Uzumaki Naruto.
Their first meeting... his awkward shyness.
The way the villagers rejected him.
His persistence in wanting to become her partner...
That's why...
Being a Jinchūriki had plunged him into darkness.
And in that darkness... he had searched for light.
That's why...
Now that she understood everything, a surge of emotion overwhelmed Sako.
Like crashing waves.
Remorse, shame...
But also tenderness and compassion for Naruto.
Her body grew hot, as if a fire had ignited within her.
That heat rose to her head...
A feeling she had never experienced before.
In the darkness of her mind... a faint light appeared.
Sako reached out...
And caught it.
As the water clones shattered, others emerged from the mist.
Thanks to the rushing river, Jūzō could create hundreds of clones effortlessly.
He simply needed to exhaust Naruto to win.
Even if the Bijū's chakra was infinite, the Jinchūriki's stamina wasn't.
And this kid was still young.
Even if he unleashed Kyūbi's power, he surely couldn't manifest all its tails, limiting his battle duration.
Hidden in the shadows, Jūzō waited patiently.
Sako: "The hand seals!"
Naruto, Jūzō, Hayate: "?!"
Sako suddenly shouted, but no one understood what she meant.
"The enemy's using ninjutsu... So we have to use some too... Hmm..."
A strange sensation filled her mind.
Like a fleeting dream upon waking.
Sudden knowledge surfaced.
"If we use Wind Style..."
Among the five nature types, at equal levels, wind had the greatest area-destruction potential.
But in Konoha, it was also the rarest element.
Most Konoha shinobi mastered fire.
The Uchiha were the perfect example.
"...We could blow away all the clones and the mist in one go!"
Hayate: "?!"
It made sense... but Sako had an affinity for fire.
Unless she were a jōnin Uchiha...
Jōnin typically mastered at least two nature transformations. Only they could use Wind Style.
Sako: "Naruto... follow my hand signs!"
She raised her hands, a scarlet glow shining in her eyes.
"..."
Naruto watched carefully.
She formed the seals slowly so he could follow.
Few signs.
A simple technique.
Hayate, more experienced, immediately recognized the seals for Wind Style: Great Breakthrough (Fūton: Daitoppa).
A C-rank jutsu.
Its power varied based on the user's abilities.
Basic principle: condense air with chakra, then release it violently, creating a hurricane.
Minimum speed: level 7.
A skilled user could cause typhoon-like destruction.
Hayate: "How does this girl know that technique?!"
Stunned, he watched Sako teach Naruto the seals.
"Impossible..."
Learning mid-battle?
And how could she guess that Naruto had a wind affinity?
But... Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, whose main element had been wind. So...
Naruto: "Wind Style."
His movements were clumsy, but he formed the seals correctly.
Then... he took a deep breath.
And blew.
Naruto: "Great Breakthrough!!!"
What was the power of a C-rank technique under the effect of Kyūbi's chakra cloak?
The storm, usually invisible, glowed scarlet.
Hayate couldn't believe his eyes.
Hayate: "What?!"
Jūzō's clones didn't even have time to react.
They were blown away.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Bushes torn out, trees uprooted.
A thick trunk hurled into the air like a twig.
The mist... vanished.
The overpowered Great Breakthrough had cleared everything!
Hayate: "That's..."
This version of the Great Breakthrough was at least three times more powerful than normal.
The ground was scoured, as if after a typhoon.
Dozens of clones... obliterated.
Even the water droplets were blown away.
Kyūbi: "That girl..."
The Fox watched Sako with growing interest.
His dark red eyes seemed to burn.
Black tomoe appeared.
The Sharingan... had awakened.
Sako: "Oh..."
Delighted by Naruto's success, Sako felt a shift in her vision.
Lights appeared.
First Naruto...
An orange torch, radiating unimaginable heat.
Then Hayate...
His chakra flickering like a candle about to die out.
Sako: "Where is he?!"
Where was the enemy hiding?
Her gaze locked onto one point.
"!"
Jūzō, submerged in the river, felt a chill.
Jūzō: "The Sharingan..."
She had awakened it under these circumstances?!
She had spotted him!
Sako: "Over there! Naruto... he's in the river!"
She pointed, shouting with all her strength.
A wave of dizziness hit her, ears ringing.
Before fainting, she saw Naruto leap.
His orange chakra cloak enveloped him, but through her Sharingan, he looked like a blazing sphere.
Behind him... three lines rippled.
Like... tails?
Sako (whispering): "Let's go home..."
"We'll go home together..."
Then... she collapsed.