Chapter 306: Konohamaru Corps
Training Ground 9.
Since Naruto had left the village to train, Sakura had rarely come to this training ground.
In the past year, she had only come here once—that time when she discussed Lightning Style ninjutsu with Sasuke.
Because no one used it, this place had completely fallen into disuse.
But from now on... it would become lively again.
Haruno Sakura led the three little brats to the edge of the field. She waved her hand, looked at the training ground in front of her with a hint of nostalgia, and said with a smile, "This is Training Ground 9. When I was a Genin, our team used to gather and train here often. So let's agree to meet here from now on too!"
"Understood, Sensei!" the three said obediently.
However, as soon as Sakura turned her head, the three of them started whispering again: "Do you think she's as strong as my grandpa?" "Didn't they say she has Kage-level strength? She should be stronger than Lord Third Hokage, right?" "Lord Third Hokage was seriously injured and is very old. His strength should have declined a lot..."
"You idiots," Haruno Sakura glared at them. "I heard everything you said..."
Kids these days really aren't cute!
"Forget it, seeing is believing. Today, I'll show you! Hn... do you like high places?"
To make these three little brats submit...
Sakura pondered for a moment, and her hands quickly formed seals. "Ice Style: Tower of Babel!"
With Haruno Sakura's hand seal movements, a huge block of ice suddenly condensed under the feet of the four people. Then, the ice block grew rapidly, lifting the four of them up. The three students immediately screamed "Whoa!", but before they could finish screaming, a tower soaring into the clouds had already appeared on the ground of Training Ground 9!
In the blink of an eye, the tower had already surpassed the tallest building in Konoha; a second later, Haruno Sakura was already at eye level with the statues on the Hokage Rock. She continued to urge her chakra madly, and the ice tower rose steadily like a rocket. In the blink of an eye, the highland behind the Hokage Rock had become low under her feet!
In just a few seconds, a tower several hundred meters high, thin in the middle and thick at both ends, stood tall on the ground. (Note)
The four members of Team Haruno Sakura, standing on top of the high tower, had already appeared at an extremely high altitude with the rapid rise of the ice tower.
It was as if they had arrived at the edge of the sky and clouds.
The ninjutsu was completed. Sakura let out a small breath. With her gradually growing chakra amount, using this kind of ninjutsu no longer required the assistance of the Yin Seal, and it wasn't very strenuous.
She walked to the edge of the tower's roof and looked down. Beneath her feet was the spectacular panoramic view of Konoha. At this height, the streets had shrunk to mere lines, and the figures of people were as small as black dots.
"The view from here is nice, isn't it?" Sakura said with a smile. "Let's start our formal self-introduction here!"
"Hn? Why aren't you talking?"
Haruno Sakura waited for a while, but seeing no response from the three students, she looked back—only to see the three of them lying on the floor of the roof, trembling, their faces pale, too scared to say a word.
"Eh? You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Sakura said, somewhat amused. "Where did that majestic and awe-inspiring look from just now go?"
"N-Nonsense! I'm not afraid of heights!" Stimulated by the half-smiling, mocking expression on Haruno Sakura's face, Konohamaru stood up, refusing to admit defeat, and said with a stiff neck, "I-I'll stand up and show you!"
Then Udon and Moegi also stood up. After all, they were ninja. Although their legs were still trembling a little, they boldly walked to the edge of the roof.
"Look into the distance, don't look at your feet. Take a deep breath. Good, just like that."
Under Sakura's guidance, the three quickly returned to normal. As the fear of being at such a height for the first time disappeared, the magnificent view of Konoha and the earth below excited the three of them.
"Wow! So the whole Konoha is this big!" "Look, that cloud is drifting over. We touched the cloud!" "Looking from this position, the horizon even looks curved!" "Sensei is so amazing!"
"Sensei, how high is this?" Moegi was completely convinced and asked Sakura respectfully.
"Probably three or four hundred meters, right?" Sakura thought for a moment and gave a number. "Actually, I'm not too sure either. I'd have to measure it to know."
"It's so spectacular, Sensei! This ninjutsu is too amazing!" Udon exclaimed, staring intently at the scenery below.
"Big... Sensei, can my grandpa also use this kind of ninjutsu?" Konohamaru also asked.
Even Konohamaru was convinced. Students who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy had never seen such an exaggerated ninjutsu. Standing on a high tower that reached the sky and touched the clouds, with clouds and mist swirling beneath their feet, as if they could reach out and pluck the stars, the three of them were instantly filled with admiration for Sakura!
Looking at Haruno Sakura, their gaze and tone of voice also became respectful.
"If we go back ten years or so, it should be easy for him!" Sakura laughed. "But he's too old now, and he's also been seriously injured. His strength is far from his peak. The current Lord Third probably can't use such a ninjutsu."
"Then who is stronger, you or my grandpa?"
"The current Third Hokage is, of course, no longer my match. It's hard to say about his peak period, because I've never seen Grandpa Third at that time. However, at that time, he was the man known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, mastering all the elemental ninjutsu in Konoha. His strength was powerful and unmatched. He was undoubtedly the strongest ninja in the village."
"Hn..." Haruno Sakura pondered for a moment. "If we must compare, my Earth Style, Lightning Style, Fire Style, Wind Style, and Yin-Yang Release are all inferior to his!"
However, when it came to Water Style, Sakura had absolute confidence that she had surpassed the Third Hokage at his peak!
"What about Ice Style?"
"Ice Style is a Kekkei Genkai ability. Lord Third does not have a Kekkei Genkai... This is a special case. I'll explain the details to you later! Now, let's get to the main topic and introduce ourselves formally!"
"Let's start with me. I'm Haruno Sakura. I'm good at Water Style and Ice Style. My favorite things are pure water and researching ninjutsu. There are very few things I dislike. My dream is... hn, I won't tell you."
"What? Sensei is so cunning! You only said two things!"
"Heehee..." Haruno Sakura snickered inwardly. Kakashi only said his name back then!
"It's your turn! Konohamaru!"
"Alright, alright! My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru. I'm good at taijutsu and Fire Style, and the Sexy Jutsu!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt that the atmosphere was a little strange.
Uh-oh, I accidentally let it slip! A drop of cold sweat trickled down Konohamaru's forehead.
"Hn? Sexy Jutsu?" The corner of Haruno Sakura's mouth twitched. Naruto seems to have been secretly developing this ninjutsu all along... Don't think I don't know, there's a version with a face modeled after me!
She walked over, twisted Konohamaru's ear half a turn, and glared at him fiercely. "When did you learn such a boring ninjutsu?"
"Ah, ah! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Sensei, I was wrong!" Konohamaru cried out in pain, begging for mercy. "Naruto-niichan taught me!"
"Hmph..." Sakura pouted. It's one thing for Naruto to develop the Sexy Jutsu, but to teach it to a child... as expected of Jiraiya's disciple. "Naruto, you're done for... Konohamaru, continue your self-introduction."
Udon and Moegi hid on the side, watching Konohamaru suffer, and giggled. "Sensei is a girl, and he dared to mention this in front of her..." "Sakura-sensei and Naruto-niichan are teammates. Maybe she's already seen this jutsu!" "If Konohamaru had developed a male version of the Sexy Jutsu, maybe he wouldn't have suffered..."
Konohamaru finished his self-introduction while clutching his right ear.
A little brat's temperament is not yet mature. His likes and dislikes change every day, so there's no need to mention them. His ideals and goals were quite interesting. They were actually to defeat his grandfather, defeat Naruto, and defeat his teacher, Haruno Sakura.
One was formerly Kage-level, one would be Kage-level in the future, and one was currently Kage-level.
"Then you have to work hard!" For Konohamaru's ambition, Sakura could only express encouragement. The first goal, if he hurried before the Third got too old to hold a weapon, was still possible to achieve.
As for the latter two... maybe in the next life.
Of course, Sakura wouldn't say such words that would dampen a student's confidence. she just smiled faintly, encouraged Konohamaru, and then turned her gaze to Moegi and Udon.
Udon wore a pair of large, round-rimmed glasses on his face, making his eyes look a little dull.
"I am Udon. I like factorization and hide-and-seek!" He sniffled from time to time as he spoke, looking very childish. "What I dislike is being the first one found in hide-and-seek, and losing to Moegi in sparring! My dream is to become the Hokage's right-hand man!"
"Hehe, others want to be the man who becomes Hokage, but you want to become the Hokage's man..." Sakura laughed and said, "Udon, after becoming a ninja, you won't have much time to play factorization and hide-and-seek. Those are things for academy students to play, understand?"
"Hn!" Udon nodded seriously.
"Also, a ninja can't always be blowing his nose. If your breathing isn't smooth, it will affect your combat. You should have seen a doctor long ago. Come here." Haruno Sakura circulated her Yang Release medical ninjutsu. Her hand was covered with a faint blue light as she pressed it on Udon's face.
"Delicate Illness Extraction Jutsu!"
A blob of dark red, mucus-like substance was extracted by Haruno Sakura from Udon's nose and mouth. "I know a few medical ninjutsu moves! Udon, the lesion of your chronic rhinitis has been extracted by me. You won't have a stuffy nose anymore."
"Also, Udon, your glasses are too big. They can easily fly off during battle. Go back and change into a smaller pair of black-rimmed glasses. Maybe it can extend your life." Sakura continued to instruct, "You have to remember, after graduating from the Ninja Academy, you are no longer students, but formal ninja who have to face the bloody and cruel ninja world! So, from now on, everything must be restrained by the requirements of a ninja, understand?"
"Yes, Sensei!" the three said in unison.
"Then the next one, Moegi."
Haruno Sakura turned her gaze to the last of the three, the only girl in the Konohamaru Corps, Moegi.
At this stage, girls are psychologically much more mature than boys of the same age. Moegi looked much steadier than the blustering Konohamaru and Udon, who was still sniffing.
Although her pigtail hairstyle still looked a bit childish...
Her interest was researching ninjutsu, and her goal and ideal was to become a powerful female ninja like the Fifth Hokage and Sakura-sensei.
Haruno Sakura looked at Moegi with some surprise. She's small, but her ideal is not small at all.
Sakura looked at Moegi's big, watery eyes and commented, "Hn, what a good goal! Female ninja are generally seen as support roles in a team, responsible for casting genjutsu or medical ninjutsu, so their combat power is generally not high. In Konoha, over so many years, there have been very few female ninja who can stand at the Kage level!"
Counting the previous two Jinchuriki—the First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito, and Naruto's mom, Uzumaki Kushina—there were only four in total.
However, deliberately emphasizing the identity of "female ninja" was actually admitting in one's heart that women were a notch weaker than men...
Anyway, Haruno Sakura never considered herself a "female ninja."
There was no need to specifically highlight her gender; that would be inferior. If she was going to compare, she would compare with all ninja.
However, Haruno Sakura's mentality was probably not something an ordinary woman could learn. They would subconsciously distinguish themselves from men. Although this was easier, it also lowered their requirements for themselves. As for Sakura herself, because of her special reason, when comparing strength, she would naturally ignore her gender identity and compete with a group of male ninja without any qualms...
After the self-introduction was over, according to the procedure, next should be the supervising Jonin's test for the newcomers.
(Note: The intermediate form mentioned is based on the concept of the Tower of Babel/Babylonian Tower, often depicted as wider at the base and possibly having wider sections higher up, but interpreted here as a specific shape created by the jutsu.)
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!