Chapter 418

"Sasuke, are you awake?"

Early in the morning, Sasuke woke up to the sound of Sakura's voice. Instinctively, he turned his head and saw her getting dressed. But after a brief glance, he turned away.

However, as soon as he averted his gaze, doubt crept into his mind. Did we… do that last night?

Otherwise, why would Sakura be getting dressed while naked?

"Sakura… last night, did we—"

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, don't talk about it," Sakura interrupted, forcing a shy, embarrassed expression to mask the deep guilt in her heart.

Seeing her reaction, Sasuke naturally assumed that they had indeed spent the night together.

With that thought, fragmented memories surfaced in his mind. These memories shouldn't exist, but Yoichi's secret medicine had done its job. It created false recollections, leading Sasuke to believe that what never happened had actually taken place.

Most importantly, Sasuke trusted Sakura completely—he couldn't fathom the idea that she would lie to him. That thought never even crossed his mind.

After Sakura finished dressing, Sasuke got out of bed and put on his clothes as well. "Sorry, Sakura, I have to leave the village today."

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun. Your mission is important, but please be careful out there. And don't forget to take the secret medicine with you."

Sakura's heart was heavy with guilt toward Sasuke, so her concern for him came across even more earnestly than usual.

"I'll take good care of Sarada while you're gone."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you."

With those words, Sasuke finished getting ready and left the house.

Once he was gone, Sakura sat weakly on the bed, feeling overwhelmed by fear and guilt. She had been terrified that Sasuke would see through her lie, but now it seemed that he believed her.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

She murmured to herself, her voice barely audible. She never wanted to deceive Sasuke, but to protect her family and Sarada, she had no other choice.

Her hand drifted to her abdomen. She had to find a way to deal with this pregnancy. Besides relying on Yoichi, she needed to start making her own preparations as well.

After preparing breakfast and seeing off Sasuke and Sarada, Sakura made her way to Konoha Hospital.

However, the moment she sat down in her office, Shizune walked in with some documents.

"Sakura, we've got a busy period ahead. This is a request the village just accepted. The Aoki Trading Company wants to hire medical ninja for relief efforts in heavily affected areas. We need to send at least thirty medics."

"Aoki Trading Company? That sounds familiar… Oh, they sell those orange mobile phones, right? And they're the ones funding Hinata's drama. But why would they suddenly want to hire medical ninja for relief work?"

Sakura frowned in confusion but glanced at the mission scroll from Naruto. They only needed to send thirty medical ninja, and the compensation was generous—though the job required traveling to multiple locations.

Shizune shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it seems like a publicity stunt for their drama and mobile phones. They probably want to boost their image by doing some charity work."

"I see… Still, sending thirty people will leave Konoha Hospital a bit short-staffed."

Even so, Sakura quickly selected the thirty medical ninja for the mission. Once the team was confirmed, she and Shizune went to inform them. Thankfully, the mission would only last a month.

What Sakura didn't realize was that this entire arrangement had been orchestrated by Yoichi's Tenseigan clone the night before.

By reducing the hospital staff, Sakura would become busier. With so much on her plate, she wouldn't have time to deal with the pregnancy, eventually forcing her to rely on him—or simply accept having the child.

At that moment, Yoichi, who was refining medicine, received word of the hospital's situation. A faint smile appeared on his lips before he focused back on his alchemy furnace.

He was refining a fifth-tier pill—one that would ensure the fetus developed healthily. Once Sakura took it, the child would be safely born and even accumulate extraordinary power from infancy.

If Temari's child had been intentional, then Sakura's pregnancy was purely an accident. That night had simply been a moment of indulgence—he hadn't expected it to result in this.

Then again, calling it "one time" wasn't entirely accurate… It had been four or five times at least.

With this child, who knew what opportunities might arise in the future?

Suppressing his smirk, Yoichi focused on refining the pill.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages were a formidable force, especially when united. Once they got a lead on Kara's whereabouts, it didn't take long to track them down.

Notably, there were people within Kara itself who wanted Isshiki Otsutsuki dead.

Thanks to Amado's deliberate leaks, the Five Great Nations soon discovered the location of Kara's core base.

Isshiki's pocket dimension was no longer viable—Sasuke had completely marked it. That left only the bases within the ninja world.

Though well-hidden, any base within the ninja world still required resources. As long as they had supply lines, they couldn't evade detection forever.

Once Kara's location was confirmed, the Five Great Nations deployed their elite forces—including the Five Kage and Sasuke—for a full-scale assault.

Jigen was powerful, but his body was already deteriorating, and he hadn't properly cultivated Kawaki yet. Kawaki had only just received the Karma mark, and Isshiki's data had yet to fully integrate. If Jigen died now, Kawaki would need an extended period before his Karma was fully activated.

During that time, Kawaki would be weak, and if he were killed, Isshiki Otsutsuki would be completely erased.

Thus, Jigen's priority was Kawaki. Losing the Ten Tails was one thing—it could be retrieved or cultivated again. But if Kawaki died, Isshiki's existence would end.

When the Five Great Nations launched their assault, Yoichi immediately sensed it. However, he decided not to personally intervene. His Kamui clone and Tenseigan clone would be enough to stir the chaos.

The battle between Kara and the Five Great Nations was brutal, but the shinobi forces held a clear advantage.

Daemon's abilities were known, so he was assigned to Naruto, while Sasuke faced Jigen.

Sasuke, now fully recovered and wielding vast chakra reserves, had regained his peak strength. With repeated uses of Amenotejikara, he was proving to be a formidable opponent.

Even after unleashing his Karma and tapping into Isshiki's power, Jigen could only fight Sasuke to a standstill. And with Amenotejikara's unpredictability, he narrowly avoided death multiple times.

As the battle escalated, the battlefield split into multiple skirmishes, and several engagements were quickly resolved.

The shinobi forces, including the other four Kage, gained the upper hand. The Kage, having consumed Yoichi's secret medicine beforehand, dominated the Kara cyborgs.

Though some cyborgs were nearly as strong as Jigen, they were still held back by the Kage.

In the end, only Code, Eida, Daemon, and Jigen remained—everyone else in Kara was either dead or captured. Amado and Koji Kashin had already fled, without even attempting to resist.

With Code and Jigen struggling, and the shinobi gaining reinforcements, Code was rapidly losing ground.

Daemon's battle with Naruto was intense. Desperate to reach Eida, he fought wildly, but Naruto refused to let him through. Knowing Daemon's abilities, Naruto relied on his immense chakra and Truth-Seeking Orbs to restrict his movements rather than attacking directly.

However, Eida's battlefield was completely stalled. Her ability prevented anyone from harming her.

Even though she was weak in direct combat, no one dared to strike her.

Shikamaru, analyzing the situation from afar, quickly adjusted their strategy—Eida was to be contained, not attacked.

Though they couldn't harm her, they could at least trap her.

Despite their best efforts, Jigen and Code managed to escape, abandoning Daemon and Eida.

For the Five Great Nations, the operation was ultimately a failure. Their goal had been to eliminate Jigen, not just destroy a Kara base.

And as long as Jigen lived, he could always rebuild.

But for now, Kara's forces had been decimated. The shinobi world just needed to hunt down the remnants.

If they found Jigen, Sasuke and Naruto would immediately strike.

...

Back in Konoha, Yoichi received his Kamui clone's memories and fell into thought.

"So, they brought them back, huh?"

(End of Chapter)

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