The very next second after Naruto made his joke, he regretted it—
—because Sakura did something that completely caught him off guard.
Right in front of him, she pulled down her pants and peeked inside.
My eyes.
They burn.
"Damn! You scared the hell out of me! I really thought I'd turned into a boy!"
Sakura patted her completely average chest with lingering fear.
Naruto: "…"
Inside Naruto's mind, Kurama was howling with laughter:
"Hahahaha! You finally got shown up, brat!"
Only a moment later, the Nine-Tails wasn't laughing anymore.
"Hey, you big fox," came a curious voice.
In the seal space, Little Goku tilted his head at Kurama.
"You seem full of energy. How about a sparring match?"
Kurama crossed his arms into an 'X':
"This old man respectfully declines."
Little Goku thought for a moment:
"I'll let you use one hand!"
Kurama roared, full of bravado:
"Haha! Let me show you why I'm the number one among the Nine Tailed Beasts—Kurama!"
---
"Thanks for letting me out, but if you keep joking like that again, I swear I'll punch you into next week!"
Sakura raised a fist, glaring.
Naruto:
"Understood, Sakura-bro. Got it, Sakura-bro."
Sakura:
"Uzumaki Naruto, you little—"
Just then, a nearby door slid open.
Sleepy-eyed and annoyed, Sasuke stepped out of the next room.
And again—Sakura did something completely unexpected.
She lunged forward, wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck, and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek.
It all happened so fast that Sasuke didn't even have time to react.
She patted him on the shoulder and said with an air of smug maturity:
"Tastes pretty good. Keep it up."
"Hehe… I've wanted to do that for ages."
Naruto clearly heard her mumble—thinking it was quiet enough no one else could hear.
Naruto: I hereby declare you Konoha's number one unpredictable shinobi.
---
Because Team 7 had been completing missions at an exceptionally fast pace, they were soon assigned several more C-rank missions.
For Genin, C-rank missions usually meant dealing with bandits or rogue samurai at most.
Every single one of these missions was left to Sakura to handle.
Among them was a self-proclaimed "Bandit King," who was also swiftly dealt with by Sakura.
Since Inner Sakura had taken over, her combat strength had improved rapidly.
Ever since she found out Sasuke liked using a spiked club, she became obsessed with the meteor hammer as her new weapon of choice.
According to her:
"Spiked clubs and meteor hammers are a match made in heaven! This way, I can chain Sasuke down forever!"
Brute force had become her new label.
---
"She's like a different person now," Kakashi commented.
"Still hopelessly boy-crazy, but her effort level is on a whole new tier. Did the battle in the Land of Waves shock her into this?"
"Well, either way—it's probably a good thing."
Kakashi, ever the lazy one, reverted to his chill, laid-back mode.
If a squad leader could relax, all the better.
---
Days passed.
While Team 7 continued clearing C-rank missions in Konoha,
in the Land of Demons, with the support of Izumi and Inoka, the shrine maiden successfully resealed Mōryō into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Meanwhile, starting from the Land of Waves, Gato's shipping company rapidly expanded.
With assistance from the Fūma clan, most of the sea trade routes across the shinobi world were swiftly taken under control.
Funds and materials were delivered to the Land of Snow, where mass production of chakra armor had begun.
It wasn't long before the Land of Bears and Hoshigakure (Hidden Star Village) also fell under Uchiha influence.
Due to their remote locations in the far north and lack of strong ninja villages, news from these small nations was so isolated that the Five Great Nations still hadn't noticed anything.
---
Iwagakure remained quiet—after Ōnoki ordered a news blackout, things went silent.
However, they did strengthen their connections with Akatsuki.
Kumogakure was scouring the continent in search of the mysterious Kashin Koji, who had apparently raided their sacred tomb and abducted the Two-Tails' jinchūriki.
Sunagakure had been flirting with Otogakure lately… plotting something unclear.
---
A rare day off.
Both Team 7 and Team 8 had no missions.
Naruto had invited Hinata for a walk through the leafy trails of Konoha.
"So… why are you two following us on a date?"
Naruto asked, turning around.
Sasuke and Sakura were trailing closely behind.
To be precise—Sakura also wanted some alone time with Sasuke,
but Sasuke wanted to drag Naruto off to do special training.
And Naruto wanted to spend time with Hinata.
So Sasuke decided to wait until after Naruto's walk to start training.
Karin had been sent on a mission by Root, so she wasn't around.
---
"Hey, brat!"
A rough shout came from the far end of the street:
"You bumped into someone. Don't you know how to apologize?"
A stocky ninja wearing a tight black bodysuit with colorful face paint had lifted a small boy off the ground with one hand.
Next to him stood a blonde girl carrying a giant fan.
Naruto instantly recognized the small boy—
Konohamaru, the Third Hokage's grandson.
As for the man…
He was none other than Kankurō, the eldest son of the Fourth Kazekage.
What the hell? The Kazekage's son is picking a fight with the Hokage's grandson?
'How did this even happen?'
'Tch. Just my luck.' Naruto glanced toward a nearby tree—
Noted several ANBU operatives hidden in the shadows.
As the Hokage's grandson, there was no way Konohamaru would be out without protection.
But none of them were making a move.
'Are they… waiting? For someone else to act? Me, maybe?'
'Well, in that case…'
---
"Hey, fatass. Put him down."
A familiar voice shouted before Naruto could respond.
A certain violent girl beat him to it.
"Are all Konoha shinobi this rude?"
Kankurō's face twisted in anger.
Kanky-bro was pissed. And when Kanky-bro's pissed, people get hurt.
"Smack!"
A small stone suddenly flew through the air, striking Kankurō cleanly on the wrist.
His hand went numb, and he dropped Konohamaru.
"Village. Not. Yours."
Sasuke was now perched on a tree branch, casually tossing two stones up and down in one hand, looking effortlessly cool.
Naruto (internally): This guy… such a poser.
---
"He means—"
"I know!" Sakura raised her hand eagerly before Naruto could even finish.
"What Sasuke meant was:
If you lay another finger on the village's kids,
he's going to plant his boot so far up your butt you'll taste sole leather.
Then he'll leave behind a dashing silhouette in front of the lovely and gentle Miss Haruno Sakura,
before walking off into the sunset for a perfect romantic evening!"
How the hell did she get all that from just three words?
Also, Sasuke wasn't even wearing boots.
And that last part was totally unnecessary.
Sasuke shook his head furiously.
"What he really said was:
'Don't get too cocky in someone else's village.'"
Sasuke gave a small nod.
Sakura pouted:
"Tch. Lame!"
---
"You're in my way."
Kankurō glared at Sasuke and began unwrapping the bandages on his back.
"I'll teach you a lesson right here and now."
Temari panicked:
"Wait! Are you really planning to use Crow here?!"
Sasuke's eyes suddenly sharpened, his presence intensifying so drastically that both Temari and Kankurō froze on the spot—
—thinking he was about to attack.
"Stand. Move. Die."
"What he said was:
'You, behind me—take one more step and I'll kill you.'"
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