Chapter 572: Minato
"Leave this problem... to me."
The man's voice was gentle yet powerful.
Haruno Sakura and her clone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see the figure of a blond man appear out of thin air, smiling as he walked towards them.
Almost the instant she saw him, Haruno Sakura recognized his identity.
Minato Namikaze.
Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage.
"Hello... Fourth Hokage." Haruno Sakura smiled slightly.
Minato also nodded, smiling faintly: "Hello, Sakura-kun... um... plural."
He walked in front of the two. The real Minato Namikaze was even more handsome than in the manga, and his temperament was just as imagined: warm, genial, and approachable.
If it were the world before her transmigration, with such physical conditions, Minato could absolutely debut as an idol. He wouldn't need any skills; just standing there smiling faintly would be enough to make countless young girls scream all night. If his emotional intelligence were a bit higher and he could say some appropriate words, he might just become another mega-hit male version of a lucky koi.
"Regarding my appearance here... you seem to have expected it." Minato casually glanced at Sakura Uchiha's eyes and said to the original body.
Haruno Sakura nodded.
Looking at the Nine-Tails seemingly deep in sleep not far away, she said faintly: "Mhm, when I was training the Tailed Beast form with Naruto previously, I faintly sensed your presence."
"As a father, leaving some backup plans in your son's body is a matter of course, right?" Haruno Sakura shot a meaningful glance at the Fourth. "After all, you personally sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto's body!"
Minato smiled bitterly.
He naturally heard the emotion behind the girl's words.
That was Haruno Sakura expressing her dissatisfaction with him from the standpoint of being Naruto's teammate and close friend.
To be honest, if it weren't for this Nine-Tails in his body, Naruto would indeed have suffered much less... Inside Naruto's body, Minato could see many things. However, at the critical juncture of the Nine-Tails' turmoil back then, he didn't have any better methods either. He could only choose a path full of hardships but ultimately bright for his son based on some vague premonitions.
"As a father..." Minato's eyes dimmed and he sighed, "I've made Naruto suffer a lot of hardships!"
"I let him down."
The girl shook her head slightly: "There's no need to say that... I feel Naruto wouldn't mind this. He only cares that you and your esteemed wife couldn't accompany him as he grew up."
The Fourth Hokage suddenly fell silent.
The girl's words hit exactly the spot where Minato felt he had let Naruto down the most.
It wasn't choosing a difficult path for Naruto.
But rather, after choosing such a path for Naruto, being unable to give him fatherly and motherly love, and being unable to accompany him as he grew up.
Haruno Sakura realized she had said things she shouldn't have and repeatedly let out dry laughs, wanting to break this awkward atmosphere: "Ha, ha! Actually, Naruto has lived quite well these past few years, and he has also gradually grown up into a reliable man! You should be proud of him!"
The Fourth smiled, quickly snapping out of that inexplicable emotion, and sighed with emotion: "Yes! Naruto, he—"
As they spoke, because his chakra was gradually recovering, Naruto's scar-riddled body suddenly manifested in this seal space.
Minato's words got stuck in his throat. Looking at the battered and bruised Naruto, the three present unanimously fell silent.
"Naruto..."
Haruno Sakura silently walked to the still-unconscious Naruto's side, squatted down, and held his hand.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found she couldn't say anything at all.
Should she apologize and say, "I'm sorry, I'm late"?
Or pity him with, "You've worked hard"?
Or should she blame him for being too impulsive and too single-minded, to the point of actually activating a Tailed Beast mode that even he couldn't control?
"When Naruto unlocked the ninth tail, I didn't stop him." Minato said in a low voice, "Because at that time, he was still in a conscious state."
"Naruto was not bewitched by the Nine-Tails and entered the ninth tail state in a daze. Instead, he knew very clearly that he had to borrow more power from the Nine-Tails in order to defeat powerful enemies and protect himself and Sasuke."
"This was his choice."
The man lowered his eyelids, recalling the scene that had happened not long ago.
Naruto's eyes carried the brilliance of determination, accepting the Nine-Tails' power without turning back.
Naruto knew the risks of doing so, knew he might never wake up again, but for the sake of victory, for the sake of protecting Sasuke, for the sake of many, many things, he resolutely made the choice.
Haruno Sakura could understand that feeling, that feeling of betting one's own life and charging forward with the resolve to die in battle.
In the battle with Pain that had just ended, had she not thought the same way?
A similar state of mind, similar feelings.
The only difference was that Haruno Sakura was more confident in herself, believing she could win this life-and-death gamble with extreme risks; whereas Naruto completely didn't know if he would ever wake up again after sprouting nine tails...
So it appeared even more heroic.
So it was even more soul-stirring.
In silence, Minato rewrote the Eight Trigrams Seal, completely locking the Nine-Tails dead inside Naruto's body.
His figure began to become blurry and unsteady.
"You don't have much chakra left, Uncle." Haruno Sakura sighed, "Just leave the rest of the matters here to us to handle! Leave your final time for Naruto, Fourth."
The Fourth Hokage was slightly stunned, turned his head to look at the girl, and smiled in relief: "That's fine too... You really are a gentle child, thank you, Sakura-kun!"
Sakura merely shook her head gently: "You're too polite. Such a small matter is nothing to speak of, I am just fulfilling my responsibility as a friend."
"No," Minato said solemnly, "I mean, thank you for accompanying Naruto's growth these past few years..."
"Alright, I should say goodbye."
"Do your best, Sakura-kun!"
At the last moment, he raised his hand and gave a thumbs up to the girl.
"Hope we meet again, Lord Fourth!"
Haruno Sakura waved goodbye, watching Minato Namikaze turn into a burst of broken shadows and dissipate into the air.
In reality.
After handling everything, the girl finally couldn't hold on anymore, coughing violently a few times as blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
"That massive radiant energy is quite disobedient!"
Her small face was pale white, and the corners of her mouth forced out a smile.
Her clone Sakura Uchiha, however, was startled by her and hurriedly supported the tottering girl: "Stop talking, hurry up and go back to heal your injuries. You just love pushing yourself, honestly!"
Facing another version of herself, Haruno Sakura didn't need to put on any superficial act and said straightforwardly: "I need to return to the Shikkotsu Forest to find Katsuyu the Slug Sage to heal my injuries. Over here, Sasuke and Naruto..."
"Just leave it to me with peace of mind!" The clone readily agreed.
Haruno Sakura shook her head helplessly.
She couldn't feel at peace at all.
This Clone Jutsu... on the surface it looks flawless, only requiring a tiny price to obtain a clone with powerful combat strength, and there are no countering methods; it is very easy to use, but in reality, it contains extreme danger.
Just as the old saying goes, there is no perfect jutsu in the world. Every jutsu has its flaws or weaknesses!
And the Clone Jutsu's biggest advantage is that it uses a truly existing cloned body as a clone, which is also its biggest disadvantage.
An intact and healthy physical body will spontaneously and slowly breed a spirit, and even grow into a soul. When a clone possesses an independent physical body and an independent soul, it is no longer a clone, but another independent individual!
Another Haruno Sakura.
When two Haruno Sakuras exist in the world, who is the real Sakura-kun?
A ninja with a slightly darker mentality wouldn't dare use such a jutsu at all. The clone can also think and has its own ideas. On what basis can the original body make the clone risk its life? Who knows if the clone will suddenly turn against the original, kill the main body, and take its place?
Haruno Sakura had always controlled the Clone Jutsu very strictly, releasing the jutsu every time after using it to prevent the clone from becoming an independent individual. But this time...
She had to actively leave Sakura Uchiha behind.
But Haruno Sakura had no choice. Their three-man team was either injured, unconscious, or exhausted. If she didn't leave the clone behind, what if something unexpected happened?
After thinking for a while, Sakura sighed.
"Then I'll leave it to you." She patted the clone's shoulder, then turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, from now on, she will temporarily replace me to take care of you guys... I will come back as soon as possible!"
Sasuke sat on the ground and nodded weakly.
Having finished entrusting this matter, everything over here finally drew to a satisfactory close.
As for the matters afterward, she would talk about them later! Haruno Sakura also couldn't manage that much.
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
Before falling into a deep slumber, the last scene she saw was the magnificent acid lake of the Shikkotsu Forest.
"Have you found a power stronger than natural energy so quickly?" Katsuyu the Slug Sage's resonant voice rumbled from mid-air. "The speed of human advancement is truly fearsome!"
"However, rashly absorbing such a powerful energy into your body will give you a lot of hardship to endure, Sakura-kun..."
Haruno Sakura couldn't hear the words that followed.
She had completely lost consciousness.
[End of Volume Fifteen.]