The Sakura Legend

Sakura bid farewell to Sasuke and started walking home.

She was in a very good mood. She'd unexpectedly been inspired by Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique and had completed the development of her Monstrous Strength punch. Although it was a pity that, limited by her chakra reserves, the series of moves that had knocked Sasuke down had completely depleted her chakra. If Sasuke had counterattacked at that moment, she would definitely have lost. But at least she'd finally completed a relatively powerful ninjutsu, which gave her a little peace of mind. Thus, without realizing it, her steps became much lighter.

Walking down the street, Sakura decided to buy some anmitsu (red bean sweets) to eat. In her previous life, she hadn't liked these kinds of sweets, but after transmigrating, she'd developed a fondness for them. It was probably the influence of Sakura's body.

Sakura made a few turns and entered a small eatery she frequented that sold anmitsu. "Uncle, one serving of anmitsu, to go." Sakura said to the shop owner.

"Oh, it's Sakura. School's out early today? Don't tell me you skipped class again," the shop owner teased, expertly packing a serving of anmitsu and handing it to Sakura.

"What? No way! I'm top of the class," Sakura said, placing the money on the counter and pouting at the shop owner. Then she turned and ran out.

"Haha, still as impatient as ever. Probably rushing off to train again. I guess there's really no such thing as a genius who doesn't work hard," the shop owner thought to himself, watching Sakura's retreating figure.

Sakura looked at the time. It was still early. She decided to take a stroll through Konoha Village. Since she started practicing chakra control at the age of three and entered the Ninja Academy at six, Sakura basically hadn't had the chance to run around and play like other kids her age. The sense of urgency she'd always felt had finally eased a bit today, after mastering the principles behind Monstrous Strength.

Now, the only remaining problem was her insufficient chakra. Although it was somewhat due to her body not being fully developed, it was a problem that needed to be addressed. Currently, her chakra could only deliver one punch with the power she'd demonstrated today. The remaining chakra would only be enough to enhance her physical abilities for a few minutes. If she controlled her chakra output and reduced the power, she might be able to throw two punches, but she probably wouldn't be able to maintain the enhancement to her physical abilities. In a battle, lacking a nimble body to dodge enemy attacks meant the difference between life and death.

What a headache. Right now, I'm still in the Ninja Academy. Tsunade isn't in the village. The ninjutsu I have access to are extremely limited. Although I think I can improve ninjutsu by combining it with ideas from my past life, I need a ninjutsu to use as a reference. I'm not a real genius. Learning Monstrous Strength was pure luck. It doesn't require hand seals, just precise chakra control, which happens to be Sakura's strong suit. So, with enough practice, learning it naturally wasn't a problem.

As for the Yin Seal and the Hundred Healings Jutsu, forget about it. I can only wait until I become Tsunade's disciple and learn from her properly. Sealing jutsu are far more difficult to understand than ordinary ninjutsu. I guess when the time comes, I'll just be copying the seal design onto my body, creating a seal that can store chakra.

So, at this stage, should I start developing my chakra nature transformations? The principle of the Monstrous Strength punch reminded me of a type of industrial machine from my past life - a waterjet cutter. They both rely on focusing power on a single point, resulting in incredible power. And I happen to have both Water and Earth Release chakra. It's a perfect match! I can add sand and gravel to a waterjet to increase its cutting ability. So, I can use Water Release to create a waterjet, and then use Earth Release to add small stones to it, forming a powerful combination ninjutsu. And the key to this ninjutsu is its low chakra consumption.

In Sakura's conception, Monstrous Strength was a ninjutsu that released a large amount of chakra in an instant, creating immense power. A waterjet, on the other hand, needed to be maintained by a continuous stream of high-pressure chakra, not a single burst of all the chakra. Although using it for a long time would still consume a lot of chakra, it was a more efficient use of chakra than the Monstrous Strength punch. This is probably the direction I should work towards. First, I'll master the Water and Earth Release nature transformations, and then I'll try to practice this powerful combination ninjutsu.

Sakura felt a sense of relief after clarifying her future learning path. "Huh? Wait a minute, why does the street feel like something's missing?" Sakura looked at the people coming and going on the street. Although there were still many people, she felt like something was off. "It seems... like I haven't seen any members of the Military Police Force. Did they all take the day off today?" Speaking of the Military Police Force, they're all Uchiha, and all arrogant...

"....?.....!" No way. Sakura suddenly remembered the Uchiha clan massacre. Could today be the night of the Uchiha clan massacre? Sakura thought about how Sasuke had been upset by her today. He should still be at the school training grounds.

It can't be that much of a coincidence, right? In her blurry Naruto memories, Sasuke had never been upset by Sakura. It should be a coincidence. But she should still hurry home. If it was true, Sakura didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

Right now, Sakura was just a little girl who wasn't even a genin. Naturally, she didn't have the power to change anything. She could only wait quietly for events to unfold. Actually, through her interactions with Sasuke over the past two years, she'd developed a pretty good impression of him. Although he was a bit chuunibyou at times, she no longer regarded him as just a character from a manga. She felt the same way about the others, too. The fictional characters from her original impressions had suddenly become real, living people with flesh and blood. It really took some getting used to. This made Sakura appreciate the reality of this world even more.

They were living people. They laughed, they cried, they felt sadness, they felt joy. Sakura, through her interactions with the people around her, was gradually integrating into this real world.

She should hurry home. Hopefully, she was just overthinking it.

The next day. Ninja Academy classroom. Iruka's class.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke hadn't come to school. When she saw that Sasuke wasn't in class, Sakura didn't even want to ask Iruka-sensei why. It seemed it had indeed happened yesterday. So Sasuke was probably in the hospital right now.

Sakura didn't go to the hospital to visit Sasuke. She knew that Sasuke was undoubtedly the center of attention in the entire village right now. The Uchiha clan had been completely wiped out, with only him surviving. Uchiha Itachi of Konoha had defected. The village's higher-ups were probably keeping a close watch on Uchiha Sasuke at this very moment.

The second day. Sasuke still didn't come to class.

It wasn't until a week later that Sasuke finally walked into the classroom. Sakura saw hatred, resentment, pain, and darkness in Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke would probably never return to being that innocent, arrogant, and slightly chuunibyou boy.

Now, he had abandoned the light and fallen into darkness.