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*****
The next second, Sakura lost all reason, shouting furiously as she threw a punch at Ximen Zhen's head.
Though her current strength wasn't much, her violent temper was already on full display.
Unfortunately, Ximen Zhen wasn't Naruto—he wouldn't intentionally let her hit him just to be polite.
He raised his hand, grabbed Sakura's wrist, and with a twist, flipped her back onto the bed.
Then he used the sash from his kimono to tie Sakura up, bundling her like a rice dumpling.
Sakura struggled and bounced a few times, only to finally hit her head against the headboard. Dizzy and dazed, she then calmed down a little.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I tied up?
Faced with this existential crisis, Sakura sat up with difficulty, looked at Ximen Zhen, then glanced around the room before finally speaking: "Ximen… Am I okay now?"
"If you're asking about your injuries, I did my best. Turns out I have a decent talent for medical ninjutsu—I managed to heal your wounds."
Sakura checked her body carefully, and only when she felt no burning pain did she finally let out a relieved smile.
But looking down at her tightly bound body, she blushed and said with a hint of annoyance, "Can you untie me now?"
"Only if you promise not to hit me again."
"I won't! I was just startled by a nightmare just now…"
Even Sakura herself didn't believe that excuse. She knew perfectly well that she had lashed out because Ximen Zhen had seen her body—her brain had simply short-circuited from embarrassment.
Still, when she reminded herself that Ximen Zhen's role had essentially been that of a doctor, she felt… a little less embarrassed. Just kidding!
With only her undergarments left on, much of Ximen Zhen's neck was exposed, revealing his well-defined shoulder blades. This made it very hard for Sakura to keep her composure.
At least right now, Ximen Zhen looked way more handsome than Sasuke in her eyes.
As for Sasuke… thinking about his recent erratic behavior made Sakura feel a bit scared.
He might still be as handsome as ever, but someone who could casually hurt a girl had already crossed the line for Sakura.
Since she wasn't on the same team with Sasuke yet, she didn't feel any obligation to tolerate him—nor did she have that future devotion of "I'll bring him back no matter what."
Right now, staying away was the most sensible thing.
Of course, if nothing else intervened, and she eventually joined Naruto and Sasuke's team, she might still follow her original path in life.
But now she was facing Ximen Zhen—and Ximen Zhen wasn't going to let the opportunity Sasuke had just given him go to waste.
He untied the sash binding Sakura. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and wrap herself in his kimono.
"Thank you."
Sakura spoke in a low voice. "I'll find a way to repay you. As for your kimono, I'll return it once I've washed it. Let me borrow it for now, okay?"
She thought Ximen Zhen would respond with the usual polite phrases like, "No need," or "Don't worry about it."
But what he said next caught her completely off guard.
"No, I should be thanking you. You protected me."
Sakura looked at him in surprise, then gave a bitter, self-mocking smile. "Trying to use that as an excuse to stop me from repaying you? That's a pretty weak excuse, you know."
"You're stronger than me. Back then, I just rushed in without thinking and hugged you. I probably only made things worse, right?"
"You could've dodged the attack completely. I'm the one who messed everything up. I—"
Her voice got smaller and smaller, eventually fading away.
She didn't say the words "I'm useless," but she didn't need to. It was written all over her heart.
She had no special talent, weak strength, and had always been a self-conscious, insecure girl who only regained some confidence thanks to Ino.
Now, right before graduation, the thought of becoming a ninja and killing people had completely crushed her confidence. She had no idea what she could possibly offer in battle.
Ximen Zhen knew exactly what was weighing on her.
It was the same reason she wasn't well-liked: as someone from an ordinary background, Sakura couldn't keep up with Sasuke and Naruto. Her contributions to the team were practically negligible.
In fact, from a certain perspective, she was more of a burden or even a liability. That's what Ximen Zhen used to think in his past life, too.
But in this life, he'd been a bottom-tier grunt in Konoha, nearly dying in complete obscurity.
So now he fully understood the frustration of someone like Sakura, someone who tried their best but couldn't catch up due to lack of strength.
In that context, for someone like Sakura to still stand up and try to protect someone stronger than her—wasn't that a kind of absurd joke?
From a pure mission efficiency standpoint, absolutely.
But putting himself in her shoes, if Ximen Zhen had to choose a teammate, he'd rather have someone like Sakura—someone who still valued comrades—than a cold "strong" teammate who didn't care about others and might even betray him.
Of course, in an ideal world, a teammate would be someone rational, someone who could support and retreat strategically. That would be perfect.
But having played countless MOBA games in his past life, Ximen Zhen knew just how rare it was to find a dependable support like that—it was more luck than skill.
He wasn't a ninja, nor was he part of Team 7, so he had no reason to hold Sakura to such high standards.
So he said, "Strength is temporary. Even the strongest have times when they're hurt and vulnerable. And in those moments, who would reject a teammate as brave as you?"
"You just lack experience and power—you don't yet know when to show that courage."
"Strength can be trained, but the courage to protect others? That's innate. Plenty of powerful people go their whole lives without that kind of bravery."
Ximen Zhen's words were genuine and logical, and Sakura stared at him in shock. She never expected to receive such deep understanding and affirmation—from a boy she had just met today.
In the past, only Ino had ever made her feel this way.
Sakura felt her heart race, her bare feet quietly rubbing together under the kimono, her hands nervously gripping her thighs.
She told herself, Ximen Zhen is the boy Ino likes. I can't compete with Ino over guys anymore…
And just as she was desperately trying to control her emotions, Ximen Zhen said something that completely shattered her composure again.
"Before Ino gets here, let me trim your hair."
"It's a shame… I still think girls with long hair are prettier."
Ximen Zhen pulled out a kunai and walked behind Sakura.
Her clothes and back weren't the only things burned—her once long hair had been scorched into a frizzy, uneven mess.
Seeing that Sakura didn't object, Ximen Zhen got to work grooming her. It wasn't until he placed a mirror in front of her that she snapped out of her daze.
She looked at the youthful, cute girl in the mirror, then glanced at Ximen Zhen's smiling face behind her. Slowly, she buried her head into the kimono, too embarrassed to say another word.
But a second later, she regretted it.
Because this was his kimono.
And inside it… was his scent.
Sakura suddenly felt her head spinning all over again.
(End of Chapter)