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In a certain area of the Forest of Death, within a clearing between two towering trees, two young kunoichi were locked in combat.
Boom! Boom! The sound of bursting balloons mixed with the sharp whoosh of projectiles cutting through the air, sending the surrounding wildlife fleeing in panic.
Zooming in closer, Sakura was seen activating her sensory techniques while simultaneously disrupting the chakra flow within her body to break free from the genjutsu ensnaring her.
From Sakura's perspective, the black-haired girl before her had split into several afterimages, all of which—alongside the original—were relentlessly hurling a barrage of senbon needles at her.
This black-haired girl was none other than Kin, one of the three Sound ninja.
Faced with Kin's senbon assault, Sakura deftly employed the Substitution Technique, swapping places with a pre-prepared log. At the same time, she continuously retrieved smoke bombs from her ninja pouch and hurled them toward Kin.
Each time the smoke exploded, obscuring Kin's vision, Sakura would retaliate with a volley of shuriken.
Thanks to her sharp perception and solid foundational skills, Sakura had managed to land several hits on Kin, leaving the latter humiliated in front of her teammates.
However, Sakura wasn't faring much better.
Her face was now covered in bruises and red handprints, her lips stained with traces of blood—clear evidence of repeated slaps.
And that was exactly what had happened.
Sakura had never imagined that the Chunin Exams would harbor such monsters.
Neither Naruto nor even Sasuke—second only to Ryūsei—had stood a chance against that Grass ninja.
From that Grass ninja, Sakura had sensed an insurmountable gap in power, an overwhelming presence even more terrifying than Zabuza Momochi.
At that moment, she had been certain she was going to die.
Yet, for some reason, that Grass ninja hadn't killed her—nor had he killed Naruto or Sasuke.
Instead, he had merely placed a dark curse mark on Sasuke's neck before leaving.
While treating Naruto and Sasuke afterward, Sakura had noticed that, despite their bodies being in perfect health, neither had woken up since the previous night.
Left with no choice, she had moved them into a hollow tree and disguised the entrance with a camouflage technique.
But not long after dawn, the three Sound ninja had tracked them down, openly declaring their intent to kill Sasuke.
Having already formed strong bonds with Team 7, Sakura couldn't bring herself to abandon her teammates and flee. So, she stood her ground.
Kin, who had grown up in the brutal environment of the Sound Village, despised spoiled girls like Sakura and volunteered to "teach her a lesson."
Seeing that Sakura was the only conscious member of Team 7, the arrogant Dosu and Zaku—confident in their own strength—weren't in a hurry to complete Orochimaru's mission. Instead, they let Kin toy with Sakura.
At first, the battle had been purely taijutsu.
As one of the top ten students in her class, Sakura excelled in every subject, often scoring full marks.
Her combat skills, honed through years of sparring with Ryūsei and Hinata, were not far behind Kin's, who had fought for survival in the Sound Village.
But Sakura hadn't expected her opponent to be a genjutsu specialist—and one who used sound-based illusions, no less.
Without prior knowledge, Sakura had fallen victim to Kin's trickery.
Yet, instead of targeting vital points, Kin had chosen to repeatedly slap Sakura across the face.
Realizing she was outmatched in close combat, Sakura had quickly distanced herself, resorting to substitution and smoke bombs.
But ninja tools were finite. Soon, Sakura ran out of shuriken and smoke bombs.
This being her first life-or-death battle, her lack of real combat experience—compared to her extensive taijutsu training—left her vulnerable. Before long, she was caught in another genjutsu and sent flying by a brutal kick.
Tumbling across the ground, Sakura barely had time to rise before a foot pressed down on her back, followed by a hand gripping her arm and yanking her hair.
"Has anyone ever told you how ugly your face and hair are?"
Kin sneered, tugging harshly at Sakura's pink locks, her words masking deep-seated envy.
She wasn't just jealous of Sakura's hair—she despised her red qipao, her pampered upbringing, everything.
Why?
They were the same age, yet Kin had been an orphan, raised in the hellish Sound Village, fighting tooth and nail just to become a genin.
Meanwhile, this girl had been born in Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, blessed with beautiful hair, fine clothes, and a forehead protector she hadn't even needed to bleed for.
She's so weak… so why does she have everything?
Despite the pain of her hair and arm being wrenched, Sakura didn't scream or beg. Instead, her emerald eyes locked onto Kin's twisted expression, unflinching—even flashing a hint of disdain.
"What's with that look?"
Kin's rage flared. She yanked Sakura's hair harder, snarling, "Know your place! You're the loser here—I'm the winner!"
Wincing slightly, Sakura smirked through her bruised face. "No… you're the one who lost. You should've killed me when you had the chance."
"Have I beaten you so badly you've lost your mind?" Kin's grin turned savage. "But don't worry—I'll still kill you. Just not quickly. First, I'll rip out every strand of your hair, then carve up that pretty face of yours, gouge out your eyes… let you die in agony."
With that, she prepared to tear at Sakura's scalp with full force.
But in the next instant—
Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
A hand had seized her wrist, and a tall figure materialized beside her out of thin air.
That wasn't the shocking part.
The moment her wrist was caught, Kin's entire body froze—as if her control over it had been stripped away.
"Th-This is… the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique…? Agh—!"
Her ability to speak remained, and as a genjutsu user, she instantly recognized the technique binding her.
But before she could disrupt her chakra flow to break free—
"AAAAHHH—!"
A kunai was driven deep into her elbow joint.
As Kin's grip involuntarily loosened, the hand clutching her wrist twisted violently.
"AAARGH—!"
A sickening crack echoed, followed by an ear-splitting scream as Kin's eyes bulged with veins.
Witnessing this, Dosu and Zaku—who had been watching from a distance—finally snapped into action.
But as they charged forward to rescue Kin, the figure—now clearly revealed as Ryūsei—pivoted, delivering a powerful spinning kick that sent Kin hurtling toward them.
Before they could catch her, Ryūsei vanished again—reappearing mid-air beside Kin's flying body.
In his palm, a swirling sphere of blue chakra roared to life.
"Rasengan."
The instant the technique made contact, Kin's body spun violently mid-air, her speed multiplying as she shot toward Dosu and Zaku like a human cannonball.
Seeing this, the two Sound ninja didn't dare try to catch her—they barely dodged in time.
Kin's body soared past them, continuing until—
CRASH!
—she collided with a massive tree trunk, embedding herself into the bark with enough force to leave a crater.