Konoha Village
After staying in Konoha for a week, the Sand Village's negotiation delegation departed. Sakura didn't know the specifics of the agreement reached between Konoha and Suna, but judging by Baki's expression, which wasn't entirely grim, Konoha must have made some appropriate concessions.
Before they left, Naruto and Gaara shared a long, meaningful look.
"…" "…"
"Well then, that concludes this matter," Tsunade addressed Baki firmly. "I trust Suna will select your next Kazekage promptly, to prevent future incidents like this one."
"Thank you for your concern, Lady Hokage. We will inform Konoha immediately once the Godaime Kazekage is chosen," Baki replied, nodding curtly, his tone still somewhat subdued and unhappy.
"Gaara, good luck!" Naruto beamed, giving Gaara an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"You too, Naruto," Gaara replied, a rare softness in his voice. "I hope you achieve your dream."
"Hehehe," Naruto grinned foolishly, practically vibrating with happiness. Nothing made him happier than forging and strengthening the bonds of friendship.
"Alright, come on. They've already left, and you're still standing there grinning like an idiot," Sakura teased, nudging Naruto.
"Hehe, Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, looking her up and down with newfound appraisal. "I noticed you've gotten way prettier than before!"
"Uh, prettier? How?" Sakura blinked, momentarily thrown off balance. When had Naruto learned such smooth talk?
"Hm? Well!" Naruto scratched his head, then leaned in slightly, lowering his voice cautiously. "It's just… uh… your chest… it seems bigger."
WHACK!
A sharp impact echoed as Naruto staggered back, clutching his head.
"Ow! Pervy Sage! Why'd you hit me?!" Naruto whined, looking utterly bewildered.
"Because you're being incredibly impolite to a lady!" Jiraiya scolded, putting on his most stern expression.
"But—! But Pervy Sage, you make comments like that about Granny Tsunade all the time!" Naruto retorted indignantly, rubbing the rapidly forming lump on his head.
"You moron! I'm me! How can a little brat like you possibly compare yourself to me?!" Jiraiya hissed, hastily clamping a hand over Naruto's mouth to silence him. He darted a nervous glance towards Tsunade, who was watching them with an unnervingly sweet smile.
"Jiraiya~" Tsunade called out, her voice melodic and gentle.
"Ahaha! Yes? What is it, Lady Fifth Hokage?" Jiraiya stammered, automatically snapping into formal address, sweat beading on his brow.
"Well, we haven't seen each other in so many years," Tsunade continued, her smile unwavering, her tone dangerously soft. "I have no real gauge of your current skill level, which makes it difficult to assign you appropriate missions. Perhaps… we should have a little spar?"
"Haha, surely that's not necessary! You know my strength well enough!" Jiraiya protested, waving his hands frantically.
"Cut the crap!" Tsunade's expression shifted in an instant, her gentle smile vanishing, replaced by a fierce glare. "Meet me at Training Ground 1! Now!"
Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and stalked back towards the village center.
Watching his two former students, the Third Hokage sighed and shook his head fondly. "Some things never change… sigh…"
Sakura, who had initially been flushed with mortification and anger at Naruto's comment, found her irritation completely vanishing as she watched Naruto get smacked by Jiraiya, and Jiraiya subsequently get summoned for his own 'sparring session' with her Master. Justice, it seemed, was swift.
"Naruto," she said, turning back to him with newfound patience. "If you want to compliment a girl on her looks in the future, you cannot say things like that." She reminded herself that while Naruto wasn't unintelligent, he'd grown up alone and understandably lacked certain social graces taught by parents.
"Then how am I supposed to say it? Sakura-chan, I'm sorry!" Naruto apologized immediately, looking genuinely remorseful.
"Well, for example," Sakura mused, tilting her head thoughtfully, "you could just say I look pretty, or that I have a nice figure, or maybe that my skin seems fairer… or even that I'm the cutest girl in the world!"
"Okay, got it!" Naruto nodded seriously, though he seemed to only partially grasp the concept. He looked straight at Sakura, his expression utterly earnest. "Sakura-chan, you're so pretty! You're the cutest in the world!"
"Uh…" Faced with Naruto's complete sincerity, Sakura felt strangely awkward. Perhaps it was because it was so genuine that it somehow felt… forced. "Just… go compliment Karin instead, okay? Not me," she mumbled, feeling suddenly exasperated, and turned to head back to the village.
"Idiot," Karin muttered, shooting Naruto a withering glare before quickly falling into step behind Sakura.
"Ehhh?" Naruto froze, the compliment he'd been mentally preparing for Karin dying on his lips.
"Sasuke," the Third Hokage spoke up once the others were shuffling away, a warm, pleased smile on his face as he observed the youthful energy. "Shall we begin today's training?"
"Yes, Master," Sasuke replied respectfully.
Since being freed from his Hokage duties, Hiruzen had been dedicating nearly all his time to Sasuke. His care extended beyond rigorous training, encompassing Sasuke's daily well-being too. Because of this consistent attention and kindness, alongside the bonds he shared with his teammates, Sasuke was beginning to feel a special fondness, a deep sense of attachment, developing towards the Sandaime.
"Come then," Hiruzen said kindly. "Show me the progress you've made on recent missions."
"Mm."
While Karin headed directly to Konoha Hospital to begin her internship under Shizune's supervision, Sakura made her way to Training Ground 1. With the Suna negotiations concluded, Tsunade would likely have more free time now, and Sakura was eager to seek her Master's advice on the persistent issue with her jutsu.
Arriving at the training ground, she found Jiraiya and Tsunade already sparring intensely, a whirlwind of motion and powerful chakra. As Sakura approached, Tsunade abruptly halted her attack, granting Jiraiya a much-needed reprieve. He looked visibly relieved.
"What is it, Sakura? Do you need something?" Tsunade asked, turning towards her student.
"Yes, Master," Sakura confirmed. "There's a problem with a jutsu I've been developing, and I was hoping for your insight."
With a quick sequence of hand seals, Sakura summoned her Storm Release Clone. The familiar blue-white figure materialized before Tsunade – possessing a distinct humanoid shape but lacking any fine details or features.
"What's this?" Tsunade inquired, eyeing the construct curiously.
"It's a Storm Release Clone, formed entirely from Storm Release chakra," Sakura explained. She proceeded to detail its unique properties, its combat potential, and, crucially, the inherent flaw involving the real-time damage feedback.
Tsunade listened intently, her gaze fixed on the shimmering clone. Once Sakura finished, she fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before reaching a hand out as if to touch it.
Sakura gasped, quickly maneuvering the clone back. "Master, wait! Its temperature is extremely high! You can't touch it with your bare hands!" she warned urgently.
Tsunade paused, then pointed towards the clone's feet. "If its temperature is truly that extreme, Sakura, then why isn't the ground beneath it melting?"
"Huh?!!" Sakura stared, dumbfounded. She hadn't even considered that. Tsunade was right; if the clone radiated intense heat, the earth it stood upon should have shown signs of scorching or liquefaction long ago.
As Sakura processed this, Tsunade reached out again. This time, her hand passed right through the clone's torso effortlessly, meeting no resistance.
"Wh… Why did that happen?" Sakura stammered, utterly bewildered.
"You mentioned you control this clone via chakra resonance," Tsunade began, retracting her hand. "Given the nature of chakra, that means this clone embodies a degree of your subconscious intent. It identifies and interacts with targets based on that underlying perception. If you weren't actively directing it, or if you completely relinquished control, then it might become the indiscriminate weapon you fear."
"Are you talking about spiritual energy, Master?" Sakura asked, trying to follow.
"Precisely," Tsunade confirmed. "Chakra is a fusion of physical energy drawn from the body's cells and spiritual energy cultivated through experience and training. That spiritual component is why the experiences and damage sustained by a Shadow Clone – the pain – feed back to the user upon dispersal. Now, apply that here. If you want an enemy's physical attacks to pass through this Storm Clone harmlessly," Tsunade tapped her temple, "you would need to fundamentally alter your subconscious perception during the attack. You'd need your subconscious to register the opponent's strike as non-hostile, even as you consciously target them."
Sakura's eyes widened slowly as the horrifying implications dawned on her. "Does… Does that mean this flaw… there's no way to truly fix it?"
To make the clone intangible to enemy attacks, she'd have to somehow perceive a lethal blow not as a threat, but as something innocuous, perhaps even friendly. She'd need to treat the enemy simultaneously as a target for destruction and as someone whose actions held no harmful intent towards the clone…
Oh, Kami. If she actually managed to cultivate that kind of mental state, she wouldn't be far from developing a full-blown split personality.