Chidori: Thunderclap and Flash!

"I don't feel well," Kahiko moaned in Sakura's ear. "I think my breakfast is about to—!"

"Don't you dare vomit on me!" Sakura screamed breathlessly, looking over her shoulder at their pursuers. "I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do!"

Utterly lost in a labyrinth of corridors, each more identical than the last, Sakura had been wandering around aimlessly in the enemy's mobile base for a good ten minutes when a patrol of Hollow Knights had stumbled upon her. Upon seeing her carrying the escaped prisoner on her back, they had immediately given chase, leading to the current situation…

"Look in front of you!" Kahiko screeched.

A second group of enemies was charging towards them to cut off their escape route— an approach which would have doubtlessly worked, had they not forgotten to account for a third dimension. Sakura leapt, Goomba-stomping the first Hollow Knight in her way. She then jumped off its head and sailed through the air, before landing on her feet at the tail end of the phalanx of soldiers.

Quick as a kunai, Sakura darted through the corridors at random, trying to find the lift that led to the entrance hall, the exit to this infernal machine… only to end up in a dead end. Sakura skidded to a halt and turned on her heel, but before she could make up for her mistake and retrace her steps, she found herself surrounded…

"Give it up, pipsqueak," Ranke's exasperated voice rang out through the intercom. "I just got back from a very long mission, so the last thing I want to do right now is to chase you around. Just put the old man down and surrender yourself to the soldiers, 'kay?"

The hulking monsters inched closer and closer, brandishing their spiked maces menacingly.

"These things aren't human, are they?" Sakura called out, receiving no answer.

Sakura's eyes flashed.

The Hollow Knights weren't living flesh, which meant that she didn't need to hold back. And now that she was thinking about it, this was probably one of the many reasons behind Tenten's lack of screen time. Tenten was a master of all weapons, but by definition, edged weapons are made to draw blood. While Kishimoto never shied away from gore, there was a limit to the amount of blood that could be shown on TV…

"Good girl," said Ranke, who was watching from some hidden camera, as Sakura peeled off the old man from her back and sat him on the floor. "Now, throw down your sword and… what are you doing?"

Ram! Tiger!

"Water Style: Starch Syrup Capturing Field!"

Sakura spat out a gooey glob of sticky syrup at the ground at the Hollow Knights' feet. Despite its high viscosity, the fluid rapidly spread through the corridor, glueing her enemies' feet to the ground. However, Sakura wasn't done yet!

Ox! Rabbit! Monkey!

"Lightning Style: Chidori Sword Stream!"

The chakra coating Sakura's right hand turned blindingly bright. With one swift motion, she unsheathed her sword, causing the brilliant chakra covering her hand to travel down the Manyuu blade.

"Shannaroooo!" Sakura shouted, as she broke into a sprint.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

Lightning discharged through Sakura's muscles and nerves, kicking her reflexes into high gear. Step by step, her long strides brought her closer to the Hollow Knights, who almost seemed to be standing still from her narrowing point of view, as her eyes were unable to catch up to her own speed.

The Manyuu sword flashed as Sakura advanced, its razor-sharp edge slicing through any gaps in the knights' armour she could find. Lightning crackled from the blade, arcing around her as she moved, the tongues of plasma licking at nearby surfaces and jolting them with electric shocks.

Finding the path forward to be closed due to the sheer quantity of disposable soldiers in her way, Sakura ran up the side of the corridor's wall, still swinging her sword with deadly precision as she went. An instant later, she was running upside-down on the ceiling— then she was on the opposite wall— and finally, she leapt off the wall and spun in a semicircle in midair, decapitating the final three Hollow Knights, before landing and sheathing her sword in one single fluid motion.

…exactly one second later, the Hollow Knights simultaneously collapsed with a cacophony of clanking noises, as if they had all been struck at the exact same time. All in all, Sakura's attack had reaped over twenty of the Hollow Men's unlives in under three seconds…

Sakura popped a soldier pill into her mouth and swallowed it with difficulty, grimacing at its foul taste.

Even though she hadn't used much chakra, she had expended too much of her stamina, which she needed to replenish. For now, her arms and legs felt as wobbly as a newborn fawn's, but the sensation would quickly pass once her body metabolised the lactic acid that had built up in her muscles.

If she used the Chidori more often, her muscle fibres would eventually grow accustomed to the enhancement of lightning chakra, and she'd be able to keep up with Sasuke in a foot race! By then, her body would surely be able to withstand the burden of the Lightning Chakra Mode, so she'd be able to practise the technique in earnest!

"Young girl, watch out!"

Upon hearing the old man's voice, Sakura instinctively ducked, just barely avoiding getting struck by a continuous stream of lightning.

"I thought I told you not to make me chase after you," said Ranke irritably, as she played around with the electricity jumping between her hands. "I've got my hands full tracking those two boys through the air vents, so I'll make this quick— lucky you."

"So, Naruto and Sasuke were behind those explosions earlier, after all," said Sakura, putting up a brave face despite her shaking limbs. "I can't imagine it must be easy finding replacement parts out here, for this digging machine of yours— your master must be pretty mad… eeeeeh?"

BANG!

At that moment, a third explosion rang out— by far, the loudest.

"Iyaaaa!" Kahiko screamed girlishly. "I'm falliiiing!"

Sakura's and Ranke's faces both went pale, as the entire building began to list to the side, filling their ears with the plaintive sound of groaning metal. The gigantic earth-moving machine was tipping over— while they were still inside!