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

Sakura took out a storage scroll from her ninja vest and slowly unfolded it in front of the two of them.

Since it was a storage scroll that she had logged into the warehouse with points a long time ago, there were only two empty slots and the storage space was not large.

However, this storage scroll saved Sakura a considerable amount of achievement points in her subsequent adventures.

【whispering sound! 】

"You mean... a secret treasure?!"

Recalling the resentment he felt after losing to Orochimaru, Sasuke approached the storage scroll and looked at the two large characters written in the center of the sealing technique rune.

"Is fruit...something to eat?"

Naruto also rolled over and lay face down in front of the scroll.

"The secret treasure of the sea - the Devil Fruit, a fruit that grants its user incredible abilities."

Sakura explained to the two of them while breaking the seal on the storage scroll.

Immediately, two fruits with peculiar arabesque patterns appeared on the scroll: one was a deep purple apple, and the other was a colorful spiral pineapple.

"Come on, don't be shy, pick one!"

Sakura leaned against the sand dune behind her with a mischievous grin and gestured for them to leave.

"Then I won't be polite... Ouch! What are you doing, Sasuke?!"

Naruto was about to casually grab the Devil Fruit when Sasuke chopped him on the head from behind.

"We don't yet know what capabilities these two things will grant us."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him, grabbed two Devil Fruits, and placed them in front of Sakura. "Are you planning to gamble by yourself, or ask this guy over there who obviously knows the abilities but is just laughing at us?"

"That's right!" Naruto, who had been holding his head, sat up cross-legged. "Sakura definitely knows their abilities, tell me quickly!"

"You're hopeless!"

The boy's carefree attitude made Sasuke helplessly cover his forehead and sigh softly.

However, his gaze never left Sakura, and he waited for her answer just like Naruto.

"First, let me ask you a question: do you want to expand your existing abilities, or do you want to make up for your shortcomings?" Under the expectant gazes of the two boys, Sakura, with her arms crossed, raised one finger.

"Extend our capabilities!" and "Address our shortcomings!"

As Sakura expected, Naruto and Sasuke gave completely different answers.

Upon hearing each other's answer, the two remained silent, but both saw doubt in each other's eyes.

No, buddy?

"Hahahaha!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud at their comical appearance.

"Why?" Naruto chewed on his dry rations and nudged Sasuke. "Shouldn't this be like Haki, where you choose an area you're good at and expand upon it?"

“Domineering power relies on training, while the ability to make up for weaknesses can be acquired without effort.” Sasuke sheathed his sword and shook his head. “The two require different amounts of time and effort.”

Naruto thought for a moment, then turned to Sakura and said, "Let's do it Sasuke's way. He needs this ability to make up for his shortcomings!"

"No regrets?" Sakura stared at Naruto's face.

"Of course! You guys are my comrades!" Naruto, with a determined look in his eyes, raised his fist and gave a thumbs up.

"That's a reassuring answer!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto, picked up the purple arabesque apple, and placed it in front of Sasuke. "This is an artificial Zoan-type Mythical Beast-type Azure Dragon. Eating it will grant you the power to transform into a dragon, enhancing your melee combat, strength, and stamina. It will also give you the power to control storms, breathe fire, and manipulate lightning. It will greatly compensate for your weak Yang Release, but the color might not suit your taste."

"Thunder and flames, huh? They seem like a good match for the Uchiha clan." Sasuke held the fruit in his hands. "But what do you mean by saying the color doesn't suit my taste?"

"Ah..." Sakura coughed awkwardly, "Eating this will turn you into a Sakura Dragon instead of a Azure Dragon."

"Pfft, hahahaha!" Naruto clutched his stomach, rolling on the ground laughing. "So it was pink? Good thing I wasn't the one to eat it!"

"Tch, what's so funny!" Sasuke blushed. "And what about him? What's Naruto's Devil Fruit?"

Sakura also placed the colorful fruit in front of Naruto, saying, "According to my comparison with the encyclopedia, this is the Logia-type Phosphorus Fruit. The user can gain the ability to transform their body into elements. Attacks without Haki cannot harm the user. At the same time, the ability to control phosphorus can create highly poisonous white phosphorus. White phosphorus has a low ignition point and can be combined with your Wind Release to make up for the lack of area-of-effect skills."

"That sounds amazing!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes shining as he held the fruit.

"Tch, no other side effects?!"

Sasuke pursed his lips. "We understand the general situation. Are there any other things we should be aware of?"

Upon hearing this, Sakura, who had been feeling a bit drowsy from the story, immediately perked up.

The girl grabbed the hands of the two boys, "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun!"

"Wow, what's going on? Why all the formality all of a sudden?"

Startled by Sakura's sudden change, Naruto shrank back.

"There's one important point to remember!"

Sakura's drawn-out voice made both of them swallow hard. "You have to eat the Devil Fruit whole to ensure you get the full power!"

"okay, I get it!"

Sasuke nodded to Sakura, and together with Naruto, they grabbed their respective Devil Fruits and took a bite.

Click!

"yue~"*2

Two retching sounds echoed continuously within the dunes, becoming the only seasoning for the long night.

Chapter 248 Should I Avoid Her Adversity?

In the Land of Wind, where sandstorms raged, Maki, the leader of the Sand Village Jonin Team, walked against the wind through the streets.

Passing through the oval-shaped semi-subterranean houses of Sunagakure, we walked up the back mountain of Sunagakure.

Halfway up the mountain, there is a huge metal gate, behind which is a secluded place that has hollowed out the entire mountain range.

Click!

The door was unlocked, and Maki walked into the brightly lit room.

He stopped in front of the old man who was fishing in front of the pond, bowed to the two men, and said, "Lord Ebizo, Lord Chiyo, as you two said, the request for support has been sent to Konoha!"

"So, what was their response?"

After a long while, Ebizo, whose head was wrapped in bandages, finally made a sound.

“A reinforcement ninja team has already been dispatched.” Maki hesitated for a moment, “However… the one leading the team is that disciple of the Fifth Hokage!”

"Ha, the guy who killed that brat Rasa?"

Chiyo, sitting opposite, jerked her fishing rod and sneered, "So, a big shot has indeed arrived."

Chiyo didn’t feel sorry for Rasa’s death. Back when she and her brother Ebizo were advisors, the Fourth Kazekage they promoted was actually the Scorching Release ninja, Pakura!

However, the exceptionally talented Rasa rose to prominence at that time, not only developing and passing down the Third Kazekage's Kekkei Magnet Release as a secret technique, but also developing the Gold Sand Technique.

These measures led the Sunagakure leadership, who were blinded by immediate gains, to side with Rasa, and ultimately even gave Pakura away as a political bargaining chip to Kirigakure.

The actions of the Sand Village's leadership disheartened the two elderly people who had dedicated their lives to the village, leading them to choose to live in seclusion and await their death.

However, Rasa lived up to expectations and destroyed Sunagakure, to the point that even today, the village's intelligence and connections are still inferior to that of this retired old woman.

"I didn't expect Konoha to take our plea for help so seriously. Were they angered by my sister's scheme?"

Ebizo watched as his older sister's fishing hook stirred up ripples on the calm water and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"But there's no one available to receive her right now."

Maki pursed his lips, his face full of bitterness.

If it were another disciple of the Fifth Hokage who came, it would be easier to handle; we could just treat them as equals and send a high-ranking person up to take their place.

But the person heading to Sunagakure happens to be Sakura Haruno, a renowned Kage-level ninja who killed Rasa and led the post-war order of Sunagakure!

In other words, she is currently the five-star daimyo of Sunagakure, the uncrowned kage.

What if we casually send a high-ranking, incompetent person to receive her at this point, and it triggers a diplomatic incident?

"Hmph, that Tsunade guy, she even figured this out?"

Chiyo sighed. It seemed that the inside of Sunagakure was really as riddled with holes as the rocks outside!

"Sister..." Ebizo looked at Chiyo with a worried expression.

"It's alright, he brought this on himself!"

Chiyo waved her hand at him, then stood up, supporting herself on her knees. "Since there's no one to entertain her, let this old man go and meet her!"

Even buried by the sands of cause and effect, the decaying flower of forbearance rises again, determined to clean up the mess in her life one last time after a long period of time and many regrettable choices.

"Wait, Lady Chiyo!" Maki quickly stopped her. "That guy is too vicious. I think we should..."

He never expected that his simple request for a strategy would lead him to seek advice from someone who had previously been out of retirement.

But the other party is, after all, one of the few remaining veterans of Sunagakure. If anything were to happen to him, he would be in big trouble.

"Vicious? How many vicious people have I encountered in my life?"

Chiyo walked to the iron gate and turned back slightly. "Should I avoid her?"

.

.

boom!

Flames surged across the sky like a rushing river, piercing through the sand dunes and burning everything within their reach.

Flames spread wildly between heaven and earth like giant pillars, bringing even more terrifying heat to the already scorching desert.

The howling hurricane had just emerged from the explosion's epicenter, whipping up billowing dust that rose into the sky.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I'm so sorry! Hahahaha!"

Amidst the flowing lava of the sand dunes and countless storms, the girl's laughter pierced through the thunder.

Behind her, a pink dragon was hot on her heels, its sharp teeth gathering a fierce light.

"You vile bastard, I am... ugh!"

The thought of forcing himself to finish that fruit last night while enduring nausea made Sasuke's stomach churn.

His anger surged, and the will contained within his ability seemed to grow increasingly volatile, causing him to unknowingly learn how to breathe fire.

"Exactly, and I trusted you so much... Ugh!"

A boy's voice came from behind the dragon, and he threw something into the air.

One after another, blazing spears of light ignited in the nearby air, falling like meteors from the sky and piercing through the girl hidden in the sand and rocks.

Accompanied by bright light and exploding burning debris, highly irritating smoke filled the air, and highly toxic phosphates spread between the sand and soil.

The girl then launched her Flying Thunder God Kunai across the desert, which had almost turned into hell, and her figure flickered as she quickly headed towards the direction of Sunagakure.

Seeing her speed up, the dragon and the boy in the sky used their air superiority to catch up.

On the other side, at the towering stone wall of Sunagakure Village.

With the few remaining Jonin in the village, Chiyo, leaning on her cane, arrived at the main gate of Sunagakure.

"Time waits for no one!"

The former 'hero' now has such clouded eyes that she can no longer see the wall that witnessed her triumphs so many times.

It's unknown what will become of Sunagakure after she passes away.

"Maki, when are they expected to arrive?"

Chiyo, leaning on her cane, scanned the village ninjas guarding the high walls with an inquiring gaze.

Even though the village's security was strengthened due to the emergency, Chiyo still found the defenses to be full of loopholes.

"They should be here soon; the time they agreed with us was this morning."

Maki looked up at the sky, which was beginning to glow, and confirmed that the Konoha ninjas should be arriving soon.

However, the color of the light on the horizon is a bit off; it looks like a sunset glow burning red with flames.