Chapter 377: A Unique Feeling in Her Heart
"Bye, Chōchō."
Watching Akimichi Chōchō and Inojin head off toward the Konoha Hospital, Sarada waved and called out, "See you, Chōchō."
Since Shuyu hadn't come home yet, Sarada wandered aimlessly through the village, muttering to herself, "Am I really supposed to prepare a little 'benefit' for Shuyu like Chōchō said... No, no way."
"Tetsubaki?"
She noticed Tetsubaki just exiting a ninja tool shop, and despite her lingering uncertainty, Sarada's face showed a hint of curiosity.
"Sarada."
In truth, her relationship with Tetsubaki wasn't as tense or hostile as Chōchō had imagined.
"Where are you off to?"
"I just bought a new katana—thought I'd head to the training grounds and give it a try."
Tetsubaki glanced down at the two swords hanging at her waist. One was her old blade, and the other her newly purchased one.
"In that case, I'll come too."
Having no particular destination in mind, Sarada offered.
Konoha Training Grounds.
"Here I come."
Tetsubaki slightly crouched, her eyes sharp as she faced Sarada, assuming a stance to draw her blade.
"Okay."
Sarada nodded, gripping a shuriken in her hand while activating her Three Tomoe Sharingan, carefully observing Tetsubaki's movements.
"Ha!"
Despite the distance between them, Tetsubaki suddenly drew her sword. Though the blade couldn't reach Sarada physically, the invisible sword aura it unleashed rushed straight at her.
Though unseen, the faint ripples in the air caused by the sword aura didn't escape Sarada's Sharingan.
She dodged quickly, but Tetsubaki had already closed the distance with her blade raised.
Having just dodged, Sarada didn't have time to regain her stance. She blocked the strike with her shuriken but found herself completely overwhelmed by Tetsubaki's pressure.
Sarada formed a one-handed seal, bringing her left hand to her mouth.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Faced with the sudden fireball, Tetsubaki had no choice but to retreat, slashing through the flames and splitting them in two as she backed off.
Tetsubaki hadn't expected Sarada to be capable of forming one-handed seals.
She sheathed her blade, exhaled deeply as she looked at Sarada, then crouched down again.
"Waiting for me to make the first move... In that case…" Sarada stared at Tetsubaki and grasped her right arm with her left. "Chidori!"
Blue lightning crackled from Sarada's right hand.
In her right hand, she still held a shuriken.
"Tetsubaki, be careful."
Sarada warned her.
"Come at me." Tetsubaki met her gaze. As Sarada's Chidori charged toward her, Tetsubaki hesitated, then ultimately chose to dodge—but it was already too late.
Seeing Tetsubaki not dodge, Sarada assumed she had some kind of defense and couldn't pull back in time.
"Tetsubaki, watch out!"
Just as Sarada shouted, a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaping in front of Tetsubaki. He grabbed Sarada's wrist and absorbed the surging lightning without flinching.
Seeing her Chidori neutralized, Sarada first breathed a sigh of relief before looking up at the man and asking, "Thank you... um, who are you?"
She noticed he wasn't wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
"..."
The man didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly kicked Sarada away.
"Sarada!"
Tetsubaki gripped the hilt of her blade and charged at the man from behind, drawing her sword—but he turned around and caught the blade with his bare hand.
"I... I can't pull it back…"
She could've abandoned the blade, but for a samurai, the katana was everything.
Drawing her second sword with her left hand, Tetsubaki slashed at the man—only for him to catch that one too.
"Tetsubaki!"
Sarada jumped up behind the man and punched him in the back. With both his hands occupied by Tetsubaki's swords, he couldn't block the strike.
Her fist struck his back with a loud thud—but he didn't even budge.
"What?! My monster strength punch didn't work?!"
The man flung Tetsubaki away and turned to face Sarada. Instinctively, she took a step back.
"No choice!" Sarada formed seals rapidly. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A straight stream of flame burst from her mouth, but it vanished instantly the moment it reached the man.
"Sarada!"
Tetsubaki rushed in, blades flying in a flurry of strikes. The man kept dodging, then seized an opening—blue lightning surged from his right hand and he thrust it at Tetsubaki.
"That's my jutsu!" Sarada gasped and activated her Rinnegan. "Amenotejikara!"
She and Tetsubaki swapped places.
The man's Chidori pierced through Sarada's chest—only for her to instantly transform into a log.
"Flash Strike!"
With lightning speed, Tetsubaki slashed the man from behind, her blade piercing clean through his abdomen.
"That should do it…"
Supporting herself with effort, Sarada stepped forward.
Though she had used a substitution jutsu to avoid a fatal blow, the Chidori's lightning had still left her body slightly numb.
With the blade still in his gut, the man slowly turned to look at Tetsubaki.
Seeing his complete lack of reaction to pain, Tetsubaki instinctively took a step back.
"Tetsubaki!"
Sarada once again used Amenotejikara, switching places with Tetsubaki. She raised both arms in front of her chest and managed to block, but was still sent flying by the man's punch.
"Sarada!" Shuyu caught the airborne Sarada and landed gently, concern etched across his face. "Are you okay, Sarada?"
"Mm…"
Lying in his arms, Sarada looked up at Shuyu's worried expression and murmured softly.
"Surround the target!"
The Konoha Anbu arrived just in time, surrounding the man. One of them fired a flare into the air.
Watching Shuyu's expression, Tetsubaki, standing to the side, suddenly understood something.
At that moment, Boruto also arrived in a flash of light, landing just in time to stop the man from landing a blow on a careless Anbu. He grabbed the man's fist mid-swing.
"Lord Hokage!"
"Mm. Leave this to me—your job is to make sure he doesn't escape."
Boruto gave instructions as he raised his own fist and sent the man flying.
But the man got up again almost immediately and charged back at Boruto.
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