The Sakura Legend

Uchiha Clan Compound, Training Grounds behind the mountain.

Six figures faced off in the clearing. Naruto, swaying unsteadily, had managed to stand up. Sasuke, having dodged in time, had also escaped the center of the explosion, though like Sakura, he'd been knocked to the ground by the blast. He now stood with a kunai drawn, on high alert.

Sakura, however, was still frozen with terror, her body refusing to obey her commands.

"Move! Damn it, move! Remember the simulated combat drills!" Sakura screamed internally, desperately trying to force her body to respond. But as she watched the enemy ninjas approach, her body remained paralyzed, capable only of trembling.

"Damn it! Even after all this time training, all this preparation, even developing a reasonably powerful ninjutsu, when I actually face an enemy, all I can do is freeze in fear." Despair began to creep in. The leader's mere glance had been enough to paralyze her; he was undoubtedly a seasoned killer, a veteran of countless battles.

They were in this secluded spot, with no one nearby. It was a truly desperate situation. Today was the anniversary celebration; the village ninjas were all celebrating in the village. No one would come here. Even the person monitoring her had probably taken the day off. And because of that, she hadn't brought any weapons. Naruto probably hadn't either. Only Sasuke, who had been training here, would have any weapons.

But looking at the aura of the three enemy ninjas, Sakura didn't believe that having weapons would guarantee their victory. The difference in power levels was simply too great. Her entire body was unresponsive, she couldn't even circulate her chakra. If this continued, they would die.

"Damn it, damn it! I finally made connections in this world, I have bonds in this world. I wanted to protect my family, to protect everything I value. I was prepared for this, I was... I was... There are still so many things... so many things... I haven't done," Sakura thought, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.

"Oh? Hahahaha~~~" The leader laughed darkly, seeing Sakura's tear-streaked face. He raised a shuriken and threw it at her. "Be reborn into a better life next time, crybaby."

Watching the shuriken whiz towards her, Sakura remained frozen, unable to move. Perhaps I shouldn't have come to this world after all. Perhaps this is all a dream, and when I die, I'll wake up. But, I'm sorry, Father, Mother. You must be so disappointed. Your genius daughter, the one you were so proud of, is so useless in the face of the enemy. And Naruto, you might have to be alone again. Sasuke, you'll probably have to endure that endless darkness. I wasn't able to pull you back.

Sakura closed her eyes in despair, emptying her mind, ready to embrace the approaching death. At that moment, her body surprisingly regained its control, but the shuriken was already too close to dodge.

........... ...........

"Clang~~~~~"

The anticipated pain of death didn't come. Instead, a sharp, metallic clang pierced Sakura's eardrums. She opened her eyes, not seeing a shuriken embedded in her body.

"Sakura, what are you spacing out for?!"

Sakura was momentarily stunned, hearing Sasuke's shout from beside her. She looked at him blankly. "Get up! Take Naruto and go to the village for help! The enemy's target is me, they won't kill me. Hurry!" Sasuke yelled urgently.

The leader, seeing his shuriken deflected, pulled out a kunai, ready to attack again. By now, Sakura had regained her senses. "My body can move! Thank goodness!" Although fear still lingered, her body was thankfully responsive.

This was where five years of chakra training paid off. She quickly focused chakra in her feet, while simultaneously forming water droplets at her fingertips. As she ran towards Naruto, she aimed at the leader and fired the water bullets with all her might.

The leader perhaps hadn't expected this little girl to use ninjutsu. Given her age, he hadn't even considered her a ninja. After all, he'd just scared her to tears with a single look. If all of Konoha's ninjas were like this, the village would have fallen long ago.

So, when the water bullets were about to hit him, he finally realized something was wrong. He quickly tried to dodge, but he was a step too late. The water bullets struck his shoulder, causing blood to gush from the wound.

Sakura's all-out water bullet had completely pierced the leader's shoulder. "Damn it, I didn't hit his head," Sakura thought, her expression turning grim as she saw that she had only pierced his shoulder.

As expected, the leader was now taking things seriously. "You two, knock out that Uchiha brat. I'll kill these two brats," the leader said menacingly.

"Yes, sir."

The two ninjas instantly moved, one in front and one behind Sasuke, surrounding him. Sasuke tried to fight back, hoping to buy time for Sakura to call for reinforcements, but the two ninjas gave him no chance. One launched a feint attack from the front, while the other struck at the back of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke instantly lost consciousness.

The difference in power was simply too great. When the enemy ninjas got serious, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke had no chance of fighting back. Sakura's water bullet had only managed to hit the leader because he had been caught off guard by her earlier tears.

So now, the leader was truly furious. He believed that Sakura's tears had been a deliberate ploy to deceive him, and he was no longer going to play around. But Sakura had genuinely been scared to tears; it hadn't been an act. But the leader was beyond reason.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and ran towards the foot of the mountain. They couldn't stay here any longer. Even if they wanted to save Sasuke, they needed to report this to the village. Otherwise, no one would know Sasuke had been captured.

Sakura hadn't run more than a few steps when her vision suddenly went black. She felt a hand grip her throat, lifting her into the air. She couldn't breathe, her face turning crimson.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto, seeing Sakura captured, disregarded whether he could win or not and rushed forward, suppressing his fear.

"Thump!" The leader kicked Naruto away with a single blow.

"Brat, it's not your turn yet. Stay put and watch how I torture this little brat. You're next," the leader said, pulling out a shuriken and plunging it into Sakura's leg.

"Ugh~~~~~" Sakura couldn't even scream because she was being choked. Her face contorted in pain. Fear once again engulfed her, her body going limp, unable to muster any strength.

"Speaking of which, since I started practicing chakra, I've never been injured. I didn't expect my first injury to be here. But if Naruto can't unleash the Nine-Tails' power, it might be more than just an injury. We might really die here. What a shame," Sakura thought, desperately racking her brain for a way to deal with the situation. But the only answer she could come up with was that there was no way out.

Because it was the anniversary celebration, everyone had taken the day off. Even if they hadn't, few people came to the Uchiha compound. It wasn't too late yet; her parents wouldn't have noticed anything amiss. She was about to die, but the person secretly monitoring her still hadn't appeared. They were probably really on vacation. It was a dead end. Now, all she could do was place her hope in Naruto.

Meanwhile, Naruto watched as the leader repeatedly stabbed Sakura. His vision went dark, and blood rushed to his head.

"How could this happen? Why did things turn out like this? Everything was fine just a moment ago, why...? I finally found someone who accepts me. I don't want to be alone again. I'm so frustrated! If... If I had studied properly at the academy, I could have protected Sakura. Why~~~~~" Naruto's emotions were in complete turmoil.

Just then, the two ninjas who had tied up Sasuke approached. Seeing their leader torturing the little girl, and the other boy standing nearby, they hesitated to kill him. Instead, they knocked Naruto unconscious with a blow to the back of his head.

Awakening to find himself surrounded by old pipes, corroded wires, and crumbling walls, Naruto didn't know where he was. His eyes vacant, he walked slowly forward along the waterlogged floor. He continued until he reached the end of the passage, where a massive barred gate stood. In the center of the gate was a talisman with the word "Seal" written on it.

"Brat, where did you come from?"

"Sakura... Where's Sakura?" Naruto ignored the voice, muttering unconsciously, as if talking to himself.

A deafening roar came from behind the gate. "Do you want to save her? She's about to die."

"Sakura..... Can you save her?" Naruto mumbled softly, as if responding to the voice.

"Do you want to save her? I can give you power, the power to protect her," the voice continued, coaxing him.

"You can give me power? What do you want me to do?" Naruto replied, his eyes still vacant.

"Come closer. Do you see that paper? Tear it off," the voice said, a hint of impatience creeping in.

Naruto slowly walked over, looking at the paper attached to the gate. "This one?"

"Yes, that's it. Tear it off, and I'll give you the power to protect her," the voice continued to tempt him.

Naruto placed his hand on the paper. He instinctively felt that tearing it off wouldn't be a good thing. But to protect Sakura, he wouldn't hesitate, even if it meant death.

Uchiha Clan Compound, Training Grounds behind the mountain.

Sakura lay weakly on the ground, her eyes staring blankly ahead at the massive gathering of chakra. The dense, crimson chakra shot skyward, rippling outward in concentric circles. Four tails swished menacingly, declaring its identity.

"A Tailed Beast."