Talk no Jutsu

Moonlight draped the night like a curtain. The pink-haired girl stood atop a great tree with her back to the full moon, her emerald eyes silently watching the blond boy.

"Naruto."

Her cool voice rang out in the night, making Naruto instinctively take a step back.

Sakura frowned slightly when she saw Naruto retreat.

She had only just returned to the village after completing a mission when Hiruzen Sarutobi informed her that Naruto had been deceived by Mizuki into stealing the Scroll of Seals, telling her to retrieve it immediately.

And capture Mizuki while she was at it.

He never mentioned what should be done with Naruto.

What else could be done? Just raise him properly~~

"Sa... Sakura..."

Naruto looked at the girl in the tree and swallowed. He wanted to run, but before he could make a move, that flash of pink had already appeared before him.

Naruto had not seen her move at all!

"While I was away from the village, it seems Naruto got a little naughty."

Sakura's words sounded beside Naruto's ear, making him grit his teeth tightly.

He gathered his courage and glared furiously at the girl before him.

"Sakura!"

"Hmm, I'm listening."

Sakura's calm, unruffled expression made Naruto feel as if he had punched a ball of cotton, leaving him with nowhere to direct his strength.

"M-Mizuki-sensei said that when you got close to me back then... it was because..."

"Because..."

Looking at the hesitant idiot before her, Sakura could not help but sigh softly. Her emerald eyes fixed on Naruto as she spoke.

"So, Naruto can hate me just because someone casually says something?"

!

Hearing Sakura's words, Naruto froze instinctively.

It seemed that he had done something truly awful.

"No, it's not... it's not like that..."

Naruto instinctively tried to explain, but Sakura smiled and patted his head just as she had in the past.

"Do you remember what I told you back then?"

"It was Iruka-sensei who asked me to go, you know."

"Idiot."

Naruto stared at the girl before him with his eyes slightly widened.

That was right, that was right. Sakura had come because Iruka-sensei asked her to. Sakura had already said so that day...

Mizuki-sensei had lied to him!

He had actually doubted Sakura...

Naruto grew dejected, and at that moment, a figure emerged from the forest behind them.

He wore Konoha's standard Ninja outfit and had blue hair.

"Naruto, hurry up and hand over—"

A smug smile was on Mizuki's face, but his words abruptly caught in his throat halfway through.

Like a drowning man whose throat had been tightly seized, the arrogance on his face froze the instant he saw Sakura.

His face went pale, then flushed.

"So it's you, Sakura."

"I didn't expect you to be here too."

Mizuki's black eyes darted around. At that very moment, he had already begun searching for a route of escape.

But the other members of the Anbu Seventh Squad had already surrounded him from every direction, blocking off all his escape routes.

"Mizuki-sensei, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to cause such a commotion without anyone noticing."

Sakura stood beside Naruto, looking at the man before her.

He had been her teacher for two years, but Sakura felt nothing toward him. She had long known that this guy was no good. Back then, she had merely gone through the motions and obediently played the part of a student.

"Who are you trying to fool!"

Seeing that he was surrounded and had no hope of escape, Mizuki's face twisted viciously.

"You're just another person coveting Naruto!"

"What makes us any different!"

"The power of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was enough to destroy all of Konoha!"

Sakura calmly watched Mizuki, with no intention of stopping him.

She let him continue speaking.

Beside her, Naruto listened to Mizuki's words, his expression growing dimmer and dimmer as his usual smile vanished completely.

"It's precisely because everyone in the village knows Naruto is the demon fox that they all hate him!"

"They hate that sin!"

Sakura folded her arms and looked at the hysterical man before his death. She knew that if they didn't make things clear here, Naruto would likely carry this knot in his heart forever.

Iruka!

Why hadn't he come out yet?!

"You're right."

Sakura fell silent for a moment. Iruka still hadn't appeared, so she probably couldn't count on him. She would have to do this herself.

"Hmm?"

Mizuki froze briefly, then looked at Sakura with excitement. It was as if he had found a way out.

Haruno Sakura was a genius of the village, personally taken as the Third Hokage's disciple. Even at only twelve years old, she was not someone a ninja academy teacher like him could defeat.

But if he could get her to take his side now...

Driven by his desire to survive, Mizuki had nearly lost his mind.

Sakura was the Third Hokage's direct disciple. Anyone with half a brain would know she could never join forces with someone like him, who was already practically a rogue ninja.

Sakura glanced at the dejected Naruto, then spoke to Mizuki.

"There really is a fox inside Naruto."

Hearing that, Naruto looked up at Sakura in disbelief.

So he... really was the demon fox?

"However, in my eyes, Naruto is a hero."

"A hero who sealed the demon fox within his own body."

"The ignorant villagers don't know any of that. They simply think Naruto is the demon fox."

"But Naruto has long been protecting everyone, protecting his friends, in his own way without even realizing it."

"He protected me too."

The blond-haired youth stared blankly at the girl, unable to speak for a moment.

"This was the Fourth Hokage's decision. Naruto inherited the Fourth Hokage's will."

"He believed Naruto could protect everyone and make good use of this power."

"Even though this path was filled with hardships."

Sakura's green eyes slowly closed as she thought of the man described in the textbooks.

The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato. That guy really wasn't a good father.

Compared to his wife, his son didn't seem all that important.

"Even though this path is filled with dangers and obstacles."

It can't be helped, Namikaze Minato. When you're brought back with the Impure World Reincarnation someday, you'll have to thank me in person.

"The Fourth Hokage still believed Naruto could overcome everything with strength."

"Now, it's not just the Fourth Hokage. I believe Naruto can do it too."

Those green eyes suddenly snapped open. Even Sakura herself felt like she was having a cringe-worthy chuunibyou moment saying that.

But it couldn't be helped. Ninjas loved this sort of thing—especially Naruto.

"Don't joke around!"

"A demon fox is a demon fox!"

"What's with all this grand talk?!"

Mizuki glared viciously at Sakura, then pulled the last Giant Shuriken from his back and hurled it at her with all his strength!

Clang!

The shuriken suddenly dropped to the ground in midair. A normal-sized shuriken grazed Mizuki's cheek at incredible speed, leaving a bloody gash before flying into the dark forest.

At this moment, Sakura's green eyes were sharp as blades as she spoke with killing intent:

"Naruto, kill him!"