Chapter 61: Haku
When Sakura returned home, her head was still spinning.
Jiraiya had crammed a lot of information into her head at once, much of it from fields she had never touched upon before, and she couldn't quite process it all.
For example, some of the theories on the mutual overcoming of the five elements. Sakura had never seen this setting when she read Naruto in her previous life; it was probably written after the start of Shippuden.
It talked about the mutually restraining relationships between several chakra nature transformations. According to this relationship, Water Style was countered by Earth Style, while Water Style also countered Fire Style.
Besides mutual overcoming, there was also mutual generation of the five elements.
Sakura's general feeling about this was that it was a theory of primitive materialism.
Just like seeing that water can extinguish fire and then deducing that water counters fire, the logic is actually not sound. Although water can extinguish fire, and Water Style can counter Fire Style, the two have basically no logical connection. One is a phenomenon of the material world, the other is an internal relationship of the energy world. Things that are fundamentally different cannot be discussed together.
What's more, "water can extinguish fire" is also a very limited statement. Fire of a higher temperature can also "extinguish" water. Using water to put out a fuel fire will only make it burn bigger. The gas produced by the electrolysis of water can create fire.
Counterexamples like these are numerous.
These are all phenomena of the material world and do not help people understand the inner essence of chakra.
It was not easy to extract something logical that Sakura approved of from this set of primitive views. Sometimes the evidence was wrong, sometimes there was a problem with the process of argumentation, and sometimes both the evidence and the logic had problems, and then somehow a correct thesis was reached.
Of course, more often than not, Sakura found that the things Jiraiya mentioned were things she had never been exposed to at all. Most Kage-level powerhouses had developed all five affinities, and Sakura was still far from this goal. Regarding theories other than Water Style, Sakura did not know much.
So, for those statements of unknown truth—even if Jiraiya said them—Sakakura could only temporarily force herself to remember them.
—Let's just assume it's true for now.
After finishing Jiraiya's ninjutsu theory class, Sakura sparred with Naruto for a few more rounds, and Jiraiya gave his commentary on each one. The Sannin's level was a cut above Kakashi's. In terms of actual combat, Jiraiya's guidance was worth its weight in gold, and she benefited greatly.
Listening to one of your lectures is better than studying for ten years.
Sakura felt that she now had a clear and far-reaching goal for the direction she should take in the future.
What excited Sakura the most was Jiraiya's introduction to wind nature transformation.
It was mentioned in the later part of the manga that the Third Tsuchikage had already realized that the world was composed of atoms. For ninja who had the spare energy and time to study scientific theories, it was not unimaginable to use the power of chakra to break down molecules.
Of course, in the microscopic world, "breaking down" cannot be imagined as pulverizing a brick in the macroscopic world. Simply put, molecules are linked together by atoms through "bonds." There are usually three types of bonds: ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and metallic bonds, corresponding to the different ways atoms combine. And to break down molecules is for chakra to provide a higher energy to tear apart the molecular bonds, causing the molecules to degenerate into atomic form.
By practicing wind nature transformation to the extreme or simply learning Dust Style, one could achieve this: cutting molecules. To be precise, it was cutting the chemical bonds within molecules.
Sakura had never thought before that chakra could do such a miraculous thing. But then again, compared to chakra being able to regenerate flesh from white bones and revive the dead, this little thing was nothing.
Jiraiya's guidance had opened a new door for Sakura. Behind that door was the mass supply of ultrapure water that Sakura had dreamed of.
After purifying water to a limit through the repeated distillation method, it could no longer be further purified. Sakura was now using a chakra-enhanced version of the reverse osmosis method for the final step of purification. This method was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and inefficient. With a new line of thought, Sakura believed she could develop a purification method with greatly improved efficiency.
On the way home, she had already begun to daydream about the scenes of her going on a rampage after mastering ultrapure water.
Her mind was so filled with training that after opening the door to her home, when she found that it was not her dear mother who greeted her, Sakura was actually stunned for several seconds.
Behind the door stood an exceedingly beautiful person in casual home clothes.
On her small, oval face, her pink lips, small nose, and expressive eyes outlined a peerless beauty that Sakura was familiar with.
"Welcome back!"
Haku Yuki smiled radiantly, like a blooming white orchid.
The bright sunlight shone on her face, which was as fair as paper, almost translucent. Under her skin, pink blood vessels and faint downy hair were slightly visible.
Her eyebrows like spring mountains, her pupils like autumn waters, her smile like a summer flower.
The bright sun shone on the back of Sakura's neck, warming the girl, from her body all the way to her heart.
"Haku..." The girl carefully studied Haku's flower-like smile.
She seemed to have gotten thinner.
Her cheeks were more delicate and slender, but her eyes were still as gentle and clear as a clear autumn sky.
"Welcome back!"
Sakura went forward and gave her a tight hug, a friend she hadn't seen in a long time.
Yes, welcome back.
It had been almost three months since Haku had come to Konoha with Team Kakashi.
During this time, they had barely seen each other.
Haku's resume was not too good. She had never been registered in any ninja village, making her a rare unregistered individual among ninja. Having followed the S-rank rogue ninja Zabuza for many years and being loyal to him was also a huge stain.
Therefore, when she applied to be registered as a Konoha ninja, she was subjected to a strict isolation and interrogation.
Haku had no evil intentions, so she naturally passed without a hitch. The Konoha ninja would not be heavy-handed with a possible future comrade.
But just the tedious and tiring interrogation process, like that for a criminal, was extremely draining on the subject's mind, leaving one physically and mentally exhausted.
It wasn't over after passing. There was still a six-month to one-year surveillance and observation period. During this time, Haku could only live in a designated place and undergo Konoha's ninja onboarding training. To avoid suspicion, Haku could not meet with Sakura and the others often during this period, only occasionally.
If it weren't for the recent extreme shortage of manpower in all aspects of Konoha, and with the guarantee of the elite Jonin Kakashi, Haku would not have been allowed to join the Konoha Hospital so quickly—she was unwilling to be a field ninja who fought and killed.
Before her stipend was issued, the penniless Haku didn't have many good options, so Sakura had invited Haku to stay at her home temporarily, a point which Sakura's mother had also readily agreed to.
It was just that being able to see Haku so soon was a pleasant surprise for Sakura.
At the same time, she also understood what Kakashi had meant when he said he had found a teacher for her.
Haku Yuki was an expert in Ice Style.
As the two were talking, Sakura's mother also came out of the living room.
Looking at Sakura, she smiled and said, "Sakura, you're back! Rest for a while, dinner will be ready soon!"
"Mom, it's one thing for you to do the cleaning yourself, but Haku is a guest. How can you let her do work too!" Sakura's sharp eyes immediately spotted the mop and rag at Haku's and her mother's feet.
After becoming an official ninja, Sakura had requested at home that general housework could be left to her to be solved with water clones.
This was firmly rejected by her mother.
Mother and daughter had a big disagreement on this point.
In Sakura's view, this kind of boring work could just be left to the water clones. It would consume a little chakra but save a lot of time, and she would be happy to be free. Her mother could also have more time to do her own things.
But her dear mother disliked that the water clones did housework sloppily. After all, they weren't real people—although their original self wasn't much better at housework. Using them for work would require re-doing it once, cleaning up the mess, which was better done by herself!
More importantly, as a housewife, if all the housework was done by her daughter (and her water clones), she would feel idle.
When her daughter and husband were on duty, the house would feel even more lonely.
In addition, as a relatively traditional woman, her mother hoped that her daughter could become a gentle and virtuous woman, and at the very least, do her housework seriously.
—Instead of summoning a bunch of clones to do the work, and then lying on the side to enjoy the fruits of their labor, being perfunctory about the clones' sloppy work, with no sense of responsibility.
"You child! Haku took the initiative to help me with the housework as soon as she arrived. Look how diligent Haku is!" Sakura's mother chided. "You need to learn from Haku, you know? All you do every day is fool around, not like a girl at all!"
Sakura grinned and took off her shoes. "I also use water clones to help you with the housework, you just don't like it! Prejudice! Prejudice!"
"How can water clones do a clean job? Sakura, when you get married in the future, are you going to leave the housework to the clones? Won't the house be a mess! It would sound so bad if people said that the Haruno family's child can't even do housework properly! Will any boy like you then? You won't be able to get married in the future!"
Her mom had started her nagging mode.
She also didn't know why she, who was so gentle and virtuous, had raised a child who was so carefree and full of boyish spirit.
From a young age, she would fight with the neighborhood kids, receiving countless complaints. After growing up, she became obsessed with the research of ninjutsu that involved killing and arson.
A girl with this time, shouldn't she be learning flower arranging or studying how to dress herself up?
She was so naturally beautiful. With a little tidying up, she would be a little beauty. But every day she would train until she was covered in dust and mud before coming home. Even the best raw material for a beauty would be covered in dust! A girl who fought and killed all day, what boy would want her?
Wouldn't she be unable to get married in the future?
Her mom had been worrying about this for many years.
And Sakura had also been listening to her mom's nagging for many years.
She had already mastered the skill of letting it go in one ear and out the other. She kicked off her shoes, one to the east and one to the west, and leaned close to Haku's ear to whisper.
"Don't mind her, my mom is just a bit of a nag."
Then her casual shoe-kicking behavior earned her another scolding from her mom.
Watching the interesting interaction between mother and daughter, Haku let out a light laugh, her large eyes curved into a crescent moon.
Under her long eyelashes, her clear, wave-like eyes were full of light, her smile overflowing.
This warm daily life moved her from the bottom of her heart.
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