The Cruel Truth

"What's the point of knowing all this?" Sasuke asked, his tone no longer aggressive, but merely questioning.

"Of course, it's meaningful. As far as I know, there's a female Jonin among the Jonin who specializes in Genjutsu," Naruto said. "It's highly likely she'll be leading Team Eight this time."

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke frowned. "According to what you said earlier, the higher-ups want to train Team Eight as a reconnaissance unit. Why would they assign a female Jonin skilled in Genjutsu to lead them?"

"That's right, reconnaissance doesn't seem to require Genjutsu, does it?" Sakura also seemed confused and asked.

"Heh heh, Iruka-sensei will introduce the Jonin leader in the classroom this afternoon. But I secretly went to the office and stole the team assignment list!!"

Saying this, Naruto pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

It clearly displayed the team assignments for four ninja classes. In front of Team Seven, one name was written: Kakashi Hatake.

"Is he our teacher?" Sakura stared curiously at the name. "I'm so looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of person he is."

Sasuke merely glanced at Team Seven before fixing his gaze on the name of Team Eight's leader.

Kurenai Yuhi.

A name he had never heard before, completely unfamiliar.

Konoha was filled with numerous clans, some larger and more influential, like the Hyuga and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. There were also smaller, unheard-of clans, such as Yamashiro, Aoyama, and Yagura.

Naruto didn't pick up on Sakura's words. He thought to himself, Your future teacher is my cheap old dad's disciple, the future most reliable Hokage, the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi the copy ninja.

"Who is Kurenai Yuhi?" Sasuke asked.

"She's Asuma's girlfriend, the leader of Team 10." Naruto didn't know if the Third Hokage was watching him with a crystal ball while eating.

But he figured the Third Hokage wouldn't be that perverted, and since he didn't feel any scrutiny, he didn't pay it much mind.

"Asuma?" Sakura was confused, but quickly found the name on the assignment sheet. "Asuma Sarutobi, same surname as the Hokage-sama?"

"Yes." Naruto's gaze swept over the two. "Asuma leads Team 10, which consists of the second generation of the three major clans of the village: Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji."

"This way, the six families of Hyuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi are all disciples of the Hokage-sama's family."

"And these six families are themselves unwavering supporters of the Hokage-sama's family, so this kind of team assignment isn't surprising."

"Naruto, how do you know so much information?" Sakura looked at Naruto with some panic, feeling overwhelmed by these adult matters for the first time.

Sasuke appeared much calmer. He hadn't forgotten his original objective. He looked at the paper thoughtfully, then looked up at Naruto after a moment and asked.

"So you're saying there's a hidden meaning behind us being in the same class?"

"Congratulations, Sasuke-kun, you guessed correctly." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Nobles with nobles, commoners with commoners, of course."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke's eyes darkened, and he stared at Naruto, saying.

"That's it?"

"Of course, there's more." Naruto suddenly smiled.

Sasuke felt a prickle of unease under Naruto's gaze and asked unhappily.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto said with a smile. "The Uchiha clan are all very strong fighters, and I happen to be from the Uzumaki clan."

"You might not have heard of us, but that's okay. You just need to know that people from the Uzumaki clan are also very strong."

"And..."

At this point, Naruto's gaze swept over Sakura, who looked dazed, and Sasuke, whose pupils were trembling. After a few seconds, he lowered his voice and said.

"Unfortunately, my entire clan is wiped out."

"Our class isn't called the commoner class, nor the fallen noble class, but the rare bloodline class." Naruto said. "Of course, except for Sakura."

He didn't directly mention the Nine-Tails. It wasn't appropriate to say it now.

Sakura stood frozen, her hands on her legs trembling slightly. She felt lost. Originally, she had only thought that this team assignment was simply her good luck.

She also had her own little pride. Although her ninjutsu and practical combat scores were not as good as Naruto's and Sasuke's, her theoretical scores were first, and her overall scores were third.

Although there was a gap between them, as long as she worked harder, she definitely could...

But when the naked truth was laid bare before her, her self-esteem and pride silently dissolved.

It turned out she was just a foil, an ordinary person. In Team Seven, she was the one with no defining characteristics, whether it was Sasuke or Naruto, she...

The huge sense of disparity made her lose her appetite, her whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, and her stomach involuntarily spasmed, making her want to vomit.

"Sakura."

Suddenly, a hand rested on Sakura's shoulder, jolting her out of her emotions.

She looked up abruptly, and in her vision, Sasuke and Naruto were looking at her. For some reason, the two in her sight became increasingly blurry.

"I'm fine," Sakura said, but her trembling voice betrayed her.

She could only force out a smile to cover her embarrassment and was about to say more, but she was startled by the tears falling onto the table.

An unusual event occurred during the meal, and the information sharing was halted.

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Sakura's emotions had calmed down. She apologized to the two for her earlier loss of composure, and they said it was fine, bringing their relationship a step closer.

"Let's make information sharing a regular activity from now on; it will benefit all of us," Naruto suggested. "However, the content must be kept absolutely confidential from outsiders."

"I agree," Sakura said, raising her hand with a bright smile.

"Mm," Sasuke nodded, also agreeing.

This kind of information sharing was indeed beneficial to them. Not only did it provide a deeper understanding of the village, but it also increased the three of them's sense of belonging to their small group.

Naruto felt that if the three of them could have more trust and fewer messy, bothersome issues, their future interactions would be much smoother.

Just as Sakura was about to turn and head back to the classroom, after only a few steps, Naruto suddenly called out to her.

"Sakura."

"Yes?" Sakura turned back to Naruto, looking confused. "What is it?"

Naruto didn't say anything, just nudged his chin towards the icy Sasuke beside him.

"Young Master Sasuke has something to say to you."

Hearing Naruto call him "Young Master," Sasuke shot him a cold glare.

"Sasuke?" Sakura immediately became nervous.

Sasuke haughtily turned his face away, and after a while, he finally spoke.

"We are comrades."

Sakura stood frozen for a moment, stunned. After a while, she finally reacted, and her eyes immediately turned red again.

"Don't cry, Sakura," Naruto said with a smile, comforting her. "Young Master Sasuke is right. You aren't ordinary; you are our comrade."

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with being ordinary. If we had a choice, he and I would both want a normal life, but..."

As he spoke, Naruto shrugged helplessly.

"You know, things don't always go as planned."