By the time Sakura returned to the riverbank, Naruto had already finished preparing several fish. Blood flowed freely into the river, drifting downstream without any attempt to hide it.
"You really caught fish? That fast?"
Sakura stared in astonishment. After placing the dry branches she had carried onto the ground, she walked toward Naruto.
"Yeah, just caught a few," Naruto replied without looking up. "We don't have enough salt, so we can't preserve meat. So…"
"Naruto, you're amazing," Sakura murmured.
"It's nothing special," Naruto said as he stood up. "Just practice. You get better with experience."
Then he added calmly,
"Don't sleep too deeply tonight. There'll be more fish taking the bait."
"Tonight? Fish?"
Sakura didn't fully understand what Naruto meant. But when she looked at the blood floating on the river's surface, goosebumps rose on her skin.
Blood would attract more predators. After nightfall, no one could predict what might happen.
With a whoosh, Naruto extended his hand toward a pile of dry grass and released a small amount of Lava Release, instantly igniting it with intense heat.
The sudden flames lit up the darkness.
The firelight eased Sakura's fear. She stood up, went to the river to fetch water, and after wetting a cloth, placed it gently on Sasuke's forehead.
Now, all that remained was to wait.
She glanced at Naruto.
Naruto had cleaned several sticks and was threading fish onto them, then setting up a simple rack over the fire.
"Let me help," Sakura said.
She stood and took one of the sticks with fish on it, carefully copying Naruto's movements as she placed it over the flames.
The firelight flickered across Sakura's dusty face. Her eyes seemed distant.
She was clearly thinking about everything that had happened earlier that day—fear and confusion visible in her gaze.
After a long silence, she lowered her head and asked softly,
"Naruto… why did Orochimaru attack Sasuke?"
"Who knows," Naruto replied casually. "Maybe he took a liking to Sasuke. He probably talked about power or something, right?"
"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "He did say something like that. He told Sasuke that if he ever wanted power, he could go find him."
"Well… there's nothing we can do about that," Naruto said as they grilled the fish side by side. "That guy Sasuke is obsessed with power. All he thinks about is revenge. Maybe Orochimaru's words really did get to him."
"Ah? Then what should we do?" Sakura panicked slightly. "Would Sasuke really do something like that?"
"I don't know," Naruto replied while turning the fish so it wouldn't burn. "You'll have to ask him yourself."
"Didn't he keep shouting about revenge before? Once hatred takes root, there's really no cure. It slowly drags a person deeper and deeper into the abyss."
"Unless…"
"Unless what?" Sakura quickly asked.
"Nothing." Naruto smiled faintly. "Unless the person dies. Then the hatred ends too."
What he actually wanted to say was: Unless Sasuke also gets his soul replaced like me.
If that happened, he'd probably be just like Naruto now. What past grudges or old dreams would matter then? Whoever bullied him now would get cut down immediately.
But Naruto had no intention of interfering with Sasuke's path of revenge.
Mind your own business and you'll live longer.
As for what would happen to the world later… that could be dealt with later.
Night gradually fell, and the forest became almost completely dark.
By the campfire, Naruto handed a roasted fish sprinkled with salt to Sakura.
"Try it."
"Thank you."
Sakura had been hungry all day. She took the fish and immediately bit into it.
"It's delicious."
Sasuke was still unconscious, but his condition seemed much better now. At least his breathing was steady.
Naruto glanced at the "second pillar" lying beside them and wondered if the kid would really lose to the curse mark.
Naruto and Sakura each ate two fish, leaving the remaining two for the still-unconscious Sasuke.
After eating their fill, the two began discussing their next move.
"The Heaven Scroll was taken by Orochimaru," Sakura said worriedly. "Now we'd have to defeat two teams just to advance. And Sasuke is still unconscious…"
"Oh, that?" Naruto said casually.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out both the Heaven and Earth scrolls, handing them to Sakura.
"Here. I grabbed them."
"Ah?" Sakura was completely stunned. "Naruto… how did you get two scrolls by yourself?"
"On my way to deal with those Sound ninjas, I ran into a team from the Grass Village," Naruto said, scratching his head. "They happened to be carrying the Heaven Scroll. I didn't really want to keep it, but after thinking about it for a moment I took it anyway. Turns out it's useful now."
"That's amazing, Naruto!"
Overcome with excitement, Sakura suddenly hugged him.
—
Not far away.
The Ino–Shika–Cho trio were hiding in the trees, watching the campfire from a distance.
Shikamaru formed a makeshift telescope with his hands while staring toward the fire.
"What are those guys doing?" he muttered. "Lighting a fire in the forest in the middle of the night? That's just asking to get noticed."
"That's near the river, right?" Ino said with her arms crossed. "Maybe they lost their soldier pills and are cooking whatever they hunted."
"Sasuke looks like he's asleep," Shikamaru said lazily. "But why is Naruto being hugged by Sakura? That guy's luck with girls is seriously enviable."
"What?! Hugged?!" Ino instantly lost her composure.
She quickly looked toward the firelight.
But there was nothing unusual. Naruto and Sakura were simply sitting by the fire talking.
"Ino, what's wrong with you?" Shikamaru asked.
"N-Nothing. I was just curious," Ino said with an awkward smile. "Doesn't Sakura only like Sasuke? There's no way she'd hug Naruto. You must've seen wrong."
"Yeah… that makes sense," Shikamaru scratched his head. "I guess I saw it wrong."
"But won't they run into trouble like that?" Choji added with narrowed eyes. "If they keep the fire going, other teams will definitely come. Should we warn them?"
"Too late," Shikamaru suddenly whispered.
"Hide. Someone's coming!"
The three of them immediately stiffened and quietly concealed themselves.
—
By the river, the campfire was almost burned out.
Sakura sat nearby, looking extremely tense. But she didn't make a sound, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep—just as Naruto had instructed.
Before long, three figures appeared in the river.
Moving almost silently, three Grass Village ninjas slowly approached the dying campfire.
Naruto was still poking the fire with a stick, looking completely unaware of the movement around him.
Seeing this, the Grass ninjas relaxed.
They exchanged signals.
Then suddenly—they attacked together.
But at the very last moment
Naruto's figure beside the fire vanished instantly.
"How is that possible?!"
The Grass ninja immediately realized something was wrong.
It was a trap.
But it was already too late.
Naruto suddenly appeared behind one of them.
A dazzling blue light burst forth.
A massive surge of lightning chakra was violently forced into the body of the Grass ninja.
A scream tore through the night, startling the birds in the forest.
(End of Chapter)
------------------
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