Naruko’s Transformation, Sasuke’s Cold Stare

Gaara stood frozen in disbelief, unable to process what he was seeing. His mind was blank.

Naruto… had turned into a girl?

Naruko?

The thought made Gaara's heart race wildly. He felt as if he might faint.

[In the Hokage's Office]

Everyone stared at Naruto's sudden transformation, completely dumbfounded. Shock filled the room as they processed what had happened.

Sasuke, in particular, looked utterly stunned.

"I…"

Naruko clenched her small fists, struggling to comprehend her own changes. Even her voice had shifted—it was no longer her usual raspy tone but a softer, more feminine sound.

"W-What's happening? What's wrong with my body?! This is bad, really bad, dattebayo!" Naruko panicked, her twin tails bouncing with her frantic movements.

"Grandpa Third, Kakashi-sensei, what do I do?!" Naruko cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

Kakashi inhaled sharply, momentarily taken aback. "Is this… what Jiraiya-sensei described in his novels?"

"Ah… Naruto, don't worry. The punishment will only last three days. After that, you'll turn back to normal," Kakashi reassured her.

Hiruzen rubbed his temples, looking thoroughly exasperated. A boy had turned into a girl right before his eyes, and it was difficult for the old Hokage to adjust to this sudden development.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, standing closest to Naruko, couldn't hide his complicated expression.

"This… is Naruto?"

As he stared at the now-cute figure in front of him, Sasuke couldn't deny that it was, in fact, Naruto.

But then… why did he feel a strange flutter in his chest?

No, impossible. It couldn't be.

Sasuke shook his head violently, trying to dispel the intrusive thought. There's no way I'm feeling anything for that loser.

[Ding!]

The sky's screen suddenly went black, and a new scene began to play.

[On Screen]

The scene depicted a bridge that seemed to have been through a brutal battle. Its surface was cracked and uneven, evidence of the destruction it had endured.

Standing on the bridge were Sasuke, Karin, and Sakura.

Sasuke looked utterly exhausted, his face streaked with dirt. Karin wasn't faring any better—she lay on the ground, barely conscious.

The Ninja World:

"Sasuke? And that's Sakura with him? So this is what happened!"

"Wait, the answer earlier was Naruto, right? Naruto was willing to die for Sasuke? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"You mean Naruko, not Naruto, hahaha!"

"Naruko… hehe…"

"Stop being creepy in the comments! It's disgusting!"

"Seriously though, why does Naruto—er, Naruko—have such flawless skin? And that figure… even as a girl, they're adorable!"

"Focus, people! We're supposed to be talking about Sasuke!"

[In the Hokage's Office]

"Who are you calling Naruko?! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! Remember that, you idiots!" Naruko yelled angrily, her small chest rising and falling as she fumed.

Sasuke quietly observed her outburst. Strangely, he felt an urge to punch everyone making inappropriate jokes.

"Is this the allure of a succubus?" Sasuke murmured, glancing at the comment section. The thought left him both irritated and confused.

"What's a succubus, Sasuke?" Naruko asked, tilting her head curiously as she leaned closer to him.

The faint scent of her shampoo wafted toward Sasuke, making him tense up. His face reddened slightly before he coughed to compose himself.

"Don't get so close, you loser!"

"Why not, Sasuke? You're acting so weird. And why is your face red?"

"Stay away from me!"

"Why?"

Hiruzen watched the interaction with a furrowed brow, his attention drawn to the unconscious girl on the screen. "Is that… a member of the Uzumaki clan?"

[On Screen]

Sakura's voice broke through the tension:

"Sasuke, I want to go with you. I want to leave Konoha!"

Her words sent shockwaves through the entire ninja world.

The Ninja World:

"What? Sakura wants to defect?"

The Konoha 12 gasped in disbelief. The idea that Sakura would follow Sasuke and become a rogue ninja seemed unfathomable.

At that time, Sasuke was already a missing-nin. If Sakura joined him, it would mean betraying Konoha and becoming a rogue ninja herself.

"No way! Sakura would never do that! She must have a reason!" Ino declared, refusing to believe it.

Even Sakura, watching the screen, was stunned. While she admired Sasuke, her devotion hadn't reached the point where she'd abandon her village.

[In the Hokage's Office]

"Sakura wants to defect? Why would she do that?" Naruko asked, bewildered.

Sasuke's expression turned strange as an inexplicable feeling welled up inside him.

[On Screen]

Sasuke's face also showed confusion at Sakura's words. But his tone remained cold as he asked:

"Why did you follow me? What do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I just regret not going with you back then. I'll do whatever you want me to do," Sakura replied firmly.

Sasuke sneered. "Whatever I want? Do you even know what I want?"

"Destroying Konoha. That's what I want."

"So, you'd betray Konoha for me?"

Sakura didn't waver in the face of his chilling words.

"If that's what you want, Sasuke, then yes."

The scene sparked outrage among Konoha's citizens. Even Sakura's parents were furious, struggling to process their daughter's apparent betrayal.

[On Screen]

Sasuke's expression remained emotionless as he pointed to Karin, who lay motionless on the ground.

"If that's true, then prove it. Kill her, and I'll believe you."

Watching from the present, Karin was utterly stunned.

"That's me… that boy… he's the one I met during the Chūnin Exams!"

Her mind raced back to the Forest of Death during the joint Chūnin Exams held by the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

"He's… he's not like that. The boy I met wasn't like this…" Karin whispered to herself, struggling to reconcile the image on the screen with her memories.

The Sasuke she remembered had been different—calm, determined, but not cruel.

"He's not like that… he wasn't like that at all."