"No, no! That's too cruel! Absolutely, absolutely cannot say that!"
Naruto excitedly threw his arms up in front of his chest, forming a giant 'X', immediately and unequivocally rejecting Sakura's suggestion.
Saying such excessive and hurtful things as "disgusting" and "annoying guy" to Satsuki? If he really did that, he would be the first to not forgive himself!
Sakura looked at Naruto's intense reaction and pouted, feeling a bit annoyed. Honestly… Naruto's kind nature towards everyone, if it weren't for those terrible rumors in the past, how much trouble would he attract? It seemed her words weren't harsh enough; she needed to describe the consequences more severely.
Of course, Sakura didn't know that besides those rumors, the cold, piercing gaze and oppressive aura that the Uchiha's second young lady by Naruto's side emitted whenever she looked at other girls trying to approach Naruto had already silently scared away many potential admirers.
"Cruel?" Sakura deliberately raised her voice, putting on an expression that said, "You're making too much of a fuss." "This is already a relatively polite and tactful way of putting it, okay? If someone dared to do the kind of… cheesy and strange actions you described to me…"
To make the effect more shocking, she began to exaggerate as much as she could, even resorting to self-deprecation, speaking in a tone of extreme disdain and disgust.
"I'd probably tell him directly—'Why should I accept you doing this to me? Who do you think you are? You annoying, ungrateful idiot! Every time you come near me, I feel so disgusted, so nauseous! Please, get away from me!'—Hmm, something like that!"
"Wh-What?! You, you would actually say something like that?!"
Naruto was stunned speechless by Sakura's impactful and cruel statement, which completely contradicted his perception of "Sakura." His brain couldn't process it. "This… this is too hurtful!"
Sakura… is she really like this?! Naruto's worldview was slightly shaken.
Of course, Sakura would absolutely not admit it—she was completely making things up here. While her usual personality was a bit aggressive, she would never say such harsh and hurtful words.
Her only goal at this moment was to make Naruto realize the "seriousness" of the problem and quickly cut the Gordian knot, driving away the "clingy rival" she imagined as far as possible.
She looked at Naruto's utterly shocked expression, secretly pleased, thinking that surely she had convinced him now?
Strange… why does it feel a bit cold?
Although Sakura felt a little pleased and happy for "defending" Satsuki's territory and doing a great deed, an inexplicable chill had quietly spread since just now, making her involuntarily shiver noticeably.
She looked up at the sky in confusion; the afterglow of the setting sun was still warm, and there was no wind.
She didn't know that not far behind her, that "ordinary" tree—which was actually Uchiha Satsuki using the Transformation Technique—was gazing at her back with a dull, lifeless expression.
I thought… we were friends… Satsuki's heart felt as if it had been plunged into an ice cave. She listened to Sakura earnestly "teaching" Naruto with the most malicious language how to "reject" her, every word like a poisoned ice needle, piercing deeply into her heart.
Sakura Haruno… how dare you… make Naruto say such things to me…? "Disgusting"? "Annoying"? "Ungrateful idiot"? And make you "nauseous"?
You clearly know nothing… You don't know how much courage I mustered… You don't know the struggles and shame I went through… You don't know what Naruto means to me!
Are you just going to easily… try to take everything from me? Try to make Naruto completely dislike me and stay away from me?
Just because of your ridiculous and self-righteous "help"?
Unforgivable… Absolutely unforgivable!
If Naruto really listens to you… if he says even one similar word to me… I… I will absolutely not let you go… Sakura Haruno!
You… meddling, lying… traitor!
Naruto had, to some extent, "misguided" Satsuki, making her more like an anime heroine with a "whoever confesses first loses" mentality, rather than the deeply resentful Nizhu Zi from the original work.
After hearing Sakura's cruel suggestions, although he completely couldn't understand why Sakura would give such hurtful answers, his top priority at the moment was to get Sakura to leave first.
He absolutely couldn't let Sakura know that the "disgusting," "annoying," and "ungrateful" person she was talking about was actually Satsuki.
Otherwise, their relationship might immediately break, and Team 7 would never be peaceful!
"Sakura," Naruto tried to make his tone sound calm. "It's getting late, you should go home. I… I still have some things to deal with alone."
"Huh? Why?" Sakura frowned in confusion. "Is there anything that can't include me? Aren't we teammates?"
"…Actually," Naruto had no choice but to partially confess, "that's not about my friend… it's about me. Um… sorry I lied to you, Sakura. But I will absolutely not use your method; that's really too much. If I said those kinds of things to that girl, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life."
"…Tsk."
Sakura clicked her tongue in displeasure. Naruto not adopting her "killer plan" made her feel a bit frustrated. Moreover, with her understanding of Naruto, his gentle nature would most likely only use those ineffective, vague "tactful rejections," which would never make that "bold and clingy" girl give up!
She couldn't just leave obediently; she had to supervise until the end!
"I already figured that out!" Sakura said grumpily.
"Huh? F-Figured it out?"
"Why are you making such a strange face? If you're going to lie, at least think about whether any of your so-called 'male friends' might have girls doing those 'cheesy and strange' things you mentioned to them?! You could figure out it's impossible with your knees!"
"That's a bit too much to say…" Naruto subconsciously defended his companions, although he knew in his heart that Sakura seemed to be… somewhat right?
"The problem isn't there at all!"
Sakura tried to pull the derailed conversation back. "Listen, Naruto! Using those half-hearted, tactful rejections will absolutely not make that girl give up! It will only make her think she still has a chance and cling to you even more! If you want to completely draw a line with her and make her never bother you again, you must follow what I said and use the most direct, cruel words to completely shatter her fantasies!"
Satsuki, hiding behind, clenched her teeth, grinding them. Draw a line? Forehead… when I get out, I'll draw a line with you first!
However, Naruto's next words made both girls freeze.
"…I… I wasn't going to draw a line with that girl." Naruto said in a very natural tone. He just hoped the other party could return to normal and stop doing those "strange actions" that bothered him; he never thought of completely severing ties or hurting the other party.
"Wh—What?!" Sakura was completely shocked by this sentence, her voice suddenly rising several octaves!
This, this means… could Naruto… have been captured by that unknown girl with strange methods?! He actually didn't want to draw a line with her?!
Although she didn't know why, the lingering cold feeling seemed to suddenly lessen a bit, but Sakura had no time to pay attention to that now.
She absolutely couldn't let Naruto be seduced by a "wildflower"! It seemed… she had to clarify some things first! For Satsuki! And also so Naruto wouldn't "go astray"!
"Naruto!" Sakura took a deep breath, her expression becoming unusually serious. She stared intently into Naruto's eyes. "Listen! Compared to that girl who appeared out of nowhere and acts strangely! There's a more important person… who has been waiting for your response!"
Seeing Naruto's stunned, completely unresponsive expression, Sakura shouted in exasperation, her voice echoing across the empty training ground.
"If you're going to respond to feelings! Isn't there someone who has always, always been by your side?! Compared to that inexplicable girl, are you going to betray Satsuki's feelings?!"
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