Chapter 24: Sakura and Medical Ninjutsu
Konoha training grounds—
A jet-black, blood-eyed crow dove sharply from the sky. Its shadow streaked across the mud, a tiny black dot darting over the ground at high speed.
Uchiha Sasuke halted his training. He lifted his gaze from the grass, eyes narrowing as they locked on the dark speck circling above the training grounds, momentarily blotting out the sun.
Thin-faced and sharp-eyed, Sasuke sensed something strange. He was about to activate his Sharingan—
"Sasuke!" Sakura's voice called from afar.
The girl stood at the edge of the training field, waving with one hand and holding a food box in the other. The wild wind lifted her long hair, sunlight gilding her figure with a faint golden sheen.
"Thanks." Sasuke stepped forward to take the box, noting that it had two tiers. "One of these for him?"
"Yes." Sakura nodded, giving an awkward little smile. "After that day, Kakashi-sensei was really furious."
"Naruto's being punished with twenty D-rank missions to complete on his own. Until he finishes, Team Seven isn't allowed to take on any new missions."
"Kakashi's just looking out for us," Sasuke replied while eating a rice ball. "If the village found out, that guy would be facing far worse consequences."
Hearing this, a flicker of worry passed over Sakura's face.
"Kakashi-sensei rewrote the mission report, changing our solo action to one under a jōnin's supervision. Naruto took full responsibility himself—that's the only reason we aren't being punished too."
"But strangely enough, Gatō's shipping company suddenly went bankrupt. Word is, he couldn't pay his debts, and he ended up killed in some uprising by rogue ninja."
"Hm."
...
Sakura arrived at the street where Naruto was supposed to be working, but found no sign of him. Looking up, she spotted him sprawled on the roof of an old, abandoned house at the edge of a bamboo grove, basking in the sun, fast asleep.
"Naruto, time to eat."
At her call, Naruto sprang to his feet and flipped off the roof in a neat arc.
The summer breeze rustled through the bamboo forest behind the house.
Behind it, a small slope covered in lush green grass gleamed vividly under the sun.
The two of them sat on the slope, eating rice balls. Sakura seemed distracted, her thoughts elsewhere as she occasionally spoke with Naruto.
"What's on your mind?" Naruto asked.
"N-nothing." Sakura forced a smile, but her face quickly clouded over again.
"Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"Why… do you want to be a ninja?" Sakura asked.
"To live, I guess. Ninja pay is decent, and there are benefits," Naruto said thoughtfully. "Someone like me—what else could I even do if I wasn't a ninja?"
Sakura blinked, then murmured a quiet apology.
"It's fine," Naruto waved it off and took another bite of his rice ball. "Being a ninja is just a job anyway. It's not like I plan to do this forever."
"I… really envy you, Naruto," Sakura said softly, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"Why?"
"Because… I feel like I can't do anything to help. Every time we're in danger, it's always you or Sasuke who steps up," Sakura admitted, hugging her knees and curling in on herself.
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm even cut out to be a ninja at all."
"That's not true," Naruto said, turning to her. "Sakura, didn't you graduate third in our class?"
"Yeah."
"Then there you go. That proves you've got talent. You just haven't found your path yet."
"My… path?" Sakura looked up.
"Yeah, your path," Naruto said with certainty. "Team Seven is probably the most unusual rookie team this year. So you don't need to compare yourself to me or Sasuke."
"The Uchiha clan's always been a fighting clan—their taijutsu and shuriken skills are practically in their blood."
"And Sasuke's path was set from the start. Those eyes of his—you know the secret of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, right?"
"Sasuke-kun… what secret?" Sakura asked, startled.
Suddenly, she remembered those eerie, glowing red eyes of his back in the Forest of Waves, and tension coiled in her chest.
"The Uchiha are a clan of hatred," Naruto said. "He's carrying some heavy secret, and hatred's what drives him to keep getting stronger."
"Those eyes of his—they're a deadly weapon. Maybe strong enough to even defeat the Hokage someday."
"Hatred…?" Sakura's face went pale.
"Yeah. So don't overthink things," Naruto said as he tidied up the food box. "You've got your own ninja way too. You just need to find the right path for your training."
"For example… what about medical ninjutsu?"
"Medical ninjutsu? Why?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Because medical ninjutsu needs precise chakra control," Naruto explained. "You've got that talent, Sakura. I think you should give it a try."
"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura said sincerely. "Without you, I probably wouldn't have realized…"
"Hey, we're teammates, right?" Naruto said as he stood, looking down at her with a grin. "Think about it. I've got work to do."
And with that, he vanished from sight.
Sakura stared in the direction he had gone, her expression complicated. At last, she sighed, picked up the food box, and left.
Naruto, however, didn't have any cat- or dog-finding missions to do. Instead, he found another rooftop, lay back down, and resumed sunbathing.
A panel appeared, opening his system inventory at his command.
Inside were mountains of treasure and stacks of cash, dazzling to the eye. Naruto smiled in satisfaction. With this much money, he'd never have to work another day in his life.
And yet, alongside his joy came a hollow emptiness.
With all this wealth, why bother risking his life?
How should he even spend it? Buying Konoha real estate was pointless—two years from now Pain would level the village in one blow anyway.
No, the next step was freeing himself from Konoha's control, gaining independence.
The Nine-Tails inside him might belong to Konoha, but that didn't mean it had to stay that way.
His so-called "generous dad" had shoved this fox into him without even asking. Was he supposed to spend seventy years as Konoha's weapon?
On the rooftop, Naruto suddenly jolted upright, eyes flashing.
Damn it—he couldn't just stay here.
He had enough money to last ten lifetimes. If he allowed himself to be chained to Konoha as a weapon, what a waste that would be.
One man alone couldn't stand against the world.
If he wanted a real excuse to break free, he needed strength. He needed to rebuild the Uzumaki clan's lost legacy of sealing arts—and to do that, he'd need power, allies, and heirs to carry it forward.
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