Chapter 7: This Guy, He Knows the Future?
In the afternoon, as students from other classes were being picked up one after another, the three members of Team 7 seemed to have been forgotten.
Naruto lay slumped on his desk, boredly poking holes in his eraser with his finger. He tilted his head, peering through the gaps in his messy blonde hair to watch the two in the front row with great interest.
Sasuke sat in the corner with his arms crossed and brows furrowed, his entire being screaming 'don't come near me.'
Sakura, meanwhile, sat sideways on her desk, her face resting in her hands, her eyes obsessively glued to Sasuke as if her eyeballs might fly out and stick to his face.
"Sigh..."
Naruto let out a soft chuckle that only he could hear.
[How interesting. One is desperately trying to stick to the other, while the other is desperately trying to get away.]
[Look at Sakura's Broad Forehead. Tsk tsk, right now her head is filled with nothing but 'Sasuke is so handsome' and 'how to run into him tonight.' Truly the face of someone who hasn't suffered yet.]
Li Yi's adult sense of mischief took over. He shifted into a more comfortable position, squinting as he analyzed the scene with a sharp, internal monologue.
[What a pity, Sakura Haruno. You see him as your future husband, but he only sees you as a nuisance. You have no idea—the Uchiha clan's brains don't work like normal people's.]
[You think Sasuke is handsome now, but that's because you haven't seen him when he's gone mad. Before long... hehe, this kid will do anything for revenge. He'll dump you right at the entrance of Konoha Village and abandon you. When that time comes, you'll be left crying in the heavy snow.]
At that moment, Sakura, who was immersed in a fantasy of a "private date with Sasuke-kun," suddenly stiffened.
A strange buzzing sound pierced her ears without warning, exploding directly inside her brain.
Then, a golden light screen appeared arrogantly before her eyes.
[ninja world sky screen · Activated]
[Current Link Target: Uzumaki Naruto]
Before she could scream, the text on the light screen rolled out like a prophecy from hell, accompanied by Naruto's slightly roguish voice-over:
[That crying... let me think, it'll definitely be miserable. 'Please, bring Sasuke back'... When the time comes, what else will you be able to do besides crying and begging me, the dead last? You won't even be able to keep up with his back; you'll just be a decorative vase who only knows how to cry.]
[But then again...]
The tone of the inner voice suddenly shifted, taking on a playful edge:
[Usually, Sakura is so loud and boisterous, but when her heart is truly broken from crying, that look might actually be quite interesting? Crying while grabbing my clothes and not letting go... Hmm, that expression would be worth remembering.]
"Ugh..."
Sakura's pupils shrank, and she felt the blood in her body run cold, her hands and feet turning icy.
What... was that?
It wasn't a hallucination. It felt more like a memory forced into her brain. In that instant, she felt as if she had truly seen it—
A cold moonlit night, the stone path leading out of the village, Sasuke's resolute back, and herself kneeling on a stone bench, shaking all over as she cried like an abandoned puppy.
That despair, that sense of powerlessness, was so real it was suffocating.
"How... how could it..."
Sakura tremblingly covered her mouth, turning her head in terror to stare fixedly at the Blonde Youthin the back row.
In her line of sight, Naruto wasn't looking at her. He was still slumped on the desk with an innocent smile on his face, but in her eyes, he now looked like a demon.
He's thinking about this?
Why would this fool, who usually only knows how to play pranks, know the future? And... Sasuke-kunwill leave? She will go and beg him?
And... he even thinks she's "interesting" like that?
Pervert!
Devil!
Fear, anger, and doubt about her own future swirled in Sakura's brain like a blender, turning it into a mess of mush.
"What are you looking at? You're annoying."
Just then, a cold voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.
Sasuke had opened his eyes at some point. He swept a cold, indifferent gaze over Sakura, who was looking at Naruto in terror, his tone full of impatience. "Whether it's the teacher or you guys, everyone is slow. This kind of boring waiting is a pure waste of time."
Boom!
Sakura's face instantly turned deathly pale.
The tone... the attitude...
It was exactly the same as the description from that voice on the heavenly curtain!
[See, I told you so.]
That voice delivered another blow to Sakura's mind.
[This kid doesn't care about anything right now except getting stronger. Sakura, oh Sakura, you're just a moth to a flame. You'd better start training your lung capacity now, so you don't run out of breath from crying when the time comes.]
"Urgh..."
The intense mental shock made Sakura feel nauseous. She gripped the edge of the desk tightly, her nails digging deep into the wood, and had to lower her head to hide her expression, which was on the verge of collapse.
He knows...
Uzumaki Naruto, he knows everything!
He's like a spectator looking down from above, watching her perform on stage like a clown!
[Ding!]
The system's notification sound always arrived punctually after the "damage" had been dealt.
Naruto lazily lifted his eyelids, glancing at Sakura, who had suddenly lowered her head and was shaking all over. The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.
In his field of vision:
[Detected target "Sakura Haruno's" worldview has been shocked.]
[Mental state: Fear, confusion, accompanied by resentment.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Shuriken Throwing Technique (Uchiha Style Replica Edition).]
At the same time, in front of Sakura, the heavenly curtain shone with golden light again, as if trying to offer her some compensation amidst this despair:
[Endured the mental shock of the "Desperate Future."]
[Judgment: The vase has cracked; the inner personality is awakening.]
[Obtained Reward: Spiritual Energy · Second Personality Strengthening (Inner Sakura fully awakened)]
[Ability Description: Crying is useless; only anger works. When you can't hold on, let your other self take over everything.]
A strange spiritual power surged from the depths of Sakura's heart.
She snapped her head up. Deep within her green eyes, a flash of red seemed to pass. The fear on her face gradually receded, replaced by a somewhat somber and resilient expression that even Narutofound unfamiliar.
"I'm a vase?"
Sakura gritted her teeth. Though that voice couldn't be heard, that feeling of resentment roared out truly from her soul.
"I'm not that useless girl who only knows how to cry. Whether it's Sasuke-kun or the future... I definitely..."
Seeing the sudden change in Sakura's eyes, Narutoraised an eyebrow slightly.
[Oh? Not a bad look in her eyes.]
[It seems crybaby Sakura has evolved a little? That's more like it. Otherwise, how can you be my medic in the future?]
There it goes again!
medic?!
The bit of momentum she had just gathered was nearly choked back by that word. Sakura took a deep breath and forced her gaze away, no longer looking at the Blonde Youth whose inner monologue was explosively excessive.
But no matter what.
Uzumaki Naruto, who originally only had the labels "annoying" and "idiot" in her heart, had now become the most terrifying and inscrutable mystery in this classroom.
Just then.
*Creak*
The sound of a door hinge turning broke the eerie silence. A hand pushed open the classroom door.
And a figure with silver hair and a mask poked his head in, completely off guard.
*Clap*
The chalkboard eraser fell to the floor. White chalk dust splattered everywhere.
This cliché prank plunged the room into dead silence once again.