Naruto listened to her quietly and did not answer immediately.
The night wind blew across the top of the rock and ruffled their hair.
He was silent for a moment, looking away from Sakura's confused and searching face, to the Konoha lit by lights at his feet.
Then, he spoke, his voice low.
"Sakura, do you know?"
He did not directly answer "how to do it", but talked about something that seemed to have nothing to do with it.
"On rainy days, if other children have Parents umbrellas, they can walk slowly or even stop to play in the water."
He paused, turned his head, and Blue Eyes's eyes looked directly at Sakura again. There was no bright smile as usual, only a calm and penetrating expression:
"But a child without an umbrella... if he doesn't want to get soaked, doesn't want to get sick, doesn't want to be left behind..."
"He can only run harder."
"Use all your strength and run towards a place where you can hide from the rain."
"He doesn't have time to complain about why he doesn't have an umbrella, and he doesn't have time to envy others who can walk slowly.
If you stop, you will get wet worse."
These words seemed to be saying a simple truth, but they clearly reflected his own childhood when he had no one to hold an umbrella and struggled desperately in apathy and loneliness.
His "optimism" was never born to be carefree, but a survival instinct that forced him to look forward in desperate situations and forced himself to believe that "the rain will stop."
Immediately afterwards, Naruto's conversation went deeper:
"Without the support of Parents... when you are wronged outside, get into trouble, or simply feel scared and confused... you don't have the embrace to rely on unconditionally, stand up for you, and tell you 'It doesn't matter, we are here'."
He raised his chin slightly, his eyes became sharp and firm,
"That's why orphans need to be stronger!"
"Because in the end, the only one you can rely on is yourself. If you fall down, you have to get up by yourself; when you are bullied, you have to become stronger and fight back; when you are confused, you have to find your own way.
No one will always be there for me, so I don't dare to fall down easily, nor do I dare to let myself be overwhelmed by emotions."
His "optimism" and "invincibility" may, to a certain extent, be the "self-reliance" spawned by this extreme "helplessness".
It is an almost instinctive survival resilience tempered in desperate situations.
His smile is often not because he has no worries, but because he knows that crying and complaining are useless, and it is better to use his energy to find a way out and become stronger.
Loneliness is the background of his life, so he must face life with a smile.
Having said this, Naruto looked at Sakura again, and his tone slowed down a bit:
"Sakura, you have an umbrella. Your Parents is your umbrella. Sometimes they may cover you too tightly, making you feel stuffy, or their ribs may not be strong enough, making you feel disappointed.
But at least, when it rains, they want to cover you."
"You also have a 'home' you can go back to, and you have Parents who will worry about you and look for you everywhere.
This in itself is a kind of 'reliance' that many people cannot ask for."
"Part of my 'optimism', or my seemingly 'unbeatable' look, is precisely because I 'have nothing'.
I have no retreat, so I can only look forward."
"Sakura, blindly envy others running in the rain, or throw your own umbrella aside because it is not perfect..."
Naruto shook his head, with an admonition in his tone.
"The ones who get hurt in the end are you and those who really want to hold an umbrella for you."
He stopped and said no more.
This is always a family matter, and it is said that it is difficult for an upright official to deal with family matters.
Just a few words of advice will do.
I don't even know what exactly happened, how can I tell who is good and who is bad?
Young Naruto Girls are like birds longing to fly, and excessive care is like a cage imprisoning them.
No one wants to be suppressed all the time, and no bird does not long for the sky.
Sakura pursed his lips tightly, digesting Naruto's words and the meaning behind his unfinished words.
The night wind blew by, bringing a bit of coolness and gradually settling her chaotic thoughts.
After a while, she raised her head. Although there were still tears on her face, her eyes were much clearer. She gave Naruto a tired but sincere smile:
"Thank you, Naruto."
"You're welcome."
Naruto responded naturally, with a gentle smile on his face, and added something he took for granted:
"We are friends."
Seeing that Sakura's mood had improved significantly and was no longer on the verge of collapse at the beginning, Naruto felt that his "mission" had been completed.
He turned around to leave.
Let's go shopping for a while first and then come here to see Fireworks.
"Friends..."
Sakura repeated the word in a low voice. The voice was so soft that it was almost blown away by the night wind, but Naruto's keen hearing still caught it.
A flash of extremely complicated emotions flashed across her face, some relief, and some... something else.
It seems that Karin hasn't told Naruto yet...
An idea flashed through Sakura's mind.
Regarding the frank and in-depth conversation between her and Karin, regarding the confirmation and decision of certain intentions. Karin probably wanted to leave it to herself.
But that's fine.
Sakura thought to himself, sure enough, some words... it would be better to say them yourself.
Especially on a night like this, at such a height, with Full Moon in front of you.
Courage, like the waves that rise again after the tide recedes, gathers together again.
"Naruto..."
Sakura called him, his voice was not high, but it was clear and determined.
Naruto stopped and turned around with some confusion. "Huh? Is there anything else?"
He thought Sakura still needed any help, or he still hesitated about Parents.
Sakura took a deep breath, as if he wanted to suck all the tension, hesitation and past entanglements into his chest, and then exhale completely.
She raised her head and looked directly into Naruto's pair of Blue Eyes eyes that looked particularly clear in the moonlight. The green pupils shone with unprecedented frankness and determination that had stripped away all concealment.
Then, in a clear and steady voice, she said word by word:
"I like you."
Naruto stood there quietly, without any surprise or panic on his face.
He didn't even move his eyebrows, he just looked back at Sakura calmly with his Blue Eyes eyes, as if what she just said was not a ground-breaking confession, but "Tenten is feeling pretty good today."
Then, after a few seconds of silence that almost stopped the heart, Naruto spoke, with a tone as natural as discussing what to eat for dinner:
"I see it."
Sakura:"..."
The expression on her face froze in an instant. Her cheeks, which were originally slightly red due to nervousness and anticipation, quickly faded and suddenly turned red again. Her green eyes were wide open, her mouth was slightly open, and her whole body seemed to be struck by an invisible lightning bolt, and she froze in place.
Did I see it?
What kind of reply is this!