Chapter 280: Epilogue: The Other Haruno Sakura
In the world that Haruno Sakura left...
After the white light flashed, her presence completely disappeared from this place.
"She's gone," Tobi said.
Judging from that teleportation energy, she must have gone to an extremely distant place.
Unbelievably far.
However, that was no longer his concern.
He picked up his severed arm and pressed it against the stump.
The life force brought by the Wood Style allowed his severed hand to be immediately reattached, good as new.
Tobi flexed his reconnected arm. It was a little stiff at first, but after just a few seconds, it became as agile as before.
"A boring trick," Tobi snorted coldly, flexing his fingers.
He looked at Uchiha Itachi, who was standing calmly on the side.
"Time is short. Let's get to work."
Tobi's gaze swept over Itachi's pale face. "Everyone must be killed. If you can't do it, I'll do it."
"No... it's not necessary," Itachi said. For the dead clansmen, did it matter who struck the blow? The blood on his hands could already never be washed clean.
The only thing he could do was to let them go without pain, as much as possible.
Using the shrine as a dividing line, the two split up in the darkness.
The men of the few households near the shrine had all been lured over just now and were all dead. A child peeked out, looking this way, and softly called out for his older brother.
Uchiha Itachi looked at him. Was his older brother that youth who had been crying out just now?
Itachi clearly remembered how he had died.
A kunai had slit his throat. Just like killing a chicken, cutting open the blood vessels in his neck.
Blood had gushed out desperately, quickly forming a dark red puddle on the ground.
The youth had twitched one last time, like a rooster with its neck wrung, and then, everything had become quiet.
When Itachi thought that that person also had a brother, an unknowing younger brother who was anxiously waiting for him, Itachi felt a pang in his heart. It hurt terribly.
"It will just be a moment..." He flickered over and sent the young brother to be reunited with his older brother. The tears at the corners of his eyes, when no one was around, finally flowed down.
The boy's mother seemed to have sensed something. She came out and saw the crying youth, and at his feet, the headless body of her younger son.
"I'm sorry..." Before the woman could scream, his long sword had ended her life.
Then, the next house.
And the next.
After killing countless clansmen, Uchiha Itachi's tears had already run dry.
At first, he would still say "I'm sorry." Later, he had become numb, and he no longer felt anything.
When swinging the sword and slaughtering became a habit, Itachi's heart seemed to freeze.
It was as if he had been hit by that girl's ninjutsu, frozen numb, numb to the point of not feeling, as if he had already lost his heart.
Several times, he had thought of turning the blade on himself, to leave like Shisui.
But that man acting with him, as well as the Root ninja surrounding the compound, would continue his work. The result would be that even Sasuke could not be saved.
He soon forgot why he was swinging his sword. Was it to save Konoha and the Land of Fire from being devastated, or was it to save Sasuke?
Swing the sword. Swing the sword.
He reached the last family.
"It seems you've chosen to follow them..."
His father and mother were kneeling on the mats as usual. Fugaku said calmly.
When facing his end, he was actually very calm and frank.
"I'm sorry, Itachi... For things to have come to this point, perhaps... I was wrong. I should have trusted you more. If we had been less radical and communicated more, or even just postponed the operation and waited for the right time, maybe we would have had a better ending..."
It was like a summary of his life, and a confession. His tone gradually became heavy, his words slowing.
"Don't be afraid. This is the path you chose. Compared to you... our pain is only for a moment..."
"Please, take care of Sasuke..."
"Even though our stances are different, you are still our pride..."
As he spoke, Fugaku began to be unable to control his emotions, his voice gradually taking on a sobbing tone.
His back trembled, as if he were trying his best to control his emotions. Behind him, Uchiha Itachi lowered his head, his forehead resting on his father's broad back, just as he had as a child. He thought he had already cried his tears dry, but at this moment, they flowed out desperately.
This was the first time he had cried in front of his parents since he had become sensible.
He had thought his heart was as hard as iron, that the decision he had made would no longer waver. Only at this moment did Itachi truly realize how much his father and mother loved him.
"Dad, Mom..."
Since when had he started calling them "Father" and "Mother"? It was only at this final moment that Itachi had subconsciously called out like this.
"Don't cry... Mom knows..."
"Dad always knew... you were a kind child..."
"I'm sorry, Itachi... Do it."
The long sword plunged in. Itachi's hand trembled violently. He could barely hold the hilt steady.
Tears and blood mixed together.
When Haruno Sakura was twelve years old, like other little girls her age, she had her own little worries.
For example, she felt her forehead was too big.
"Waaah, this makes my forehead look so big and ugly!" she said to herself in the mirror, looking from the left and the right, completely dissatisfied. "Should I use my forehead protector to cover it? No, that would cover up that pretty mark!"
"Sakura-kun! Today is your first day as a ninja. If you don't hurry up, do you want to be late on your first day?" Her mother's urging came from downstairs.
"Mom!" Sakura-kun ran down the stairs. "Help me see how I should wear my forehead protector!"
"What do you mean how? Just wear it on your forehead, right? That's how everyone wears it..."
"Dad! This is a look I'll have for many years. I can't be sloppy! And if I wear it on my forehead, won't it cover the mark on my forehead?"
"That's the Yin Seal. It's your ninjutsu secret. Isn't it better to cover it? A ninja must learn to hide. That's your dad's years of experience!"
"Hmph! I'm not listening to you! A pretty mark like this is meant to be shown! Hn... huh, right, Dad, is this Yin Seal a family secret? How come you don't have it?"
"Hehe, you don't remember? It was a few years ago, when you had just started the Ninja Academy. Your aunt came to see you and left you this ninjutsu. And you didn't have the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai when you were little. The reason you can use Ice Style now is also because of her!"
"Aunt? Don't I only have Uncle Yi and Uncle Wan?"
At this moment, Haruno Mebuki brought out the breakfast, put it on the table with a thud, and said to her husband with her eyebrows raised, "It might not be an aunt. It might be your older sister!"
"Older sister? I have an older sister? A real one?"
"That's for your dad to answer!" Sakura-kun's mom said irritably, pouring milk for Sakura-kun.
"Mebuki, didn't I explain it to you?" Haruno Kizashi said with a dry laugh, repeatedly begging for mercy. "I really didn't make a mistake!"
"Oh, Haruno Kizashi! So you're saying Dad (Grandpa) made the mistake?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I mean at all!" Kizashi-papa said with an apologetic smile. "I mean, even though that person looks a lot like her! It doesn't necessarily mean we're related by blood! Neither the Haruno family nor your family has anyone with the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, right?"
"Hn..." Haruno Mebuki calmed down. Thinking about what her husband said, it made a lot of sense. After all, in the ninja world, possessing a Kekkei Genkai was a big deal. It was rare for a clan not to know what kind of bloodline they had... The Haruno family was a civilian ninja clan, and her family had always been ordinary people. They had no connection to a noble Kekkei Genkai.
"But she really does look a lot like our Sakura-kun. The older she gets, the more they look alike," Haruno Mebuki said, cupping her face and looking at her daughter lovingly.
"It's probably just a coincidence..."
At the Ninja Academy.
Haruno Sakura sometimes felt very impatient coming to school.
She had started training with her father at the age of six. Sakura-kun had already learned the things they taught in school. The teachers wouldn't teach too many powerful things, and it was very troublesome for her to learn a few genjutsu.
The boys in the school were all very childish. They liked to mess around with her and do some weird things to attract her attention. They were clearly very weak, and she didn't care for them at all! Sakura-kun didn't like boys who were weaker than her.
And the girls all had their own little thoughts. Several of them were in some "Sasuke Fan Club" and always liked to go against her! Hmph, it was clearly Sasuke who always picked a fight with her in sparring class!
But Sasuke's strength was quite good. Sometimes he could even push her to open the seal on her forehead.
It was mainly that his taijutsu was strong! Sakura-kun didn't like practicing taijutsu. The feeling of being all sweaty was too stinky. She still preferred to practice ninjutsu. She had a natural talent for precise chakra control!
"Who will my teammates be?" she thought, sitting in the classroom, bored, waiting for Iruka to come and read the list.
It'd be best if they're strong. It would be even better if they're at Sasuke's level.
No, I can't ask for too much.
Actually, as long as they don't drag me down, it's fine.
Hn! And it'd be best if they can tank at the front and fight in close combat while I release ninjutsu!
She zoned out for a while, and then suddenly heard her name.
"...Team 7, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka read from the list.
"Your supervising instructor will come in the afternoon."
Sakura-kun turned her head and met Sasuke's gaze.
"Hmph, Haruno Sakura, I'll surpass you soon!"
"Tch, you've never even beaten me, Sasuke!"
"Hey, hey, you two! Don't forget about me!" Naruto squeezed between their lines of sight and shouted.
"Tch, shut up, dead-last!" (x2)
When Kakashi met Haruno Sakura, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. He searched his memory and quickly thought of that powerful ninja who had appeared inexplicably on the night of the Uchiha massacre and had mysteriously disappeared.
She was so strong, he would definitely have remembered her.
"Hn... so you're my subordinates?" Kakashi said, with a chalk eraser on his head, his white hair covered in dust. He looked a little pathetic, but his expression was serious. "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura, that's you, right!"
"Pardon me for asking, but do you have an older sister or an aunt, Haruno Sakura?"
"Eh?"
On the rooftop.
"Let's introduce ourselves," Kakashi said.
Haruno Sakura, taking the initiative, stood up first. "I'm Haruno Sakura. My hobby is practicing ninjutsu, especially Ice Style. I like pure water, and I hate doing nothing. My dream is to become a powerful ninja and not tarnish the name of Haruno Sakura!"
Does the name 'Haruno Sakura' have any prestige? Kakashi thought to himself. I heard that that person [the time-traveler] just gave her a 'seed' of power back then, but the chakra was super compatible with Haruno Sakura, as if from the same body, and it very naturally merged and grew. This situation usually only happens with identical twins... Strange, the Haruno family has always been civilian ninja.
Next was Sasuke: "...My goal is to kill that man and rebuild the Uchiha clan. My short-term goal is to surpass Haruno Sakura when she's using her Yin Seal at full power."
And Naruto: "...My short-term goal is to surpass Sasuke, my mid-term goal is to surpass Haruno Sakura, and my ultimate goal is to become Hokage and get everyone's recognition!"
"Hmph, both of you are making me your goal... How naive, in your dreams! Dad started training me when I was six. I won't let you catch up!"
"You're the naive one. I started training when I was four or five. The power of the Uchiha bloodline is beyond your imagination. I'll catch up to you soon!"
"The Ice Style Kekkei Genkai is the strongest!"
"I don't need a Kekkei Genkai to surpass both of you!"
The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched. "Just as Lord Third said... all three are troublesome kids!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Tomorrow, we'll have a survival exercise first!"
And so, the Haruno Sakura of this world also embarked on her ninja path.
End of Volume Nine.
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