"Why?" Matatabi sprawled lazily across the grass, perfectly content with this peaceful setting.
"Even though Yugito is your jinchuriki and you two have a great relationship, she's still a ninja from the Cloud Village. There are just some things I can't tell her," Sakura explained. This dimension was meant to become her secret base later on, and there would be many people coming and going inside it, so naturally she couldn't let Yugito find out yet. "Of course, when you truly believe Yugito can be completely trusted, just let me know. Then we can bring part of her chakra here too!"
"Okay, I understand now!" Matatabi nodded. Right now, she had a pretty good relationship with Yugito, but only good enough for trivial things like what she'd just said—nothing important. There were still certain matters she absolutely couldn't allow Yugito to know at the moment.
Once Matatabi left part of her chakra behind, both of their consciousnesses returned to the Tailed Beast Sealing within Yugito's body.
"Where did you two just go?" Yugito asked, feeling inexplicable panic rising inside her heart, as if something that belonged to her had been stolen by others.
Nowhere special—we just went somewhere to chat about a little private secret!" Sakura quickly spun her eyes around mischievously, pretending to look mysterious, as though she had just told Matatabi some kind of deeply hidden secret.
"You... You guys..." Yugito became furious, her chest heaving rapidly. When she first became a jinchuriki, she had slightly disliked Matatabi inside her, but after all these years, Matatabi had already become an extremely important friend deep in her heart. Just now, Matatabi had secretly gone off and talked with Sakura without telling her! This made Yugito feel terribly upset, her eyes filled with hostility toward Sakura.
"Yugito, don't listen to her nonsense. It's just that there are certain things we can't tell you right now—it would put you in danger!" Matatabi lied gently. Being connected with Yugito through hearts, naturally she could sense exactly how Yugito felt at the moment. She also found herself somewhat speechless at Sakura's playful teasing.
"I will definitely strive to become stronger!" Yugito gritted her teeth, throwing an indignant glare at Sakura. After all, she was still just a teenage girl—her current strength barely reaching Jonin level, and even that relied heavily on Matatabi's chakra.
"Well then, we'll get in touch if anything important arises. For now, we're still technically enemies!" Sakura waved her hand. The fact that they three could calmly chat together here didn't mean the conflict between Konoha and Cloud Village had ended.
"Hmph! Don't think just because Matatabi likes you means I'll easily forgive you! For this war, your Leaf Village should better just surrender obediently—you won't get any mercy from me!" Yugito crossed her arms over her chest proudly, letting out a haughty snort.
"Oh my, Tsundere girl! A jinchuriki who perfectly matches Matatabi's heart really has completely inherited the tsundere nature!" Sakura softly muttered a sarcastic comment under her breath. Although Yugito spoke harshly, Sakura didn't actually sense killing intent or malice from her—but rather emotional jealousy.
Sakura could totally relate to how Yugito was feeling right now. For a Jinchuriki and their Tailed Beast, especially those who had achieved mutual understanding after initially hating each other, their bond was incredibly unique. From the beginning of hatred and resentment to today's mutual comprehension, both sides had developed deep emotional ties during this process. To each other, they were the one and only irreplaceable presence. Yet just now, Sakura had secretly spoken with Matatabi behind Yugito's back, making Yugito feel as though the most precious thing she had was snatched away. She'd worked her butt off for years to get on the same wavelength with Matatabi—yet Sakura stole his focus in just a few sentences. Yugito's jealousy was so intense it could've fried an egg.
"What did you say? Who's acting all tsundere?" Yugito immediately flared up. Her younger self lacked the composure she'd later develop; Sakura's simple comment had already stirred up her emotions.
"Nothing, you must've misheard!" Sakura waved her hand dismissively, saying meaningfully, "About this war, I suggest you retreat quietly before it gets ugly. Otherwise, total annihilation isn't pretty."
"Hmph, do you really think Konoha's might can wipe us out?" Yugito sneered repeatedly. "This war will be ours, no doubt about it!"
"Is that so? We'll see then!"
Sakura reminded her, "Tonight there's a meteor shower. Don't forget to come out and wish on the shooting stars!"
"Huh? What meteor shower?" Yugito felt completely confused. Where had this come from?
The conversation inside the Inner Space lasted only a moment. From the perspective of external observers like Nara Shikaku, Sakura's right hand and Two-Tails' Chakra simply touched briefly, yet no one knew that not only had communication occurred, but Two-Tails had also left part of its Chakra with Sakura.
"Are you hurt?" Shisui looked at Sakura with concern. A Tailed Beast's chakra has terrifyingly corrosive power. A regular ninja would get burned just by touching it—much less a kid like her.
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Sakura smiled, then said to Nara Shikaku, "Uncle Shikaku, let's return first. We'll come back tonight to deliver their presents!"
"Mm." Shikaku didn't know exactly what Sakura and Two-Tails had done, but he nodded anyway, calling everyone back to camp.
Yugito also ordered everyone back to camp. Today's events had left her physically and mentally exhausted. Especially her spirit—first she'd suffered through Sakura's brain games, then hit again by the fact that Matatabi had bonded with someone else. Right now, she simply wanted to sit down and calm herself properly.
Both the Cloud and Konoha groups stumbled back to camp, legs still shaking. Although the Konoha ninjas vomited uncomfortably, they felt happy inside because the others had made fools of themselves. On the contrary, the ninjas from Cloud Village weren't enjoying themselves at all. They grumbled constantly as they reluctantly followed Yugito's orders, feeling utterly suffocated.
At night, both camps blazed brightly with fire, bonfires burning fiercely, bringing a glimmer of light into the dark world.
The night was clear, the moon radiant and the stars few, casting only its quiet glow across the sky.
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