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The art store in Konoha was living through a heavy silence, as the scenes of Chapter 53 had stirred a great many conflicting emotions in the hearts of its readers.
Whether they were fans of certain characters, members of the singles shinobi community, or village leaders concerned with political affairs and the manga's implications for their villages.
…
[— Manga Scene —]
"Air pressure…"
'He blasted back my shuriken!?' Zaku's wind force pushed everything before it like an invisible wall. Sakura stood at the center, having lost nearly all her options, surrounded by three ninja from Otogakure.
She knew nothing about them except that they wanted to hurt her comrades.
"Oww!!" The pain came from above. Kin's fingers seized her long pink hair with ruthless force.
"Much more luster than me… This… Pft… Trying to be a sexy ninja?" Kin's words were like blades, not because they were true, but because they touched a fear that had lived inside Sakura since the Academy: that she wasn't enough. That she existed to be protected, not to protect.
"If you have time to treat your hair, then train, you female swine…"
"Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy in front of this boy chaser's eyes. Let's teach this one a lesson."
"Ah, good idea."
Sakura's heart froze. Not from fear for herself this time.
"Don't move!!" Kin's grip tightened further. The pain was real, but Sakura had stopped feeling it much. Something else occupied her mind.
"Ugh!"
'I can't feel my body… I am still just getting in the way… always being protected… I can't stand it…' Tears. Not tears of weakness this time, but tears of anger. The difference was small, yet immense.
'This time… I thought that I had to protect those that are important to me…'
"So let's do it… hehe…" Zaku walked toward Sasuke. Each step is heavier than the last.
The curse mark on Sasuke's neck blazed with invisible chakra, faint violet pulses piercing through his skin.
"Hey!! Sasuke and Naruto are in trouble!!" Shikamaru shouted from behind.
'Wh… What should I do?!!' Ino's heart was pounding.
Sakura grabbed her kunai.
"Useless. That won't work against me."
"What're you talking about?" Something changed in Sakura's face. The look of helplessness that had been there moments ago was gone.
And in the next instant, strands of long pink hair scattered through the air, Kin stared at what she held in her hand: locks of hair that no longer belonged to anyone.
[— End Scene —]
"She… she cut her hair…"
Mebuki whispered in a choked, disbelieving voice, unable to accept that Sakura, who had been falling apart just moments ago, waiting for a miracle or for Sasuke or Naruto to wake up and save her, would suddenly cut her own hair to break free from her enemy's grip.
"No, she didn't cut her hair just to slip out of the enemy's hold. She cut it to free herself from her old, weak self…"
A small tear appeared at the corner of Mebuki's eye as she said it, her face wearing a smile.
For some reason, Mebuki felt that Sakura had made a difficult decision with complete ease. She didn't know why, but she felt that Sakura was more than just a character in a manga; she meant far more to her than that.
She looked toward the young man sitting beside her, who wore the same complicated expression on his face.
Haruno Kizashi. This young man shared Sakura's family name and had the same pink hair and green eyes; in other words, he looked like a male version of Sakura.
Over the past months, she had found herself growing closer to him. She found herself feeling at ease beside him, especially when they read the manga together, and in particular, more than anything, she found herself wanting to embrace him whenever something difficult happened to Sakura.
Like now…
Kizashi felt her gaze. A gentle smile formed on his face as he reached over and wiped away her small tear. "It's alright. If she cut her hair now, it can grow back later, but this kind of resolve isn't easily earned."
"I think she needed moments like these to find it…"
"The desire to protect her comrades, she might not get another chance like this. I don't see Sasuke and Naruto passing out very often in the future and falling into this pitiable state where they need Sakura to rescue them…"
Kizashi smiled with quiet contentment. For the first time, he truly felt satisfied with Sakura as a character. Though he'd never admitted it aloud, he had always felt a closeness to her, as if he were looking at a beloved little sister. Or more precisely, as if he were looking at a daughter.
'Is it possible that Sakura is my daughter, no, our daughter…?'
Lost in that thought, Kizashi found himself staring at Mebuki in quiet wonder.
Lately, he had been feeling something strange toward her. He loved sitting beside her, reading manga together, and going on countless dates.
She had already become a part of his daily routine, and he of hers.
The next chapter, Chapter 54, was the final chapter of the sixth volume.
Its scenes reflected in the eyes of both Mebuki and Kizashi, who felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
In that moment, both of them felt a strange sensation of detachment from reality.
The noise of the art store grew distant from their ears, replaced by the sound of rustling spring wind, birdsong, and, more than anything, the sound of shinobi combat.
Kizashi and Mebuki found themselves standing before the battlefield where the Otogakure's Three had the Seventh Team surrounded, and where Sakura had just cut her hair.
Somehow, they could hear her inner voice.
I always thought of myself as a proud ninja…
I always said I liked Sasuke-kun… I would lecture Naruto as if I were better than him.
They could even see themselves standing beside Sakura as she watched Sasuke and Naruto walking further ahead of her.
But all I did was watch you guys from behind.
Yet… They always fought to protect me.
Lee-san… You said you like me…
Both of them turned toward Rock Lee lying on the ground with complicated expressions. This boy had truly appeared out of nowhere to confess his feelings.
And with your back to me, you risked your life and fought.
I feel like I've learned from you… I want to become like you guys…
Everyone… This time… Get a good look at my back…
Both Kizashi and Mebuki stared at her back in awe, and they felt Ino's emotions as she witnessed this transformation, too.
In the next moment, that sensation of illusion vanished, and both of them returned to reality. The battle in the manga's pages had already begun and was raging in full.
…
"She's finally fighting like a shinobi…"
Hiruzen smiled with a look of quiet satisfaction on his face.
He had always loved watching remarkable shinobi who belonged to no clan, for those were the ones who would fight for Konoha and for the Will of Fire with everything they had.
"What a dull section, full of childish nonsense and sentimentality…"
Danzo closed the volume, which had ended with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji finally intervening, and rose to leave.
"The only truly interesting thing in this volume is that I learned your true nature…"
Saying that, Danzo glanced toward Orochimaru, who was also departing after his conversation with Rob.
"Watch your words, Danzo… That is my student you're speaking such nonsense about."
The Hokage stood as well, his voice firm.
"Don't overlook the facts, Hiruzen…"
Danzo scoffed before turning to walk out.
…
In the corner of the three clans, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Choza Akimichi, who had not stopped eating grilled meat since the session began, lifted a large piece into the air and said with sudden enthusiasm.
"Oh! Look! It seems they finally decided to stop hiding behind the bushes! Unfortunately, the chapter ended, and with it, the volume too."
He was referring to the scene of Team Ten's youngest members, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, finally emerging from behind their trees toward the battle, after so many dramatic scenes between Sakura and Ino from their childhood.
"I like Ino's character. Seems like she has no intention of losing to Sakura," Inoichi remarked with a faint smile, occasionally scanning the room with his eyes for that woman who resembled Ino.
Shikaku Nara, leaning on his palms with his usual laziness, let out a long sigh.
"What a headache… Fighting for someone else is the most complicated kind of fight there is."
"But you're pleased," said Hekitsu, seeing something in his son's eyes that rarely showed.
"Pleased?" Shikaku repeated the word.
"Perhaps. Shikamaru is learning today that running away isn't always the smartest choice. And that… that is the hardest lesson in the Nara clan's dictionary."
Hekitsu Nara, clan head, laughed loudly enough to fill the corner.
"Hahaha! What words, Shikaku! You're the man who disappears every time the Hokage comes looking for you! I remember last week when you hid behind the Kage faces mountain for three hours just to avoid a mission!"
"That wasn't hiding. That was… strategic contemplation."
Hearing that, Rob said nothing.
He was wiping a glass with a cloth, slowly and steadily, watching.
His lips carried a faint smile that most couldn't see, the kind that belongs to someone who sees something the others haven't noticed yet.
'Character development is the most fascinating thing in manga…' Rob thought.
The growth wasn't in cutting her hair or changing her clothes. It was in that moment that Sakura decided that her friends' lives were worth more than the image she had built of herself.
That… that deserves more than just a dramatic gesture.
He set the glass down on the counter.
Sakura, the one everyone mocked at the Academy, the girl they called big-forehead, low-chakra, too obsessed with Sasuke, is the first one to break her psychological chains in this forest. Before the clever Shikamaru. Before the haughty Ino. Before everyone.
...
'This manga really knows how to surprise you…'
Minato smiled as he closed the manga's pages. It wasn't a smile of contentment, because he was not content in the least with this small number of chapters each time.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 140: Reactions from the Great Villages. The End of Volume Six.
Chapter 141: The Sixth Level of the System! Another Art Store opened!
Chapter 142: Is Orochimaru the True Source of Concern?
Chapter 143: Naruto Vol. 7! The Volume Opens with a Shocking Event!
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