Uchiha Clan Training Grounds
Sasuke silently ate the dango, not saying a word, a shadow of sadness on his face. He was probably truly hungry, because he finished every last skewer.
"Sakura, why do you want to get stronger...? If I remember correctly, you said the other day that you wanted to open a restaurant..." It took Sasuke a long time to finally force out this question.
"Oh, you mean that? I did have that idea a while ago, but after I met Zabuza, my thinking gradually changed. In this world, the only way to protect yourself and the things you want to protect is to become stronger..." Sakura lay on the ground, gazing up at the moon as she answered.
"Is that so..." Sasuke fell silent. "But I don't have anything left to protect..."
Listening to Sasuke's words, Sakura figured he was lost in confusion. His clan had been annihilated, and he was powerless to avenge them. Orochimaru had offered him power, and he'd thought he finally saw a hope for revenge, only to be ruthlessly crushed by Sakura.
But this was a good thing. At least Sasuke wasn't so impulsive now. Before, he'd been acting rashly; now, he was finally starting to calmly consider the meaning of his life.
"Actually, you could try accepting Naruto. He's a really good person, you know. You two have a lot in common," Sakura suggested.
"Hmph," Sasuke scoffed, turning his head away with a look of displeasure.
"Actually, you've already found someone you acknowledge in your heart, someone you want to protect. It's just that you can't let go of your hatred yet," Sakura said, directly piercing through Sasuke's inner thoughts.
Sasuke remained silent, but images of Naruto, Kakashi, and even Sakura flashed through his mind. Having his true feelings laid bare so bluntly made Sasuke feel incredibly awkward.
"I haven't experienced what you have, so I don't know what I would do in your place," Sakura sat up, looking at Sasuke sincerely. "But my dream is to protect everything I have now, including you."
"So, if you change for the worse, I'll beat you until you can't take care of yourself," Sakura shook her fist, threatening Sasuke, just like she had back then.
Sasuke looked at Sakura, speechless. He'd lost that fight yesterday so completely, without any ability to resist. This had shaken his faith in Orochimaru's words.
If this cursed power was inferior to the strength gained through hard work and perseverance, why would Sasuke take such a huge risk to follow Orochimaru? Sasuke was desperate for power, but he wasn't stupid. He would naturally weigh the pros and cons.
"Thank you, Sakura," Sasuke said softly, a sudden utterance.
Sakura was momentarily taken aback. He was thanking her after she'd threatened to beat him senseless? What was she supposed to say to that? 'You're welcome'?
"Hahaha, no problem. I'll just go a little easier on you next time," Sakura said with a forced laugh.
Sasuke stared at Sakura wordlessly. I'm thanking you for your guidance, and you're still planning to beat me up? Are you addicted to beating me up...? ...Uh, what should I say to avoid getting beaten... I'm waiting... it's urgent...
"So this is Konoha...? It doesn't look damaged at all..." Seeing the perfectly intact gate and the thriving village scene made the Sand ninja accompanying Baki feel resentful.
"Satetsu, don't cause any trouble. This mission is important; we can't afford any more mistakes," Baki said sternly.
"Yes, I understand," Satetsu replied. Baki was the team leader for this mission, so he had to follow his orders.
"Baki, you don't have to scold Satetsu. Our Hidden Sand Village suffered the greatest losses, yet we have to compensate Konoha for their damages. It's infuriating," another Sand ninja, Otome, said.
"This was all decided by Elder Chiyo. We just have to follow through," Baki reprimanded.
Although the Sand ninjas were all dissatisfied, this was Chiyo's decision, and they had no choice but to obey. They just hoped the people of Konoha wouldn't be too greedy.
Meanwhile, Sakura was lingering at the Uchiha training grounds, refusing to leave. She really had become a night owl; even though it was time to sleep, she was wide awake.
Since she was already here, she might as well practice combining her bloodline limits. Sasuke had already gone home, and the place was quiet, with only the sounds of insects.
Sitting on the ground, she took the first step: extracting chakra from her body. This was easy. The second step: dividing the chakra into two streams. Also pretty easy.
Then, controlling the chakra to undergo nature transformation within her body. At this step, Sakura had to focus intently. Since it was happening inside her body, she needed to control the chakra to express both water and lightning natures without injuring herself. This was mentally exhausting.
Gradually, beads of sweat formed on Sakura's forehead. She felt an itch inside her, like a cat's claws scratching at her.
Suddenly, Sakura leaped up, releasing her frustration by firing Water Bullets at the surrounding trees. After a while, she switched to Water Severing Wave, slicing through the tree trunks like a madwoman.
Of course, Sakura wasn't crazy; she was just driven to distraction by the two streams of chakra within her.
It was like trying to thread a needle. She was trying so hard to calm down, being so careful and meticulous, trying to use the thread she'd straightened by licking it to pass through the eye of the needle. But no matter how hard she tried, it just wouldn't go through, making her feel unbearably frustrated, like a cat was scratching at her insides.
That was how Sakura felt, utterly tormented. All her usual chakra control techniques were useless; this was entirely a test of patience.
After venting her frustration, Sakura forced herself to calm down again. She carefully reflected on her previous failure and tried again. But after a short while, she couldn't take it anymore and jumped up, brutally assaulting the surrounding trees.
This continued throughout the entire night. Sakura didn't manage to synthesize Storm Release, but she did almost manage to chop down all the trees in the Uchiha training grounds.
At dawn, Sasuke woke up punctually. Ever since he'd been living alone, he'd been very strict with himself.
After folding up his bedding, Sasuke went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He'd become incredibly skilled at these tasks after years of living alone.
He washed the rice and put it in the rice cooker to steam. Then, he took two Pacific saury from the refrigerator.
After removing the gills and innards, he rubbed the saury with a prepared seasoning mix, coating them thoroughly. After about ten minutes, the seasoning had fully penetrated the fish.
Sasuke took out the baking tray, lined it with aluminum foil, and brushed it with cooking oil. He placed the saury on the foil.
Then, he took a few green peppers from the fridge, washed them, and cut them into segments, placing them alongside the saury.
Finally, he sprinkled them with salt, wrapped them in the foil, and placed the tray in the oven. He set the timer and then left it alone. He took a lemon from the fridge and cut it in half, ready to squeeze over the saury once it was cooked.
He filled a pot with water and placed it on the gas stove over low heat. He took some sea bream bones, which he'd bought pre-prepared from the store, and cut them into pieces, setting them aside.
Sasuke took a daikon radish from the fridge and sliced it into thin strips, adding them to the pot of boiling water.
Then, he added the sea bream bone pieces to the pot. Once the soup started to bubble, he skimmed off the foam with a spoon. He mixed together miso, sugar, and MSG, then poured the mixture into the soup.
He stirred the soup evenly, then turned off the heat and sprinkled it with chopped green onions. This completed the miso soup.
Next, he placed the cooked rice in a ceramic bowl and took the baked saury out of the oven, arranging it on a plate.
He placed the white rice, salt-grilled saury, and miso soup on the table. A traditional Naruto world breakfast was complete.
Sasuke sat on the tatami mat, holding his chopsticks and bringing his hands together in a prayer. He silently said, "Itadakimasu."
The reason Sasuke went to all this trouble to make breakfast was simply to experience the warmth of the home he once had. Only in this moment did Sasuke feel a trace of the comfort of the past.
After breakfast, Sasuke went to the training grounds. The jonin were all busy, so they didn't have time to lead genin on missions. This meant the genin were essentially on vacation. Sasuke wouldn't waste a single moment of training time.
When Sasuke arrived at the training grounds, he saw the rows of felled trees and Sakura lying on the ground, looking utterly disheveled. His eyebrows twitched, clearly suppressing a surge of anger.
"Sakura, are you short of firewood at home?!" Sasuke glared at the messy-haired Sakura lying on the ground, his voice laced with displeasure.
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