Watching Uehara vanish in a dark swirl, hidden emotions welled up within Sakura’s heart. Holding her hand to her chest, she could feel her heart beating intensely.

“Does that mean he…cares about me?”

As soon as she said those words, her face became flushed.

“What are you saying Sakura? Don’t be an idiot. Aoki-sama is simply advising me.”

But recalling how he said he noticed how she wasn’t sleeping a lot, Sakura softly giggled like the teenager she was. But she immediately shook her head.

“How far I’ve fallen. Sweet nothings from the boys in the capital didn’t affect me in anyway yet words of concern from Aoki-sama brought me to this state.”

Walking over while mulling over these tingly feelings in her heart, she kicked a rock.

[Stupid master! It’s your fault I’m like this now!]

Meanwhile, Uehara was currently meditating on the ocean’s surface a few dozen kilometres from the island of Aokigahara. Streams of water and fire were slowly circling around him while a faint blue aura emanated from him.

[I have sufficient mastery in all four elements now and I’ve already unlocked the water-sage transformation. If I can figure out how to combine the elements of water and fire, then I can find a way to merge both my fire and water sage transformations.]

Then, black tear marks slowly extended from his eyes all the way to his jawline. Two small white horns protruded through his hair while the blue aura around him turned golden. The streams of water and fire revolving around him also turned golden in colour.

While still in the lotus position, he opened both of his hands and the golden streams of water and fire respectively went to his open palms, collecting themselves into a ball. On his right hand was a golden fire sphere and on his left was a golden water sphere.

[This is a big risk I’m taking. But if it pays off, I can set the foundation to gaining unimaginable power.]

Bringing his hands together, he tried to merge the two opposing elements. His hands began vibrating as the two elements repelled each other.

[Okay. Now I should channel in more nature energy.]

He channeled more nature energy into his hands, coating the spheres with even more nature energy. By using nature energy as a lubricant, he hoped to have the ability to merge the two together.

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[?!]

Unfortunately, this caused the elements to react even more violently. Before he could even control them in time, the two orbs exploded right in front of him, sending him flying. The explosion was so massive that a massive displacement of water several dozen kilometres in radius and thousands of metres deep formed.

Uehara skid across surface of the water at such speeds that it was like he was thrown on hard ground. He ended up reaching his island and collided through the trees with such great force that he directly smashed through thirteen of those chakra-filled trees.

When his momentum was finally curbed on the fourteenth, he was in a sitting position, his head drooping like a drunkard’s in an alley while there were several frightening wounds on his body. Upon closer inspection, one could see that aside from his clothes, the entire skin on his torso was burnt away, leaving only the thin film of bone Uehara had created under his skin to act as armour.

All that he had left from his arms were stumps and several golden sparks were circling around him. On his abdomen, it appeared as if there was a crater as cracks on his bone armour were there with blood leaking through it.

In such a miserable condition, Uehara was unconscious and very, very close to death. What was keeping him on the brink of death wasn’t the injuries themselves but the nature energy imprisoning the two opposing elements wreaking havoc in his body, hence the golden sparks around him.

It didn’t take long before a flash of blue light formed in front of him. Chizuki appeared and seeing Uehara in such a frightful state, her hands began shaking intensely as tears dripped down her face.

“N-no. No no no no.”

Slowly walking towards him with trembling steps, she was about to lose herself to despair when she heard his heart beating. She immediately casted a giant water barrier around them and intently listened. A minute passed by without anything and she was getting scared. Her hands couldn’t stop shaking and her lips couldn’t stop trembling in fear.

Still, she held on to hope that what she heard before wasn’t fake. She bit her lip to prevent the sobs that were threatening to come out of her mouth in fear that her sobs would drown out the heartbeat she was so desperately waiting to hear.

When she bit her lips so hard that blood was about to come out, she finally felt something through the link they shared and at the same time, she heard his heartbeat. This time, she didn’t hold back her sobs as the tears came in droves. She was happy.

[Master’s alive!]

She only allowed herself to cry for five seconds before she swiftly wiped away her tears and walked over to him. With the assurance that he’s alive, she knelt down in front of him and with trembling hands, she couldn’t make heads or tails of what she should do.

Paranoia and fear were sinking in at her helplessness as she really couldn’t figure out what she should do. At that moment, Sakura appeared in a flash of red. Seeing the sight in front of her, horror crept in but she immediately shoved those feelings down. Marching forward, she berated Chizuki.

“Don’t just sit there! Help me get him up!”

Chizuki didn’t even argue with Sakura or even think about the tone she took with her. Working together with Sakura, they gently picked Uehara up. Giving him to Chizuki, she commanded.

“Follow me! I know someone in the capital who can save him!”

Chizuki resolutely nodded and so the both of them ran to the capital. She berated herself for being so weak in the moment where Uehara needed her most. Looking at Sakura, she was thankful she had came in time.

Meanwhile, Sakura was feeling just as terrible as Chizuki. She only had one sentence repeating in her heart.

[Please don’t die, Aoki-sama.]