"Sakura, wh-what are you doing?! Let me go!" Kakashi wore a look of terror on his face, though the binding power of Wood Release temporarily prevented him from breaking free.
"I told Kakashi-sensei I'd let you experience what married life is like in advance!" Sakura grinned evilly. "Generally speaking, men tend to suffer kidney weakness after marrying beautiful wives — especially perverts who spend all day reading smutty novels like Kakashi-sensei! Consider this an early preview. It'll help prepare you mentally for the future, right?"
"Sakura, please let me go! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have tried to outsmart you two behind your backs! From now on I'll definitely discuss everything with you first! Just please let me go already!"
Chapter 155: Sand Trio [Part 1]
Kakashi began struggling frantically at Sakura's words, his ominous premonition intensifying.
"Sensei, no need to struggle. The Wood Release binding you has been specially infused with Naruto's Yang Release chakra," Sakura raised her right hand in front of her chest while holding Naruto's right hand with her left. Wisps of golden chakra flowed from Naruto into the wood, and instantly Kakashi felt intense hostility radiating from the wooden restraints. His own chakra was completely suppressed, the powerful pressure preventing him from resisting in any way through chakra.
"One annoying thing about Wood Release is that it absorbs chakra. So Kakashi-sensei... Are you ready?"
With a mental command from Sakura, the Wood Release activated its chakra absorption ability. Chakra Kakashi had refined within his body began getting continuously sucked away by the wooden bindings, becoming nutrients that made the trees grow larger while simultaneously draining Kakashi's energy until he collapsed weakly.
"Naruto, leave a Shadow Clone here to watch over Kakashi-sensei. Don't let anyone kill him when he's down!"
"Got it! Sensei, don't worry. With my Shadow Clone watching, no one will get the chance to harm you!"
Naruto grinned mischievously at Kakashi. His chakra drained, Kakashi lay listless and powerless. He created a Shadow Clone and concealed it among the surrounding trees before following Sakura away.
"Kakashi, as they say — what fate throws at you, you might survive. But dig your own grave, and there's no coming back!" Sasuke shook his head in Kakashi's direction. This guy was a classic case of bringing it upon himself. If he had just explained everything upfront, no one would have blamed him. But he insisted on taking such a twisted path — now who could he blame?
"Hey, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, don't leave me behind! Hurry up and let me go!"
Kakashi gasped, nearly in tears. The constant drain on his chakra left him feeling weak all over. This sense of complete exhaustion felt like he had been drained beyond human limits. Most importantly, Sakura had mastered the exact right amount—never taking too much chakra to actually harm Kakashi, but not too little either, ensuring he definitely felt that weakened sensation. Helplessly watching the trio walk further and further away, Kakashi looked up at the sky, momentarily imagining himself ascending into heaven with a glowing halo above his head.
An hour later, Sakura and the others finally returned. The three of them carried the stench of blood with them, and their expressions were icy cold.
"Sakura, can… can you please let me down now?!"
Kakashi's face was pale and haggard, far more tired than usual. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and his silvery-white hair almost looked like an old man's faded gray strands.
"Release."
The chakra connection snapped. Without Sakura's chakra sustaining it, the tree binding Kakashi quickly lost its power and returned to being just an ordinary tree.
"Hmph. Couldn't any of you lend me a hand?" Kakashi slumped onto the ground, leaning against the tree as he breathed heavily. The feeling of extreme chakra depletion made him think he really *had* developed kidney deficiency—his waist and legs ached, and his mind felt sluggish.
"No mood."
Sakura and the others were clearly in a bad mood. Even Naruto, usually the liveliest one, had no smile on his face.
"Hey, what happened? Want to talk about it?" Kakashi could immediately tell something had gone wrong during the mission, so he cut straight to the point.
"Not much. I just hesitated a bit before—we saw a child crying there, and I wanted to spare his life. But then…"
She gave a bitter shake of her head. When she saw the child sobbing so desperately, she'd momentarily softened and decided to let him live. Who would have guessed that the moment her back was turned, the kid snatched up a knife from the ground and stabbed straight at her?
"If Naruto hadn't jumped in front of me just in time, you'd be staring at a gut wound instead of me, Kakashi-sensei."
Although the Power Stone makes one immune to physical attacks, that only works when actively using its power. During normal times, Sakura was no different from an ordinary person and would get hurt the same as anyone else.
"Is Naruto okay?!" Kakashi raised his head. On Naruto's stomach, the torn spot on his shirt clearly showed where the knife struck—but there wasn't even a drop of blood visible.
"I'm fine. My recovery is super strong. A small wound like this doesn't bother me at all!" Naruto smiled carelessly. After getting stabbed, he barely waited two seconds before his wound started healing rapidly—muscles twitching as the blade was literally pushed out, without even allowing a few drops of blood to spill.
"It's true your wounds heal quickly, but you're not some numb corpse, right? It must hurt like hell to get stabbed!" Sakura felt extremely guilty. If she hadn't been softhearted, Naruto wouldn't have gotten injured like that. Although his wounds would regenerate rapidly without endangering his life, the pain from being stabbed was very real.
"Hey, don't worry about it! I've got crazy stamina anyway. A few cuts and bruises are no big deal if you're safe, Sakura!" Naruto grinned nonchalantly. Ever since the day they first met at age four, he'd made a silent promise to always protect Sakura, no matter what. Now, finally, he had the strength to keep that promise.
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