Sakura, You Smell So Good

~~

White steam filled the bathroom as Sakura soaked comfortably in the bathtub, the exhaustion from her run completely washed away.

She lifted her tiny hand from the water, sending ripples across the surface. Soaked in the hot water, the hand that belonged to a six-year-old child looked especially soft and pink.

As she calmed her mind, Sakura could feel that her Chakra had almost completely recovered, while the excess Chakra once again gathered of its own accord at the center of her forehead.

The nerves she had only just managed to settle tensed up again.

Sixteen-year-old Haruno Sakura was very strong, but against Konoha, she was only so-so.

It was better not to relax too much...

"Sakura, you're going to be late."

Haruno Meiko knocked on the bathroom door, her voice following right after.

"I'm coming, Mom!"

-

By the time Haruno Sakura arrived in the classroom with hair that was still not fully dry, class was about to begin.

"Sakura, did you take a bath?"

Ino touched Sakura's cherry-pink hair. It was still a little damp.

"Hmm, I exercised for a while this morning, then took a bath."

"Looks like I didn't manage my time well. I should get up earlier next time."

Haruno Sakura casually tucked the hair obstructing her vision behind her ear and replied to Ino with a light smile.

"Ah..."

Sakura was so diligent...

Looking at Haruno Sakura, Ino could not help feeling a little discouraged.

"Why are you working so hard, Sakura? Isn't being with us enough?"

Ino did not understand why Sakura was pushing herself so hard. She had only gotten the study materials yesterday, yet she had already begun training today.

Sakura swept her gaze across the classroom.

There were not many students, only a little over twenty.

But most of them were children from various ninja clans. Nine of the Twelve Rookie Nine were here. Aside from Sakura herself, among the other eight, six would become future clan heads, while the remaining two were the Seventh Hokage and the last Uchiha.

In terms of background, Sakura ranked the lowest.

In terms of resources, Sakura ranked the lowest.

She was merely a Civilian Ninja.

If she wanted to stand at the highest point and face the winds from all directions, then in this world where bloodlines ruled, the abilities of a Warring States Sakura were far from enough.

She needed to work even harder.

"Ino, actually, we are..."

Before Sakura could finish, a dry towel landed on her head.

"Dry your hair, or you'll catch a cold."

Iruka looked gently at the little girl with damp hair.

"Hmm, thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Haruno Sakura wiped her hair as she thanked Iruka.

"What are we?"

Ino looked at Sakura curiously.

"We're friends for life."

Sakura answered Ino's question with a smile.

"Ah, sneaky. That definitely wasn't what you wanted to say just now, Sakura."

Ino pounced on Sakura in annoyance, then snatched the towel off Sakura's head.

"You don't need to say something like that yourself. I already know it."

Standing behind Sakura, Ino matter-of-factly used the towel to dry Sakura's hair.

Feeling Ino's movements on her head, Haruno Sakura unconsciously smiled.

Maybe she had been overthinking it.

She and Ino were clearly the same kind of person.

Unlike usual, Sakura did not listen to Iruka's lesson at all today. Instead, she picked up other textbooks and began flipping through them.

She had already learned what Iruka was teaching today last night.

Time passed bit by bit, and the morning lessons soon came to an end. Throughout it all, Iruka turned a blind eye to Sakura's distraction.

"This afternoon will be physical training. Be prepared, and remember not to eat too much."

As the words fell, wails immediately rang out throughout the classroom.

The Ninja Academy's physical training was nothing like the easy PE classes of her previous life.

It was a method specifically designed to push these reserve ninjas' physical strength to its limit.

Or, to put it another way, as long as it did not injure their bodies, they would train them as hard as possible without killing them.

"Especially those few in the back. Don't even think about skipping class."

Iruka tapped the desk and continued,

"I'm talking about you: Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji."

The boys Iruka had specifically named stiffened at once, their little schemes vanishing into thin air.

"Sakura, there's devil training this afternoon~~"

After Iruka left, Ino immediately clung to Sakura, looking miserable.

"If there is, there is. It's not like we can escape it."

Haruno Sakura closed the textbook in her hands and helplessly looked at Ino rubbing against her.

Ino suddenly leaned in and sniffed Sakura. Her warm breath made Sakura's neck tickle.

"Sakura, you smell so good~~"

"What shampoo do you use?"

At noon, Sakura did not eat on the training field as usual. Instead, she gnawed on the rice balls her mom had made while flipping through "The First Hokage's Will of Fire."

Ino had run off somewhere, but the person clinging to Sakura had merely changed.

"Hehe, Sakura, this is Tenraku I learned from the recipe Sakura gave me yesterday~~"

"Sakura, help me taste it~~"

The Blond Kid sidled up to Haruno Sakura with a cheeky grin, opening a food container that had clearly just been bought.

Looking at the rather unappealing Tenraku in the container, Sakura glanced at Naruto in surprise.

This guy was really putting effort into cooking...

Sakura did not refuse Naruto's goodwill. She accepted the chopsticks he handed her, picked up a fried shrimp, and put it into her mouth.

Honestly, it did not taste very good.

"It tastes fine. If you put less salt in the batter, it would be better."

Sakura preferred lighter flavors, and Naruto had used a little too much seasoning for her taste.

"Then I'll make it better next time!"

Naruto was not discouraged. Instead, he perked right up.

"Say, when did those two get so close..."

At the window, three heads were lined up side by side.

Kiba, with red markings painted on his cheeks, looked at the two inside the classroom and spoke.

"No matter how I look at it, it's suspicious."

"But when did Naruto learn to cook? I really want to try it."

Choji chewed on potato chips, his gaze fixed directly on the food container in front of Sakura.

"Isn't it obvious at a glance? Naruto likes Sakura, but Sakura doesn't feel that way."

Shikamaru spoke with dead-fish eyes as he watched Sakura, whose attention had remained on her book the entire time.

But then again, Sakura was really impressive. She was actually preparing to skip a grade.

The black-haired boy with a Pineapple Head had noticed from the very beginning that the book in front of Sakura was not material they were supposed to be studying at this stage.

In other words, she had truly gotten the materials for skipping a grade from Iruka, and Iruka letting Sakura do as she pleased all day clearly meant he supported her skipping a grade too.

Their class was about to produce a genius...