If I'm the one who wakes up, will you be disappointed?

On the verge of life and death, there was no way to catch one's breath.

Naruto, submerged in the water, was in a state of near madness. With less resistance in his left arm, he almost instinctively wanted to let go. But he couldn't let go unless he wanted to kill Anko.

Naruto couldn't tell which way to go, but Anko could.

At that moment, he began to feel grateful that he hadn't abandoned Anko. The seabed was filled with endless darkness and surging currents, but Anko's clear and steady presence made Naruto realize they were swimming straight towards the surface.

Two wet people emerged from the cold sea.

Anko 'Chakra was exhausted, yet she still clung tightly to Kazahana Koyuki's hand. Naruto, shrouded in a red Chakra Cloak, slowly rose from the sea.

The seawater on my body evaporated instantly, leaving white salt crystals stuck to my skin.

He dragged the unconscious Sakura out of the water and carried her on his back, then walked to Anko. Anko looked up, her pupils vertical, like those of a snake.

Seeing Naruto in a daze, Anko's expression changed instantly. But when Naruto looked at her again, her pupils returned to normal.

Did I see it wrong?

Naruto frowned slightly, but without thinking too much, he pulled Anko out of the water. However, Anko quickly sank back into the water, revealing an awkward smile.

"Chakra is depleted."

Naruto was helpless. The storm hadn't subsided, but the giant waves had passed. So he took out a raft from his Sealing Space and placed Sakura, Anko, and Kazahana Koyuki on it.

Four people were floating on the sea, two of them were unconscious, and only Naruto and Anko remained with solemn expressions.

"We survived," Anko exclaimed.

The raft bobbed up and down with the waves, but it posed no further threat to the group. Unless a terrifying sea monster appeared, they had essentially escaped with their lives.

"That's not necessarily true," Naruto said. "We don't even know where we are."

"Who knows?" Anko said, then fell silent for a moment.

A few seconds later, Anko began to silently check on the unconscious Kazahana Koyuki. Seeing this, Naruto also pulled the unconscious Sakura over and began to check her breathing and listen to her heart.

"Living." Anko sighed.

"Sakura is alive too," Naruto said.

Anko didn't reply, but seemed to be preparing to do something else. Naruto watched her, intending to imitate Anko's first aid actions; if he could wake them both up, it would make things much easier.

He watched as Anko opened the collar of Kazahana Koyuki's clothes, so he followed suit and opened Sakura's collar.

Then, he saw something he shouldn't have seen and dared not imitate it any further.

The pulsating mountain.

Anko awakens Kazahana Koyuki in a unique way, and Naruto realizes that this method is most likely Orochimaru's doing, as only he could develop such an efficient approach.

Soon, he noticed that Kazahana Koyuki frowned, coughed, and slowly opened her eyes.

Then came a scream, but after being glared at by Naruto, she suddenly realized something and immediately fell silent.

Seeing that Naruto Anko n't move, Anko frowned and gestured for Naruto to push Sakura towards him. He obediently did so, Anko repeated the action, and Sakura slowly opened her eyes.

She felt a chill, looked down, then looked up at Naruto. Her face remained expressionless as she slowly and naturally put on her clothes.

Naruto watched the whole thing without saying a word.

"That's the situation now. Everyone except us is dead." Anko took out a few damp Ration Pills from her pocket and distributed them to the three of them.

"... They're all dead?" Kazahana Koyuki seemed to be still in shock.

"Yeah, he's dead." Naruto said calmly.

Sakura did the same, her gaze fixed on the sea, occasionally glancing at Naruto. Her eyes held a hint of indifference, yet also something else entirely.

"How could they all be dead?" Kazahana Koyuki murmured, clutching her head, oblivious to her soaking wet clothes. "Didn't they manage to save a single one?"

"Aren't you still alive?" Naruto said in an unfriendly tone. "Princess Fuun, do you know that we almost all died at the bottom of the sea to save you?"

"If you dare to say anything like that, I'll throw you into the sea and wash you three hundred times."

Kazahana Koyuki was stunned. She saw the serious look on Naruto's face, and considering their current situation, she knew that the blond-haired guy wasn't just trying to scare her; he really would do something like that.

But she still tried to resist a little, and said in a low voice.

"I didn't mean to say that, but..."

Naruto ignored her, turned to Anko, and asked.

Where is this?

"How would I know?" Anko said. "It could be the sea near the Land of Snow, or maybe somewhere else."

"This isn't the waters of the Land of Snow," said Kazahana Koyuki. "The color of the seawater is different; this might be the deep sea."

Upon hearing this, the two tilted their heads and looked at Kazahana Koyuki.

Anko:"."

Naruto: "."

After drifting at sea for another day, the four of them squeezed onto a raft, and thanks to the supplies in Naruto's Sealing Space, they were doing alright. Although they didn't know where Jiro had drifted off to, at least they wouldn't die anytime soon.

"Why do you prepare everything?" Anko, somewhat puzzled.

Anko wasn't surprised that Naruto possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu. Her master, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, one of the Legendary Sannin, was a close friend of the Fifth Hokage.

With this network of connections, Anko wouldn't be too surprised even if Naruto used some Forbidden Jutsu.

But Naruto had everything from a raft to freshwater food, drinks, daily necessities, camping gear, fishing tackle, and clothes for both winter and summer. He even had several sets of blankets and quilts, which was simply too incredible.

If Naruto were a woman, Anko even suspects he could pull out dozens of boxes of sanitary napkins.

"I have money to burn, so of course I'll buy a little bit of everything," Naruto replied casually. "Who knows when I might need it? It's better to be prepared."

Anko suddenly remembered that Naruto was all alone, and immediately looked embarrassed, realizing she had said something wrong. She apologized. Naruto was stunned for a moment before understanding and said it was okay.

He never cared about such things, and he was used to being alone.

After a long while, Kazahana Koyuki suddenly said something to Anko, and then calmly got up and began to lift her skirt at the edge of the raft.

Naruto turned his head and met Sakura's gaze.

Sakura stared at him, then lowered her eyes and leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear.

What were you thinking when you saved me?

Anko wasn't looking at them at all; she was just holding onto Kazahana Koyuki's hand to keep her from falling into the water. She stared blankly at the endless sea, lost in thought.

Naruto felt a slight itch in his ears as warm breath touched his earlobes.

"I wasn't thinking about anything," he said.

"Then..." Sakura didn't mince words anymore, glancing at Kazahana Koyuki who had returned to her original position, and continued to ask in a low voice, "Did you save me because you didn't want her to die?"

"No."

"If I were the one who woke up, wouldn't you be disappointed?" Sakura clung to Naruto and asked softly, her voice calm.

Why would you think that?

Sakura didn't speak, silently sitting back down, her pupils as black as ink, gazing into the distance. This made Naruto feel somewhat uncomfortable, but he didn't dare to say anything.

The sun was scorching at sea during the day, and the group huddled under umbrellas. Sakura remained silent, Naruto wasn't much of a talker either, Anko would occasionally chat with Kazahana Koyuki.

The two mostly talked about the details before the accident, suspecting the captain was involved and also thinking there might be a ninja among the sailors. But no matter how they talked, they couldn't come to any conclusions.

Surely no one would scheme against someone else and end up scheming against themselves as well.

After several discussions, the two could only conclude that the accident was more likely than human error. They attributed most of the danger to the storms at sea and the mysterious Evil God.

Naruto couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted to ask.

"Isn't the sea under the jurisdiction of the sea god? What does it have to do with Evil God?"

"How would I know?" Anko turned around in confusion and asked, "Isn't that what everyone says? Why are you taking it so seriously!"

Naruto, who had been rebuked, didn't take it to heart and chuckled awkwardly before retreating back under the umbrella.

He shared a large umbrella with Sakura, while Anko and Kazahana Koyuki shared another. When the wind was strong, they would fold up the umbrella. Or, when the wind was calm, they would simply use it as a sail.

As dusk fell, the light on the sea grew fainter and fainter.

Naruto took a small sip of water and looked at Anko, who was sitting quietly opposite him, and asked.

"Does Konohagakure know that we've gone missing?"

"It's hard to say." Anko's words dispelled Naruto's hopes. "The mission to the Land of Snow has a one-month deadline. If we don't return within a month, Konohagakure will react."

"However, the search will likely take quite a while, given your special status," Anko continued. "Right now, even we ourselves don't know where you are."

"The probability of finding it is basically zero, unless we see land."

"If we keep drifting like this, there might be hope," Naruto said optimistically, stroking his chin. "No matter where we land, as long as we can get ashore, we can return to the Land of Fire."

"That's true," Anko agreed.

"However, if we're closer to the Land of Snow, we can stop by and finish our mission there," Naruto added.

Anko didn't respond, looking at the sea with a speechless expression. Even at a time like this, she was still thinking about doing tasks.

Late at night, the waves gently lapped against the raft.

The three took turns keeping watch at night, while Naruto rested his chin on his hand and stared blankly at the dark sea.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound behind him. A pair of hands wrapped around his back and gently embraced him. Naruto's brow twitched slightly, his face remaining expressionless.

Here we go again.

"She didn't wake up, it was me who woke up," Black Sakura said softly. "Actually, I could also pretend to be her. Anyway, we are the same person, no one will find out."

"My acting skills are also very good, even better than Princess Fuun's. Anyway, I'll disappear sooner or later. I never existed at all, I was just a temporary character."

"Just like products nearing their expiration date on store shelves, apart from the expiration date, they are no different from normal products, right?"

Naruto brushed her hand away, turned around, and stared into her eyes in the dim light.

Sakura's eyes were dark, her expression calm, and she smiled as she said, "I'm sorry, I was just kidding. How was my acting?"

"I just suddenly wanted to see if it was fun. It was all an act. Sasuke-kun isn't coming back. Naruto, we can still be together in the future."

Naruto ignored her words and reached out to touch her face. In the darkness, his fingers touched large, hot tears.

He realized for the first time that Black Sakura hadn't lied; her acting was truly superb. Her voice didn't tremble at all when she cried; it even sounded like she was laughing.

He couldn't see Black Sakura's face, couldn't see her expression. His sight was stripped away, his hearing was deceived, only his touch was real, burning hot, imprinted on his heart.

Naruto knew that from this moment on, he might not remember Sakura anymore, but he would always remember the Black Sakura who acted so well in the dark.

He simply didn't know what to say. His usually talkative mouth was now silent. He had absolutely no idea what to say about the fact that his alternate personality would one day disappear.

He hated this silence, unsure of his role in speaking up or how to confront this vast expanse of silence.