The sky was unusually quiet that evening—too quiet for a city that never slept.
Suzuka Minazuki walked alone across the pedestrian bridge, the humid wind brushing through her black hair. She wasn't like other girls her age; she preferred silence, preferred walking at night, preferred the solitude that came from being stronger than she should be.
Her fingers brushed against the card hidden in her jacket pocket.
Haruno Sakura — Boruto Era.
A card that granted monstrous strength… if she ever needed it.
Suzuka didn't ask for a card.
She didn't believe in destiny.
But the world didn't care what she believed.
It changed anyway.
As she reached the far end of the bridge, she stopped.
A presence.
Heavy, dark, trembling with bloodlust.
"...Someone's here."
A boy emerged from the shadows beneath the streetlights. His clothes were torn, stained with dust and rage. His hair, though dark now, still held the faint glow of fading blond chakra.
Suzuka instantly recognized the smell of burnt air around him.
"You," he said. "You're a card user too."
Suzuka's eyes narrowed. "Depends on who's asking."
The boy stepped closer. The light hit his face, revealing bruises… fresh injuries… and hatred burning behind his eyes. Something about him felt unstable, cracked.
He held up a glowing card between his fingers.
Naruto Uzumaki — Shippuden Version.
Suzuka tensed.
Her heart beat once, sharply.
So he's the one who caused that explosion downtown…
"What do you want?" she asked.
The boy's lips twisted into a grin too sharp and too angry for someone his age.
"Simple," he said. "I want your card."
Suzuka exhaled slowly through her nose.
"Not happening."
"Oh, I insist."
The boy slammed the Naruto card against his chest.
"Naruto Uzumaki — Sage Rage Form!"
Light burst outward.
Chakra spiraled into the air like a storm of golden fire.
His hair flared into bright blond spikes; his eyes gleamed with sage energy, and the ground beneath his feet cracked.
Suzuka stood still.
He charged.
The boy moved so fast he vanished. Suzuka only felt the air split—
BOOM!
His Rasengan smashed into the concrete where she had stood a second earlier. She'd leapt back at the last moment, landing gracefully against the railing.
"You dodged that?" he snarled.
Suzuka tilted her head. "Barely."
She reached into her pocket and touched her card.
"Haruno Sakura — Boruto Version."
Before he could move again, she pressed the card to her chest.
"Activate: Strength of a Hundred Mode!"
A pink seal glowed across her forehead, spreading power through her limbs. Her muscles tightened, bones strengthened, and the ground under her feet cracked with each breath she took.
The boy blinked. "You're… Sakura?"
Suzuka smirked slightly. "A better version."
He lunged.
She met him head-on.
Their fists collided.
THUNDER cracked.
A shockwave rippled across the bridge, shattering lamps and blowing dust into the night sky.
Suzuka felt the impact travel through her arm, but she didn't stop. She pivoted, delivering a devastating heel kick to his ribs—
He flew across the walkway, smashing into a metal barrier.
He coughed blood but stood back up, fury burning bright.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"
He formed another Rasengan, this one bigger, crackling wildly with unstable chakra.
"Great," Suzuka muttered. "He's one of those types."
He rushed her again.
Rasengan aimed for her heart.
Suzuka didn't move until the last fraction of a second.
Her fist glowed pink.
She struck downward.
BOOOOOM!
The Rasengan shattered like glass.
The force of her counterattack blasted the boy backward, sending him tumbling across the concrete in a broken roll.
He lay there coughing, struggling, trembling as his transformation flickered.
Suzuka walked toward him, expression cold.
"You should stop. You're outmatched."
He spat blood. "No… no I can't… I can't lose… I can't lose my card…"
His chakra flared again—wild, wrong, turning into something hateful and distorted.
Suzuka's eyes hardened.
"If I let you live like this… you'll just hurt people."
He screamed and charged one last time.
Suzuka didn't hesitate.
She gathered strength into her fist until the air warped around it.
"Cherry Blossom… BREAKER."
She punched the ground.
The shockwave erupted outward in a violent burst. The explosive force hit the boy dead-on, knocking the life out of him instantly. His body collapsed in a heap, the Naruto-card tumbling from his limp hand.
Suzuka stood there, breathing heavily as her transformation faded.
The silence returned, heavier than before.
She stepped toward the boy's body, kneeling just long enough to check his pulse.
Nothing.
"…Sorry," she whispered. "But you were gone long before I met you."
She picked up the Naruto card.
It pulsed faintly—almost like it feared her.
"You're mine now."
Suzuka slid the new card into her jacket pocket beside her Sakura card.
A second prize.
A second responsibility.
Her steps echoed on the bridge as she left the body behind.
The night felt colder than usual.
"Whoever created these cards," she murmured, "they're dragging the world into hell."
She didn't know yet that she would meet someone soon—
someone reckless, emotional, stubborn, and determined to save everyone…
A girl named Sakura, who would change her life forever.
But not tonight.
Tonight, Suzuka walked alone under the pale lights of the city, holding two cards that could crumble mountains.