Compared to Karin, Sakura Haruno's situation wasn't much better. Without Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki by her side, the gap in her abilities became painfully obvious. In the deadly Forest of Death, she was practically among the weakest right now.
With two injured teammates, Sakura couldn't move very far. She found a large hollow tree nearby and settled both inside. After setting up some basic traps outside, she began casting a Barrier Technique within the tree hollow—an ability she'd only recently learned and barely understood but could manage to use well enough to hide their presence from enemies.
"I hope you two wake up soon. Relying on me alone is truly too much to ask," Sakura couldn't help feeling upset as the words of that strange man from the preliminary exam echoed in her mind. "In the end, I really did hold them back."
Just as Sakura's barrier took effect, Mizuki immediately sensed it while resting at home.
"Nothing beats having your own IP with a built-in backdoor."
The Barrier Technique Sakura used had been casually left behind by Mizuki. Originally, he hadn't expected much—he knew this technique was difficult to master even for experienced users, especially within just a few days, despite simplifying it himself. Truthfully, Sealing Techniques were originally reserved for only a few exceptionally gifted individuals who had accumulated enough experience to study them. It surprised him that Sakura could use it so quickly. No wonder she became a genius of the Konoha Twelve Shinobi despite her ordinary talent. Even with Lady Tsunade's later guidance, she must have already possessed remarkable intelligence to be chosen as her disciple.
This particular Barrier Technique had been developed by Mizuki based on Chakra-based Barrier Jutsu. Originally used in large-scale barriers, its main function was to absorb ambient chakra to sustain itself, serving as a way to reduce consumption. Through continuous optimization and simplification by Mizuki, along with subtle Genjutsu-like concealment effects, it evolved into a simple yet effective Hiding Barrier. Additionally, it emitted faint encrypted waves detectable only by Mizuki himself. Whenever similar barriers activated within reasonable range, they would resonate with his original chakra-collecting barrier setup, allowing instant detection.
"A seemingly random move might actually yield unexpected gains. I'll go check after the second exam finishes and reap what I've sown."
As Mizuki smugly admired his own foresight, he remained unaware that this small act had triggered something far greater.
Because Sakura activated the hidden barrier, the three Otogakure ninja—who had been fruitlessly searching for Sasuke—were now ordered by Orochimaru to track him down and kill him. They decided to seek information from other Konoha shinobi, unfortunately targeting the Ino–Shika–Cho squad.
Shikamaru Nara, someone who usually avoids conflict, stared at the enemy ahead with intense focus while quickly forming a plan. Their side was clearly weaker, and little was known about these opponents except that their leader used soundwave attacks powerful enough to easily injure Kabuto Yakushi, who has taken part in four Chunin Exams.
"We have no ill will against Konoha, but we must know where Sasuke Uchiha is."
"Dosu was the first to voice his demand.
Shikamaru felt unlucky when he realized they had been targeted because of Sasuke. 'If we knew where they were, we would have already left this place. Sorry, but we don't know either.'
'That's right,' Choji Akimichi added, crunching on chips. 'We're also looking for them to steal their Scroll.'
'It seems you guys have no intention of cooperating.' Sakon quickly lost patience. 'I told you not to waste words with them. Just knock them down and interrogate them later.'
The two teams, filled with mutual distrust, found further conversation pointless. Dosu was about to strike, but before he could act, he froze mid-motion.
'Choji, now!' Shikamaru took the initiative by trapping one enemy with his Shadow Imitation Technique.
However, before the surprised Shikamaru could react, Sakon immediately raised both hands, unleashing [Decapitating Airwaves] which sent all three flying.
'Damn it! They're way too aggressive!' Shikamaru groaned, realizing their main offensive power—Choji—required cooperation from himself and Ino. Now he alone must handle tactical planning.
'Ino, control that guy shooting air waves first. His [Decapitating Airwaves] are too powerful. Choji and I will take care of the one using sound attacks.'
Before the sentence ended, two senbon needles whistled toward Shikamaru, forcing him to abandon his plans and dodge urgently.
'Did you really forget about me? It makes me very unhappy to be underestimated like this,' King finally revealed his power after being overlooked.
'That's why women are annoying,' Shikamaru helplessly muttered. King's attacks were extremely stealthy. Keeping track of unpredictable hidden attacks consumed enormous mental energy.
'Ino, focus on controlling that kunoichi first. We can't coordinate attacks with her controlling the enemy kunoichi,' Shikamaru had no choice but to redirect Ino. 'Choji, I'll pin down the leader while you deal with the other one. Wait—watch out, Ino!'
While issuing orders, Shikamaru suddenly noticed Dosu charging directly at Ino.
'I don't know what your ability is, but since everyone expects so much from you, it must be a rather troublesome secret technique. I'll eliminate you first.' Then he threw a punch that sent Ino flying away as sonic vibrations damaged her internal organs. Ino spat blood as she collapsed, marking the brutal turning point.
Before the remaining two could react, [Genjutsu] took effect. A momentary daze left Shikamaru Nara and Choji vulnerable to another wave of [Decapitating Airwaves], knocking both fighters down completely, leaving them helpless.
'Are we wiped out already? Is the gap in strength really this huge? Damn it.' Only now did Shikamaru truly understand the embarrassment of being a capable woman without ingredients to work with. No matter how clever he was, brute force didn't care for logic—it struck first and left words meaningless.
Just when the Ino–Shika–Cho trio faced annihilation, a sinister chakra suddenly surged from nearby, its cold cruelty radiating outward."
"Dosu, these guys would rather die than talk. Looks like they really don't know anything. Should we kill them or just check somewhere else?" King looked toward the direction where Evil Chakra was coming from.
"Let's just kill them first," Sakon, being the most aggressive among us, said as he prepared to attack. "Maybe they've got the Celestial Scroll we need?"
"Forget about it, Sakon," Dosu stopped him. "Our mission is to kill Sasuke Uchiha. The Chunin Exams are irrelevant—killing too many people will only make it harder for us to escape from Konoha."
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