Chapter 48: Hinata and Sakura
At this moment in Team 7, Sasuke listened to Kakashi's explanation and understood the difficulty of the situation.
Sasuke also wanted a somewhat normal life.
"Fine then, if I catch this cat first, I'm taking the afternoon off."
Sakura blushed and corrected him, "It's not a stray cat, it's domesticated."
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have hired us to retrieve it."
...
Naruto no longer felt any sting seeing Sasuke getting close to Sakura.
It didn't matter anymore.
He had stopped thinking about romance.
Naruto gradually became numb.
That's how normal men are.
Even though Naruto once loved Sakura to death...
Once he realized he truly had no chance...
Sakura no longer held special meaning. She was just another pretty girl.
Someone irrelevant to him.
...
Even if Naruto no longer had feelings for Sakura,
He still cared about becoming stronger.
Being a shinobi was his calling.
So he said, "Sasuke, I might not be as strong as you, but I have more experience catching cats and dogs."
"Let's see who gets it first!"
Clearly, Naruto had matured.
He was beginning to resemble the Shippuden-era Naruto.
But Sasuke smirked, "Naruto, even if it's my first time doing this, my genius reputation isn't for nothing."
Sasuke had a strong competitive streak.
The wilderness offered many interesting spots:
A clear stream, tall trees, lush grass—he had already picked out a few nice places.
He planned to bring beautiful Sakura there soon to do some not-so-innocent things.
[Byakugan]
Sasuke quietly activated the Byakugan. For finding small animals, it was even more useful than the Sharingan.
X-ray vision and long-range detection.
"Found it!"
Sasuke matched the cat he saw with the photo from the client—a perfect match.
"That fast?"
Naruto was stunned.
He turned to Kakashi in disbelief. "Did Sasuke cheat?"
Kakashi could only respond helplessly, "Maybe he just caught a random stray, not the client's actual cat."
Indeed, the forest had plenty of stray cats.
Telling them apart required real skill.
But this was Sasuke.
He moved fast!
The runaway cat was clearly a repeat offender—very slippery. The moment it saw Sasuke coming, its fur puffed up and it bolted.
Unfortunately for it, Sasuke was terrifyingly fast.
He lunged and caught the cat in one swift motion.
The cat, startled, tried to fight back!
If it were clumsy Naruto, he'd be left scratched and bleeding.
But Sasuke?
He didn't even need the Sharingan. Still, he tied the cat's four legs with a rope so it couldn't move.
When Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura arrived, they were both amazed and speechless.
"..."
Kakashi praised, "Impressive, Sasuke. You caught it so quickly."
Usually, Naruto and Sakura would spend most of the day and still not catch it.
And here Sasuke did it in less than half an hour.
"You got skills, Sasuke!"
Naruto, though still a bit unwilling to admit it, had to concede Sasuke was amazing.
Sakura picked up the cat and looked at Sasuke with a bit of disapproval.
"Sasuke, you were too rough."
"You tied up all its legs. It looks so pitiful."
Sasuke retorted, "This cat is no sweet little thing. If I didn't tie it up, I'd be covered in scratches."
"Alright, Kakashi, today's mission is done."
"Now I'm taking Sakura on vacation."
Sakura immediately blushed.
"Sasuke! Who said I'd go with you..."
Kakashi gave in with a sigh. "Alright, alright."
"But you kids should pace yourselves. Who knows, there might be a big mission tomorrow. Don't wear yourselves out."
He was hinting at something.
Sakura blushed so hard she couldn't lift her head.
Sasuke just grinned. "Don't worry. I can go a full day and night."
"As for Sakura, I'll take good care of her."
He then started pulling Sakura along to do something very adult.
Kakashi glanced at Naruto, worried he might not take it well.
But Naruto looked completely indifferent.
His expression said: So what if your girl's hot? She ain't mine.
Immature people tend to torment themselves.
But Naruto had matured—he had let go of things that didn't concern him.
"Naruto, we still have a dog-finding mission. Let's go," said Kakashi.
Naruto responded with interest, "Okay!"
Now, Sasuke playing around with Sakura wasn't nearly as interesting as finding a lost dog.
In the original series, Naruto couldn't let go of Sakura.
Because that Naruto never experienced true despair.
He still believed he had a chance with her, so he kept chasing.
But here?
With Sasuke openly doing outrageous things and flaunting his relationship with Sakura...
Naruto had already given up. Completely.
Once you hit rock bottom, things get easier.
Sakura wasn't his. If she wanted to be with Sasuke, let her.
...
So in a way, this version of Sasuke helped Naruto grow.
Into a real man!
No more chasing hopeless love.
...
However, just as Sasuke was about to sneak away with Sakura for some fun...
A surprise guest appeared—a cute little beauty who came to him on her own.
"Hinata—?"
Sasuke was genuinely surprised to see her.
Hinata actually came looking for him?
And right now, things were a little tense—he was still holding Sakura's hand.
Sakura also looked confused as she glanced between Hinata and Sasuke.
She hadn't realized yet that even Hinata had been taken by Sasuke.
"Kakashi-sensei, let's go."
Kakashi had been hoping to enjoy watching a love triangle unfold.
But Naruto wasn't interested in either Sakura or Hinata anymore. He just wanted to go find that dog.
"Naruto-kun..."
The moment Hinata saw Naruto, her heart hurt.
But she held back.
Just like Naruto had when he gave up on Sakura, Hinata too had faced despair and realized...
She and Naruto would never be together.
So her heartbreak only lasted a moment.
Hinata was now Sasuke's wife.
And right now, she cared far more about Sasuke than anyone else!