"Hehe... Sakura..."
The blonde with spiky hair stood on a stool, learning a new recipe from a book nearby. He skillfully stirred the eggs in a bowl, then placed them in a pot of water to steam.
It had been a year since Sakura gave him the recipe.
Over time, Naruto had developed decent cooking skills. While he still indulged in instant noodles occasionally, he mostly cooked for himself now or went to Ichiraku Ramen when he needed a meal.
This evening, as he cooked, Naruto found himself thinking of a girl with cherry-pink hair.
That smile... I'll probably never forget it.
Watching the water bubble in the pot, Naruto first filled a bowl with steamed rice he'd prepared earlier that day. Then, he retrieved some leftover rice from the fridge and reheated the bone broth in the microwave.
Naruto had been doing well lately, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had increased his monthly allowance from 5,000 to 6,500 taels. This meant Naruto could enjoy meat almost every meal. He had grown taller and stronger over the year.
Sitting at the table by the window, Naruto propped his cheek on his hand, gazing out at the clear night sky, lost in thought.
I wonder what Sakura's doing right now...
At that moment, Sakura was leafing through a scroll on super strength that Sarutobi Hiruzen had given her. She skipped the introductory training methods, focusing instead on the section about chakra manipulation.
Chakra, a blend of spiritual and physical energy, was essential for performing ninjutsu. In order to cast it, one needed to form hand seals to channel chakra. Tsunade's super strength technique aimed to simplify this process, potentially even eliminating the need for hand seals, similar to the techniques of Minato Namikaze.
Super strength confirmed that Tsunade's theory was successful; a single punch could exceed the power of many ninjutsu, even rivaling the Rasengan. Moreover, the chakra cost of super strength was lower than the Rasengan.
However, not everyone could achieve it. Sakura realized this technique's immense difficulty. Only Tsunade and herself could use super strength, with even Shizune unable to master it.
The scroll revealed that chakra control for super strength required exact precision—a hurdle for 95% of ninjas. Each hand had six meridians, such as the Lung, Large Intestine, Heart, and Small Intestine meridians. When punching, a practitioner had to manage all six meridians simultaneously, like performing six tasks at once.
As Sakura pondered this, she recalled the skills of Akatsuki's Nagato and Sasori, who were adept at multi-tasking chakra. The technique seemed well-suited for them.
Shaking off her musings, Sakura focused again on the scroll. Mastering super strength was akin to drawing a circle with one hand, a square with another, a triangle with one foot, and a star with the other—all while reading a book and singing. Only the highest-level shinobi could accomplish it.
Aside from Nagato and Sasori, few had such skills. Chiyo from the Sand Village, who controlled ten puppets, came to mind.
Fortunately, Sakura no longer needed special training. Thanks to her Golden Finger ability, she instinctively mastered this technique. All she needed now was to apply her chakra control expertise to other skills.
Simply relying on her inherited powers would be inadequate. Stopping at her current level would keep her far from her goals.
"Sakura, come eat!"
"Today we have your favorite red bean dumplings!"
Mebuki Haruno called from outside her door.
"Those are too sweet. Let's make bone broth tomorrow."
That was the old Sakura's favorite dish, not hers.
"Eh? Changing tastes already?"
Night fell, and the peace of Konoha shattered with a sudden explosion. The echo lingered in the night sky.
Haruno Sakura, nearly asleep under her covers, started awake, her body tense.
What happened?
Climbing out of bed, she looked out her window, seeing the lights of many houses flicker on in response to the loud noise. Following the direction of the sound, Sakura smirked, wondering if Naruto's gas tank had exploded.
Shaking off the absurd thought, she grew serious.
If it's Naruto... it's actually possible.
Sakura carefully pushed open her door, slipped on her slippers, and, seeing her parents' home still quiet, snuck outside.
As she approached Naruto's place, more villagers gathered around. She slipped between people, using her small frame to squeeze closer to the scene.
She saw Naruto's house—a partial ruin, half-collapsed.
It was his house that exploded, specifically in the kitchen. Could the gas tank really have burst? But Naruto should be fine; Anbu guards protected him.
"Hey, Sakura, you're here too?"
Just as she thought of searching for Naruto, a familiar voice called out.
A young girl with light beige hair skipped over to her, followed by a middle-aged man with matching beige hair: Yamanaka Ino and her father.
"Uncle Inoichi."
Sakura greeted him politely.
"Sakura, were you frightened just now?"
Yamanaka Inoichi, a kind person, knew Sakura as his daughter's close friend and held no prejudice against her commoner status.
"Just a little, so I came to check. I didn't expect it to be Naruto's place," she replied with concern.
She worried about him. Naruto barely knew how to cook, yet here he was learning, to the point of blowing up his house.
"Uncle Inoichi, is Naruto okay?"
Inoichi was about to reassure her when a sleepy voice sounded nearby.
"Eh? Sakura, why are you here?"
Naruto stood, wearing a nightcap and rubbing his eyes. He looked barely awake.
Sakura sighed in helpless amusement at the sight of him, dazed but unharmed.
He truly is the child of destiny—even a gas tank explosion right beside him couldn't wake him up.