The evening sun dyed the entire forest in a warm, golden-red light, enveloping the two small figures. Their clothes were covered in dirt and leaves, and their faces were smudged with dust—the marks of falling from the trees time and time again.
On the two large trees before them, countless marks from kunai were etched into the bark. Each line recorded their progress, from only being able to climb to the middle of the trunk to now being able to nearly reach the top.
Through repeated practice, Naruto had taught Satsuki the trick that Sakura Haruno had mastered in the original story: maintain a calm state of mind and focus your spirit on the tree. Thanks to this, their progress was much faster than in the original, and unlike the members of Team 7, they didn't have to practice until dawn to master it.
Satsuki stood under the tree, her long black hair stuck to her cheeks with sweat. She felt the flow of chakra within her. After many attempts, she had finally found that subtle sense of balance.
Now!
Suppressing the joy in her heart, she forced herself to calm down. She focused her full attention on the tree trunk, feeling the delicate sensation of chakra flowing from the soles of her feet.
Tap, tap, tap.
With a series of light footsteps, Satsuki ran steadily up the vertical tree trunk. This time, her chakra control was smoother than ever before. Each step adhered perfectly to the bark without any waste.
When she leaped gracefully onto the highest branch, the setting sun cast its last rays on her small face. Satsuki looked down excitedly—she had succeeded!
Just then, a rustling sound came from the other tree. Satsuki turned to see Naruto also finishing the climb with clean movements, landing on an adjacent branch with a graceful flip. His golden hair shone in the sunset, and his blue eyes were filled with a smile.
Naruto had succeeded too, but Satsuki's first thought was that she had reached the top before him. This race was her victory!
"Hey! Naruto!" She turned, a brilliant smile blooming on her face. "I won this race! What do you think? See how amazing the Uchiha are?"
Naruto stood on the neighboring branch, looking at Satsuki's triumphant expression. She looked like a proud little kitten, her sparkling black eyes and unconcealed happiness revealing a childlike, pure joy.
You didn't see that kind of smile on the original Sasuke's face very often... a smile that bloomed from pure happiness.
Having held back a little, Naruto deliberately put on a look of chagrin. "As expected of an Uchiha genius. I lost this time."
Hearing this, the curve of Satsuki's lips widened even more.
"But~" Naruto's tone shifted. "Don't get too cocky. It was only by a little bit." He held up his thumb and index finger, showing a tiny gap. "Keep up that spirit, and be careful I don't surpass you."
"Of course! I'll always work hard! I'm going to surpass my sister and become a ninja the clan can be proud of!"
Listening to Satsuki's proud and naive voice, Naruto noticed a particular detail in her words... "sister."
What the... was Itachi gender-bent too? Naruto remembered now. When he first met Satsuki, she had indeed mentioned that this was her and her sister's training ground.
I hope there isn't a gender-bent Kakashi or a gender-bent Konoha 12 later on. But if Kakashi were a woman, would she have those kinds of feelings for Obito? I'd rather not see that.
Just then, Satsuki stood up unsteadily. Her face was pale from exhaustion, and her fingers gripped the tree trunk tightly. She clearly wanted to get down, but after an afternoon of high-intensity training, her legs had gone soft.
"Ah!"
A sudden cry cut through the quiet. Satsuki's foot slipped, and her whole body pitched forward. She instinctively tried to focus chakra to stick to the trunk, but in her panic, she couldn't control it precisely. Satsuki felt the world spin—she was falling!
Not good!
Naruto's body moved faster than his mind. He leaped into the air. During the descent, he precisely calculated the angle and speed, opening his arms to catch the falling figure.
Satsuki squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impending pain. But unexpectedly, she felt herself land in a safe embrace. Opening her eyes, she was met with Naruto's blue eyes, up close and filled with worry.
Naruto skillfully kicked off the tree trunk repeatedly, each contact precisely absorbing the force of the fall.
Phew—
With a final, light push, Naruto landed steadily on the ground. The leaves at his feet were kicked up by the airflow and then slowly drifted back down. He looked down at Satsuki in his arms and asked with concern, "That was close. Are you okay? Not hurt?"
Satsuki's face was almost buried in Naruto's collar, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz. "M-Mhm..."
Only then did she realize how embarrassing this position was—she was curled up in his arms like a frightened kitten.
Satsuki didn't know that while this method of rescue didn't have a special name in the ninja world, in another world, it had a very specific one—a "princess carry."
Naruto, too worried to notice, had unintentionally recreated his father's most classic rescue pose.
Hearing that Satsuki wasn't hurt, he breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully bent down and gently placed the girl, whose ear tips were bright red, back on the ground.
"Be more careful next time," Naruto said, patting Satsuki's shoulder. "If you really got hurt, your parents would definitely forbid you from coming to the training ground again."
The moment Satsuki's feet touched the ground, she stumbled slightly, quickly grabbing the rough tree trunk beside her for support.
She kept her head down, her long black hair falling forward to hide her flushed cheeks and ears. "Mhm... thanks..."
Only then did Naruto notice something was off with Satsuki. Is she... shy? Thinking back, the rescue had been a bit intimate.
But in his eyes, Satsuki was just a little girl who needed looking after; he had no other thoughts. If anything, it was his own child-sized body that he still wasn't quite used to sometimes.
"...Hey! Let's go to the river!" Satsuki suddenly shouted, as if to break the awkward atmosphere. "Since training is over, it's time to test our results!"
She hurriedly turned and ran towards the river, her long black hair streaming behind her, her steps still a little unsteady.
Naruto smiled and followed, watching the small figure ahead.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (330 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (130 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (140 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (330 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (160 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (170 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (90 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (130 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (140 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (140 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (140 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (110 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (120 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (70 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.