Chapter 225: Sakura's Encounter
The woman with long hair had a serene face and a gentle, refined demeanor.
Sakura wasn't an exceptionally clever person, but her excellent Genjutsu talent and Chakra control ability allowed her to perceive the deep malice hidden beneath the long-haired woman's calm exterior.
It was like a monster wearing human skin.
The woman was very skilled at painting. Sitting before her easel, she sketched a few lines with her brush, and a rough outline of the Hokage Rock, the Hokage Office Building, and some of the streets directly in front of her began to appear. Even someone completely unfamiliar with painting would know she was depicting the scene before her eyes.
She didn't spare a glance for Sakura standing behind her. Her movements were unhurried; she dipped her brush in paint, sketched a few more lines, and immediately, dense, packed dark clouds appeared above the Hokage Building on the paper.
At the very moment her brush touched the paper, the Hidden Leaf Village, which had been under a clear sky for miles around, was also engulfed by dark clouds, the ones above the Hokage Building being the most ominous.
The sun was blocked out, and visibility in the area behind the mountain became very low. The long-haired woman's eyes held a blatant malice. She sat there without moving, but her shadow suddenly seemed to come alive, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as if a bloodthirsty demon was hidden within.
Just as she was about to make her final stroke, Sakura suddenly woke up with a start, her broad forehead covered in sweat beads.
"Huh!?"
What was she doing? How did the sky suddenly turn dark? Why was she standing here like an idiot?
After all, she was an honors student trained by the Ninja Academy. While she knew a bit about everything like Water Style, Genjutsu, and Medical Ninjutsu, but wasn't proficient in any of them, her horizons had still been broadened by "First Hokage"—a reference to her training under Tsunade.
Realizing something was wrong, no matter what this long-haired woman intended, as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, she had to stop her!
Sakura's reaction speed had nothing to do with adjectives like "fast as lightning," but the distance between them was very short. Gritting her teeth to overcome the immense fear welling up inside her heart, she reached into her waist pouch and threw a kunai, cutting through the paintbrush in the long-haired woman's hand.
She instinctively felt there was something wrong with the woman's painting and didn't dare directly attack the painting or the person, so she chose the paintbrush.
The very ordinary paintbrush was severed in the middle by the kunai. The long-haired woman's final stroke wasn't completed, and the painting lacked its most crucial step. Three seconds later, the paper wrinkled, then, as if being torn apart by an invisible hand, the paper split open in the middle. The dark clouds that had gathered above the Hidden Leaf Village also slowly dispersed.
This unbelievable method was completely beyond Sakura's scope of understanding. Forcing herself to stay standing, not letting herself fall, she questioned, sounding outwardly fierce but inwardly timid: "Who are you? What do you want here in the Leaf Village!?"
The long-haired woman put the paintbrush, broken into two pieces, into a nearby brush case. Then, she neatly packed her easel, paper, paints, and other items into her bag in an orderly manner.
She said calmly, "Thank you."
Sakura: "???"
"Thank you for stopping me. I know this isn't right... but I just can't control it..." The long-haired woman's words left Sakura completely confused.
Is this person crazy?
The long-haired woman shouldered her bag. "I need to go back now. They only give me one hour of activity time each day."
She gave a slight bow. Before leaving, she looked at Sakura twice. "You are very much like me, but you are stronger than I am. Your heart is full of strength."
Sakura looked surprised and suspicious on the surface, but she was already cursing in her heart. Me? Strength? What nonsense! I'm a weak woman!
There were actually quite a few eccentric people in the Hidden Leaf Village. People like Rock Lee and Might Guy, who would just do handstands around the village for no reason, were also considered crazy by ordinary folk. Sakura hesitated, unsure how to handle this matter. When she encountered the long-haired woman again the next day behind the mountain and once again stopped her from completing a painting of the Hidden Leaf Village being flooded, she felt this matter had exceeded her capabilities.
The long-haired woman wasn't annoyed. Both times she was polite and courteous, repeatedly saying thank you for stopping her. She appeared in the area behind the mountain for two consecutive days, as if deliberately timing it and choosing a conspicuous place, just so Sakura would come and stop her.
Sakura didn't know what to do about this.
Kakashi, as the leader of the Jonin, was swamped with work and couldn't be found at all.
Sakura mentioned the matter to Sasuke, who was diligently practicing sword fighting. Sasuke merely replied with an incredibly simple "Oh," and there was nothing more said about it.
Naruto? Whether it was her outer personality or Inner Sakura, unless it was a critical moment, they automatically ignored Naruto's existence.
She could only go find Ino.
When she arrived at the Yamanaka Flower Shop, she saw Ino was teaching Hinata how to develop her own chakra nature. Hinata hadn't developed even a single chakra nature transformation yet. Her physical constitution was naturally close to Fire and Lightning natures, perfectly avoiding Ino's Water, Earth, and Wind affinities.
The Hyuga clan believed that specializing in their family's Taijutsu was the right main direction, and that wasn't wrong. But as a ninja, being unable to perform even a single ninjutsu was truly a waste of her talent. The ninja world now was full of people called "ninja" who were actually more like "magic warriors." Ino was a typical mage and warrior, while Hinata, at most, could be considered a warrior with some spell-like abilities. She was too lopsided in her skills.
Their ancestor, Kaguya Otsutsuki, indeed didn't use much ninjutsu, genjutsu, or fuinjutsu; she didn't need those things anyway. But were they Otsutsuki? They weren't. Even Naruto in Boruto was able to use "Earth Style: Earth Wall," and Sasuke could use the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The ninja world was developing; you had to learn a little bit of everything. At the very least, it was a process of broadening horizons.
So, Ino was teaching Hinata how to develop her chakra nature. Even without a natural affinity in a particular nature, it didn't matter; the first chakra nature was the easiest to develop. Ino created a water vortex using Water Surge and trapped Hinata inside it, letting her carefully experience the richness and variety of Water nature chakra.
Hinata let the water current knock her around erratically, falling down several times, and getting up several times. She continuously activated her Byakugan, researching how to perform Water nature chakra transformation within herself.
Her arms were scraped, her knees to her calves were covered in blood, and her shoulders and back were also covered in bruises. She didn't cry out in pain once, even less did she cry with a whimper. She persevered with a surge of resilience.
Sakura came to the Yamanaka house and saw that Ino had been continuously maintaining the Water Surge, so she didn't disturb them and just stood waiting to the side.
Hinata's perseverance seemed completely normal to her. Isn't that just how ninja are? Ino had once told her jokingly that in some places, men need anesthesia just to get a haircut, and if a man scraped his finger and didn't cry out, he'd be considered a tough guy. Sakura absolutely didn't believe it. How is that possible? That sounds like you're just trying to trick me because I'm inexperienced, pulling my leg.
Once Ino withdrew the Water Surge, and Hinata very skillfully applied medicine to herself, Sakura brought up the matter of the long-haired woman.
Hinata's eyes widened, and clutching her chest, she expressed that she couldn't understand it at all.
Ino was startled. Whoa!
She can interfere with reality through paintings? There's someone this powerful in Leaf Village?
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