Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The sound of Ninjas swiftly moving between the Hokage Building echoed through the air.
"Team A, all normal!"
A petite Anbu with pink hair, wearing a cat mask, landed on the roof of the Hokage Building and reported into her communicator.
"Team B, all normal!"
"Team C, all normal!"
Hearing the responses from the communicator, Sakura put it away and stretched lazily.
Unknowingly, it had already been a month since she joined the Anbu. After finishing tonight's shift, she could finally get her paycheck!
"Looks like that's it for today. Time to clock out!"
Boom!!!
The peaceful and harmonious night was shattered by a violent explosion, the loud noise reverberating across the village.
Her earlier excitement vanished instantly, replaced by a disgruntled, cat-like pout on the girl's face.
"Emergency mission! Hokage-sama has already set out. Assemble quickly at the Uchiha Clan's compound on the village outskirts!"
As expected, the communicator in her pocket crackled to life with the captain's orders.
"Geez, damn Uchiha!!!"
Sakura cursed under her breath, channeling Chakra to the soles of her feet as she sped toward the village outskirts.
South of the village, Uchiha Clan's compound.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Rampage, a large number of Uchiha Clansmen had relocated from the central district and settled here.
Right now, on a street within the Uchiha Clan's compound, two ninjas were locked in a fierce battle, surrounded by a crowd of red-eyed onlookers observing the conflict.
Since both combatants were Uchiha, they were passionately exchanging 'benevolent' Fireball Technique. (T/N: It's called benevolent because Great Fireball Technique had never killed anyone in the original work.)
Of course, aside from disturbing the peace, their Ninjutsu hadn't achieved any substantial results.
Whoosh!
The figure of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, descended onto the roof of one of the residences.
He was accompanied by about a dozen Anbu's members of various kinds.
Seeing that neither side showed any intention of stopping, Hiruzen gestured to the petite Anbu beside him.
"Flower, stop them."
'Well~ This old man sure is cunning.'
'There are so many powerful Anbu, yet he had to pick me, who looks the youngest.'
'Was he trying to make an example out of the Uchiha Clan today?'
'But, since the boss had spoken, and to deserve the salary he was paying...'
Sakura's figure flickered. Using two of the Rokushiki, Soru and Geppo, alternately, she soared into the air and quickly closed in on the two battling Uchiha.
Seeing Sakura rapidly approaching, the two Uchiha halted their fight, both pairs of Two-Tomoe Sharingan ready for battle...
Ram - Snake - Tiger - Monkey - Boar!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Yin Attribute Chakra was drawn from Sakura's body. She took a deep breath and exhaled, sending a massive orange fireball hurtling toward the two Uchiha.
The other Uchiha spectators didn't react to Sakura's actions… after all, it was an order from the Third Hokage, so it wasn't their place to interfere.
Instead, the two Uchiha, who were battling, looked eager to try their hand.
"Pathetic! Who do you think you'll hit with such a slow Great Fireball?"
"Using Fire Release in front of the Uchiha? Are you insulting us?"
The two who had been fighting moments ago suddenly found common cause, though their bodies honestly dodged out of the way.
Ninjas were glass cannon. Even if they had Ninjutsu that could easily alter the terrain, their own endurance was such that a single graze from an opponent's technique could mean death or serious injury.
That's why even Genin or Chunin could, under specific circumstances, take down a Jonin.
"Disperse!"
Sakura clasped her hands together and shouted.
The original orange Great Fireball suddenly split into two equally sized fireballs, each targeting one of the young men.
'A tracking Great Fireball... No, it's a Genjutsu!'
The tomoe in the eyes of some Uchiha watching on the side began to spin.
However, the Great Fireballs chasing the two young Uchiha remained very much present.
'We can't dispel it, and we can't reflect it either! How is this possible!'
The same thought occurred not only to the watching Uchiha and Anbu but also to the two young Uchiha being pursued by the fireballs.
Hiruzen watched as Sakura ran circles around the two Uchiha, a smirk forming around his pipe.
Since he was familiar with all the techniques the girl had learned, combined with his own shrewd insight, he naturally saw through the truth.
"Kids these days are truly impressive."
Sighing, he lit his pipe and focused his attention back on the scene.
"If it's just a Genjutsu, why not charge right through it?"
One of the Uchiha gritted his teeth, pulled out a kunai, and stabbed it toward the Great Fireball.
Sure enough, when he was completely engulfed by the fireball, he felt no heat.
The other Uchiha broke free using the same method.
The two exchanged a glance, then tacitly formed a battle formation, channeling Chakra to activate their Ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Nail Crimson" x2
One Uchiha threw a large number of shuriken, while the other exhaled Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire.
By combining their techniques, they made dense clusters of flaming shuriken bloom in an instant!
In the blink of an eye, Sakura was struck by numerous flaming shuriken!
'Did we win??'
Under the gaze of two pairs of Sharingan, the girl before them dissolved into a dreamlike scatter of cherry blossom petals.
"Impossible!"
The pupils of the two young Uchiha trembled violently.
The surrounding Anbu and Uchiha were equally puzzled.
'Once could be written off as carelessness, but repeatedly? That was abnormal.'
'Unless... they had never escaped her Genjutsu from the very beginning!'
At this thought, cold sweat instinctively dripped down their backs.
"What a... terrifying Genjutsu!"
The Uchiha, who had dominated the path of Genjutsu for years, were experiencing for the first time what it felt like to be controlled by someone else's Genjutsu.
It was embarrassing to say, as a whole group of Sharingan-wielding Uchiha unable to break a little girl's Genjutsu.
"Alright, you two, the farce should end now."
Sakura's voice rang out behind the two young Uchiha.
The scattered cherry blossoms coalesced behind them into two pale, small hands.
The girl's figure slowly materialized within the dreamlike scene, astonishing cold emanating from her hands.
"Don't think it'll be so easy to defeat us!"
The two Uchiha were, after all, experienced Ninjas. After analysis, they concluded that Sakura would approach them to attack.
So, using Sakura's voice to pinpoint her approach, they launched a wide-area Ninjutsu at her.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
They drew water from the Naka River, and a pale, straight line fell from the sky… a massive vortex forming a waterspout.
Boom!!!
Fierce torrents scoured the earth, and Chakra perception spread instantly, turning the streets of the Uchiha Clan's compound into a marsh.
"How about that!"
The young Uchiha looked into the distance at the girl standing on the water's surface.
They reached out again, preparing to draw weapons from their tool pouches.
"Heh, it's the first time I've seen someone create a home-field advantage for their enemy."
"Well then, I'll gladly accept it."
Sakura's clear voice rang out.
A cold wind blew, and snow-white ice crystals scattered sporadically in the air.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sound of spreading ice echoed across the area. In that instant, the marsh stilled, and all phenomena froze.
A snowy ice field sealed the earth, imprisoning the two Uchiha within peaks of frost and snow.
"Whew!"
Leaning lightly against an ice pillar, Sakura exhaled a breath of cold air.
Ice crystals sprinkled from her pink hair, and her soft murmur blended into the cold wind, reflecting her excitement from the battle.
"Thanks for the treat~"
"You..."
A large group of Uchiha flickered into position, surrounding Sakura.
One particularly impatient Uchiha rushed forward and demanded loudly, "What Ninjutsu did you just use?!"