Sakura’s worry turned out to be a false alarm in the end.
After all, a Ninja sparring match was not a true battle where Ninjas fought for their lives, and Sasuke naturally wouldn’t use the Great Fireball Technique on Sakura.
But even in a simple contest of Taijutsu, the current Sakura was no match for Sasuke.
Expecting someone who barely passed their physical test to defeat the top-ranked student through physical ability—wasn’t that just insane?
Iruka must have lost his mind!
This was the most sincere thought in Sakura’s mind as she lay on the school playground, comfortably admiring the blue sky.
She really couldn’t understand why her opponent for the spar was Sasuke.
Could it be that the match-ups were decided entirely by drawing lots?
If that were the case, it wouldn’t be surprising why Naruto, who was always the dead last in the Ninja Academy in the original story, always managed to face Sasuke during sparring.
Ninjas seemed to be very fond of this kind of luck-based randomness; the Joint Chunin Exams between Konoha and Sunagakure also featured random battle questions.
How long did her spar with Sasuke just now last?
Was it even a second?
It probably was; it must have taken at least a second for her to fall to the ground.
“Sasuke wins! The match is over. Now, perform the seal of reconciliation.”
Iruka announced the result of the spar.
Sakura climbed up from the ground, patted the dust off her clothes, and stepped forward with Sasuke.
The two of them performed a one-handed seal similar to the Seal of the Rat, then extended their index and middle fingers to hook them together, signifying that the opposition between them before the battle had been reconciled; though there were differences, they were still comrades.
“Next match, Inuzuka Kiba versus Naruto!”
Having finished their battle, Sakura and Sasuke each returned to the line, and Iruka called out the next two for their spar.
Inuzuka Kiba and Naruto—those two actually looked somewhat evenly matched!
Why did I have to face Sasuke…
Sakura reached out somewhat helplessly to tidy her hair, which had become messy when she fell.
Just as she used her fingers to tuck the itchy strands of hair that had scattered over her brow back behind her temples, Sakura noticed Ino with a somber expression, staring intently at Sasuke with an unfriendly gaze.
“You look very serious,”
Sakura said, choosing a comfortable position to sit on the ground beside Ino.
“That guy Sasuke was way too rough with you!”
Ino felt that Sasuke should have had a more ‘decent’ way to defeat Sakura, rather than throwing her entire body into the air and letting her crash onto the ground.
Now, seeing Sasuke defeat Sakura so decisively, they were whispering something amongst themselves.
But Ino didn’t think those were nice words.
It was likely that they were mocking Sakura, saying that her ‘insolence’ over the past month had finally met its retribution.
Those people knew nothing at all, yet they were there letting their imaginations run wild and spreading alarmist talk!
Ino knew that Sakura had no ‘romantic’ feelings for Sasuke at all.
Sakura was simply making friends with Sasuke and the others.
Over the past month, Ino, who had been with Sakura all along, had also seen her own relationships with the boys in the class, including Sasuke, improve under Sakura’s influence.
So Ino knew better than anyone that Sakura was openly showing everyone her attitude of wanting to be friends!
This attitude shouldn’t be mysteriously stigmatized!
But those girls in the class only saw what they wanted to see and then misunderstood others based on their own whims.
They didn’t care at all that Sakura could also get along kindly with Naruto in their daily lives, and that her attitude toward him was exactly the same as her attitude toward Sasuke.
“Heh…”
While Ino was feeling indignant, she suddenly heard Sakura’s nonchalant, light chuckle.
Sakura had roughly guessed Ino’s thoughts and glanced sideways at the girls who were pointing at her, completely unconcerned.
“There’s no need to pay attention to people who aren’t important to you or me.”
This was Sakura’s attitude.
Was she really going to have a big argument and a falling out with these little girls over so-called ‘love’?
What wasn’t true simply wasn’t true.
As long as the parties involved were clear about it, the rumors that were only relished by outsiders were not worth mentioning.
Setting aside the special reason that she actually liked women, just the fact that they were all only five or six-year-old kids meant it was impossible for Sakura to develop any so-called ‘feelings’ for anyone right now.
As soon as this thought surfaced in her mind, Sakura felt disgusted.
One could only say that precociousness was the norm in the Ninja World…
“But, doesn’t Sakura care at all about those rumors that aren’t even true…”
Ino was about to say more.
Sakura interrupted her again: “I don’t care.”
“Ino, it’s impossible for everyone to like you. If you ever find that everyone in the world likes you, you’re probably caught in a Genjutsu.”
“A person’s energy is also limited. Rather than letting those inexplicable people drain your spirit, it’s better to place your most important feelings on the people around you who care about you.”
“So I really don’t care about their opinions. What I should care about are the people who care about me, and the people I care about.”
Listening to Sakura’s philosophy of life and seeing her grin at her, Ino felt that Sakura’s heart really wouldn’t be defeated by outsiders.
Sakura turned her gaze to the playground, watching the battle between Inuzuka Kiba and Naruto, which had fallen into a stalemate where it was hard to tell who was better. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Just as Iruka-sensei said, the real Ninja World is cruel. Are you really going to blame the enemy for being stronger than you? In the end, the problem lies with me being weak.”
Moreover, as for being ‘too rough’…
Sakura knew that Sasuke had already learned the Fire Release Ninjutsu passed down by the Uchiha Clan.
Although he might not be proficient yet, it was more than enough to deal with her.
Sasuke not using Ninjutsu in the spar just now was already considered holding back.
“Weak people are naturally disliked…”
Especially in the Ninja World, where the strong prey on the weak.
Sakura felt a trace of helplessness.
With only a month of effort, an ordinary person like her really couldn’t catch up to a genius youth like Sasuke.
She wondered if today’s spar, which was unexpected for Sakura, would lower Sasuke’s opinion of her.
After all, Sasuke was a competitive person.
The existence known as ‘Uchiha Itachi’ was both the object of his admiration and a shadow that forced him into comparisons of strength, helplessly exposing him as the weaker party.
It would be a bit bad if Sasuke’s evaluation of her as a friend dropped because she was too weak.
I guess it really would have been better if I had found a way to hold on for two seconds before being defeated just now…
“I think Sakura is very strong.”
While Sakura’s thoughts were wandering, Ino suddenly gave her such an evaluation in a firm tone.
“In yesterday’s physical test, I was still panting with a pale face and white lips after running twenty laps.”
Though now she could barely manage to finish the whole distance within the passing line.
“It’s not this kind of external strength,” Ino said with a certain and sincere attitude.
“I think Sakura’s heart is very strong.”
“If your heart remains strong, your external strength will one day become as powerful as your inner self!”
She herself couldn’t ignore the rumors that reached her ears, so she admired Sakura, who was strong enough to not care about any of it and live freely by her own will.
Ino never thought Sakura was weak.
Sakura’s strength was obvious to her…
In the entire class, Ino understood the strength Sakura possessed better than anyone.
“I think Sakura is a flower bud that will one day bloom into a beautiful flower.”
Ino, who loved flowers more than being a Ninja and dreamed of inheriting her family’s flower shop, compared Sakura to a shy, unopened bud—this was her highest form of praise for her.