Haruno Sakura

Chapter 3: Haruno Sakura

Ayato looked at the pink-haired figure preparing to speak, his expression somewhat complicated. She could be considered the female lead of Naruto.

Although Naruto Uzumaki's eventual wife was Hinata Hyuga, Hinata had far too little screen time, so the role of female lead fell to Haruno Sakura.

Of course, if you considered Sasuke Uchiha the "female lead," then... all he could say was that you were right.

Although Haruno Sakura did not have a particularly good reputation in the original work, there was no doubt that her strength placed her among the very best of ordinary people. Her diligence and intelligence were both quite good as well.

From Ayato's limited understanding, her poor reputation was probably due to her love-struck brain. From the audience's perspective, her feelings for Sasuke Uchiha mostly came across as shallow fangirling, with even less justification than Karin Uzumaki's later feelings for Sasuke.

Then there was Sasuke's later defection. Haruno Sakura could not do anything herself, yet she cried and begged Naruto. Given Naruto's personality, he would have done it even without her, but Sakura's actions did seem a little like emotional manipulation. In short, she was not very likable.

In fact, Ayato had not liked Haruno Sakura when he was young in his previous life either. His reason had been even simpler than those above: he had put himself in Naruto's shoes, so if she treated Naruto badly, he disliked her. Once he grew older, he stopped caring so much. He could not say he liked her, but he had enough appreciation for her.

The reason Ayato felt slightly guilty toward Haruno Sakura was naturally because his target was her—more accurately, her place.

After all, Haruno Sakura was the only person he could think of who he had a chance of replacing. Once he considered the identities of the others, their positions were clearly impossible to take.

First was Team 10's Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. As Konoha's traditional Ino-Shika-Cho, they were practically inseparable.

Then there was Team 8's Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga. All of them were shinobi with specialized strengths. Hinata Hyuga's Byakugan, especially as a member of the Hyuga Main Family, could not be replaced. Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame also came from clans, though perhaps they could be replaced?

After all, their clans were not considered great noble clans in Konoha. But the two themselves were not easy to replace. Kiba Inuzuka's ninja hounds and Shino Aburame's insects both possessed unique scouting abilities.

If Ayato wanted to replace them, he would need to display extraordinary talent for reconnaissance. More importantly, he would be more likely to be assigned to another team. There were too many uncertainties, and it was another question altogether whether he would even have a chance to demonstrate sufficient scouting talent during the academy's six years. So he could only rule them out.

That left Team 7, where Haruno Sakura was assigned. Naruto, as the Nine-Tails' host, and Sasuke Uchiha, as the Uchiha Clan's sole survivor in Konoha, were both impossible to replace.

After thinking it over, Ayato could only turn his attention to Haruno Sakura. She came from an ordinary family as well. Though she possessed decent talent for theory, that talent was nothing in Ayato's eyes. By comparison, her only advantage was probably being a girl.

This was no joke. Though Konoha's team assignments had no explicit rules, most teams were still formed with two boys and one girl. Therefore, to replace Haruno Sakura, he would not only have to surpass her in theoretical talent, but also become the strongest in the class.

If that happened, the chances of him being assigned to an elite team would be much greater. At that point, it would no longer be a question of whether he could get in, but how the Third Hokage would arrange things. Surely he could not throw a genius who excelled in every aspect into an ordinary team? Fortunately, while most teams had two boys and one girl, there was no written rule forcing that arrangement. Teams of three boys or two girls and one boy had existed before.

Ayato wanted to grow stronger, so his goal naturally had to be an elite team. Even among elite teams, the disparity was so obvious. Team 7's Kakashi Hatake had neglected himself for a long time, yet he was still an Elite Jonin. Team 10's Asuma Sarutobi was above average among jonin. Team 8's Kurenai Yuhi could only be considered an ordinary jonin with particular skill in Genjutsu.

Even those elite teams were like that, so there was no need to think about the jonin leading other teams. It would be good enough if they had an ordinary jonin; more likely, they would only have a Special Jonin.

Therefore, no matter what, Ayato had to strive to enter an elite team for the sake of his goal. As for Haruno Sakura, he could only apologize. Though he appreciated her, his first priority was himself.

Besides, Haruno Sakura's upper limit had been quite clear in the original work. She was one of Konoha's new generation of Three Great Shinobi. Of course, Naruto and Sasuke, those two who practically had cheats, would surpass the previous generation's Three Great Shinobi. But Haruno Sakura's limit would not even reach Tsunade's—she could only become a lesser Tsunade.

After all, Tsunade was the Senju Clan's princess. What kind of constitution did she have, and what kind did Haruno Sakura have? If Sakura took another path, she might have had a chance to surpass Tsunade. But Sakura and Tsunade followed the same path, and surpassing Tsunade on that path was basically impossible.

That was Haruno Sakura's limit. But what about his? Ayato wanted to find out. As an ordinary person, he would not scheme for any special bloodline or bloodline limit. He wanted to see what level he could reach purely as an ordinary person. Would he surpass the pinnacle of ordinary people, Jiraiya, or Might Guy when he briefly opened the Eight Gates? Or would he be worse than Haruno Sakura?

No matter what, he had to try. Reborn into this world, with nothing else particularly interesting to do, he could only set his sights on this world's defining trait.

"Kamitachi Ayato."

At that moment, Iruka finally called Ayato's name. Ayato stood up and briefly introduced himself.

"I'm Kamitachi Ayato. I don't have any favorite foods. The people I like are myself and my mother. The food I hate is cilantro. I don't have anyone I dislike for now. In the future, I want to become the strongest shinobi."

Ayato's speech did not cause any stir. Becoming the strongest shinobi did not feel particularly real to them. Plenty of people wanted to become Hokage, after all, and in their eyes, the strongest shinobi was probably the Hokage. So there was nothing especially remarkable about Ayato's introduction.

However, when it was Naruto Uzumaki's turn later, Ayato watched him declare a similar goal in a lively voice, only changing "the strongest" to "Hokage." Hearing the surrounding children's mocking laughter, Ayato sighed. It was much better than the streets, but the adults' influence on the children was already obvious.

During the break, Ayato had no intention of going around talking to people or making friends. And since he sat beside Naruto, naturally no one came over to approach him either. Ayato did not seem to have any notable qualities. He was fairly handsome, but not exceptionally so. His black hair was ordinary too. He only seemed considerably taller than children his age.

Then Ayato looked at Naruto beside him, who wanted to talk to him but worried about bothering him. After thinking it over, Ayato took the initiative and whispered, "In class, you don't need to be as cautious as you are in the village. But don't act especially close to me either. Being ordinary classmates is enough."

Ayato thought that, as Konoha's future, Danzo's reach most likely could not extend into the classroom. He had not heard of any classmates named Shimura, either, so ordinary and normal contact with Naruto as classmates should not be a problem.

After all, Naruto had to have a desk mate no matter what. As long as Ayato did not act especially close to him, it would be fine.

Besides, for the sake of his goal, he needed to display enough talent in a short time to enter the Third Hokage's sights. If he succeeded, then even if Danzo noticed him, his safety would at least be guaranteed for a certain period of time. The only question was when an opportunity to prove himself would come.

Upon hearing Ayato's words, Naruto's eyes lit up. He asked nervously, "Then... can we be friends?"

Ayato looked at Naruto, at the expectation in his eyes, and recalled the treatment Naruto had endured when Ayato had seen him before. He smiled.

"Of course!"

However, Ayato quickly withdrew his smile and returned to his indifferent expression. Glancing around, he thought that he had better maintain this expression most of the time. It would be best if others saw him as an unlucky guy who had no choice but to sit beside Naruto.