Chapter 146: Team
Was Haruno Sakura's "understood" sincere, or just a false agreement?
Shino did not know.
To be honest, if Shino himself had encountered this situation, he would absolutely not have done nothing and just watched his teammate be abandoned.
Yūgao also glanced at Sakura a few times, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say.
As for the cat-faced girl herself, she just buried her head and rushed on, not saying a word.
The air suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of the three ninja stepping and shuttling through the forest.
However, under the calm surface of the silently rushing, cat-faced girl, there was a surging undercurrent.
Am I going to face Orochimaru again?
Haruno Sakura remembered the battle against Orochimaru in the Chunin Exams.
No, it shouldn't be called facing Orochimaru, but being toyed with by him.
Before Shippuden, the manga's description of Orochimaru's strength was extremely limited, so she, who had not seen the later parts of the manga, had no idea how high the upper limit of an opponent of Orochimaru's level was.
With the spirit of a newborn calf that does not fear the tiger, she had fought a round with Orochimaru. But thinking back on it afterwards, Sakura felt waves of lingering fear.
As Sakura's strength grew, she became more and more aware of Orochimaru's unfathomable depth. After all, at the beginning of Shippuden, Orochimaru, with his hand seals disabled, could still press the four-tailed Naruto to the ground. Although she did not know this "plot," as a ninja who had been through many battles, she of course possessed the most basic quality of a ninja: that is, to be able to judge how strong an enemy was.
Even the her of now, against an unscathed Orochimaru, would probably still only be toyed with. The reason she had been able to escape with her life during the Chunin Exams was simply because Orochimaru had shown mercy. After all, Sasuke was unconscious at that time and needed someone to take care of him. Orochimaru certainly did not want the dish he had ordered to be eaten by someone else before it was served.
So what about this time?
This time, she was no longer an aid to Orochimaru in capturing Sasuke, but his obstacle... Would Orochimaru still let her off because he cherished talent?
The answer was probably not very optimistic.
There was no need to calculate the odds. If Orochimaru were to attack with all his might, the current her, plus Sasuke, would not have any chance of winning. Indeed, in certain ninjutsu, she had a decent advantage, but in terms of the comprehensiveness of her ninjutsu, her chakra amount, her combat experience, and various bizarre secret techniques for survival and sneak attacks, she was at a complete disadvantage.
Even with the Yin Seal already learned and the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals - Phase Two already developed, plus Sasuke's coordination, this result would still not change.
However, as Shino had guessed, although Haruno Sakura had verbally said she would avoid Orochimaru, she had already made a decision in her heart. Knowing that the result would be very bad if she were to face Orochimaru, she would still do it.
If it had been back when Team 7 was just formed, when encountering this kind of situation, she would have absolutely turned and fled, and would not have risked her life for Sasuke. But after a year of getting along day and night, in her heart, she had already come to regard Sasuke as her brother.
If she were to just watch her brother be sent to his death simply because the enemy was too strong, then what would she use to carry out her own life's creed? If a person can't even adhere to some of the most basic principles, then what's the difference between being alive and being a salted fish?
Sakura was suddenly reminded of two lines of dialogue from Wukong Biography in her previous life.
On this journey, is it possible I will not return?
Then I shall not return!
However, the situation was not yet so bad that she would definitely not return. They still had Konoha's reinforcements...
Although the chances of winning against Orochimaru were not high, if she just wanted to stall for time and wait for support, it was not without a way!
Sakura formulated a delaying tactic in her mind as she sped forward.
The three members of Squad 14 were all very fast. In one morning, they had arrived near the area where the distress signal was discovered.
"I can feel Sasuke's chakra!" Sakura's spirits were instantly lifted. However, she was not a sensory-type ninja. At such a great distance, she could only vaguely feel the presence of Sasuke's chakra nearby but did not know his specific location.
"Is that so? There are still many unfamiliar chakra signatures nearby. They shouldn't be from the village, because we are the first Anbu squad to arrive... It seems they should be Sound ninja," Shino said, stopping and carefully sensing for a moment. He was not as familiar with Sasuke and could not find his presence from the mixed chakra perception, only sensing that there were many ninja nearby.
"The good news is, we haven't found Orochimaru's presence!" Yūgao said, closing her eyes, with a hint of pleasant surprise.
The three of them had all seen Orochimaru and had a deep impression of that cold chakra texture. Hearing this, Sakura and Shino were also moved and carefully sensed for a moment. They indeed did not find Orochimaru's chakra!
Is he still on his way, or has he hidden himself and is waiting on the side?
In any case, Squad 14 had not yet directly faced Orochimaru. This was undoubtedly the best news of the day...
The cat-faced girl felt a great sense of relief.
As long as it wasn't Orochimaru, she didn't give a damn about those riff-raff from the Sound!
But Shino still did not relax in the slightest.
"Orochimaru is indeed not here," he said calmly. "But the enemy is already surrounding us."
That's right. The Sound ninja's reaction speed was very fast. Several chakra sources were already rushing towards them.
The cat-faced girl cast her gaze to the sky.
They're here, she recited silently in her heart.
The next second, the Sound ninja's attack was suddenly launched right above their heads!
"Ninja Art - Spider Web Snare!"
A giant spider web came down on them from above—
"Look out!" Yūgao roared, drawing her sword and charging up to meet it.
Swish— A silver sword light flashed, tracing a crescent moon in the air, and sent the spider web along with the Sound ninja who had suddenly appeared behind it flying in an instant!
"Tch..." Yūgao snorted coldly and retreated to Shino and Sakura's side. She looked at the Sound ninja who had fallen to the ground and had gotten back up, not seriously injured by her blow, and said gravely, "It seems the opponent is not as easy to deal with as those Chunin from before!"
With Yūgao's blow as a signal, the dozen or so Sound ninja who had arrived also appeared one after another in front of Squad 14, blocking their path forward.
The four in the lead, curse marks began to appear on their faces, and a thick, dark chakra transformed their bodies into a strange form.
"Curse Mark - State One!"
The Sound Four? Seeing the iconic curse mark, Haruno Sakura naturally recognized their identity.
The strange chakra on their bodies already felt close to that of a Special Jonin, and there was also a State Two after this, plus various unpredictable secret techniques. An ordinary Jonin would probably have a bit of a headache facing them...
In addition to this pile of Sound ninja who were ready to intervene in the battle at any time, if a fight were to break out, they might be entangled for a long time.
"Captain, let's split up!"
The cat-faced girl suddenly said.
The combat power of Squad 14 was split half between Shino and Yūgao, and half on Haruno Sakura. Because the team's coordination was not yet well-honed, the two were still at a level where 1+1 was less than 2. So splitting up was actually the best choice to fully bring out the squad's combat power.
The Sound Four had several secret techniques. She roughly remembered some of the "plot" and knew some of their information. Against this kind of unconventional ninja, her jutsu were a relatively good counter. It was most appropriate for her to deal with the Sound Four. Conversely, if Shino and Yūgao were to stay behind, it would be a waste of Squad 14's time and combat power.
Apart from the four with the curse marks, the other Sound ninja were basically just some very conventional ninja. After crossing this interception line, they would probably encounter many such Sound ninja. Their ability to attack was not very good, but their skills at saving their own lives were all top-notch. These people were more suitable to be dealt with by the experienced Shino and Yūgao.
So she then said urgently.
"Captain, Yūgao-san, now is not the time for teamwork. Leave this place to me to hold them off. You two go ahead and support Sasuke. I will catch up with you soon!"
It was the first time Shino had heard Sakura speak to them in such an unquestionable tone.
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