Chapter 111: A Drastic Shift in the Plot
begun to moisten the leaves...
Uncle Tazuna, as usual, headed out to the bridge to supervise its construction. At the breakfast table, Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Where's Bai?"
Li Jiexuan smiled and lifted his arm. "My arm hasn't healed yet, so Bai went to gather some herbs."
"What a quiet, peaceful day!" Sakura stretched lazily, feeling at ease. No man cuter than herself around, no troublesome Naruto either—just her Sasuke. This was bliss...
But then—
"This is bad!"
A bridge worker stumbled into the house, eyes wide with terror. "Gato's men have captured Tazuna! They're going to blow up the bridge!"
"Sakura, Sasuke—let's go!"
True to his status as a Konoha jonin, Kakashi rushed out without panic, heading for the mist-shrouded bridge...
Once the three of them had left, Li Jiexuan stood up with a smile. "The show has begun. Now it's up to you, Bai."
According to the original plot, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke would head to the bridge and clash with Zabuza and Haku at this point.
"The Executioner's Blade… you're Zabuza?"
Kakashi frowned gravely and pulled down the cover over his left eye.
"We're the Demon Brothers!"
But instead of being sent to their deaths, the Demon Brothers leapt out from beside Zabuza, taking Haku's place.
From this moment on, the plot changed—and battle erupted...
Meanwhile, Naruto was lying in the dense forest. The ever-higher marks on the towering trees showed that he had trained here all night...
Slowly, Naruto opened his eyes.
… Li Bai?"
Bai smiled gently. "Sleeping out here will make you catch a cold."
Naruto looked at Bai in surprise and scratched his head shyly. Even though Li Bai was he somehow looked even cuter than Sakura...
"I'm out gathering herbs," Bai said with a smile, lifting the basket. "Naruto-kun, want to help?"
"Sure!" Naruto nodded without a second thought and bent over, eagerly helping pick herbs.
At the same time, on the misty bridge...
"Damn it, why isn't that idiot Naruto here yet?" Sakura complained irritably. Letting Sasuke fight alone was too dangerous!
"But… Sasuke is so cool!"
"Fire Release—Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke alone toyed with the Demon Brothers, who were chunin-level opponents. Kakashi also steadily suppressed Zabuza. At this rate, Zabuza's defeat was only a matter of time!
"Zabuza, surrender!"
Kakashi believed the outcome was already decided. Zabuza was strong, but there was still a gap between them. But at that moment, a small figure suddenly came running from the far end of the bridge.
"This is bad—Inari's been taken by Gato's men!"
Li Jiexuan looked frantic, his pale little face smeared with blood.
"What?!"
Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she gritted her teeth and shouted, "What is that idiot Naruto even doing?!"
"There's no time to worry about that idiot Naruto."
Sakura reached out and pulled Li Jiexuan into her arms. "Jiexuan, show me the way. I'll go save Inari!"
Li Jiexuan smiled as he leapt into Sakura's embrace. In the same instant, the Flying Thunder God kunai pierced straight through Sakura's chest!
"Pff—"
Sakura stared in confusion, blood spraying as everything before her eyes gradually lost its color.
"What… is happening to me?"
"Sakura!" Sasuke and Kakashi stared in shock. They couldn't understand what had just happened.
But in a battle between experts, even a single second of hesitation could change the outcome...
"Don't space out when you're fighting me!" Zabuza roared, forming seals with his hands. "Water Release—Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A ferocious water dragon surged into the air, roaring!
"Bang—"
Sakura collapsed weakly to the ground, continuously vomiting clotted blood. Her life was nearing its end...
Li Jiexuan curled his lip in disdain. Although Sakura was an important character in Naruto, her corpse held no value to him at all. Born a civilian, Sakura possessed no bloodline limit, and even her ninjutsu talent was mediocre. A body like that wasn't worth wasting one of his precious syringes on.
Still… Sakura while she was alive might yet have some value...
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