Chapter 167: The Battle Ends
"You idiot. Even if you lost your life," she said faintly, her tone devoid of emotion, "I wouldn't have died..."
"Don't do something like this next time. You were a hair's breadth from dying, you know!"
Sasuke just looked at her and smiled.
At this moment, she was kneeling by his side, treating the several wounds on Sasuke's right arm. They were bloody holes that had been stabbed by Kimimaro's bone spikes, with several chunks of flesh missing. The ice clone had only performed first aid to stop the bleeding. The moment Sasuke had moved just now, the superficially healed wounds had torn open again.
When Sakura picked up the bandages to wrap them, she found that there weren't many left.
Originally, relying on her Yin Seal and medical ninjutsu, she didn't need to bring too many bandages. The ones she carried were just for emergencies. Who would have thought that the fight would get to this point...
She rested Sasuke's arm on her knee, wrapped the last of the bandages around the wound on his wrist a few times, and then tied a dead knot. When she looked up, she saw that Sasuke had been watching her the whole time.
"What are you looking at?" Sakura asked, a little taken aback, noticing his gaze.
"Looking at you," Sasuke shook his head gently. "It's the first time I've seen you in such a pathetic state, with so many injuries..."
"You're crazy..." She rolled her eyes at Sasuke. "What ninja doesn't get injured?"
"But you were rarely injured before," Sasuke said.
Indeed, in the battles she had encountered before, she had rarely been injured, not even a small scratch... Even that time against Orochimaru, she had just been exhausted, although that battle was just Orochimaru toying with her one-sidedly.
Not like this time, where her whole body was covered in all sorts of wounds, as if to make up for all the injuries she had missed in the past few years at once.
"Here, this was almost a vital point," the black-haired youth said, raising his hand with some effort and pointing to a shocking bloody hole at her collarbone.
"Far from it. I had my Sakura Rush state activated!" Sakura said nonchalantly.
She touched it. The wound was only a few centimeters away from her carotid artery and windpipe. She had avoided a vital point by a hair's breadth.
She slapped Sasuke's hand away. "Alright, your hand just healed and you're already being a meddlesome busybody!"
"I've run out of bandages... I'll use this as a substitute for now." She took off her tattered Anbu vest, which looked like a beggar's clothes, and tore it into strips of cloth. "Hold on, I'm going to lift your leg a little."
"Hiss—" Sasuke had already clenched his teeth, but he still sucked in a cold breath of air from the pain of her movement. He endured the pain and said, "What about that water jutsu you used to use? How come I haven't seen you use it?"
"The ultrapure water jutsu?" she asked, concentrating on performing medical ninjutsu on Sasuke, and said without raising her head, "It's too difficult to prepare. Before, in the few battles of the Chunin Exams, I used up the entire amount I had made in the past few years. I've been so busy recently, so I haven't been able to save up much."
"And, the speed of the ultrapure water is too slow. It's starting to be unable to keep up with my combat rhythm, especially in high-speed combat. It's just like Gaara's sand. You should know..." (Note)
"Your previous combat style, wasn't it very similar to Gaara's? That kind of combat style is very safe," Sasuke said faintly, looking at the white clouds in the sky.
"Why did you change? Close-quarters combat, it's too easy to get injured."
The pink-haired girl glanced at Sasuke with her clear, spring-water-like eyes.
She knew what he meant, the feelings contained in his words.
Why did you change?
Like before, it was so good.
The members of Team 7 were now like the white clouds in the sky. They would gather together, and then disperse.
They had just barely managed to stick together, but it was just an illusion created by their staggered heights and overlapping shadows.
"Because... Team 7 has already been disbanded," she said, stopping the movements of her hands. Her eyes flowed, and she looked at Sasuke calmly and gently, as if looking at a child who was unwilling to grow up.
"I can no longer hope that there will be someone who can stand in front of me without any regard for themselves in a battle, like you and Naruto did."
Sasuke turned his head to the side, avoiding her gentle, water-like gaze.
"Team 7... will gather again," he said stubbornly.
Who was the one who valued the feelings of this team the most? Haruno Sakura had always known. It wasn't the usually calm her, nor the sunny and upward Naruto, and certainly not the usually smiling Kakashi.
It was the always-poker-faced Sasuke.
Both Naruto and Sasuke valued their comrades very much. But what Naruto craved was the recognition of his comrades. As long as Sakura and Sasuke could always support him and stand by his side, then even a brief separation, he could smile and move forward while reminiscing about the beautiful past.
And what Sasuke expected... was more the companionship of his comrades.
He was not like Naruto, who lacked recognition. What he was afraid of was the deep loneliness after his family was destroyed.
A person who is used to being lonely will not be afraid of loneliness. Only a person who has felt the warmth of family will be so afraid of being alone.
This was the subtle difference between the two of them.
As teammates who had spent their days together, Haruno Sakura understood his feelings. She just shook her head.
"You, me, and Naruto will gather again. But Team 7 is unlikely to be reformed. We all have our own paths to walk..."
Sasuke silently watched as she treated his wounds while talking to him.
He opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.
Sakura was right. They had already embarked on their respective paths.
He would join the Anbu, form a new squad with new teammates, then be promoted to Jonin, and become a team leader like Kakashi, taking on three cute juniors to form a new class.
And then he would watch as the rookies built their bonds, becoming partners who would live and die together like Team 7, and then they would each gradually grow up, and leave the class to walk their own paths.
So it cycles, so it repeats.
Each writing their own life story.
And he would also fall in love, marry an outstanding woman, and have the new bloodline of the Uchiha.
Of course, during this period, when his strength was strong enough, he would seek out "that person" for revenge and completely settle the grudge of the Uchiha.
And at that time, the relationship of Team 7 would also become like that of Kakashi and Gai: sincere, lasting, and as calm as flowing water, but not fiery.
Sasuke, who was slowly growing out of his chuunibyou age, could gradually understand some things. He just subconsciously didn't want to think about them too deeply.
And Haruno Sakura continued, "And, I'm not the kind of ninja who is used to being protected. Being a cannon-type ninja hiding in the back of the battlefield is safe, but it also ties my hands and I can't do much."
"I really understand your desire to protect your comrades... because that's my desire too!"
"Just like this time."
She tied a butterfly knot on the cloth strip that was bandaging his wound.
The black-haired youth clenched his hands.
"Next time, it'll be my turn to protect you!" he said forcefully to Sakura.
"In your dreams!" A smile that couldn't be suppressed curved Haruno Sakura's lips. "I'd never be as pathetic as you..."
"Hmph, in any case, next time you just watch my back."
"Tch~" the girl chuckled lightly and said, "Still talking big when you can't even stand up... This kind of talk, at least wait until you've recovered in Konoha before you say it!"
"Alright, don't move. There are still two wounds that must be treated. Hn...?"
She suddenly turned her head and looked behind her.
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