Chapter 8: I, Naruto, Spoiling Everything Online!
Kakashi bent down, picked up the prank prop, and flicked the dust off it. His dead-fish eye, visible outside his headband, scanned the three people below the stage.
"How should I put this..."
Kakashi spoke leisurely.
Meanwhile, Naruto, who was lying on the desk pretending to be bored, had his inner voice—full of anticipation for the show—resonate in Sakura Haruno's mind first.
[Look at this acting. He's clearly two hours late, yet he insists on putting on an innocent front.]
[Don't be fooled by his current salty-fish look; he was probably just at the Memorial Stone chatting with Obito again. But his excuse? It's always the same one.]
[Next, please enjoy the Konoha Jonin's classic excuse: "Sorry, I got lost on the path of life." Counting down: three, two, one.]
Sitting in the front row, Sakura gripped her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. She widened her emerald-green eyes, pricked up her ears, and even lightened her breathing.
No way...
How could a Jonin say a line that only appears in novels?
Just as the word "one" rolled across the heavenly curtain, Kakashi on the podium happened to scratch his silver hair and said in a tone that sounded like he hadn't fully woken up:
"Sorry... I got lost on the path of life."
Thump.
Sakura's heart skipped a heavy beat.
It really was word-for-word!
Even the pauses in his tone, the action of scratching his head, and even that dismissive attitude were exactly the same as the preview in Naruto's heart!
Cold sweat instantly trickled down her forehead.
This wasn't a simple guess.
No matter how well a student understood their teacher, it was impossible to precisely predict what specific weird words would come out of a stranger Jonin's mouth. Unless... he really knew.
A shiver ran through her, and Sakura couldn't help but look back.
Naruto in the back row was still lying on the desk. Seeing Sakura look back, he even went as far as to raise an eyebrow, his eyes full of the smugness of "See, I'm just that awesome."
[According to the procedure, this Closet Pervertwill next touch his chin, pretending to think, and then give us in Team 7 a heart-stabbing opening line. How did that line go? Oh right...]
["My first impression of you... I hate you."]
Sakura snapped her head back, her gaze fixed firmly on Kakashi on the podium. Her heart was screaming: Don't say it! Whatever you do, don't say that line!
Kakashi played with the blackboard eraser in his hand, and his other hand indeed propped up his chin thoughtfully. That exposed dead-fish eye narrowed slightly, scanning the three kids with different expressions in front of him.
A revenge-driven Avenger, a dead last with a frivolous gaze, and... a Broad Forehead trembling with fear.
"Hmm..."
Kakashi pondered for a moment and gave his classic evaluation:
"My first impression of you... I hate you."
Crash.
Sakura felt her world shatter.
Her whole body felt cold, and even her teeth were chattering.
It wasn't just the content.
Even the disgusted tone Kakashi used when saying those words was identical to the lazy voice in her head just now.
Uzumaki Naruto... what kind of monster was he?
Can he really see the future?
Since he could precisely predict these small matters, then those things he said before—that Sasuke would leave, that she would cry her heart out, that the future was pitch black...
Were they all true?
A sense of despair enveloped the newly graduated girl, but in the deepest part of this despair, a thought emerged.
If he knows everything...
Does that mean as long as she follows him, as long as she figures out what he's thinking, she can avoid that terrible ending? Could she... keep Sasuke-kun?
"Since everyone is here, let's change locations to talk."
Kakashi didn't notice Sakura's pale face as he turned and pulled open the classroom door. "To the Rooftop."
Naruto lazily stood up and even stretched. As he passed by Sakura, who was frozen in her seat, he deliberately slowed his pace and whispered in a volume only the two of them could hear:
"Let's go, Broad Forehead. If you keep spacing out, you'll only be good for being an ornament."
This seemingly ordinary reminder, combined with the heart's voice in her mind that was laughing because of the accurate spoiler, caused massive damage to Sakura.
[Hahaha! Did you see that? Did you see! That expression of hers! It's literally a live broadcast of a world-view collapsing!]
[Be shocked! Be afraid! That's right. In this world where only I know the script, if you don't want to be cannon fodder, you'll have to obediently follow my lead. Sakura, oh Sakura, when will you learn to rub against my pant leg like a good cat? Maybe then I'll show some mercy and save that dream of love of yours.]
Naruto whistled and swaggered out of the classroom.
He was completely unaware that his "pushing a girl to the brink" villainous image was judged by the Heavenly Curtain Reward System as a high-level display of mental control and charisma.
[Ding!]
As Naruto's figure disappeared around the corner of the hallway, the heavenly curtain in Sakura's vision finally popped up a golden Settlement Boxafter this chaos.
[Target detected: Sakura Haruno.]
[Mental State: Swaying between fear of the future and a longing for a lifeline. Her original pride has been shattered by the pressure of the prophet, and the seeds of inquiry have taken root and sprouted.]
[Judgment: This was a successful mental breakthrough. You have become an unignorable mystery in her heart.]
[Issuing rewards...]
A refreshing sensation instantly flooded Sakura's nearly overloaded brain.
Her chaotic spirit seemed to have a barrier erected around it, calming down miraculously. Her thinking became very clear, and she could even spare the attention to think about the deeper meaning of Naruto's inner words just now.
"As long as I'm obedient... he can save it?"
Sakura murmured to herself, her fingers unconsciously tightening.
[Reward obtained: Basic Illusion Resistance(Passive effect)]
[Description: Because of your desire to see through that mysterious man, your spirit has become more resilient after collapsing and restructuring.]
Meanwhile, Naruto, walking on the stairs, paused slightly as a blue panel appeared before his eyes simultaneously.
[Ding!]
[Detected that target "Sakura Haruno's" attitude toward the host has undergone a qualitative change (from an annoying idiot to a fearsome mystery).]
[Fear is often the beginning of curiosity and dependence.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Transformation Jutsu · Perfect and Flawless (Mastery Level).]
[Note: Now, when you transform into any object or person, you will not emit any unusual Chakrafluctuations. Even with the Sharingan, it may not be possible to instantly see through it without careful observation. This is a practical skill for pranks... or for doing other bad things.]
"Perfect Transformation Jutsu?"
A curve formed at the corner of Naruto's mouth, and his gaze drifted seemingly unintentionally toward the cool youth walking ahead, who had the Uchiha Fan Crest on his back.