Chapter 65: Who Would Dare to Marry Her?
Konoha Hospital in the afternoon.
Uchiha Sasuke snapped his eyes open, his breathing becoming rapid. Having been unconscious for too long, his physical weakness made him feel a bit dizzy. Just then, a low-voiced chatter drifted in from the hallway.
"Have you heard? That Uzumaki Naruto really outdid himself this time!"
"Yeah, yeah, he brought back one of the legendary Sannin, the new Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade!"
"That's not all! I heard he even drove away Orochimaru's right-hand man... I never would have guessed that dead last could be so powerful."
Crack. The metal railing of the hospital bed was crushed out of shape by Sasuke's grip.
Naruto again.
He just couldn't escape that name.
Sasuke's heart felt as if it were being gnawed at. He had trained desperately, yet here he was lying like a cripple, while that dead last... was already fighting against the Sannin?
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Sasuke threw off the covers, not even bothering to put on shoes as he rushed out of the hospital room barefoot.
Meanwhile, on the hospital rooftop.
Naruto was rubbing his still-aching shoulder, leaning against the railing and catching the breeze with a look of misfortune on his face.
Just moments ago, he had been pinned to a desk and given a harsh treatment by Tsunade, under the pretext that "as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he needed a full physical examination."
[Tsk, violent old hag. Physical exam my foot, she's clearly settling a personal score! So what if I looked a little too closely while I was at it, and happened to suggest reinforcing the buttons on her Hokage robe that's about to burst? Was it really necessary to poke my kidney with that monstrously strong finger?]
[Medical Ninjas these days really have no medical ethics. Unlike Sister Shizune; although she's been looking at me strangely lately, always covering her skirt with one hand while holding a needle in the other, at least she's much gentler...]
Just as Naruto was mentally comparing the service attitudes of Konoha's two great beauties, the iron door to the rooftop was kicked open.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
A low growl filled with chill rang out.
Naruto turned back to see Sasuke standing at the door in hospital pajamas, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning, his whole body radiating a dangerous aura.
"Yo, if it isn't Two-Pillar?" Naruto yawned, giving an extremely perfunctory wave. "Awake? Then hurry up and go get some sun to supplement your calcium. Don't block me while I'm contemplating life."
The veins on Sasuke's temple throbbed. This kind of disregard was harder for him to bear than mockery.
"Cut the crap! Naruto, fight me!"
"Huh?" Naruto looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Are you sick? You just got out of the hospital and you want to go right back in? Besides, fighting is so boring. If you have this much energy, why don't you think about how to please Sakura? Look at you, you're so handsome, yet Sakura still has her first kiss. You're a failure as a man."
"Shut up!"
Sasuke was infuriated. Since you won't make a move, I'll force you to!
Piercing electric light flared in Sasuke's left hand—it was Chidori. The lightning illuminated the rooftop floor until it was white.
Without hesitation and carrying murderous intent, Sasuke charged straight at Naruto.
Watching Sasuke charge, Naruto sighed helplessly and slowly raised his right hand.
[Sigh, no progress at all. This Chidori move makes a lot of noise and is flashy enough, but it can only go in a straight line. Isn't that just making yourself a target? What's so good about it?]
[Flashy but impractical. A true Ninjutsu should be like my ball—round, low-profile, and rich in substance. Not only can it hit people, but it can also be used as a portable fan or stuck into water as a high-power mixer for making juice. This is the art of living.]
Vroom.
Without any extra movement, a blue Chakrasphere appeared in Naruto's palm. The powerful force of the Rasengan caused the surrounding air to distort slightly.
"Come on, let's wake you up."
The two charged at each other, lightning and storm about to collide.
"Stop!"
A cry filled with a sob suddenly rang out.
A pink figure rushed in without slowing down at all, much to their surprise.
It was Sakura!
According to the original script, she should have been standing to the side, crying helplessly and begging them to stop.
But at this moment, as Sakura sprinted, Naruto's annoying inner thoughts from earlier echoed in her mind.
—"Sakura still has her first kiss. You're a failure as a man."
—"A true Ninjutsu is the art of living."
"Who... who cares about things like a first kiss! You two big idiots!" Sakura's eyes were filled with tears, but her gaze had become fierce.
She would no longer be the ornament who could only watch their backs and cry! Whether it was Naruto's "prophecies" or those nonsensical teases, she was fed up with the feeling of only being protected!
She was going to stop them!
[Ding!]
[Sakura Haruno (Female): Intense unwillingness and the will to protect bonds have broken through the final line of self-doubt. The Inner Sakura, long influenced by Naruto's inner thoughts, has taken full control of the body.]
[System Special Reward Triggered: Strength of a Hundred Seal · Byakugō Seal · Trace Accumulation (Early Activation)! Monstrous Strength Eruption!]
At the very instant Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan were about to crush Sakura between them.
"Both of you... enough is enough!"
Sakura let out a roar as pale purple Chakrapatterns appeared on her slender arms. Instead of dodging, she actually reached out both hands, one to the left and one to the right, and forcefully pressed against the Chidori and the Rasengan!
"Sakura?!" Naruto was shocked; it was too late to pull back his strength.
"Are you trying to die?!" Sasuke's pupils constricted.
Boom—!
A massive explosion rang out on the rooftop. Dust rose everywhere, and the hospital's water tank buzzed from the vibration.
When the smoke cleared.
The expected bloody scene did not appear.
Sasuke and Naruto were actually forced back several meters, their soles carving two deep grooves into the ground.
And at the center of the explosion, Sakura was half-kneeling on the ground, her hands still in a pushing-outward posture. Her sleeves had been shredded, revealing arms covered in abrasions, but her eyes were terrifyingly bright. Although she had been injured by the Chakra collision at that moment, she had indeed... by her own power, suppressed these two monsters!
The scene was dead silent.
Even Kakashi, who had rushed to the scene, was perched on a distant water tank, his exposed dead-fish eye full of shock, forgetting to jump down.
Naruto's eyes widened. Looking at the currently disheveled but aura-exploding Sakura, the wisecracks in his heart could no longer be suppressed and were broadcast across all frequencies via the heavenly curtain.
[Holy crap?!]
[Is this still that Broad Forehead? That burst of power just now... that feeling was even a little bit more intense than that monstrously strong dinosaur, Granny Tsunade!]
[Could this be the legendary 'looks like a Bronze, but is actually a King'? With a punch like that, who would dare to marry her in the future? If they had a fight after marriage, wouldn't he be punched into the dirt to serve as fertilizer?]
[But... to be fair, in that explosive moment, even though this girl is usually plain, this kind of violent aesthetic of risking her life for her comrades... is actually kind of damn attractive? This wild contrast, tsk tsk. Sasuke, if you don't want her, I might consider adding a violent enforcer position to my Harem.]
Sakura, who had been trembling slightly from blocking the strike, heard the "violent enforcer" and "punched into the dirt after marriage" comments. Her touched tears were instantly sucked back in, and the veins on her forehead bulged again.
Uzumaki Naruto! I'm in this state and you're still thinking about stuff like that?!
On the other side.
Sasuke stared blankly at his left hand; the Chidori's lightning was gone.
He looked again at Sakura, who was kneeling and panting heavily, and at Naruto, who was unharmed and even in the mood to make strange faces.
Even Sakura... Even Sakura, who had always followed behind him and only needed his protection, could now block his Chidori with Taijutsu?
Sasuke's eyes went completely dark, his mind a total blank.
What kind of house-playing game am I... even playing in Konoha?
"Heh... hehe..."
Sasuke let out a cold laugh without sparing anyone another glance. He turned around and walked toward the rooftop exit like a walking corpse. His back looked more lonely than ever.
Naruto watched Sasuke leave, the playful grin on his face slowly fading.
[Sigh, broken already? You're too fragile, Two-Pillar. But it's no wonder. In the current Team 7, there really doesn't seem to be a place for you anymore... It looks like you'll inevitably have to go to Orochimaru's pyramid scheme organization specifically designed to trick edgy teenagers.]
[It's just a pity for Sakura's feelings... Hey, Broad Forehead, can you still get up? Do you want this great one to give you a princess carry and take you to the consultation room? Although you're a bit heavy, I'm not picky.]
Sakura bit her lip on the ground, and tears finally fell.
Not because of the pain, but because of Sasuke's cold gaze and the cruel future in Naruto's inner thoughts—"inevitably."
Is it true that even if everyone gets stronger, we still can't make him stay?