"Happy birthday, Sasuke."
"Yeah, thank you, Naruto."
All was quiet along the secluded forest path as Naruto walked slowly through it, carrying Sasuke in his arms.
Perhaps too much had happened that day, sending Sasuke's emotions through too many highs and lows.
Before long, Sasuke fell sound asleep in Naruto's warm embrace.
He had exhausted his chakra and trained without any regard for the consequences. Although the Golden Chakra Expansion Card had briefly restored him, the backlash from pushing his body beyond its limits would still manifest for a while.
Naruto looked down at Sasuke, who was sleeping peacefully yet still clutching his clothes tightly with his small hands, and couldn't help giving a silent, wry smile.
"Now that's how a girl should act, even if he's Sasuke."
Earlier, he had asked Sasuke whether he had fallen for him, and Sasuke had flatly denied it.
But Naruto actually understood what Sasuke was thinking.
It wasn't that Sasuke didn't like him. Rather, even if he did, he couldn't say so yet.
Sasuke was the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan, burdened with an unforgettable hatred over his clan's massacre. Naruto could guess why he didn't dare openly express his feelings while that vengeance remained unfulfilled.
And what about himself?
Even with the system's help, could he really navigate the next five years carefully enough to defect successfully and establish a life for himself?
There were Konoha's ANBU and Root shinobi who would hunt him down, the Akatsuki seeking to collect the tailed beasts to achieve peace, and the Kage of the Five Great Nations.
Not one of those forces was something Naruto could face alone right now.
If he revealed his feelings and the two of them became a couple...
Then, if he happened to die while fleeing from ANBU or