Konoha Village
After dropping off the Kaiyuki sealing scroll at the Autopsy Lab and giving brief instructions to the staff member on duty, Sakura left. She had killed plenty of those creatures and given them a cursory examination herself back on the island, finding nothing particularly noteworthy. Now, it was up to Master Tsunade to see if anything more could be discovered.
She stopped by Shino's house to retrieve the large branch of the Ōkami Shinju she had temporarily entrusted to him, then headed home.
The house was empty; her mother and father were both out, likely one shopping for groceries and the other at work. Sakura looked at the meter-long piece of ancient wood now resting in her room and felt a headache brewing. Her family home was clearly unsuitable for conducting potentially strange experiments.
Although she was a capable ninja in her own right when out on missions, she had always lived with her parents. As long as she was in the village, she knew they'd never readily agree to her moving out on her own. This is tricky, she thought. What excuse could I use to move out? No, wait, the real problem is finding a suitable place to use as a laboratory. She certainly didn't have enough money to just buy a property right now.
Lying on her bed, Sakura mulled over possible locations within the village that could serve as a private research space. Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the non-stop travel and the preceding battle finally catching up to her, but her thoughts grew fuzzy, and soon, she drifted off to sleep.
.........
When Sakura opened her "eyes" again, she found herself in a completely different environment.
Lush trees towered around her, their branches thick with vibrant leaves. Birds occasionally flitted past. Nearby, a stream flowed, its water so clear she could see fish swimming freely within. In the distance, towering mountains rose, range after range stretching beyond sight.
"Wh-where is this place?" Sakura felt groggy, her mind still hazy from sleep.
She raised a hand—or rather, tried to raise a hand—to rub her "eyes," and froze in shock.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Sakura tried to look "down" at herself, only to realize with dawning horror that her body simply wasn't there. It was gone.
Yet, she could still perceive her surroundings with perfect clarity using her "eyes." When she tried to turn her "head," she felt no physical sensation of movement, yet her field of vision shifted seamlessly, taking in everything around her in a complete, 360-degree panorama, much like the Byakugan's view.
"Wh-what is happening to me?!" Sakura tried to scream, but no sound emerged. There was only the rustle of leaves as the wind whispered through the trees.
This... A cold fear gripped her. No body, no voice, yet she could "see" everything, observe her surroundings from all angles simultaneously. What am I? What kind of existence is this?
Her attention fixed on the nearby river. She felt an urge to get closer, but without a body, how could she possibly move?
Before she could even begin to contemplate the mechanics of bodiless movement, the world around her shifted. The river flowed towards her, while the trees and distant mountains receded, adjusting their positions relative to her viewpoint.
It truly felt as if the scenery itself was moving, rearranging itself around her stationary point of perception. It was a bizarre sensation, like holding a globe and rotating it to view different continents while remaining perfectly still herself—only this globe was real. The feeling was indescribable, as if the entire world was subservient to her will, presenting itself for her observation.
However, any sense of wonder was instantly obliterated by stark terror when her viewpoint shifted directly above the river. She looked "down" at the water's surface, searching for her reflection.
There was nothing.
Absolutely nothing. The water reflected the clear sky above, but held no image of her.
Impossible! Panic surged through her consciousness. If there's nothing there, then what AM I? She tried to will herself closer, thinking perhaps her form was simply too small, too insignificant to cast a reflection.
Instantly, the scenery warped again, the river's surface rushing up until it was practically pressed against her "line of sight."
She scrutinized the water again, meticulously. There was no mistake. Nothing. She had no body, no form. If she had to define herself, she was perhaps... a puff of air?
How can this be? Confusion warred with fear. Wasn't I just in my room in Konoha? Where is this place? How did I become... this? Where is Konoha? She tried to rack her "brain," but no answers came.
Could it be... I died? The terrifying thought surfaced. Is this the afterlife? But how did I die? I don't remember anything... And this doesn't feel like the Pure Land...
Lost and utterly bewildered, "Sakura" simply stared blankly at the water's surface for a long time. Finally, a decision formed. She would explore this world. Was it possible... had she somehow crossed over into another dimension again?
Willing her perspective forward, the world began to slide past her, the scenery unfolding like a procession paying tribute, presenting itself for her viewing.
She didn't know how much time passed. Landscapes shifted and changed—endless stretches of dense forest, soaring mountain ranges. She saw animals—birds, rabbits, deer—all species familiar to her.
"Sakura" tried to reach out, to interact with these creatures, but found she was merely an observer. She couldn't touch or influence anything. And the animals, in turn, seemed utterly unaware of her presence. Of course, she thought detachedly. How could they see 'air'?
While the sensation of movement, of the world bending to her focus, held an indescribable exhilaration, the inability to interact, to communicate, to experience anything as a "person," became deeply unsettling.
Logically, her current state should have induced overwhelming terror—stripped of nearly all senses and physical form, existing only as a point of view. Yet, strangely, after the initial panic, the fear had faded. Now, she felt... nothing. Her inner state was completely calm, devoid of ripples.
Gradually, "Sakura" became aware of this odd lack of feeling. The terror she should have felt simply wasn't there. After some consideration, she arrived at a chilling conclusion: without the physical anchor of a body, the biological and chemical processes that generated "human" emotions were absent.
She recalled memories: her parents, Mebuki and Kizashi; Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi; Karin; everything about her life in the village. Yet, none of these thoughts elicited any emotional response. If she were still "human," losing these connections, even hypothetically, would evoke sadness, longing, perhaps bitterness. But now, thinking of them sparked nothing. It was like watching ants crawl on the ground—an observation devoid of personal feeling. The memories remained, but they no longer touched "her" in any meaningful way.
Stripped of the emotions that defined her humanity, "Sakura" continued her aimless observation of this world. She saw vast oceans, sprawling mountain ranges, polar ice caps. It resembled the Shinobi World in its elements, yet felt vastly larger, and completely devoid of human presence. Only animals roamed this pristine land.
The polar regions seemed exceptionally cold, utterly barren of life. "Sakura" observed the endless ice sheets impassively.
Without emotions, she found she didn't even possess the desire to return to being "human." All traces of her former self were confined to memory alone. It felt as if "she" was now nothing more than a collection of recorded experiences.
And as "she" processed this, connecting her current state with the fragmented information held within those memories, a potential explanation began to form—a reason that might explain what "she" had become.