Sakura Haruno: At Least I Can't Let Hinata and Ino Get Rewards

Why was Ino helping Takasaki?

Naturally, it was because of the Diary.

Takasaki writing her name into his next diary entry would give her a chance to receive a reward from the Diary; this was the subconscious thought in Ino's mind.

Of course, she could not voice these inner thoughts.

It was not just because this was her secret, but more importantly, the Diary had strictly forbidden her from telling anyone else about it, or she would die.

As for Takasaki's confusion, she had already prepared a plausible excuse:

"Our Yamanaka Clan practices the Mind Body Switch Technique. Simply put, it is a technique of the heart. On my first day of school, my father told me that one must be sincere when treating classmates. When a classmate is in difficulty, one must extend a helping hand. Only then can one be worthy of one's own heart and cultivate the technique to be even more powerful."

This was the script Ino had prepared in advance, so rigorous that Takasaki did not know how to refute it.

It sounded as if Ino was helping him because of her father's good upbringing.

It was fortunate that he was a dead last who needed help; if he had good grades, Ino might not have helped him at all.

At this moment.

Let alone Takasaki.

Even Naruto, sitting beside Takasaki, was moved to tears by Ino's words.

As expected, there were still kind-hearted classmates out there.

Since both he and Takasaki were dead lasts, if Ino was willing to help Takasaki, she would surely be willing to help him too.

Naruto rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and waited silently on the side.

Once Ino finished writing the key points for the upcoming exam on Takasaki's palm, it would be his turn.

Takasaki did not notice Naruto's actions.

Having received help from a girl for nothing—and a top-tier beauty like the young lady of the Yamanaka Clan at that—he felt it was necessary to offer a polite promise: "Ino, thank you so much. I will remember this favor, and I will repay you in the future."

Takasaki was just saying it casually.

However, Ino's eyes lit up when she heard the word "favor."

Having a favor from Takasaki meant there would be opportunities to interact with him in the future, which meant more chances to be written into his diary and receive rewards.

Ino smiled, capped her pen, stood up, and said, "Then, Takasaki-kun, I'll keep this favor in mind. If I ever need your help in the future, you must help me, okay?"

"That goes without saying."

"Also, remember, when you peek at the notes I wrote for you during the exam, be sure to watch out for the proctor. If you get caught, don't you dare sell me out," Ino emphasized.

Takasaki vowed solemnly, "I never sell out my friends."

"Good luck~" Ino's tone softened significantly.

After saying this, Ino turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Naruto.

Naruto gave a brilliant smile: "Ino-san, could you help me write them down too?"

As Naruto spoke, he rolled his sleeve up high: "I don't know the first thing about the upcoming written test. I'm a classmate who needs your help too. You can write them on my wrist or my palm, either works."

Only then did Ino's gaze fall upon Naruto.

The corner of her mouth twitched, and her smile became somewhat strained: "Sorry, Naruto, my pen has run out of ink. So, I'm only helping Takasaki today. I'll help you during the next final exam."

Naruto sat at his desk, his previously expectant expression suddenly freezing.

It wasn't until Ino turned away decisively, showing no intention of helping him, and returned to her own seat to sit down firmly, that Naruto finally came to his senses.

He wasn't stupid; he understood what Ino meant.

She simply didn't want to help him.

The "out of ink" excuse was nothing more than a perfunctory lie.

Naruto had his pride; since Ino didn't want to help him, he certainly wouldn't pester her to do so.

Meanwhile.

Sakura Haruno, sitting in the front row, noticed this scene and was puzzled: "Ino is actually taking the initiative to help Takasaki cheat? What is she after? If the proctor finds out, Ino risks being disqualified from the exam. How stupid."

Sakura scoffed.

Just as she was preparing to find a topic to chat with Sasuke, some string in her brain suddenly twitched, and she thought of a tricky matter.

Oh no!

In her original plan, she was going to closely monitor Hinata's movements during the upcoming written test. Once she caught Hinata cheating to help Takasaki, she would immediately report it to the proctor, get Hinata kicked out of the exam room, and then she would be the one to help Takasaki.

After all, her seat was to the left of Takasaki, making it very easy to help him cheat.

When the time came, Takasaki would have no choice but to rely on her.

Once successful, Takasaki would surely record her in his diary, allowing her to receive a reward.

But Ino's actions had disrupted her plan.

Even if she did report Hinata, Takasaki could still answer the questions using the notes Ino had written on his palm, which would very likely make him fail to notice her.

This couldn't go on.

With the exam about to start, she truly couldn't think of a better way.

A thought suddenly surfaced in Sakura Haruno's mind that hadn't occurred to her before: "If I can receive a reward as long as Takasaki writes my name in his Diary, then I don't necessarily have to do things that benefit him. Even if I do something detrimental to him, wouldn't I still receive a reward once he records it?"

As soon as this idea appeared in her mind, she couldn't help but want to test it.

In Sakura Haruno's eyes, the current Takasaki had absolutely no charm.

If it weren't for the sake of getting him to write her name in the Diary more often, she really wouldn't be willing to approach him, let alone help him like Hinata and Ino did.

Actually, looking at it from another angle.

If she approached someone like Takasaki to do something detrimental to him, would she be willing?

For some reason, as soon as Sakura Haruno thought this way, she became exceptionally willing.

After all, her impression of Takasaki was truly abysmal.

The class deadweight—no strength, no background, no money, and not even parents; he was only good-looking, and that was it.

No one liked a person like that, and his situation was already dire enough. Even if she treated him even worse, he should be able to endure it, right?

Sakura Haruno glanced at Hinata, who was sitting in her seat studying her textbook intently, then stole a glance at Ino, who was chatting with Shikamaru and Choji. She secretly formulated a plan.

She stopped trying to strike up a conversation with Sasuke and lowered her head in deep thought: "How about this: once the written exam starts and I catch Takasaki cheating, I'll report him immediately. If he gets disqualified, he'll definitely have a deep impression of me and write me into his Diary."

Sakura Haruno could imagine that if she succeeded, whatever Takasaki wrote about her in the Diary would certainly be negative.

Would a negative entry still earn her a reward?

Whatever, she would just have to try it and see.

At the very least, she couldn't let Hinata and Ino be the ones to receive the rewards.