Naruto immediately wanted to step in and persuade her, but Kaito caught his intention and shot him a glare.
"Naruto, do you even know what a simp is?"
Naruto froze. It was the first time he'd heard the word, but he vaguely understood what it meant.
Kaito continued,
"Being a simp isn't necessarily wrong. Your father was basically a bit of a simp when he was chasing after your mom."
Naruto's eyes lit up with interest. He hurriedly asked,
"Really? Dad was too…?"
"Hmph. The point is, being a simp is fine—but you need to consider who you're simping for. Is she even worth it? Otherwise, all you'll get in the end is nothing."
In Kaito's eyes, Sakura was absolutely not someone worthy of Naruto's devotion.
In terms of status, Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage. Once that fact was revealed, he'd instantly be recognized as Konoha's crown prince. Sakura, meanwhile, was just a ninja from an ordinary civilian family.
It wasn't that Kaito looked down on Sakura for being a civilian ninja. What he despised was the fact that Sakura had repeatedly used Naruto's status as an orphan against him. Things like: "Look, he doesn't even have parents."
And even lines like, "He's good for doing chores, but useless otherwise." Those alone were enough to make Kaito feel zero goodwill toward her.
After speaking, Kaito shook off Sakura's hand and said coldly,
"If I see you pull something like this again, you can say goodbye to that hand."
Under the pressure of his Mangekyō, Sakura could only nod frantically. Yamato quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Kaito-senpai, Sakura and Naruto have always had a good relationship. She didn't mean it just now, please forgive her!"
Kaito merely shrugged indifferently. After shutting off his Mangekyō, he turned and started walking away.
Naruto thought he was leaving. Though their time together hadn't been long, Naruto could tell that Kaito genuinely cared about him. And since Kaito had been his father Minato's friend, he didn't want him to go.
He quickly called out toward his back,
"Kaito-senpai! Where are you going?"
Kaito paused mid-step and replied without turning his head,
"To check on Sasuke. Why? You want to come?"
At the mention of Sasuke, Naruto immediately perked up with excitement. He asked eagerly,
"Kaito-senpai, can I come with you?"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at Kaito's lips. His tone was casual as he said,
"Your legs are on your body. Why do you need my permission?"
Naruto's face lit up with joy. He ran to Kaito's side and said with a sheepish grin,
"Then I'll be in your care, Kaito-senpai!"
Kaito rolled his eyes, then kept walking forward.
Behind them, Sakura and Yamato exchanged a glance before silently following as well.
...
Kabuto, after Orochimaru's defeat, had already gone back. With him was Sai.
Sai's mission had been twofold: first, deliver Danzō's letter to Orochimaru to earn his trust.
But now that Orochimaru had been subdued by Kaito, that mission was void. So Sai had no choice but to carry out his next objective—assassinate Sasuke.
Danzō, that cunning old man, never changed his stance on the Uchiha. To him, they were terrorists, a constant threat to Konoha. He wanted Sasuke eliminated before he fully grew into his power.
So Sai went ahead to Orochimaru's lair to attempt Sasuke's assassination.
...
Inside Orochimaru's hideout.
Within the dark corridors, Sasuke stood with a cold expression, staring at the figure before him.
"Who are you?"
Sai wore his trademark fake smile as he replied,
"My name is Sai. I just joined Team Seven. You must be Uchiha Sasuke, right?"
The moment Sasuke heard he was from Konoha, and had even taken his place in Team Seven, his eyes instantly spun into the three-tomoe Sharingan. He glared coldly at Sai.
Sai immediately fell under Sasuke's genjutsu, collapsing onto the floor.
But Sasuke had only wanted to scare him, and soon released the genjutsu. With a disdainful snort, he asked,
"Hmph. So what business do you have with me? Don't tell me you're here to drag me back to Konoha."
Swallowing nervously, Sai replied,
"Naruto wants to bring you back. He's always seen you as a brother—"
"Shut up!"
Sasuke cut him off sharply. In a flash, he appeared beside Sai, his voice cold as ice.
"My only brother is Itachi."
With that, Sasuke walked past Sai and headed straight for the exit.
Sai was shaken by Sasuke's ruthlessness. His time with Team Seven had already begun to change some of his views.
Originally, he had been nothing more than Danzō's emotionless tool. But after meeting Naruto—the guy so much like his own brother—he had begun to remember what it meant to be "human."
He had only meant to test Sasuke's feelings, but the answer he received left him heavy-hearted.
He couldn't help but feel it was unfair to Naruto. And when he remembered the assassination order from Danzō, his grip tightened on his sword as he suddenly lunged, stabbing at Sasuke's back.
But under Orochimaru's tutelage, Sasuke's strength had skyrocketed. At this point, he was far beyond Team Seven's level.
With a single sidestep, he kicked Sai hard, sending him crashing to the ground. Then, drawing the Kusanagi blade at his waist, he infused it with lightning chakra.
Blue lightning crackled violently across the sword, emitting a shrill, piercing chirp—this was one of Sasuke's newly mastered techniques, the Chidori Blade.
Sasuke rushed forward, sword aimed straight at Sai's chest.
Just as the blade was about to pierce through, a loud voice echoed from the corridor entrance.
"Sasuke! Stop!"
"Hm?"
That voice was so familiar to Sasuke that he actually froze. He turned toward the source.
And there he saw the spiky blond hair—Uzumaki Naruto.
As for Kaito, who stood beside Naruto, Sasuke ignored him completely.
This was the first time Sasuke had seen Naruto since their battle at the Valley of the End. His feelings were complicated.
Moments ago, he had declared to Sai that Itachi was his only brother. But deep down, that was only half the truth.
There were countless words he wanted to say to Naruto, but when he opened his mouth, what came out instead was:
"Naruto? Are you here to kill me too?"
Naruto froze, then glanced at Sai lying behind Sasuke and asked in confusion,
"Sai, what did you just do?"
Sai said nothing. He couldn't admit that he had just tried to kill Sasuke.
Sasuke, meanwhile, turned his gaze to Kaito and spoke coldly,
"So he's your backup? Don't tell me you really think you lot can defeat me now?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow. The arms crossed before his chest slowly lowered as he stepped forward.
The small white snake coiled at his waist lifted its head, glancing at Sasuke as if looking at a fool...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo