Three Basic Jutsu: Transformation Technique, Clone Jutsu, Substitution Technique
Sakura Haruno pulled up the System screen and saw the only ninjutsu she currently possessed.
Yes, this was the reason she had been relentlessly training her physical foundations, trying every method to control her Chakra, and desperately practicing cat’s cradle on the side—training her fingers to the point where they could single-handedly manage an entire assembly line at a ramen factory.
It wasn’t because she was particularly pragmatic, believing that hard work alone could turn her into a genius. (Who could possibly outwork Rock Lee? voice cracks)
Rather, it was because of the damn System’s settings, which made it extremely difficult for her to alter the various traits of the original Sakura.
Beautifully named as “striving to maintain the original Sakura’s personality settings,” it was essentially the System forcing her to engage in romance to accumulate modification points.
Once again, cursing the System to crash and auto-delete in real-time.
For example, since the original Sakura likely only knew these few jutsu at the Ninja Academy, she couldn’t just go and snatch the Uchiha’s Fireball Jutsu for a thrill.
If she wanted to acquire additional ninjutsu, she could only purchase them from the System using points.
But ninjutsu were expensive, and all the points she had were poured into improving her physical foundations.
As a result, her strength grew greater, her speed became more agile, her movements turned more flexible, and her cat’s cradle grew increasingly dazzling.
Yet, she still couldn’t perform any of the flashy ninjutsu.
She couldn’t just wait until Sasuke defected from the village and Naruto went off wandering with Jiraiya before trying to cling to Lady Tsunade’s coattails. Moreover, she lacked the original Sakura’s medical talent halo that would make Tsunade take special notice of her.
Tsunade already had a Shizune; she might not necessarily take a liking to this knock-off version. Sakura could only pray that by the time Tsunade wanted to take on a disciple, she would have accumulated enough points to purchase the relevant medical talents.
Of course, it would be even better if she could afford something like Six-Explosion Sky Star, Summit Buddha, Kotoamatsukami, Eight Inner Gates, Kamui, plus Naruto’s signature Talk-no-Jutsu.
So, where were her points?
Nowhere, because there had been no missions lately.
Sakura Haruno wore a ferocious expression as she practiced cat’s cradle, countless invisible strands of Chakra energy clinging to the strings. If anyone were to see, they would notice that the material used for the cat’s cradle was so fine it would snap at the slightest touch.
This fine thread was made from dismantled spiderwebs, grateful for the spiders’ daily hard work.
Using spider silk, she had progressed from basic Chinese knots to advanced patterns like “Chang’e Flying to the Moon,” and even a complete set of constellations.
This proved her fingers were so dexterous that no Hand Seal difficulty could stump her. But as for the seals themselves—well, she still needed the actual jutsu to perform them.
Sakura Haruno had trained herself to the point where even if her limbs twitched or she spun upside down, she could ensure the spider silk wouldn’t break. So, while cursing the garbage System, she swiftly—almost leaving afterimages—formed the pattern of “Kua Fu Chasing the Sun.”
“Sakura, today is Konohagakure’s fireworks festival. Come watch the fireworks with your dad,” Kizashi Haruno called from outside her room door.
Sakura Haruno remained unmoved. “Not going. You and Mom go on your date. Why would I want to be a third wheel?”
[Mission: Watch the fireworks with Sasuke. Reward: 10 points (permanently cumulative)]
Sakura Haruno’s eyes lit up. Many of her mission points couldn’t be saved because they expired and were cleared. Cumulative points meant she could save them up to buy ninjutsu.
She jumped up and asked, “What about Naruto? Is there a mission for him too?”
The System reluctantly replied, “Watch the fireworks with Naruto Uzumaki. Reward: 1 point, non-cumulative.”
Sakura Haruno: “That’s way too discriminatory. Do you think Naruto was picked up from a trash can?”
The System pounded the table: “You’re still talking, do you even remember what kind of System I am? I’m the Sasuke-Sakura CP System! Sasuke! Do you know what Sasuke is? The only reason I gave Naruto one point was because he’s the protagonist. Otherwise, if you went to watch fireworks with Choji, let’s see if I could deduct zero-zero-zero-zero points.”
Sakura Haruno didn’t even spare the System a glance, rummaging through cabinets herself to find the little kimono she had almost never worn.
Pink cherry blossom petals bloomed across the pale fabric, as if wearing the crisp freshness of early summer itself.
After changing into the kimono, she swiftly gathered her long hair and tied it with a red ribbon.
Her hair grew too fast—no matter how often she cut it, within less than a month it would sprout annoyingly long again, like weeds in a vegetable patch.
This hair growth rate was definitely abnormal.
Don’t ask—it was because the Beauty System wouldn’t allow a beautiful girl to go bald, and there were also setting restrictions. To truly cut it short and stop the crazy growth, she had to wait until the Forest of Death confrontation with the Sound Ninja.
She tied the coin purse strap around her wrist and stepped out of her room to see the empty house. Perfect—her parents always ran off especially fast whenever there was a chance to go out and have fun.
Sakura Haruno, accustomed to this, left home and immediately leaped onto the rooftops, swiftly arriving at Naruto’s house, sliding right up to his window.
The window was half-open. Naruto sat in a chair with his back to the window, hugging his knees as he stared at the wall.
His small silhouette was like the spiral swirl on his clothes—utterly alone.
Sakura Haruno knocked on the window. “Naruto.”
Naruto didn’t move. He kept his head lowered until she shouted: “Naruto Uzumaki!”
Naruto froze for a moment, then immediately turned around to see Sakura’s entire face outside the window.
He stammered, “S-Sakura?” He thought he was hallucinating.
Sakura Haruno pointed to the sky behind her. “Are you cultivating immortality on that chair or pretending to be a tree? It’s so lively outside—let’s go have fun.”
Just as she finished speaking, the first firework shot into the sky. The silent firework burst into a dazzling array of colors across the horizon, casting a few brilliant hues into this small corner of the world.
In Naruto’s eyes, it was as if all the light in the world was blooming grandly.
And the girl who brought all these colors pushed open the window, reached out her hand, and urged him out of his lonely cage.
“Come on, let’s go scoop goldfish and eat taiyaki. I heard there’s even a lottery—maybe we can win a Kunai.” Ninja Tools here were ridiculously expensive. Ninjas probably worked themselves to death just to make money for the Ninja Tools shops.
Naruto had always been afraid of these lively festivals. Although after becoming friends with Sakura, a few of her close friends had indeed treated him a bit better, the villagers’ hatred wasn’t something that could change overnight.
Stepping out during a bustling festival meant facing the cold stares of the entire village.
So he hid in his room, hugging himself, planning to endure until dawn—unwilling to think about how lively it was outside, unwilling to go out and face this world filled with malice toward him.
But… Sakura had come for him.
Naruto stared blankly for a while, his blue eyes seeming to fill with the softest light. He called out: “Sakura.”
Sakura Haruno’s arm was getting sore from reaching out. She simply braced her hands on the windowsill, leaned her whole body into the room, grabbed Naruto’s clothes, and jumped straight outside.
Naruto was so startled his whole body contorted. “Sakuraaaaaa, we’re gonna hit the wall aaaaaaa!”
Sakura Haruno yelled, “Shut up! How come you’re not afraid when you climb walls and mountains every day? With me here, you won’t fall to your death. Since when did you become so hesitant?”
Naruto: “I’m afraid you might fall.”
Sakura Haruno: “Then hold me tight so I don’t have to use as much strength.”
Naruto: “Hehehe.”
Sakura Haruno: “…Your laugh is disgusting. Stay away from me.”
Naruto: “…”
They ran for a long time before reaching their destination. Naruto stood in front of a large gate, grinning in surprise as he shouted, “Sakura, why are we here? Aren’t we going to watch the fireworks?”
After saying that, Naruto whispered to her, “Also, there are a lot of serious-looking weird uncles staring at us.”
Those were the Uchiha guards, most of whom were members of the security team. Of course they were serious!
Sakura Haruno wasn’t afraid. She knew that aside from their cold expressions, the Uchiha wouldn’t randomly attack people for no reason. Well, except for Itachi. So she stood in front of the gate, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted directly, “Sasuke, let’s go watch the fireworks!”
The Uchiha territory wasn’t a place you could just enter freely. She didn’t have much time—if the fireworks festival ended, she’d miss out on the points. The only option was to stand at the gate and call for him directly.
Thinking about being able to permanently accumulate points that wouldn’t expire, Sakura Haruno was suddenly filled with motivation.
“Sasuke, let’s compete in goldfish scooping! If you don’t go, you lose!”
These two shouts drew a crowd to the gate. The Uchiha territory was remote and quiet, with few people daring to pass by, so for a moment, everyone curiously gathered by the gate to watch.
Among them were even the aunties selling goods on the street and the uncles selling sweet dumplings.
Naruto felt so embarrassed by the attention that he tugged on Sakura’s kimono sleeve. “That arrogant brat is probably asleep. Let’s just go by ourselves.”
Sakura Haruno took a deep breath, unwilling to give up on the rare opportunity for permanent points. Just as she was about to shout again, she saw Sasuke Uchiha hurriedly push through the crowd, his face flushed red as he said to Sakura Haruno, “Why are you shouting for me at the gate?”
He had just finished training and bought a cup of tea. The teahouse wasn’t far from the gate, and as soon as he took a sip, he heard his own name echoing through the entire street, causing him to spit out his tea in shock.
The easily embarrassed Sasuke, seeing everyone’s eyes suddenly turn toward him, didn’t even want to admit his name was Sasuke. But soon, she called for him again.
Frantically, he threw his teacup aside and rushed out to stop her. What if she got killed for being mistaken as a provocation?
When Sakura Haruno saw him come out, it was like seeing a shower of Ninjutsu. She grabbed Naruto and rushed over, reaching out to seize Sasuke’s wrist before dragging him away as they ran.
“The fireworks festival started a long time ago. No time to waste, run!”
Sasuke was completely bewildered. “Wait, I never said I was going…”
Naruto happily tattled, “Sakura, this guy says he’s not going. Let’s just go by ourselves.”
Sakura: “If you don’t go, you lose at goldfish scooping.”
Sasuke hesitated. Just hearing the word “lose” made him unhappy.
Sakura: “Anyway, neither of you can miss out tonight.”
One was worth ten points, the other one point—together, that was eleven points!
After a moment of silence, Sasuke quickened his pace. Naruto also broke into a smile, following her lead as they ran toward the direction where the most beautiful colors were bursting into the sky.
Itachi Uchiha had unknowingly appeared on the rooftop beside the gate. Watching the three small figures happily running off into the distance, he couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
“Has Sasuke made a friend?”
But that faint smile was soon pulled down by a heavy gloom. He closed his eyes, sighed, and vanished from the rooftop in an instant.
Tonight, there would be another clan meeting.