"Konohamaru, didn't I tell you to stop using such lame jutsu?" Naruto glanced at the shredded cardboard on the ground.
"Sorry, big bro."
Konohamaru scratched his head with an awkward smile. "I mainly just wanted to surprise you today by showing you my newly formed Konohamaru Corps!"
The so-called Konohamaru Corps is basically what would later become Team Konohamaru.
There's a kid with a bowl cut and round glasses, always with a blank look and snot dripping—his name's Udon. He'll be a future jonin of Konoha, good at Water Release and... Snot Release ninjutsu... might know a little genjutsu too.
Then there's Moegi, with a short brownish-yellow bob and red blush marks on her cheeks. She'll also be a future jonin, good at Water Release and Earth Release... and some say she even knows Wood Release.
"Hmm... I wouldn't call it a surprise. More like a scare," Naruto said flatly.
"Moegi and Udon are my ace recruits for you, big bro! Aren't you even a little touched?" Konohamaru argued.
"No."
"Not even a little?"
"Not at all."
"...Totally failed~"
Moegi and Udon looked crushed and crouched on the ground, drawing circles.
"Naruto, who are they?" Sakura suddenly asked.
"We're big bro's little bros!" Konohamaru quickly answered. "And who are you?"
"Me?"
Sakura pointed at herself, about to reply, but Konohamaru suddenly got an idea and teased, "Hey big bro, you've really leveled up, huh? Is she your girlfriend?"
"Huh? No no no! You've got it all wrong—I'm just Naruto's teammate!" Sakura hurried to explain.
"Teammate?" Konohamaru blinked, then looked like he understood. "So 'teammate' is just a roundabout way of saying partner, right?"
"Come on, if she's your partner, just say it! Why beat around the bush~"
"Ow!"
Naruto smacked Konohamaru on the head and said calmly, "A teammate is a friend, a comrade—not what you're thinking. Don't say random stuff."
Even though going on missions together had made things between him and Sakura a little better, if he were to look for a partner, it wouldn't be her.
Leaving aside her weird cryptic way of talking, Naruto just couldn't bring himself to like her personality.
And besides, Sakura liked Sasuke. So better let Sasuke deal with that mess.
"Got it, big bro... but you didn't have to hit so hard~" Konohamaru said, looking hurt.
"Getting hit is part of training. You're buying me dinner tonight," Naruto said casually.
"Oh~"
Konohamaru felt like something was off, but couldn't figure out what.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving," Sasuke, who had been silently watching for a while, turned and left.
Rather than stand around listening to Naruto and Konohamaru go on about nothing, it was better to squeeze in a few more minutes of training.
"Sasuke-kun, wait!"
Sakura saw Sasuke leaving and quickly ran after him, blushing. "Sasuke-kun, um... if you don't mind... do you want to work on our teamwork together~?"
"If you have time to bother me, you should be practicing your jutsu instead. Honestly, you're the weakest in the team. Are you planning to always rely on others to protect you?" Sasuke said coldly, then walked off without even turning his head.
Sakura looked at Sasuke's cool and distant back, but no matter what, she just couldn't swoon over him like before.
It really looked like she had taken a heavy hit this time.
Naruto glanced at her but didn't bother to say anything.
On missions, they were teammates—but in everyday life, they were just normal friends. Naruto had no reason or desire to get involved in whatever was going on between Sakura and Sasuke.
"Konohamaru, let's go."
"Oh, oh, okay!"
!
"Big bro, where are we going?"
"Hmm... let's go train. I want to see how your Sexy Itachi Jutsu is coming along."
"I've made a lot of progress! Last time I almost beat Ebisu-sensei!"
"Oh right—Naruto big bro, can you teach Moegi and Udon the Sexy Itachi Jutsu too?"
"You're good enough to teach it now. If they want to learn, you can teach them."
"Thanks, Naruto big bro!"
The four of them chatted as they walked off. In the end, only Sakura was left standing in the street, looking sad and lost.
"So in the end... I'm still all alone, huh?"
Sakura walked home like a zombie, but just as she turned a corner, she bumped into someone.
Because she was small, she got pushed back a step from the collision.
"Huh? I bumped into a Leaf ninja? You look weak. Is that gloomy face because you just got rejected by that handsome guy who walked by earlier?" Temari looked at Sakura and teased.
Weak?!!
Sakura's already terrible mood got even worse.
"Who are you?" she asked instinctively.
"Before asking someone else, shouldn't you say sorry for bumping into me?"
Temari tilted her chin up and looked at Sakura with disdain. "Or are all Leaf ninjas this rude?"
"S-sorry."
Even though Temari was being rude, Sakura knew she was the one who messed up, so she apologized anyway.
"I forgive you, Leaf genin. Let's go, Kankuro." Compared to Kankuro, Temari had a much better temper. Since Sakura apologized, she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.
"Wait a minute!"
Sakura called out to stop them as Temari and Kankuro were about to leave.
"Still got something to say, little girl?" Maybe because Sakura apologized earlier, Temari's tone was a bit softer now.
"From the forehead protectors you're wearing, you're from the Sand Village, right? It's true that Sand and Leaf are allies, but that doesn't mean ninjas from both villages can just walk into each other's countries whenever they want, does it?" Sakura wasn't trying to be polite just because Temari seemed nice.
Her eyes were serious, and her tone was firm.
"Looks like you really don't know anything."
Kankuro turned around with an annoyed look. "But then again, with someone as useless as you, it makes sense you wouldn't know."
"What did you say?" Sakura had already been beaten down again and again today, and now her emotions were about to explode.
"Am I wrong?" Kankuro sneered. "Someone like you? I could kill you with one hand."
"You jerk!"
Sakura couldn't hold back anymore. She threw a punch at Kankuro.
But the punch that worked so well on her classmates was easily caught by Kankuro with one hand.
"Heh, a punch this soft wouldn't even hurt if it landed." Kankuro sneered, then squeezed her fist hard, making it hurt.
"Next time, back off when you run into someone stronger. Learn to hold it in. Or you won't even know how you died."
Sakura broke out in cold sweat. She tried to pull her hand back, but couldn't.
Just as she started to feel completely helpless, a golden flash appeared next to Kankuro—and a kick sent him flying.
"You okay, Sakura?"
Naruto didn't look back. From where Sakura was standing, she could only see the side of his face.
That face she never really liked before... now looked unbelievably handsome!
"I'm fine~" Sakura said softly, looking at Naruto who had come back like a hero from the sky, her eyes full of admiration and emotion.
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