Divine Knights — Sakura Haruno
Yet Sakura's answer once again caught them off guard.
A complicated expression crossed her face—uncertainty, contemplation… and a faint trace of coldness.
"That… might not necessarily be the case."
Her gaze drifted toward the distant sky, as though trying to glimpse the unseen "pond owner."
"Is it possible," she said more quietly, her tone suggestive, "that these 'inflows' aren't random? That they aren't simple invasions and integrations?"
She turned back to the three of them.
"What if… some existence is Baiting the waters?"
"Baiting?!"
The fishing term, placed in this context, sent an icy chill through Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji.
Baiting—scattering bait to gather fish.
And then… hauling them up all at once.
"Those fish who are drawn in," Sakura continued evenly, her voice like a dull blade cutting slowly, "who eat the 'bait'—who gain foreign power and grow stronger because of it…"
"Is it possible that, at some chosen moment—when some higher being has need of them—they simply become the catch?"
The implication was darker than anything before.
This was no longer accidental invasion.
It was cultivation.
Raising.
Harvesting.
The three of them went pale.
Their breathing faltered.
Then suddenly—
Sakura burst into light laughter.
"Relax. I'm joking."
She waved her hand casually.
"Just something I said off the top of my head. Don't take it seriously."
But the image had already lodged itself in their minds like a venomous hook.
Across the shinobi world, silence gave way to chaos—half hysterical, half bitterly sarcastic.
"So invasion just means one pond's water and fish spilled into another?"
"So we've fought and died all these years… just fish thrashing around in muddy water?"
"This is too much…"
"Alive, we have to worry about stronger fish eating us… and unseen fishermen eyeing us…"
"Dead, our souls might not even belong to us…"
"Is there any justice in this world?!"
"Baiting… I've really learned something today."
One fisherman stared at his rough hands and let out a broken laugh.
"When I sit by the river scattering bait to lure fish… I'm no different from those possible 'pond owners' chumming our world."
His laughter grew unstable.
"It's too dark! I refuse to believe it! The shinobi world can't be this twisted!"
But colder voices followed.
"What's there not to accept?"
"To the chickens and ducks you raise… to the fish in your own pond… aren't you their god?"
"When you decide their life or death… when you eat them… do you stop to ask if they accept it?"
The analogy was too blunt.
Too cruel.
People thought of the meat on their tables.
Of grilled fish.
Of livestock bred for slaughter.
A wave of nausea rose.
"Exactly," another voice added coldly. "If I want to beat you, what does it have to do with you?"
"Does a stronger being need a reason to dominate a weaker one? To care about its feelings?"
"Would a pond owner care about the opinion of a particularly lively fish?"
These weren't external revelations.
They were truths derived from the simplest survival logic.
Some collapsed into nihilism.
Some shrank in fear, hoping not to attract the attention of an unseen hook.
Some raged like trapped beasts.
And some—
Like Orochimaru—
Burned with a completely different fire.
Fear remained.
But it fed curiosity.
Ambition.
Why shouldn't I become the fisherman?
The "fish pond" theory did more than inspire despair.
It stirred something deep within human nature.
They had once been hunters.
Shinobi.
Nobles.
Ambitious schemers.
Now they were forced to consider—
They might have always been fish.
And the most terrifying realization wasn't that they were fish.
It was wondering whether invisible hooks and nets truly hung above the surface—
And whether their frantic swimming led to freedom…
Or straight into a carefully laid trap.
Within the Heavenly Curtain
Sakura seemed unwilling to pursue the topic further.
She brushed imaginary dust from her clothes.
"Alright. Your chakra and stamina look mostly recovered. I should be going."
"That dog— Wangcai—gives me a strange feeling. I need to report back to my master."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji did indeed feel somewhat restored.
Hearing her farewell, their emotions were complicated.
In the end, all they could say was:
"Take care. We hope… we'll meet again."
"Oh—right."
Sakura had just turned when she paused, as if remembering something.
She patted her forehead and turned back.
Reaching into her clothing, she pulled out three palm-sized toy figurines.
"Almost forgot these."
She handed one each to Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789