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

"No money? That's easy!"

Shibuki's eyes lit up as he heard the girl's angelic voice.

Then, looking up, she saw Sakura sitting on the tatami mat, her emerald eyes half-closed, admiring her own awkward posture.

After a long while, he laughed heartily.

"I've heard that Takigakure Village seems to..."

After hearing the girl's words, Shibuki felt as if he were facing the dead of winter.

Chapter 73 Secret Technique: Earthly Grudge

The room was completely silent, and the sound of the waterfall in Takigakure Village crashing against the lake could be heard clearly.

After Sakura uttered those words, Shibuki and the two ninjas behind him were terrified.

"No, absolutely not, this is all a hoax!"

The girl's voice, like the metallic scraping of a blackboard, pierced Shibuki's eardrums, causing cold sweat to pour down his forehead.

"That item was destroyed by that hateful rogue ninja many years ago, and Takigakure has no records of it!"

Being young and lacking any political experience, Mu was so excited that he stood up abruptly.

"Roundfish? What's that? Can you eat it?"

Naruto, who was sitting cross-legged behind Sakura, nudged her shoulder, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Idiot, didn't you hear Sakura say that it's a secret technique? It's probably a very powerful one!"

After retorting to Naruto, Sasuke's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered something.

The secret technique that even Sakura Haruno, who fought to such an infamous degree with Itachi Uchiha, cared about.

If I could get it myself, perhaps...

"Of course, of course, we all know that Takigakure does not have this secret technique."

"But what I need is a spell that has the same effect but a different name."

The girl squinted, a warm smile on her face, and patted Shibuki on the shoulder.

Taki no Kuni, a country that is essentially a village, has managed to survive from the chaotic Warring States period to the present day.

Furthermore, after entering the era of ninja villages, it became the only small ninja village to possess a tailed beast.

To say that all the ninjas in this village are incompetent and weak would be an insult to them.

Moreover, as a Jonin of Takigakure, Mizuki taught Shibuki, the seventh Hokage and a pillar of the village.

Why give up the opportunity to advance to the higher levels and instead kidnap villagers to steal Hero's Water, a substance that can kill if consumed in excess, and then conveniently launch an internal strife just as the Konoha ninja arrive?

"So, including Kakuzu, this is the second time that Takigakure has made fun of Konoha."

Sakura sighed softly, her emerald pupils turning sharp.

If this information is transmitted back to Konoha through her, it could be spread by spies from other ninja villages within Konoha.

Then the whole thing will be guaranteed by Konoha's credibility, becoming an ironclad truth that can withstand the test of history, and no one else will question or pay attention to such a small ninja village.

Although it might not be a loss for Konoha, there's a strange feeling of being stood behind and forcefully pulled up by someone.

"Since there's no money, it's only right to pay with ninjutsu!"

"After all, Chief Shibuki, you wouldn't want..."

A pirate with the surname Haruno had a cunning look in his eyes, his fair fingers interlaced and resting on his chin.

After all, the issue of eating meat is an area that no pirate will allow to be violated.

So even the usually carefree Sakura Haruno had an unusually sharp sense of smell at this moment.

"understood!"

A cold voice echoed in the small house. The young man who used to be so emotionally expressive, with a face full of fear and unease, had vanished.

Sitting in front of Sakura Haruno now is the son of the previous Takikage, the ruler of the entire Land of Taki, and the future seventh Takikage—Shibuki.

"You two, go and fetch that copy of the medical ninjutsu!"

With a blank expression, Shibuki gave orders to the two Chunin beside him, who knelt down to receive the orders and then left the cabin.

"Hey, you rascal, were you just faking your cowardice the whole way?!"

Naruto, whose mind had finally caught up, stared in disbelief at the young man in front of him whose personality had drastically changed, and jumped up to yell at him.

"No, I just think this way I can become close friends with you, Naruto."

He raised his hand to cover his heart, his tone 'utterly sincere'.

His posture, as if they were all going to be good friends and never be apart, made Sakura and Sasuke behind him feel a chill.

"Really? Then we..."

Sure enough, Naruto immediately fell for it, smugly scratching the back of his head.

She even tried to continue the conversation, but was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"Fool! That's the shadow of an entire village! Don't be so easily fooled!"

The hand wearing the wristband grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar and pulled him back to the ground.

Sasuke then wrapped a bandage around his mouth to prevent him from saying anything irreversible.

"what a pity."

Shibuki's lips moved silently, then he turned his gaze to Sakura.

"Could you tell me how you figured that out? I don't think I gave anything away!"

He traveled to various countries and ninja villages from a young age, learning ninjutsu and acting under the guidance of Jonin.

After undergoing extensive training, he eventually discarded his former self and became a truly versatile 'Faceless'.

Shibuki couldn't understand why his perfect skills were useless against this girl.

The emotions on his face and the thoughts in his heart were so genuine that even a mind-reading ninjutsu should have been able to deceive him.

But why?!

"intuition!"

Her emerald eyes looked at him calmly, but her unreasonable words killed the game.

"Pfft... Hahaha, hahahaha!"

Shibuki crossed one arm over his chest and covered his forehead with the other, his shoulders twitching.

When those unreasonable beings in the world use their talents to shatter the efforts you've spent half your life on.

At this moment, what else can you do but laugh out loud in relief?

"Lord Shibaki!"

Hearing the commotion inside, the two Takigakure Chunin who had been sent to retrieve the items rushed in.

Seeing that their leader was safe and sound, the two breathed a sigh of relief and stood behind Sheki with tense faces.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's just that I haven't been this happy in a long time."

Taking the scroll of the manuscript from them, Shibuki waved it at Sakura Haruno.

"This is a secret medical technique from Takigakure Village, called the Art of Blood Vessel Regeneration. Please remember its name!"

Shibuki intended to tease the girl in front of him with the scroll.

But in the next instant, the scroll felt lighter in his hand and had changed hands.

Looking at the girl verifying the scroll before him, Shibuki's eyes widened as he recognized the technique that had shaken the ninja world. He exclaimed, "Flying Thunder God Technique! When did this happen?"

"At the very beginning!"

After unrolling the scroll to check and confirming that there were no problems, Sakura rolled it up and put it away.

Upon hearing her words, Shibuki's eyes twitched slightly.

What do you mean "from the beginning"? So you never believed me at all?

"We're all seasoned ninjas; we shouldn't be so careless as to lack even this basic precaution."

Sakura waved to Naruto and Sasuke behind her, signaling them that it was time for them to leave.

As he brushed past Shibuki, the girl's clear voice echoed in his ears.

"Also, next time you play the carefree type, remember to stimulate your heart with chakra, otherwise your internal organs will react too blandly!"

After saying that, the three figures walked out into the light and disappeared.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew up inside the room, and the suffocating coldness rushed into Shibuki's body. Only then did he realize that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

The arrogant person who had always been accustomed to using a mask to fool others, looking down on the many 'mortals' he had manipulated, was finally exposed, with all his pretense ripped off.

His mind was in turmoil, and he had not yet recovered from the weakness caused by taking the Hero's Water. His vision went black and he fell backward. In the last moment before his consciousness went dark, a thought grew wildly in his heart.

"Sakura Haruno, I'll remember you!"

Chapter 74 Returning to the Village and Returning to the Sea

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe, his thoughts drifting back to the past as the familiar name was mentioned.

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." The affairs of Takigakure Village are nothing more than the survival wisdom of a small ninja village, and he has no time to pursue them now.

On the contrary, another thing gave him a headache: the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear that Team 7 brought back from this mission was a strange secret technique that had been proven to allow ninjas to achieve immortality.

After taking a few deep drags on his cigarette, Hiruzen Sarutobi's wrinkles deepened.

This secret technique is troublesome no matter how you handle it, not to mention the risks that leaking it might bring to Konoha.

Even if you stuff it into the Book of Seals, there's still a thief buried under the ground in your house.

God knows how much trouble he'll cause after getting his hands on this thing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze passed over Sasuke and Naruto, who were standing in front of the desk, and landed on the girl on the sofa behind him, who was sleeping soundly with a book covering her face.

Instantly, anger welled up inside me!

The last person to dare to be so presumptuous in Hiruzen Sarutobi's office was...

Oh, it's Jiraiya. Never mind then.

"Cough cough!"

Feeling that the girl was becoming increasingly unruly in front of him, and was letting herself go all day long, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly regretted asking Jiraiya to take her as his apprentice.

—What a genius! I should have taught him myself back then.

"Okay, I've finished reporting. Can I go home now?"

Hearing the cough, Sakura opened her blurry eyes and got up to leave.

Then, a powerful roar came from behind.

"Come back!"

The sound ripped up a large pile of documents, and white scraps of paper fluttered around the room like snowflakes, making the entire office messy.

After composing himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Naruto and Sasuke a kind smile: "I'll record an S-rank mission for you this time. Considering your contribution in bringing back ninjutsu, you can each learn a high-level ninjutsu from the Scroll of Sealing Techniques later!"

After writing the permits and affixing his seal, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed them to Naruto and Sasuke respectively: "You've worked hard on the mission. You can go home and rest now."

"Hey, that old man, me too..."

Sakura, pouting, was about to feign pitifulness when she was immediately suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi's sharp gaze.

After Naruto and Sasuke left the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the scroll onto the table with a thud.

"Tell me, what exactly are you up to!"

The girl standing directly in front of him tiptoed on her left foot, drawing circles with her two fingers touching, her face slightly flushed.

"They're doing all this for Konoha, aren't they?"