Your Arrogance Betrayed You!

Kakashi left, and Sasuke turned his gaze toward Naruto and Sakura standing to the side.

At this moment.

Naruto kept his head down, like a child who had made a mistake, not saying a word.

Sakura, on the other hand, was fuming, her fists clenched tight, her beautiful eyes practically spitting fire as she glared fixedly at Naruto.

Seeing this, Sasuke slowly paced over to the two of them.

Naruto tilted his head slightly, not daring to look at Sakura, and said weakly to Sasuke:

"I'm sorry, Sasuke..."

His voice was low, his head buried deep.

Seeing Naruto's expression, Sasuke knew that this guy wasn't just apologizing for tying up his shadow clone earlier.

It was also because, after hearing about the Uchiha clan's annihilation, he felt a sense of shared misery with him.

Nodding, without saying much else, Sasuke turned around and said slowly:

"Sakura, come over here for a moment. I have something I need to discuss with you privately."

His tone was flat; the short sentences were devoid of any emotion.

Alone?... Could it be that my idol has really developed feelings for me over time?...

This was the real Sasuke standing right in front of her!

The aura about him could absolutely not be mistaken!

At this thought, Sakura's cheeks flushed red, her fingers interlaced, and she followed behind Sasuke, head bowed and acting shy.

Sasuke didn't walk far, choosing only to stop a short distance away to avoid Naruto's earshot.

"Sakura, what do you think of Naruto as a person?..."

Turning his head slightly, Sasuke spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Sakura was stunned for a moment.

What did she think of Naruto?

This was supposed to be a date for the two of them; why was he asking about Naruto?...

This doubt flashed through her mind, but in an instant, Sakura figured it out.

Could it be that Sasuke was jealous because Naruto had just used his appearance to interact with her?...

Her throat bobbed, and for some reason, thinking of this, Sakura felt a strange sense of glee.

Then, realizing her lapse in composure, she replied somewhat awkwardly:

"Naruto, huh!~..."

"An ill-bred kid, just like those two classmates said earlier; he likes to play pranks and is really annoying. He..."

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed Sasuke's expression growing increasingly icy. Realizing something, Sakura immediately covered her mouth.

Naruto was an orphan, sure, but so was Sasuke! She was such an idiot!

At this moment, Sakura's face was beet red, and beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks.

She cursed herself for having a mouth—a mouth that spoke without a brain!

Although his expression was cold, Sasuke did not lash out immediately, but instead asked again in a chilling voice:

"Let me ask you again: why did you stand by and watch when Naruto was being trampled underfoot by others?..."

Seeing Sasuke's cold gaze, his face expressionless as he stared fixedly at her, Sakura couldn't help but tremble, and she replied shakily:

"Be... because, at the time, I... I didn't react in time, so..."

"Enough!..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a wave of Sasuke's hand:

"The excuse you just made up is far too rigid."

"Why don't I tell you why?"

"Because Naruto's parents are dead, and almost everyone at the Ninja Academy isolates him."

"So, you just followed the crowd and subconsciously chose to stand by and watch...?"

"No, no... that's not it..."

Sensing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly wrong, Sakura hurriedly tried to explain.

But Sasuke gave a cold laugh:

"Your eyes have already betrayed you, and your arrogance is making you continue to lie to my face."

"We are a team, but I am truly disappointed in you."

"Besides, it's not just Naruto; I am also an orphan with no one to rely on now..."

He didn't say another word.

As soon as those words left his lips, Sasuke didn't even look back. With a flicker of his figure and a few swift leaps, he vanished in the blink of an eye from the emerald eyes of Sakura, which had long since filled with tears.

"Am I... am I really wrong?..."

"If Naruto hadn't been ostracized by everyone at the Ninja Academy, would I still have held such arrogant prejudices against him?..."

"If that were truly the case, would I have really stood by and watched before?..."

Three questions from the depths of her soul lingered heavily in Sakura's heart.

For some reason.

Sasuke's words just now felt like they had ripped away the last shred of her dignity.

They laid her heart, which had long since become tarnished, bare before the two of them.

Thinking of everything Naruto had done for her in the past.

She suddenly felt she had wronged him.

Naruto was a bit mischievous and a little annoying.

But he had never once played a trick on her.

Just as Sasuke had said, was it really necessary to act superior and look down on others within a team?

The wind howled wantonly, and suddenly, thunder rumbled as a torrential downpour began.

Sakura walked with a staggering gait, her eyes filled with desolation.

Step by step, she headed toward the dormitory.

Before long, she disappeared around the corner of the path.

Only Naruto, who had been watching from afar, remained in the wind, disheveled. He gazed at Sakura's fading silhouette and muttered to himself:

"Could it be that Sakura failed a confession?"

"Otherwise, why?"

"Why does she look so sad?..."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

At this moment.

The three members of Team 7, led by Kakashi, had already embarked on their escort mission to the Land of Waves with their client, Tazuna.

The weather was clear and the sun was shining brightly today.

Yet, the three members of Team 7, along with Kakashi, all seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts, remaining silent in unison.

Tazuna was a middle-aged man of advanced years, wearing glasses and dressed in simple attire. A relaxed expression hung on his face, making him appear very kind.

As the premier architect of the Land of Waves, he was quite perceptive.

Not long after leaving Konoha, he noticed that the atmosphere within the group seemed a bit off.

Thus, he took the initiative to approach the three children of Team 7.

Gradually, they began to bond, and the atmosphere melted away like snow meeting the scorching sun.

Half a day later, the group stopped at the edge of a river to rest.

"Ah! Old Man Tazuna, you really are a hero of the Land of Waves! Naruto admires you! Truly admires you!..."

"You flatter me, you flatter me. When the nation rises or falls, every man has a responsibility; this is all just what I, Tazuna, should do."

"Just like you ninjas of Konoha, protecting Konoha is your bounden duty. It's nothing so grand, hahaha..."

Tazuna and Naruto sat by the river, chatting and laughing heartily.

Kakashi, meanwhile, leaped onto a tree branch and naturally pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise, burying his head in deep study...

Sakura sat far off to one side, head bowed, her two snow-white calves dangling in the rustling stream, swaying back and forth.

Although the scene was beautiful, her expression could not hide her desolation.

In contrast, Sasuke remained silent, sitting cross-legged by himself, seizing every moment to focus on practicing the second form of the Dance of the Crescent Moon: Star Treading!