Out of his craving for strength, Sasuke didn’t reject Hanyu Bai’s proposal, and from then on, Sasuke joined Bai’s little group.
Another day’s training ended, and Choji proposed going to the BBQ restaurant.
Naruto was the first to agree, expertly transforming into Naruko.
Seeing this, Sasuke’s eyelids twitched as he barked irritably, “Idiot Naruto, can’t you transform into literally anything else!?”
“Huh?” Naruto (Naruko?) blinked, pointing at himself as he whined pitifully, “But I only know how to transform into this form!”
That was actually the damn truth…
Aside from the Shadow Clone Technique and basic taijutsu, Naruto couldn’t even handle basic Academy Jutsu, yet his self-created Sexy Jutsu had reached legendary perfection.
Once, Bai secretly observed Naruto’s Sexy Jutsu with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and found zero flaws—genuinely observing it!
No wonder Naruto’s Reverse Harem Jutsu could confuse Kaguya Otsutsuki, who possessed both Byakugan and Rinne-Sharingan simultaneously in the future.
Hearing this, Sasuke was rendered speechless.
After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said: “Then I’m not going!”
Hanging around with Bai’s group, though Sasuke remained filled with vengeance, he wasn’t as solitary as in the original series.
Without a special reason, he wouldn’t reject Choji’s invitation.
And that special reason was Naruto!
Even Sasuke didn’t know why—perhaps due to shared lonely, tragic experiences, he held a strange, innate connection with Naruto as if they were brothers in a past life, and Naruto felt the same way toward Sasuke.
So talking about bonds, Naruto and Sasuke actually held the deepest one!
Thus, noisy Naruto pestered Sasuke constantly.
It was fine at school, but at the BBQ restaurant, Naruto remained in Naruko’s form, turning pestering into flirting—Sasuke truly couldn’t stand the weird looks from bystanders!
“Why?” Oblivious as ever, Naruto leaned right in, grinning: “You’re not feeling embarrassed because you lost to me, are you?”
“Can you just drop dead!” Sasuke unconsciously adopted Bai’s tone, pushing Naruto away in disgust while cursing: “You’re just riding Bai’s coattails!
A dead-last like you wouldn’t even get a chance to cast Shadow Clone if not for Bai!”
Looking closely, one could see a blush of embarrassment on Sasuke’s fair face.
He couldn’t help it—Naruto understood men too well!
Even knowing Naruto was a guy, that touch felt far too real!
On the other side, Bai noticed Sakura sitting on the grass with her knees drawn up, watching them silently with a dim expression.
“Feeling unwell?” Bai walked over and touched Sakura’s forehead.
Confirming nothing was wrong, he asked softly: “Should I walk you home?”
Sakura looked up at Bai.
Meeting those gentle eyes, she shook her head first, then nodded, timidly tugging on the hem of Bai’s shirt.
Realizing Sakura probably had something to tell him, Bai informed the group and left with Sakura.
Seeing this, Hinata instinctively wanted to follow, but Ino held her back.
Hinata looked at Ino in confusion; normally under such circumstances, Ino would be even more proactive than her.
After all, the three girls held a secret consensus—fair competition, and whoever sneaks ahead first is a dog!
Yet Ino shook her head at Hinata.
On the other side, Bai held Sakura’s hand while walking down a quiet path, his gentle voice sounding in her ear: “Sakura, you can share whatever’s on your mind with me!”
Bai clearly felt Sakura’s hand tremble slightly!
Meanwhile, inside Sakura’s mind, Inner Sakura went totally berserk!
It was like this every single time—he pretended not to understand a girl’s feelings, yet constantly displayed tenderness that made one fall hopelessly deep.
If he were a universal flirt, that would be one thing, but Bai’s warmth was exclusively reserved for Ino, Hinata, and Sakura.
And his treatment of each girl was unique, making them constantly feel like the special one.
They resented this oblivious blockhead to death, yet found themselves utterly incapable of leaving him.
Sakura’s pretty eyes rested fixedly on Bai as she suddenly spoke up: “Bai, you must have so many things you want to achieve, right?”
Bai paused in surprise, but Sakura gave him no chance to speak, continuing on her own: “Ino and Hinata are both so amazing, they’ll definitely be able to help you in the future.
Only I…”
“You said a person shouldn’t trouble others with their own problems, but I’m unwilling!”
Reaching this point, a flicker of dim sorrow passed over Sakura’s face.
Among the group around Bai, Sakura’s background and talent weren’t individually the absolute worst, but combined together, she sat squarely at the bottom.
At first, Sakura could hold her head up using top academic knowledge, but as Ino and the others began mastering clan secret techniques, Sakura felt increasingly inadequate.
Though Sasuke called Naruto a dead-last, Sakura knew that SHE was the real dead-last!
During team drills, whenever someone teamed with her, unless Bai was present, they lost far more than they won.
Thinking of this, Sakura let out a self-deprecating laugh: “I want to be useful to you too, Bai!”
After saying those words, her self-mocking smile deepened.
How could being useful to Bai be easy?
No one even knew how strong Bai truly was.
In sparring matches against them, Bai had never shown a serious expression.
To Bai, sparring with them was less of a real battle and more like practicing ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and taijutsu proficiency while relaxing!
“If only you were a shallow man…” Saying this, Sakura cupped Bai’s face in her hands, murmuring with resentment, “If it’s just about pretty faces, I won’t lose to Ino or Hinata!”
Truthfully, Bai desperately wanted to say that he WAS a shallow man!
But Bai didn’t say that; instead, he placed his hands firmly on Sakura’s slender shoulders, speaking seriously: “Sakura, go learn Medical Ninjutsu!
Not for my sake.
You’re so intelligent, Sakura—your written test scores are always number one.
Even without a prominent family, you can definitely become an outstanding Medical Ninja!
Just like Lady Tsunade!”
Medical Ninjutsu differed from other jutsu—it was practically public knowledge; even the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique was open to all.
The reason, aside from Tsunade’s medical ninja reforms in Konoha, was that the entry threshold for Medical Ninjutsu was sky-high and extremely difficult to master!
Bai had long been waiting for Sakura to realize this herself.
Though he could have suggested it directly, external imposition was vastly different from internal self-realization.
Fortunately, Sakura didn’t disappoint Bai; in this world of precocious youths, she recognized her weaknesses at nine years old.
Truth be told, Bai didn’t mind his women being trophy arm-candy, but he had to admit that a capable, talented woman was undeniably more charming and attractive!
Otherwise, how could Tsunade become the ultimate goddess in the hearts of millions?
Across the vast Shinobi World, in terms of looks and figure, was there truly not a single woman comparable to Tsunade?
Were none of the Daimyo’s wives and concubines breathtakingly beautiful?
It was because Tsunade was one of the Sannin, the Princess of the Senju clan, the greatest Medical Ninja in the Shinobi World, and the future Fifth Hokage—whereas the Daimyo’s consorts were mere appendages to power.
On the other side, Sakura froze.
What she had just said was clearly a confession, yet Bai acted as if he hadn’t understood a thing?
But soon, hearing Bai’s proposal, Sakura’s eyes lit up and her heart swelled with warmth, her gaze looking at Bai growing so tender it nearly melted.
“Bai is truly considering my future so thoughtfully!” Sakura leaned softly into Bai’s chest, listening to his heartbeat as the sorrow on her face faded away, replaced by deep attachment.
Inside her mind, Inner Sakura swore a wild oath—this man right here was locked in for the rest of her life!