High above the Hidden Grass Village, Kurotsuchi hovered in mid-air, cradling Sakura Haruno in her arms. Below them, the village had already descended into chaos as the Grass ninja clashed with Konoha's advancing forces. Sakura's keen emerald eyes scanned the battlefield below, calculating the perfect time and place to join the fray.
Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi looked absolutely miserable.
She had never carried another person through the air before. Flying solo was one thing—carrying someone else was another entirely. The extra weight was draining her chakra at an alarming rate. She began to wonder if she should start conserving her chakra now before it was too late.
As the cool night breeze ruffled Sakura's short pink hair, a few strands tickled Kurotsuchi's face. She scrunched her nose and shook her head, trying to shake off the intrusive hairs. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, drifting into her nostrils—a gentle, floral scent that caught her off guard.
"You… actually smell kind of nice," Kurotsuchi muttered before she could stop herself.
Sakura turned her head slowly, her sharp eyes locking onto the other girl. Her expression was void of emotion, but her stare spoke volumes. She looked at Kurotsuchi like one might look at a suspicious stray mutt.
"I—I—I didn't mean it like that!" Kurotsuchi stammered, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red. She flailed awkwardly in the air, clearly panicking. "I'm not into girls or anything, I swear!"
Sakura ignored the flustered explanation. She pointed to a group of Leaf shinobi below, currently being surrounded by a squad of five or six Grass ninja. "Drop me there."
"Huh? Oh! Yes—yes, absolutely!"
Relieved to escape the awkward situation, Kurotsuchi immediately released Sakura like a hot coal. The pink-haired kunoichi dropped through the air like a meteor, her body turning as she descended. Mid-fall, she slipped on the chakra-metal knuckle dusters Sasuke had given her.
As her fists clenched, chakra surged into the weapons. The chakra-metal responded to her will, igniting with a visible aura of concentrated chakra—fiery and dense. The aura began to take shape, condensing into something tangible… a beastly, tiger-like face formed around each knuckle.
Sakura spared a glance at the energy beast forming around her fists.
"Really? Tigers again? Are we still counting them as part of the cat family?" she mused briefly, remembering the ninja cats who once claimed tigers were their oversized cousins.
But now wasn't the time for philosophical musings. As she neared the ground, she twisted her body and braced herself. Upon landing, she reached out, snatched the nearest Konoha ninja out of harm's way with one hand, and then drove her other fist into the earth.
BOOM!!
The ground ruptured like an earthquake. Dirt and stone exploded outward. Entire buildings crumbled. Smoke and dust filled the air, spreading out in all directions as a shockwave followed the impact.
The squad of Grass ninja who had surrounded the Konoha soldier were obliterated—thrown back like rag dolls, some buried under falling rubble, others completely still. The very earth bore a crater nearly fifteen meters wide where Sakura had struck.
The reinforcements who had been rushing in to help that isolated Konoha ninja stopped in their tracks, eyes wide with disbelief.
Kurotsuchi, still observing from above, broke into a cold sweat. Watching the petite girl unleash such overwhelming power with a single punch was enough to shake her deeply.
Note to self: Never piss her off.
One punch, and I'll be paste.
"Th-Thank you…" the Konoha ninja, still trembling, looked at Sakura with a mix of awe and terror. Cold sweat beaded down his forehead.
Sakura nodded curtly, then turned without another word and dashed toward the next battlefield. Her movements were swift, decisive.
Wherever she passed, destruction followed.
Each strike was precise, efficient, and brutal—sending Grass ninja flying, breaking lines, crushing morale. It didn't take long before many among both allies and enemies began to take notice of the pink-haired storm tearing through the battlefield.
Her battle style—unrelenting, physical, devastating—reminded many of the legendary Tsunade-hime. It was as if the Princess of Konoha had returned to the front lines through her successor.
Minutes turned into hours. The Hidden Grass Village's resistance began to crumble.
In under two hours, Konoha had seized control of nearly seventy percent of the village.
The head of the Hidden Grass Village sat in the central command room, his chest heaving with anxiety and despair. Every report that came in confirmed the same horrifying truth—they were losing, and losing fast.
"Leader," one of his attendants spoke quietly, his voice laced with resignation. "We need to go."
The Grass leader's face was grim. "Konoha's surprise attack… none of us saw it coming."
They hadn't had time to rally their forces. Without proper coordination, the defenders were left to fight in scattered, isolated pockets. Konoha's elite forces picked them off easily.
Even when they managed to gather small squads to mount counterattacks, Konoha crushed them without hesitation.
The leader clenched his fists tightly, the sound of his knuckles popping echoing in the quiet room.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Take whoever you can. Retreat."
"Find Mu Wei in Ghost Lantern Prison."
His voice was calm—but utterly devoid of hope. It was clear he had already made up his mind to remain behind.
"Leader!" his attendant cried out, eyes welling with tears.
"Go!" the leader barked, voice cutting like a blade.
The attendant hesitated only a moment longer before bowing deeply and rushing out the door, leaving his commander alone.
The Grass leader stood alone, staring out the window. Flames and smoke spread toward the central tower.
"Konoha…" he muttered bitterly.
Just as he prepared to step onto the battlefield himself, a shadow descended from the sky. A short, hunched old man hovered in midair before the tower window, arms crossed.
The leader's eyes widened in horror. Just one windowpane separated them.
Behind the old man was a battlefield cloaked in darkness and fire. Behind the leader was the sterile brightness of his office, covered in scrolls, reports, and mission files.
Two different worlds. A thin pane of glass between them.
The leader's breath caught in his throat. His pupils shrank beneath his mask.
He was staring into the eyes of Ōnoki the Fence-Sitter, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
He despaired. Truly and utterly despaired.
The Land of Grass had always been a small, neutral territory squeezed between the Lands of Fire and Earth. He knew exactly what it meant for the Tsuchikage to appear here at this moment.
Until now, he had planned to send his remaining ninja north, into the Land of Earth, seeking shelter and perhaps even revenge one day under Ōnoki's protection.
But now…
It was over.
"Lord Tsuchikage…" the Grass leader licked his dry lips, voice hoarse. "Can I at least know… why?"
Ōnoki didn't respond with words.
He simply raised a single hand.
"Dust Style: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique."
That was his answer.
To Ōnoki, it was simple.
Weak nations had their own rules for survival.
But when caught in the flood of a changing world, only those who adapted—or crushed others—would survive.
The alliance between the Hidden Stone and Hidden Leaf was paramount. Nothing could be allowed to jeopardize it. Not even a tiny village caught between them.
The very existence of the Hidden Grass Village was, to Ōnoki, an error.
And he had come to erase it.
A blinding white light, heralding total destruction, engulfed the central tower.
The Grass leader didn't flinch.
Instead, he laughed.
A broken, desperate, unhinged laugh.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
"AHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHA!"
"This is what it means to be a great nation!"
"This is what it means to be a small one!"
"I curse you!"
"I curse you both to fall—one day, you will be trampled like stray dogs eating garbage on the side of the road!"
"I'll be waiting in hell—!"
His voice was abruptly cut off.
The central tower vanished in an instant.
In its place was a perfectly carved cube-shaped crater.
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(End of Chapter)