"What do you know? Have you ever experienced the feeling of struggling desperately, only to be beaten back into shape by damn fate again and again?"
Neji's Chakra erupted from the Chakra Points on his back, wanting to push Sakura's restraint away.
However, Sakura raised one hand and stabbed his Chakra Scalpel into one of his Chakra Points, forcibly interrupting the escaping Chakra.
"What?"
Neji was startled, a breath caught in his chest, causing him to cough violently.
The Jonin Instructors nearby with good eyesight, who could see what had happened, also showed expressions of speechlessness.
'No, is this even reasonable?'
'You just watched one of his matches and managed to steal his clan's secret technique?'
'The key point is, even if you stole it, using it so openly right in front of him is just too much, right?'
"But at least, Hinata is willing to face fate and make changes, unlike the defeated dog beneath me who only has whimpers left."
Sakura's words left Neji silent.
Meanwhile, nearby, Kurenai, who was examining Hinata, cried out in alarm: "This is bad, Hinata's heart is fibrillating! Medical team!"
Several Medical-Nins in white robes ran up, placed Hinata on a stretcher, and the person in charge simply ran to Sakura's side.
"Sakura-sama!"
Sakura glanced away from Hinata, released Neji, and followed the team of Medical-Nins.
Behind her, Naruto reached out and touched the blood Hinata had spat on the ground, a rare hostility showing on his face, "You bastard, I will definitely defeat you!"
Facing Naruto's provocation, Neji put on a careless attitude, "Whatever, a loser will always be a loser. You cannot cross the chasm between you and an elite."
"What did you say!"
Gritting his teeth, Naruto rolled up his sleeves, ready to go fight Neji.
But a hand reached out from behind him, grabbing his fist before he could throw it.
"Stop it, Naruto, don't cause trouble for the village!"
Sasuke pulled Naruto away, his gaze sweeping over the numerous foreign village's Ninjas watching from above.
"Let me go, Sasuke! A guy who defiles someone else's resolve like that, I must..."
Naruto squirmed on the ground, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by a punch from Sasuke.
"Resolve, resolve, have you been infected by Sakura or something?"
Sasuke let go of Naruto, letting him fall to the ground.
"And if you really want to teach that guy a lesson, shouldn't it be done by you defeating him fair and square!"
"Shatter his pride, crush his beliefs, trample the order he upholds!"
The black-haired boy grinned, actually revealing a ferocious smile exactly like a certain pirate's.
"Gulp..."
Naruto swallowed a mouthful of saliva, looking at Sasuke with trembling eyes.
Hey, who is the one more deeply infected here!
…
On the other side, after the emergency treatment for Hinata, Sakura was summoned to the Hokage Building.
"Old man, you asked for me?"
The girl in the office familiarly lay down on the sofa, waving her hand to signal a nearby Anbu's Ninja to pour her some tea.
Seeing Sakura arrive, Hiruzen extinguished his smoking pipe.
He pulled a document from his desk drawer and handed it to the lazy girl rolling around on the sofa.
"This is?"
Sakura took the document, opened the outer file bag, and started reading through it.
It detailed the border friction between the Land of Fire and the three countries: Land of River, Land of Grass, and Land of Frost. Moreover, the number seemed to be showing an increasing trend.
As strategic buffer zones between the four great nations on land, the reason for border friction between these three countries and the Land of Fire could only be the major nations behind them pulling the strings.
"Are we going to war?"
Sensing that some major trend was brewing, Sakura couldn't help but frown slightly.
'Could a butterfly like me, breaking free from fate, really stir up such a storm?'
"No, the Five Great Nations currently lack the ability to start another major war."
Hiruzen shook his head and explained to Sakura.
The Third Great Ninja War ended in Year 50 of Konoha Calendar. The wars between Konoha and Iwagakure, and Kumogakure that continued during this period, lasted until Year 54 of Konoha Calendar before completely ending.
In the nine years since then, the Five Great Nations, after stabilizing their regional interests, have all chosen policies of military reduction.
This was to ease the numbers of combat, logistics, and intelligence personnel that had expanded rapidly during the war period.
Among the Five Great Nations, Konoha, benefiting from the excellent political skills of Hiruzen and the other F4, completed the economic transition from military to civilian focus the earliest, at the cost of sacrificing a large number of talents.
Thus, in the following years, relying on the Land of Fire's abundant resources to undertake a large amount of commercial activity, it achieved economic recovery during the peacetime.
However, other nations weren't so fortunate.
The Land of Wind lacked resources, forcing the Fourth Kazekage to dig for gold everywhere to pay off debts. The Land of Earth lacked talent, leading to a decline in mission requests. The Land of Water had nothing at all, killing each other under the [Bloody Mist].
As for the Land of Lightning? Those muscle-headed brutes never intended to end the state of war, still eyeing the Land of Fire greedily.
The failure to transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy inevitably leads to increasingly intense internal conflicts.
At such times, seeking external contradictions to divert attention becomes crucial.
"In other words, we've become the target?"
Sakura rolled over, lying prone on the sofa, her pink hair falling and blocking her vision.
'Hmm... it's a bit troublesome. Should I cut it?'
"It's also coinciding with the Chunin Exams. They also have the idea of forcing us to give up some mission shares."
Hiruzen let out a helpless sigh.
"So, you called me here specifically, surely not just to analyze the current situation for me, right?"
Sakura took out her forehead protector and tied up her troublesome hair.
"As expected, I can't hide it from you."
"After this Chunin Exam ends, I hope you can make a trip to the border."
Hiruzen's tone was certain, as if Sakura becoming a Chunin was a foregone conclusion.
"This trip will involve multiple S-Rank missions. After completing them, your record will be sufficient for promotion to Jonin!"
In just a few words, Hiruzen paved a direct path to Jonin for Sakura.
If we're talking about being a leader, Danzo really can't compare to Hiruzen.
When Danzo opens his mouth, it's either drawing empty promises for you or just shouting slogans asking for your loyalty.
In contrast, Hiruzen lays out the benefits, future prospects, and plans for you clearly from the start.
If you put these two side by side, even Naruto would know who to choose as his superior.
Sakura looked surprised: "Wait, why are you in such a hurry to have me promoted to Jonin?"
It's not wartime now, and the village doesn't need geniuses to boost morale.
The normal process is to train through various missions, accumulate experience, and then become a Jonin. Hiruzen's move has a taste of forcing the growth.
"Cough."
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling the nearby Anbu's Ninja to withdraw.
He tapped his pipe on the table, and a special custom-made barrier within the Hokage's office isolated the inside from the outside.
"Sakura, I often feel... inadequate recently."
The old man sitting in front of the girl showed a vulnerable side.
Nearing seventy, he sensed his body's declining condition day by day. Perhaps it was time to step down from this position.
But currently in Konoha, there aren't many Ninjas with the strength to shoulder the responsibility of Hokage.
Ninjas are beings where great power resides within themselves. No amount of seniority can compare to the combat strength capable of protecting the village.
"Wait, I don't want to be Hokage. Leave it to Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-shisou!"
Tossing the document aside, Sakura jumped down from the sofa, patted her butt, and started to leave directly.
"But at least join the Jonin Team, and help the village when it strays off course. Consider it my request, alright?"
Having said this much, Sakura's hand on the office door handle paused for a moment.
A faint response drifted within the office, making Hiruzen laugh heartily.