Chapter 107: Miss Sakura's Poetic Talent... is Truly Extraordinary (Just Kidding)
The wind was calm, the waves were still.
On the vast, boundless sea, a lone ship sailed quietly.
The sky was azure, the blue waves rippled, the light of the sky and the color of the sea blended into one.
Under the brilliant sunlight, the waves were like snow, the shimmering water like scales. The surface of the sea was as blue and clear as the sky.
Leaning on the railing of the cruise ship's deck, Miss Haruno Sakura looked at the poetic seascape before her and couldn't help but feel her heart stir.
"Ahem," Sakura felt her poetic inspiration surge. How could such a beautiful seascape not be accompanied by a good poem? Thinking of this, she cleared her throat, shook her head, narrowed her eyes, and recited with an intoxicated expression—
"Oh great sea~ you're all water~"
"Pfft—" Director Asama, who was holding a camera not far away, had just taken a sip of water and sprayed it all out.
"Ahem, this... Miss Sakura's poetic talent... is truly extraordinary!" the director said, covering his conscience with his hand. "Hehe, by the way, Miss Sakura, why are you only using a clone and not fighting in person?"
He pointed to a place not far away, where the camera was filming. Sakura's ice clone was there, engaged in a daily spar with Sasuke.
"Fire Style - Great Fireball Technique!"
"Water Style - Water Formation Wall!"
The fireball and the water wall crashed into each other with a roar. The clash of ninjutsu stirred up a terrifyingly large wave on the calm sea. The roaring sound, even from a hundred meters away on the ship, still carried a world-shaking momentum. The resulting aftershock created concentric circles of waves on the boundless sea, spreading towards the end of the sea and sky.
Splash— After the violent explosion, the splashing water droplets fell on the nearby sea surface like a short, heavy rain. Director Asama and the other staff members were instantly drenched to the bone.
But the stout old man didn't mind at all. Seeing such a gorgeous clash of ninjutsu, he was already breathing heavily, his face red, completely excited. He casually wiped the seawater from his face. Asama Takehiko looked at the camera with a fanatical expression. "Wow! So gorgeous, it's perfect footage! Quick, did camera two get it? Save it quickly!"
He buried his head in front of the camera, focusing on capturing the figures of the two fighting on the sea with a long shot, even putting aside his chat with his idol just now.
Director Asama is really straightforward. But only a person so focused on film could produce such a popular movie! Sakura didn't find him rude, just shook her head with amusement.
On the sea surface.
Sasuke panted slightly, releasing his hands from the hand seals, and calmed his uneven breathing.
The sky full of water mist blocked Sasuke's vision, but in the world of his blood-red Sharingan, the chakra of the ice clone in the distance was still stable and at ease, completely unharmed.
"Sure enough, fighting Sakura in a place full of water is too troublesome, even if the opponent is just an ice clone..." Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly as he muttered to himself. He glanced at the real Sakura leaning leisurely on the cruise ship in the distance. "If she were to fight in person, what kind of water jutsu would she use?"
He shook his head, throwing the extra thoughts out of his mind, and focused on the battlefield. The powerful observation ability of his three-tomoe Sharingan reminded him that the Sakura opposite him was rapidly circulating her chakra, and the next wave of attacks was imminent.
"Water Style - Water Dragon Bullet!"
Sensing the calm water surface under his feet suddenly tremble, Sasuke's expression changed. The rotation of his three tomoe suddenly accelerated, and in the next moment—BOOM!
A surging ocean current erupted from the calm sea surface, shooting straight into the sky and completely swallowing Sasuke's figure!
SWISH—
The explosive sound of a Body Flicker suddenly rang out. Sasuke, who had avoided the Water Dragon Bullet at extremely high speed, appeared behind the clone!
Turn sideways, twist the waist, sink the shoulder, a heavy whip kick swung up.
Taijutsu - Konoha Hurricane!
The fierce side kick mercilessly sent the stunned clone flying, and it fell onto the water surface several meters away!
Pressing the advantage.
Under the stimulation of his lightning-natured chakra, Sasuke's movements became even swifter. In the next moment, a ghostly figure once again appeared at the clone's side!
Thud! A deep, muffled sound. The black-haired youth's attack was blocked by a block of ice condensed by the clone.
Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly. The hardness of pure ice at minus sixty degrees was already comparable to steel, not to mention the ice clone had also infused chakra into it to strengthen it. Therefore, this blow, which was powerful enough to split mountains and crack rocks, was unable to do anything to the clone's defense!
"Hmph... not a bad reaction speed!" The corner of the black-haired youth's mouth curled up, revealing a proud smile.
In the next instant, the lightning-natured chakra in his body erupted. His speed, which was already difficult to see, accelerated again. A figure as swift as a falcon flashed past in the corner of the clone's eye. When it reappeared, a heavy punch had already fiercely struck down the clone, which had no time to react at all.
The ice block defense condensed by the clone appeared belatedly, while Sasuke, who had already disappeared from his original position, reappeared at a location the clone could not have predicted. Heavy punches and kicks rained down on the clone like a storm.
Smack, smack, smack—! The suffocating attacks of fists and feet enveloped the clone. Then, a final spinning whip kick sent it flying fiercely.
"Is it over?" Director Asama, who had been holding his breath and watching the battle on the floor below with full concentration, asked.
"No... not yet. In a battle with a clone, of course, it's only over after the clone has completely dispersed. You see, the clone can still maintain its stability now," Sakura, who was also engrossed in watching the battle between the clone and Sasuke, explained briefly upon hearing Asama's question.
"Aren't clones usually very fragile... why can your clone hold on for so long?" Asama asked, completely unaware that asking this was a bit of a taboo.
"Ordinary clones are indeed very fragile, but my clone is not an ordinary clone! Besides..."
"Are you imitating Gaara's jutsu to defend?"
There was a hint of surprise in the black-haired youth's tone. His Sharingan watched as the ice clone, which had fallen onto the water surface, wobbled to its feet. He had expected his previous offensive to be able to completely shatter the clone!
The shattered ice falling from the clone's face gave him the answer. The familiar scene reminded him of Gaara from the Chunin Exams, and the ninjutsu he used, the Sand Armor.
"That's right. This is the Ice Armor..." the ice clone said faintly.
Condensing ice on the surface of the skin to defend against the enemy's attacks. The drawback was that the condensed ice would also affect one's own mobility and flexibility.
"No wonder you can last so long... But this Ice Armor jutsu can't completely block my attacks. While it's protecting you, it's also restricting your counter-attacks. This way, you can only wait for death," Sasuke said calmly.
"I didn't plan on using this ninjutsu forever..."
"Hmph, no ninjutsu will work—" Sasuke sneered, stomped his foot, and launched another charge at the clone!
"Ice Style - Absolute Defense!"
Smack! Sasuke felt as if his foot had kicked an unmovable rock. A thick ice wall stood between the two of them. His fierce blow crashed against the ice wall but didn't even move it. On the contrary, the force of the rebound made Sasuke's chest feel stuffy.
Damn it... Sasuke stopped behind the ice wall, his brows furrowed tightly, looking at the ice clone calmly forming hand seals behind the wall, and the thick, spherical ice wall that completely enveloped the clone. He couldn't help but curse in his heart.
Is she planning to cosplay as Gaara to the very end? Sasuke jumped back a few steps, dodging the ice spikes that suddenly shot out from the ice ball—this brought the ice clone's cosplay of Gaara's ninjutsu another step forward.
For Sakura, imitating some of Gaara's ninjutsu with Water Style or even Ice Style was a piece of cake. It was just a matter of whether she was willing or not.
However, the subsequent ninjutsu bombardment was no longer a cosplay, but completely Sakura's personal style.
Discovering that Sasuke was unable to do anything to this ice ball for the time being, the ice clone hidden behind the ice wall began to shamelessly throw water and ice jutsu: Water Dragon Bullet, Five Hungry Sharks, and other water jutsu were hidden under the sea surface, just waiting for Sasuke to stop on the water to suddenly launch a surprise attack. In the air, there were also the Ice Style - A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death condensed from the scattered water droplets, and the Ice Hail Consecutive Bullets that imitated Kimimaro's Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets style. A carpet bombing of ninjutsu was launched against Sasuke from the sea, land, and air simultaneously.
This time, Sasuke no longer used fire jutsu to clash with the clones. To fight a ninja proficient in Water Style in an ocean environment, even if the opponent was just a clone, was a very stupid thing to do.
In this environment, Sakura's clone could basically throw out ninjutsu at will. A large-scale ninjutsu with dozens of seals could be cast with just a few in her hands. She had no trouble with B-rank ninjutsu.
So Sasuke just used his super-fast speed to constantly dodge Sakura's ninjutsu bombardment. To outsiders, it looked particularly pathetic, as if he were constantly being chased and beaten by Sakura.
"Fight back, Sasuke!" Director Asama said, as anxious as a court eunuch watching the emperor. He was breaking out in a sweat for Sasuke. "How can you fight like this?"
But Sakura felt that he was actually more looking forward to seeing another clash of ninjutsu like the one before when Sasuke fought back. Because while this guy was saying words of concern, he was also watching the ice clone's endless stream of gorgeous ninjutsu with great interest, completely mesmerized.
"Don't worry, Director Asama," Sakura comforted him. "Although Sasuke seems to be fleeing in a sorry state, the initiative of the rhythm is still in his hands. Because the ninjutsu my clone is using can't keep up with Sasuke's speed. It looks grand, but it's actually just a mutual consumption of stamina with Sasuke."
"Oh~ is that so? So as long as Sasuke continues to flee like this, the clone will sooner or later lose because its chakra is exhausted?"
"If he really does that, then it's true that the clone will not be able to hold on first..." Sakura nodded and said.
Of course, if I were to fight in person, the answer would be different—she did not say this latter sentence out loud. The girl just continued to add, "But Sasuke will absolutely not drag it out."
"Why?" The stout old man looked at Sakura with a bit of surprise.
"Because in that case, for Sasuke, it would be a result second only to being directly defeated by a clone. He believes that winning a duel by dragging it out until the clone runs out of stamina is equivalent to losing on time," Sakura smiled. "Sasuke is a very proud ninja, you know!"
The stout old man blinked, half-understanding Sasuke's mentality.
Sakura, on the other hand, could understand Sasuke's thoughts very well. Naruto was the same—because they were all this kind of unyielding person.
But what would Sasuke do next?
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