How Could This Not Be a Kind of...

The next day.

As expected, Tsunade sent someone to find Naruto, not for anything else but his mission report from the Ninja Academy exercises.

"Perfunctory! Utterly perfunctory!"

"Naruto Uzumaki, do you want to see what you've written?"

With a snap, Tsunade threw a hastily written mission report onto the desk in front of her, her beautiful eyes wide open as she stared at the innocent-looking Naruto.

"You begged for a mission when I didn't give it to you, and now that I've assigned one, you're acting like this, Naruto Uzumaki! What do you want? Do you want to die, brat!"

"I've tried my best to complete the mission." Naruto spread his hands and began to argue, "Lord Tsunade should know very well that Moegi mentioned my teachings to her in her report."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade calmed down and patiently pulled out a document from the mountain of files on the Yamanaka Clan table.

"Teach?"

"Can you even call that teaching?"

Tsunade's face was ashen, as if she had just eaten a sour jujube cake. She wanted to lash out but was helpless. Moegi's mission report mentioned Naruto's teachings.

But that could barely be called instruction; it was merely a way of teaching Moegi a lesson by punishing Konohamaru and Udon. The method was too crude, but the effect was surprisingly good.

After gritting her teeth, Tsunade once again pulled out Konohamaru and Udon's mission report. A quick glance revealed the section about Moegi's apology, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

"If it works, then it's teaching," Naruto said somewhat dismissively.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade put down the documents in her hand and placed Konohamaru and the other two's mission reports alongside Naruto's. She gave Naruto a complicated look, her red lips slightly parted, and spoke.

"You should spend more time interacting with the younger generation."

"It's rare to hear such words from Lord Tsunade. It's truly a rare sight."

"Huh?" Tsunade's face immediately darkened, and she clenched her fists. "Who do you think I'm doing this for? Do you think I'm doing all this for myself? If you say another word, you'll be crawling out of here today."

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately fell silent.

After becoming the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade became increasingly irritable. Perhaps it was because she had to deal with all sorts of tasks and messes left behind by the Third Hokage as soon as she took office; anyone else would probably find it difficult to remain calm.

After three minutes of silence, Tsunade finally grew impatient, propped her head up on the table with her hand, and said with disdain.

"Since you're unwilling to develop a relationship with Konohamaru and the others, then forget it. The village still has unfinished tasks. You, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten should finish the tasks in the Land of Birds first."

Where's Rock Lee?

"He and Kai have another mission," Tsunade replied dismissively.

"I still have one day of vacation left!" Naruto was still unwilling to give up, trying to lie down for another day.

At her desk, Tsunade's brow twitched slightly, then a smile suddenly appeared on her face. She beckoned to Naruto, signaling him to come over and talk.

"Huh?" Naruto, somewhat confused, walked over. "What's wrong?"

"Ah!!!"

A scream rang out, Naruto was thrown out with a thud. Along with him, a neatly written mission request form was also thrown out.

"The Ghost Samurai of the Land of Birds?"

Walking down the street, Naruto squinted and read the mission request letter over and over again, finally sensing something unusual about it.

Although the Land of Birds is a small country, investigating Daimyo Ghost Samurai attempted to assassinate a daimyo is something that, even with just a glance, makes it clear that the truth is far from simple. Isn't this just another country's internal affair?

Who would bother to assassinate Daimyo if it weren't for personal gain?

Dense Nikko filtered through the trees and fell behind his heels. Naruto, sensing someone following him, instinctively turned his head.

"Huh? What brings you here?"

"Have we grown so distant that we don't even call each other by name anymore?" Sakura asked quietly, carrying a food box.

On the bustling street, Sakura's eyes were filled with a smile. Her pink hair fluttered in the autumn breeze, and her fair arms hung naturally over her chest.

The pedestrians around seemed to slowly disappear, and the noise gradually subsided.

If Sakura's heart were still filled with normal pink, even if she were love-struck, Naruto would still find this scene exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

But the thought of Sakura silently appearing behind him sent chills down his spine. A pink-haired girl with a dark side was too terrifying; he couldn't continue like this.

I took a deep breath and decided to make things clear right here.

Can't you be normal for once?

"I'm perfectly normal like this now, don't you like it?" Sakura leaned forward slightly and said with a smile, "Or do you feel that I'm not Sakura?"

"It doesn't matter whether it is or not. I'm not a god, and I can't control those kinds of things." Naruto sighed. "Whether it's the original Sakura or you, it's not up to me to decide what to do."

"What to do and how to preserve it is your business. I can't interfere, or rather, I have no interest in interfering."

"I still stand by what I said: I don't want to see anything, and I don't want to know anything."

Hearing this, Sakura wasn't annoyed; her eyes still held a smile.

"Don't make any promises you can't keep. There's bound to be something about me that you'll find interesting."

"For example?" he said calmly. "Let me make it clear first, I'm not interested in your body, and you're using that lame excuse to shut me up."

Sakura paused for a moment, then stood there pondering.

"For example, the body standing in front of you is still Sakura, but inside is another person. I'm using her body to tell you things like, ' Naruto, you can use me however you want, and I'm happy about it.'"

"Don't you find it exciting?"

Naruto: "Damn it, what kind of Evil God Cult have you joined?"

"No, I just wanted to win your favor." Sakura pulled herself back from her leaning position, her eyes smiling. "I hope you'll remember me."

"I don't care at all, so why do you insist on making me remember you?" Naruto said helplessly. "You could just confess to anyone."

"But that would be pointless," Sakura said.

"What does it mean?" Naruto frowned, looking puzzled.

"Naruto, don't you think this is more interesting?" Sakura said seriously, wagging her finger. "Naruto has always liked Sakura, hasn't he?"

"I don't like him that much, he's just a companion."

"That's even more interesting."

"???"

"Don't you think so, Naruto?" Sakura said with a smile. "When I disappear, she will find that her body belongs to Naruto, but she is just a comrade with many bonds."

Naruto looked up at the sky and murmured.

I really want to give you a couple of slaps.

"It's okay." Sakura's smile deepened. "I like it too."

Besides