novelhk Chapter 273 Love and Protection
Chapter 273 Love and Protection
The medical warehouse at Otogakure Village glowed with a faint blue light, its shelves neatly stacked with healing potions crafted by Kabuto and herbs solidified by Crystal Release. Sakura, her fingertips condensing pale pink chakra, used her newly awakened cherry-shaped Mangekyō to infuse a bottle of "Immortal Earth Antidote" with eye energy. Since awakening her Mangekyō three days ago, she had practiced daily to perfect the precision of her "Medical Eye Healing" technique. However, when the chakra flowed to her pupils, it always became slightly erratic due to excessive tension, like cherry blossom petals swaying in the wind, unable to stabilize.
"Still not working?" Karin's voice came from the doorway. She was holding a stack of medical scrolls, and her sensory network scanned Sakura's chakra. "Your eye technique's chakra is too urgent, just like the last time you healed me, your hands were shaking, but you still insisted on saying 'it's okay'."
Sakura's cheeks felt slightly hot. She put away her Mangekyō, and the antidote on her fingertips emitted an unstable pattern of light: "I just want to become proficient quickly... If my friends get hurt again, I'm afraid it will be too late." She touched the guardian crystal around her neck, and her mother's dying words rang in her ears again - "True protection is not about rushing to become stronger, but about knowing how to keep your heart steady." But when she thought of Kimimaro's broken bones protecting her last time, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
At that moment, the wall of the medical bay suddenly exploded, and amidst the rubble, five dark figures darted in. They wore the uniforms of remnants of the Akatsuki organization, wielding ninja tools etched with black patterns. Their chakra was coated with a familiar Impure World Toxin—the same toxin that had severely injured Kimimaro three days prior, though this time, the concentration was three times stronger.
"The medical resources of Sound Village belong to us!" The leader of the remnants sneered, and the ninja tool shot out chains, rushing straight for the antidote on the shelf, "Sakura, hand over your Mangekyō, and perhaps I can spare your life!"
Sakura's cherry-shaped Mangekyo instantly lit up, and pale pink eye-jutsu chakra formed a shield in front of her. But as soon as it made contact with the chain, the poison, flowing through her chakra, backfired, black lines appearing on her arm and spiderweb-like cracks forming on her shield. She hadn't yet fully mastered the balance between eye-jutsu and medical chakra, and faced with the high-intensity toxin, even her basic defenses were unstable.
"Sakura!" Bai's voice came from outside the window, and the ice chakra instantly froze the movements of the two remnants, "Hold on, we are coming!" Neji's Byakugan locked onto the remaining remnants at the same time, and the golden chakra of Baguazhang condensed in his palm, but was avoided by the remnants with toxic smoke. The smoke was also mixed with "impure earth powder" that could interfere with perception, and Karin's perception network was instantly broken.
One of the remnants took advantage of the situation and slid around behind Sakura, stabbing her in the back with his ninja tool. Sakura's Mangekyo suddenly flashed with the image of her mother's guardian crystal, and the pattern of cherry blossom petals in her pupils suddenly accelerated. She subconsciously injected her eye technique chakra into the ground, and pale pink light patterns spread along the ground, condensing into a "eye healing barrier" behind her. The moment the ninja tool penetrated the barrier, the toxin was forcibly purified by the eye technique, transforming into harmless water vapor.
"That's right!" Kimimaro's bone blade suddenly shot out from the ground and wrapped around the ankle of the remnant. Bone chakra surged back along the chain. "Don't panic. Your pupil technique can purify the toxins, and my bone blade can trap them. Let's work together!"
Sakura took a deep breath, suppressing her anxiety. Her Mangekyo illuminated again. This time, instead of rushing to defend herself, she split her eye-jutsu chakra into two streams. One stream injected into Kimimaro's bone blade, coating it with an "anti-toxin layer," rendering it impervious to toxins. The other focused on the remnants trapped in the smoke, a pale pink pattern of light piercing through the mist, illuminating their toxin sacs precisely—her Mangekyo could see through the source of the toxin, just as one could discern the medicinal properties of an herb.
"Right there!" Neji's Baguazhang, guided by Sakura's eye technique, sent golden chakra hurtling towards the remnants' toxin sacs. With a few screams, the sacs shattered, and the plume of Impure Earth Powder gradually dissipated. Seeing the situation was dire, the leader of the remnants pulled out a black scroll and prepared to summon an Impure Earth Puppet.
"We can't let him summon!" Sakura's voice was firm. She suddenly merged all her medical chakra with her eye technique, and a dazzling light pink light appeared on her palm - this was the "Eye Healing Purification Wave" she had secretly practiced last night. She didn't dare to use it for fear of losing control, but now looking at the backs of her friends, she suddenly understood what her mother said about "keeping calm". It was not about being timid, but about believing in her own strength.
A pale pink purifying wave erupted from his palm, spreading along the ground and throughout the entire medical depot. The scroll in the hands of the leading remnant was instantly purified, and the filthy energy was reduced to ash. The remaining remnants convulsed in the purifying wave, the toxins forced out of their bodies, and they collapsed to the ground.
The battle ended, and the dim lights in the medical bay returned. Sakura's Mangekyō gradually receded, and the black lines on her arms vanished under the self-healing eye technique. She looked at her companions—Shiro's ice escape technique still clung to tiny ice crystals, Neji's Byakugan irises shone with a gentle light, Kimimaro's bone blade had lost its edge, and Karin, smiling, was helping her with her messy hair.
"Sakura, your purification wave just now was amazing!" Karin's sensory network scanned the medical storage, confirming that there was no residual toxin. "It was even more effective than Kabuto's antidote!"
Kimimaro walked over to her and handed her a bone crystal. "This is what Lord Ototake asked me to give you. It can stabilize the chakra of the eye technique. He said that you will definitely break through today."
Sakura took the crystal, feeling a warm touch on her fingertips. She looked up outside the medical bay. Yin Zhu was standing nearby, a familiar smile on his face. A glimmer of light flashed across his eyes from the system panel: [Sakura's Mangekyo mastery increased to 80%, unlocking the "Eye Healing Synergy" ability (synchronizing chakra with a partner, enhancing purification and defense), Bond value +40%].
"I did it." Sakura's voice was choked with emotion, yet filled with confidence. She touched the protective crystal around her neck, and only then did she truly understand—what her mother had left behind wasn't a "talisman," but the courage to believe in oneself and protect others; her kaleidoscope wasn't a "weapon," but a "light" that could dispel the darkness for her companions.
In the following days, Sakura frequently appeared in every corner of Sound Village: in the mines, she used her eye technique to purify underground toxins for the mining villagers; in the training ground, she taught the young ninjas to use basic medical chakra in conjunction with eye technique perception to avoid training injuries; in the medical depot, she and Kabuto improved the antidote, injected eye technique energy into it, and tripled the detoxification effect.
As the sun set, Sakura sat on the roof of the medical bay, watching her friends in the distance—Ningji teaching the children Baguazhang, Kimimaro sharpening his bone blade, Karin preparing herbal tea for everyone. Her cherry blossom-shaped kaleidoscope occasionally flickered, reflecting the sunset glow, like pink cherry blossom petals scattered across the sky.
"What are you thinking about?" Yin Zhu's voice came from behind her, handing her a cup of warm herbal tea.
Sakura took the tea and smiled, "I'm thinking, no matter what toxins or dangers we encounter in the future, I can protect everyone." Her eyes were no longer anxious, only a determined light, "Just like my mother protected me, just like everyone protects me."
Yin Zhu nodded and looked towards the distant horizon of the Ninja World: "The remnants of the Akatsuki organization have not been completely eliminated, and the darkness of the Ninja World has not dissipated. But as long as you are with your friends, as long as your cherry eyes are still shining, Yin Village will never lose its light."
Sakura stared at the herbal tea in her hand, at the cherry-shaped Mangekyo in her eyes, and suddenly felt that awakening the Mangekyo wasn't the end, but the beginning. She would carry her mother's will, the bonds of her companions, and use these eyes, capable of healing and protection, to create a warm world for those she cared about amidst the turmoil of the ninja world.
The evening breeze blew across the roof, bringing with it the aroma of herbs from the medical store and laughter from afar.