Naruto: I Became Sakura and Accidentally Got a Nuke

"Sakura, I'd like to ask you something. What do you think about the recent situation with the Cloud Village?"

The Third Hokage brought it up right away upon meeting her, which actually surprised Sakura deep down.

"Why would Lord Third want to hear my opinion?" Sakura asked in confusion. After all, she was just a four-year-old child—surely nobody expected someone so young to make decisions on matters of such importance?!

"Intuition!" The Hokage smiled, his face showing obvious signs of fatigue. "I believe you might have a solution!"

"Huh?!" Sakura frowned in frustration. They say women have gut feelings all the time, but come on, you're an old man—why are you buying into this kind of stuff too?!

"My intuition is usually spot-on," the Hokage chuckled, though truthfully speaking, he had simply been feeling helpless lately and wanted to talk to someone to relieve some pressure—which was how he thought of Sakura, who possessed that mysterious Kekkei Genkai.

"If you really want my opinion," Sakura said while sitting atop her Demonic Weapon, levelling herself with the Hokage's height, "then just fight back directly! If they're asking for a war, just give it to them already!"

"This isn't that simple," the Hokage shook his head; Konoha could not afford another war at this point.

"I know—it's because of the shortage of strong fighters," Sakura naturally understood Konoha's current state. Had it been several years earlier, the Cloud Village wouldn't have dared kidnap anyone either.

"That's correct. Once Konoha engages in war with the Cloud Village, other villages will definitely seize the opportunity to attack, putting Konoha in danger."

The Hokage nodded. Konoha held the most favorable location among all the ninja villages, and the others were all eager to destroy Konoha and claim that land for themselves.

Chapter Fourteen: Countermeasures [Lower Part]

"It's true Konoha currently finds itself lacking top-level combat strength," Sakura pointed out, "but Hokage-sama, haven't you considered the situation in the Cloud Village either?"

"After only a few years since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, our village is indeed still recovering—but surely the Cloud Village needs time to recover too? Konoha holds the best land in the shinobi world, blessed with good weather and plentiful resources, yet we are still far from fully recovered. The environment where the Cloud Village is located is much harsher than ours; their recovery should take even longer than ours, right?"

"You're saying the Cloud Village is barely holding things together?" The Hokage took a puff of his pipe, glints flashing through his eyes. Indeed, if Konoha hadn't yet completely recovered despite its prime territory, how could the Cloud Village—with a harsher environment—already be back on its feet?

"Precisely," Sakura nodded. "To put it accurately, the Cloud Village has calculated your character well—they know that unless some extraordinary circumstances arise, you yourself would never willingly start a war. That's exactly why they dare act so aggressively."

"I see," the Hokage still seemed slightly uncertain. "But what if the Cloud Village launches an all-out attack anyway? Then another great ninja war, barely ended a few years ago, would likely break out again."

"I once heard a wise person say: Peace maintained through war endures; peace pursued through compromise perishes."

Sakura said seriously, then began analyzing the current situation for The Third. "Actually, given the current circumstances, a full-scale ninja war is impossible. At most, it would only be Cloud Village fighting against us!"

"Why?" asked The Third, puzzled.

"The Third Great Ninja War had just ended not long ago. As for Sand Village, they're not even worth mentioning—the Third Great Ninja War occurred precisely because the Third Kazekage vanished. Then the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage chose to deflect internal village pressures by shifting blame onto Konoha, which started the conflict. Besides, Sand Village was already the weakest among all villages, and tensions existed between the village and the Land of Wind. After such a devastating war, they definitely no longer possess the capability to wage another war."

Sakura began ticking off on her fingers.

"As for Iwagakure's Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two-Handled Scale Clan, he's quite old and naturally has a stubbornly conservative personality. He wouldn't dare take uncertain risks. Even if we did go to war with Cloud Village, without absolute certainty of success, they wouldn't get involved."

"And as for Mist Village… Well, they're practically ruined already by some lovesick man."

Thinking about Mist Village made Sakura feel sorrowful on their behalf. Madara Uchiha was responsible for Rin's death, and later Obito Uchiha nearly destroyed the entire village. Nearly every bloodline limit in the village had been wiped out. Previously, four members of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist were killed by Duy, father of Might Guy. Three remaining members fled severely injured, but later two defected, and the last one didn't survive more than a few years before Kisame Hoshigaki killed him and fled with Samehada. As for subsequent wielders of the blades, their strength couldn't compare at all.

"So according to this, we only need to face Cloud Village, correct?" mused The Third thoughtfully, but soon asked with confusion: "However, Sakura, how do you know all these things?"

Such intelligence was supposed to be top secret within each village, never meant to be exposed. Furthermore, Sakura was merely a four-year-old child. How could she possibly know so much?

"Because I can see it all!"

Sakura lifted her head looking at The Third, her emerald eyes shining like flawless jade gems. "Time flows like a river, and I stand on its bank, watching every ripple pass!"

"Huh!!" The Third was totally stunned. Since when had she suddenly gotten so dramatic?!

"To put it simply, all events that have ever happened are recorded by time itself, and I can clearly witness everything that's been recorded!" Sakura quietly stared at The Third, smiling faintly. "For instance, the Nine-Tails incident back then, Naruto's true identity, The Second Hokage's death, the battle between The First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, even how Konoha itself came into existence—I know absolutely everything about all of it!"

A chill went down The Third's spine as he froze in shock. What Sakura said sounded truly unbelievable. If someone really controlled time… now that would be terrifying.

"If you don't believe me, Lord Third, then time…"

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