Chapter 50: A Dizzying Scent
The next second, Sakura lost her reason. With a roar, she threw a punch straight at Akiyama Makoto's head. It had to be said that although Sakura's strength was lacking at this point, her violent temperament was already on full display.
Unfortunately, Makoto was not Naruto; he wasn't going to deliberately let her hit him.
He raised a hand and caught her wrist, then with a flick, threw her back onto the bed. He then used the sash from his own kimono to tie her up like a rice dumpling.
Sakura struggled, hopping a few times, and finally bumped her head on the headboard. The dizziness finally allowed her to calm down a little.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I tied up?
Faced with life's three great questions, Sakura struggled to sit up. She looked at Makoto, then at her surroundings, and finally spoke. "Makoto, am I okay?"
"If you're referring to your injuries, then fortunately, I didn't fail. It seems I have a decent talent for medical ninjutsu. I've healed your wounds."
Sakura once again carefully assessed her own body. After confirming that there was no burning pain anywhere, she finally let out a smile of relief. But looking at her current trussed-up state, she said with a mix of shame and annoyance, "Can you untie me first?"
"You have to promise not to hit me again."
"I won't! I was just scared from a nightmare..."
Sakura gave an excuse that even she didn't believe. She knew very well it was because he had seen her body, and the shame had short-circuited her brain. However, the thought that his role just now was essentially that of a doctor made her feel a little less embarrassed... not.
With his outer kimono gone, leaving only his undershirt, a large expanse of his neck was exposed, revealing the faint outline of his well-defined collarbones. How could Sakura possibly control herself? At least for now, the Makoto in her eyes was far more handsome than Sasuke.
As for Sasuke, the thought of his somewhat crazed behavior just now still made her feel a faint sense of fear. Even though he was still as handsome as ever, a person who would casually harm a woman was beyond the limits of what she could tolerate.
The current Sakura was not yet Sasuke's teammate. Her tolerance for him was naturally not as high, and she certainly didn't have the thought of sacrificing herself to pull him back to the right path. Staying away was the most normal course of action.
Of course, without further outside intervention, if she still ended up on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke in the future, she would probably return to her original life trajectory. But right now, she was facing Akiyama Makoto, and he was not one to waste the opportunity Sasuke had created for him today.
Makoto untied the sash. Sakura finally breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped his kimono around herself.
"Thank you," she said, her voice a little low. "I'll find a way to repay you later. And as for your kimono, I'll return it to you after I've washed it. For now, let me just borrow it."
In her mind, he would probably say "you're welcome," or some other polite phrase telling her not to worry about it. But his next words were completely beyond her expectations.
"No, I should be the one thanking you. You protected me."
Sakura looked at him, stunned, then laughed self-deprecatingly. "You're just saying that to get me to give up on repaying you, right?"
"It's a nice thought, but don't use such a clumsy excuse."
"You're stronger than me. At that time, I just rushed in without thinking and grabbed you. I probably just caused you more trouble, didn't I?"
"You could have dodged it easily, and I wouldn't have gotten hurt. I'm the one who messed everything up. I..."
Sakura's voice grew smaller and smaller, eventually trailing off. She didn't say the words "I'm useless," although she had already confirmed it in her heart. She had no special talent and was weak. She had been an insecure child, and it was Ino who had helped her find her initial confidence. With graduation approaching, the thought of having to kill as a ninja left her completely without courage. She had no idea what strength she possessed that could be used for fighting.
Akiyama Makoto knew the reason for her dejection all too well. It was the same reason she was disliked by some: as a civilian-born girl, her strength couldn't keep up with Sasuke and Naruto, and the help she could provide them was minimal. In a sense, she was even a troublemaker and a burden—in his past life, Makoto had held a similar view.
But in this life, he had been a low-level nobody in Konoha and had almost died in obscurity. Therefore, he now completely understood her feeling of powerlessness, of trying so hard to do something but lacking the strength to back it up.
In this context, for the weaker Sakura to still want to step forward and protect the stronger one—was it an absurd, comical joke? From the perspective of mission efficiency, it clearly was.
But putting himself in her shoes, if he had to choose a teammate, he would rather choose Sakura than a strong person who didn't treat their teammates as human and might even backstab them at any moment. Of course, if the teammate was a smart person who could rationally assess the situation, provide timely support, and retreat when necessary, that would be for the best. However, he had played MOBA games in his past life and knew how rare such a god-tier support was.
He was not a ninja, let alone a member of the legendary Team 7. He would not hold Sakura to such a standard.
And so, he spoke. "Strength and weakness are only temporary. Even the strong have times when they are injured and weak. At a time like that, would anyone reject a teammate with as much courage as you?"
"You just lack experience and strength; you don't know when to show that courage."
"Strength can be improved, but the courage to protect others is something you're born with. Many extremely strong people go their whole lives without ever having it."
His words were sincere and reasonable. Sakura looked at him in surprise, not expecting to experience such a profound sense of understanding and validation from a boy she had just met today. In the past, this kind of thing had only ever happened with Ino.
Sakura immediately felt her blood begin to race. Under the kimono, her bare feet secretly rubbed against each other, and her hands nervously squeezed her thighs. She wanted to tell herself that he was the boy Ino liked, that she couldn't compete with her for another handsome boy...
But at that moment, Makoto's next words made her lose control all over again.
"While Ino isn't here yet, let me help you trim your hair."
"What a pity. I still think girls with long hair are prettier..."
Makoto took out a kunai and moved behind her. It wasn't just her clothes and back that had been burned, but also her long hair, which was now uneven, singed, and full of split ends.
Seeing that she didn't refuse, he began to tidy her hair. She didn't snap out of it until a mirror was placed in front of her.
Looking at her youthful and cute reflection, and then at his smiling face behind her, Sakura slowly pulled her head into the kimono, not daring to say another word. But she immediately regretted this action, because this was his kimono, and it seemed to be filled with his scent.
Sakura felt her head beginning to spin again.
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