Last Time.....
"You're making too much of a fuss, Big Brother. What kind of frivolous clothes require showing your stomach? And why would you need to show it to others? Just don't let others see it."
Kakashi wanted to explain, but he was afraid that saying so might seen like he was provoking the Second Hokage.
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Hashirama blinked, unsure how to explain it to his perpetually single younger brother. "Uh, like a future husband? What if he disapproves?"
Tobirama was immediately speechless, blushing with embarrassment and anger. "How would I know something like that! Besides, anyone who would disapprove isn't worthy of being a husband."
Minato burst out laughing. Seeing that Tobirama didn't seem to know the sealing jutsu for concealing seals, he pointed to himself and volunteered.
"I'll do it. I know how to hide the seal."
Tobirama handed him the brush, stood up, and stormed off angrily. "You do it," he said.
Minato drew another sealing jutsu on Sakura's lower abdomen. After the two seals took effect, they both disappeared, and Sakura's lower abdomen returned to its perfect, flawless paleness. Minato pulled her clothes back down and said,
"Okay, let Sakura-chan rest."
"Leave Sakura to me, I'll take her to rest."
Kakashi immediately and willingly reached out to carry Sakura, and Hashirama readily handed Sakura over to Kakashi this time.
When Sakura opened her eyes again, she saw the dark green canopy of a medical field tent, a common sight during the Fourth Great Ninja War. She was lying on a simple cot, and the tent was empty.
Sakura slowly sat up, feeling momentarily disoriented, but she quickly remembered that she had apparently fainted due to a chakra overload. Thinking of this, Sakura quickly used medical ninjutsu to perform a full-body check on herself, only to be surprised to find that she was in exceptionally good condition. Her body was healthy, her Hundred Healings Technique was fully charged, and her chakra levels were so high they were practically overflowing. She felt like she could perform a dozen or two S-rank elemental ninjutsu techniques without getting tired.
Of course, this was just a figure of speech, because Sakura didn't actually know how much chakra it would take to perform so many S-rank ninjutsu techniques consecutively. She had never experienced having so much chakra that she couldn't use it all. Among the twelve genin of her generation, her chakra level was second to last, only slightly more than Rock Lee's.
Of the three main ninja techniques—taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu—she, like Rock Lee, only had taijutsu that was truly impressive.
Regarding genjutsu, although she had been praised by Kakashi-sensei for her talent, the more intricate and difficult to detect a genjutsu was, the more chakra it required to sustain. Therefore, Sakura's talent ultimately only meant that she was slightly better at dispelling genjutsu than others, able to use a small amount of chakra to break through a genjutsu.
As for elemental ninjutsu that heavily relies on chakra reserves, it was completely out of her reach. Even with her affinity for water and earth, her meager chakra reserves were insufficient to even perform a low-level jutsu.
Ultimately, Sakura could only pursue the path of refined chakra control, and medical ninjutsu was a branch of jutsu that didn't require a particularly large amount of chakra but demanded extremely precise control. Even so, her inherent lack of abundant chakra would later cost her dearly.
Recalling those final moments in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, her body was completely exhausted and depleted, like an old person in their eighties or nineties on the verge of death, with not a single trace of chakra left to refine or draw upon. Sakura couldn't help but shiver. This time, was it truly different from the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
But where did all this chakra come from? Amidst her surprise and excitement, Sakura was puzzled. She closed her eyes, trying to sense the source of this chakra. Naruto could communicate with the Nine-Tails, and the Nine-Tails was essentially just a mass of chakra, albeit chakra that had developed consciousness.
Sakura delved into the depths of her consciousness. The vast amount of chakra surged around her own small stream of chakra. Sakura tentatively sent out a mental greeting. The chakra paused for a second, then instantly boiled over. This chakra actively pulsed and danced, finally forming a clear illusion in Sakura's mind—a towering tree whose crown reached the clouds and whose roots spread throughout the entire planet's core. The tree was covered in pink blossoms, shrouded in mist and clouds, breathtakingly beautiful. The petals drifted down, covering the entire planet, a magnificent and spectacular sight unlike anything on Earth. Sakura was instantly lost in a daze, as pink petals enveloped her completely like a heavy snowfall. The petals were soft, fragrant, and light, making her feel soft, fragrant, and light herself, as she floated and spun around. In her ears, there was a faint, almost imperceptible call, beckoning Sakura to completely merge with the flowering tree, as if returning to her promised land.
Sakura unconsciously slowly approached the flowering tree. Just as she was about to reach out and touch the trunk, a voice suddenly echoed softly.
'No! It's not time yet. Once you return, there's no turning back. This is your own choice, don't forget.'
Sakura was instantly jolted awake, a shiver running down her spine. What had she been about to do? With a mixture of apprehension and fear, she distanced herself from the flowering tree. At that moment, the tree seemed to change its appearance because of Sakura's refusal. The pink flowers withered in an instant, and the lush green leaves all fell, leaving a bare, familiar-looking trunk.
Sakura stared at it, and a sudden shock ran through her. Wasn't this the Divine Tree?! The Ten-Tails Divine Tree that pulled everyone into the Infinite Tsukuyomi and eventually turned them into White Zetsu!
Had the Divine Tree been luring her just now? What would have happened if she had actually touched the Divine Tree? Would she have been pulled into the Infinite Tsukuyomi again, and then slowly transformed into a White Zetsu? If it hadn't been for that voice, she would have definitely fallen for it. But that voice... it sounded like her own voice? What did that sentence mean?
Under immense panic and unease, Sakura surfaced from the depths of her mind, struggling to regain consciousness. She suddenly opened her eyes, but the next moment, she gasped in disbelief.
The entire army tent was gone. In the four directions around her—north, south, east, and west—stood Hashirama, Tobirama, Madara, and Minato. They were all performing hand seals, forming the Four Red Yang Formation. Red, transparent flames formed a rectangular space that covered them and herself from all sides. Outside the barrier was the raging Divine Tree. The tree's massive trunk was pressing down on the barrier, its branches coiling around the edges, constantly striking and attempting to invade the space.
Sakura's eyes widened in shock, and she suddenly stood up. "What's going on?"
"Sakura-chan, you're finally awake? Oh, that strange barrier seems to have disappeared too." Hashirama turned around immediately upon hearing the voice and smiled.
Sakura clutched her hands to her chest, asking anxiously, "Yes, Lord Hashirama, what happened? What barrier?" She looked bewildered.
Tobirama looked at Haruno Sakura with a questioning expression.
"Just now, the Divine Tree had another large-scale outburst. The main root system of the Divine Tree even crossed space and appeared directly next to your tent, attempting to attack you. However, you were in a deep meditative state that we couldn't wake you from. I was originally going to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to take you to a place the Divine Tree couldn't reach, but a phantom pink flowering tree suddenly appeared around you. The falling petals formed a small barrier, and we couldn't get close to you. However, the Divine Tree could still pass through this barrier. But, after crossing the petal barrier, the Divine Tree, which was originally trying to attack you, stopped trying to harm you. Instead, it was trying to absorb you into its tree body. We couldn't just watch you be swallowed by the Divine Tree, so we had to cut off the part of the Divine Tree outside the petal barrier and activate the Four Red Yang Formation to seal off the inside and outside, preventing the Divine Tree from approaching you. Now that you're awake, that strange petal barrier has also disappeared."
Sakura was stunned by this completely unexpected development and blurted out,
"What? The flowering tree also appeared in reality? Wasn't that just a hallucination in my mind?"
Madara also looked at Sakura with a strange expression.
"Little girl, you know about that petal barrier? You seem to be special to the Divine Tree? Is it just because you escaped the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Sakura shook her head in confusion, "I don't know. I just wanted to confirm where the extra chakra in my body came from. When I was investigating, I saw a pink flowering tree almost as big as the planet in the depths of my mind. I almost merged with that flowering tree. Just before the final step, I suddenly woke up, and then it's like this now."
Minato then suggested... "In short, since Sakura-chan is awake, let's first dispel the Four Red Sun Formation, leave this place, and find a quiet place to talk in detail?"
The Four Red Sun Formation consumes a large amount of chakra. Although their Edo Tensei bodies have unlimited chakra, since there's no longer anything preventing them from approaching Sakura's petal barrier, there's no need to keep foolishly standing there maintaining the Four Red Sun Formation.
This suggestion was immediately unanimously approved. Hashirama, Tobirama, Madara, and Minato simultaneously dispelled the barrier. As soon as the barrier disappeared, Kakashi, Obito, Izuna, and Sasori and Itachi, who were waiting outside, began their inward assault, cutting down the Divine Tree.
The obstructed Divine Tree completely ignored the threat posed by Kakashi and the others, and impatiently rushed towards Sakura again.
Hashirama immediately clapped his hands together, activating Sage Art: Myōjinmon. Several massive red torii gates descended from the sky, slamming down and pinning the thick branches of the Divine Tree to the ground one by one.
Madara formed a hand seal with one hand and unleashed Great Fire Annihilation, a vast sea of flames that instantly incinerated the attacking branches of the Divine Tree.
To Be continued...