In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

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The journey was long and tedious, offering little entertainment.

Sakura, though, seemed in a particularly good mood. When they took a break under the shade of a tree, she was smiling. Naruto, sitting beside her and sipping from a water bottle, happened to notice this, "What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Alright, maybe my eyes are failing me." Naruto said, not pressing further, "Once we reach the Land of Wind, remember to stand stay far back during the mission."

"The Ryumyaku is extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, it could end you on the spot."

"If it's that dangerous, why don’t you stay far back?" Sakura frowned, her expression serious, leaving Naruto speechless.

‘Damn, did kissing really lower her intelligence?’

"Look," He counted on his fingers and explained, "There’s just the two of us on this mission, right?"

"Yeah."

"If you stand back, and I stand back, who’s going to do the mission?"

Sakura didn't answer. She just crawled closer to Naruto, with a strange light in her eyes. With her mouth slightly open, she moved closer little by little.

Naruto simply reached out and turned her face away, saying helplessly, "Don’t be silly. It’s the middle of the day, and we still have a mission to complete!"

"Mission, mission... Damn it, you woman! Are you trying to destroy my moral integrity?!"

"If it's not possible during the day, does that mean it’s okay at night?" Sakura asked with her eyes gleaming, and she held Naruto's hand tightly, looking like she had lost her soul.

"Night... Night, we’ll see." Naruto muttered, giving in a little.

Even though he said that, traveling during the day was still exhausting. Initially, they had occasional conversations, but soon, they fell silent as the fatigue of the journey set in.

They rested quietly and continued onward afterward.

It took about two days to reach the desert outskirts of the Land of Wind from Konoha. But they traveled at almost full speed, Naruto was fine, but Sakura was visibly struggling.

In the end, Naruto had no choice but to carry Sakura on his back for the remainder of the journey.

After a day of traveling, from noon to dusk, their pace had been compressed by nearly four or five times. As night approached, Naruto stopped at the edge of the desert of the Land of Wind and set up camp near a riverbank.

Sakura had regained most of her strength and helped Naruto set up the tent. After laying out the sleeping bags, she gathered some firewood, stacked it together, and lit a fire. The water soon began to boil as she placed a pot over the flames.

Naruto, who carried supplies in his seal space, wasn't lacking ingredients, so he tossed in some dried noodles, and once they softened, Sakura added seasonings.

Looking at Sakura, who was seasoning the food meticulously, Naruto suddenly felt it was a bit absurd. In the past, he never dared to touch anything Sakura had touched, for fear that there might be something strange mixed in it.

For example, evil things like ‘holy water’ and mind-altering drug. A single mistake could lead to lasting regret.

But now, here was Sakura quietly making a simple dinner, her pink hair cascading down, her expression gentle and serious. The two sat around the same campfire, with its light flickering across their faces.

Time had really changed many things. What began with suspicion and mistrust slowly evolved as they got to know each other better. They had lowered their defenses, sharing experiences and growing closer through dangerous situations and mutual effort.

All those moments… frightening, mundane, joyful, and frustrating, had shaped the Sakura in front of him now.

More specifically, this was Dark Sakura. He hadn't interacted with Pink Sakura and hadn't yet found a solution for her situation.

Thinking about the current mission, Naruto frowned slightly, ‘Since I couldn't find a solution now, perhaps traveling back in time might reveal one.’

Using the Ryumyaku to travel through time would allow him to explore the past freely, and no matter how long he stayed, only a second would pass in the present.

If he could explore the past, there might be answers there. After all, while the Sannin were strong now, they might not have been as formidable in the past.

Similarly, with his current strength, if he goes back to the past, he may be able to access secrets he couldn’t access in the present.

As he was lost in thought, a pale hand suddenly waved in front of him.

"Are you turning into an idiot?" Sakura asked, shaking her hand.

"You're the one turning into an idiot. I'm just tired and got distracted." Naruto brushed it off casually.

"Oh." Sakura averted her gaze and looked back at the pot of noodles. She raised her head and said, "It's almost ready. We can eat soon."

After saying that, she felt a bit nervous, unsure why she had repeated herself. It felt like some kind of ritual before something important.

Naruto didn’t pay much attention and took out two sets of clean bowls and chopsticks from the seal space. The two then began eating and chatting by the lively campfire.

"After this mission, are you planning to rest?" Sakura asked, holding her bowl and chopsticks. Steam floated up, and her lively eyes flickered.

Naruto looked at Sakura and couldn't help but think of the scene when they tumbled together at noon. Everyone has their own fetishes. Hinata seemed to prefer hands, and Ino enjoyed risky environments.

Sakura seems to have a particular fondness for kissing, but Naruto wasn’t sure why.

As he was lost in thought, his reaction was naturally slower. He pretended to think for a while and began to recall what she had just said, ‘It seemed that it was regarding the end of the mission.’

"I’ll rest for a while. I won’t be doing missions as frequently." Naruto said, blowing on his steaming noodles, "These qualifications should be enough to allow me to take the Jonin Exams. I’ll probably pass it this year."

"Oh." Sakura didn't seem particularly impressed, as she had passed the Jonin Exams long ago.

After all, she is Tsunade's disciple, and she has been working overtime all these years. In fact, she doesn't need to do any missions. After the Medical Department’s assessment, the promotion was more of a formality for her.

Becoming a Jonin had never been a goal for Sakura, and everything just happened naturally. Instead, she envied ordinary people who could live complete lives and love one person wholeheartedly.

"What are you spacing out about again?"

Naruto's words suddenly brought her back to reality, and the firelight flashed across her dazed face. Sakura smiled warmly and replied in a relaxed tone, "Oh, nothing, just thinking about something happy."

Naruto saw through her easily, ‘That dazed look wasn’t someone recalling happy memories.’

However, he didn’t press the issue. He merely nodded and changed the topic.

After dinner, they both headed to the river to wash up.

Under the dim moonlight, Naruto let his damp hair fall loose as he sat by the fire to dry it. Soon, Sakura returned, and the two sat in silence, with their knees almost touching.

The silence stretched until Naruto stood up, ready to head back to the tent to sleep. Sakura suddenly stood up too, biting her lip as she stared at him, her face lit by the fire.

They both knew what might happen next, but Naruto still asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing… nothing." Sakura rarely showed such a nervous look, "Are you going to rest? Or… maybe we could sit a little longer? Keep me company for a bit."

Her voice trailed off with the last request, almost inaudible. She wasn’t sure if Naruto had heard her. She hoped he had, yet at the same time, hoped he hadn’t.

"Sure." Naruto agreed and sat back down. Then, he took out the mission scroll to look at it carefully.

Seeing this, Sakura let out a quiet sigh of relief and sat down too, inching closer to the fire to dry her long pink hair, her delicate eyes showing seriousness and trepidation.

Once again, silence settled around them, with only the crackling of the fire breaking the quiet night.