Looking at the flush behind Ino's ears and the sultry gaze she was giving them, Sakura and Tenten stood frozen in place, their brains short-circuiting for a solid three seconds.
Then, as if they had just been electrocuted, their faces flushed bright red at a visible speed, the crimson hue spreading all the way down to their necks.
They weren't clueless little girls anymore.
Combining what Ino had just said about "girl's privilege" and becoming "one of us," along with the fact that there were so many women currently in the Akatsuki...
A bold, absurd, yet logically inescapable conclusion exploded in their minds like a clap of thunder.
"Ino! A-Are you saying... that kind of thing?!"
Sakura's voice cracked in pitch, her emerald eyes bulging in sheer disbelief. "Are you saying that Hinata and Lord Alex actually... did it?!"
How could doing that turn someone into an existence surpassing a Kage in a single night?!
Tenten threw her hands over her burning face, her eyes filled with shock and a barely concealed trace of flustered embarrassment.
"No wonder... no wonder even someone with Lady Mei's status willingly moved in. But wait, Ino, didn't you just say you hadn't... then why are you making that face right now!"
"N-None of your business!"
Having her own thoughts laid bare, no matter how bold and outgoing Ino usually was, she was practically smoking from embarrassment now.
She forced herself to maintain the dignified air of the Holy City's inner circle, coughing lightly and casually flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Anyway, I've said what I needed to say. Lord Alex's power and realm are completely beyond mortal comprehension. It's not called dual cultivation... it is a divine sublimation and blessing of the origin of life from a God!"
As she said this, an unconcealed flash of yearning and urgency flickered through Ino's beautiful eyes.
She looked at the conflicted expressions on Sakura and Tenten's faces, her tone softening as she offered a piece of genuine advice between friends.
"Sakura. Tenten. The era has truly changed. Back in Konoha, no matter how hard we worked, our absolute limit was becoming Elite Jonin. We would spend our entire lives suppressed by those great clans and bloodline purists."
"But here, in the new world built by Lord Alex and Lady Konan... as long as you make the correct choice, even a commoner can witness scenery they never even dared to dream of."
Finishing her piece, Ino took a deep breath, turned around, and swiftly walked back into the hall in her heels. If she stayed any longer, she was genuinely afraid her legs would give out from the memories.
Only Sakura and Tenten were left staring blankly at each other in the empty corridor.
Their hearts were pounding like war drums.
"The sublimation of the origin of life..." Sakura muttered to herself. Her mind flashed back to the magnificent, awe-inspiring sight of Hinata sitting high above, subjugating Orochimaru and Tsunade with a single word.
To say she wasn't jealous would be a massive lie.
What ninja didn't thirst for power? What woman didn't desire to stand at the absolute pinnacle?
Especially when the man granting that power was the current, supreme sovereign of the ninja world, a perfect God in both appearance and presence.
"Tenten..." Sakura bit her lip, her eyes slowly shifting from lost confusion to a burning intensity. "Do you think... maybe we should also..."
"Don't ask me!" Tenten covered her hot cheeks and quickly cut her off. "I don't know anything! I still have to go back and lead the engineering team to fix the water pipes!"
With that, Tenten fled in a panic.
Watching her best friend run away, Sakura leaned back against the corridor wall and let out a long, deep breath. That heart of hers, which had once solely revolved around Sasuke, was now giving birth to an insane, consuming ambition—all because of the man named Alex
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