If not for Tatsuya's reminder, Tsunade wouldn't have given much thought to what little Sakura felt about Sasuke.
Back during the Chūnin Exams, after the battles had concluded, Sasuke had collapsed from chakra exhaustion. The hospital had been flooded with injured candidates, and as one of the few dics available, Tsunade had been assigned to oversee the more severe cases, including Uchiha Sasuke and Rock Lee.
She distinctly rembered that every ti she stepped into Sasuke's room for her rounds, she would always find that pink-haired girl sitting there, watching over him with quiet determination. Uzumaki Naruto often stopped by as well, but it was Sakura's unwavering presence that caught Tsunade's attention.
At the ti, she had thought nothing of it; kids ford bonds, after all. But one detail stood out.
"Why are there always fresh flowers in this room?" she had muttered to herself one day, arms crossed as she studied the small vase on the windowsill.
Sasuke didn't strike her as the type to care about sothing like that. He was sharp and disciplined, soone who probably viewed flowers as unnecessary sentintality.
Thinking it was a simple courtesy from the hospital staff, she glanced into the other candidates' rooms. But there were no flowers anywhere else.
It was only now, after hearing Tatsuya's offhand comnt, that everything clicked.
"This girl…" Tsunade thought to herself, her lips curling into a smirk.
She could almost picture it, Sakura sneaking in every morning, replacing the wilted petals with fresh ones, making sure Sasuke's room always had a touch of warmth.
"Silly little thing," she murmured with amusent.
Even back then, Sakura had cared for him deeply. With a sigh, Tsunade leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temple.
"To think I didn't notice it sooner," she muttered.
Tatsuya, who was lounging nearby, raised a brow. "Notice what?"
Tsunade shot him a sideways glance. "That girl, Sakura. She's had feelings for Sasuke for a long ti."
Tatsuya chuckled. "Well, obviously. Did you really think a girl would visit a guy every single day just for fun?"
Tsunade scoffed. "I don't have ti to keep track of every love-struck brat in Konoha."
"Maybe not," Tatsuya said with a grin, "but you definitely have a soft spot for that one."
Tsunade huffed, taking a sip of her sake. "It's not like I'm going to stop her. If she's that determined, then she deserves a chance."
Tatsuya leaned back, shaking his head. "You say that now, but you know where this leads, right? You've seen it before."
Tsunade arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Enlighten ."
Tatsuya smirked. "Minato and Kushina."
Tsunade groaned. "Ugh, don't remind ."
Tsunade scoffed. "It wasn't just Kushina. That whole generation was sothing else. Yoshino Nara? That woman had Shikaku locked down before he even knew what hit him. And Mikoto? Sweet, polite Mikoto? She had Fugaku wrapped around her finger so tightly he probably didn't realize he had no say in the matter."
Tatsuya smirked. "So you're saying it was a coordinated effort? A kunoichi conspiracy?"
Tsunade took a sip of her sake and shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far, but those girls didn't waste ti. If they wanted soone, they took them. Poor guys never stood a chance."
Tatsuya laughed. "Yeah, sounds about right. I still rember the rumors about Yoshino flipping a table on so girl who tried to flirt with Shikaku. And Mikoto? That woman had the entire Uchiha clan convinced Fugaku was the lucky one, not the other way around."
Tsunade snorted. "They weren't wrong. And let's not forget Kushina setting the standard. She literally beat her competition into the ground. The other kunoichi just adapted to survive."
Tatsuya sighed in amusent. "So what you're saying is… Konoha's ninja school was a battlefield, just not the kind we expected."
Tsunade smirked. "Exactly. And now? Sakura's generation is just the latest chapter of that ss. If history repeats itself, she won't be the only one making a move."
Tatsuya grinned. "Good. I was starting to think the village was getting boring."
Tsunade huffed but didn't deny it. For a girl to be so thoughtful and attentive, Tsunade couldn't help but find her endearing.
Smirking, Tsunade leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her palm. She could sense Sakura's nervous energy, and she decided to push her just a little.
"If you can't think of a reason," Tsunade said with a teasing lilt, "why not talk about the person you like?"
Sakura's face instantly turned crimson.
"Wh-what?!" she spluttered, her hands flailing slightly before she clenched them into fists. "I-I don't—there's no one like that!"
Tatsuya, watching from the side, raised an eyebrow at her reaction. He had seen people get flustered before, but this level of embarrassnt? It reminded him of soone.
"Is she another Hinata?" he mused, exchanging a glance with Tsunade.
But before anyone could comnt further—
Bang!
A heavy shot ball ca hurtling in from outside, rocketing toward Sakura with alarming speed.
Still reeling from Tsunade's question, Sakura barely registered the incoming projectile. Her instincts, however, reacted before her brain could, and she turned sharply, raising her fist.
Tsunade's eyes flickered with recognition. That ball's coming in fast… maybe too fast.
For a split second, she considered yanking Sakura out of the way. But then
Smack!
Sakura punched the ball. With one hand.
The weight of the impact sent a shockwave through the air. The shot ball spun rapidly against her palm, vibrating under the pressure before dropping straight to the ground with a heavy thud.
The floor cracked beneath it.
Tsunade's brow twitched. That… was not normal for a genin.
Sakura looked down at the dented floor and sighed. "Ah… sorry, I broke your floor." Her voice carried genuine regret, like breaking solid ground with her bare hands was just another minor inconvenience.
Tatsuya exhaled sharply, folding his arms. "Yeah, 'sorry' doesn't quite cover punching a hole in the damn floor."
Sakura blinked. "I didn't want to punch it, though. I just tried to… catch the ball."
Tsunade dragged a hand down her face. "That's exactly the problem, brat."
Just then, realization dawned on Sakura's face. "Oh! I was supposed to catch it, wasn't I?"
Tsunade let out a dry laugh. "So much for that chance I was giving you."
Before Sakura could defend herself, a young Senju child ran into the room, looking frantic.
"I—I'm sorry!" the kid stamred, bowing repeatedly. "I didn't an to throw it that hard! I was just playing, and it slipped, and—"
Behind them, their parents rushed in, their expressions sowhere between terrified and apologetic.
"We deeply apologize, Lady Tsunade," one of them said hastily. "Our son didn't intend to—"
Tsunade waved them off lazily. "Relax. No harm done." She glanced at the floor. "Well, aside from that."
The parents gave nervous bows before ushering the child out, still apologizing under their breath. Tsunade, however, was no longer paying them any attention. Her focus remained solely on Sakura.
That strength…
There was sothing eerily familiar about it. That raw, unrestrained power reminded her of herself. Before Tsunade could comnt, Tatsuya, standing at her side, spoke up.
"You should test her genjutsu skills."
Tsunade arched an eyebrow, giving him a side glance. "You think she can handle it?"
Tatsuya shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Tsunade considered it for a mont before nodding. If there was sothing more to this girl, she wanted to see it firsthand.
In an instant, the room around Sakura lted away, shifting into an endless desert. Sakura's breath hitched, but she didn't panic. Her sharp mind imdiately began piecing together the situation.
This is an illusion.
Here is your revised passage with all em dashes removed and the flow adjusted for clarity:
Her eyes flickered across the landscape, searching for inconsistencies. And not just any illusion. This was Tsunade's test.
Sakura clenched her fists. "If I want to stand beside Sasuke, I can't afford to fail," she muttered to herself.
She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Genjutsu was about deception, tricking the senses. But every illusion had a flaw, sothing that didn't quite belong.
As the wind howled around her, she let her instincts take over. And then she found it. Her eyes snapped open, locking onto the ground. The pit in the floor, the very sa one left behind when the child's ball had crashed through earlier, was still there. Unchanged. An anomaly in the otherwise shifting desert.
Sakura smirked. "Got you."
With that single realization, the illusion shattered. She blinked as the room around her ca back into focus. Tsunade and Tatsuya stood before her, watching closely.
Sakura swallowed hard, her hands tightening at her sides. "Did I… pass?"
Tatsuya humd in approval, folding his arms. "Took you longer than I expected, but not bad."
Tsunade, however, was watching her with a more critical eye. A sharp mind. A strong will. And that unnatural strength…
A slow smirk spread across her lips.
"You just might be worth taking as an apprentice," she mused, tilting her head.
Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait, does that an—"
Tsunade didn't let her finish. Instead, she extended her hand.
"From now on, you're my student," Tsunade said simply. "Don't make regret it."
For a mont, Sakura could only stare. But then, realization dawned on her, and she quickly reached out, gripping Tsunade's hand with fierce determination.
"I won't!"
Watching the mont unfold, Tatsuya smirked. "Well, this should be interesting."
With the budding relationship between young Sakura and Sasuke, Tsunade often found herself witnessing what felt like a live-action drama unfolding before her eyes.
Childhood sweethearts growing up together… It was the kind of story that rarely played out in real life—sothing the world's aesthetic sensibilities seed to lack.
Tsunade chuckled to herself. "Next ti I see Jiraiya, I should ntion it."
If anyone could turn this into an epic love story, it was him. A genius boy and a girl with strange, untad power, it had all the makings of a best-selling novel.
For now, though, she had a new student. And that was a far more entertaining prospect.
"You have potential," Tsunade said, crossing her arms. "I'll take you as my apprentice."
Sakura's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. "W-Wait… you an—"
"Don't make repeat myself, kid," Tsunade sighed, rolling her eyes. "You've got talent, but you're still a long way from standing on your own."
Sakura's shock quickly lted into sheer joy, her fists clenching with excitent.
"Tsunade-sama, I won't let you down!" she declared, practically vibrating with energy.
"For now, focus on your recovery," Tsunade continued, already regretting giving this girl a reason to be even louder. "When the ti cos for training, I'll summon you. Until then, don't do anything reckless."
As soon as Sakura was out of sight, her composed expression shattered. She clenched her fists, her entire body trembling with excitent.
"Sasuke-kun, just wait for !" she whispered fiercely, her eyes burning with obsession. "I'll beco strong enough to stand by your side, stronger than any of those pathetic fangirls who think they have a chance!"
Her mind imdiately went to the swarms of girls who giggled and fawned over her Sasuke. Especially Ino.
That traitor.
The re thought of Ino batting her eyelashes at Sasuke made Sakura's blood boil. That witch had been her friend once until she decided to chase after her Sasuke-kun.
"Tch," Sakura huffed, stomping down the hall. "She can flirt all she wants, but Sasuke-kun isn't interested in weak, shallow girls like her. He needs soone strong. Soone who truly understands him."
She pressed a hand to her chest, determination solidifying into an unshakable vow.
"And that soone is ."
As soon as Sakura left, Tatsuya shifted slightly, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. A flicker of unease crossed his face as he flicked his fingers, forming a protective barrier around the house.
"Just in case," he muttered. "I'm not dealing with another rogue object flying in here."
Tsunade smirked. "That ball from earlier really got to you, huh?"
Tatsuya scoffed. "A rare day off is worth protecting. Wasting even a minute of it would be a cri."
Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Nawaki decided now was a great ti to leave.
"Yeah, nope. I'm outta here," he muttered under his breath, making his way toward the door.
Still, as he walked away, he couldn't help but sigh in envy.
Tatsuya and Tsunade… they're always together.
As a single man, Nawaki could only look on with admiration and, if he was being honest, a little frustration.
"If only I had Tatsuya's strength and Nee-chan's good looks…" he mumbled to himself, kicking a stray pebble on the ground.
But he knew wishing wouldn't change anything. Then, a thought struck him.
Wait.Didn't Aniki give that book…? His eyes widened as he rembered. A self-written guide… sothing about "The Art of Picking Up Won."
Nawaki's expression turned serious. His eyes glead with newfound determination.
"When I have ti, I need to ask him about it," he muttered. "If I can unlock the secrets in that book, maybe—just maybe—I won't be single forever."
After all, as a mber of the Senju clan, he had a duty to contribute to the family's strength. And, well… that included passing on the bloodline, right?
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The quieter and more peaceful the days, the faster they seed to go. It felt like just yesterday they had returned from the Land of Hot Water, yet now it was already ti to resu training.
For a ninja, training was just as vital as breathing. This world followed a simple rule: the strong thrive, the weak perish.
If you wanted to survive, if you wanted to protect the people you loved, then you had no choice but to grow stronger.
Because in this world, if you weren't the hunter…
You would always be the prey.
---
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