Carrying the scroll with a cheerful mood, Sakura hurried straight home.
A day of training had made her sweat profusely, and her clothes were now stained with salt, which made Sakura feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Sakura, why are you so late-"
"Wait, take off your shoes! Take off your shoes, you silly girl!"
Watching her daughter rush in like a whirlwind, leaving muddy footprints on the floor, Haruno Mebuki's voice rang out.
"Okay, Mom. Got it, Mom."
Hearing the sound of running water in the bathroom, Mebuki sighed helplessly and stepped forward to gather her daughter's clothes.
"You're such a wild child, always running around like a boy. Be careful, or no one will want to marry you in the future!"
Mebuki picked up a rag, rinsed it, and wiped away the muddy marks on the floor.
As she passed by the bathroom with the laundry, she teased her daughter in a playful tone.
"Then I'll stay with Mom forever!"
Freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, Sakura stepped out and hugged Mebuki's arm.
"Hmph, who would want to spend their life with a messy little girl like you? Go dry your hair right now."
Mebuki affectionately poked her daughter's forehead with her finger, gently pushing her away.
"Geez, it's already so late. Finish up and get some rest!"
"Okay~"
After drying her hair and changing into her pajamas, Sakura fell into a deep sleep.
The rest of the summer break was quite monotonous. Every day, aside from training in Chakra and swordsmanship, she also spent time studying the Genjutsu Hiruzen had given her.
After spending 100 achievement points to record the two techniques, Sakura discovered something.
These two D-Rank Genjutsu represented two different directions within Konoha's Genjutsu System.
The Hell Viewing Technique triggered the target's inner fears, essentially using the existing Chakra connection to interfere with the opponent's mind. Sakura classified this as a 'mental-type' Genjutsu.
On the other hand, the Mist Servant Technique affected the surrounding environment, creating illusory shadows to disrupt the opponent. Sakura called this an 'environmental-type' Genjutsu.
The path of genjutsu originally held great promise within the ninjutsu system. Unfortunately, the Sharingan's technique, [Mirror Heaven and Earth Change], completely nullified mental-type Genjutsu.
This also rendered the extensive research and development invested by many Konoha's Ninja predecessors in mental-type Genjutsu into mere stepping stones for the Sharingan.
'However, environmental-type genjutsu still has good potential for development. Maybe I should delve deeper into it.'
Ram - Snake - Boar - Rat - Monkey
"Ninja Art: Mist Servant Technique!"
Sakura's massive Chakra surged from within her body, and under the influence of the hand seals, she mobilized Yin Attribute Chakra.
From the surrounding trees and rocks, black phantoms rose and stood up. Under Sakura's control, they lined up in front of her like soldiers.
'Yin Release... My spiritual energy has grown stronger, and along with it, my Haki has improved too?'
Sitting on a large rock, surrounded by phantoms, the girl showed a look of surprise on her face.
Although the improvement was minimal, Sakura clearly sensed that the range of her Observation Haki had expanded.
She could perceive more within her enhanced range, and she even detected a pair of eyes peeking at her from about one kilometer and ten meters away.
Sakura looked up, her gaze piercing through the trees and locking onto an Anbu wearing a crow mask hiding in a tree.
'What? It's only been a few days, and her sensing range has increased again!!??'
The crow-masked Anbu, whose eyes met Sakura's, was startled. His emotions fluctuated, causing him to leak a trace of his presence.
"Come out!"
The girl's clear voice echoed through the forest. The Anbu she had discovered had no choice but to brace himself and leap down, landing in front of her.
-There was no helping it. After all, he was the one who had been spying on her.
"Sorry for disturbing your training. I came to see you because of my younger brother."
From behind the crow mask, Itachi looked at the girl before him.
The first time he learned about her was when he was assigned a mission by Hiruzen to investigate her and her family.
The next time he heard her name was from his younger brother.
Although his brother had been hospitalized after their fight, since he was the one who had provoked her and even awakened his Sharingan because of it, Itachi held no grudge.
In fact, Itachi was glad his brother had a goal to strive for, though he couldn't help but feel curious about her himself.
So, on his day off, he decided to follow her discreetly to see how she trained.
Unexpectedly... she had detected him again.
"Younger brother? Who? Sarutobi, Shimura, Fuma...?"
Sakura thought for a moment. Recently, she had beaten up way too many 'younger brothers'.
Standing there, she began counting them off on her fingers.
"Ahem... Uchiha. I'm Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi."
'This girl in front of me is truly something else… beating up so many people and still remaining unscathed.'
But that's not unusual. Adults from Ninja Clans typically don't interfere in children's disputes.
If they lose because their skills aren't good enough, they deserve it. Usually, after they get beaten at the Academy, then they will get beaten again once they returned home.
"So, are you here to seek revenge for your little brother?"
Sakura looked at Itachi with keen interest.
Her pink fists clenched, her immense strength ready to be unleashed.
'This was a rare Three-Tomoe Sharingan user, and a genius at that. Perhaps I could use him to test the effectiveness of her environmental-type Genjutsu.'
"Wait, I'm not-"
"No need for words! Let's fight!!!"
With Sakura at the center, the rocks within a radius of several tens of meters shattered under her feet. A massive cloud of dust shot into the air, obscuring Itachi's vision.
'This child… knows a lot about the Sharingan?'
A sense of absurdity rose in Itachi's heart.
The girl's attack seemed reckless and brutal, yet the moment she moved, she had already circumvented his advantage.
Itachi flung a kunai toward where Sakura had been standing.
But in the next instant, an explosive surge of Chakra, attached to a blade's gleam, tore through the dust like a storm.
"!!!"
The sharp blade's radiance ran rampant. Itachi's eyelids twitched, and he quickly formed hand seals to use the Body Flicker Technique, escaping the range of the blade's light.
Clang-!
A clear, thunderous sound of the blade erupted, echoing through the forest.
Four or five thick trees were cleanly severed at the trunk, their cuts impeccably smooth.
'A wooden sword can achieve this kind of effect?'
Crouching on a branch nearby, Itachi felt cold sweat drip from his temple.
"The Body Flicker Technique, huh? Ninja techniques are really troublesome."
Sakura twirled the wooden sword in her hand and spat out a mouthful of dust-filled saliva.
"A swordsmanship like that shouldn't be used against a comrade from the same village!"
While inwardly shocked, Itachi voiced his protest to Sakura.
"Hah? I wasn't even going all out! Besides, isn't this kind of tool just for play?"
Sakura held the wooden sword in her left hand and formed hand seals with her right.
The phantoms she had summoned with her Chakra swarmed forward all at once.
"Kai!"
Uchiha Itachi formed the Ram hand seal, and an outburst of Chakra swept away the surrounding phantoms.
He then removed his mask, the three tomoe in his pupils spinning.
[Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique]
Sakura, who had been charging forward, suddenly felt as if her body had been pinned by massive iron stakes, and she crashed to the ground.
"How? I didn't even make eye contact with you?"
Sakura, showing surprise, lifted her black eyes to look in Itachi's direction.
Even though she was under Genjutsu and her gaze was locked in the Sharingan's mental space, Sakura could still pinpoint Itachi's location.
"You… are you a monster?"
Itachi felt the strain.
In the Genjutsu Space, the girl struggled violently. Her immense presence continuously assaulted his mind, causing the Shackling Stakes Technique to waver precariously.
'Do I have to use the Mangekyo to deal with her?' (T/N: In the original work, Itachi only awakened his Mangekyo after seeing Shisui's death, so Shisui is already dead at this time.)
That absurd, surreal feeling washed over him again. In less than ten minutes of encountering Sakura, she had already shocked him twice.
This girl was like a box of surprises… just when he thought he'd seen it all, there was always another layer waiting.
At this time, the girl on the ground gritted her teeth and lowered her head.
And then…
Boom-!