Amid the ruins of Konohagakure, Sakura finally managed to break away from the crowd. She waved toward Sasuke, who was standing in the distance.
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke turned his head.
Strange.
For some reason, Sakura… looked kind of attractive right now.
Must be his imagination. Sasuke shook off the odd thought and turned to face her. Without realizing it, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Sakura, you did well."
Sakura had just reached Sasuke's side and was about to say something when she heard those words. She froze.
"In all these years, I can count on one hand how many times you've praised me." Her face turned slightly red. To hide her embarrassment, she casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Where's Naruto? I saw him here just a moment ago."
"Suna was attacked. Gaara was badly injured. He went to help." Sasuke glanced to the side.
For a split second, Sakura's expression had a certain charm that made him lose focus. To cover it up, he looked away.
"I see…" Sakura's face grew even redder. She didn't dare look at Sasuke.
She wasn't sure what to say at the moment. It was that kind of awkward feeling, like when you're shy and don't know how to speak. Technically, she shouldn't feel this way anymore because she believed she had changed.
But for some reason, just seeing Sasuke now brought back a feeling she thought she had long forgotten.
Maybe it was because… Sasuke was the same way.
But on the surface, Sasuke didn't seem any different. His face wasn't red, his expression hadn't changed, and he wasn't even looking at her directly.
With that thought, Sakura sighed quietly.
But in reality, Sasuke wasn't unaffected. Or rather, the reason his face wasn't red was because he had gotten used to being teased by those two idiots. His expression didn't change because he had learned to tolerate them. And the reason he wasn't looking at Sakura directly was because… he was embarrassed.
That's right—Sasuke was feeling a little awkward.
It was strange. Just like how Sakura had changed, he had changed too. He wasn't as cold as before. He cared more about his friends. Even though he had picked up some bad habits along the way, overall, he had become much more open.
And that brightness made it a little hard for him to adjust to the new Sakura—kind of like how Naruto used to act around Hinata.
Now that he thought about it… why was he feeling this way?
Feeling confused by his own reaction, Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Sakura again.
That awkward feeling was still there, but it didn't matter.
Sasuke chose to speak. "I didn't praise you before because back then, you were struggling to do things that should've been easy for you. But now, I'm praising you because even when something seems impossible, you still try your best to make it happen."
"You've grown. You've gotten stronger. And… you've become more beautiful."
To Sasuke, beauty came from strength.
But… Sakura didn't see it that way.
As soon as Sasuke said those words, her face instantly turned bright red, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
Seeing her reaction, Sasuke frowned slightly. "Did I say something weird?"
"No! Not at all!" Sakura blurted out. Then, as if realizing something, her face turned even redder.
She lowered her head nervously, her fingers fidgeting together as she spoke in a small voice. "Um… Sasuke, does this mean I'm closer to you all now?"
"Yes." Sasuke nodded without hesitation.
Not just in terms of strength—her mindset, her way of thinking, everything about her felt like a completely new Sakura. She was no longer just the girl who used to follow him around. Now, she stood out in her own way.
Yes, the old Sakura was just an annoying girl who followed him. But now, Sakura was a true member of Team 7.
Sakura's face lit up with excitement as she looked at Sasuke, her eyes shining with happiness. No recognition mattered more than Sasuke and Naruto's—because they were the ones she had been chasing after all this time.
Her smile was bright—like sunlight, dazzling and full of energy.
But before she could say anything, a worried voice suddenly called out.
"Sakura! Thank goodness you're okay!"
The voice was from a middle-aged man, and it sounded oddly emotional—like someone who wasn't thinking straight. Just from the tone, it was obvious he was a little clueless… kind of like Naruto.
Sakura's face immediately froze.
Sasuke instinctively turned toward the voice, but the moment he saw the man, he stopped in his tracks. A look of shock flashed across his face.
The middle-aged man didn't stand out in any way—he was pretty average-looking. But for some reason, his hair gave off a weird vibe… Hmm, as Kurama would put it, he looked like someone really good at playing cards.
But that wasn't the point. Sasuke almost blurted out in shock, "The Fourth Hokage!"
Haruno Akio—Sakura's father.
He rushed forward and hugged Sakura, who had frozen in place. His face was full of fear and sadness as he kept rubbing his cheek against hers. "Sakura! Sakura! Do you know how scary that was?! That giant slug! And that bad guy in the sky! So terrifying! Waaah~"
A grown man in his late thirties whining like that? Sasuke was completely speechless.
Before Sakura could say anything, Haruno Akio suddenly turned to Sasuke, looking confused. "Wait… the Fourth Hokage? Me?"
Sakura also heard what Sasuke said. She rolled her eyes in frustration, pulled away from her father's embrace, and said with a disgusted look, "Sasuke, have you been hanging around Naruto too much lately? Is your brain getting infected? Did you forget that the Fourth Hokage is Naruto's… um, yeah?"
Some things were better left unsaid for now.
Sasuke twitched. "No, I meant the Fourth Hokage from the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
That's right. The unfamiliar face carved into the stone wall… turned out to be this very man—Haruno Akio, who was now hugging his daughter and whining like a child.
Sasuke had racked his brain trying to remember who that person was. He had a feeling they looked familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Now, it all made sense. It was Sakura's father.
"No wonder your mother in that world called you the 'daughter of a hero.' I was really wondering about that…" Sasuke found the whole thing ridiculous.
And honestly, it was kind of absurd. Everyone knew Sakura's father was just an ordinary person. Among the twelve Konoha rookies, Sakura was one of the few who came from a civilian background.
The only other civilian-born ninja was Lee. Tenten didn't count—she was rich.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi world really was strange.
Sakura sighed helplessly, but before she could say anything, her mother suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Without a word, she pulled Sakura into a bear hug and started crying just like her husband.
Sasuke's eye twitched at the sight.
Thank god his own parents weren't like this.
Thinking that, Sasuke quietly turned and walked away, wondering why he even felt awkward about Sakura in the first place. He figured he should also put some distance between himself and her rather… unusual parents.
Then he turned around—only to see Hinata standing there, looking worried.
Alright, maybe he could have a little fun with this.
Naruto, I'm telling on you!
A small smirk crept onto Sasuke's face.
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