Sakura stared, dumbfounded, at the newly formed soldier. Her mouth hung open, and every hair on her body stood on end.
An icy chill bloomed deep within her chest, spreading outwards, making her breath hitch. What she was witnessing went far beyond anything she could comprehend. Even as someone who had taken lives, Sakura felt a profound, visceral fear grip her.
Taking living human beings as raw material, processing and synthesizing them into mass-produced soldiers… stripping them of all senses except sight, turning them into living dead who only followed orders. No, they couldn't even be called human anymore. No nose, no mouth, no ears… From Sakura's medical perspective, their entire structure was fundamentally different from a normal human's.
For the first time, Sakura felt true horror towards this Theocratic Nation. What they did to the human body, this grotesque modification, was somehow crueler than simply killing someone outright.
The machinery in the room continued its rhythmic humming. Light dimmed in another glass container, revealing the clear liquid and the young man suspended within. The process repeated itself exactly: the boy dissolved, from skin to bone, into the fluid. The liquid was drained, the fleshy sphere ejected from the metal tube below, and it rapidly reformed into another identical soldier.
Then, a section of the wall slid open, revealing a hidden doorway. The two newly formed soldiers marched stiffly through it, and silence fell upon the room once more.
Sakura pushed against the heavy iron door she'd been observing through. It didn't budge. Looking closer, she realized it was locked from the inside.
A ten-centimeter beam of blue-white laser erupted from her fingertip. Surging more chakra into the technique, the Storm Release laser's temperature instantly spiked. Sakura had discovered that her lightning-infused Storm Release wasn't just highly penetrative; increasing the chakra output also significantly raised its heat.
Aiming carefully at the gap between the door and the frame, Sakura meticulously used the laser to slice through the internal locking bolt.
A moment later, thin wisps of smoke curled upwards. Sakura pushed the door again. This time, it swung open easily.
She stepped inside, releasing her Transformation Jutsu. The faint, coppery tang of blood hung in the air, a scent Sakura was unfortunately all too familiar with by now.
Targeting one of the glass containers, Sakura focused chakra to her feet and leaped lightly, landing silently on the connecting metal branch. She aimed her Storm Release laser at the bottom of the glass sphere, burning a small hole. Thick fluid began to slowly leak out.
As the liquid level dropped, a glowing white sphere and the form of a young girl became visible. Sakura then cut a larger, person-sized opening near the top of the container and carefully maneuvered the girl out.
Carrying the girl on her back, Sakura jumped down to the floor. She laid the girl gently on the ground and placed a hand over her chest. The steady thump-thump of a heartbeat against her palm confirmed the girl was alive.
Using her chakra for a full diagnostic scan, Sakura was surprised to find the girl's physical condition was excellent – no signs of weakness or injury.
What baffled Sakura, however, was that no matter how she tried to stimulate her, the girl showed absolutely no sign of waking up.
Why? Sakura's hand slowly moved towards the girl's head. If it was brain damage, there was nothing she could do. Medical ninjutsu, even hers, wasn't that miraculous.
..... Trembling. Sakura's hand shook, unable to suppress the horror and fury welling up inside her. Her heart hammered violently against her ribs. In the vast, sterile room, fear washed over her anew.
Looking at the girl's serene, sleeping face, Sakura gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry," she whispered. The Storm Release laser reappeared at her fingertip. Steeling herself, she aimed at the girl's temple and made a swift, circular cut around the top of her skull.
The section of skull separated cleanly. But the expected gruesome sight – blood and brain matter – didn't occur. When the skull cap lifted away, no brain matter spilled out—only the same transparent fluid that filled the container. Besides the liquid, the skull cavity was empty.
Deep down, Sakura was still just a decent kid from Earth. Even though she'd killed in the shinobi world, it had always been visceral, 'white knife in, red knife out'. Tsunade might be the greatest medic-nin alive, but because chakra healing was so advanced, standard medical training here lacked the bloody, detailed human anatomy dissections common in her old world (though Orochimaru probably had plenty).
Cutting open someone's head was already pushing the limits of Sakura's tolerance for gore. But this… finding the girl's head filled with nothing but that strange liquid… was infinitely more terrifying.
And the most chilling part? Even with the top of her skull removed, the girl wasn't dead. Her heart still beat normally. Her lungs still drew breath.
The girl's body functioned, but the person was gone. Swallowing down her revulsion, Sakura carefully replaced the skull cap and used the Mystic Palm Technique to heal the incision.
Then, using Earth Release, she created a simple stone casket. She placed the girl inside, sealed it, and transformed back into the soldier's form. Hoisting the casket onto her shoulder, she walked out of the room. The other soldiers patrolling the corridors paid no attention to their identical counterpart carrying a stone box.
Sakura looked at the endlessly pacing soldiers, a deep chill settling in her bones. Every single one of them… processed from a living person. She made her way up to the deck. It too was crowded with soldiers, patrolling for reasons unknown.
Reaching the ship's railing, Sakura looked out at the vast sea. She heaved the stone casket overboard, watching silently as it sank beneath the waves before turning away.
She had no idea where she was. The smaller ship she was on sailed alongside the massive fortress. As far as she could see, there wasn't an island in sight. This vessel was a dead end, filled with automatons. She had to get onto the main fortress; that was likely the only place to find real intelligence.
The fortress wall loomed beside the ship, perhaps a hundred meters away. It should be doable. Barely.
Sakura vaulted over the railing, adhering herself to the ship's hull with chakra. She released her transformation, then activated both her Strength of a Hundred Seal and her Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Crouching low, she looked up at the sheer metal expanse of the fortress…
"HAAAH!!!"
Putting every ounce of strength into the leap, Sakura launched herself like a cannonball towards the fortress. Wind roared past her ears, the sheer speed threatening to rip the air from her lungs. Air resistance clawed at her, trying to slow her momentum.
Gradually, her initial kinetic energy faded, and her speed decreased. Because she had jumped from a moving ship, her trajectory had already shifted significantly from her starting point relative to the fortress.
She was going to fall short, heading towards the water below. Twisting in mid-air, Sakura flashed through hand seals. "Water Release: Propulsion Jutsu!"
A powerful torrent of water erupted from her mouth, slamming against the sea surface below. The recoil propelled her upwards, arresting her fall and giving her a renewed burst of speed.
Burning through the chakra stored in her Yin Seal, Sakura finally reached the cold metal hull of the fortress, slapping her hands against it and sticking fast with chakra.
Looking back at the ship she'd just leaped from, Sakura let out a shaky breath, cold sweat prickling her skin. It had looked simple, but every step had been fraught with danger. The fortress and its escorts were moving fast, and that hundred-meter gap was significant. The smaller ship had been positioned towards the rear flank of the fortress; if she had missed her landing and fallen into the sea, she would have had no hope of catching up.
That was why she hadn't opted to simply run across the water. Thankfully, the audacious maneuver had paid off. Now, she just needed to find a way inside.