Kurohana struck again—this time inside Fire Country borders.
A village burned.
Naruto arrived first, fury blazing. "Where is Sakura?"
A wounded shinobi pointed. "Medical tent—she's been fighting nonstop."
Naruto found her bloodied but standing, chakra blazing as she healed a dozen villagers at once.
"You should've waited for backup," he snapped.
Sakura shot him a glare. "People were dying."
They stood face-to-face, anger crackling—not from doubt, but fear.
Naruto exhaled sharply and pulled her into him, forehead pressed to hers. "Don't scare me like that."
She softened. "Then don't give me a reason to be scared."
That night, they hunted Kurohana together.
They didn't hold back.
The leader fell beneath Naruto's Rasengan—only for his body to dissolve into ash.
A voice echoed from the shadows.
"This was merely a petal."
Sakura's blood ran cold.