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Chapter 72 - Chapter 72 Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear

The room was utterly silent, the sound of Takigakure's waterfall crashing against the lake surface clearly audible.

After Sakura uttered those words, Shibuki and the two Ninjas behind him paled in shock.

"No, absolutely not! That matter is purely false!"

The girl's voice scraped like metal against a blackboard, piercing Shibuki's eardrums and causing cold sweat to pour from his forehead.

"That thing was destroyed years ago by that despicable rogue ninja! Takigakure no longer has any records of it!"

Young and lacking any political experience, Shibuki stood up abruptly in his agitation.

"Earth Grudge Fear? What's that? Can you eat it?"

Naruto, sitting cross-legged behind Sakura, nudged her shoulder, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Idiot, didn't you hear Sakura say it's a secret technique? It's probably an incredibly powerful one!"

After retorting to Naruto, Sasuke's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered.

'A secret technique that even Sakura, who could battle Uchiha Itachi to such an extent, cared about… if I could obtain it, perhaps-'

"Of course, of course, we all know Takigakure doesn't have this technique."

"But what I need is a technique with the same effect, just under a different name."

The girl narrowed her eyes, a warm smile on her face as she patted Shibuki's shoulder.

The Land of Waterfalls, a country where the nation and the village were one, had survived from the chaotic Warring States Period to the present day.

Moreover, after the era of Ninja Villages began, it became the only small village to possess a Tailed Beast.

If one were to say that all the Ninjas in this village were incompetents or weaklings, it would be far too insulting to them.

Besides, Suien, as a Jonin of Takigakure, had taught Shibuki, the village's seventh generation leader.

Why would he forgo the opportunity to join the higher ranks, instead choosing to kidnap villagers and seize the Hero's Water, a substance that could kill if consumed in excess, and just happen to launch an internal rebellion precisely when Konoha's Ninjas arrived?

'So, including Kakuzu, this is the second time Takigakure has made fools of Konoha.'

Sakura sighed lightly, her emerald-green eyes turning sharp.

If this intelligence were transmitted back to Konoha through her and then spread by spies from other villages within Konoha, the entire incident would be backed by Konoha's credibility, becoming an ironclad truth that could withstand historical scrutiny. No one would ever doubt or pay attention to such a small village again.

Although it might not cause any real loss to Konoha, there was an inexplicable feeling of someone standing behind them, boldly pulling up their pants.

"Since you have no money, it's only fair to pay with Ninjutsu, right?"

"After all, Chief Shibuki, you wouldn't want..."

A certain pirate with the surname Haruno had a sly glint in her eyes, her fair fingers interlaced as she rested her chin on them.

After all, when it came to the issue of eating meat, it was a domain no pirate would allow to be violated.

So even the usually carefree Sakura was exceptionally sharp-witted at this moment.

"Understood!"

A cold voice rang out in the small room. The young man who had once been easily emotional, his face full of fear and uncertainty, had vanished.

Now sitting before Sakura was the son of the previous Takikage, the ruler of the entire Land of Waterfalls, the future Seventh Takikage, Shibuki.

"You two, go retrieve the copy of that Medical Ninjutsu!"

Shibuki, with an expressionless face, ordered the two Chunin beside him. They half-kneeled in acknowledgment before exiting the wooden house.

"Ah, you bastard! Were you pretending to be cowardly all this time?"

Naruto, finally catching on, stared in disbelief at the young man whose personality had drastically changed. He jumped up and shouted at him.

"Not at all. I just thought this would make it easier to become close friends with you, Naruto."

Raising a hand to cover his heart, Shibuki's tone was 'utterly sincere'.

His expression, as if inviting everyone to be lifelong friends, sent chills down Sakura's and Sasuke's spines.

"Really? Then we..."

As expected, Naruto immediately fell for it, smugly rubbing the back of his head.

He even tried to continue the conversation, but the latter half of his sentence was cut off before he could finish.

"Idiot! He's the leader of a village! Don't be so easily fooled by others!"

A hand wearing a wristguard grabbed the back of Naruto's collar, yanking him back to the ground.

Sasuke promptly wrapped a bandage around Naruto's mouth to prevent him from saying anything irreparable.

"What a pity."

Shibuki's lips moved silently, and then he turned his gaze to Sakura.

"Can you tell me how you figured it out? I shouldn't have shown any flaws!"

Having traveled to various countries and Ninja Villages since childhood, trained in Ninjutsu and acting under the guidance of a Jonin, and undergoing extensive training until he abandoned his former self to become a truly ever-changing [Faceless]… Shibuki couldn't understand why his perfect technique had failed before this girl.

'My expressions and inner thoughts were so genuine that even mind-reading techniques should have been fooled.'

'-So why!!!'

"Intuition!"

Her emerald-green eyes watched him calmly, and those unreasonable words ended the debate.

"Pfft... Hahaha, hahaha!"

Shibuki wrapped one arm around his chest while the other covered his forehead, his shoulders shaking.

When those unreasonable beings in the world shatter a lifetime of effort with their innate talent, what else can one do but laugh it off?

"Shibuki-sama!"

Hearing the commotion inside, the two Takigakure Chunin who had been sent to retrieve the item rushed in.

Seeing their leader unharmed, they breathed a sigh of relief and stood stiffly behind Shibuki.

"It's fine, it's fine. I just haven't been this happy in a long time."

Taking the scroll copy from them, Shibuki waved it at Sakura.

"This is a secret Medical Ninjutsu of Takigakure called the Blood Vessel Regeneration Technique. Please remember its name!"

Shibuki had intended to tease the girl with the scroll, but in the next instant, his hand felt lighter, as the scroll had already changed owners.

Watching the girl verify the scroll, Shibuki's eyes widened as he recognized the technique that had shaken the Ninja World.

"Flying Thunder God! When?"

"From the very beginning!"

Unrolling the scroll to inspect it and confirming it was genuine, Sakura rolled it up and stored it away.

Hearing her words, Shibuki's eye twitched slightly.

'What did she mean by 'from the very beginning'? So you never trusted me at all?'

"We're all seasoned Ninjas. It's only natural to take precautions."

Sakura waved to Naruto and Sasuke behind her, signaling that it was time to leave.

As she passed by Shibuki, her clear voice echoed in his ear.

"Oh, and next time you're pretending to be cheerful, remember to stimulate your heart with Chakra. Otherwise, your internal reactions are too flat!"

With that, the three figures walked out into the light and disappeared.

A cold wind suddenly swept through the room, and a suffocating chill surged into Shibuki's body. Only then did he realize his back was drenched in cold sweat.

Accustomed to deceiving others with masks, looking down arrogantly on the many 'mortals' he had manipulated, he had finally been stripped of all his disguises and exposed completely.

His emotions in turmoil, compounded by the weakness from consuming the Hero's Water, Shibuki's vision went black as he fell backward. In the last moment before consciousness faded into darkness, a thought grew wildly in his heart.

'Haruno Sakura, I'll remember you!'

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