"Alright, what you need to do now is concentrate and imagine you're holding a kunai in your hand," Sakura said.
"Imagine a kunai in my hand?" Yakumo repeated the words, doing as Sakura instructed.
However, one minute passed, then two. Yakumo's hand remained empty.
Sakura frowned. Yakumo's Genjutsu: True Creation had always used paintings as a medium to generate natural elements. Now, asking her to imagine a kunai out of thin air should have been far simpler than creating lightning.
Sakura still remembered being fried to a crisp, inside and out, when she was learning Lightning Style. That's why she believed that to release those elements without a medium, one must first be able to experience the feeling of those elements. But Yakumo's frail body made it impossible for her to experience them firsthand, so they could only start practicing with something simple.
A long time passed. Sakura, bored, started to yawn. It seemed Yakumo wouldn't succeed anytime soon. I'll just rest for a bit, she thought. I haven't slept well these past few days with all this running around.
Perhaps because the matter with Shuying had kept her nerves on edge for the past two days, Sakura fell asleep not long after lying down. A few white clouds drifted across the sky. The weather was just right. Everything seemed so peaceful.
"What did you say, Granny Tsunade!" Naruto's expression was tense as he looked at Tsunade. "The mission... how could it have failed?"
"It was indeed a failure," Tsunade nodded. "But we can now confirm that Sasuke is not in danger and is still with Orochimaru."
"Dammit! I'm going to find him and bring him back!" Naruto said, turning to run out.
But before he could take two steps, he was grabbed and pulled back by Jiraiya.
"That's enough!" Jiraiya scolded. "You don't have permission to leave the village. Do you want to become a rogue ninja?!"
"B-But... Sasuke..." A look of frustration appeared on Naruto's face. He struggled continuously, trying to break free from Jiraiya's grip.
"I understand how you feel," Jiraiya said. "But we're talking about Orochimaru. Even I might not be able to defeat him. What do you think you can do right now? Run over there and get yourself killed?"
Hearing this, Naruto's spirit sagged, and he stopped struggling. "But... Sasuke's in danger there," he said in a low voice. "I remember during the Chunin Exams, Sakura said that guy Orochimaru... wants... wants to take Sasuke's body."
Tsunade was slightly taken aback by Naruto's words. Sakura knew Orochimaru's goal during the Chunin Exams? If I remember correctly, she shouldn't have had any opportunity to get information on Orochimaru before the exams. Tsunade said nothing, but quietly filed this piece of information away in her mind.
"Even so, Sasuke is safe for now," Jiraiya said. "From what I know, Orochimaru needs to wait three years to change bodies. You can use this time to properly improve your own strength. That way, you can rescue Sasuke yourself. Do you agree?"
"I... I..." Naruto clenched his fists. He wanted to say no, but he knew it would just be a pointless tantrum.
"While you're training with Jiraiya, I'll arrange for people to gather information on Sasuke's whereabouts. If you want to save him, then hurry up and get stronger," Tsunade persuaded, seeing that Naruto seemed to be giving in.
"I know..." Naruto said, his expression downcast. "Pervy Sage, let's go."
"It's good that you've thought it through. You can go out first. I still have something to discuss with the Hokage," Jiraiya said.
After Naruto left, Jiraiya summoned a toad. "This is a communication toad. It's not easy to send messages from Mount Myoboku. We'll use this to communicate from now on."
With that, Jiraiya placed the toad on Tsunade's desk.
"Are you really sure you want to take him there to train?" Tsunade asked. "Are you thinking of using Sage Mode to control the Nine-Tails?"
"We can try," Jiraiya said. "That was my original plan. Use a sealing formula to release the Nine-Tails' chakra, and let its chakra substitute for his own to merge with natural energy and use Sage Mode. That way, he can gather natural energy without any worries, and without the side effects of Sage Mode."
"But he still can't control the seal very well," Tsunade reminded him. "If he absorbs too much of the Tailed Beast's chakra, he might go on a rampage. And... the Tailed Beast's chakra is not so easily utilized."
"That's why the only option now is to have him focus on training at Mount Myoboku," Jiraiya said.
Tsunade was silent for a moment. "Regarding the matter of Shuying, I'll send you any intel I get."
"That's why I left the communication toad," Jiraiya said. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going. I'll be leaving with Naruto tomorrow."
"Sakura... Sakura... Sakura..."
In a daze, Sakura vaguely heard someone calling her name.
"Sakura, I did it! Sakura, wake up, I did it!"
Ugh, that's Yakumo's voice. She succeeded? Sakura was instantly awake. She flipped to her feet and looked at the kunai in Yakumo's hand.
The sun was already setting, its rays dyeing the clouds in the sky a brilliant red. Sakura hadn't realized she had slept for so long. But she couldn't be bothered with that now. She took the kunai from Yakumo's hand and examined it.
"It really is a kunai. It's real." Sakura weighed it in her hand. It was indeed a metal kunai. She then looked at Yakumo, who seemed very tired. "How are you feeling now?"
"I feel... I feel so... so tired..." As soon as Yakumo finished speaking, her body went limp, and she started to fall toward the grass.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Sakura caught Yakumo. She had already fainted. It seemed the success had drained her energy, giving her a temporary burst of excitement. Now that the rush was over, she could no longer hold on.
Could it be that using Genjutsu: True Creation this way consumes a lot more energy? Sakura thought, lost in thought. She had never seen Yakumo become like this from using the technique with a medium.
It seemed she had miscalculated something. Not only was it difficult to use Genjutsu: True Creation without a medium, but it was also extremely physically draining. But even so, they couldn't give up. Yakumo had to adapt to using it without a medium.
Putting those problems aside for now, Sakura laid Yakumo flat on the ground and began to examine and heal her. As expected, her mental and physical energy were severely depleted. Her constitution was already much weaker than that of an average ninja, and now the burden was even heavier.
There was no other way. The diplomatic mission to the Waterfall Village was probably in a few days. The reason they hadn't left immediately was because it was a foreign aid mission, and the specifics of the aid still needed to be discussed by the higher-ups. So they couldn't waste any time now. Under normal circumstances, Yakumo would probably be bedridden for a few days...
Sakura extended a finger, closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later, an extremely fine stream of water slowly rose from her fingertip. It extended to about eight inches before stopping. Under the setting sun, the water column, which could be measured in millimeters, shimmered brightly.
Maintaining such a water column, less than a millimeter in diameter, was very difficult even for Sakura. If it weren't for her profound mastery of chakra control, she probably wouldn't have been able to do it.
Sakura then brushed aside the hair on Yakumo's neck. The water column pierced directly toward an acupuncture point on her neck. As the water needle entered without a sound, Yakumo's face suddenly flushed red, and her eyes shot open.
"Eh... Sakura... I... how did I fall asleep?" Yakumo looked at Sakura, who was looking back at her, seemingly not yet realizing she had fainted.
"You're awake. You fainted just now. But you successfully created a kunai," Sakura said, handing the kunai to Yakumo. "Keep it as a memento."
"Ah... yes, I did it! Sakura, the training method you mentioned really works!" Yakumo said excitedly.
"Yes, it's very good. You've finally taken the first step. Congratulations," Sakura congratulated her. She then stood up and pulled Yakumo to her feet. "Let's go, I'll take you to get something to eat. You need to eat a lot, you know. Training consumes a lot of energy."
"Mhm," Yakumo replied, still in a state of excitement.
Sakura felt a slight pang of guilt. Using acupuncture points to stimulate her to wake up early would consume her body's potential and have a certain impact on her body, especially since her body wasn't very strong to begin with. But...
A slight smile touched the corner of Sakura's mouth. But it seems I've found another fighting style for her. Looks like I'll have to prepare some senbon... and medicine... for tomorrow.