I Caught You (Please Take a Look)

By the time he got home, the rain had gradually eased.

Naruto climbed the stairs with a light step, humming a strange yet incredibly simple tune under his breath as he made his way upstairs.

There were not many residents in the old-style apartment building where he lived, and the tenants were a complicated, strange mix. Sometimes he saw young girls; other times, only old people.

But on rainy days, there was hardly anyone around. Naruto shook the rain from his large black umbrella, then stomped hard to loosen the rain-soaked pant legs clinging to his calves.

As Naruto fished out his key to open the door, he suddenly looked up and noticed someone crouching not far from it.

It was a girl with sakura-pink hair and a broad forehead. She was crouched against the wall, her damp hair hanging down, seemingly asleep.

Hm? Sakura?

Sakura!!!

Why was she here? Hadn't she gone with Sasuke to sign up for the Chunin Exams?

Naruto crouched down and leaned closer to inspect her.

"She really fell asleep?"

Wasn't this the kind of scene that only happened in doujins? Pah, no, light novels?

Ptooey. How shameless.

He had never read those lewd light novels. He only ever read borderline stuff on Qidian—no, he read proper romance stories.

After confirming that Sakura had genuinely fallen asleep like this, Naruto could not help marveling at how bizarre it was.

Sakura was crouched against the wall in a curled-up position, her backside touching the ground as though she were sitting, her wet pink hair hanging loose.

The girl had her eyes closed, breathing in a steady rhythm.

People were most likely to fall asleep under only two conditions: either in a warm air-conditioned room, or when they were cold.

The midsummer temperature was not low enough for anyone to freeze to death. If anything, the torrential rain had washed away the heat of recent days, making it pleasantly cool.

Something was off. Naruto scratched his head and cautiously nudged Sakura's shoe with his foot.

No response.

After scratching his head again, Naruto finally sensed a faint trace of chakra. Clumsily recalling what the Ninja Academy had taught him, he formed the hand seal for release.

"Wake up!"

Naruto shouted softly. As the seal formed in his hands, fiery red chakra poured into Sakura's body.

At once, Sakura jerked her head up and began gasping for air as though she had not breathed in a long time.

"I was saved," Sakura said, trembling.

"What happened?"

"Sasuke was taken away by a strange man. I was caught in that man's Genjutsu. Kakashi-sensei should have gone after him."

"Naruto! Come with me, quickly! Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke are in danger!" Sakura reached out to grab Naruto's hand.

But the next second, Naruto spun around and kicked out, his foot striking Sakura squarely in the cheek.

Strangely enough, Sakura let out a scream and nimbly leaped backward in pain, widening the distance between them. She still looked like Sakura, but her eyes were exceptionally vicious.

"How did you see through me?"

"You seem to really like getting to the bottom of things, don't you?" Naruto asked.

"Heh heh." The fake Sakura chuckled as both hands reached behind her waist, quickly drawing two sharp Kunai.

"It doesn't matter if you won't tell me. You'll just be a corpse anyway."

The fake Sakura did not drop her disguise. Holding a Kunai in each hand, she charged Naruto, while the scenery around them shifted as well.

A crackling white noise rang beside Naruto's ears, like an old projector jamming, and the light around them abruptly grew gloomy.

More precisely, the light centered around Naruto was instantly devoured by darkness. It did not dim evenly, but was torn apart by the darkness and swallowed like flesh being consumed.

Everything before him turned black. Naruto felt the ground beneath him tremble violently, as though it would collapse at any moment. Steadying himself slightly, Naruto instinctively jumped backward.

This was a Genjutsu world. The enemy that truly existed outside was launching a surprise attack on him.

Naruto paid no attention to anything he saw in the Genjutsu world. He merely relied on instinct, controlling his physical body to evade the attack.

Until the other party entered the Genjutsu world as well.

Boom!

The darkness suddenly receded into the distance. Naruto looked up and found himself tightly bound to a stone pillar.

A Blood Moon hung in the night sky, its crimson light falling equally upon Naruto and the savage grin on the fake Sakura's face as she held her Kunai.

"Why do you always like smiling like that?"

Naruto kept provoking the killer, teasing his or her fragile nerves. Calmness was the greatest mockery of death.

"Heh heh, when your stomach has been sliced open, I'll tell you the answer!" The fake Sakura revealed an almost sickly expression, continuously sucking on her fingers in her mouth.

It was both somewhat lewd and somewhat terrifying.

In her crazed state, she looked exactly like a deranged lunatic.

Whether she was speaking or licking her fingers, Fake Sakura's gaze never left Naruto. With both hands cupping her face, she was peak yandere.

Sure enough, having pink hair made being a yandere feel completely natural!

Damn it! Why was I thinking of Yuno Gasai at a time like this?

"What did you say you were going to do to me?" Naruto smiled, utterly unconcerned. "I didn't hear you clearly just now. Could you say it again?"

"Are you scared?"

"Yes, I'm about to piss myself." Naruto unleashed his Talk no Jutsu. "Right now, I'm planning to reform you and guide you back onto the right path."

"Reform me? Hahahahaha!!" Fake Sakura laughed as though she had heard the joke of the century, bending over from laughter.

"How are you going to reform me? Beg for mercy?"

"Maybe if you kneel on the ground and beg for mercy now, I might be in a good enough mood to let you go."

"Yeah, right. You're dead for sure! An hour in here is only one minute outside."

Fake Sakura slowly walked up to the immobilized Naruto, raised the Kunai high in her hand, and looked down at him expressionlessly.

"Die!"

"Wait!"

"Do you have any last words?" Fake Sakura still held the Kunai aloft.

"I do." Naruto coughed, staring fixedly at Fake Sakura as he asked, "Have you ever seen someone form hand seals with their mouth?"

"What?" Naruto's words threw her thoughts into disarray.

The Four Symbols Seal activated, devouring her.

BOOM!!

The illusion shattered in an instant beneath a world-destroying force. That terrifying power rushed forth with the dusty aura of ancient times.

In the next moment, Fake Sakura vanished, spinning as she was dragged into the seal.

At the same time, within the dark, damp space of the Four Symbols Seal, Fake Sakura fell into a puddle. Naruto stood atop the puddle before her.

Behind Naruto, a massive red wooden prison shaped like a giant cage stood silently, while from the depths of the darkness, an enormous crimson fox head slowly emerged.

The gigantic crimson fox, as immense as a mountain, had a mouth full of sharp fangs. Its blood-red pupils brimmed with a monstrous, sky-shaking murderous aura.

She froze, her entire body going limp as she collapsed into the puddle. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Naruto smiled and stared at her, enunciating every word.

"I! Caught! You!!!"

Please vote, aaaaaah! (Going crazy)