Sasuke sent Naruto away, then took those eyes out again.
In the end, he chose Madara's Rinne Sharingan. He held it before his own Mangekyō Sharingan, began absorbing its ocular power, and tried to absorb its dōjutsu as well.
Madara's power would push him another step forward.
anwhile, Naruto walked ho in a daze, distracted. He curled up on the couch, thinking about sothing.
Minato ca back from grocery shopping and imdiately noticed sothing was off with his son. He decisively set the bags down and sat across from Naruto.
"Naruto, what happened? Want to talk to your dad about it?" Minato smiled like a little sun.
"Dad…"
Naruto weighed his words, then told him about the ssy feelings between him, Sakura, and Sasuke.
He knew Sasuke was right, but he still felt uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because Sakura still loved Sasuke, uncomfortable because Sasuke turned Sakura down. Everything about it just felt wrong.
Minato sighed to himself. He knew it. It was about feelings again.
With Naruto's current strength, it wasn't possible for him to be agonizing over power. The only thing that could truly trouble him was love.
In Minato's eyes, Naruto and Sakura were actually both still not fully grown. Sasuke, on the other hand, had already beco soone who could stand on his own. Not just in ability, but in mindset too.
Minato said, "Sasuke isn't wrong. Naruto, you understand that, don't you?"
Naruto lowered his head. "I understand. I just can't stand seeing Sakura sad. Sasuke… he should be nicer to her. She likes him so much."
Minato shook his head. "But Naruto, you like Sakura a lot too, right? Has Sakura ever been nicer to you?"
Naruto fell silent. It wasn't that different from what Sasuke had said.
He understood it. He did. And yet he was still tangled up inside. Maybe he didn't really know what he wanted. He was supposed to like Sakura a lot, but when Sasuke rejected her, he still couldn't be happy about it.
Minato kept gently guiding him. "Naruto, what Sasuke ans isn't hard to grasp. He doesn't want Sakura to stay like a little girl, with romance on her mind all day. He wants her to learn to grow up. She should learn Tsunade-sama's character. Put simply, responsibility. Stop putting love first. Start carrying her responsibilities for real, beco stronger, and take on even more responsibility in the future.
"Just like you. Back when you were a troublemaker, people didn't like you. Now you have a sense of responsibility, and that's what everyone respects about you most. Don't you think so?"
Naruto thought about it. If that was the fra, then… maybe he did get it.
A Sakura who was all romance and no responsibility might have zero charm to Sasuke. She might even be less appealing than Tsunade-baachan.
So Sasuke turning Sakura down wasn't just rejection. It was also, in a way, for her own good.
If Sakura couldn't grow, then it was better for her to be left behind. Because a wife with no sense of responsibility would beco Sasuke's burden.
And Sasuke was going to beco Hokage.
Once Naruto pieced it together, his mind suddenly cleared. And strangely enough, he also realized sothing else.
Sakura… didn't actually have that much about her that truly drew him in.
What did he even like about her?
Minato struck while the iron was hot and pointed out the window. "Naruto, look down from the window. See if you notice anything."
Naruto didn't understand, but he walked over and looked down. He saw Hinata lurking furtively in a corner. Her Byakugan t his gaze for a split second, then she shrank back like a startled little rabbit.
No, not a little rabbit.
More like a big rabbit.
Naruto was even more confused. "Dad, why is Hinata there? What is she looking at?"
Minato sighed helplessly. "You really don't get it?"
"How would I…"
Naruto's words died in his throat as a possibility hit him. He stared, disbelieving. "Hinata… is she watching ? She's spying on ? But… how is that possible?"
Minato ruffled his son's hair and laughed. "Nothing's impossible, you dense idiot. I really shouldn't be the one saying this, but Naruto, your eyes are full of Sakura, and Sakura has never once looked your way. You should shift your gaze a little. Pay attention to the people who actually notice you, who actually love you. Don't let the people who care about you get hurt."
Naruto stood there blankly, like this had never even occurred to him.
He tried to rember, but his mind was filled with scenes of him chasing Sakura and snapping at Sasuke. Hinata barely appeared at all.
And yet… maybe, while he'd been fixated on Sakura, soone else had been watching him all along. Only he'd never noticed because he was so oblivious.
Maybe… he really was soone who could be loved, too.
Elsewhere, Sakura walked in a daze. She didn't even know where she was going. She just kept moving forward, her mind a ss.
"Sakura? What's wrong?"
A familiar voice. Sakura looked up instinctively and saw her best friend Ino, hand-in-hand with Sai, like they were on a date.
Sakura opened her mouth, but no words ca out.
Ino imdiately noticed sothing was wrong. She quickly sent Sai off, then dragged Sakura back to her place. The two of them sat facing each other, Ino's face full of worry.
"Sakura? What happened? You can tell . Is it Sasuke-kun…"
The mont Sasuke ca up, Sakura finally reacted.
Ino understood right away. It had to be about Sasuke. She paused, not pushing for a mont.
Ino had always admired how Sakura's feelings for Sasuke never changed for so many years. But she also knew Sakura's path in love was never going to be smooth.
Because Sasuke's personality… he didn't understand love at all.
Early on, Sasuke was consud by revenge. Later, he started shouldering the duty of protecting the village and the shinobi world. Romance simply didn't rank for him.
And yet Sakura's love for Sasuke was her entire world.
If Sakura wanted to end up with Sasuke, there was no negotiating it.
Ino was grateful she'd given up on Sasuke early. Now she had a handso boyfriend. But seeing her best friend like this still made her heart ache.
So she clenched her teeth and said, "Sakura, if Sasuke-kun bullied you, I'll get revenge for you! I'll go beat him up right now!"
"No! Ino, don't!"
Sakura hurriedly grabbed her. "It's not bullying. It's just… it's like this…"
Before long, Sakura repeated Sasuke's words, then lowered her eyes again, tears spilling no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
Ino let out a huge sigh of relief. With a wry smile, she flicked Sakura on the forehead. "You dummy. This is why you're crying? Isn't this simple? Sasuke-kun thinks you don't have enough sense of responsibility."
Sakura tilted her head. "Not enough responsibility?"
Ino looked at her like she couldn't believe it. "Yes! All you think about is dating. How is Sasuke-kun supposed to fall for that? You need to learn to shoulder responsibility, whether it's for your future family, or for the village, or for the shinobi world. You need to carry what you're supposed to carry. Only then will you stop being a clueless little girl and beco a truly mature, charming woman."
(End of Chapter)
[Get 30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]
Reviews
All reviews (0)