The collapse of the Hokage Tower drew the attention of every ninja in the village who was out helping civilians.
"What? What happened over there?"
Kiba, who had been woken from a deep sleep by the explosions after a long day of training, had been dragged out by his teammates. Just as they were delivering the last batch of wounded to the hospital, the distant Hokage Tower disintegrated like a pile of sand.
"Byakugan."
Hinata activated her eyes and looked toward the Hokage Tower, her face growing grave.
"The Hokage Tower has been reduced to rubble. Lady Fifth seems to be fighting someone," Hinata reported what she saw.
"At this distance, my insects are already agitated…" Shino paused, then said in a low voice, "It seems this intruder is very powerful."
"So, what do we do? Should we go over there?" Kiba asked his teammates, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Lady Hokage has many ninja with her. Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei, Kakashi… sensei are all there, along with many Anbu and Jonin," Hinata added after another sweep with her Byakugan.
"I see… Since the sensei are all there, we wouldn't be much help even if we went. We should search the village one more time to see if we missed anyone," Shino decided.
Kiba and Hinata didn't object. They were only genin. If that many Jonin couldn't handle the enemy, they would only get in the way.
The wind howled past her ears as the scenery blurred into streaks. Sakura raced toward the Hokage Tower at top speed.
She had gone in the wrong direction. When she saw the Anbu heading for the village perimeter, she had mistakenly assumed the intruder was already fleeing.
She hadn't realized the Anbu were just setting up a blockade in advance; the enemy was still inside the village.
The collapse of the Hokage Tower gave Sakura a clear destination. Now, she could only hope her master hadn't finished off the enemy too quickly. She still wanted to land a punch or two to vent the frustration that had been building up for the past two days.
However, things rarely go as planned. When she arrived, she saw Jiraiya locked in a struggle with a somewhat familiar figure.
"Sakura!" Tsunade spotted her and roared, "Where have you been?!"
"Master…" Sakura noticed the dried blood at the corner of Tsunade's mouth and was taken aback. Master was injured?
She rushed to Tsunade's side. Her master was treating a ninja lying on the ground. That ninja was Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei… what happened?" Sakura asked.
"He'll be fine," Tsunade said, stopping her treatment. She turned to Sakura. "Where's Karin? Isn't she with you?"
"Yeah, she went to…" Sakura's words trailed off as she caught sight of the enemy fighting Jiraiya. She froze. "It's her? She's the intruder?"
"Mm, that's right." Tsunade looked toward Shuying in the distance. "Do you know where she's from?"
"I don't," Sakura said, her face dark and her voice cold. "But I'll personally pry it out of her mouth later."
"Don't be rash. Jiraiya is fighting her right now…" Tsunade began.
But before she could finish, Sakura shot forward like a cannonball, launching herself directly into their battle.
Watching the approaching Sakura, a cold smile formed on Shuying's lips beneath her mask. Finally. It was worth the wait.
"It seems our fight will have to be cut short, Lord Jiraiya," Shuying said.
"What… Are you trying to escape?" Jiraiya had just about figured out her attack patterns and was getting ready to take her down in one fell swoop.
Shuying clenched her fist, pouring all her strength into her right arm as she watched the rapidly approaching Sakura.
"Heh… still don't get it? My target was never you!" Shuying roared, striking out at Sakura, who was leaping up from behind Jiraiya. The seemingly delicate fist carried a powerful gale, kicking up sand and stones that blew into Jiraiya's eyes. He couldn't help but raise an arm to shield them.
While still in mid-air, Sakura had already activated her Seijutsu. The seal on her forehead spread across her entire body. It was a rare chance for a direct confrontation with Shuying. She had to take her down with this one blow.
Both girls had the same fair hands. Even clenched into fists with the most brutal force, there was no outward sign of power—no bulging veins, only skin as white as mutton-fat jade.
Yet, when these two seemingly powerless fists collided, a shockwave erupted from the point of contact and spread outward.
Even with chakra anchored to his feet, Jiraiya couldn't withstand the terrifying shockwave. He and the ground beneath him were sent flying.
But it wasn't over. Another shockwave, even more powerful than the first, began to spread. The ground beneath the two girls crumbled downward in a hemisphere, expanding outward.
The ruins of the Hokage Tower were now completely obliterated, not even a scrap remaining.
Sakura felt a power that was in no way inferior to her own. The shock she felt was beyond words. This was no ordinary monster-strength punch; this was a punch of pure natural energy.
Although she was still using the mechanics of her monster-strength punch, she had replaced her chakra with the power of nature.
Out of caution, she hadn't used a normal punch. But she had still underestimated Shuying's strength. In the follow-through, Sakura was stunned to find that Shuying was also pushing forward, proving she hadn't been using her full strength from the start.
Sakura could believe that someone could withstand her punch, but for someone to meet it head-on, without giving an inch, was almost unheard of.
"Hmph… It seems I overestimated you," Shuying suddenly said, her words a deliberate prod at Sakura's nerves.
"Dammit! Don't you look down on me!" Sakura took a deep breath and increased the output of natural energy.
An immense force surged through Sakura's fist, then transformed into a torrent of kinetic energy that slammed into Shuying.
Shuying finally couldn't hold on any longer. With a muffled grunt, she was sent flying backward like a bullet fired from a gun. In her wake, the air was stained with a red veil that lingered for a long time—a mist of blood she had coughed up.
Thump!
Thump!!
Thump!!!
A series of violent heartbeats thudded in Sakura's ears.
She bent over, clutching her chest, her face flushed a deep red. She had almost suffered a backlash from the natural energy. The Seijutsu scroll hadn't explained how to deal with such a backlash; it only taught how to use pure natural energy.
Because of this, Sakura was always cautious when using it, afraid of the rebound. The backlash was known to affect one's personality, a side effect Sakura had gradually overcome.
But overusing natural energy caused a sensation like her body was being torn apart, and she had never found a good solution for it. The tearing sensation was not just physical; it felt as if her very spirit was being ripped to shreds.
Fortunately, the Yin Seal provided a temporary solution. But the amount of natural energy she had just drawn had exceeded the seal's conversion speed. That horrible feeling was back.
She stood there, panting heavily for a long time before she could finally straighten up, her expression dazed.
"This… this is…?"
From where she stood, ripple-like trenches spread outward across the ground.
As far as the eye could see, the area was completely flat. The moonlight shone down on a scene of utter silence, devoid of any sign of life.
Looking down on the village from above, a giant circular crater now occupied a third of its area…