novelhk Chapter 244 Destined Bond
Chapter 244 Destined Bond
The moonlight bathed the trial grounds of Otogakure in a cold silver. Sasuke's Kusanagi sword slashed a half-circle of light in his hand, black flames streaming down the blade, leaving scorched marks on the ground. The stone target before him shattered into dust, and ten steps behind him, Sakura used chakra threads to control dozens of kunai, weaving a defensive net in the air.
"Too slow." Sasuke sheathed his sword and stood, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning slowly in his eye sockets. Sakura's slightly flustered movements were reflected in his pinwheel-shaped pupils. Three days ago, during an assassination mission in the Land of Rain, this girl, who always followed him, had wrapped the same chakra thread around his wrist and pulled him back from Pain's Shinra Tensei.
Sakura's fingertips trembled slightly, her chakra threads suddenly tangled. She stared at the wound on Sasuke's back, still unhealed—the wound, lacerated by the fragments of a Shura-do missile, used to shield her retreat, was deep enough to reveal the bone. The healing potion given by Ototake-sama was clearly effective, but the wound still oozed faint blood whenever Sasuke used his Mangekyō.
"Your chakra control is still too rough." Sasuke turned around, the tip of the Kusanagi sword pointing at the gap at her feet, "There are three pressure trigger points here, and the defense net just now didn't cover them at all."
Sakura bit her lip and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her palm still clung to the sensation of bandaging Sasuke's wound. Beneath that hideous scar, the rhythm of her blood flowed in a subtle resonance with her chakra—a connection forcibly forged by Master Ototake using the Uzumaki clan's secret technique, supposedly allowing them to share life force in times of crisis.
The iron gate of the trial grounds suddenly creaked, and Ototake emerged from the shadows, fiddling with a Sharingan crystal that glowed red. "Konoha's Roots are active along the border, searching for Uchiha survivors." He tossed the crystal to Sasuke, a red glow streaming across the boy's pale face. "Take Sakura with you and take down their intelligence network."
The moment Sasuke caught the crystal, he felt a familiar whiff of chakra—the lingering scent of Itachi's Mangekyō. His fingers tightened, and the crystal cracked in his palm. "I'm enough on my own."
"Her perception ability is more suitable for reconnaissance than your Sharingan." Yinzhu's gaze fell on Xiaoying. On the girl's forehead, the Yinnin curse seal was glowing with a light purple light. "Besides, she is needed to suppress the backlash of your curse seal."
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She knew what Ototake-sama was referring to—every time Sasuke overused his Mangekyō, he would slip into a brief coma. Only she, with her specially crafted antidote, could neutralize the neurotoxins induced by the cursed seal. This ability, unique to her, gave her a hidden sense of confidence as she faced this often stoic genius.
On the road to the Konoha border, Sasuke walked ahead, the scabbard of his Kusanagi sword scratching intermittent marks on the tree trunks. Sakura's chakra sensory net spread out like mist, capturing every unusual fluctuation in the air. As they passed through a bamboo forest, she suddenly grabbed Sasuke's sleeve. "Twenty meters to the left, there are five ninjas. Their chakra flow is very hidden."
Sasuke's Mangekyō suddenly lit up, and black flames danced on his fingertips: "It's the Root." He could see the Anbu hiding in the bamboo shadows. Their right arms were wrapped in bandages, and the outline of the Sharingan could be vaguely seen under the exposed skin - just like Danzo's disgusting arm.
The battle erupted in an instant. Sasuke's Amaterasu flames cascaded down like a black waterfall, only to be deflected by some mysterious technique the moment they made contact with the Anbu. Sakura's chakra threads suddenly shot out from the ground, wrapping around the Anbu's ankles. The detonating tags at the ends of the threads simultaneously exploded, blasting the bamboo forest into a sea of fire.
"There are charms on their clothes." Sakura's voice was breathless. Her arm was scratched by bamboo shards blown away by the blast, and blood dripped onto the ground. "It can absorb fire ninjutsu."
Sasuke didn't look back. He suddenly swung his Kusanagi sword in the opposite direction, cutting off a kunai aimed at Sakura's back. Black flames spread along the blade, this time avoiding the Anbu's body and burning the ground beneath them. The moment the Anbu's body was exposed due to the cracks in the ground, his figure appeared behind them, and the blade accurately lifted the talisman scroll hidden in the Anbu's sleeve.
Sakura's chakra threads tightened, binding the remaining Anbu like a dumpling. She looked at the wound on Sasuke's back that was bleeding again, and suddenly rushed forward to hold his shoulder, the antidote in her palm seeping through his skin. "Don't hold on."
Sasuke's body stiffened, but he didn't shake her hand off. The rotation of the Mangekyo slowed, and he could feel a gentle chakra flowing through his meridians, suppressing the cursed toxins that were piercing his brain like needles. The feeling reminded him of his mother using chakra to heal his training wounds when he was a child.
"You're nosy." He finally broke free from her hand and turned towards the bound Anbu. The Kusanagi sword shone coldly in the moonlight. "Interrogation for information."
Sakura watched his slightly unsteady steps and followed silently. Her chakra sensory network was always locked on Sasuke's vital signs. Just as Master Ototake had taught her - as a support ninja, the most important thing is not combat ability, but the ability to keep your companions alive.
By the time they'd pried the Root's location from the Anbu, the sky was already turning pale. Sasuke leaned against an old tree, his eyes closed, the patterns of his Mangekyo irises faintly visible beneath his eyelids. Sakura sat across from him, tending to his wounds with chakra threads, her movements as gentle as if she were caressing fragile porcelain.
"Why are you following Master Yinzhu?" she suddenly asked, her voice as soft as the wind through bamboo leaves. "You could obviously... go back to Konoha."
Sasuke's eyelashes trembled, but he didn't open his eyes: "There's nothing I want there." His voice was soft, but with unquestionable determination, "Besides, what Konoha owes Uchiha, I will personally get it back."
Sakura's fingertips paused, her chakra threads nearly flaring. She knew what he was referring to—the bloody night of the genocide, Itachi's betrayal, and the cold faces of Konoha's higher-ups. But she also remembered how, as a child at ninja school, this perpetually frowning boy would calmly throw her schoolbag into the pond when she was bullied.
"Lord Ototake said that your Mangekyō can evolve." Sakura changed the subject and applied the new antidote to the wound. "It requires purer Uchiha blood as a medium."
Sasuke finally opened his eyes, the pinwheel patterns of his kaleidoscope facing her, "What do you want to say?"
"I found some clues." Sakura pulled out a scroll from her bosom. On it was a fragment of the Uchiha stele that she had copied with her chakra. "In the ruins of the Land of Rice, there might be residual chakra from the battle between the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara."
Sasuke's pupils suddenly constricted. He could sense the familiar power within the scroll, the same source as Hashirama's cells within Ototake, yet with a more primal, oppressive quality. This was the key to his breakthrough, the very thing Sakura had risked her life to snatch from Orochimaru's former subordinates.
"How did you get it?" There was a barely perceptible tension in his voice.
Sakura's cheeks flushed and she avoided his gaze: "It was the system prompt from Lord Ototake... I just took it." What she didn't say was that in order to get this scroll, she was bitten three times by a ninja with a snake-shaped curse seal, and her back still ached until now.
Sasuke stared at her for a moment, then suddenly stood up: "Let's go to the Land of Rice." His Kusanagi sword was stuck in the ground, and the scabbard was tilted thirty degrees towards her - that was an angle that made it convenient for her to pick up the weapon at any time.
Sakura looked at the black scabbard and suddenly smiled. She knew this was the awkward boy's way of expressing gratitude. Just like last time in the Land of Rain, he had handed her his only umbrella and walked in the rain before her; just like every time a battle ended, he would stand in the wind, leaving her a relatively safe position.
On the way to the Land of Rice, Sasuke's pace slowed noticeably. Sakura's chakra network detected a steady recovery of his vitality, and his wounds were healing 30% faster than expected. As they passed through a field of poppies, she suddenly stopped and pointed deep within the flowers. "There's a faint chakra reaction there."
Sasuke's Mangekyō instantly locked onto his target. Deep within the sea of flowers, a young man in old Uchiha clothing huddled there, a half-broken kunai lodged in his chest, his breath barely fading. His eyes had lost their luster, but the lingering chakra he felt was the same as Sasuke's.
"It's a survivor." Sasuke's voice was a little dry. He recognized the clothes on the boy - it was the birthday gift he gave to his cousin before the night of the genocide.
Sakura immediately rushed over, carefully wrapping the kunai with her chakra thread and pulling it out without damaging his internal organs. Her palm glowed green, and the light of the palm magic enveloped the boy's wound. At the same time, she shouted to Sasuke, "His vitality is draining away. He needs your blood!"
Sasuke didn't hesitate. The Kusanagi sword slashed across his fingertips, and blood dripped onto the boy's lips. The Uchiha blood resonated at the moment of contact, and the boy's previously distracted pupils suddenly gathered a glimmer of light.
"Sasuke... Brother..." The boy's voice was weak and he grabbed the corner of Sasuke's clothes, "Don't believe it... Konoha..."
Before he could finish his words, the boy's hand dropped. Sakura's palm magic light died out. She looked at the boy's gradually cooling body, her eyes warming a little: "I'm sorry..."
Sasuke said nothing, simply digging a hole in the ground with his Kusanagi sword and burying the boy beneath a bush of poppies. He moved slowly, his knuckles turning white with each handful of dirt he lifted. Sakura stood behind him, silent, weaving a small barrier with her chakra threads to prevent wild animals from destroying the grave.
"Let's go." Sasuke stood up, his eyes red. His Mangekyō was no longer as cold as before, but instead had a touch of humanity. When he saw the wound on Sakura's shoulder, he suddenly pulled out a small bottle from his pocket - it was the special healing potion given by Lord Ototake, which he always carried with him but never used.
"Apply it." He pressed the bottle into Sakura's hand, turned and left, but a blush quietly appeared on the tips of his ears.
Sakura held the warm medicine bottle in her hand, watching his figure disappear into the sea of flowers. Suddenly, a corner of her heart softened. She knew that Sasuke's world was not all about revenge. Just like the poppies that covered the hills, beyond their toxicity, they also concealed a breathtaking beauty.
The ruins of the Land of Rice looked particularly desolate in the setting sun. As Sasuke's Mangekyo resonated with the chakra on the stone tablet, Sakura's chakra sensory network also activated, eliminating all possible traps for him. Black flames and green chakra intertwined within the ruins, evoking the image of the pink-haired girl who always followed the boy many years ago, and the genius who, despite his indifference, always turned back to wait for her.
Yin Zhu stood on a distant cliff, watching the light bloom from the ruins. A new message popped up on the system panel: [Uchiha Bond Detected, Sasuke's Mangekyō Evolution Probability Increased to 78%]. He closed the panel, turned, and walked towards the Sound Village, a subtle smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Some bonds don't need to be maintained deliberately.
Just like Blade and Sakura, they are destined to complement and protect each other in blood and fire.