"It's regrettable, Satsuki, but if you truly like Naruto, you absolutely cannot harbor the thought of 'being satisfied just by staying by his side.'"
Kakashi decided not to beat around the bush; he had to lay out the most realistic and cruel possibilities before her. He watched as Satsuki lifted her tear-filled eyes, her expression a mix of confusion and a hint of panic, and continued.
"You say it's enough just to be by Naruto's side. That sounds beautiful, very selfless. But have you ever considered that Naruto… he might not always stay in one place waiting, nor will he always maintain the current relationship. His life will continue forward; he will meet more people and experience more things."
Kakashi paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words sink in, then began to paint pictures that Satsuki had never dared to consider in detail.
"Let me give you a few very realistic examples." Kakashi's words slowly cut into Satsuki's deepest fears.
"If a male has a girlfriend, for a long time, they usually become inseparable from their lover. Their worlds will be tightly intertwined, making it difficult to accommodate a third person."
"Try to imagine, if one day—perhaps tomorrow, for instance… Sakura suddenly plucked up the courage to confess to Naruto, and Naruto accepted her. What kind of scene would you see from then on?"
Kakashi spoke on, not looking at Satsuki's expression. Satsuki's breathing instantly turned cold and suffocating. The light in Satsuki's eyes was instantly drained by these words, leaving only emptiness and dead silence.
Kakashi didn't stop; he began to describe specific scenes, enough to completely break Satsuki.
"In future missions, every time danger strikes, Naruto will undoubtedly, without hesitation, prioritize protecting Sakura. His embrace, his back, all his concerned gazes, will naturally focus solely on her."
"And you, you can only watch from the side, watching your rightful place being completely taken."
"During breaks, you might see Sakura naturally linking arms with Naruto, or leaning on his shoulder to rest. Naruto might smile and ruffle her hair, or even… have more intimate gestures."
"And none of this will concern you anymore; you won't even have the right to approach."
"After school or after missions, Naruto probably won't enthusiastically invite you to his home for dinner like he does now. His cooking skills will from then on only be for one person. You might even find no suitable reason to step foot into his home again."
With every word Kakashi spoke, Satsuki's body trembled violently, as if enduring an invisible lashing.
The emptiness in her eyes was no longer just dead silence, but began to twist, gradually turning into a darker emotion, like an abyss.
Within it surged unbelievable pain, icy fear, and an extremely dangerous possessiveness that quietly grew after being pushed to the brink by cruel reality.
She seemed to already see those scenes playing out before her eyes, every detail suffocatingly clear.
Yes… was she a bit too confident, too presumptuous? Naruto is so outstanding; why would he always only look at her?
Sakura… how dare she… how dare she do such a thing?!
She's clearly the weakest! Always hiding behind, needing protection! What's the use of being first in theoretical knowledge! Her Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are both mediocre!
How dare she disregard others' feelings, how dare she covet what belongs to me…! I absolutely… absolutely will not forgive that Forehead Girl!
The scenes Kakashi described were too specific and too cruel, making Satsuki unable to think normally.
Meanwhile, Sakura, far away at home and completely oblivious, had no idea she had almost inexplicably died.
Similarly, Naruto, unaware of any of this, also didn't know he was about to be completely taken over by some extreme affection.
And the "culprit" of all this, Kakashi, after listing all the heart-wrenching possibilities, finally presented the ultimate solution.
"Therefore," his tone was decisive, "if you truly like Naruto and don't want to see any of the situations I just described happen—then what you need to do now is not cry or be afraid here, but immediately and proactively make that guy completely 'yours' before any of that happens."
"Eh…?"
This sudden command, completely contrary to the cruel predictions before, instantly pierced through the darkness surging in Satsuki's heart. Those ferocious, jealous thoughts quickly dissipated and faded.
In their place came familiar, surging shyness and panic.
"Be… become… my… boy… boyfriend?!" Satsuki stammered, repeating the words. Her previously pale face instantly flushed crimson. She stood there flustered, her eyes darting around again. "This… this kind of thing… how can I… how can I possibly do that! To suddenly say… that kind of thing…"
Her voice grew softer and softer, finally becoming an almost inaudible mumble, and she reverted to the ordinary girl overwhelmed by her secret crush.
Of course, if Satsuki had a hundred percent certainty that Naruto would accept her confession, she probably would have already mustered the courage to go up and say it, instead of agonizing here.
But the biggest problem now, what truly held her back, was not just a girl's shyness, but also the fear of rejection. She feared that one-in-a-million possibility.
"Heh heh heh…" Seeing Satsuki still hesitant and anxious, Kakashi suddenly let out a low chuckle of unclear meaning. "Of course, I said all that just now not to simply scare you. Regarding this matter, as your teacher, I certainly won't stand idly by."
He also secretly sighed in his heart, thinking that even with the Sharingan, which could see through Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, he ultimately couldn't see through people's hearts.
"…You?"
Satsuki looked up, her tone filled with undisguised suspicion.
It couldn't be blamed on Satsuki for not believing him. After all, in her impression, Kakashi spent all day engrossed in a seemingly inappropriate book, and she had never heard of him having any successful romantic experiences or a partner.
Could such a person… really give reliable advice?
Facing his student's doubts, Kakashi not only didn't get angry but instead triumphantly pulled out another book from his Ninjutsu pouch behind him.
The cover design of this book, like that of Make-Out Paradise, exuded an extremely inappropriate aura.
"What is this?" Satsuki frowned in disgust, looking at the book whose mere appearance made her want to retreat three paces.
"Make-Out Tactics!" Kakashi announced with a hint of pride and showmanship. "This is my life guide now, a treasure trove for dealing with all kinds of interpersonal relationships!"
He put down the book and gave Satsuki a smile that Satsuki found a bit lewd, but Kakashi considered full of wisdom.
"How about it? Don't judge it by its cover; inside, it meticulously details how to understand a boy's mind, how to get along with girls—though you don't need that part for now—and even ways to deepen your bond with your future sons and daughters!"
Kakashi enthusiastically promoted it, "How about it? Do you want to know the secret inside about 'how to make the person you care about care about you too'?"
Satsuki was stunned by Kakashi's words. She looked at the suspiciously-smelling Make-Out Tactics, then at Kakashi's confident (?) expression, and fell into a huge internal struggle.
Reason told her this was absolutely unreliable, but the deep-seated desire to get closer to Naruto and prevent all those terrible futures ultimately overpowered her reason and disgust.
Sweating coldly, after an internal battle, she finally, with extreme difficulty, nodded almost imperceptibly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"…Yes."