Konoha Year 60.
Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village.
"Morning, Sakura."
"Morning."
On a quiet street in Konoha, a blonde girl with blue eyes greeted a girl with bright pink hair and a notably wide forehead.
Side by side, they began walking in the same direction.
"I'm honestly surprised you managed to graduate," the blonde said with a hint of playful provocation.
"That's got nothing to do with the past," Sakura retorted, her tone equally spirited. "From today on, we're all full-fledged ninja. I'm not losing to you anymore, Ino!"
With that, she picked up her pace and quickly stepped ahead of the blonde girl, Ino.
Not to be outdone, Ino sped up as well, soon overtaking Sakura again.
"...!!!"
Sakura frowned.
The next moment, she picked up her speed again.
"Hmph!"
Ino wasn't backing down either and kicked up her pace once more.
In a flash, the two were shoulder to shoulder, launching into a silent, heated speed-walking race down the village street.
"Haa... haa..."
"Yaaah!!"
They practically sprinted all the way to the ninja academy gates, glaring at each other the entire time, steps in sync, neither willing to yield.
They shoved open the classroom door, pushing and elbowing each other until, finally, both squeezed through at nearly the same time.
"Made it! Huff... huff..."
Both girls gasped for breath, having burned all that energy just to "reach the finish line" first.
"I totally won again, Sakura!" Ino declared triumphantly.
"In your dreams! My foot landed one centimeter ahead of yours!" Sakura fired back.
"Are you blind?! That's nonsense!"
"Hmph!"
While the two continued bickering, Sakura suddenly caught sight of someone, and her whole expression melted into dreamy adoration.
"Sakura's... she's looking at me!!"
In the direction she was staring, a spiky-haired blond boy lit up like a Christmas tree. Without hesitation, he sprang to his feet and waved enthusiastically.
"Morning, Sakura!"
Before he could bask in the moment any longer, Sakura briskly walked over, only to shove him aside with both hands.
Then, with a lovestruck gaze, she positioned herself in front of a cool, dark-haired boy in a shirt adorned with a ping-pong paddle symbol.
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"
"..."
The boy, Sasuke, barely glanced at her, his face as emotionless as stone. He didn't say a single word.
"Can I sit next to you?" Sakura asked sweetly.
"Hey! That's my seat next to Sasuke!" Ino stormed over, clearly unwilling to let it go.
"First come, first served, right?" Sakura smirked.
The ninja academy didn't assign fixed seating.
"I got in the classroom first!"
"No, I did!"
"No way! It was me!"
"I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"
Just like that, they were at it again.
Yep, turns out that insane race earlier? It was all for one purpose: to claim the seat beside Sasuke.
Well, that and their long-standing rivalry.
And then,
"From today forward, you are officially full-fledged ninja. However, you're all still just rookies, freshly minted Genin."
After a while (and after some random incident where a certain boy publicly got way too friendly with another...), a teacher entered the classroom, stepped up to the podium, and addressed the students with a proud but serious tone.
Today marked a major milestone. It was graduation day for nearly everyone here.
Which also made that chaotic race between Sakura and Ino their last one as academy students.
"The real challenges start now. From this point on, you'll be split into three-man squads, each led by a Jonin instructor. Together, you'll be assigned real missions."
"!!!"
"Three-person teams?"
"I wonder who gets to be on Sasuke's team!"
The moment "grouping" was mentioned, the entire classroom lit up with curiosity.
After all, these teams would determine their future teammates, and for some, who would get the best shot at love.
Sasuke, unsurprisingly, was at the center of every girl's attention.
"To keep things balanced, the groupings have been pre-selected by the instructors…"
At the podium, Iruka-sensei prepared to read off the teams.
But then,
The classroom suddenly dimmed. Strange flickers of light danced across the walls.
The ceiling, once solid, turned translucent.
Hovering in midair, a massive holographic projection began to unfold.
And alongside it, a voice, gentle, feminine, nervous, yet sincere, rang out clearly through the room.
"Sora-kun... um... there's something I've been meaning to tell you... I… I like you!"
On screen, a beautiful girl with long, flowing black hair and pure white eyes confessed her feelings with bashful sincerity to a boy about her age.
"..."
"!!!!!!!!!!"
"What the heck?!"
Every single student froze in place.
Then, in perfect unison, all eyes snapped to the back of the classroom.
There sat a short-haired girl, Hinata, and, not far from her, a black-haired boy who had just been zoning out.
They were unmistakably the two people in the video.
Hinata. And... Aoki Sora.
"U-Uhh...!!!"
Hinata's face turned bright crimson.
"Wh-what's going on?! I… I confessed?! In front of everyone?!"
And what's worse, it was being broadcast for the entire class to see.
But she had no memory of doing such a thing.
Was that... her future self?
A future where she would actually confess... to Sora?
What about Naruto-kun?
A hundred thoughts flooded her mind.
But above all else, the embarrassment of having her deepest feelings exposed like this was too much for any girl to bear.
She nearly fainted from the sheer shame.
"M-maybe this is...?!"
Meanwhile, the black-haired boy, Aoki Sora, watched the projection in stunned silence, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 450, 800,1200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!