[Part 2] 10: Work Off Your Debt, Young Man!
[Part 2] “So, let me get this straight.
Your brother stood you up because he ran off with Uchiha Shisui, and you got so angry that you stormed out on your own—only to forget to bring any money with you, right?!” After Sakura repeatedly questioned him, Sasuke finally revealed the truth, albeit rather hesitantly.
“My brother did not run away with Big Brother Shisui!” The moment Sakura used the phrase “ran away together,” Sasuke instantly bristled.
His severe older-brother obsession couldn’t tolerate such a statement.
“Then why did he leave you behind and go off with someone else?” Sakura slyly twisted the argument, trying to steer Sasuke’s thoughts in the direction she needed for her plan.
“If nobody had tempted him away, do you really think he’d be willing to abandon his adorable little brother?” “He just… just… had a mission…” Sasuke stammered as he tried to defend his brother.
But when he thought about how increasingly often his brother had been standing him up lately, alarm bells immediately began ringing in his head.
Could Big Brother really have been lured away by Big Brother Shisui?!
“But as far as I know, shinobi have to accept missions in advance.
Your brother isn’t ANBU or a jōnin, so how could he constantly be getting urgent missions?” Sakura continued twisting Sasuke’s train of thought.
“So your brother has actually been lured away by some fox outside the clan compound.
If this continues, sooner or later, he’ll abandon you completely and stop caring about you!” “Impossible!
My brother would never stop caring about me…” Sasuke’s eyes nearly filled with tears.
His mind became trapped in an endless loop of imagining his beloved brother being lured away by someone else and no longer liking him.
“Don’t panic.
Do you want to win your brother’s heart back?” Sakura lifted her teacup and took a sip, secretly laughing to herself.
Looks like my plan is about to work.
“Really?
Can I?” Sasuke’s eyes sparkled.
He looked like someone drowning who had just managed to grab hold of a lifeline.
“It’s very simple.
Just follow my method, and I guarantee your brother will come back to you!” Sakura’s lips curled into a smile as she smiled happily.
For some reason, though, Sasuke suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
“Put this on.
First, you can work here as a greeter.
No—make that a male greeter.
You’ll work off the debt you owe us…” Sakura pulled out a pair of pink cat ears and handed them to him, her eyes filled with anticipation.
“D-Do I really have to wear these?!” Sasuke’s expression became extremely conflicted.
Even though he was still young, he felt that cat ears were probably something girls were supposed to wear.
“That’s right.
What you ate just now was actually a specially made bowl of tomato-and-egg ramen.
It’s the only one in the entire world, so it’s extremely expensive.
If you’re going to pay off your debt, you obviously can’t work the same way as everyone else!” Sakura lied without even blinking.
“Your job is to put on these cat ears, stand by the entrance, and smile at customers while saying, ‘Welcome!’ That’s all.
Once the shop closes tonight, I’ll tell you how to win your brother back!” “Okay!” The moment Sasuke thought about his brother, he immediately perked up.
He snatched the cat ears from Sakura, put them on his head, and ran to the entrance to begin working.
“He’s so cute…” Ino’s eyes practically turned into hearts as she stared at Sasuke standing by the entrance, his face slightly flushed beneath the cat ears.
“Click.” The sound of a camera shutter rang out.
Sakura smiled as she lowered the camera in her hands.
This photograph was definitely worth keeping.
Little Sasuke hadn’t yet developed the coldness and loneliness that would come after the Uchiha clan’s massacre.
Instead, he was incredibly easy to embarrass.
With this photograph in her possession, Sakura wondered how Sasuke would ever manage to act cold and aloof around her in the future.
“Naruto, come with me for a moment…” Sakura grabbed Naruto after calling him out and dashed away.
She had a piece of clothing to make for the next stage of her plan.
Inside a clothing shop in Konoha, Sakura took out paper and a pen and began sketching the clothes she wanted to have made.
The shopkeeper watched with considerable curiosity.
“Little girl, what you’re asking for won’t be cheap!” The shopkeeper reminded her.
According to Sakura’s description, the materials required were all rather expensive.
Two four-year-old children shouldn’t have that much money, should they?
“Don’t worry, Boss.
We aren’t short on money!” Sakura pulled out a stack of bills and slapped them onto the table.
Ichiraku Ramen’s business was booming, and this amount of money genuinely wasn’t much to her.
“As long as you can finish everything I want before sunset, I’ll pay you double the normal labor fee!” “Sure!
No problem!” The shopkeeper agreed without hesitation.
It was completely possible to finish everything before sunset.
They would just have to put in some extra effort and work a little faster.
Compared with earning double the normal fee, that wasn’t a problem at all.
The shopkeeper and his employees immediately got to work.
As their wealthy customer, Sakura—and Naruto, who had accompanied her—were invited to sit to the side and wait.
“Naruto, did something happen?
Why do you look so unhappy?” Seeing Naruto with his head lowered and a dejected expression on his face, Sakura asked worriedly.
“I-I didn’t!” Naruto scratched his head with a foolish grin, as though his previous expression had never existed.
“Your smile is way too fake!” Sakura mercilessly exposed his forced smile.
“Come on, tell me what’s really going on.
Don’t think you can hide it from me!” “It’s nothing.
It’s just… I feel like you’re paying a lot of attention to that guy named Uchiha Sasuke.” A trace of worry was hidden in Naruto’s eyes.
He hadn’t had many friends for most of his life, so after finally making friends with Sakura and the others, he naturally treasured those friendships deeply.
But Sasuke’s sudden appearance today had made him feel as though his friends’ attention was being pulled away from him.
“Don’t worry about it!” Sakura immediately understood.
So that’s what this is about.
He was a bit jealous, and at the same time worried that he might lose the friendships he’d finally managed to gain.
“No matter how many new friends we make in the future, you’ll always be you, Naruto.
There is only one Naruto Uzumaki, and that will never change.” She smiled warmly.
“So stop looking so gloomy.
No one can ever replace your place in my heart.” “Really?” Naruto asked in surprise.
“Of course.
Have a little confidence.
You’re Naruto Uzumaki, after all!” Sakura smiled helplessly and tapped Naruto lightly on the forehead with her finger.
How should I put this?
The conflict between Indra and Asura really runs deep.
When Shikamaru and the others had appeared earlier, Naruto hadn’t shown any signs of worry.
But the moment Sasuke appeared, Naruto immediately started looking ready to blow up.
No wonder people say these two are locked in a legendary three-lifetime romance… “Hehehe…” Naruto started grinning foolishly again.
Ever since he had met Sakura, he felt as though the entire world had become brighter.
He had peers who didn’t look down on him, Uncle Teuchi and the Haruno family members who didn’t hate him, and he no longer had to worry every day about whether he’d have enough to eat.
Even when he helped in the kitchen, the ramen apprentices never showed any signs of disliking him.
All of it made Naruto feel as though he were living inside a dream.