Chapter 327: Hinata and Sasuke
Time came to late May.
The Jonin meeting was held a few days later. Not many people attended the meeting. The Jonin Squad Leader and the Jonin representatives, several captains and high-level officials of the Anbu, and other Jonin holding important positions, made up about forty or fifty people. As a newly promoted Jonin, Haruno Sakura also attended the meeting, but she basically just brought her ears and didn't speak.
Most people in this circle had already heard that she had recently fought Orochimaru again; and it was one against two, against Orochimaru and the Second Hokage he had reanimated. Her impressive battle record had been refreshed again.
So when attending the meeting, Sakura found that people were secretly looking at her from time to time, looking very curious. Some were whispering and talking to each other. After all, such a tough newcomer might not be seen a few times in a lifetime; from the year before last until now, Sakura had maintained a record of facing a "Kage"-level enemy every year, which was not something an ordinary person could do.
As the squad that had completed the first contact and mission to the Mist Village, all four members of Team Kakashi were invited to attend; Kakashi was even pulled onto the stage by Tsunade to explain the mission process and what he had seen in the Mist Village.
Sakura had already heard and seen this content in the high-level meeting before. Kakashi rarely went on stage to speak in public and give a serious report, but she didn't give him any face and zoned out, holding her own small meeting with Hinata below the stage.
"Ahem, the specific situation is as Jonin Kakashi described." Tsunade sent Kakashi down, and by the way glared at Haruno Sakura, who was giggling with Hinata, their heads together. The latter shivered and quickly sat up straight, becoming serious, not daring to continue laughing.
"Combined with the materials sent to you before, everyone should have some understanding of the situation in the Mist Village," the Fifth Hokage said, seeing that her disciple, who had been whispering with Hinata below the stage, had settled down. "Let's not waste time and vote directly!"
"Those who agree to establish diplomatic relations with the Mist Village, please raise your hands," Tsunade said.
A forest of arms was raised in unison below the stage.
Tsunade's proposal was passed with a high number of votes.
After the voting ended, Tsunade crisply announced the end of the meeting. The ninja either left the venue with a swish of Body Flicker, or gathered in groups of two or three, chatting as they walked out.
Jonin were all very busy, so such a meeting was also a rare opportunity for acquaintances to gather. After the meeting, they all left in groups. Including Haruno Sakura, who had been hanging out with children every day recently, it was rare to see Sasuke and the others, so she pulled Hinata and Sasuke to do some activities.
"It's still a bit early for lunch." Walking out of the conference room, Sasuke glanced at the sun in the sky. The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling, and he squinted his eyes and said.
"Are we going to train?" Sakura laughed. "I haven't seen Hinata and Sasuke spar!"
Speaking of which, it was strange.
Although Hinata and Sasuke were both her close friends and had a very close relationship with her, these two people usually had little contact and were just nodding acquaintances; after leaving the Ninja Academy, the two had almost never sparred.
The white-eyed girl and the red-eyed boy looked at each other.
Their biggest impression of each other was that he/she had a very close relationship with Haruno Sakura. Beyond that, they didn't know much. Probably due to the influence of family heritage—the Hyuga and Uchiha had always been two families fighting openly and secretly, so the two always had a bit of a flavor of never interacting with each other until death.
However, after this two-month-long mission, the two had become much more familiar.
Hinata smiled slightly and said, "I can't compare to Sasuke! I know even without sparring. Sasuke has already been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin."
"Hinata, your strength is also very strong," Sasuke said amiably. "Your taijutsu and Fist of the North Star are very powerful... If we were to spar, I wouldn't dare say I'd definitely win against you!"
Haruno Sakura smiled as she watched the two of them flattering each other back and forth.
"Don't be modest. You're someone who's about to be promoted to Jonin!" Hinata patted Sasuke on the shoulder and said with a smile, "When are you planning to take the assessment? Neji-nii is planning to sprint for Jonin this year!"
Since obtaining the Fist of the North Star, Neji and Hinata's strength had ushered in another wave of strong growth. Especially Neji, who could now use the fourth punch of the Fist of the North Star. Relying on his superior taijutsu, his strength had already crossed the boundary of Jonin. Now he was slowly accumulating seniority and experience, preparing for the Jonin assessment at the end of the year.
"Probably after the Chunin Exams," Sasuke said faintly, glancing at Hinata. "You'll be soon too, right?"
"It's still early. I've just joined the Anbu not long ago," Hinata said, nudging Haruno Sakura with her elbow. "I'm not a genius like Sakura who can be promoted twice a year!"
Being dragged into it inexplicably, the pink-haired girl immediately rolled her eyes at Hinata.
"Just praise each other, don't drag me into it," she said quickly. "It's a rare opportunity, spar a little! Don't tell me you guys sparred every day when you were in the Land of Water and are tired of it now!"
"Not at all. We didn't even conduct any in-depth training," Sasuke explained. "How could we dare to expose our ninjutsu in that kind of place? We were cooped up in the residence they arranged for us every day, doing nothing. By the way, are you going to the Mist Village next?"
"I'm taking the three kids with me, leaving the day after tomorrow," Haruno Sakura shrugged and said. "How is it? Is there anything I need to pay attention to in the Mist?"
"It still feels a bit chaotic," Sasuke shook his head and said. "Not a safety issue, but it seems there are still many people who have doubts about the opening-up policy, or even oppose it... You know I'm not very sensitive to these things, but even I could see that there are still some people in the Mist who have different ideas."
Hinata also sighed. "Both openly and secretly, there were people who wanted to contact us quietly and play little tricks. It annoyed Kakashi-sensei to no end. Fortunately, we were distinguished guests, and our overall strength was strong, so they didn't dare to cause trouble."
Hearing the two of them say this, Haruno Sakura immediately felt a bit of a headache.
It seemed that the situation in the Mist Village had not yet reached the point of being completely clear.
"Haven't they already unified their thoughts?" Sakura frowned and said.
"How can it be that simple? The current Fifth Mizukage is very bold, but she is also pushing for opening up against a lot of opposition and pressure, abandoning the tradition of the Mist for so many years. Many people can't turn their thinking around and are very resistant." Hinata's voice lowered here, and she continued to speak into Sakura's ear in almost a whisper, "The Fifth Mizukage just took power and made a big move. The Mist is now surging with undercurrents!"
This situation... was a bit complicated.
"As expected, it's not an easy job..." Haruno Sakura sighed inwardly. No wonder Tsunade had thrown this mission to her.
"In short, be careful!" Sasuke also said. "Just be prudent in your words and actions. But if it's you, there shouldn't be a problem."
Haruno Sakura's combat power alone was probably equivalent to the strength of their entire team before.
Hinata chuckled lightly. "Alright, let's stop talking about this! Since we have time today, Sasuke, let's agree to her request and spar together!"
Her personality was much more motivated compared to the gentle little girl in the original story. Before, she wasn't familiar with Sasuke, but now that she was, she also wanted to find an opportunity to fight him a few times and see the ability of the Sharingan. Since Haruno Sakura had proposed it, she went along with the flow.
Haruno Sakura glanced at the still hesitant Sasuke and also persuaded, "Don't hesitate, Sasuke!"
"Just let me see your three summoning ninja cats! Oni and Hino are over a year old, they should be able to fight, right? And that big orange cat, Yoru," Sakura couldn't help but laugh when this fat cat was mentioned, "has she lost weight?"
"Don't mention it. Last time I summoned Yoru, she almost used a Ninja Cat Crushing Vendor Jutsu on me!" Sasuke felt a lingering fear when mentioning this. That big fat cat had gained a lot of weight since coming to Konoha and having enough food... He had been woken up by her crushing him several times at night. It was a nightmare he couldn't bear to look back on!
"And the siblings Oni and Hino, their ninjutsu..." Sasuke stopped talking, with an indescribable expression on his face.
"Hn? What's wrong?" It was rare for Haruno Sakura to see Sasuke so uncalm, and she asked curiously.
The black-haired youth waved his hands repeatedly. No matter how Haruno Sakura asked and induced him, he just refused to say it.
However, this couldn't stump Haruno Sakura. Oni and Hino hadn't learned many ninjutsu, and there were very few jutsu that could be useful in Sasuke's battles.
It should be said that there was only one jutsu, and it was a jutsu that Haruno Sakura had taught him.
"Is it that Combination Transformation?" She guessed the truth with just a little thought.
This jutsu was something she had remembered when recalling the manga from her previous life. In the plot, Naruto and Gamabunta had used this jutsu together and turned into a giant fox. Although Oni and Hino had a lot of chakra, they were essentially still two kittens. Sasuke had been troubled about how to borrow their power in battle, and later Haruno Sakura had introduced this jutsu to him.
Theoretically, when Sasuke used this jutsu with the ninja cats and merged into one, he would not only gain the ninja cats' chakra replenishment, but also gain the abilities of felines. His agility and balance would be greatly enhanced. It was a highly practical ninjutsu.
It just so happened that Sasuke's chakra wasn't particularly large, and he was a speed-type ninja. Using this jutsu to combine with the ninja cats should be a match made in heaven with Sasuke.
Was there a problem?
Sakura saw the clue from Sasuke's expression, which was hard to explain in a few words. "Could it be..."
Sasuke hurriedly stopped her mouth and said hurriedly, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Hinata, let's go spar!"
Hinata looked over with curious eyes, and Sasuke was instantly embarrassed. He would never tell anyone that when using this ninjutsu, his image would undergo some subtle changes...
Strength or image, that was the question!
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