"Please wait here for a few minutes."
With that, Naruto suddenly dashed off toward the village.
Sakura looked around and realized they had arrived at an open space inside the village, something like a small park. A few streetlamps stood nearby, and in the middle was a swing set. She sat down on one of the swings, gently rocking back and forth as her long, smooth legs swayed while she waited for Naruto.
After a while, he returned with a mischievous smile, holding a small black device in his hands.
"Is that… a radio?" Sakura asked curiously, studying the brick-like rectangular object.
Naruto placed it on the ground beside them. "Hey, before the Land of Waves mission, didn't we do D-rank missions all the time? Back then, when we were exhausted from training at night, we used this to sing."
He pressed the play button, and soft, soothing music flowed from the device. Naruto lightly tapped his toes, counting the rhythm as his body swayed gently with the beat.
Sakura immediately understood what he was getting at. Her eyes widened slightly. "You want to dance?"
"More precisely—dance," Naruto said with a small bow, extending his hand in invitation."Madam, may I have the honor of leading you into the world of the waltz?"
"Pfft~" Sakura laughed as she reached out and accepted his hand.
He gently placed one hand around Sakura's slender waist, holding her other hand with his free one. They moved closer, and he could faintly feel her breath.
"For a partner waltz, the most important thing is foot placement. First, watch my steps and follow the rhythm lightly."
He shifted slightly to the left; she followed. They turned gently, swaying forward and back. Suddenly, he raised their clasped hands. She understood at once—she spun gracefully, arms extended, then turned again. Their bodies drew close in an instant, arms tightly entwined.
"Oh no," Naruto chuckled. "I've run into a natural-born dancer."
Sakura giggled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. She no longer stared at her feet. Instead, she lifted her head and met Naruto's gaze.
"When dancing like this, you're supposed to look into each other's eyes, right?"
"…Yeah."
The dance continued.
With her back to him, one hand resting on her waist, he held her from behind as they swayed freely left and right, completely at ease.
The music swelled, accompanied by lyrics that gradually pushed the waltz toward its climax.
My heart races, I hold my breath,Slowly, I walk toward you.
Fear still lingers, but I am ready.
Time has passed—I have waited a thousand years,I am no longer afraid.
I have learned to face it with courage.
…
The song ended.
Naruto leaned back against the swing, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he smiled at Sakura. "So? Feeling relaxed?"
"It really helps relieve stress," Sakura said, standing nearby with one hand on her hip while fanning herself with the other, her chest rising slightly with her breath.
"By the way… how do you know how to dance the waltz?"
"Before my parents divorced, I used to dance with my mom in the living room all the time."
"The real deal, or just talk?"
"She was actually a dance instructor."
Naruto looked at Sakura for a moment, then suddenly asked,"Before you traveled through time, were you a kindergarten teacher?"
It was a deduction he had pieced together from earlier clues.
She worked at a public institution, danced well, comforted young Inari during the Land of Waves mission and persuaded him to retreat. Her tough-but-gentle personality also fit the image of a kindergarten teacher perfectly.
After all, managing a group of children was never easy—violence sometimes broke out, too.
Unexpectedly, Sakura shook her head and laughed softly. "Close, but no. I wasn't a kindergarten teacher."
"I see…" Since she didn't seem inclined to elaborate, Naruto didn't press further. Perhaps there was a reason she couldn't say more—but it probably wasn't anything serious.
They fell silent for a while.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura said quietly, "Thank you. I feel much better now."
"You're welcome. So… how do you plan to repay me?"
Sakura said nothing. She simply turned around, waved lightly, and walked off at a brisk pace.
"Good night."
In the quiet of the night, two modern souls were finally able to catch their breath. But they didn't notice that, in the distance, a shy young woman had unintentionally witnessed the entire scene…
…
[Naruto's Journal]
What day in July is it today? I'll check the calendar after I finish writing.
It's been a long time since I last recorded anything. Right now, I'm整理整理—organizing all the clues I've gathered so far.
As of today, there are four time travelers, including myself. According to what we know, there is a mastermind behind the scenes—someone who sends mentally unstable people into the ninja world and amplifies their negative emotions to achieve some unknown purpose.
I have two main thoughts.
First, according to Chinatsu's description, that black hand didn't look human at all—it resembled a slick, black liquid. When I thought about it carefully later, doesn't that sound exactly like Black Zetsu?Could all of this be his doing?
Of course, it could simply be a coincidence. For now, we don't have enough evidence, so all we can do is wait and see.
Second, among the current travelers, Cardo, Sakura, and Jin all show clear signs of negative emotional influence. But the key question is—what about me? Why haven't I felt any obvious negative effects?
Here are a few hypotheses:
I have the Nine-Tails sealed within me, along with the marks left behind by Minato Namikaze and others;
I am the reincarnation of Asura, blessed by the Six Paths;
I may have been affected before, but I'm the type who enjoys teasing others and has low emotional sensitivity, so I didn't notice;
Naruto Uzumaki's personality is influencing me (though I haven't felt it yet).
If we can determine the cause in the future, we might be able to stop the mastermind instead of remaining passive victims.
Since things have come this far… I'll eat some ramen first.
…
Seven months and eleven days.
In the morning, I practiced the Flying Thunder God under Hiruzen Sarutobi's guidance and learned to control the Nine-Tails' chakra. In the afternoon, I trained the third stage of the Rasengan. I even stopped by a nearby bathhouse, hoping to run into Jiraiya. In the evening, I practiced shuriken techniques.
I can't take it anymore. This feeling is unbearable. And this is only the first day—I feel so powerless that I don't even have the strength to hang myself.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi really does care about me. He keeps preparing daily necessities for me, and I've noticed something else: the Hokage's直属 ANBU have started treating me better! This afternoon, when I went to buy desserts at the dumpling shop, I ran into that masked guy in white—and he actually nodded at me!
It feels amazing. I really feel like a prince now.
Let's keep working hard. Next time, I'll make sure the ANBU notice me even more.
Hahaha.
But I've also realized something extremely serious.
Once the third exam begins… should I let Orochimaru kill Hiruzen, just like in the original plot?
That would be bad.
I'm already on Hiruzen's ship. If I let him die, Danzo will likely take advantage of the situation, tighten his control over me, and strike before Tsunade ever becomes the Fifth Hokage.
Killing Danzo early isn't a good idea either—it would force him into open betrayal, which would be disastrous for my long-term plans.
There's another issue: if Hiruzen survives, Tsunade won't have a reason to return. That could trigger a butterfly effect and completely derail the storyline. If that happens, the greatest advantage of a time traveler—foreknowledge—would be lost.
But I'm clever. I quickly came up with a brilliant solution: prevent Orochimaru from killing him completely, and let Hiruzen survive.
That way, he can no longer serve as Hokage, but he'll still be able to intimidate Danzo. After Tsunade takes office, Hiruzen can retire behind the scenes and speak through Danzo when necessary.
Perfect.
So the question is: how do I perform precise micro-management under Orochimaru's command and ensure Hiruzen's survival?
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there