Meanwhile.
In the woods of the Ninja Academy playground.
Naruto faced Sasuke with a clear train of thought, and after revealing layers of information to Sasuke in advance, Sasuke was visibly shaken, thereby earning some of Sasuke's trust.
However, Sasuke was by no means some delicate flower, but rather a solid genius girl of the younger Uchiha generation.
Naruto's few words alone were not enough to verify everything he had said.
"You say the one who plundered the Uchiha Clan's property last night was the Konoha Root." With that, Sasuke suppressed her anger and pursued the question, "What kind of organization is Root?"
Naruto crossed his arms and leaned sideways against a large tree, looking up at the blue sky and saying indifferently, "Do you know about ANBU?"
"ANBU... that's the Hokage's direct guard. I've heard that woman mention it."
Hearing Sasuke's explanation, Naruto nodded. "If ANBU is the light of Konoha, representing the Hokage's direct guard, then Root is the dark, filthy side of Konoha beneath the sunlight... So, Sasuke, can you understand?"
This was the first time Sasuke had heard the term Root, and her understanding of ANBU had come through her older sister, Uchiha Itachi.
"Konoha's... filthy, dark side?"
Although Sasuke still could not fully comprehend what this dark side referred to, she could roughly guess the outline.
"That's right, the dark side."
With a smile on the corners of his mouth, Naruto looked at Sasuke. "You saw the dark side of the village last night, so today you'll get to see the village's so-called light."
"What is it?" Sasuke pressed.
"Uh... it's hard for me to say. Anyway, you'll definitely see it today."
Aside from her sister, Sasuke was not someone who liked to pry into the bottom of things.
Based on her observations of Naruto, this matter did not come out of nowhere, and Naruto had no reason to lie to her.
"Hey... you said you could make me stronger... is that true?"
When asked about the most crucial point, Sasuke lowered her head, looking somewhat nervous.
"Are there any more of those blue cards from yesterday?"
Yet Naruto's next move not only left Sasuke's mind completely blank, but also did the same for the dozen or so pairs of burning glares at a distant window.
"What are you doing... You, you're standing too close."
What are you doing?
Sasuke was pressed against the wall, completely not expecting Naruto to close in like this at a time like this, and for a moment she did not know how to respond.
Watching Naruto's face, beaming with a sunny and confident smile, continuously enlarge in her pupils, Sasuke's delicate, fair cheeks flushed with a rosy hue as she turned her head away, avoiding eye contact. "What are you going to do?"
With a kabedon, Naruto directly cornered Sasuke against the wall. Seeing a blush rise on Sasuke's cheeks as she hurriedly turned her head away, he also leaned in and lowered his voice, "Have you thought through the price of becoming stronger? There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world."
The moment this scene appeared, the system prompt sound in Naruto's mind rang continuously.
[Ding ding ding, received 2000 negative emotion points from the little partners in class!]
[Ding ding ding, received 2000 shock points from the little partners in class!]
The pleasant prompts arrived on cue, and Naruto broke into a bright and sunny smile.
Yet at this moment, after hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke weighed things in her heart and then firmly turned her head to meet his gaze.
For the sake of revenge and killing that woman, she was willing to pay everything, even... this shell of a body.
Right now, the two of them were almost face-to-face, and they could even smell each other's breath.
This left Naruto's face flushing as he subconsciously shifted backward a bit.
"What price do you want? As long as I can afford it, take whatever you want."
When she said this, the blush on Sasuke's cheeks vanished entirely, replaced by hatred filling her eyes.
"Very simple. Be my fake campus girlfriend for three months, and work for me outside the school for three months... Also, when we go back to class later, you'll say this and that to the classmates just like this... Understood?"
While tricking Sasuke, it was also quite necessary to trick the adorable little classmates back in the room, right?
"A fake girlfriend for three months? Work for three months, and also...?"
Sasuke was left completely dazed hearing these bizarre demands. By rights, shouldn't he be forcing her to be his girlfriend?
What was this about a... fake campus girlfriend?
"What, you disagree?" Naruto wore an expression of Are you sure? and shrugged. "Then it can't be helped. Consider that I never said anything."
With that, Naruto took a step back, turned around, and made to leave.
"I... agree to your terms."
At the thought of revenge, the scene of the Uchiha bodies strewn all over the ground last night flashed constantly in Sasuke's mind, along with the moment her parents died miserably in a pool of blood...
She hated her sister, hated that cold-hearted woman who made her unable to sleep at night.
"However, you must produce enough strength to prove that you are qualified to elevate my power."
Staring at Naruto, Sasuke continued, "It was because I was careless last night that I lost to you, but today I'll bring out my full strength to defeat you!"
Hearing these words from Sasuke, Naruto also turned his head and revealed an I see expression.
"I was wondering why you were all fine yesterday yet icy cold again today. Turns out you're unconvinced by yesterday's defeat?"
With her inner thoughts exposed, Sasuke puffed out her cheeks, angrily flicked her twin ponytails, turned away, and let out a hmph.
Seeing Sasuke like this, Naruto found it quite amusing.
Yesterday afternoon, he had narrowly defeated Sasuke, and in the clash, he indeed had elements of trickery and a gamble.
Yet facing this proud girl again today, he had absolute certainty of victory.
Neither the [Standard Genin Taijutsu Insights] nor the [Intermediate Throwing Techniques] he had exchanged for and learned through the system was something a seven-year-old Sasuke could compare to.
"Fine, you pick the time. Now or after school, either is fine," Naruto said with an indifferent look.
"Hmph, down by the old spot at the river after school. I'll prepare fully to keep the appointment and defeat you." After saying this, not daring to look at Naruto any longer, Sasuke turned and paced toward the classroom.
Watching this proud girl leave, Naruto was left completely speechless inside.
What testing whether he was qualified to help her elevate her strength?
Would Sasuke, who had used the Chakra Expansion Card, fail to feel the increase in her own chakra volume?
So any talk of testing whether he was qualified was purely an excuse; Sasuke was simply unwilling to accept losing to someone like him, the tail-end.
Of course, Naruto himself knew that yesterday's battle had been rushed, and Sasuke's true strength had not been brought out.
One had to know that Sasuke at this age could already use Fire Release Ninjutsu, and because Sasuke was often guided by Itachi, her own weapon-throwing skills far surpassed those of her peers. Coupled with the assistance of the Sharingan, losing to him like that last night naturally left her feeling unreconciled.
Watching Sasuke's proud departure, Naruto smiled, then set off to walk toward the classroom.
"If you'd brought out your full strength yesterday, defeating you might have been a bit iffy, but today... hmph."
As he paced along, he thought, System panel.
[Golden Shovel System Panel]
Host: Naruto Uzumaki.
Negative Points: 6449.
Shock Points: 8540.
Silver Taels: 3910.
Talent: Visual Insight LV1.
Genin Taijutsu.
Intermediate Throwing Techniques.
[Lucky Money Search Function]
System Inventory (0/100 slots)
Looking at the accumulated 6,449 negative points and 8,540 shock points on the system panel, Naruto blossomed with joy inside.
You had to know this was just his harvest from a single morning.
"Sasuke... you really are Big Brother's wealth code."
Before you continue