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

In front of a shop that repairs fishing nets, the shop owner extends his hand to the woman in front of him.

Mei Terumi, who had just successfully seized the position of Kirigakure's Kage after staging a coup with the support of Elder Genji, was speechless.

She had planned to travel incognito to observe the lives of ordinary people, but she never expected to stumble upon a shady business as soon as she set out.

"Are you trying to extort me?"

Mei Terumi frowned, her imposing presence intimidating the shop owner in front of her.

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare!"

The panicked shop owner immediately knelt on the ground, trembling as he explained, "The price would be the same if you bought the materials yourself to repair it."

Nylon fiber is in high demand throughout the entire Water Kingdom right now, and I've even managed to keep the cost of processing it down to the bare minimum for this order!

Why is it in short supply?

Sensing something amiss, Terumi Mei pressed for answers, while simultaneously gesturing for the shop owner to stand up and speak.

"Oh, you don't know, the processing technology for this stuff is most advanced in the Land of Fire. In previous years, we used to buy a lot of it from them. This year, I don't know who went on a rampage, but they actually blew up their capital."

It would have been better if we hadn't mentioned it, because the shop owner gets really angry whenever it comes up.

He even forgot the difference in status between himself and Mei Terumi, and started chatting with her incessantly.

The land of wind.

"Hey, Dana, I want the usual three things!"

Kankuro, carrying a puppet on his back, went to the ninja tool shop as usual to buy various iron joints for making the puppet.

"The price has gone up; those three sets now cost ten million taels."

The indifferent ninja tool shop owner looked up at him and calmly offered a reminder.

"Huh?" Kankuro was dumbfounded. "Why?"

"The iron ore trade with the Land of Fire has been cut off, and the price of ore imported from the Land of Rock has tripled, not even including smelting!"

The ninja tool shop owner shook his head and exchanged silent glances with Kankuro. Soon after, the sounds of cursing the Land of Fire and the Land of Rock filled the shop.

Throughout the ninja world, similar incidents continue to occur in various countries.

Whether it's a large or small country, the blockade of the Fire Country's vital transportation route caused a surge in the prices of various commodities, leading to a near-meteoric rise in inflation within weeks and severely impacting their production and daily lives.

Countless people know that the Land of Fire has done something bad, but they don't know exactly what they did.

In the rage of impotence, a thousand words can ultimately be reduced to a single sentence.

—How the hell is the Land of Fire so evil?!

Chapter 277 Slug: No!

While the other four major powers were struggling to cope with the supply disruptions of their respective commodities, adjustments were also beginning to be made within the Land of Fire.

With the destruction of the capital, the Land of Fire now only has Konoha, the only political organization that can function properly.

After obtaining Tsunade's Hokage warrant, Sakura led the Anbu to cut off the commercial activities of several other countries within their borders.

The second thing they did was to organize manpower to gradually take over the functions previously held by the capital city, including taxation, public security, diplomacy, administration, justice, and education for the whole country.

As for manpower and organizational structure, it was fully integrated with the six departments of Konoha. Then, ordinary people from various regions were introduced to participate in governance, allowing the chaotic Land of Fire to gradually form a new pattern centered on Konoha!

The ninjas used the unreasonable power of ninjutsu to engage in production, causing the already resource-rich Land of Fire to unleash tremendous production capacity, and the outline of a great abundance of material resources began to emerge.

Next, the two old men in the political department worked overtime every day until they urinated blood, building up a new administrative system for the ninjas, and the organization and order of the entire Land of Fire were gradually restored.

Time passed amidst the rapid development of the Land of Fire, until a bombshell announcement spread throughout the entire ninja world.

"You were right?"

Inside the office, Tsunade looked up in surprise at the messages relayed by spies from Konoha who had been sent to other ninja villages.

Just as various ninja villages were also struggling with inflation, incidents of Jinchuriki being stolen occurred one after another in various places.

“That’s normal. The Akatsuki organization is after the power of the Tailed Beasts. They will take advantage of the chaos to act even if we don’t do anything.” Sakura, who was lying on the sofa, picked up a backrest to use as a pillow and curled up comfortably.

As for Akatsuki, she only did one thing in the past month: in her capacity as an official of Konoha, she listed a certain Uchiha ninja with a vortex mask on his head as a rogue ninja, and also revealed his remaining Mangekyou Sharingan ability.

As she had predicted, a conflict erupted within the Akatsuki organization, which was ultimately quelled by Nagato, the leader of the military faction, using overwhelming force to suppress all the unrest.

Nagato, sensing that someone was targeting Akatsuki and the Land of Rain, became anxious. His actions to collect the Tailed Beasts were no longer as meticulously planned as before, and his methods became visibly crude.

However, it was precisely this unplanned arrangement that repeatedly achieved remarkable success. From the Three-Tails to the Six-Tails, the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Mist Village were unable to react at all before they were able to steal the Tailed Beasts.

"But this means the Akatsuki will now have seven tailed beasts!" Sitting at the Hokage's desk, signing administrative orders, Tsunade's eyes were filled with worry.

"Yes, we have to be wary of the Akatsuki, so..."

Sakura sat up and returned the warrant that Tsunade had signed to her. "I would like to ask you for a leave of absence so I can leave the village and train in the Shikkotsu Forest!"

"If I don't approve it, won't my workload increase dramatically if you don't take care of the Anbu?" Tsunade refused without hesitation.

It's not easy to find a disciple who can step up and take on some of her responsibilities.

Now that her disciple has left, the work of the Dark Division cannot find a completely trustworthy and capable person to take over, so it can only fall back on her shoulders.

"Now that the Konoha Affairs Department has been established, your daily administrative duties are reduced to simply controlling the direction of major matters, right?"

Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Besides, isn't Shizune-senpai in the village helping you? Don't be so willful, Tsunade-neechan!"

After reluctantly dawdling for a long time, Tsunade finally let out a sigh: "Sigh, never mind, go ahead."

As a fellow contractor of Shikkotsu Forest and Sakura's mentor, she also hopes to see her disciple go further on her own foundation and truly learn Sage Mode from the slug.

"Hehe, thanks Tsunade-neechan!"

Sakura went up and hugged her, winked at Shizune beside her, and pushed open the door to go out.

As they walked out of the Hokage's office building, they saw Naruto walking with Jiraiya.

Upon seeing the girl's emerald eyes, the blond-haired boy instinctively hid behind Jiraiya.

"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei, and Naruto too!" Sakura, who ran into the two of them, raised her hand and greeted them.

"Sakura, hmm?" Jiraiya stroked his chin upon seeing her fully equipped. "What's wrong? Going out of the village for another mission?"

"No, I plan to go to Shikkotsu Forest!" Sakura made a hand seal in front of Jiraiya.

Upon seeing this action and hearing the words "Shikkotsu Forest," Jiraiya immediately understood what Sakura was planning to do next.

"What a coincidence! I was also planning to take this kid to Mount Myōboku!"

Jiraiya reached behind him and pulled Naruto out from behind him.

"Hey, what a coincidence, Sakura-chan." Naruto greeted Sakura with an awkward smile, his eyes still darting away.

It seems that this unlucky child is still blaming himself for what happened in the capital of the Land of Fire, so much so that for the past month he has been trying every means to avoid walking with Sakura in the village.

"Alright, the matter in the capital is not your fault or responsibility. All the blame lies with me, so don't blame yourself."

Sakura smiled and raised her hand to ruffle Naruto's slightly prickly blond hair.

"Well done." Jiraiya glanced around and quietly gave Sakura a thumbs up.

Sakura glanced at him sideways and raised her eyebrows teasingly, "I never expected you to be like this, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Ahem, let's not talk about that. We need to take him to Tsunade to get the permit to leave the village, otherwise Tsunade will be off work soon." Jiraiya coughed, putting his right fist to his mouth.

"Alright, then I wish you success in your training." Sakura waved to the two of them and turned to leave.

As Naruto watched her departing figure, he took a few steps forward and shouted, "Sakura-chan, I will definitely train hard and make that power protect you and the village!"

Sakura didn't turn around, but simply raised her hand and gave Naruto a thumbs up before disappearing into the crowd.

In the evening, under her mother's concerned instructions, Sakura packed her clothes and other belongings.

In the backyard of the Haruno residence, she used a psychic technique to summon a slug clone.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, it's been so long since you summoned me!" The giant slug, as tall as a person, emerged from the smoke and wriggled its waist as it complained to Sakura.

"Alright, I've just been too busy with village affairs lately to call you." Sakura gently pressed down on the mischievous slug. If you don't give the slug an excuse now, she'll probably hold a grudge for a whole day.

"Hmph, you cunning Sakura, you know where I'm talking about!" The cunning slug clearly didn't believe Sakura's explanation, and the conversation gradually became dangerous.

Sakura patted the slug's soft body and urged, "Alright, stop fooling around. I have to go to the Wet Bone Forest to find your original body. Summon me there!"

"Wait, could it be?!"

The slug's two small eyes on its head stood up, recalling the white bones beneath the mist of the Wet Bone Forest, and it let out a sharp, explosive cry.

"Don't go for the tonic!"

Chapter 278 The Wet Bone Forest and the Yin Seal

In a mysterious alternate dimension within the ninja world, there exists a forbidden land filled with a forest of bones.

An ancient and primitive overlord reigned over this land, transforming it into a paradise unique to him over thousands of years.

The acid seeped into the earth continuously, gradually dried up, and then re-emerged at the tips of the bone forest, which had been corroded with fine holes, forming a huge waterfall.

A breeze, thick with acid, rose up, carrying a dense acid mist that swept through the porous bone forest, emitting a mournful howl.

Amidst the mournful howls, Sakura was summoned to this forbidden land filled with death by a reverse summoning technique.

"Hey! Sakura, are you alright?!"

As soon as the girl took her first breath of air, the slug's clone watched her nervously.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, puzzled, "Why would something happen?"

Let me explain it to you!

As a gentle voice rang out, the ground beneath Sakura's feet began to undulate.

The slug that had just been summoned by her psychic powers smoothly merged into the ground, rising up alongside the enormous creature.

Its head alone is the size of an entire village of Konoha.

"This sacred land is filled with my acid and chakra. Even if you passively inhale the natural energy contained within, there is a risk of turning you into a slug."

The Slug Sage turned its head slightly, its front tentacles twitching as it looked towards Sakura's location. "It's not like other contractors haven't been transformed the moment they stepped into the Wet Bone Forest before~ But don't worry, these things mainly depend on individual resistance."

Very good, it seems that the future of cultivation is destined to be full of hardships.

This difficulty likely stems from this cunning slug immortal who speaks of the most terrifying consequences in the gentlest voice.

"Enough with the chit-chat, Slug Sage! I'm here to practice my magic!" Sakura cut straight to the point.

The Akatsuki organization has now gathered all seven tailed beasts, and the ninja world is about to undergo a major update.

At that time, ordinary ninjutsu will only be a little dessert to amuse the Otsutsuki clan, who have higher chakra authority.

The way to deal with them is simple: first, if you can't beat them, join them; second, take a path completely different from theirs—immortal arts!

"Celestial arts?" The slug was momentarily taken aback. "Does that kind of thing require cultivation?"

"..."

Sakura's expression subtly changed, and the veins on her forehead throbbed, clearly indicating that she was about to lose her temper, but ultimately she didn't.

"Alala, I'm so sorry, I forgot you're human too!"

Sensing the change in Sakura's mood, Slug's gentle voice sounded guilty.

—Hmm, I can't tease him anymore, or he'll get angry.

"Sigh, I understand you enjoy interacting with humans," Sakura sighed softly, "but with the Ten-Tails' resurrection imminent, there's not much time left for leisurely play!"

"Oh dear, Sakura-chan is just too serious."

A slug split off from the slug body that Sakura was standing on, and it carried her on its back, heading deeper into the Shikkotsu Forest.

"As an immortal being, you need enough humor and leeway to resist the erosion of time."

The slug's consciousness, though now smaller, remains vast. It seems its body possesses a hive-like consciousness, capable of freely connecting to any other body.

With its main body serving as a massive transit hub, it's no wonder that the slug can remotely transfer the contractor's healing chakra to each of its offspring without any loss.

"Did you notice?"

There's no point in hiding from the slug, so Sakura bluntly confronts it.

"Hmm, and judging from your vitality, you can live longer now than when you first signed the contract!" After carefully examining you with its eyes, the slug immortal came to its conclusion.