Chapter 22: Determination
The mountain wind was howling on the cliff, and the somewhat loose red hairband was separated from the cherry-pink hair by the wind. Just as it was about to fly away, a white and delicate hand grasped it.
"Sakura, your idea is indeed..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully chose his words, unsure of how to evaluate "Haruno Sakura's Will of Fire."
"Because Grandpa Hokage is very old after all."
"I know, Grandpa Hokage."
"If Grandpa Hokage has to worry about us younger generations, wouldn't it make us younger generations seem useless?"
"So, I want to achieve it step by step."
Seeing the serious look on the pink girl's face, Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent, stopping himself from speaking.
The pink hair was darkened when cut.
"Sakura..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the little girl in front of him, his eyes no longer cloudy, as if he had made a major decision.
"What's wrong, Grandpa Hokage?"
Sakura tilted her head.
The old man's slightly dry lips moved, and the words he spoke made the girl's emerald green eyes, like gemstones, widen slightly.
Big success!
Sakura weighed the purple scroll in her hand, feeling that the huge rock pressing on her heart had finally been lifted.
The sword of Damocles hanging over her head was finally removed.
The unexpected success was worth the effort she put into creating "Haruno Sakura's Will of Fire."
Yin Seal: The Art of One Hundred Heroes!
Got it!
It took two full years for her to skip a grade from a civilian ninja school student to the sixth grade, successfully passing the graduation exam with a paper on the will of fire!
I am so strong!
At this moment, Sakura just felt relaxed all over, without any shackles on her body.
Even the air seemed to feel fresher and more comfortable.
At this moment, Sakura just wanted to find someone to share the joy in her heart, but this joy was destined to be buried in her heart and digested slowly.
Sakura kept jumping on the houses in Konoha, not knowing where she was going.
But does it matter?
It doesn't matter.
She just wanted to find a place where no one was around to announce her vent.
Two years of hard work, two years in which she never had a good night's sleep.
She was afraid the Yin Seal would be revealed at any time and the torture department would arrest her.
Sakura didn't know where she was. She just looked at the lake in front of her and thought the scenery was nice, so she stopped there.
She opened the scroll in her hand, marked "Top Secret."
Lines of text appeared before her eyes.
It was like the most familiar stranger. Even though it was the first time she saw it, Sakura understood its meaning almost immediately.
Sakura read quickly and understood quickly because this was the knowledge she had "forgotten."
Theoretically, there is no shortcut to the Yin Seal. Only by accumulating chakra step by step can the practitioner gradually master it.
Closing the scroll in her hand, Sakura looked at the clear lake. Her face was reflected on the calm surface of the water.
Finely carved from jade.
She picked up a stone beside her and threw it down. The ripples shook the surface and soon returned to their original state again.
But this time, the face reflected on the lake wasn't as happy as before...
Sakura felt empty inside.
She had clearly obtained the Yin Seal, but after the joy, she did not feel happy at all.
She thought of what Sarutobi Hiruzen had said to her before.
The old man moved his lips, which should have been turbid. At this moment, Haruno Sakura couldn't bear to look directly into his eyes.
"Sakura, are you willing to be my disciple?"
"The last disciple."
The pink ends of her hair fluttered in the wind, and Sakura couldn't quite believe what the old man had said.
But after a moment of hesitation, she spoke quickly and eagerly:
"I do!"
"Master!"
Looking at the purple scroll in her hand, this was the gift from Sarutobi Hiruzen to Sakura when she said she wanted to become a ninja like Lady Tsunade.
The emerald green eyes were a little dim at the moment.
Am I... cheating?
Is Sarutobi Hiruzen a good guy?
Sakura couldn't help but ask herself.
To his enemies, he was not.
To his political opponents, he was not.
But... Sakura pursed her lips. To her, he was indeed a very good elder.
Maybe he had some purpose, wanting Naruto to have some bond with Konoha, and he himself would be one of them.
But does it matter?
A gentleman judges by deeds, not by heart.
Now, for the sake of the Yin Seal in my hand, I have deceived this old man.
This old man probably sees me as the future of Konoha.
And he accepted me as his last disciple.
In this world, the master-disciple, teacher-student relationship is completely different from a blood relationship.
Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are teacher and student.
Jiraiya and Naruto, Tsunade and Sakura, are master and disciple.
One is an institutional arrangement, the other is true inheritance.
Naturally, they are incomparable.
In a sense, the master-disciple relationship is stronger than blood.
At this moment, Haruno Sakura stood up suddenly, and her emerald green eyes looked fiercely at the lake in front of her.
Sakura knew this might be stupid, self-righteous, or inexplicable.
You put shackles on yourself and burden yourself.
The little girl in pink stood up, picked up a stone at her feet, and threw it hard into the lake.
According to common sense, how much power can a stone thrown by an eight-year-old girl have?
The wind roared and the water wailed.
The entire lake was rocked by the stone, and with a crackling sound, a sturdy tree on the opposite side of the lake slowly fell to the ground.
A half-man-high stone behind the tree was broken into half by that stone!
This is strange power...
Absolute violence.
The extraordinary strength bestowed by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Old man, since you think I can do it, then I will become the kind of person you think I can be.
"Huh?"
"Sakura!"
A surprised voice behind her brought Sakura back to her senses.
A golden-haired boy with a fishing rod appeared in the field of vision.
"Naruto?"
"Are you fishing?"
Looking at the thing in the other person's hand, Sakura was a little surprised.
"Yeah, I didn't expect to meet you here!"
Naruto looked at the girl in front of him and smiled.
"Sakura, do you want to go fishing with me?"
"I can make another fishing rod!"
Looking at Naruto's expectant expression, Sakura scratched her head.
Forget it, there's nothing else to do today, so just stay with him for a while.
"That's okay."
"By the way, do you make a fish trap?"
"Making a fish trap? What is that?"