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It's been two and half years since the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Two years of unending work and medical experiments, which culminated in this moment.
The medical fuinjutsu that will change the world.
The Regeneration Chakra Seal.
The medical fuinjutsu that uses stored chakra that can instantly regenerate any severe wounds and that can be used by anyone in the hospital or even in the battlefield.
Haruno Sakura has spent nearly three years researching and experimenting with this medical fuinjutsu and she is now certain that this time her experiment will become successful.
At the moment, she is using a monkey with an amputated arm to run her experiment. The animal is sedated. So she doesn’t have to worry about it running amok in her large lab while she does her preliminary exams.
She has already placed the monkey’s arm at the center of the chakra seal scroll that all Sakura needs to do is inject chakra into the seal to trigger the regeneration chakra stored within the scroll.
“Here it goes,” she whispers to herself.
Then, she starts to pour chakra into the seal scroll. The seal glows with medical chakra. The mint green color instantly brightens up the room.
A few seconds pass by as Sakura continues to pour chakra into the seal. As it nearly reaches a minute, she begins to feel the chakra fluctuating as the seal becomes unstable.
“No no no!” Sakura states frantically and she tries to rectify the situation by stabilizing the seal with more chakra.
Her bakugo activates as her chakra is nearly depleted after pouring a lot of her chakra into the seal.
The seal scroll is like a maw of a hungry beast that it readily consumes the chakra she pours into it.
As seconds tick by, wind begins to whip around her while Sakura hears a piercing sound emitting from the seal that is difficult to describe. The sound drowns her angry curses while the mint green glow begins to brighten so much that she has to squint her eyes to keep looking at what she is doing.
Sakura is so distracted with what is happening in front of her that she misses it when a portal suddenly appears behind her and a man in a blue and red superhero suit steps into the lab just in time to save her from the explosion.
WHOOSH is the sound of the air getting displaced almost instantly.
Sakura shouts in surprise as a strange man in red and blue suddenly grabs her and flies outwards where they burst through the ceiling and soaring higher over the rooftop just as there is a loud BOOM! –ing sound when her experiment finally fails once again.
She watches as the building where her lab is located explodes in a conflagration of debris and flames. There is a shockwave that balloons outwards from the explosion, which shakes the trees and the foundations of nearby buildings.
As she and the man hovers above the explosion, Sakura finally notes the throbbing sensation in her right arm where the soul mark of her Protector Bond is located.
My Protector Bond was activated when I was in danger a moment ago, she thinks in surprise.
Sakura turns her attention towards the man who is currently carrying her in the air.
“Thanks for saving me,” she says to her savior gratefully.
“You are always welcome, Sakura…” the dark haired man – who can only be her protector – replies softly in a different language, which she can understand mainly due to their soul bond.
The moment the Protector Bond activates, both parties will instantly receive all the information regarding each other and their situation. So her protector – Clark Kent – must have immediately known that Sakura’s life is in danger when he appears in that universe.
“Are you wounded?” the dark haired man asks her in concern.
“No, I’m fine…” Sakura assures Clark.
“I am glad to hear that,” he tells her, sounding relieved.
“I know you don’t easily get hurt, but I still want to know…are you hurt right now?” Sakura inquires next, also concerned for his wellbeing.
“No, I’m not injured,” is Clark’s assurance.
Down below, she can already see ninjas and civilians alike gathering at the sight of the raging inferno that was previously her lab.
It was really a spectacular explosion when it happened. People can probably see the smoke rising from the destroyed area and some of them have come to investigate the cause of the explosion.
Fortunately, her lab was located far away from the busiest district and placed somewhere near a river.
“I hope no one got hurt from that,” She remarks worriedly.
“No one did,” comes her protector's assuring words.
“How do you know?” Sakura asks, but then she remembers the information about him that her protector has super hearing. “Oh, it's because you can hear them even from up here?”
“Yes,” her protector nods his head, smiling gently at her.
Sakura returns his smile tenderly. She can feel the warmth invading her veins as she continues to regard her protector for a long moment.
“I still can’t believe that you are here, Clark…” she informs him softly. “I’ve waited for a long time for you to show up every time I am in danger, especially during the Fourth Shinobi World War. However, I now know that there were certain conditions to activate our Protector Bond in the first place...”
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to save you in those instances when your life was in danger, Sakura. Like you, I’ve waited for the Protector Bond to activate... However, I am here now for you.…”
“And that is all that matters to me now…That you are here with me…” Sakura says to him.
“I promise that I will be there for you when you need me next time,” is Clark’s vow to her.
“And I promise that I won’t let you go from now on… You are always welcome here in my world,” Sakura tells him while she tightens her arms around his neck in an attempt of a hug.
“As you are welcome in mine,” He replies while his grip on her becomes firm and certain.
“Our fate was already sealed when I first saw my soul mark with your name etched on it,” Sakura murmurs to him.
“Indeed,” comes Clark’s response as he leans forward to press his forehead against hers.
They hover in the air like that for a long moment while they share breaths and comfortable silence.
They were both happy to be with each other in that instant.
Like Sakura said, their fate was already sealed the moment they shared the Protector Bond.
Their bond is inevitable like the universe itself has destined for them to meet each other despite the fact that they were universes apart.