Konoha Hospital
Sakura looked calmly at the furious Sasuke. "A reason?"
"You remember what you said to me before the preliminary matches, right?!" Sasuke stared at Sakura, the Cursed Seal of Heaven on his neck growing increasingly restless.
Sakura knew, hearing Sasuke say this, that she couldn't avoid a confrontation today. After hearing what Naruto said, Sasuke had become agitated and was desperate to confirm his current strength.
"Fine then. Come on! I'll be waiting for you at the training grounds," Sakura said, giving Sasuke a challenging look.
"Hey, hey, hey, Sasuke! Why are you challenging Sakura-chan? Your injuries haven't healed yet..." Naruto rushed to block Sasuke, who was already heading out after Sakura.
"Get out of my way!" Sasuke glared coldly at Naruto.
Naruto felt a chill run down his spine at Sasuke's glare. It was a familiar feeling, one he'd experienced somewhere before... That's right, it was the same look Gaara had.
This thought only strengthened Naruto's resolve, and he stood firmly in front of Sasuke. "I won't let you..."
"Naruto, don't bother. Let him come," Sakura said, seeing Naruto blocking Sasuke. "Karin, you come along too. I need to teach you some medical ninjutsu. You can watch how I heal him in a bit."
Hearing Sakura's words, Sasuke's anger flared even hotter. He was being looked down upon! He touched the cursed seal on his neck, feeling the power contained within, and a flicker of anticipation arose. If he could defeat Sakura with this, then...
Karin and Sakura walked ahead, with Naruto and Sasuke following behind. Each was lost in their own thoughts, and no one spoke a word. They arrived at the same training grounds where they had once fought Kakashi for the bells.
Naruto and Karin stood to the side, while Sasuke and Sakura faced each other.
"Before we start, I have something to tell you. I won't be holding back this time," Sakura said.
This time was different. Sasuke had the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and Sakura wasn't sure how much of a power boost it provided. Moreover, if she didn't thoroughly beat Sasuke, he might cause more trouble later.
"Hmph, that's what I want," Sasuke replied, activating his Sharingan.
Sakura wasted no more words. Activating her Strength of a Hundred Seal, she looked sharply at Sasuke. "Come on. Let's see if you're even qualified to challenge me."
Sakura needed to constantly hone her skills, and this was actually a good opportunity.
Sasuke instantly entered his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged at Sakura. Since he had just left the hospital, Sasuke didn't have any ninja tools, so he rushed forward directly.
Sakura saw Sasuke charging without any sign of the cursed seal activating. It seemed Sasuke's own chakra reserves weren't depleted yet, and coupled with the sealing formula's suppression, the cursed seal's power wasn't being drawn out.
However, Sakura wanted to see the cursed seal's power, and she intended to crush Sasuke with overwhelming force. Otherwise, he might develop the misconception that the cursed seal's power was incredibly strong, leading him to become dependent on it.
Seeing Sasuke approach, Sakura formed hand seals. Water Release: Water Wall! She added lightning-natured chakra into the water wall. Sasuke, observing with his Sharingan, quickly stopped. Unless he used Chidori to brute-force his way through or learned Orochimaru's method of breaking it, Sasuke had no way to penetrate it with his current abilities.
Seeing Sasuke halt, Sakura didn't stop. Sasuke was using Lightning Release Chakra Mode to activate his body, but this was only temporary and had side effects. He was still using it to defeat her, but Sakura's side effects wouldn't be as severe as Sasuke's, thanks to her medical ninjutsu.
Sakura controlled the water wall while silently activating her own Lightning Release Chakra Mode. When the lightning chakra coursed through her entire body, she slowly released her control over the water wall and then burst forward, throwing a punch towards Sasuke's original trajectory. The entire process, though seemingly complex, happened in the blink of an eye.
When Sasuke saw the water wall slowly dissipate through his Sharingan, he knew Sakura was launching her attack. Originally, with his Lightning Release Chakra Mode active, Sasuke was slightly faster than Sakura. But to his surprise, Sakura was also using lightning release to increase her speed. However, with his three-tomoe Sharingan, his predictive abilities were greatly enhanced. Just as Sakura's fist was about to connect, he used the Body Replacement Technique and vanished.
Sakura realized she had only hit a log, lamenting the missed opportunity. It seemed Sasuke's base strength had improved significantly. If Sasuke wasn't consumed by such deep-seated hatred, he would probably be quite satisfied with this kind of progress.
But there were no "ifs." As long as Sasuke hadn't defeated Sakura, he would feel like he was stagnating. If he defeated Sakura with his own power, that would be fine. But if he used the power Orochimaru gave him, Sasuke might very well go seeking Orochimaru out.
Therefore, Sakura couldn't let Sasuke win, no matter what. She had to keep one step ahead of him, forcing him to constantly strive to reach the ceiling. If Sasuke touched the ceiling, his dissatisfied nature would only lead him to break through it and seek another path.
At that moment, a piercing sound came from ahead. Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke using Chidori. While Chidori was powerful, it was useless if it didn't hit.
Sakura formed hand seals, holding them without releasing the jutsu. Sasuke charged towards Sakura, but seeing her standing there, not dodging or evading, with her hands forming the Snake seal, Sasuke hesitated. He had been aiming for Sakura's heart. If Sakura didn't dodge, the Chidori would pierce right through it.
Although Sasuke had seen Sakura's monstrous regenerative ninjutsu, this was her heart. Sasuke wasn't sure if Sakura could survive being pierced through the heart.
In a flash, he was in front of Sakura, but she still didn't dodge. Sasuke couldn't help but shout in panic, "Dodge! Do you want to die?!"
Sasuke couldn't control Chidori perfectly yet, and his body's speed was enhanced by the lightning release, making it difficult for him to change direction.
Sakura was slightly surprised to see Sasuke rushing towards her and telling her to dodge. Good, he's teachable, she thought. In that instant of thought, her hands finally released the Snake seal.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
This was a jutsu Sakura hadn't used in a long time. It had been ineffective against her previous opponents, so she had abandoned it. But it would be more than enough to deal with Sasuke.
Suddenly, the ground around Sasuke turned into a muddy swamp. Sasuke tripped, instantly face-planting into the mud. The Chidori naturally struck the swamp. To Sakura's surprise, however, there was another person not far from Sasuke who had also taken a face-plant.
Looking closely, it was the red-haired Karin. Her position clearly indicated she had been running towards Sakura. Sigh... Naruto, you idiot, why didn't you stop Karin? Karin doesn't know my strength, but shouldn't Naruto?
"Hey, Naruto, is this how you 'take good care of Karin'?" Sakura complained to Naruto.
"She was behind me, I didn't even notice..." Naruto said, looking equally bewildered.
Sakura looked at Naruto's confused expression, then at Karin. It seemed Karin had inherited all the useful abilities of the Uzumaki clan, unlike Naruto, who only inherited the massive chakra reserves and none of the special skills.
Sakura controlled her chakra to retract the swamp around Karin. Karin pushed herself up, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Karin, it's okay. I'll be fine," she said, then turned to Naruto. "Hey, Naruto..."
"Got it," Naruto replied before Sakura could even finish.
Sakura saw Naruto run over to Karin. She turned her attention back to Sasuke, who was still stuck in the swamp. It was time to end this.
"Sasuke, are you going to continue?" Sakura asked, pointing at Sasuke.
The moment Sasuke fell into the swamp and couldn't move, he knew it was over. He still couldn't defeat Sakura. Was the gap really that big? Damn it... How can I avenge my clan if I'm this weak...?
Sasuke was filled with immense sorrow, hating his own weakness and incompetence. His enemy was out there, and he didn't have the strength to take revenge... Thinking of the massacre under the moonlight and the words that man had spoken, Sasuke cried out in anguish... Suddenly, a chilling chakra surged from his neck, replenishing his depleted reserves...
Sakura watched as Sasuke struggled to stand up from the swamp. Flame-like patterns spread across his face and arms.
Here it comes, the power of the cursed seal. He's going all out...
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