"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, looking at her.
"What?" Sakura jumped down from the railing and looked at him curiously, "Didn't we make an appointment? This afternoon..."
"Oh." The uneasy feeling in his mind disappeared, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "You asked me for a small favor before. Can you tell me what it is now?"
"Ah, just wanted to stroll around." Sakura pointed to Konoha Street in the distance, not yet illuminated by lights.
"That sort of thing... you don't really need to make such a formal request." Naruto turned first and started down the stairs. Sakura followed behind with her hands behind her back. There were about eight steps between them.
"Well, you probably wouldn't agree otherwise, and would find some excuse to brush me off." Sakura said in a tone that said, 'You're just that kind of person'.
"Uh…" Naruto was at a loss for words, as she had hit the nail on the head.
Considering Sakura's recent risky statements and his wariness of her unstable sense of ethics, it is possible that he would reject all of Sakura's individual invitations.
It wasn't that he was being overly cautious, he simply didn't want to get involved in unnecessary trouble.
He knew very well that whether it was the crazy Temari or Sakura, both were unpredictable ticking bombs. If he were simply motivated by lust, who knows when one of them might explode.
As for Ino and Hinata… They both had gentle personalities, and their desires weren't reckless or brainless.
Naruto knew he could be a bit of a scumbag, but at least he was clear about it.
He is still young and has not been in a relationship yet. He just had a good relationship with Ino and Hinata. Without confirming anything with anyone, there was no sense of being two-timing, nor was there any guidance against the forbidden concept of minors dating.
Although to be honest, this is not the real world, so he could be a little greedy and want both after he came of age.
Even if he were to act more like a scumbag, anyone with half a brain wouldn't mess with his teammates, let alone the Sunagakure's princess.
There had to be a limit to recklessness. At the very least, he can gain the friendships of both Ino and Hinata. Why would he risk losing everything by entangling with a yandere or a masochist?
Pure friendship is hard to come by. He already had few friends to begin with, so only a fool would play with fire.
"Why are you quiet all of a sudden?" Sakura asked.
They had already walked out of the Hokage Tower, and the evening light halted at Naruto's feet. He glanced back and saw Sakura standing a few steps behind him, looking at him a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing, just lost in thought." He said casually, "It's not like I'd refuse, after all, it's just a stroll. I usually have plenty of free time, not too busy."
"That's good." She said with a smile, and deliberately took a few steps forward until she was in front of Naruto, then turned back to look at him.
It was one of those forty-five-degree side glances, just enough to reveal the curve of her neck and jawline. The profile of the girl was displayed before him. Sakura made no attempt to hide her intentions, showing a sweet smile he had never seen before.
"Let's go then!"
"Sure." Naruto shrugged and followed with a nonchalant look on his face.
"Naruto-kun really isn't a good person, huh?" Sakura suddenly said as they walked side by side.
Naruto didn't react much at first. He glanced at her, then turned his head and asked slowly, "Why do you say that?"
"… You don't even bother to deny it." Sakura teased.
"I'm not exactly a good person, but it depends on the aspect. In some ways, my moral bottom line is still relatively high." Naruto said.
"Hmm, when you put it that way, I'm kind of curious." Sakura's gaze skimmed over the stores along the street.
Naruto fell silent.
"But Naruto-kun must have some other charm, right? Otherwise, Ino and Hinata wouldn't care about you, would they?" Sakura said bluntly.
"That's true." Naruto admitted shamelessly.
"You admitted it so straightforwardly that it kind of hurts." Sakura sighed and said, "I heard that boys will only admit their relationship with other girls in front of girls they don't care about."
"Pure friendship." Naruto corrected her.
"That hurts even more. I might just cry." Sakura stopped, turned around, and looked at Naruto. There's smile on her face despite her words.
"I was here first."
"Don't say such weird things. You only took control of your body at that time, right? Don't lie with your eyes wide open like me!"
Naruto couldn't quite recall the exact moment, but Dark Sakura's persona probably awakened about ten days after Sasuke's defection. In that cramped duty room at Konoha Hospital, Sakura had smiled and asked him who Sasuke was.
"Time sure flies. It's already been a year." Sakura put her hands behind her back and continued walking forward without responding directly to the conversation.
"Yeah, more than a year has passed." Naruto also felt a tinge of nostalgia. To say he was unaffected would be a lie.
Imagine a normal person suddenly ending up in the Naruto World, constantly facing inexplicable malice, suspicion, and cold stares. Watching Shinobi run along rooftops, spewing fire, water, lightning, and other supernatural feats.
Any normal person would be shocked to the point of questioning reality. Luckily, he had watched Naruto before, so he was somewhat calm when he first arrived in this world.
What left the deepest impression on him was the start of the Shippuden series, where Gaara 'died' at the beginning. The fighting scenes were so captivating that he didn't pay much attention to Naruto's youth. After all, it was a hot-blooded shonen anime. Just fighting was enough. Who cares about romantic subplots?
But he is now Uzumaki Naruto, a living person. When it was his turn to live here, he didn't want to fight or kill. He didn't care about the hot-blooded shonen anime stuff. Someone else could save the world, and he was just going to take it easy.
Flowers can bloom again, but youth doesn't return.
He's young now, so why not bloom in Konoha?
"I want to eat that!" Sakura suddenly turned around and said to him. Naruto was spacing out and was startled by Sakura's flushed face.
'Jeez, did she say something wild again?'
It wasn't until he followed Sakura's gaze and saw the takoyaki stall that Naruto breathe a sigh of relief. He was almost scared to death just now. He just hoped that he didn't have to eat anything weird.
The two of them approached the stall, and Naruto recognized it as the same stall from before. The last time he bought food there, Sakura's voice suddenly popped up from behind him. It was quite a scare.
"If you want to eat, just buy it." He subconsciously reached for his money, but suddenly remembered that the other party was Sakura, so he swiftly pulled his hand out of his pocket.
Last time, she had mentioned spending Pink Sakura's savings.
Naruto doesn't know if her small expenses can keep up with the speed at which she earns big money. Sakura's family seems to be well off. So, if it's just for food, unless she ate premium barbecue every meal and have appetite like Hinata, she wouldn't run out of money.
Naruto thought carelessly, and a smile suddenly crept onto his face.
"Boss, I want that, and that." Sakura said, and suddenly turned her head without warning, just in time to see Naruto's smile. She immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Are you still thinking about other girls right now?"
"Yes." Naruto replied confidently, "So what?"
"No problem. Even if you're like this, Naruto-kun, I still like you." Dark Sakura smiled gently and said, "I'll just be your backup girlfriend."
"Damn it, don't say that kind of thing in public!" Naruto quickly covered Sakura's mouth and looked around in panic, but it was already too late.
Although the surrounding customers didn't say anything, they discreetly moved away. When they glanced over as if nothing had happened, there was a hint of contempt at the end, as if to say, 'He must be a pervert who deceives naive girls!'