Chapter 594: Happy New Year!
The next day, Konoha Anbu Headquarters.
This slightly mysterious place looked very inconspicuous from the outside. A few small connected buildings formed an ordinary architectural complex, enclosing a large courtyard in the middle.
The place for Anbu assessments, daily mission handovers, and training was located right here.
Because it was close to the end of the year and the village's foot traffic was extremely high, most Anbu members wouldn't be executing outside missions recently. Instead, they stayed in Konoha for duty or on standby, adding a bit of liveliness to the usually gloomy and silent building. Shino, who hadn't appeared for a long time, was one of the security personnel on duty.
Readers might remember this veteran Anbu who occasionally served as the straight man. He was Haruno Sakura's Anbu captain, highly skilled but lacking any distinguishing characteristics—therefore, he was particularly easy to forget.
At this moment, he was sitting in his old spot—a small spectator stand exclusively for examiners in the Anbu courtyard—enthusiastically watching a rare and exciting battle below. The two people fighting below: one had a tall and slender figure, graceful and exquisite, holding a long sword with a cold gleam like snow. Her blade flashed like the moon, and her attacks came like the tide. It was precisely the taijutsu ninja who had returned to the ninja ranks, Yugao Uzuki.
The other party was tall and thin. His left eye was scarlet with spinning tomoe, holding a kunai in his hand. His defensive posture was steady and airtight. It was the Copy Ninja rarely seen in the Anbu building, Kakashi Hatake.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Clang clang clang!
In the arena, the two figures shifted and moved, their forms intersecting. At times, sharp blades clashed, cold edges colliding and sparking blazing fire; at times, they retreated a few feet, blasting each other with ninjutsu, lifting layers of dirt clods and stirring up bursts of roars. The two were deeply engrossed in the fight, locked in an inseparable battle.
With Shino's professional eye, he also felt that the rhythm of their battle was unimaginably fast. It didn't look like an ordinary Jonin sparring match at all; even an elite Jonin like him felt a bit out of breath trying to keep up!
Fast!
So fast it made one's eyes dizzy.
The long sword in Yugao's hand danced, transforming into sharp and fierce cyan sword shadows. Slashing, chopping, intercepting, and thrusting—every move broke through the air with a sharp, shrill whistle. The attacks came wave after wave, endlessly, making it hard to keep up.
Kakashi defended just as beautifully. With two kunai in hand, he similarly brandished small, precise, and subtle silver-white cold gleams, intertwining and colliding with Yugao's long sword in the air. The frantically spinning tomoe clearly reflected Yugao's every movement.
The female swordswoman's attacks were like a sky-shattering downpour, but the white-haired young man's defense was watertight, not letting a single drop in, and he even had the leeway to counterattack.
Bang—!
Another wave of fierce sword attacks. Yugao, who had repeatedly failed to break through in this round, grew slightly impatient. She attacked too fiercely, which instead allowed Kakashi to seize a flaw in her swordplay and kick her in the abdomen!
The two figures that had been entangled together suddenly separated.
The female ninja flew backwards. Kakashi's counterattack was successful, but he didn't pursue to press the attack. Instead, he formed hand seals on the spot: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball roared and blasted over fiercely.
Yugao's pupils shrank. Exerting force from her waist, she abruptly flipped and landed. The long sword in her hand buzzed, drawing a silver arc in mid-air, and she suddenly slashed out a cyan blade shadow through the air!
Boom!
The fireball was cut cleanly in half out of thin air by the long blade shadow, exploding in front of Yugao!
She forcefully gathered a breath of chakra and was about to turn back and charge when she saw Kakashi opposite her lazily putting away his kunai: "Let's stop here for now, I'm a bit tired. Consider it my loss!"
"Phew—" Yugao sheathed her sword and stood, letting out a long breath.
She touched her forehead and realized she was already profusely sweating. Looking at Kakashi on the other side, he said he was tired, but he looked as if he had only just warmed up.
Both Yugao and Shino knew at a glance that the true winner should be Kakashi.
"Kakashi actually fought with quite a bit of ease just now..." Shino thought to himself. "This lazy guy definitely hasn't slacked off in his training these past two years."
He glanced at Kakashi, then shifted his attention to Yugao, his eyebrows twitching uncontrollably.
If Kakashi's massive increase in strength and breakthrough of the Kage-level boundary was an expected surprise, then the combat power Yugao displayed just now could be considered somewhat of a shock.
"Not bad, Yugao! You left the team for two years, and now that you've returned to the Anbu, your strength actually advanced instead of regressing?"
The corners of Shino's mouth curled up as he walked down to the field.
It should be known that although Kakashi had a not-so-complimentary nickname called "Fifty-Fifty", looking at this guy's battle history over the years, the people who could truly fight him to a "fifty-fifty" standstill were never mediocre fighters! Any weakling would have long fallen at his feet.
Kakashi was a genius ninja who became a Jonin at the age of 12! Before leading Team 7, he was already a renowned elite Jonin. After taking Sasuke as a disciple, he trained even harder, gradually uncovering the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. In terms of strength, he had steadily stepped over the threshold of the Kage level.
Looking at Yugao...
Before retiring due to injury, she wasn't a particularly powerful ninja either. Although she was promoted to Jonin relying on her strong swordplay, she was ultimately just a woman (Haruno Sakura: Watch your phrasing!), and not particularly outstanding.
But now, after her comeback, her strength had actually advanced greatly, able to fight back and forth with Kakashi. Her chakra and strength were obviously more than a notch higher than before. It truly made Shino marvel endlessly.
Yugao smiled modestly and waved her hand: "Not at all! Just a little progress. Compared to Senior Kakashi, I'm still very weak. Just now, if Senior hadn't shown mercy, I'm afraid I would have lost very ungracefully long ago, right? Not to mention Senior didn't even use his Mangekyou Sharingan techniques!"
Could anyone who advanced to the Jonin level be slow to react?
When Yugao first started training for her comeback, she noticed this anomaly: having not seriously trained for over two years, her chakra and strength had actually surged by a large margin compared to the past? This was completely unreasonable!
Regarding the abnormal change in her strength, she herself couldn't find a reasonable answer either. However, some incorrect options could be ruled out. It definitely wasn't that her body suddenly awakened some Kekkei Genkai after giving birth!
Yugao did have some speculations and thoughts. For example, was it influenced by a certain someone? Just looking at that person's rocket-like speed of power inflation, it was no wonder Yugao would make such a connection.
What was the actual truth?
Perhaps even Haruno Sakura herself couldn't explain it clearly.
Body, genes, chakra, Kekkei Genkai—they mutually influence and tightly connect with each other, their relationships complex and intimate... It wasn't something a half-baked medic like Haruno Sakura could fully understand.
Yugao couldn't answer such a question either, so she simply avoided the heavy and took the light, steering the topic to Kakashi's Sharingan.
The white-haired young man didn't want to expose his secrets either. He scratched the back of his head and gave a hollow laugh, trying to brush the topic off: "The Mangekyou Sharingan, huh... this, well, it's nothing special really..."
In the end, he still underestimated ordinary people's curiosity about the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan. Not only was Yugao blinking her bright eyes and looking at him affectionately, but even Shino, this thick-browed, big-eyed man, was blinking and staring straight at him—
"Just say whatever you can to satisfy our curiosity, hehe!"
A drop of cold sweat suddenly appeared on Kakashi's forehead.
"Um... the Mangekyou Sharingan..." Kakashi laughed drily. "It's just that after everyone awakens it, the pattern in their eyes is different. For example, mine is shaped like a triangular dart..."
Just as he was racking his brain to come up with some nonsense, the courtyard door was suddenly pushed open.
Walking in through the door were two young girls with similar figures.
The one walking in front had pink hair and green eyes, a beautiful face, and a charming smile. It was exactly Haruno Sakura.
The one trailing a step behind her had a slender and graceful figure, walking with elegant, unhurried steps. She wore a mask and was an unidentified, mysterious girl.
"Oh... so it's Sakura-kun and... ah," Kakashi raised an eyebrow, recognizing the mysterious girl's identity. He decisively changed the subject and smiled, "It's truly rare for you to grace this place with your presence!"
"Kakashi-sensei, you appearing here is the truly rare event, okay?" Haruno Sakura rolled her eyes at him crossly. "By the way, I think I just heard you say you lost to Sister Yugao?"
"No, no, Senior Kakashi let me win," Yugao hurriedly explained. "He didn't even use his Mangekyou Sharingan! Shino and I wanted to know more about the Mangekyou, but he absolutely refused to talk about it or use it. So stingy."
The mysterious girl suddenly took a step forward.
"Regarding the matter of the Mangekyou Sharingan..." She glanced faintly at Yugao and Shino. Her chakra suddenly flared, and the eyes beneath her mask instantly turned a solid scarlet.
Yugao and Shino looked at the girl's demonic pupils and drew in a breath of cold air.
There... was a faintly spinning four-pointed windmill.
This girl actually possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan too!
"If you have any necessary questions, you can ask me. I will try my best to answer."
Sakura Uchiha's eyes were indifferent as she spoke calmly.
The entire area was silent.
So quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a good while, Shino finally snapped back to reality. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and forced himself to say calmly: "Who... who are you?"
"A new Anbu recruit preparing to take the entry assessment," Sakura Uchiha said plainly.
New recruit? Are monster-like new recruits like this trendy now? Shino smiled bitterly and exchanged a glance with Haruno Sakura, who nodded imperceptibly, confirming her identity.
"I can't possibly assess an expert with the Mangekyou Sharingan," Shino said practically. "However, I have heard a saying, which goes... only a Sharingan can contend against a Sharingan."
Swish, all four pairs of eyes present looked uniformly at Kakashi.
Sakura Uchiha: "Alright! I'm looking forward to it!"
Kakashi: "?"
Then, this lazy white-haired ninja was pinned to the ground and scrubbed by his student's clone.
Apart from the Mangekyou secret techniques that drain the eye with every use, Kakashi exhausted all his skills but still couldn't do anything to Sakura Uchiha. The latter went back and forth using just a few superb Ice Release moves, yet still beat Kakashi to the ground.
After fully digesting the knowledge and comprehensions passed down by Haruno Sakura, Sakura Uchiha's ninjutsu had become even stronger.
Just like a reversal of the previous scene playing out, this time, Kakashi, whose strength sat firmly at the Kage level, became the one being completely thrashed.
"I passed the assessment, right?"
Having finished the fight, Sakura Uchiha clapped her hands feeling refreshed and asked Shino with a smile, leaving behind an exhausted Kakashi on the ground.
"Of course!" Shino wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling quite ashamed, and let out a dry laugh.
...
After accompanying Sakura Uchiha through the entire process and coming out, the sky had already darkened.
The streetlights were just coming on. The New Year's celebration was about to begin, and the number of tourists increased.
Walking on the street, Haruno Sakura suddenly felt a bit lonely.
The noisy street had nothing to do with her.
In her original plan, the New Year's celebration was supposed to be spent together with Team 7. But in the blink of an eye, Naruto went to train, and Sasuke underwent eye transplant surgery and was now lying in the hospital. She was the only one left wandering the streets.
The mysterious girl with her new Anbu identity, however, was in a very good mood. She walked in front of Haruno Sakura, her steps almost skipping.
When she turned her head, she noticed the faint loneliness hidden beneath the original's calm face. She suddenly flashed a beautiful smile and grabbed Haruno Sakura's hand.
"On such a happy day, what are you feeling sad about all by yourself! Smile!" Sakura Uchiha said loudly. "You have me here to keep you company. Let's go watch the fireworks!"
Haruno Sakura was pulled by her, walking forward involuntarily.
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed in the sky, and giant, gorgeous, shining fireworks bloomed in the heavens.
The two girls stopped with tacit understanding and looked up at the sky.
The bright fireworks reflected the girls' peach-blossom-like faces.
"Happy New Year!"
Sakura Uchiha turned her head and said loudly to Haruno Sakura, smiling very brightly.
"Mhm... Happy New Year!" Haruno Sakura blinked, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.