Chapter 206: Yin Release — Inner Sakura
Shadow Clones were a bizarre jutsu.
Born from the user's own chakra, yet possessing independent consciousness.
When the original body distributed its chakra, the resulting entity could think for itself and act on its own will.
Under certain circumstances, a Shadow Clone might even work against the original.
And that wasn't all — even if a Shadow Clone was used for training, everything it experienced during its existence would flow back to the original when the chakra returned.
Training insights, thoughts, sights and sounds, even physical pain — all transmitted back to the host without alteration.
Even Sakura's special Shadow Clone — created with massive amounts of chakra and Yang Release — couldn't escape this fundamental property.
Kotoamatsukami!
Haruno Sakura — submit to me!
Eyes locked with Danzō's, Sakura felt her mind go hazy.
A powerful burst of Yin Release invaded through her line of sight, flooding her consciousness and rapidly rewriting the will of the entity known as Haruno Sakura.
"Heh heh..."
Watching Pinky's expression go blank, Danzō allowed a satisfied smile to cross his lips.
Kotoamatsukami's activation was supremely subtle — completed in the space between one blink and the next.
"At a time like this... you can still smile?"
Behind Danzō, Sasuke spoke in a hoarse voice. The blade buried in Danzō's body twisted deeper.
But just as before, Danzō's form turned transparent and vanished.
Sasuke's expression darkened further.
What the hell IS this technique?!
"Sasuke, you okay?"
Naruto arrived at Sasuke's side, watching the once-again-unharmed Danzō with wary eyes.
Danzō raised a single-handed sword seal before his chest and spoke softly:
"Release."
In his mind, Sakura was now under his control. Even if he couldn't serve as the nominal Fifth Hokage, it didn't matter — the real Fifth Hokage was now his puppet.
He was the true Hokage!
With victory assured, there was no need to waste massive amounts of chakra maintaining Izanagi.
He glanced at the three Sharingan on his arm that had permanently closed, then turned his gaze to Sasuke and Naruto.
This Uchiha brat has an unknown Mangekyō. Later, I can use Sakura to suppress him and take those eyes.
Then use the Mangekyō to control Uzumaki Naruto.
With the Nine-Tails' power — in an era where neither Hashirama Senju nor Uchiha Madara existed — I'll sweep the world!
Every nation will grovel before Konoha!
Before Shimura Danzō!
Konoha will be great again because of ME!
"Haruno Sakura — I submit willingly. But the assassination of the Hokage and the Daimyo was absolutely not my doing."
Feeling the game was won, Danzō extended both hands in front of everyone, signaling his surrender.
He was confident that with Sakura's intelligence, she would know exactly what to do next.
Kotoamatsukami didn't turn its target into a mindless puppet that only obeyed the caster.
Rather, it layered an additional command on top of the target's existing autonomous will.
So in Danzō's estimation, the current Sakura was his most trustworthy subordinate. The most formidable enforcer imaginable.
Everyone present was bewildered by this reversal.
The man who'd been fighting to the death moments ago was now striking a pose of total compliance — the whiplash was too extreme to process.
From her vantage point nearby, Uchiha Hikaru narrowed her eyes.
What did that disgusting old man just do?
A pulse of Yin Release had invaded Pinky's body.
And that immense ocular power...
It bore a striking resemblance to her own Yachiho.
If that was the case...
Hikaru wouldn't mind using this opportunity to finally have a real fight with Pinky — subdue her, then give her a good... disciplining. Ahem. Punishment.
"Hmph. Smart move. Sasuke — tie him up."
'Sakura' swept the bangs from her forehead with one hand and gestured for Sasuke to restrain Danzō.
Sasuke's lips pressed into a tight line as he stared at Sakura.
What he wanted was to kill this piece of garbage who'd desecrated his clan — cut him into a thousand pieces!
But...
Looking at Sakura's composed expression, Sasuke silently pulled steel wire from his equipment pouch and bound Danzō's hands tightly together.
He shot Danzō one frozen look, then brought him before Sakura.
As they passed Homura, the old man gave Danzō a complicated glance and let out a quiet sigh.
If you'd known it would come to this... why did you ever start?
"Everyone, disperse. The Hokage inauguration will be rescheduled — seven days from now."
Homura addressed the watching shinobi.
The crowd gradually filtered away, each person carrying their own whirlwind of thoughts.
Today's inauguration ceremony had been... beyond description.
Only Jiraiya, Hikaru, and the remaining Root operatives were left.
Hikaru felt something increasingly off about Pinky. She couldn't point to anything specific — Sakura wasn't acting strange in any obvious way — but her instincts were screaming.
She edged closer, step by step, positioning herself behind Pinky. The blade at her hip began to gleam with a faint, razor-sharp light.
"Sakura, what do we do with him?"
Jiraiya looked at the bound Danzō with a complicated expression.
"Him? Well..."
A flippant, almost playful tone left 'Sakura's' mouth — and Sasuke felt something click.
That tone. He'd heard it before.
But before Sasuke could react, 'Sakura's' hand whipped to his hip and drew his sheathed sword in a single motion!
Blinding steel flashed!
"You MOTHERF—!"
"Kotoamatsukami, WAS IT?!"
Blood arced across the sky!
An arm — covered in Sharingan eyes — spun through the air!
The sudden violence stunned everyone frozen.
Even Hikaru, who'd been preparing to strike from behind, blinked in surprise.
Danzō stared at the scene before him in utter disbelief.
How?!
His Kotoamatsukami hadn't worked?!
Impossible!
IMPOSSIBLE!!
The shock was so total that even the agony of his severed arm seemed distant, irrelevant.
But it wasn't over. 'Sakura' drove a fist straight into Danzō's face!
The impact launched him backward. Blood, saliva, and teeth sprayed from his mouth.
"Sakura!"
Naruto cried out in alarm.
He'd already surrendered — there was no need for this kind of brutality!
"WAIT!"
"Naruto — get away from her!"
"That's NOT Sakura!"
Kushina sensed the abnormality immediately and seized Naruto's arm, pulling him back.
"What?!"
"But that IS Sakura!"
Naruto tried to argue, but Sasuke had already placed himself between them with a grave expression.
"Kushina's right. That's not Sakura."
Three years later — and she had surfaced again.
The realization weighed heavily on Sasuke.
Three years ago, it had taken the combined efforts of Sakura, Sasuke, Kushina, and Tsunade to weaken Inner Sakura to her absolute lowest point before barely managing to suppress her.
And now she was back.
Why?
'Sakura' — Inner Sakura — held Sasuke's sword as she walked, step by deliberate step, to where Danzō lay unable to rise. A wild, defiant grin spread across her face. She bent slightly, planted one foot on his chest, and slapped his rapidly swelling face with the flat of the blade.
"So?"
"Enjoyed using Kotoamatsukami on me, did you?"
"Thought you had it all sewn up?"
"Bet you'd already picked out your favorite positions for 'training' me, hadn't you?"
Danzō felt as though a mountain had been placed on his chest — immovable, crushing.
Listening to the utterly unfiltered commentary, Sasuke felt a vein throb at his temple.
Jiraiya looked away, somewhere between embarrassed and speechless.
"YOU—!"
Danzō stared up at this suddenly transformed Pinky in horror. He couldn't understand how she'd resisted Kotoamatsukami, but right now, survival was the priority!
"Release Lord Danzō!"
The remaining Root operatives surrounded Inner Sakura in a tight ring.
"Hm?"
Emerald eyes lifted slightly — and an invisible wave of pressure slammed down on the entire area.
The dozens of Root operatives felt as though a mountain had materialized on their shoulders. Forget protecting Danzō — they couldn't take a single step forward.
What IS this?!
Is THIS the so-called Witch's power?!
She can suppress dozens of shinobi with killing intent alone?!
They'd made the same miscalculation as the late Fourth Kazekage Rasa.
Not that it mattered anymore.
"This Yang Release really is something."
Inner Sakura nodded with satisfaction at the scene before her.
Inner Sakura was the embodiment of Sakura's Yin Release — she absolutely could not access Yang Release under normal circumstances.
Only when controlling Sakura's body could she borrow Yang Release. But since Sakura had specifically created this Shadow Clone using Yang Release and had poured massive amounts of chakra into it, Inner Sakura could wield it through this vessel.
"But I really do have to thank you."
Her gaze returned to the man beneath her foot.
"Using Kotoamatsukami to temporarily suppress this clone's consciousness... you gave me the opening to come out."
"Three years..."
"Do you have ANY idea what these three years have been like for me?!"
At this, Inner Sakura turned to look at Sasuke and Kushina — both on high alert — and at Hikaru, who was practically vibrating with eagerness to fight.
She kicked Danzō toward Homura and extended a hand toward Sasuke and Kushina, beckoning with her fingers.
"You. Come here."
"Let me rough you up a little."
Back then, it had been Sasuke using his Sharingan to carry Kushina's chakra into Sakura's body — and Kushina's chakra forming a golden restraint — that had defeated Inner Sakura.
She'd been holding that grudge for three years.
So as far as Inner Sakura was concerned, priority number one was beating Sasuke and Kushina senseless.
"Tch."
Facing the damned Pinky's open challenge, Sasuke scoffed and prepared to engage — but a figure beside him had already shot forward!
Hikaru!
She didn't understand why Pinky had suddenly become a different person, but as far as Hikaru was concerned, that distinction was irrelevant.
Pink is pink. What difference does it make which one I'm hitting?
Flames roared along her blade as she brought it down on Inner Sakura!
"Excuse me — what are you doing barging in, you airhead?"
Inner Sakura swatted away the interruption with open annoyance.
One hand on the borrowed sword, she blocked the flaming blade dead.
Airhead?
Who?
ME?
*You ***!
This version of Pinky apparently came equipped with an indiscriminate aggro field. Hikaru was instantly livid.
Tsukuyomi!
In a flash, Inner Sakura was pulled into Hikaru's mental realm!
"Ah, boring. This again."
In the black-and-white world that resembled a film negative, Inner Sakura was the only thing that still carried the colors of reality.
"Who are you?"
Hikaru, studying the figure before her, finally realized something was wrong.
Incredibly powerful Yin Release!
Pinky was hiding THIS up her sleeve?!
Was this specifically developed to counter ME?!
You scheming, underhanded little PINKY!!
"Me?"
"I'm your DADDY!"
With those words, the mental world shattered to pieces!
Consciousness snapped back to reality. Hikaru was incandescent with rage.
FINE!
Her father had taught her from childhood to be magnanimous — to let a ship sail through her belly, as the saying went — but even SHE had limits!
This damned pinky was BEGGING for a thrashing!
But just as Hikaru prepared to get serious, a voice cut through.
"Stop."
Sakura — the real Sakura — had arrived.
The moment she'd felt her connection to the Shadow Clone suddenly sever, she'd known something was wrong.
"Huh?"
"Another Sakura?"
Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
"Are you going back on your own, or do I send you back?"
Today, with Yang Release fully matured, the Yin-born Inner Sakura had zero chance of a comeback.
If Sakura wanted, she could suppress Inner Sakura single-handedly at any time.
The only reason she'd left Inner Sakura alive this long was that three years ago, Inner Sakura had stepped in and saved her.
"Uh..."
Inner Sakura saw Sakura arrive and her mouth twitched.
"How can you DO this?!"
"I finally get to poke my head out!"
"This is SO unfair!"
Inner Sakura immediately abandoned Hikaru, scurried over to Sakura in a series of rapid little steps, and got right in her face, brimming with righteous indignation.
"This is EVIL capitalism!"
"Even sweatshop bosses aren't this cruel to their workers!"
Inner Sakura latched onto Sakura's collar like a disgruntled employee throwing a tantrum, refusing to let go.
Sakura looked at the spectacle before her, utterly unamused.
This woman...
She's like a child.
"I don't CARE!"
"I just want—"
POP.
Before Inner Sakura could finish her rant, Sakura dispelled the Shadow Clone.
As the clone dissolved, every memory it had accumulated flooded back into Sakura's mind.
Sakura's expression shifted slightly.
Danzō had hit her Yang Clone with Kotoamatsukami, successfully creating a disruption — her control over the clone had become unstable.
And Inner Sakura had exploited that crack to surface through the Yang Clone.
Which meant: any time Sakura used a Yang Clone in the future, Inner Sakura could potentially emerge.
Unless she abandoned the Yang Clone technique entirely — or crushed Inner Sakura into permanent oblivion.
Forget it...
Even prisoners get yard time...
Letting her poke her head out occasionally is fine.
After all, Sakura still remembered what Inner Sakura had told her.
If not for her, Sakura would have been captured by the Raikage.
Though if Inner Sakura wanted out in the future, there'd need to be ground rules.
And the Yang Clone really was too useful to give up. While it was derived from the standard Shadow Clone technique, it was far more durable, with stats reaching roughly eighty percent of the original body.
And eighty percent of Sakura's stats — well, there was no need to elaborate on what that meant.
Giving up such a practical technique over one manageable issue would be a waste.
In terms of Yang Clone combat power alone — it was more than enough to kill a Rasa.
"Was that your consciousness just now?"
Just as Sakura was processing all this, Hikaru stormed over with fury written across her face, glaring at Sakura accusingly.
"Erm... that... yes."
Even though Sakura didn't want to admit she harbored an Inner personality with zero filter, she couldn't exactly deny it.
"You— you've been hiding this the whole time!"
Hikaru ground her teeth at the girl before her.
That kind of Yin Release — powerful enough to brute-force its way through Tsukuyomi — whether even Yachiho could withstand it was an open question.
This was absolutely developed in secret to counter ME!
Absolutely not!
I can't let this pinky have the upper hand!
I need to start training taijutsu — otherwise I'll never beat her!
Watching Hikaru stalk off in a huff, Sakura scratched her head in genuine confusion.
"Sakura, are you alright?"
Kushina walked over with a worried look.
"I'm fine. I'm in a completely different league from back then."
Sakura knew exactly what Kushina was worried about and reassured her.
Seeing Sakura's confidence, Kushina could only swallow her concern.
Sakura walked over to Danzō and studied the broken man before her, then glanced at the severed arm nearby — which had already begun transforming into a tree.
Inner Sakura had struck the instant Danzō released Izanagi, severing the arm and eliminating his last hope of survival in one stroke.
Now Danzō had played every card he had. Aside from the Reverse Four Symbols Seal — a mutual-destruction suicide technique — he had absolutely no room left to maneuver.
"Sakura..."
Sasuke stepped forward, then hesitated.
"Do you want to finish him yourself?"
Sakura looked at Sasuke.
But contrary to her expectations, Sasuke shook his head.
He glanced at the others present...
"Oh my, I just remembered — I left laundry hanging outside, and it looks like it might rain~~~"
Jiraiya suddenly clapped his hands together, then — overriding Naruto's protests entirely — physically dragged the boy away.
"Sakura, I'm taking him and going ahead."
"Stop by Hiruzen's place later."
Homura gave Sakura a long, silent look, then picked Danzō up off the ground and turned to leave.
He had things to discuss with Sakura too, but now was clearly not the time.
"Get the young Daimyo settled in."
"From now on, Konoha is the capital of the Land of Fire."
Sakura spoke to Homura's retreating back.
Homura paused, acknowledged her with a quiet word, and departed in silence.
Now everyone was gone. Only Sakura and Sasuke remained.
The two stood atop the Hokage cliff, looking out over the whole of Konoha spread before them.
This was the very spot where Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara had once stood when they founded the village.
"Sakura..."
"Can you tell me the truth about the Uchiha?"
Sasuke looked out at the familiar landscape.
Earlier, Danzō had said something. Sasuke had heard it. But he hadn't exploded on the spot — he'd pressed it down, deep inside.
He'd decided to wait for Sakura to explain.
Danzō said the Uchiha had been plotting rebellion. That those Sharingan were his spoils of war.
Danzō couldn't be trusted. Sasuke chose to trust Sakura.
To wait for Sakura to tell him everything.
"Sasuke..."
Sakura had been expecting this day for a long time. She steadied herself and began.
She didn't want to lie to Sasuke. She chose to tell him the whole truth.
"The Uchiha attempted a coup. That part is true."
Silence.
A long, heavy silence.
Sasuke stared at the girl before him in disbelief.
It was... true.
The glorious Uchiha.
The magnificent Uchiha.
The Uchiha that Sasuke had always been so proud of.
Were... traitors.
"After the Nine-Tails disaster, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, gave his life."
"The Uchiha were pushed onto the knife's edge because of it."
"After all — the Sharingan visible in the Nine-Tails' eyes couldn't be faked."
"The village leadership relocated the Uchiha compound — which should have been at Konoha's center — to the village outskirts."
"The Uchiha already resented the fact that across four Hokage, not one had been an Uchiha. This relocation only deepened the bitterness."
Sasuke sat in silence, listening. Sakura continued.
"In these past years, Sasuke — have you ever looked into the Military Police Force's actual workload?"
At Sakura's question, Sasuke's expression stiffened slightly.
He... really hadn't.
Seeing his awkward look, Sakura didn't press the point and moved on.
"The police force held legislative, judicial, law enforcement, and detention authority."
"That's an extraordinarily powerful department — but with great power comes great responsibility."
"The Uchiha's share of Konoha's civil governance was enormous."
"The Uchiha were never good at dealing with people to begin with. Managing civilian relations? Even worse."
"Friction between the Uchiha and the villagers became constant. Pile on their resentment of the leadership, plus the undeniable Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes that night..."
"And so — voices calling for a coup began to emerge within the Uchiha."
At this point, Sasuke's lips pressed into a tight line.
"And here, there's one person who can't go unmentioned."
Sakura was getting tired of standing. She dropped to the ground and sat. Sasuke silently sat down beside her.
"It's... Uchiha Itachi, isn't it?"
After a long silence, Sasuke spoke.
He wasn't the revenge-obsessed child he'd once been. He could think for himself now. The idea that Itachi could have exterminated the entire Uchiha clan single-handedly was simply unrealistic.
"It is."
Sakura nodded.
She met Sasuke's eyes and furrowed her brow slightly.
"Sasuke — do you know what the Sharingan actually is?"
"It's a kekkei genkai born from Yin Release."
Sasuke answered without a second's thought.
Though he wasn't sure why Sakura had changed the subject.
"And what is Yin Release?"
"Spiritual energy."
"And what happens if a person has too much spiritual energy?"
"It—!"
Sasuke started to answer, then stopped cold. He stared at Sakura in disbelief.
"They go insane."
Sakura confirmed what Sasuke was thinking.
"Uchiha Itachi — taken to the battlefield by your father, Uchiha Fugaku, at age four. Witnessed the horrors of war firsthand."
"At seven, the old man praised him for having 'the mind of a Hokage.'"
"At thirteen, his prodigious talent made him an ANBU squad captain."
"And he had the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Honestly, Itachi's talent as a shinobi was undeniable."
Sakura first acknowledged Itachi's abilities.
"But that's all it was. Talent as a shinobi."
"The premature awakening of the Mangekyō warped his mind into increasing obsessiveness. Self-centered to the core."
"Convinced that everything and everyone else was wrong, and only he was right."
Sasuke's expression shifted at this.
"The Uchiha situation had never deteriorated to the point where extermination was necessary."
"Or put it this way — even if the Uchiha coup had failed, so what?"
"At most, the hardliners would have died. The Uchiha who wanted peace, the Uchiha who were innocent — they all could have lived."
Even now, Sakura couldn't comprehend what had possessed Itachi to do what he did.
"And in fact, both your father Fugaku and the old man at the time were doves — they both wanted the two sides to sit down and talk it out."
Sasuke's fists tightened unconsciously.
Uchiha... Itachi...
"But Itachi went to Shimura Danzō."
!!!
Sasuke looked up at Sakura, eyes wide with shock.
"He traded the annihilation of his entire clan for your survival."
"Touching, isn't it?"
A mocking smile curved Sakura's lips.
"..."
Seeing that sardonic twist, Sasuke swallowed the emotion that had risen in his chest.
"Sasuke."
Sakura slowly rose to her feet and gazed out over the village.
"The reason humans are called humans is that we exist as a collective."
"The clothes on your back, the food in your mouth, the tools in your hands — all of it is the product of that collective."
"Maybe you think you earned it all through your own labor. That it rightfully belongs to you."
"But can you — by yourself — weave cloth, grow food, forge iron, grind spices, handle every single aspect of survival?"
"Uchiha Itachi was far too self-righteous."
"Especially at thirteen — the peak of adolescence. Rebellious. Full of delusions of grandeur."
"What happens when a rebellious teenager acquires power that dwarfs the world's?"
"Itachi didn't go to the old man — the man who was actively working toward peace between Konoha and the Uchiha. He went to Shimura Danzō."
"Perhaps in his eyes, the old man's progress was too slow."
"He chose a faster method."
"Danzō cooperated with Itachi to seal off the Uchiha compound."
"Itachi wanted nothing — only for you to live. Danzō wanted the Sharingan."
Sakura's account continued, but Sasuke suddenly spoke.
"He couldn't have killed every Uchiha alone."
Sakura nodded.
"Which is why there was a second Mangekyō user."
"Uchiha Obito."
A new name. Sasuke's eyes flickered.
He knew this one — the masked man who'd ambushed Sakura during the Land of Frost campaign. The man whose attack had triggered Sasuke's own Mangekyō awakening.
"He wore a mask, played the phantom, and called himself Uchiha Madara."
"And Itachi believed him."
"It never occurred to Itachi to think — a man like Uchiha Madara would never hide behind a mask."
"That night..."
"Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Obito, and Shimura Danzō — the three of them together..."
☆☆☆
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