You have two choices. Either reject our conditions and fight with us here! Regardless of who wins or loses, the result is two tigers fighting, both suffering... Cloud Ninja will be severely weakened, the Five Village Alliance lacks the power of Cloud Ninja and you, ultimately I'm afraid we won't be able to resist Akatsuki's conspiracy, eventually causing a great disaster!"
"And all of this happening, is all because of you!"
"Or you choose to agree to us. Nothing will happen, Shizune will be saved, the delegation and you return to Konoha as usual, and then our five ninja villages work together to fight against Akatsuki!"
"For the overall situation of the ninja world, two completely different endings, think carefully about how to make a choice!"
Haruno Sakura lowered her eyelids.
The Raikage's eloquence suddenly became so good, this change was truly abrupt.
What exactly happened tonight?
Why does all of this feel somewhat illusory to her?
Could it be... she was hit by a genjutsu?
But these people in front of her are clearly of flesh and blood, vivid and lifelike. The battle just now, the feeling when fists and feet clashed, was clearly so real! Concerning the lives of Shizune and the others, she didn't dare to use too drastic methods to try to break it... what if it's not a genjutsu?
Thinking she still had a backup in the village, Haruno Sakura composed herself, intending to pretend compliance and agree first.
"Don't, don't agree to him... Sakura..."
A weak female voice abruptly sounded at this moment.
Haruno Sakura was suddenly startled.
Turning her head to look, the one speaking was actually Shizune, who Killer B determined was already a crippled person!
She gasped.
What kind of willpower allowed Shizune to endure such pain, endure until this moment, and still stay conscious?
"Senior sister..." Haruno Sakura trembled all over.
Killer B frowned, walked over and stepped on the woman's head, stepping her head into the dirt, and said viciously: "I spared your little life, not for you to talk nonsense here! Be honest and shut up for me!"
However, the woman's voice still didn't stop, speaking laboriously and intermittently: "Sakura... the enemy's words... cannot be trusted..."
"They made one demand... will make more... demands..."
"So... don't betray the village... do what you should do..."
Killer B snorted coldly, increasing the force under his foot in anger: "Shut up for me! What can a crippled person like you still do?!"
"Cough cough," Shizune's voice squeezed out tenaciously from under the grass, "I indeed... can't do anything anymore..."
"Only the last... last thing..."
Haruno Sakura realized something.
She froze in place, looking blankly at Shizune on the grass.
The captured Konoha ninja behind Shizune also closed their eyes accordingly.
"Must survive... Sakura...!"
The woman's body suddenly trembled.
Twitched once, then stopped moving.
Thump thump thump—!
The rest of the Konoha ninja also fell to the ground in unison after making the same action!
"Committed suicide..."
The faces of the Raikage and the Cloud Ninja were very ugly.
The last remaining Konoha ninja on the field stood in the courtyard.
The moonlight shone on her face.
Illuminating the two streams of clear tears she couldn't stop in her eyes.
The girl lowered her head, weeping silently.
"Thank you... Shizune."
"I received your advice."
"I... know what I should do."
If this is a genjutsu, she will just treat it as a lesson learned.
If this is the real world...
She will make the Cloud Ninja pay in blood!
Haruno Sakura raised her head.
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