"H-How can this be?"
Jiraiya didn't know how many times he had been shocked today. Before this, the only thing that could have possibly surprised him was Tsunade agreeing to his proposal.
But today, right now, the events unfolding before his eyes were beyond even his vast and proud experience to explain.
Jiraiya had thought that when Shuying's fingers touched Sakura's blade of pure natural energy, they would vanish like snow in summer. But he was proven wrong.
Shuying's fingers gently pushed aside Sakura's long blade. She then chuckled and said to Sakura, "I'm laughing at myself. No matter how many years pass, there's one word that will always exist in my nature..."
"Wh-What word?" Sakura's voice was a little tense. Although she appeared completely calm, that was an effect of the natural energy. Without its support, Sakura would definitely be breaking out in a cold sweat right now.
While Sakura didn't know how many people could block her Sage Art: Storm Release while she was using Seijutsu, she certainly hadn't included Shuying in her predictions.
She wouldn't have been surprised if even Jiraiya had blocked it. But Shuying... in Sakura's mind, she could only be one of two things: a contingency plan left by the Third Hokage, or a White Zetsu.
And with that gentle push, Sakura's mind was thrown into chaos. Who is she? Who is she? Who is she...
"Foolish," Shuying sighed. "No matter how much time passes, 'foolish' is the best word to describe me."
"Do you understand, Sakura Haruno?!" Shuying suddenly roared at her.
Sakura, startled by the shout, finally snapped out of her daze.
"'Foolish'?" Sakura mulled over the word, not understanding. Why would she describe herself that way? She was the one who had been playing her for a fool. If anyone was foolish, wasn't it her?
"Never mind," Shuying waved her hand. "What are you going to do now?"
"What am I going to do?" Sakura composed herself, pointing the long blade at Shuying again. "Tell me who you are."
"No comment," Shuying said without a hint of hesitation.
"Is that so?" Sakura narrowed her eyes. "In that case, it seems I'll have to take you down first." The situation no longer allowed for overthinking. If that was the case, then she would just have to find the answers from her corpse.
The long blade stabbed toward Shuying again. However, Shuying simply extended her left hand and grabbed the blade. Her right hand, with fingers held together, formed a hand-sword and chopped at the blade made of pure natural energy.
With a crisp crack, the long blade in Sakura's hand snapped in two.
"Tch," Sakura spat. The blade was made of pure natural energy. Even if a piece broke off, it would grow back under her control.
From the broken end, the blade grew back at an incredible speed and lunged at Shuying. It all happened in a flash. Before Shuying could react, she was pierced through and pinned to the ground by Sakura.
"It seems you're not that strong after all. I overestimated you," Sakura said, looking down at Shuying, her voice cold.
She had expected a fierce battle, but she had subdued Shuying so easily. It was a bit of a surprise. However, under the enhanced perception of Seijutsu, she could confirm that Shuying had indeed been hit. This was not a fake.
Shuying didn't speak, her hands gripping the blade stuck in her chest.
"Don't waste your energy," Sakura said, twisting the blade in her hand.
A series of sharp, low whimpers came from under Shuying's mask. It seemed she was in great pain.
"I don't make rookie mistakes. If you answer my questions honestly, I'll let you live," Sakura said, twisting the blade a few more times.
Blood seeped out from under Shuying's mask. It seemed Sakura's actions had worsened her injuries.
"Still not going to talk?" Sakura pushed the blade in a little deeper. "In that case, I'll help you take off that mask first."
With that, Sakura leaned down, her free left hand already on Shuying's mask.
"Come on, let me see who you really are!" Sakura was ecstatic. The mystery of Shuying that had been bothering her for so long was finally about to be revealed. Who was she?
Jiraiya, at the side, also tensed up. He, too, wanted to know who this Shuying was—this girl who could use his ninjutsu, this girl who seemed to be both friend and foe.
"Hah!"
Sakura ripped off the blood-stained fox mask, looking expectantly at her true face. However...
...
At that moment, Sakura felt as if ten thousand crows were circling above her head, repeatedly cawing "Idiot," "Idiot."
After removing the mask, Shuying's true face was not revealed, because under the mask was another mask—a tanuki mask. The corner of the tanuki's mouth was slightly upturned, as if mocking her foolishness.
"Hmph, cheap tricks," Sakura composed herself, a cold smile touching her lips. It's just one more to take off.
So, Sakura moved again and ripped off the tanuki mask. However...
Under the tanuki mask was an oni mask. The corner of the oni's mouth was also slightly upturned, as if mocking her again.
This time, Sakura wasted no more words and ripped off the oni mask. However...
Jiraiya stared, dumbfounded, as Sakura removed mask after mask from Shuying's face. But it seemed there was no end to them. Under every mask was another mask, again and again, in an endless cycle.
Sakura, as if possessed, kept tearing off the masks. Before long, the discarded masks had piled up into a small mountain.
"Chief, do you see anything?" Jiraiya asked Fukasaku, who was standing on his shoulder.
"Hmm... no. It doesn't seem to be a genjutsu," Fukasaku said, shaking his head.
Jiraiya picked up a mask that had fallen by his feet and examined it.
"It seems... they're just ordinary masks. Nothing special about them," Jiraiya said.
"That seems to be the case," Fukasaku said after taking the mask and looking it over.
"In any case, Little Jiraiya, you should stop her. She seems... a bit off..." Shima said, pointing at Sakura, who was still frantically removing masks.
"Right," Jiraiya replied, then shouted at Sakura, "Sakura, snap out of it! There's something wrong with this Shuying!"
This bizarre situation forced Jiraiya to temporarily let his guard down with Sakura. After all, they hadn't completely turned on each other yet.
Hearing Jiraiya's shout from a distance, Sakura's hands stopped. The haze in her eyes cleared, and her vision sharpened.
Looking at the pile of masks on the ground and Shuying, who was still pinned, Sakura was stunned for a moment. She held her head and staggered to her feet.
"Dammit, what's wrong with me?" Sakura muttered to herself.
"Sakura, restrain her and take her back to the village for interrogation!" Jiraiya said, walking over.
"No," Sakura refused. "I refuse."
"Do you intend to interrogate her in the Waterfall Village?" Jiraiya asked, emphasizing the last three words.
"I don't care where we interrogate her," Sakura shook her head, then whipped her head around to stare at Jiraiya, her voice cruel. "What I care about is that no one else knows her information."
A murderous intent rose between the two of them.
"What do you mean by that?" Jiraiya stared back at Sakura, his voice turning cold.
"I've had enough!" Sakura said grimly. "Lord Jiraiya, your presence here is surely not a coincidence!"
"What do you mean by that?" Jiraiya snapped.
"What do I mean?" Sakura let out a sinister chuckle. "What do you think I mean, Lord Jiraiya?"
"Is that so!" Jiraiya's face darkened. "I really didn't want you to go down this path. If you insist on being so stubborn, then..."
"Hahahahaha..."
A burst of laughter interrupted their conversation. The source of the laughter was Shuying, who was still pinned to the ground.
It was the first sound Shuying had made since being pinned. She ignored the long blade still stuck in her chest and slowly stood up. The blade eventually passed through her body, but Shuying was completely unharmed.
"The Hydrification Technique is surprisingly useful," Shuying said, standing up and stretching a bit.
"The Hydrification Technique!" Sakura said with surprise. "You're from the Hozuki clan. So, the Mist Village came for revenge after all."
"Think whatever you want," Shuying's mask had reverted to the fox design. She then chuckled lightly. "To see Leaf ninja fighting amongst themselves in the face of a great enemy... how interesting, hehe..."
"..."
"..."
Both Sakura and Jiraiya fell silent.
Seeing them like this, Shuying suddenly seemed bored. She turned to Sakura and said, "Yakumo is fine. You'll find her on your way back. I never meant you any harm. I admit, my strength is not equal to yours. I am no match for you..."
Here, Shuying's voice dropped to a sinister whisper. "But don't you even think about catching me, let alone killing me."
Then, her voice returned to its pleasant tone. "That's all for today. See you around!"
With that, Shuying began to form hand seals. Sakura, seeing this, didn't try to stop her, letting her disappear bit by bit before her eyes. But her perception, enhanced by Seijutsu, was locked onto her.
To be honest, at this point, Sakura's original plan had been completely destroyed. A moment ago, out of frustration with Shuying, she had almost turned on Konoha prematurely.
Right now, she just wanted to be alone and sort through the day's events.
"Lord Jiraiya, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm tired. I'm going back to the village," Sakura said, deactivating Seijutsu. The lines of the Yin Seal gradually receded back to her forehead.
"Do you think you can just leave?" Jiraiya said, blocking her path. "I'm taking you back to the village for questioning."
"Is that so?" Sakura replied faintly. "On what grounds?"
"Where is Sai?" Jiraiya said. "If I remember correctly, you were a four-person team on this mission."
"Ask Shuying," Sakura looked at Jiraiya with scorn. "You saw what happened. Yakumo was impersonated by Shuying, which means Sai was taken by Shuying. Even I was deceived. What does it have to do with me?"
"Urk," Jiraiya was at a loss for words. Although he knew Sakura was definitely involved, with the appearance of Shuying, if Sakura really wanted to deny it, he had no grounds to arrest her. And so far, she hadn't done anything against the will of the village.
"Since Lord Jiraiya went to the trouble of supervising my mission, then I'll leave the rest to you," Sakura said, walking around him. She added, "Oh, and I'll leave Karin, Yakumo, and Sai in your care. That's all. See you around!"
Jiraiya watched Sakura's retreating back, his wariness of her deepening. It seemed he needed to warn Tsunade. She couldn't let her emotions cloud her judgment any longer.
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