In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 171 Born in The Morning and Died in The Evening

Support me at Pat reon

remove the *

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mayflies only live for one day?”

"… Yes, now please don't interrupt me and let me finish."

"I knew where the sun would rise before, but I had never seen it. Now I have seen it."

"But it’s not like the sun shines every day," Naruto said, taking a moment before continuing, not caring where the story had left off, "Sometimes it rains."

"I’ve seen that too. It’s pretty nice, very different from the memories I have from her," Sakura said.

"Have you seen the sunrise? If you stand on Hokage Rock and look out, you can see the edge of the Konoha Forest. It’s all misty, like frost." Naruto asked with a smile, as if showing off.

"No."

"What about waterfalls?"

"No, the hospital has been busy, and I have to train too. If I take time off, I still have to be on duty at night, but I can't say I'm tired. It feels quite novel."

The two chatted casually, and the story Naruto was telling trailed off halfway through.

They talked about the fireworks festival, and Sakura mentioned how she had seen the fireworks rising from her window. They were beautiful, though they didn’t evoke many emotions in her, just a sense that they looked nice.

"Don’t worry, you’ll see them during missions later." Naruto comforted her.

"I understand." Sakura suddenly stood up, startling him, "I know what to do now."

"What?" Naruto instinctively felt that something was off with how things were unfolding.

"I’m still going to make you fall for me." Sakura picked up the pen and pointed the sharp tip at him from a distance, "This way, things will become interesting."

"Interesting? Are you misunderstanding something?" Naruto also stood up and took two steps back.

He just wanted a normal teammate, and things had been clearly moving slowly along the lines of a typical comrade bond, ‘I tried to activate her yearning for companionship, but now it seemed like…’

"It’s okay if you like someone else. I’ll just be the backup girlfriend."

"Cough cough!!!" Naruto couldn't hold it in and started coughing violently, "You… Cough cough!!! What did you say!?"

"You better calm down, Sakura!"

"I am calm." Sakura replied, her eyes reflecting the piles of documents around them, "The book says that doing things secretly behind everyone’s back is the most thrilling."

"What... What kind of book are you reading?"

"A book?" Hearing this, Sakura turned around and took out a copy of Icha-Icha Paradise from the drawer.

Seeing this, Naruto felt a heavy blow to his heart. He had always acknowledged Jiraiya’s writing skills. The way he played with the concept of forbidden love was a big part of its best-selling appeal.

Faced with this backstab from his pervert master’s work, Naruto opened his mouth, trying to salvage the situation before it got any weirder or more twisted.

"Wait a minute! Hold on, something’s not right here!"

“I can accept…”

"Stop! Don't repeat that!" Naruto took a deep breath. He finally realized what was the most terrifying thing about Sakura. In that moment, he had actually felt himself wavering.

‘Terrifying! Too terrifying!!!’

"Don’t you want it? On the surface, we’re just close companions, but secretly, I’d actually be yours." Sakura's words were like the whisper of a devil.

"I don’t like that idea, but if it’s Naruto-kun, I could make an exception."

"What?" He was stunned, his mind going blank.

"Let's do something strange together." Sakura said, stepping closer.

"Wait, this isn't how it should be!" Naruto tried to back away, but he bumped into the back of a chair, and with a slight push from Sakura, he found himself sitting down.

"Sakura… You…"

Sakura leaned over him, standing in front of him, her pale arms reaching out to grasp Naruto's hand. The warmth of her palm, slightly moist and slick, sent a jolt through him.

"Since she's completely hiding away, I have the right to use this body too." She said this, biting the tip of her other finger.

"Remember me well."

Before Naruto could say anything, Sakura intertwined their fingers, locking them together. Her blue-green eyes gazed at him as she parted her lips, licking the tip of his index finger before biting down.

A sharp pain shot through his fingertip, snapping Naruto out of his daze as his pupils dilated.

"I don't think this is a good idea at all."

He gently pushed Sakura away, taking a deep breath as if he'd never breathed before, and his mind suddenly becoming clear.

"Don't worry, I won't compete with Ino for the first place." Sakura said, her arms falling to her sides, with a relaxed smile on her face, "I don't have feelings like 'love’, so you don't need to worry."

"I just wanted to try it out. No one will know. Think of it as a practice run."

“This isn't right!”

Although Naruto's moral bottom line is somewhat flexible, that only applied to strangers. To his companions, he is still relatively sincere, and this wasn't just a matter of whether it was right or wrong.

Sakura was completely missing the point of what she truly wanted.

"Why?" Sakura was a little puzzled, "Do you still care more about her? But she's already hidden away because of Sasuke. Are you still going to hold on?"

"This has nothing to do with that." Naruto replied.

Naruto didn't really care if Dark Sakura would disappear or when she would disappear. He just regarded her as Sakura, whether she was pink or dark was irrelevant, she was just his companion, Sakura.

People get troubled because they think too much.

Naruto just needed to cut through the confusion, shutting out all unnecessary worries. If Sakura wanted life to be more interesting, he'd show her more interesting things.

But he wouldn't stand by and watch as she continued down this path of ignorance.

In short, as long as Dark Sakura could still communicate, then things are still manageable. They just need to gradually work things out and guide her toward a path of becoming a normal and reliable companion.

"Why? If you agree, I can help with Ino, too. Although I've been too busy with work to really connect with her lately…" Sakura said with a smile.

“But I can reach out to her.”

"There's really no need." Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "It's not that I find your suggestion outrageous, because I'm not a good person either."

"But this isn't just some simple experiment. You're right, all I'd have to do is say yes. I could try it with you without feeling any guilt and without losing anything."

"To be honest, this has nothing to do with Sasuke. Sasuke chose his own path, and I'm not going after him. Let him go. Maybe because of that, Sakura was hurt and decided to hide, giving you control of the body."

"But these are not important. They're two separate things. I hope you can live every day well. I don't know if you'll disappear or when you'll disappear."

"Until then, you're my most trusted companion. I'll remember you forever, and when I die, I'll have your name etched on my tombstone. You'll exist forever."

Mayflies are born in the morning and die in the evening. Humans only live for a hundred years and each has his or her own way of living.

Sakura stood there without moving, leaning on the edge of the table in silence for a long time. After about five minutes, she raised her head with a smile on her face.

"Okay."