Let Sasuke Train Sakura

Naruto had already signed and was putting away the pen. His increasingly unreadable face showed neither nervousness nor excitement, as though he had signed not an application for the Chūnin Exams, but a ramen delivery order.

Sakura suddenly felt her throat tighten.

The Land of Waves mission had been her first difficult mission as a ninja, but throughout the entire mission, she had barely taken part in any actual fighting.

When Haku and Zabuza appeared, she had guarded Tazuna. When Sasuke fell, Naruto had taken over Sasuke's fight and defeated Haku.

Meanwhile, she was still sulking over something as trivial as "absolutely ignoring Naruto."

Thinking about it now, what right did she have to sulk at Naruto?

She was already weaker than him, yet she was still throwing a childish tantrum here.

But if she did not take part in the Chūnin Exams, would she hold Sasuke back?

Would she hold back the entire team?

Sakura did not know.

She wanted to ask, but she did not dare.

Naruto fastened the clasp on his ninja tool pouch. When he looked up, his gaze happened to sweep across Sakura's profile.

Sakura's face was filled with hesitation and unease. Her pink hair had fallen forward from keeping her head lowered, covering half her cheek. Her fingers kept pinching the edge of the application form, leaving several crooked creases in the paper.

Seeing Sakura's expression, Naruto could not help picturing the future Sakura struggling to pay off her mortgage while raising Sarada, as well as the path that had led her from starting from scratch under Tsunade to becoming one of Konoha's finest medical ninja.

To be honest, Sakura really was weak at this stage. Put the current Sakura on the same scale as him and Sasuke, and the counterweight would send her flying into the sky.

But being weak now as a member of Team 7 did not mean she would remain weak in the future, provided she could overcome the hurdle before her.

"Hey, listen."

With that thought, Naruto spoke, his voice breaking the silence.

Sasuke and Sakura both looked up at Naruto.

Sasuke frowned slightly, wondering what this dead last was going to say now.

There were still tears in Sakura's eyes that she had not had time to wipe away. The way she looked at Naruto was a little like an elementary school student who had suddenly been called on.

"I looked up some information about the Chūnin Exams."

Leaning against the bridge railing, Naruto spoke unhurriedly.

"There's a hard rule for genin taking the Chūnin Exams. They must register as a three-person team."

"If even one person is missing, the whole team can't participate."

Sasuke froze, then frowned.

He did not doubt the truth of Naruto's words.

Naruto had felt completely different lately. If the old Naruto had said something like this, Sasuke would have immediately assumed he was boasting. But when Naruto said something now, Sasuke would first consider it internally before making a judgment.

If they truly had to register as a three-person team, then if any one of the three of them did not participate, the other two would not be able to participate either.

Thinking of Gaara's cold eyes, and how his chance to fight strong opponents might be ruined by such an administrative rule, Sasuke's expression darkened.

"What?"

Sakura's face instantly went pale.

She had still been agonizing over whether to participate, but when Naruto said that the entire team could not enter if one person was missing, her hesitation was instantly replaced by intense panic.

If she did not go, Sasuke would not be able to go either?

Would Sasuke hate her because of this?

Would he think she was holding him back?

Sakura's head buzzed, and the application form in her hand nearly slipped from her fingers.

Sakura abruptly looked at Naruto and found that he was looking at her as he said this. There was none of his old eagerness and blind adoration in those blue eyes, nor was there any coldness or disdain. He merely looked at her calmly, as though waiting for her to figure something out on her own.

Wait, is Naruto reminding me?

Did he guess what I was thinking, so he deliberately said he had looked it up? Was he actually saying it for me to hear?

Sakura's gaze shifted several times as she stared at Naruto. Her mouth opened and closed, then opened again, but in the end, she said nothing. She only gripped the application form tighter.

Indeed.

Sasuke's mind quickly processed the information as well. Then he turned to Sakura and spoke bluntly, without beating around the bush.

"Sakura, you're the weakest of the three of us."

"There are still five days. Train properly and improve your combat ability."

Sasuke's blunt words made Sakura shrink her shoulders. She looked as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her. Her head lowered even further, and the pink bangs over her forehead nearly covered her entire face.

Her fingers pinching the edge of the application form turned white.

"I... I understand, Sasuke."

Naruto silently turned his face away.

As expected of someone with an IQ of only 100. He really was that blunt when he spoke. Though it seemed the original Naruto's IQ had only been around 90.

Damn, even Akamaru has 130.

Naruto instantly lost his composure. "No, that's not right. I'm not the original Naruto anymore. I definitely don't have an IQ of 90!"

Thinking that, Naruto let out a breath of relief.

Still, while Sasuke had been blunt, Sakura really was weak at the moment. Yet she ranked among the best at the Ninja Academy in chakra control precision and foundational theoretical knowledge.

It was just that whenever Sasuke was involved, she automatically entered a one-button reboot state, with every rational function completely shutting down.

That trait would gradually be corrected after she became Tsunade's disciple, but for now, it really was a headache.

Forget it. If he was helping, he might as well help to the end.

Who told him his goal was to become Hokage?

A Hokage's duties included leading all of Konoha toward greater strength, and the teammates before him were his very first team.

If he could not even handle a girl from his own squad, how was he supposed to handle all those thousand-year-old monsters in the shinobi world later on?

Naruto turned to Sasuke, his expression serious and his tone like he was discussing tactical arrangements.

"Sasuke, Sakura's strength really is a little lacking."

Sasuke looked at Naruto expressionlessly, waiting for him to continue.

Sakura raised her head at those words. All her complicated thoughts about Naruto from moments ago instantly turned into anger.

Visible flames seemed to rise in her pupils.

I just thought he was helping me, but now he turns around and says I'm weak right in front of me?

Whose side are you even on?

But Naruto's next words stopped Sakura's anger in midair as though it had hit a wall of cotton.

"So there are still five days."

"You have the strongest combat ability among the three of us. If you personally teach her, five days will be enough to raise her by a whole level."

Sasuke's expression instantly froze.

His eyebrows and lips twitched almost imperceptibly. Those two subtle changes occurred at the same time, exposing the intense upheaval Sasuke was undergoing inside.

The moment Naruto saw those changes, he knew Sasuke had taken the bait.

"Sasuke, you don't want to miss the Chūnin Exams either, do you?"

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