"Neji!" Sakura shouted, slamming her fist into her open palm. "Why? Why would you betray the village, try to kill Hinata and join up with a creep like Orochimaru?"

"Why?" scoffed Neji. "Why would I not? Why would I remain in the village that turned a blind eye to the Hyūga's cruel practices? Why not seek revenge on the woman who would have taken my future? Why wouldn't I want the strength to seize control of my own fate?"

From the day he was born, Neji had been a second-class citizen within his own clan. On Hinata's third birthday, he was branded with a cursed seal that could arbitrarily decide whether he lived or died. From that moment on, he was a slave, condemned to obey the main family under pain of death.

Why would he not seize any opportunity to break free from a system of oppression that did not benefit him in the slightest?

"Then what about Tenten, Lee and Guy-sensei?" growled Sakura. "Don't you know how much pain you've caused them? They're still looking for you whenever they can find the time, you know!"

Neji shook his head. It had been Tenten who'd ordered him to do all the things Sakura accused him of.

In a way, he was still very much a bird in a cage— the key to freedom stood right before him, yet all it had taken to satisfy him was a change of prison. He might have grown exponentially stronger, but he was still the same old Neji.

"What's taking so long?" a youthful boy's voice suddenly rang out. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts, Neji, you bastard?"

The ground rumbled, and suddenly, thick tree roots emerged from the ground.

"Captain Yamato!" Sakura sighed in relief. "You're finally—"

Sakura's relief was short-lived. Without warning, tree roots swiftly twisted around Katsuyu's enormous body, squeezing her tightly until she burst into countless miniature slugs.

"Watch out, Sakura-san! That's the First Hokage's Secret Jutsu!" the tens of thousands of Katsuyus chorused. "Don't let the roots touch you, or they'll drain your chakra!"

"I've noticed, thank you!" Sakura shouted, unsheathing her sword as she fell, slashing at the roots that were trying to squeeze the life out of her. "I'm well aware!"

Every one of the Katsuyus— except the one that had fallen on Sakura's shoulder— vanished in a series of little puffs of white smoke. In their tiny forms, they were only useful as relays to share chakra and healing power. Big Katsuyu had unfortunately been obliterated, and the same fate of strangulation would await her if Sakura tried to summon her again as long as the Wood Style user remained on the field of battle.

Sakura landed lightly and sprang backwards, putting some distance between herself and her three assailants. She already knew that Neji was a fearsome close-range Taijutsu specialist, but the ugly boy and the masked girl were unknown to her. So far, beyond the girl's frightfully powerful Genjutsu and the boy's lost Wood Ninjutsu, she knew nothing about them.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sakura breathed in deeply, filling her stomach with supercharged fire attributed chakra, before spewing forth a torrent of azure flames that reduced the roots in front of her to ashes.

"Stay back, Tsubaki, Shin!" came Neji's voice. "Those flames burn hotter than regular Fire Style!"

Her success cheered her up greatly— if her opponent's Ninjutsu possessed even half of Hashirama's power, then her 2000-degree Celsius flames wouldn't have so much as singed his roots' bark. But if she could burn them, they didn't pose any threat at all.

Probably.

"Manyuu Assassination Genjutsu: Breast Illusion!"

Sakura clapped her hands, radiating hypnotic yin chakra from her engorged breasts.

The brilliant flames blazed so brightly they would blind any ordinary pair of eyes, but she knew Neji's gaze would remain fixed on her, despite the obstacle between them. Though the Byakugan was adept at detecting Genjutsu, the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai was powerful enough to prevent him from consciously breaking free of the illusion even if he realised he had been affected.

Deprived of fuel, the blue flames quickly died down, allowing Sakura to see the full extent of the battlefield. To her surprise, the only opponent left standing was the masked girl whose knees were knocking together in fright.

"Byakugan?" Sakura hiccoughed in surprise upon seeing Hyūga Shin's white eyes.

Both Neji and Shin had made the mistake of leering at her chest though the flames with their Byakugan, resulting in them both getting trapped in the Breast Illusion. As for the girl, it did not appear that she was a lesbian, so she had managed to shrug off the Genjutsu.

"Eep!" yelped Tsubaki, as Sakura flickered in front of her. "S-stay back!"

She quickly weaved a few hand signs.

"Wood Style: Great Spear Tree!"

To Sakura's utter astonishment, sharpened branches erupted from the earth beneath her sandals, forcing her to spring backwards in a graceful arc, cleaving the wooden spears underneath her with a wave of her sword.

But Sakura's surprise quickly gave way to greed. To think there existed a female Wood Style user! The masked girl was nothing short of a walking treasure trove! And, as if that weren't enough, she was impressively well-endowed.

"Eep!" Tsubaki cried once again, as Sakura attacked her with renewed fervour.

The sharp peal of swords striking each other echoed through the air as Sakura and Tsubaki exchanged a few moves, whereupon it quickly became clear to Sakura that her opponent was as untrained in swordplay as they came. With a lazy flick of her wrist, Sakura sent Tsubaki's Kusanagi sword flying, its blade accidentally splitting its owner's cute animal mask in two as it spun through the air.

"You…" Sakura gasped, as her opponent's mask fell apart, revealing her face. "Why the hell do you look like me!?"

Standing before her was an almost perfect mirror image of herself, but this was no mere Clone or Shadow Clone. Their hair colour, height, and faces matched exactly; the only discernible distinction lay in the generous contours of their chests. Sakura's noteworthy N-cups were far more striking than Tsubaki's explosive E-cups.

Swallowing her shock, Sakura raised her sword and slashed at the girl's defenceless chest.