In the days that followed, Sakura studied every day while enduring Tsunade's brutal beatings.
But Sakura gritted her teeth and refused to give up. She wanted to grow stronger—she truly, deeply wanted to grow stronger.
One night, Naruto quietly knocked on Sakura's door. Looking at the exhausted Sakura, he said, "Want to talk?"
Sakura nodded and let Naruto into her room. The two sat facing each other at the table.
Making himself right at home, Naruto poured himself a cup of tea and asked, "Sakura Bro, do you regret it?"
Sakura shook her head. "This is an opportunity you worked so hard to get for me. I'm not giving up that easily."
"For Sasuke?" Naruto immediately thought of that reason.
Sakura hesitated for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Maybe at first. But not anymore."
Naruto was shocked. "You don't like Sasuke anymore?"
"How could that be?" Sakura denied it.
Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Then why say that?"
"I've just figured some things out lately, I guess." Sakura did feel a little like opening up.
Naruto poured her a cup of tea, sat up straight, and looked just like a lord from a period drama seeking advice from his strategist. "I'd like to hear the details."
Sakura had long grown used to Naruto's occasional bouts of weirdness. "Actually, when I first graduated from the academy, I didn't really have any goals. Sasuke was my only dream."
A nostalgic look appeared on Sakura's face. "Sasuke is handsome, confident, strong... He's such an outstanding person..."
Naruto set down his teacup and interrupted her. "Bro, I'm not here to listen to you praise him."
Sakura smiled. "Okay, okay. Anyway, I'd always admired him, but I'd never truly understood him. To him, I was probably just someone he knew fairly well, right? Maybe