"What... what did you find, Sakura? You're acting so strange..."
Yamanaka Ino's heart skipped a beat. Initially, she truly thought Sakura had discovered something, but then she thought again. She always secretly went to Yoichi Pharmacy in the dead of night, skillfully avoiding both the Security Team and Anbu. How could Sakura possibly know?
"Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Right now, I'm only worried about Ijin's situation."
Sakura chuckled softly and then stood with her hands on her hips, saying, "Though I haven't interacted much with that Shopkeeper Yoichi, I know he's quite a money grubber. However, when he's with you, he changes, willing to let you buy on credit and even giving you such a precious Upper Ninja Pill... Ino, we're best friends who share everything, right? You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"
"No... I'm not hiding anything from you..."
Yamanaka Ino, flustered, stepped back two steps, her azure eyes glancing left and right, unable to meet Sakura's slowly approaching gaze.
"It's too obvious, Ino!"
Understanding dawned on Sakura, and after receiving an answer, she took two steps back, then sighed, "Well... as long as you're confident. As a friend, I hope you find happiness... But Ino, is it because of what I accidentally told Sarada about you and Sai last time?"
"No, it has nothing to do with you, Sakura... It's something between Sai and me, and you know how annoying he can be when he talks!"
Yamanaka Ino clenched her fists as she recalled past memories. Her love for Sai was gone; now, her heart was entirely set on Uchiha Yoichi.
"Haha... Indeed, a bit. But it probably relates to his past experiences. Let's not think about those things, Ino."
Sakura laughed it off. Initially, upon meeting Sai, she really wanted to punch him, although he had changed somewhat later, he still sometimes said annoying things; but it was related to his early years in Root, having little interaction with others.
Now, Sakura was quite certain that Yamanaka Ino must have become involved with Uchiha Yoichi, though she didn't know when it happened.
"Ino, what is this Upper Ninja Pill? It gave Ijin such a significant boost, and after I examined it carefully just now, I couldn't find any side effects."
Switching to serious matters, Sakura's tone became slightly solemn; she was also a pharmacological master, having learned from Tsunade, she could decipher almost all poisons in the Ninja World.
She could assure that Yamanaka Ijin's condition was no mere temporary power-up; even his cells were getting stronger, having extracted and tested his blood samples three times, Yamanaka Ijin's cells showed consistent enhancement.
Finally, the cells were full of vitality, somewhat resembling... Hashirama Cells.
"I didn't ask too much at the time, but I heard Mr. Yoichi say that the Upper Ninja Pill seems to be a sixth-grade secret medicine, the most potent one he can currently make... Even if I took it, it would significantly increase my Chakra, and the stronger you are, the better the effect."
Recalling, Yamanaka Ino spoke, her face faintly red; she didn't ask long before Uchiha Yoichi had her in a bind, and then the two... did that sort of thing, and Ino forgot about it afterward.
"Such a precious secret medicine... Ino, is that guy planning to give it to you?"
Upon hearing this, a bit of envy inexplicably rose in Sakura's heart. Even now, someone was willing to give so much for Ino, and she hoped Sasuke would do the same.
Feeling a bit awkward, Ino had yet to publicize her relationship with Uchiha Yoichi, so she redirected the topic, "Don't, don't talk about me... Sakura, how about the situation at home, heard Mr. Sasuke stayed in Konoha for quite a while..."
"Mr. Sasuke left the village after recovering; things aren't going well now, as he has to investigate those enemies..."
Sakura immediately slumped, saying, she too wanted dearly to spend a couple of days at home with Mr. Sasuke but could understand the current situation in the village, though not sharing meals with her daughter and Mr. Sasuke left her greatly unsatisfied...
"Don't think about such things, Sakura. How about we find some time to go to the hot springs together?"
Yamanaka Ino patted Sakura's shoulder, recalling her promise to Uchiha Yoichi—going to the hot springs, fully clad in white silk the whole time... That scoundrel, always thinking of ways to embarrass her, brought a flush to Yamanaka Ino's face.
"Sure, let's relax a bit when we find some time. But recently, there isn't much time, lots to do in the village..."
Sakura, smiling, agreed readily, then performed another detailed check on Yamanaka Ijin, once again confirming nothing was wrong before allowing Ijin and Ino to leave.
However, after Ino's departure, Sakura pondered a moment before deciding to put aside her work and head to the Hokage Building.
——————————————
In the Kamui space, the long-cultivated Otsutsuki Clone was finally complete.
It took so long because Otsutsuki genes were extremely hard to clone, requiring ample time; furthermore, after successful cloning, the Otsutsuki Clone needed a vast amount of Chakra, the nutrient cultivation was no short process either.
After a year or two of work, this Otsutsuki Clone was cultivated to feed the Ten-tailed.
Once the Otsutsuki Clone was brought over, Uchiha Yoichi tossed it directly to the Ten-tailed, undoing half its restraints.
"Eat, quickly become complete, you still have many flaws."
Immediately after Uchiha Yoichi spoke, the Symbiote emerged from his shoulder, cheekily commenting, "Let it evolve further, its intelligence might increase. This creature... sorry, truly apologize!"
In response, Uchiha Yoichi's hand ignited with the Golden Emperor Heaven-Burning Flame, promptly cowing the Symbiote into retreat.
And the Ten-tailed, upon receiving the Otsutsuki Clone, instinctively lunged forward, manifesting features aligned with the Ten-tailed, opening its gaping maw to devour the Otsutsuki Clone.
Cri-unch, cri-unch...
Munching a few times, it swallowed the Otsutsuki Clone whole. Before long, the Ten-tailed swiftly shed its Truth-Seeking Orb restraints, its body beginning to swell.
Boom!
Rapidly expanding, the Ten-tailed transformed into the form of the Divine Tree in the Kamui space, attempting to extend countless roots underground to absorb energy, though this was not the Ninja World, but Kamui space.
Even if rooted underground, the Divine Tree couldn't acquire energy.
Still, after morphing into the Divine Tree, the Ten-tailed continued to change, Uchiha Yoichi could sense the Divine Tree's energy converging at the tree's peak, producing a Chakra Fruit!
"Success... No, wait!"
The Symbiote popped out its head again, exclaiming, "It's evolving, trying to evolve with this fruit. This creature... contains more...!"
The Symbiote's words cut off abruptly as it instinctively retreated.
The next instant, Uchiha Yoichi's arm transformed into golden flames, forging a few dozen meters long Golden Flame Long Blade.
The Tenseigan Clone switched to the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, merging a Truth-Seeking Orb within its palms, utilizing the Golden Wheel Rebirth Burst!
Sizzle!
Boom!
The golden flames and golden light intersected and sliced through, rendering the countless sturdy Divine Tree branches erected by the Ten-tailed futile against the dual assault.