Chapter 60: Hinata Arrives Too
Uzumaki Naruto appeared, hands clasped behind his head, a frivolous smile on his face, as if he had come specifically to laugh at Sasuke. But his eyes kept glancing towards Sakura in the tree, a clear sign that he had followed her here.
Now Akiyama Makoto understood why he had come. Seeing Sakura and Sasuke leaving the village together, Naruto would have definitely followed them. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to sleep all night.
"Dead-last! Who do you think you're laughing at?"
Sasuke didn't dare talk back after being taught a lesson by Makoto, but he couldn't tolerate being mocked by Naruto. He scrambled to his feet, infused chakra into them, and in the next second, rushed in front of Naruto, throwing a punch at his face.
Although Sasuke hadn't completed his tree-climbing training, even being halfway through was a much greater improvement than when he was fumbling on his own. He was now nearly twice as fast as before. Naruto, who was already far weaker than him, naturally had no way of blocking the punch. He shrieked and stumbled backward, tripping over a tree root and falling on his butt.
"Wait, Sasuke!"
Ino's voice only now rang out. She was worried Sasuke would knock Naruto out and send him to the hospital. The others present didn't know Naruto's identity, but she knew it all too well. Although it seemed the whole village hated him, he was the single most important person in Konoha, and couldn't be allowed to suffer any harm.
"Hmph. I wouldn't waste my stamina teaching a lesson to a dead-last like this."
Sasuke retracted his fist. He hadn't intended to hurt Naruto in the first place, only to scare him off. In the few days he had been training with Makoto, although he was still very unconvinced by him, he had indeed learned to restrain his temper. If one had to show respect to the strong, then one should naturally show some magnanimity to the weak.
Sasuke turned around coolly, and for a moment, he seemed to have regained some of the charisma he had as the school's most popular boy.
However, this only provoked Naruto further.
Not only had he been scared into shrieking in front of Sakura, but he had also been treated as a weakling by Sasuke. He could accept that no one liked him, but he would absolutely not allow anyone to look down on him.
"You! Stop right there! I'm going to fight you!"
Naruto charged at Sasuke. This time, Sasuke didn't hold back, directly flipping him over and pinning him to the ground. The move looked exactly like the one Makoto had used on him earlier.
"Dead-last, next time I won't hold back."
"Who asked you to hold back?! You don't even have the guts to hit someone, you Uchiha idiot!"
Ino and Sakura also jumped down from the tree and came over to Makoto's side.
"What should we do? Should we intervene?" Ino was still worried that Naruto getting hurt would bring trouble upon them.
At this moment, Sakura rolled up her sleeves. "Let me handle it. That jerk Naruto is just too ill-mannered..."
She was about to say more, but Makoto suddenly put his arm around her shoulder.
Sakura was startled. She was about to ask what he was doing when she saw him lower his head towards her, his mouth almost touching her earlobe.
She was instantly petrified. Just as her face was about to heat up, his cool voice sounded in her ear. "Sakura, don't casually say someone is ill-mannered, especially when they're an orphan."
Makoto remembered this as one of Sakura's biggest character flaws. Now that she was his simulation target, he wanted to make her image a little more perfect.
"It's not just Naruto. Sasuke and I are orphans too. Many people in Konoha are."
Sakura felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, and she froze on the spot. She had indeed had that impulsive thought just now. Thinking back, if she had accidentally said it out loud, wouldn't she have hurt three people at once? In that moment, she hated her own mouth more than anything and even wanted to slap herself.
But Ino grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Don't worry," she said with a gentle smile. "He's not angry either. Otherwise, why would he have stopped you in advance?"
"Mm..."
Sakura nodded and looked gratefully at Makoto's back. He had saved her again. Before, he had saved her life; now, he had saved her character.
Makoto watched Sasuke and Naruto bickering, thinking about how to handle Naruto. Theoretically, he should be indifferent or even hostile towards him like the other villagers. Otherwise, he would attract the wariness of Hiruzen and Danzō. However, he was also considering the problem of Team 7's future unity. He himself didn't need to be on good terms with Naruto, but Sasuke, at the very least, needed to maintain a friendly relationship with him.
So what should he do... He looked at Sakura behind him and beckoned to her.
Sakura, still immersed in her grateful feelings, immediately came over, looking at him with affection in her eyes. "Makoto-kun, what is it?"
He put his arm around her shoulder again and pointed at Naruto with a frivolous air. "Who's this yellow-haired fox-like guy?"
Hearing this, Naruto's hackles were instantly raised. "I'm not a yellow-haired fox! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And who are you, you grey-haired, pale-skinned monster? I've never seen you before! Also, let go of Sakura, you bastard!"
"Sakura and I are friends. She doesn't mind this kind of contact, right, Sakura?"
Makoto winked at her, and she immediately understood. Although she didn't know why he wanted to provoke Naruto, this kind of thing... she was ashamed to admit, she was very good at it. After all, she and Ino had been at each other's throats for years, and she had mocked Naruto more than once in the past.
Sakura simply leaned against him and said in a saccharine voice, "He's the dead-last of our class. Someone with almost no talent who's always talking big."
"Makoto-kun, let's just ignore him. How about you teach us water walking?"
"I don't want him to see me all wet."
"Alright. Sasuke, get rid of him. If you can't even handle him, don't bother training with me in the future."
Makoto waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave with Sakura.
Naruto practically ground his teeth to dust. He couldn't break free from Sasuke's hold and finally couldn't help but shout, "Sasuke, why are you learning from an arrogant guy like him?! Can't you see he's bullying Sakura?"
Sasuke pursed his lips. If this was bullying Sakura, then what did it count as when Tenten came out of his room? This guy really was still a kid.
Seeing Makoto walk away, he released Naruto. "It's simple. Because he's strong. Just like how I'm stronger than you, so I can pin you down."
"Uzumaki Naruto, no one cares what a weakling says. Go back to Konoha and play your pranks."
"Of course, you can also try to challenge me. I happen to be in need of a punching bag right now."
Sasuke stretched his muscles. Seeing Naruto standing there motionless, he shook his head in disappointment. He then returned to the large tree and began his tree-climbing training.
Naruto was clearly provoked. His anger made him want to punch Sasuke, but he knew he was no match for him. He was soon captivated by the sight of Sasuke repeatedly falling from the tree. This time, he didn't dare to laugh at him. Before long, he had found a tree and started to copy him, although he didn't even know why he was doing it.
On the other side, just as Makoto was about to lead the two girls to the river for water-walking practice, he sensed another strong chakra signature approaching, heading straight for him.
He turned his head and saw a pair of white eyes.
Why was Hinata here too?
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