Sakura Haruno: "Ino! Your resolve is way too weak! I even considered you my rival!"
Karin Uzumaki: "Exactly! Ino, you're already out of the competition."
Ino Yamanaka: "Uh… well… it's fine. I…"
Shikamaru Nara interrupted lazily.
"Let me clarify something first."
"Nagi generally won't develop feelings for women from our version of Konoha, especially those around his own age."
"So Ino, you might as well give up."
Ino snorted.
"Hmph, Shikamaru. It's not over until it's over."
"Besides… who knows what might happen in the future, hehe."
Mei Terumī smiled knowingly.
"Mm, young lady, let's both do our best."
Sakura sighed.
"You people… honestly…"
Ao shook his head.
"No saving them. Looks like they won't turn back until they hit a wall."
Tsunade chuckled.
"I'm more worried they'll break the wall."
The Screen Continues…
The stone statue that Ino had turned into cracked apart, and she quickly recovered.
"It's fine!"
"Hmm?"
"I said it's fine!"
"So what if Nagi has a girlfriend? I'll just steal him away!"
Sakura quickly tried to persuade her.
"Ino, stealing someone else's boyfriend isn't exactly a good thing."
Ino grinned.
"Hehe, it's fine. He's not married yet."
"I still have plenty of chances."
Then she asked seriously,
"Sakura, you've seen Nagi's girlfriend, right?"
"Yeah."
"Is she pretty? What's her figure like? What's her personality like?"
Sakura was momentarily stunned by the rapid questions.
After thinking for a moment, she looked Ino up and down and replied:
"Big."
"…Big?"
"What does that mean?"
"In every sense of the word."
"Ino, honestly speaking, the chances of you succeeding are extremely small."
"?"
Yakiniku Q
"Wait… what's going on here?!"
Ino stared in confusion.
She had planned to show off her feminine charm in front of Nagi.
But instead—
Nagi sat between Shino and Sasuke.
Beside Shino and Sasuke were Shikamaru and Chōji.
(We just want good food.)
Across from Nagi sat Naruto.
Beside Naruto were Sai and Shin.
(This position is perfect for grilling meat for our boss.)
"Alright, alright. Ino, sit here."
Sakura pulled Ino toward an empty seat.
Then—
It was time for Nagi's cooking performance.
Piece after piece of perfectly grilled meat was placed onto everyone's plates.
The aroma alone made everyone drool.
The boys silently thanked Nagi seven or eight times in their hearts.
"We're eating now!" ×N
"Mmm!"
"So good!"
"Ahhh—being alive is wonderful!"
Chōji instantly transformed into a full-powered eating machine.
Shikamaru kept sighing in satisfaction.
Kiba and Naruto started fighting over a particularly good piece of beef tenderloin.
Meanwhile, Akamaru happily ate underneath the table.
"Woof woof…"
No regrets in this dog life.
Meanwhile—
Sakura, Ino, Karin, Hinata, and the other girls sighed while enjoying the food.
"Ugh… our feminine charm lost."
"Our cooking skills are falling further and further behind."
"Damn it. Using food to win Nagi's heart is impossible now."
Hinata glanced at Nagi, then at Naruto.
She knew Naruto and Nagi were close friends.
Does Naruto get to eat Nagi's cooking often?
Then she suddenly had a horrifying thought.
Wait… if I marry Naruto in the future and my cooking can't satisfy him…
Divorce?! No!!
Hinata instantly turned black-and-white with shock.
Although her chopsticks never stopped picking up meat.
Evening
As the sun set, the Rookie Nine said their goodbyes.
While everyone walked home, Ino finally thought she had the chance to speak with Nagi alone.
She had just begun—
"Ni—"
"Nagi."
But someone arrived first.
Nagi smiled when he saw her.
"Shizuka. Buying ingredients for dinner?"
"Mm."
Nagi took the shopping bag from her hand.
"Then let's go. What do you want to eat tonight?"
"I still prefer fish."
"And for you, Captain…"
Watching the two of them walk away together—
The Rookie Nine felt like they had just been force-fed an entire truckload of relationship sweetness.
Kiba recovered first.
"…Wait."
"That girl just now… was she…?"
Sakura nodded.
"Yeah."
"That's Nagi's girlfriend."
"So beautiful…"
"And her figure is amazing."
The Rookie Nine couldn't help but admire her.
Meanwhile, Ino looked down at her own chest, gestured for comparison, and lowered her head in defeat.
"So big…"
"Completely different leagues."
"I lost."
Sakura wanted to comfort her—
But then realized she wasn't in the same league either.
So she quietly gave up.
One Week Later
During that week, the entire shinobi world prepared for war.
Sasuke and the Rookie Nine intensified their training.
Meanwhile, Nagi worked with Deidara, Sasori, and the others on nuclear testing and nuclear-strike ninjutsu.
One Evening
After arguing with her parents, Sakura dragged Naruto to the park to clear her mind.
She kept complaining about their constant nagging.
Naruto listened silently.
Eventually he looked sad.
He couldn't help remembering the three days he spent with his parents.
At that moment—
A sudden voice appeared.
"Nice to meet you… Uzumaki Naruto."
"Huh?"
Naruto and Sakura turned around in surprise.
On a nearby platform sat a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and an orange spiral mask.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"You're… Madara!"
Knowing that this man was responsible for his parents' deaths, Naruto didn't hesitate.
"Rasengan!"
He rushed forward.
But the attack passed straight through the masked man.
"Just as the rumors say…"
"Still so reckless."
"Bastard!"
Sakura launched a powerful kick.
"Boom!"
The ground shattered beneath her strike.
But the masked man remained completely unharmed.
"This isn't exactly what I planned… but it'll do."
"Before that person notices… let's hurry."
He pulled out a crystal sphere and tossed it into the air.
The moon suddenly turned an eerie red.
Under the moonlight, eight tomoe symbols appeared on the crystal sphere.
Then it emitted a blinding white light.
"Limited Tsukuyomi."
"What?!"
"What is this?!"
In the next moment—
Naruto and Sakura vanished.
"…Hmm?"
The masked man frowned.
"What's going on?"
"Why can't I transfer myself?"
"What's happening?!"
Worried that Nagi might appear at any moment, the masked man quickly retreated.
Elsewhere
Naruto and Sakura slowly opened their eyes.
"Huh? Nothing happened?"
"What's going on?"
But Sakura quickly noticed something strange.
"…Wait."
"This park looks different."
"Is it a genjutsu?"
She immediately disrupted her chakra.
"Release!"
But nothing happened.
At that moment—
Team 8 happened to pass by after completing a mission.
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