Chapter 137: Fine, Fine — I'm Ichigo Kurosaki
Hokage Tower — the Hokage's office —
Hiruzen studied his young student across the desk with a furrowed brow.
Less than two weeks. But the Sakura who'd come back from the Grass Country engagement and the Frost Country engagement had grown visibly — he could see it. What he couldn't leave alone was the second personality.
Until it was resolved, he couldn't rest.
Enma had described it clearly: volatile, feral, and with an edge that went somewhere genuinely dark.
"Old man. Done staring?"
Sakura shifted under the scrutiny, not quite managing to hide her irritation.
"I think you know why I called you back."
Hiruzen's tone was unusually formal. None of his usual warmth.
His successor could be different from him in any number of ways — hard, proud, even lazy. He could work with all of those.
Not that.
Orochimaru had reached for things that should have stayed untouched, and that was what had turned him into a missing-nin. Sakura hadn't touched those things — but that second personality sitting inside her was a splinter in Hiruzen's heart regardless.
"I know."
Sakura matched his gravity for once.
"Then I won't waste words. Go with Tsunade. Now."
"Until that second personality is brought under control, you are not returning to the front."
No room for argument.
"Wait—" Sakura blinked. "What if Jiraiya runs into trouble? The Eight-Tails jinchūriki hasn't even entered the field yet."
"The Eight-Tails?"
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. His voice came out with the resonance of a much younger man.
"He won't cause any trouble I can't handle."
"I'm not done yet."
Sakura stared at him.
You're going yourself?
I know you were formidable in your prime. But right now, today—
Even ten years younger and I might believe you could take the Eight-Tails—
Hiruzen caught her expression — the frank skepticism she wasn't quite hiding — and something shifted in his face.
"Get out. Go find Tsunade."
Sakura pressed her lips together and turned to leave.
"Take care of yourself. Smoke less. I still need you to help me research Yang Release."
Hiruzen watched the pink-haired figure disappear through the door and sat in silence for a long moment.
Then he exhaled quietly.
I really am getting old.
The man who had moved freely across battlefields, who had earned his title honestly — now an old man at a desk.
He turned to the window. The four carved faces on the Hokage Rock looked back at him.
Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself.
Konoha Hospital —
By the time Tsunade had finished with Yugito and returned to her office, there was already a figure waiting inside.
She'd been briefed by Hiruzen several days ago. She didn't ask unnecessary questions — just walked to the water cooler, poured a cup, and carried it over.
Sakura reached for it.
Tsunade drank it herself.
Sakura's expression went flat.
"The old man told me about your situation." Tsunade settled into her seat. "Tell me what you understand about this so-called—"
"Inner Sakura."
"The name I gave her."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the interruption, then let it go.
"Inner Sakura." She rolled it around briefly. "Fitting enough."
"As I was saying — a second personality. Yours. The underlying cause is straightforward: a spiritual energy too large for one consciousness to contain cleanly."
Sakura nodded along. "Mm. Same conclusion I reached."
Tsunade continued: "Chakra is produced by combining physical and spiritual energy. Spiritual energy is a person's Yin Release."
"Mm. Same conclusion I reached."
Tsunade's eye twitched. She continued: "The most notable clan for dominant Yin Release is the Uchiha. Their Sharingan is the purest expression of extreme Yin Release — it enables refined genjutsu, precise weapon control, exceptional dynamic response, and technique mimicry like Kakashi's."
"Mm. Same conclusion I reached."
Tsunade looked at her.
"Manifesting a second personality through Yin Release alone — without a Sharingan — is genuinely rare."
"To deal with Inner Sakura, you need an equivalently powerful Yin Release acting on her from outside. Suppression. Decomposition."
"Mm. Same conclusion I—"
BANG.
"Stop interrupting me!"
Tsunade's fist came down on the desk with enough force to make the furniture protest, expression thunderous.
"Ow—"
Sakura held her head.
Tsunade watched her sulk for a moment, and something eased in her expression. She settled back into the sofa, a thread of amusement visible now.
"So. You need a powerful Yin Release carrier to enter your inner world and bring Inner Sakura to heel. Suppress or decompose."
Sakura opened her mouth to agree — and stopped.
That wasn't what she'd been thinking at all.
Her approach had been: push Yang Release development hard, close the imbalance gradually, let Inner Sakura dissolve naturally over time as the equilibrium was restored.
But Tsunade seemed to be suggesting something different. Enter the inner world directly and take Inner Sakura's Yin Release by force?
So I'm Ichigo Kurosaki now.
He had to fight his Hollow. I have to fight Inner Sakura.
"That kind of Yin Release carrier — where do you find one?"
Sakura asked, genuinely uncertain.
"There's one in the hospital right now."
Sakura thought about it.
Sasuke?
He'd made it back on the wounded transport — his injuries had warranted the trip regardless.
"Lady Tsunade — you mean Sasuke?"
"He only has three tomoe, though."
At that, Tsunade's expression shifted to something that looked almost offended.
"How little do you think of three-tomoe Sharingan?"
"Before Madara Uchiha and my great-granduncle were born, the Uchiha fought the Senju clan to a standstill for several hundred years on the strength of the three-tomoe Sharingan alone."
She put both hands on her hips.
"Looking down on three-tomoe Sharingan is looking down on the Senju clan's record. You want to explain that to me?"
(Chapter End)
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you