Double-transformation: I, Sakura Haruno! Will crush the pirates!

This time, he had no confusion or hesitation.

hum!

The Rasenshuriken slammed into Sakura, propelling her backward, its high-pitched hum instantly vibrating everyone's eardrums.

The Rasenshuriken exploded, and half of the sphere of light, entangled with the transformed chakra, rapidly expanded, unleashing a deafening roar like a storm.

"Naruto has actually learned such a dangerous technique?"

Raising the sleeves of his robe to shield himself from the constantly blowing dirt, stones, and dust, Sasuke strained to open his eyes, determined to witness the entire process of this technique.

"Hehe, I won, didn't I!"

Naruto's dark arm remained in a throwing stance, while he supported himself on his knee with one hand, panting heavily.

Even with the Uzumaki clan's naturally enormous chakra reserves, releasing just one of these escaping techniques would deplete his reserves.

"Unfortunately, when Observation Haki cannot accurately locate the enemy, conserving physical strength and chakra as a deterrent is the right thing to do."

The afterimage behind Naruto's eyes became more alert, and it walked up behind Naruto with a giant sword that spewed out iron clouds. "You two, it seems you still need to learn more!"

A surging aura began to flow, and on the black blade, a wisp of dark lightning silently meandered, echoing the thunderous roar from the sky.

"Elbaf Spear - Mighty Kingdom!"

Kakashi's pupils contracted upon hearing Sakura's voice from afar. He used the Body Flicker Technique to rush to Sakura's side, attempting to stop her.

But when his gaze focused, he saw the girl holding the giant sword smiling at him.

No, you traitorous disciple, you've come for your master?

boom--!

The legendary spear of rage tore through the sky at that moment, and invisible waves erupted in the clouds, sweeping across the entire sky above Konoha.

"The sky... has cracked open!"

Kakashi, bent over in a C-shape, slammed his head to the ground, swallowing several mouthfuls of saliva in shock.

If I hadn't mastered Observation Haki at that moment, sensed Sakura's attack direction, and dodged in time...

So now, the one who's cracked open like the sky should be Kakashi Hatake.

"Now I know why you said Kakashi-sensei came to protect us from being killed."

"Don't even mention it. That's why no one has dared to cause trouble at the border in the last two and a half years."

In the aftermath, the two brothers, who were in the same boat, helped each other up. Because they had found someone to vent to together, the awkwardness they had felt after being apart for so long disappeared instantly.

"Oh my, what interesting thing are you two talking about? Can I listen?"

The voice of the girl carrying the giant sword rang out behind the two, causing cold sweat to break out on Naruto and Sasuke's foreheads.

"No, no, no, we were just chatting about everyday things!" *2

At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke's teamwork reached an unprecedented level.

"Alright, I have a pretty good understanding of your levels now. You've also successfully forced out Kakashi-sensei's Observation Haki." Sakura dissipated her dual-color Haki and sheathed her sword.

"So the mission is successfully completed. You can all go back and rest now. Dismissed!"

Chapter 246 Bad News from Sunagakure

The next day, in the Hokage Building office.

Tsunade, who was slumped over her desk, forced her face up and glanced at the five reports in front of her.

Two of them were written by Sakura, detailing her analysis of Naruto and Sasuke's strength.

The remaining three parts were written by Kakashi and two elite members of the Anbu who were observing the battle.

The report analyzes the same person—Sakura Haruno!

"Sasuke and Naruto's strength is already close to that of Jonin? And Sakura..."

Tsunade was somewhat unsure how to evaluate the five reports. Basically, if you distilled the main points of Kakashi and the two elite Anbu members, you could condense it into two words—monsters!

She witnessed what happened yesterday. Who could have imagined that the sky, torn apart in front of everyone, was caused by an attack?

"These three are quite strong; perhaps we could entrust the task against Akatsuki to them..."

Tsunade stacked the report, placed it in a special container, and burned it, then fell into deep thought.

The mission she had previously asked Sakura to undertake was an intelligence gathering mission related to the Akatsuki organization.

Recently, a piece of news that Tsunade was very concerned about came back from the village's intelligence network: someone was secretly collecting information about the tailed beasts.

Later, after Tsunade launched an investigation by the Anbu, it was discovered that the funds used to purchase this information seemed to point to Amegakure, a village that had been confirmed by Sakura and Jiraiya years ago to be controlled by the Akatsuki organization.

"An increasingly chaotic ninja world, an ambitious schemer at the head, and the reappearance of Wood Release..."

Tsunade crushed the report, which had been burned to ashes, and said, "Is the ninja world going to return to that era of endless war again, Grandfather?"

If... did my grandfather have known that his choice would lead to a larger-scale war, would he have regretted it?

Perhaps I'll have to wait until the day I die to ask him properly in heaven.

Bang!

The door to the Hokage's office was suddenly kicked open, startling Tsunade from her melancholy reverie.

Koharu and Homura hurriedly entered the office, their faces filled with anxiety.

"Tch, what nonsense is the old man up to now?"

With an impatient smirk, Tsunade looked up at the two of them through her nostrils.

After Danzo Shimura's death, the manpower and resources that originally belonged to Root were transferred to the Anbu, while Root's overseas intelligence network was handed over to the two people in front of him.

If it weren't for the fact that these two were needed to coordinate top-secret spies whose identities weren't documented, Tsunade would have sent them home to retire long ago.

"Something's happened, Tsunade!"

Before Koharu Utatane could have her attack, the more composed Homura Mitokado stepped in front of her and reported the situation to Tsunade: "We have received an urgent report from Sunagakure's spies: Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage and Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku, has been kidnapped inside Sunagakure!"

"Clam?"

Tsunade, who was spinning her little finger inside her ear, paused for a moment, then showed an incredulous expression.

As one of the top five ninja villages among dozens of villages of all sizes in the entire ninja world, Sunagakure was forced to allow its own Kage to be captured on its own territory.

Is this kid any good? How come he's in such a sorry state after the death of the Fourth Kazekage?

"Now that Sunagakure is leaderless, I'm worried they'll go crazy again like they have in the past!"

Having experienced the Third Shinobi World War, Koharu Utatane was truly afraid of Sunagakure; she was a typical example of someone who was bad at the game but had a strong addiction to playing around.

The last Shinobi World War was sparked by the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. The Sand Shinobi's frantic search for him aroused the covetousness of the barbarians from the Land of Lightning, who took advantage of the chaos to invade the Land of Wind.

"Not only that, our spies also discovered traces of other espionage activities during their retreat..." Mitokado Yan sighed, revealing an even more disheartening piece of news.

"Sunagakure is truly beyond saving!" Tsunade couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out a curse.

How did this ninja village survive for so many years when it was infiltrated into the upper echelons of an intelligence agency, couldn't protect its own leader as a military group, was incapable of intelligence gathering, and lacked military strength?

Oh, Konoha protected them!

Bang bang bang!

The door to the Hokage's office was knocked on again, and a ninja wearing a Chunin vest rushed in, hurriedly reporting to Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, we just received an urgent message from Sunagakure. They have requested our assistance through diplomatic channels, hoping that we can help them retrieve the Fifth Kazekage from Akatsuki."

Tsunade, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane: ...

This attempt to ask for help essentially dumped the mess on Konoha. This kind of tactic of dragging others into the mess must have come from some old geezer from Sunagakure.

After all, during the Konoha Collapse incident, Sunagakure and Konoha signed a loan compensation agreement, and now less than one-fifth of that amount has been paid.

Furthermore, if we stand idly by and watch the Sand Village weaken, the Iwagakure and Kumogakure will surely take the opportunity to invade. And Konoha, in order to avoid the destruction of its allies and being caught in a three-on-one predicament, will definitely get involved. In that case, a new Shinobi World War will break out in an instant.

"A calculated scheme!" Mitokado Homura pondered, head bowed.

Koharu Utatane chuckled self-deprecatingly, "What can we do even if we know it's an open conspiracy? We're too deeply tied to Sunagakure."

The alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha against Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure is an old policy left over from the Third Hokage's era. The alliance over the years has indeed created too many connections of interest between Sunagakure and Konoha, making it extremely difficult to change in a short time, and they also have to face the huge inertia of the policy.

"Then let's fight fair and square! We Konoha don't need to be as cunning as Sunagakure!" Tsunade sneered, turning to the Chunin beside her and ordering, "Notify Team 7 to come here!"

"Yes!"

The Chunin who delivered the message bowed and then used a Body Flicker Technique to escape from the Hokage's office, disappearing from the three people's sight.

A moment later, Sakura, yawning, appeared in the office in a flash, followed by Sasuke and Naruto.

"Seventh Platoon, listen up!"

Seeing that the three members of Team 7 had gathered, Tsunade solemnly gave the Hokage's order, and Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado silently retreated behind her.

"The Kazekage of Sunagakure has been kidnapped. You three are hereby ordered to go to the Land of Wind to carry out a mission to support Sunagakure!"

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Sakura's eyes gleamed, knowing that it was highly likely that the Akatsuki organization had begun to take action. If nothing unexpected happened, Gaara was probably already on his way to the steroid planet.

"Sakura, for this operation, I need you to use that in front of Sunagakure and the possible Iwakage and Kumogakure!" Tsunade raised her head, her smile revealing no attempt to hide her mockery of Sunagakure.

Tsunade's governing style is not one to take roundabout approaches; she always prefers to achieve miracles through sheer force.

No matter what kind of schemes they devise, they are all just a joke in the face of the power that pacifies the chaotic world, not to mention that the previous Kazekage of Sunagakure even tried to eliminate the holder of this power but failed.

The fact that Konoha is now sending Sakura to rescue the Fifth Kazekage out of kindness is a testament to their magnanimity.

Such a magnanimous act, shouldn't you Sunagakure say thank you?

"Understood, Hokage-sama!" Sakura gave Tsunade a rare formal reply.

"Also, you might be facing the Akatsuki organization this time, so remember to gather as much information as possible about them!" Before leaving, Tsunade gave Sakura and the other two instructions in an informal tone.

"Oh, don't worry, Grandma Tsunade!" Naruto patted his chest and gave a thumbs up.

Sasuke crossed his arms and warned, "Idiot, don't underestimate them. Akatsuki is an organization that gathers many S-rank rogue ninja."

“I’ve fought Akatsuki before, so I have experience!” Sakura nodded to Tsunade, then turned to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Then, let's go!"

Chapter 247 This thing works best when eaten whole! (Bonus Chapter 2 for Monthly Tickets)

Above the arid desert, the sky is filled with a magnificent sunset, and countless distorted and fluctuating wisps of air.

In this arid and barren border region of the land of rivers, the wind and sand seem to blow for eternity.

On the silent sand dunes, three figures tread on the smooth sand and venture into this wasteland.

"Let's take a short rest!"

Sakura led the two to a sheltered spot in a sand dune to set up camp and rest for a while.

After a full day of travel, from the Land of Fire to the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, Naruto and Sasuke were both at their limit. Sakura suggested they take a break, and they naturally agreed.

"Ha, I'm exhausted. It's a wonder that Gaara and the others have to live in this kind of environment every day."

Naruto put down the half-deflated water pouch, wiped his mouth, and let out a long, satisfying sigh.

"Are you on good terms with the Jinchūriki of Sunagakure?"

Sasuke, who was applying sword oil to maintain the blade, glanced at Naruto unexpectedly.

"Ah, I encountered them on a mission when I was cultivating before."

Naruto stroked his chin, recalling, "We all lived close by, so we got to know each other quickly, and also..."

"They even complained about me to you, right?"

Sakura rummaged through her luggage, took out some food, and finished what Naruto hadn't said.

The boy guiltily looked away and scratched the back of his head.

Seeing his expression, Sasuke sneered, "Idiot, even though we're allies, don't forget we're not from the same village after all!"

"Stop nagging, I...of course I know!" Naruto's face turned red, and it looked like he was about to argue with Sasuke again.

With quick reflexes, Sakura stuffed the dry food directly into his mouth, stopping him from continuing to make a fuss.

"Speaking of which, do you remember what I told you two during the Chunin Exams?"