Naruto could clearly feel Sakura's body temperature. He didn't say anything, just looking at the dark night, while his mind drifting back to the mission in the Land of Snow.
"What are you thinking about?" Sakura asked suddenly.
"Now that Koyuki-chan has ran away, the mission in the Land of Snow can't be completed." Naruto sighed and leaned back on the bench. "As expected, I still care about it, but we can't find her now."
Sakura glanced up at the dim streetlight partially obscured by the tree leaves and narrowed her eyes slightly.
The trees were lush and green, providing ample shade.
"Are you going to bring her back?" Sakura asked, "It may not be easy to get her to restart the Land of Snow's mission. Princess Fuun seems to be reluctant to return to the Land of Snow."
"Maybe." Naruto said ambiguously, "Actually, we might not even need her."
He remembered that Koyuki's necklace was still in his possession, stored away in his seal space. If all else failed, he could just sneak off to the Land of Snow and finish the mission alone.
Even though it wouldn't be the most legitimate approach, if push came to shove, he had no choice. After all, the complete version of the Flying Thunder God Technique along with invisible kunai was not something he could give up. It was his future trump card, the opportunity to surpass even the Yondaime Hokage's speed.
With it, he could become the fastest man in the Shinobi World.
"I can help you persuade her. Maybe we can restart the mission." Sakura's voice dropped slightly as she turned to look at him, "Do you want me to join you on the mission?"
"Of course! If the mission is restarted, how can I handle it alone?" Naruto, oblivious to her emotions, continued eating his ice cream.
"But we definitely need to stay away from Anko. Can't have her tagging along again. That fake Jonin."
"Alright."
"What's wrong?" Naruto turned his head, "Why so quiet all of a sudden…"
He stopped mid-sentence, and froze in place. Sakura looked exhausted, her eyelids seemed to be drooping, and she looked particularly frail.
"I'm a little sleepy." She yawned and then smiled, "Walk me home?"
Naruto was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Half an hour later.
"I'm heading up. See you tomorrow." Sakura stood at the door of her house, watching the dawn gradually appear, and waved to Naruto.
"Okay." Naruto felt a twinge of worry and voiced it directly, "Are you sure you're alright? You haven't felt unwell, have you?"
"No, just a little sleepy." Sakura said with a smile in her eyes.
Naruto couldn't quite figure out why she seemed so happy, 'Was it because we spent the night together, or was it because she could finally feel what it was like to sleep?'
Even so, Naruto wasn't willing to let her go so easily.
"Are you sure you're okay? You said you hadn't slept in a long time, but suddenly..."
"I told you, I was kidding. How could anyone not sleep?" Sakura showed an expression she had never had before and looked at him with amusement.
"Well… then why are you crying?"
"Eh?" Sakura flinched and subconsciously touched her face with her fingers, finding them wet.
…
The next morning.
Naruto woke up in bed and took out the key Koyuki had given him, hesitating about whether to sneak out and complete the mission on his own.
'However, leaving the village was another problem, especially with Jiraiya returning soon.'
After thinking it over, Naruto couldn't come up with a safer plan, so he could only put away the necklace-like key.
Hokage Tower.
"Sakura asked for leave?" Naruto asked Tsunade with some interest.
"Her mother came by and explained that she seems to be suffering from overexertion. No matter what they do, they can't wake her up." Tsunade said while flipping through some documents.
"It's probably just fatigue causing her to sleep deeply. I believe she should be fine after a day of rest."
"Since when do you care about her?" Tsunade asked curiously, "You two seem to have gotten close lately? That's rare, Uzumaki Naruto."
"You, with your lazy personality, actually caring about a teammate?"
"What's so strange about that? I'm just asking casually." Naruto rolled his eyes at her and said, "Anyway, as long as she's fine."
In truth, Naruto was worried. He had already planned to visit her house in the afternoon to check on her. After all, the way Sakura looked yesterday didn't seem like someone who was just fine.
"Yo, Naruto, you look pretty energetic, huh?" A A loud voice rang out from the doorway.
Standing there was Jiraiya, his white spiky hair bristling, laughing heartily.
"Pervy Sage?" Naruto was a little surprised.
With a snap, the popsicle broke into two halves, and ice chips splashed everywhere.
"Here." Naruto shamelessly handed Jiraiya the smaller half.
Jiraiya's face twitched as he took it and he said speechlessly, "You little brat, are you really that poor? What's with the act?"
"I'm not poor." Naruto slurped on his popsicle and said, "I'm just being frugal, saving for when I start a family in the future."
"Damn it!" Jiraiya took the popsicle and complained grumbled while munching on it, "How much could starting a family cost? Stingy."
Naruto ignored the comment and changed the subject.
"Tsunade-sama said you went to investigate the Akatsuki organization. What was the result, Pervy Sage?"
"The result?" Jiraiya was not used to being questioned about his intel, and said awkwardly, "Probably somewhere within the Land of Rain, right? Has Tsunade already told you all this?"
"Hmm? Is there something you can't tell me?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya in confusion, "Pervy Sage, you're not underestimating me, are you?"
"It's not that, haha." Jiraiya felt a little guilty after his thoughts were seen through, so he quickly came up with an excuse, "Anyway, the Land of Rain is always shrouded in secrecy. It's still too dangerous for a little Genin like you."
"I'll go in and investigate first. Let's talk about it again after I get detailed intel."
'Detailed intel?' Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, 'What I lacked the least was intel.'
But he couldn't say that outright, so he had to find a way to tag along with Jiraiya.
'We mustn't let the Akatsuki fight in a group. Splitting them up and taking them down one by one was the safest strategy.'
"I'm not some little brat. If Uchiha Itachi shows up again, I'll definitely take him down." Naruto grinned, "Give me a bit more time, and even if the whole Akatsuki organization comes at me..."
Bang!
Jiraiya smacked the back of Naruto's head and said, "Kid, stop spouting nonsense. Dealing with the Akatsuki organization isn't something for youngsters like you to worry about."
Naruto was quite speechless at Jiraiya's overbearing guardian attitude and showed his discontent through his actions. He looked disdainfully at Jiraiya and spat on the roadside.
"Ptui!"
Seeing Naruto's cheeky expression, Jiraiya was instantly annoyed, and said through gritted teeth, "You little brat! You sure are infuriating!"
"Anyway no matter what, I'm going, Pervy Sage, so deal with it." Naruto scratched his face, "I'm a perfect Jinchuriki. I won't be able to sleep well if I don't kill them."
Jiraiya stared at Naruto, who was looking like a total rascal, and was completely speechless, 'How did this kid turn out like this?'