Last Time .....
"Ah, finally feeling refreshed~"
Hashirama, Tobirama, and the others looked at Sakura. Although her clothes were rough and her hair was unkempt, it couldn't hide her beauty. The clean Sakura gave them a sudden sense of relief, like a wilted flower regaining its fullness and brightness after being moistened by water.
She wore a red sleeveless cheongsam top, black shorts, and a light pink skirt. This outfit perfectly showcased Sakura's slender waist, rounded and pert buttocks, and long, straight legs. Her figure was athletic and well-proportioned, radiating youthful vitality.
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Minato and Hashirama's gazes lingered on those long, bare, fair legs for a moment before they forced themselves to look away.
Her short pink hair, having been washed, was a deeper shade, no longer the pale pink of cherry blossoms, but a deep pink, creating a striking contrast with her bright, clear emerald green eyes. It was as vibrant as springtime. Her delicate face was flushed from the heat, white with a rosy glow, and her lips were pink and full, like tempting jelly, making one want to take a bite.
When she looked at people, her emerald eyes always tilted slightly upwards, alluring and captivating like a cat's, yet possessing a pure and innocent charm.
Izuna wasn't unfamiliar with beautiful women, but beauties of the Warring States period were either gentle and demure or alluring and seductive. The former included women from ninja clans or noble families, while the latter included courtesans from the red-light district. He rarely saw a woman as charming, bright, and both innocent and seductive as this.
Kakashi noticed the admiring gazes of several men, and his own eyes darkened. The older Sakura got, the more men looked at her with such lust. He had openly and secretly shielded her from several men with ill intentions, feeling obligated to protect her for Sasuke or Naruto. Now, it was for himself. However, to be honest, Kakashi wasn't very confident with the men present. He could only comfort himself that fantasizing about beautiful women was a common male flaw, but that didn't mean he would act on it, did it?
Madara Uchiha wasn't particularly sensitive to women. Although he found the girl more pleasing to the eye now than before, that was about it.
Obito, Itachi, and Sasori were also quite calm. After all, they had all seen Sakura dressed like this before, and they naturally knew the girl was pretty. However, due to their own internal barriers, they didn't have any particular thoughts.
Sakura walked up to Tobirama, Hashirama, and Madara, thanking them again.
Tobirama felt a bit lost, unsure where to look at her. "Isn't your outfit a bit too casual? The color is so bright; it's not good for concealment at all. Why aren't you wearing a Konoha Jonin uniform?"
Sakura's face immediately fell. "Second Hokage, you're so old-fashioned! What's wrong with my clothes? Jonin uniforms aren't mandatory."
Old-fashioned? Tobirama almost choked. He said angrily, "It's not a matter of being old-fashioned or not; it's a constructive suggestion regarding the practicality of your clothes."
Sakura had an expression that said, "I'm not listening." "Second Hokage, everyone dresses like this."
Tobirama wanted to say a few more words of advice, but Hashirama smiled and patted Tobirama on the shoulder. "Alright, doesn't Sakura-chan look good in this outfit? Danger and all that, as long as you're strong enough, what does it matter what you wear? Look at Tsuna's clothes, they're not very practical either."
Tobirama was annoyed. His older brother was always arguing unreasonably, but he wasn't really related to Sakura. He could offer a suggestion, but whether she listened or not was beyond his control. He just couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura's long, bare legs were making him a little uncomfortable.
Sakura knelt on the ground, resealing her toiletries back into her storage scroll. Water dripped from her half-wet hair, falling onto the back of her neck, making her feel a little uncomfortable. Sakura couldn't help but brush her wet hair aside and complain.
"It's a pity there's no hairdryer; my hair is drying so slowly."
"Sakura-chan, do you want me to help you dry it?" Minato walked up to her, asking with a cheerful laugh.
"Eh? Fourth Hokage?" Sakura looked up, quickly waving her hand in refusal. "No, thank you." But she was curious about how to dry hair and couldn't help asking. "But how?"
"Just call me Minato." Minato first corrected her with a smile before answering. "Use this."
A small whirlwind suddenly appeared in his palm. "It hasn't formed any wind-style ninjutsu yet, it's just wind, perfect for drying hair. But it's a pity it's just cold wind, it can't turn into hot wind." Minato said with some regret.
Sakura's eyes held a mixture of surprise and envy. "Knowing elemental ninjutsu is so convenient! It's a pity I couldn't learn any elemental ninjutsu before."
"You should be able to now, right? Your chakra reserves are now completely comparable to the Nine-Tails'," Minato comforted her, then asked, "What attribute does Sakura-chan have?"
"That's right." Sakura immediately perked up before replying. "I have an affinity for water and earth."
"That's a real shame. I don't have water and earth elemental attributes, otherwise I could have taught Sakura-chan elemental ninjutsu." Minato said regretfully.
Sakura was flattered. "Eh? Thank you, Fourth Hokage... Lord Minato," Sakura changed her address after Minato asked her to call him by his name again.
"However, I can learn from Kakashi-sensei; he has water and earth attributes." Sakura remembered that her teacher could teach him.
"That's true," Minato smiled. "However, Kakashi isn't very proficient in water ninjutsu. You can ask the Second Hokage for advice more often in the future."
Sakura longed for guidance from a master, but would the Second Hokage teach her? Lacking confidence, Sakura could only mutter, "Okay, I'll try later."
"Alright, do you still want me to dry your hair? My arm's getting sore from holding that whirlwind up like that for so long." Minato suddenly steered the conversation back on track, jokingly.
Sakura was taken aback, then awkwardly replied, "I can't accept that."
"Don't be shy, Sakura-chan. Turn around, I'll dry your hair for you." Minato patted Sakura's shoulder.
Unable to refuse such a kind offer, Sakura could only obediently kneel down and turn around.
Minato felt it was inconvenient to stand, since he was already much taller than Sakura. After Sakura sat down, he was still standing, which made the height difference even greater. So he simply sat down as well, casually spreading his two long legs apart and bending his knees forward, thus encircling Sakura between his legs. If it weren't for the fact that there was actually some distance between the two of them, at first glance, it would seem as if Sakura was sitting in his lap.
Minato started drying Sakura's hair. The cool breeze was refreshing, and soon her hair was almost done. Sakura shook her head, making her short hair completely fluffy. Minato smiled at her adorable posture, always thinking the girl before him resembled a kitten, incredibly endearing.
Kakashi, not paying attention, turned around and saw Minato practically encircling Sakura in his arms. He immediately felt a little strange, but before he could approach, Minato had already stood up and created some distance. Sakura also stood up and bowed her head to thank him.
Sakura thought today was truly an amazing day. Just taking a shower had gotten her into the hands of three past Hokage, one future Hokage, and two major bosses from the Fourth Shinobi World War. She was really something else; she'd achieved something truly bizarre in life!
Obito walked over and looked at Sakura's right arm. "The injury...it's healed."
When they opened the space of the Acid World earlier, to avoid the overflowing acid, Sakura carried the exhausted Obito as they jumped off the cliff. However, carrying him along slowed them down slightly, and the splashed acid corroded her arm. Obito had felt a little guilty about it, but now that it was finally healed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sakura swung her arm, excitedly laughing, "Yeah, my chakra is practically exploding right now. This little injury is a piece of cake, healed in no time!"
Obito was infected by Sakura's enthusiasm and smiled as well.
Tobirama then looked at Kakashi, "When you went out just now, did you see the Divine Tree calm down?"
Kakashi, one hand in his pocket, replied languidly, "It's mostly calmed down, only some small branches are still wriggling."
Tobirama nodded, then looked at Sakura Haruno again:
"Haruno, your experience with the Infinite Tsukuyomi doesn't explain why the Divine Tree is fixated on you, and there's no information about the origin of that flower tree barrier. Kakashi mentioned that Kaguya anticipates your transformation. Do you have any thoughts on this? If simply escaping the Infinite Tsukuyomi constitutes transformation, I don't understand its significance, and I can't see any change in you, unless the flower tree barrier itself is that transformation. After all, it doesn't seem to reject the Divine Tree's approach, but what use is that to Kaguya? What does she want from your transformation?"
Sakura had also pondered these questions, but she truly had no clue. She could only shake her head in confusion again:
"I'm sorry, Second Hokage, but I really don't know why. However, when the Divine Tree grabbed me and devoured me, it wasn't stealing my chakra, but rather pouring a large amount of chakra into my body. So, all that chakra in my body must have come from the Divine Tree, right?"
"That is indeed a strange point. Why is it that everyone else is stealing chakra, but you're the one transferring it? It's all really incomprehensible." Tobirama felt a headache coming on; the mysteries were piling up.
"Since we can't figure it out, let's put it aside for now. Let's get back to the current situation: how to break the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and how to find Naruto and Sasuke," Minato suggested.
Uchiha Madara crossed his arms and frowned: "Haruno's experience with Tsukuyomi is unreliable, so the matter of breaking the Infinite Tsukuyomi is at a standstill again. Itachi and I can try again, but honestly, the chances are slim."
"So, do we still have to find Naruto and Sasuke? Why can't Madara and I? We're reincarnations of Indra and Ashura too!" Hashirama slumped, looking dejected.
Sakura recalled for a moment, "In Tsukuyomi, I remember the hand seals for releasing it aren't complicated. You just need to form the 'Child' seal, but it requires someone with the Rinnegan and the power of all the Tailed Beasts' chakra to form the seals together."
"Huh? Was that mentioned in Tsukuyomi?" Hashirama looked up in shock.
"You guys didn't know?" Sakura was also somewhat surprised.
Hashirama shook his head innocently. Tobirama and Madara frowned as well. In the Infinite Tsukuyomi, they only saw the sun and moon marks, and then Naruto and Sasuke directly released the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The Sage of Six Paths only said that it required reincarnations of Indra and Ashura to release the seals, without explaining the specific conditions.
Tobirama suddenly realized with frustration, "No wonder we couldn't unravel it. Madara does have the Rinnegan, but where are we going to find someone with the power of all the Tailed Beasts' chakra?"
"Wait, possessing the power of all the Tailed Beasts' chakra, doesn't that mean he's a complete Ten-Tails Jinchuriki?" Obito asked doubtfully. "Does Naruto have that? Doesn't he only have half of the Nine-Tails' power?"
Kakashi reminded him, "Obito, the Sage of Six Paths gave Naruto and Sasuke their own power. Naruto in Six Paths Sage Mode is equivalent to possessing the power of all the Tailed Beasts' chakra."
Obito and the others then understood.
Hashirama scratched his head, chuckled, and self-deprecatingly remarked, "So it was my fault. Madara's fine; it's just that I don't have all the Tailed Beasts' chakra, so I can't break the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Izuna, listening, felt the matter had completely reached a dead end. He summarized,
"Wait a minute, according to you, possessing all the Tailed Beasts' chakra means becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. But now all the Tailed Beasts have merged into one, forming the Ten-Tails, which has then become the God Tree and Kaguya. Kaguya is currently missing, and restoring the God Tree back to the Ten-Tails requires breaking the Infinite Tsukuyomi first. Isn't this a complete vicious cycle?"
"It seems so," Minato smiled wryly. "So, our only hope now is to find Naruto and Sasuke and have them break the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"But that bloodline tracking ninjutsu keeps malfunctioning. If we can't pinpoint their location, searching for them in billions of alternate dimensions and worlds is like finding a needle in a haystack," Itachi worriedly said.
Sakura, unaware of what Itachi was referring to, secretly asked Kakashi. Kakashi explained the whole story. Sakura was initially astonished that there were so many alternate dimensions and worlds outside their own. In the Tsukuyomi memories, their world seemed to consist of only two realms; aside from those few alien Otsutsuki, no one else had come from any other world (excluding the parallel universe she went to with Naruto).
Meanwhile, she was worried about Naruto and Sasuke's whereabouts. Although Sasuke's actions in the Tsukuyomi had given Sakura PTSD, completely extinguishing her romantic feelings for the real Sasuke, there was still camaraderie, and the hope of saving the world rested on his shoulders. Sakura couldn't help but worry, especially with Naruto still around.
Regarding Itachi's explanation, Tobirama felt his wording was imprecise. "I don't think it's a malfunction of the Bloodline Tracking Ninjutsu. It only suddenly stopped working after reaching a certain distance, as if something had blocked that area."
Minato echoed, "I also agree with Tobirama-sama's deduction. The Bloodline Ninjutsu is still effective, but its perception is confused, causing it to lose its direction. There must be another ninjutsu interfering, but we don't know what it is."
Obito then added, "Madara, Kakashi, and I have investigated the distance that caused this ninjutsu to fail from various directions. Basically, after passing through ten worlds or alternate dimensions, the Bloodline Tracking Ninjutsu stops working. If we were to draw a range, it would be a circle with our world as the center and the distance of ten alternate dimensions or worlds as the radius."
Madara looked at Itachi, then at the others, and suddenly said in a deep voice. "Itachi just said it's difficult to find people in hundreds of billions of worlds and alternate dimensions, but he's wrong. We can't even reach those hundreds of billions of worlds."
"What do you mean?" Tobirama immediately asked suspiciously, looking at Madara with skepticism. "What have you discovered? Or are you hiding something?"
Madara was annoyed by Tobirama's questioning tone, but what he had discovered was more important. Ignoring Tobirama, Madara continued:
"I only recently discovered this myself. It's not just that the Bloodline Tracking Ninjutsu becomes ineffective after traveling a distance of approximately ten dimensions or worlds. Once the distance exceeds thirty dimensions or worlds, all ninjutsu become unusable. It's as if an invisible barrier is preventing us from connecting to and breaking through to worlds beyond this point. In fact, although my Rinnegan and Obito's Sharingan can still perceive the world beyond this barrier, if we try to cross this threshold, we will be randomly teleported to any random world or space within a radius of thirty dimensions or worlds centered on our world. I didn't discover this problem before because I wasn't very familiar with the worlds and spaces within this radius, until now."
To Be Continued .....