Sakura's mind churned as she considered her options. Crystal Style was off the table because of the Raikage's Lightning Style Chakra Mode, which meant that she would have to rely on Wood Style to control the battlefield and turn the terrain to her advantage… but the only problem was that without Sage Mode, Wood Style was just a paper tiger.
The Fourth Raikage's attacks were dangerous enough to harm even the legendary Susano'o, lethal enough to snap its chakra bones… wood that wasn't infused with senjutsu chakra would be like tissue paper before him. Killer B and Shira were equally fast and dangerous, thanks to the Eight-Tails' chakra cloak and the Seven Heavens Breathing method, respectively.
"We have to enter Sage Mode," Paragon Sakura insisted. "We have no choice… there's no point saving up senjutsu chakra for Madara if we're too dead to use it."
Indeed, Sage Mode would solve all of Sakura's problems. Her peak velocity was already comparable to theirs with Shisui's Body Flicker, and the boost would allow her to keep up with all these supersonic opponents during the downtime between activations... what's more, it would help her Wood Style restrain Killer B more effectively, seeing as the Kekkei Genkai could suppress and absorb its target's chakra...
"But I'd have to undo the Six Paths of Sakura to use the Celestial Empress Lotus Seal," Sakura said uneasily. "There's three speedsters and thousands of cannon fodder besides, I'll be forced to show too many openings…"
"You've been using Sage Mode long enough, haven't you? There's no need to rely on the Celestial Empress Lotus Seal as a crutch any more, I know we can mould senjutsu chakra without it... we just need to believe in ourselves," Paragon Sakura reassured Sakura. "Can you hold on with only two Wood Clones for a few minutes? Three versus three."
Sakura nodded.
"Something fishy's going on," Killer B said, watching as three of Sakura's Wood Clones sank into the ground and vanished. "Three of Top Heavy's clones just moved along."
Killer B hated to see Sakura go, but he loved watching her leave… just not this way. Tunnelling into the dirt left a bit too much to the imagination.
Zap!
"You're almost good to go, brat," A said, beckoning a medic-nin to come over and finish treating Shira's injuries. "We'll keep her occupied until you can jump back into the fight."
The Fourth Raikage hadn't expected Sakura to simply stand there and let him treat Shira. Showing pity to one's opponents was an easy way to get oneself killed, but somehow, he just couldn't imagine Sakura leaving them alone for those few seconds purely out of the goodness of her heart.
Killer B and A began rapidly circling Sakura in opposite directions, trying to enter her blind spot... but with three Sakuras still remaining, one of whom he was fairly certain was the real one and the other two Wood Clones, it was rather difficult to blindside her.
Asura Path゠Horny Sakura.
Preta Path゠Lovey-Dovey Sakura.
Deva Path゠Sakura.
Sakura had elected to keep the strongest spear and the strongest shield at her side while the other three Wood Clones merged with the surrounding trees to hide and accumulate the breath of the planet.
Now that her chakra reserves had become immense, drawing ambient nature energy to herself had never been easier thanks to chakra's attraction power, and combined with the stillness of the trees and her Hashirama cells, her clones would have accumulated plenty of senjutsu chakra in no time.
"Water Style: Starch Syrup Trap!"
As one, Sakura and the Asura and Preta Path clones spat out massive gobs of sticky syrup in front of them. Standing back to back, the three coated the ground in the shape of a three-leaved clover, leaving only narrow gaps between the pools spreading around them.
"Lightning Style: Body Flicker Jutsu!"
Just as he was about to attack in tandem with B, the Fourth Raikage abruptly flickered away with a loud thunderclap, leaving behind nothing but a thunderbolt as an afterimage as he retreated to the edge of the sticky pool.
If he stepped in the syrup, he would electrocute the Sakura whose hands were still in it, but at the same time, he would short-circuit his Lightning Style Chakra Cloak, and it would begin rapidly losing its charge…
"Tsk," the Preta Path clone grumbled, clicking her tongue. "He didn't fall for it… he's surprisingly cautious for such a brash man."
Had A persisted in entering the sticky trap, she would have used her powers to siphon away his lightning chakra, thus avoiding electrocution... but unlike his big bro, Killer B had no such qualms, charging straight at the Asura Path clone, whose tits were still on full display.
"Go-Go Gadget, Nyūtron Beam Cannon!" Horny Sakura shouted, hefting her heavy hangers with both hands. "BOOB BEAM, HA!"
A torrent of scarlet energy burst from the Asura Path clone's bouncing breasts and caught Killer B square in the chest as he landed before her, blasting him into the quagmire of syrup behind him. The aroma of takoyaki filled the air as B's Eight-Tails chakra cloak bubbled forth from his tanned skin, stopping the laser beams from slicing through him.
Seeing his brother struggling against the scorching energy beams on the other side of the sticky trap, the Fourth Raikage bravely turned tail and ran away just like the Third Tsuchikage before him, seemingly transforming into a bolt of lightning as he vanished into the forest.
"Here we go, back to horny jail you go!" Sakura shouted as she clapped her hands. "Chibaku—"
BOOM!
Sakura never had time to complete her jutsu. The instant the sonic boom reached her ears was the moment Raikage leapt over the sticky trap at three times the speed of sound, barrelling through her and her two Wood Clones and sending them flying into the air feet up.
"Way to go, brother!" Killer B cheered. "Bring on the thunder!"
Conveniently, the sticky trap the Sakuras had set up slowed A down enough to prevent him from crashing into a tree once he had skidded past them.
"He wasn't running away..." the Asura clone groaned. Her doll-like body was covered in cracks, her mechanical arms bent at odd angles, and her head had twisted backwards. "He was creating enough distance between us so that he could give himself the time to accelerate to a speed we couldn't react to!"
In the Third Shinobi World War, Minato's reflexes were so fast that he could actually react to the Fourth Raikage's speed... but in actuality, he was only reacting to the moment he lost sight of his opponent, not to his actual movements, which were so blindingly fast that not even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan could fully track them. Minato could only assume A was charging at him and instantly teleport away using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, a technique Sakura was unable to perform.
It was somewhat like when Sasuke faced Lee for the first time… just because his eyes could follow his movements, that did not mean his body could keep up. And in this case, Sakura's reflexes were useless: her Rinnegan could not even catch sight of his afterimage… and once again, to dodge his attacks, she would need Sage Mode's sensory abilities. The Mind's Eye of the Kagura was a fantastic sensing technique, but to close her eyes even for a split second could prove deadly…
…but hang on, she currently had three pairs of eyes on the battlefield. Couldn't one of the less useful clones take charge of sensing their opponents?
"Come on, hurry up already…" Sakura muttered to herself as she picked herself up with shaky legs. "Get on with it…"
Unbeknownst to everyone present, a tree deep in the forest had just fossilised. Inner Sakura, the Human Path clone, had failed to balance the three energies and achieve Sage Mode, turning to stone and dying in the process.
Now, only Paragon and Lesbian Sakura remained.