Chapter 78: Support Squad
With a single move, she had killed the enemy. Feeling a life extinguish under her hand, Sakura's heart was exceptionally calm at this moment.
She was not a bloodthirsty person. In her previous life, she couldn't even kill a chicken.
But the current Sakura, without realizing it, had become capable of calmly and efficiently taking a person's life.
She was already a ninja skilled in the art of killing. When the Sound ninja had ambushed her, she had already detected the restless chakra source. Yet she had stood quietly, pretending not to have noticed, while simultaneously forming a water shield of ultrapure water to protect her back and quietly condensing an ice blade to viciously stab back at the most active point of the Sound ninja's chakra. The attacking Sound ninja was thus killed by her in a single blow.
He fell behind Sakura, his blood gushing out, leaving mottled stains on the girl's body, yet she acted as if nothing had happened, completely unmoved.
She was surprised by her own change, yet she calmly accepted this version of herself.
If you don't want to be killed, then you can only kill. This was her way of survival in this cruel world of Naruto.
The girl pulled out the blade. Fresh blood flowed down the ice blade onto her hand. The gloomy, dark red was made even more shocking against her snow-white skin, like a rose painted on the most beautiful silk.
Sakura's hands were stained with blood.
The lake of her heart was as calm as if it were frozen.
When a battle began, she would not have the slightest pity for the enemy.
The ice blade spun in her palm, changing from a reverse grip to a forward grip.
With a light turn of her wrist, a faint blue chakra light suddenly appeared. Power erupted, and the ice blade held between her slender fingers shot out like a bolt of lightning chasing the wind!
Another approaching Sound ninja fell in response, an ice blade, crystal clear and exuding a chilling aura, embedded in his chest.
Perhaps thinking that Sakura and Naruto were young and easy to bully, the two attacking Sound ninja were probably not even at the Chunin level. They were killed cleanly and swiftly, so much so that even Naruto barely had time to react.
The only purpose for which Orochimaru had dispatched them was likely to serve as cannon fodder to buy time.
However, although the enemy's strength was lacking, their numbers... Sakura frowned... were very large!
She had just taken down two, and another two Sound ninja charged forward, unafraid of death, their skills looking just as poor, as if they hadn't learned any lesson from the previous two.
So eager to die? The girl snorted coldly. She clasped her hands together, preparing to cast a ninjutsu, but was interrupted by Naruto's hand.
"Save your strength. Leave these two to me!" Naruto said with a confident smile. The sneak attack from the Sound ninja just now had startled him. When he came to his senses, the enemy had already been killed by Sakura in an instant. Only then did he realize that the enemy was all bark and no bite, just looking fierce.
"Ninja Art: Multi-Shadow Clo—huh?"
Thud! Thud!
A black shadow flashed past the two Sound ninja like a fleeting light. A spray of blood suddenly bloomed in the air. Naruto had just gathered his chakra when the two Sound ninja collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.
The black shadow landed in front of Sakura and Naruto. The one who had killed the enemy with such a swift technique was Kakashi. His expression was unprecedentedly serious as he looked at the two of them with a sharp gaze.
"Sakura, Naruto, listen up! The situation is urgent, so I'll make this quick..."
He looked at the empty arena and said to the two of them with a grave expression.
On the arena floor.
Earlier, when Baki discovered that the Fourth Kazekage was actually Orochimaru in disguise, the ominous premonition in his heart had intensified, and he realized that something seemed to be wrong.
After a difficult decision, he determined that the safety of the Jinchuriki was more important and decided to cancel the original plan, having Kankuro and Temari retreat with Gaara.
"Sasuke is currently in pursuit of Gaara's squad. Therefore, my new order for you is to form a support squad and cover Sasuke's safe return!" Kakashi said in a deep voice.
He patted Sakura's shoulder.
"Sakura, you've already reached the level of a Chunin. Now, learn to bear the responsibilities of one! You will lead this support squad. You will decide the personnel. My requirement is that everyone, including Sasuke, must return safely!"
"I'm leaving this to you! There are too many enemies... I need to reduce their numbers first!"
Tsk! Sakura suddenly felt that Kakashi's hand was very heavy.
She was very confident in ensuring her own safety. But to lead a squad and be responsible for everyone's safety was a first for her.
In this chaotic moment, how easy was it to protect herself and three other Genin?
Sakura could feel Kakashi's trust in her.
Responsibility. The word was so heavy.
"I understand, Kakashi-sensei..." Without making any excuses, Sakura calmly accepted the order.
The girl bit her lip, desperately trying to recall the tracking and internship courses she had taken at the academy.
"To form a support squad, the number of people should not exceed four. Otherwise, not only will we lose the advantage of speed, but we will also be easily discovered by the enemy..."
She looked around, screening through the Genin one by one.
"To support Sasuke, the first choice is, of course, Naruto. With me and Naruto, our combat power is already sufficient. So, for the second person, I choose Shikamaru. His strategic mind is very important to us."
"As for the fourth person, I still need someone crucial, someone who can track them..."
Sakura pondered.
"Choose me, Sakura-chan!"
Hearing a clear female voice, Sakura suddenly turned her head. Hinata was jumping down from the spectator stands behind her, her Byakugan flaring with a凛然 anger!
"I heard what you said by reading your lips over there," Hinata explained. "Since you need someone who can track Sasuke-kun, then I am the most suitable candidate!"
Sakura's eyebrows rose. Her best friend taking the initiative to help was, of course, for the best. Hinata's tracking ability and combat power were both quite formidable, a perfect and important piece of the puzzle for the support squad she was leading.
However, was her motive to help Sakura, or was it for a certain someone? Sakura looked at her with a half-smile and nodded in agreement.
"You, me, Naruto, and Shikamaru... Hey, hey, Shikamaru, stop playing dead!" Sakura kicked the Shikamaru who was lying on the ground pretending to be under a genjutsu, a black line on her forehead.
His posture was quite convincing, but in Sakura's eyes, both his breathing rhythm and the amplitude of his chakra fluctuations indicated that Shikamaru was completely awake.
"Hey, why do you have to call on me? I don't want to get involved in such a troublesome thing!" Shikamaru, who had been exposed, felt no shame at all. He sat up with an unmotivated look on his face and said impatiently.
Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed. This guy was good at everything, just that he lacked too much motivation.
"Even I can see that you're faking being unconscious. Do you think others can't see it? It's more dangerous to lie here. You might as well join my squad. Our combat power is very strong, and we can definitely guarantee your safety!" she persuaded Shikamaru patiently.
What Sakura said made sense, and Shikamaru was clearly moved.
As they were talking, the two girls suddenly and tacitly attacked at the same time, one to the left and one to the right, to deal with the newly arrived enemies.
"Ice Style: A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
"Gentle Fist: Rending Air Palm!"
On the left, the black-haired, white-eyed girl, though her figure was graceful and seemed weak and petite, her fists and feet were as sharp as thunderbolts, her every move filled with power. The Rending Air Palm was struck out continuously from a distance, emitting a shrill whistle in the air as it slammed into the chests of the Sound ninja. A deep crater actually appeared on each of their chests!
The Sound ninja uncontrollably vomited bloody fragments of their internal organs and fell limply to the ground.
On the right, the pink-haired, emerald-eyed girl had a different style: she stood proudly, facing the two attacking enemies without moving a muscle, as firm as a mountain. Her ten slender, green-onion-like fingers flew and formed hand seals like a butterfly. Her emerald eyes were clear and sharp. With a surge of her chakra, the pool of defeated blood at her feet danced妖娆ly with it, turning into a series of blood arrows that met the attacking enemies!
Swish, swish...!
The girl's ninjutsu was fast and ruthless. The blood arrows flew continuously towards the enemy, weaving a dense, impenetrable net in the air, completely enveloping the terrified Sound ninja! Cries of pain immediately rose and fell, and the Sound ninja all fell to the ground, unable to get up.
"Please, I insist on joining your squad!" Shikamaru suddenly stood up and said to Sakura solemnly, grabbing her hand.
The other three: "..."
Our strength, didn't you see it during the match just now? You're only showing your loyalty now... You didn't think we were all too tired to fight, did you? Sakura complained wildly about Shikamaru in her heart.
"Since Shikamaru has also agreed, let's get moving! Let's not get entangled with these enemies here!" Naruto urged.
Shikamaru stopped the eager Naruto. "Wait, how are we going to get out? I don't recommend using the exit. There are definitely a lot of enemies there!"
Bang! Before Shikamaru's words had faded, a loud bang was heard from behind him.
He turned his head and saw that the half-meter-thick outer wall had been smashed to pieces by a single punch from Hinata! Then she clapped her hands as if nothing had happened. "It's simple. We'll go out from here!"
The two boys were instantly dumbfounded, looking at each other speechlessly. Hinata can actually be this violent and direct!
If I remember correctly, Hinata's family's secret art is the Gentle Fist, right!
As if seeing through the two's confusion, Sakura stood proudly with her arms crossed and said calmly, "I taught her that."
"Let's go!" Without waiting for their response, she let out a low shout and took the lead in charging out.
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