"Oh? You were quite ruthless," Shuying said to Jiraiya. "It was only a centimeter away from piercing your heart."
"Is that so…" Jiraiya was taken aback. It seemed the kid hadn't really intended to kill him after all. But if Shuying hadn't suddenly intervened, it was hard to say what would have happened.
"Lord Jiraiya will need to rest for a while now. With an injury like this, all I can do is ensure you don't die from excessive blood loss for the time being," Shuying said, finishing her treatment.
"Th… mmph…" He had wanted to say thank you, but faced with the enemy who had attacked his village, Jiraiya couldn't bring himself to utter the words.
"Don't thank me," Shuying said instead. "Perhaps we'll meet again on the battlefield in the future."
"What… is your ultimate goal?" Jiraiya stared at Shuying, his voice low and serious.
"My goal?" Shuying looked at the approaching Sakura and asked in return, "You'll find out eventually. Right now, I want to know what happened between you two. Why were you fighting?"
"That has nothing to do with you," Jiraiya refused to answer.
"I see. That's rather unexpected…" Shuying murmured to herself.
Sakura watched Shuying with cold eyes. A subtle tension filled the air. Sakura was certain that this girl did not exist in the world of Naruto, yet here she was.
If she herself was the biggest variable in this world, then this girl's appearance had to be related to her.
Previously, Sakura had been trapped in a strange loop of guessing Shuying's identity. The stranger Shuying acted, the more Sakura tried to analyze her origins with the existing information.
But she had never truly analyzed the situation from its source. Why would a person who shouldn't exist in the world of Naruto suddenly appear? The only answer could be a chain reaction caused by her own butterfly effect.
"I'm starting to understand," Sakura said, her gaze fixed on Shuying.
"First, answer my question," Shuying said, ignoring Sakura's words.
"My thinking was stuck in a loop before," Sakura continued, also ignoring Shuying, speaking as if to herself.
"Why were you two fighting?" Shuying asked.
"You were never supposed to exist in this world, but now you're standing in front of me," Sakura said.
"Shouldn't your top priority be to pursue me?" Several dark lines appeared on Shuying's forehead beneath her mask.
"You can only be here because of the changes I made…" Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at Shuying's mask, as if trying to see right through it.
"I destroyed so much of the village, and you two still started fighting amongst yourselves?" Shuying clenched her fists, sighing with a hint of helplessness in her heart. So she's finally figured it out… But it's a little too soon…
"If I'm not mistaken… you are…" Sakura raised a finger and pointed at Shuying.
So I can't hide it any longer… Shuying slowly placed her hand on her mask, waiting for the final answer to be revealed.
Jiraiya was listening to their conversation with rapt attention. It seemed Shuying's true identity was about to be unveiled.
"You are… a product of Shāi…" Sakura softly stated Shuying's origin.
If there was one change she had made that had the greatest impact on this world, it was undoubtedly the emergence of the Tsu God clan. Although it was something that had originally existed in this world, no one had discovered it for a thousand years. Only she, by a stroke of luck, had uncovered the secret of the Tsu God. Shuying's existence was likely a result of that.
Hearing the answer Sakura finally gave, Shuying's hand, which was on her mask, paused. She let out a soft, helpless sigh and slowly removed it.
"You… you…"
Sakura had imagined countless times what kind of face lay beneath that mask, but she had never, ever imagined this. It was a face she had never expected to see, not even in her dreams.
"Junko!!!"
Sakura's voice was distorted with shock. The result was so unexpected that her brain couldn't function properly.
"Junko…" Shuying's face, identical to Junko's, showed a faint sadness. She then spoke, her voice tinged with sorrow. "I am not Junko. I am Shuying."
"Shu… ying…" Sakura murmured. "You… what is your relationship with Junko?"
"She is… my older sister," Shuying replied.
"Older… sister?" Sakura's eyes gradually cleared. "Does that mean you are also that…"
"Do you really want to discuss this here?" Shuying interrupted, gesturing toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's face was a mask of confusion. He didn't understand a word of their conversation, but he knew this was the most critical information and silently committed it to memory.
"Heh… since that's the case, this makes things easier." Sakura took out another kunai, and the Storm Release blade formed once more.
"I won't let you do it," Shuying said, stepping in front of Sakura, her face set with determination.
"Heh, is that so? He will become an obstacle for me," Sakura said, taking a step forward.
"It seems you want to fight me. Although I'm not your match, if I want to save someone, I am more than capable," Shuying said, not backing down.
Sakura fell silent… then she spoke. "I have no way out. I can't go back to the village. Since that's the case, I might as well start clearing the obstacles now."
"This is a pointless obsession. It won't do you any good," Shuying said.
"Heh, what do you know…" Sakura let out a cold laugh.
"…" Shuying looked at Sakura in silence, then said, "If you insist, then come. I won't stop you."
Shuying stepped aside, revealing Jiraiya behind her.
But what entered Sakura's vision were two toads preparing a summoning jutsu.
"Farewell, kid…" A slight smile touched Jiraiya's lips. With a poof, he vanished. The two toads also disappeared as the summoning was reversed.
Sakura took a long, deep look at Shuying's face, so similar to Junko's, and said, "Tell me, what is it you really want?"
"Don't you want to find a place to sit down? You can't go back to the village anymore," Shuying said with a shrug.
"Do you know what I want to do most right now?" Sakura said to Shuying, her voice sinister. She dropped the kunai blade and cracked her knuckles and neck.
"I…"
Before Shuying could say another word, Sakura's fist had already struck her face. Shuying's head exploded like a watermelon, its contents splattering everywhere.
But Shuying's body didn't fall. The headless form remained standing. Then, from the neck, a mass of transparent water rose, gradually forming facial features and solidifying. Shuying's perfectly intact face wore a helpless expression.
"If you've vented your anger, then follow me," Shuying said, tilting her head.
"I need to go back to the village first," Sakura said. "Lord Jiraiya won't return immediately. He'll probably stay on Mount Myoboku for a while. I need to get something from the village."
"Hm? Then you'd better hurry," Shuying said. "Although I'm not great at medical ninjutsu, I'm still pretty good."
"You're really too much!" Sakura shot Shuying a fierce glare.
Then, watching Sakura's retreating back, Shuying seemed lost in thought.
"For such an unexpected turn of events to occur… a miscalculation…"