"Evil Uchiha? Which Uchiha did you run into? The one wearing a mask?" Naruto was a little stunned and put down the glass in his hand.
"Mask?" Kurama skillfully popped open a bottle with his claws, "No mask. He's already gone anyway. Such bad luck, bumping into that Uchiha brat as soon as I left the village."
Upon hearing this, Naruto's eyelid twitched slightly, 'Had Sasuke already taken out Uchiha Itachi? Such an epic battle, and I hadn't been a part of it? What a shame.'
While Naruto was still caught in his thoughts, Kurama had already downed two bottles of alcohol, looking completely disheveled, as if it had been rolling around in the mud.
"Are you injured?" Naruto suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Kurama was startled, then put down the bottle, and stared at Naruto in suspicion, "You are not that brat! Who the heck are you?"
"Don't misunderstand, I just want to know how strong Sasuke is now." Naruto replied, sounding slightly dismissive.
Upon hearing this, Kurama was speechless, 'As expected…'
"I'm not injured." I'm replied grumpily.
"Sasuke isn't that impressive then, if he can't even beat you. Has he wasted all these years?" Naruto muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief as he walked away.
Kurama stood there, feeling like he had just been insulted twice.
'I didn't hear wrong, right?'
Behind the door, Sakura was nervously pressed against it, eavesdropping on the conversation between Naruto and Kurama in the living room, her heart racing, 'From their talk, it seemed like there was news about Sasuke.'
Before she could hear more clearly, there was a knock on the door.
"Sakura, are you up?" Naruto's voice came from the other side of the door. He had no intention of hiding this matter from Sakura at all. After all, he'd spent a lot of times with Dark Sakura, and there wasn't much left to keep secret.
Besides, Sasuke wasn't interested in women right now. Unlike Naruto, who was sociable, Sasuke only cared about revenge.
If it were someone else, Naruto might be worried, but if it was Sasuke… 'Well, if not for plot reasons, Sasuke would likely end up just like Uchiha Itachi.'
Carrying all burdens alone, driven only by revenge and the search for the meaning of life. Whether it was revenge or just finding a reason to live, Sasuke was destined to walk that path alone. Everyone else could have a happy ending… except for him.
In the end, Sakura was just a one-sided admirer. Now, with that body being occupied by another personality, and by sheer coincidence, Naruto had managed to enter her life intimately. (The metaphor used here evolves from a shallow comparison to a deep one, achieving a high level of sophistication.)
It was all a misunderstanding, but there was no turning back now. So, Naruto decided to be unusually honest, ready to shatter Sakura's naive perspective with the truth.
The best way to break someone's romantic illusions is to have their crush slap them across the face, so that they sealed their heart away in concrete.
However, Naruto had an even crueler plan in mind. It was so sneaky that he feared it might cost him some karma, so, he'd have to disguise himself as Sasuke to pull it off.
Sakura was startled by the knock and, hearing Naruto's voice, froze for a moment before stammering a response.
"I-I'm up! I just... haven't put on clothes yet."
'No clothes?' Naruto was slightly stunned, 'Was she trying to hint at something? Did she think I had no self-control? How ridiculous.'
'I've already parked in the underground garage, how can I still do such a ridiculous thing as breaking in?'
"No problem. Get dressed first, I'm not in a hurry."
Inside, Sakura's body trembled. The more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong, 'Why did his words sound so strange? It was just an excuse I'd made up.'
After a half-minute pause, Sakura opened the door and walked out, only to see Naruto bringing breakfast from the kitchen. Seeing her come out, he said, "Once you've freshened up, have breakfast. I've got some things to take care of, so I'm heading out first."
In the bathroom, Sakura was brushing her teeth in front of the mirror when she heard the door slam shut. She couldn't help but feel a little strange, 'Naruto didn't seem to have changed much.'
He hadn't pressured her or forced her to do anything she didn't want to do, and he completely respected her choice. His casual words, devoid of any awkwardness, only made her feel a little guilty.
'Maybe I shouldn't have eavesdropped.'
By now, Naruto was already out enjoying his day. He knew Pink Sakura couldn't let go of Sasuke, but as the saying goes, the person you can't let go of is already in someone else's hands.
Though crude, the logic behind it was sound. While it seemed a bit off in this context, Pink Sakura's infatuation was bound to be met with a harsh reality check. Naruto didn't feel anything for her and certainly wasn't about to dwell on it.
To him, Pink Sakura was at best a companion who had strayed halfway, just like Sasuke. If they couldn't share hardships, there was no deep bond between them. He'd done all he could.
To expect him to play the role of a sacrificial lamb and fulfill her romantic fantasies? Dream on!
…
"Can the Caged Bird really be removed?" The girl from the branch family looked at Naruto with doubt, her gaze sweeping over him several times. It was clear that she was a little afraid of Naruto.
If it weren't for Neji standing beside him, she probably would've run away by now.
There was no helping it. Naruto's fearsome reputation in Konoha was well known. The influential figures backing him alone were enough to make people wary of him. Calling him one of the village's top second-generation elites wouldn't be an exaggeration, as he often relied on his connections to assert his dominance.
Only those girls who were equally privileged saw him through rose-tinted glasses. Anyone who wasn't close to him was terrified at the sight of him.
This guy was too arrogant and held grudges.
"Can't you just try and see for yourself? You're so young, so why are you so afraid of death?" Naruto said impatiently with his hands folded.
"I'll die?" The girl's face turned deathly.
"Of course not! You're overthinking it. That's your own assumption and it has nothing to do with me." Naruto quickly denied it, distancing himself completely.
Neji, who had been watching from the side, couldn't take it anymore and interrupted, "Naruto, stop scaring her."
"Hehe, I was just trying to lighten the tense atmosphere a bit." Naruto grinned, backing off slightly. He didn't want to scare her so badly that she'd refuse to try, as it would all be for nothing then.
The branch family girl, trembling like a frightened mouse, felt as if she were being toyed with by a great demon, only able to whimper helplessly under the sound of his sinister laughter.
"Don't worry," Neji reassured her gently, "He has a deep understanding of Sealing Techniques. Nothing will go wrong." The girl from the branch family seemed to admire Neji very much, so after hearing this, she nodded determinedly while biting her lip.
"Alright then, let's get started and remove the seal quickly." Naruto said, flexing his wrists as he urged them to begin.
The girl slowly removed the bandage from her forehead, revealing the ugly, greenish Caged Bird imprint. Feeling a bit self-conscious, she instinctively took a step back.
Neji placed a hand on her shoulder to offer encouragement.
Naruto, however, completely ignored this and didn't even glance at her. To the girl's surprise, despite his sharp tongue, Naruto's movements were swift and efficient. He quickly placed his hand over the Caged Bird on her forehead.
A stream of Chakra flowed into her forehead, and eight seconds later, she felt a sudden, sharp pain, as if her brain had been pricked by a needle. After the brief pain, the veins around her eyes bulged, and her Byakugan activated involuntarily.
At that same moment, the Caged Bird vanished, accompanied by a faint sound of shattering in her mind… it was over in an instant.
The girl from the branch family stood frozen for a moment, then instinctively turned to look at Neji. It was obvious that she trusted and admired the genius of the branch family, Neji, more than Naruto.
"Did it work?" She asked.