Chapter 12 Sasuke's Character CollapsesOn the dilapidated street, Naruto and Sakura followed behind Tazuna, escorting him to buy groceries.
"I'm all filthy! Oh no, will people laugh at me?"
Sakura looked at the stains on her arms and clothes, her face full of worry.
She had just been inspired by the workers' enthusiasm and participated in the bridge construction, ending up just as covered in dirt and grime as Naruto.
Naruto laughed, "It's nothing, Sakura looks beautiful right now."
"Really...really?" Sakura asked shyly.
Naruto: "Of course! When they saw you, a girl, lift two steel bars at once, those old men were amazed. Sakura, you're so strong, it's really impressive."
"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing special."
Sakura said she didn't care about the recognition, but inside she was extremely proud. O(∩_∩)O
However, Sakura quickly realized her earlier worries were unnecessary. Everyone on the street was visibly poor; even in their filthy state, she and Naruto stood out like cranes among chickens.
The people coming and going were all ragged, some practically naked. Their expressions were mostly like those of zombies. Everywhere were people holding signs looking for work, and beggars huddled in corners. Occasionally, a gasp would rang out—it was always a pickpocket.
Upon arriving at the so-called supermarket, the contents were even more appalling. Vegetables and fruits were either only a few pieces at most, or completely absent.
Has it really come to this?
Leaving the supermarket, Sakura's excitement vanished. Lost in thought, she suddenly felt a pinch on her buttocks.
What?!
Sakura was about to explode, almost slapping the pervert to teach him a lesson, when she turned around and saw that the person touching her was a three or four-year-old child, dressed in patched clothes and without shoes. The child held out his hand, looking at her with a mixture of fear and expectation.
Sakura was deeply shocked. Suppressing the urge to cry, she opened her backpack, took out some candy, and handed it to the child.
Watching the child excitedly run off with the candy, Sakura couldn't manage a smile.
Children of Konoha this age were probably still playing around, right? Although there were many war orphans, at least they had enough to eat and wear and didn't have to beg on the streets.
She had considered giving money directly, but she worried that the child might be robbed or hurt, so in the end, she only took out candy.
"Naruto," Sakura suddenly said.
"Huh?" Naruto was taken aback.
"If we truly defeat Zabuza, the Land of Waves will be better, right?"
Sakura's burning passion at that moment overcame her fear of Zabuza.
"Tazuna said that once the bridge is built, the Land of Waves will be better. Zabuza is ultimately just a killing machine; the real culprit is Gato."
Naruto's eyes were more serious than ever before as he said this.
"As long as Gato doesn't die, killing one Zabuza will only result in another. So, the only way to truly solve the problem is to kill Gato. This kind of guy will wreak havoc wherever he goes."
Is that so?
Sakura knew Naruto's words made sense. Lately, she'd noticed a significant change in him; he was much smarter, rarely played pranks anymore, and could even discuss murder calmly.
Of course, his tendency to cling to her remained unchanged.
Before, Sakura's dislike for Naruto was just talk; she didn't actually hate him to that extent. It was just that Naruto's frequent pranks and declarations of love in front of her, all to compete with Sasuke, embarrassed her. At least, that's how Sakura perceived him. She didn't want to be someone else's tool for proving their strength.
However, she had to admit that her impression of Naruto had undergone a complete transformation in recent days, and she was gradually coming to see him as an important partner.
Naruto was utterly satisfied and content today, having finally gotten some alone time with Sakura. Their relationship seemed to have grown even closer—not counting Tazuna, the giant third wheel.
Sasuke, however, was in a much worse situation. Kakashi told him that the guy hadn't eaten lunch and hadn't returned yet. It was already dark; ten hours without food or water—was he trying to self-harm or something?
"Baka, that idiot! I'm going to go find him!"
Naruto, hands on his head, swaggered to the training area. He wanted to see Sasuke's reaction. Sasuke had always dominated him; now that he'd been outdone, his expression must be priceless.
"Hey, how's it going? This training is tough, isn't it?"
No answer.
Under the big tree, Sasuke had fallen countless times, covered in mud, but his eyes shone with an unprecedented determination. He fell again and again, got up again and again, and fell again and again.
Naruto started off in a cheerful mood, teasing Sasuke, but seeing Sasuke's disheveled state, he felt a pang of sympathy.
"Hey, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei wants you to go home for dinner."
"That's enough, Sasuke, stop training!"
But no matter what Naruto said, no matter how badly he fell, Sasuke continued training.
"Stop training. Reaching my level won't happen overnight."
Seeing this, Naruto had no choice but to join in. He deliberately fell when he was shorter than Sasuke, landing face-first on the ground.
Sasuke, seeing this, was instantly delighted: "Hmph, looks like you're not so great after all, Naruto."
Naruto was speechless. That idiot Sasuke wouldn't understand his efforts. Oh well, he'd just treat it as playing with a child.
And so, Naruto lowered his performance to about the same level as Sasuke, at least superficially appearing evenly matched, and after another hour of this, he finally went home.
Naruto was alright; although tired, he wasn't completely exhausted. Sasuke, however, was utterly drained by the end, practically being carried back on Naruto's back.
At the dinner table, Tazuna remarked, "This is wonderful! It's been so long since I've had so many people eating together."
Even Inari, standing nearby, didn't utter a cold remark. Instead, he stared blankly at Naruto and Sasuke. These two guys were eating way too much! Was their mother's cooking really that good?
Kakashi and Sakura exchanged speechless glances. How embarrassing!
Naruto was alright; he was always like this. Think about it, a twelve-year-old living alone, basically eating instant noodles for every meal. When someone cooks for him, wouldn't he eat a lot?
But Sasuke, with that wolfing-down posture, was eating even more than Naruto… What happened to his idol image? What happened to his aloof persona?
[Aaaaaaaaah!]
A sigh escaped the girl's heart. At this moment, Sakura felt a crack appear in the perfect image of Sasuke in her heart.
Sasuke couldn't care less about that now. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for over ten hours, and he was starving from the constant training.
That wasn't the worst part; what was even worse was that Sasuke actually threw up! Yes, to spite Naruto, Sasuke even ate with a frantic, almost desperate, appetite, resulting in him eating too much too quickly and throwing up.
"Hahahaha~"
Naruto was prepared, worried about embarrassing himself in front of Sakura, so although he ate fiercely, he only took small bites. Although he ate quickly, he didn't actually eat much.
Sasuke was different. This kid was honest; he stuffed mouthfuls into his mouth so fast. Who else would throw up if not him?
"Eating a lot is fine, but you can't throw it up."
Kakashi's face turned green at Sasuke's antics. The Land of Waves is so poor; you can eat, but don't waste food!
Sakura was also speechless. She never imagined... such an excellent boy like Sasuke was actually just as stupid as Naruto in private.