Kakashi left, and Sasuke turned his gaze toward Naruto and Sakura standing nearby.
At that moment,
Naruto had his head lowered, like a child who'd done something wrong. He didn't say a word.
Sakura, meanwhile, was fuming, her fists clenched and her beautiful eyes blazing as she glared at Naruto.
Seeing this, Sasuke slowly walked over to them.
Naruto turned his head slightly, not daring to look at Sakura. Instead, he said timidly to Sasuke,
"Sorry, Sasuke..."
His voice was low, and his head hung heavily.
From Naruto's expression, Sasuke knew he wasn't apologizing only for tying up his clone earlier.
He also felt a kinship with Sasuke after learning that the Uchiha had been wiped out.
Sasuke nodded without saying much, then turned away and spoke calmly:
"Sakura, come over here alone. There's something I need to discuss with you in private."
His tone was even. Though he spoke only two short sentences, there wasn't a trace of emotion in them.
Alone?... Could it be that my beloved Sasuke has really developed feelings for me over time?...
This was the real Sasuke!
There was no mistaking his aura!
At the thought, Sakura's cheeks flushed. She laced her fingers together, lowered her head, and followed shyly behind Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't go far. He simply stopped a short distance away, out of Naruto's earshot.
"Sakura, what do you think of Naruto?..."
Sasuke turned his head slightly and spoke slowly.
At that, Sakura froze.
What do I think of Naruto?
We're on a date, so why is he asking about Naruto?...
The question crossed her mind, and in an instant, she figured it out.
Could Sasuke be jealous because Naruto just used his appearance to get close to me?...
Her throat bobbed. For some reason, the thought made Sakura feel inexplicably pleased.
Then she realized how she must look and answered awkwardly:
"Naruto? Well..."
"He's an ill-mannered kid, just like those two classmates said earlier. He likes to play pranks on people. He's really annoying, he..."
As she spoke, she suddenly noticed Sasuke's expression growing colder. Sensing something was wrong, Sakura hurriedly covered her mouth.
Naruto was an orphan, sure, but so was Sasuke! I'm such an idiot!
Sakura's face turned bright red, and beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks.
She cursed herself for having a mouth—a mouth that spoke before she thought!
Though his expression was icy, Sasuke didn't lash out. Instead, he asked in an even colder voice:
"Let me ask you again. Why did you stand by and do nothing when Naruto was being stepped on?"
Sasuke stared fixedly at her, his eyes cold and his face expressionless.
Sakura's body trembled, and she replied shakily:
"B-because I... I didn't react in time, so..."
"Enough!..."
Sasuke cut her off with a wave of his hand before she could finish.
"That excuse you just made up is far too flimsy."
"Why don't I tell you the real reason?"
"Because Naruto's parents were both dead, and practically everyone at the Ninja Academy ostracized him."
"So you simply went along with the crowd and instinctively chose to stand by and watch...?"
"N-no... That's not it..."
Feeling the atmosphere grow more and more oppressive, Sakura hurried to explain.
But Sasuke only gave a cold laugh:
"Your eyes have already betrayed you, yet your arrogance still makes you look me in the eye and lie."
"We're a team, but I'm truly disappointed in you."
"And it's not just Naruto. I'm an orphan with no one to rely on, too..."
He said nothing more.
As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke didn't even look back. His figure flickered, and after a few leaps, he vanished from Sakura's emerald eyes, which were already brimming with tears.
"D-did I really do something wrong?..."
"If Naruto hadn't been ostracized by everyone at the Ninja Academy, would I really still have been so arrogantly prejudiced against him?..."
"If that's true, would I really have stood by and done nothing earlier?..."
Three questions from deep within her soul weighed heavily on Sakura's heart.
For some reason,
Sasuke's words had felt like he'd torn away the last scrap of clothing covering her shame.
They had laid bare the heart inside her, long since stained by filth, for them both to see.
Thinking of all the things Naruto had done for her before,
she suddenly felt she'd wronged him.
Naruto was mischievous and a little annoying.
But he had never played a prank on her.
Just as Sasuke had said, did being part of a team really mean they had to act superior and look down on others?
The wind howled wildly. In an instant, thunder rumbled and rain poured down.
Sakura walked unsteadily, her eyes forlorn.
Step by step, she made her way toward the dormitory.
Before long, she disappeared around the bend in the path.
Naruto, who'd watched the whole thing from a distance, was left standing dumbfounded in the wind. Staring at Sakura's disappearing figure, he murmured to himself:
"Did Sakura get rejected when she confessed?"
"Otherwise, why?"
"Why does she look so sad?..."
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
At that moment,
the three members of Team 7 had already set off with their employer, Tazuna, under Kakashi's lead, on a mission to escort him to the Land of Waves.
The weather was clear, with the sun shining brightly.
But the three members of Team 7, along with Kakashi, all seemed to have something on their minds. Not one of them said a word.
Tazuna was a middle-aged man of some years, wearing glasses and dressed simply. A mild smile rested on his face, making him seem quite amiable.
As the Land of Waves' foremost architect, he was very perceptive.
Before they'd been out of Konoha for long, he noticed that something seemed off about the group's mood.
So he took the initiative to approach the three children of Team 7.
Gradually, they warmed to one another, and the atmosphere thawed like snow beneath the blazing sun.
Half a day later, they stopped by the edge of a river to rest.
"Ah! Mr. Tazuna, you're truly a hero of the Land of Waves! Naruto really admires you!"
"You're too kind, too kind. When the nation is in peril, everyone has a duty to do their part. It's only right that I, Tazuna, do mine."
"Just like the shinobi of Konoha, who have a duty to protect Konoha. There's nothing especially noble about it. Hahaha..."
Tazuna and Naruto sat by the river, chatting away and laughing together.
Kakashi leaped up onto a treetop and naturally pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise, burying himself in it...
Sakura sat off to one side, her head lowered. Her two pale legs swayed back and forth in the gently flowing stream.
It was a beautiful sight, but the dejection in her expression was hard to miss.
Sasuke, by contrast, sat cross-legged in silence, meditating off by himself. He seized every spare moment to focus on practicing the second form of Dance of the Crescent Moon: Star Treading!
Before you continue