Chapter 52: Tsundere Sasuke

Sakura and the others finally completed their mission in Wave Country. After Kakashi had recovered, the four of them set off on the road back to the village.

Overall, Kakashi was quite satisfied with this mission. It had been a close call, but they'd made it through. His three subordinates had also grown: Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan, Sakura had gained experience from actual combat, and Naruto was finally starting to act like a proper ninja. Most importantly, all three had strengthened their teamwork and learned to value their comrades.

Seeing the familiar gates of Konoha, Sakura felt a wave of relief. No matter what, this was her sanctuary in this world. Nowhere else made her feel as safe as Konoha did. Being away from home always kept her on edge.

"Mission complete. You're dismissed. I'm going to report the mission details to the Hokage," Kakashi said to the three.

"Yes, sir," the three replied in unison.

Kakashi disappeared in a Body Flicker Technique, and Sakura prepared to go home and relax. Even though she could rest outside the village, her nerves were always taut.

"Hey, Naruto, let's spar later," Sasuke said, quickly speaking up as Naruto was about to leave.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, a little surprised. Sasuke had never suggested sparring with Naruto before. Naruto only ever teamed up with Sasuke when they were both facing her. Why was he suddenly suggesting a spar with Naruto?

"Heh heh, Sasuke, you're on!" Naruto readily agreed, his energy levels spiking at the challenge.

"Follow me," Sasuke said.

"Hey~~~ Sakura-chan, are you coming too?"

"Ah, yeah. Come to think of it, I've never seen you two fight each other. I'm kind of curious who would win," Sakura said, chuckling nervously.

Naruto followed Sasuke, and Sakura, out of curiosity, followed them as well, wanting to see how strong they were. Honestly, since Sakura had returned to the village, she'd never actually seen Sasuke and Naruto fight each other. Sasuke had now awakened his Sharingan and knew some of his family's ninjutsu, but his chakra reserves were smaller than Naruto's. Naruto, on the other hand, only knew some basic ninjutsu and the Shadow Clone Technique, but he had a massive amount of chakra to throw around in battle. The Sharingan might not even be able to tell the real Naruto from the shadow clones. If these two really fought, it would probably end in a draw.

They followed Sasuke to the Uchiha clan's training grounds, located in the back hills. Seeing the slightly familiar surroundings, Sakura felt a pang of nostalgia.

It was here that she had been in danger, first saved by Sasuke and then by Naruto.

Looking at the overturned earth, still unrepaired from Naruto's tailed-beast rampage, Sakura was silent. If the Uchiha clan were still around, this place would probably have been restored already.

Without a word, Sakura quietly made hand seals. "Earth Style: Pit-Filling Technique!" She used Earth Style to fill in the large crater in the center of the training ground.

"Hey, Sasuke, why did you bring us here?" Naruto asked, the surroundings clearly stirring up unpleasant memories. It was here he celebrated New Years eve with Sasuke. It was here that Sakura had almost been killed by an enemy.

"..." Sasuke was silent for a moment, not answering, and quietly took out a kunai.

"Come on, Naruto, show me how much you've improved," Sasuke said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he gestured to Naruto.

"Hmph, I'm not dead weight anymore. I'll definitely beat you!" Naruto also took out a kunai, adopting an offensive stance.

Sakura watched them, a little bored, as they tossed kunai and shuriken at each other. She was already extremely familiar with their routines from their sparring sessions over the past few days.

It was too familiar, actually, which made it a bit boring to watch. But why had Sasuke chosen this place? This godforsaken place was worse than the Konoha training grounds. At least there, they might have run into other Genin and gotten a chance to spar with different opponents.

The sun was beginning to set, and Sasuke and Naruto were both exhausted and lying on the ground.

"You two really are energetic," Sakura said, walking over to heal them as they lay on the ground, covered in bruises. They were just sparring, so the injuries were superficial.

Actually, it was already quite late when Team 7 had returned to the village. This "spar" was really just that – a spar. They went back and forth, one punch for another, dragging things out until almost sunset without a clear winner. Of course, that was partly because they didn't know many ninjutsu yet.

"Are you two hungry?" Sakura asked after she finished healing them.

"It's not over yet, Sasuke," Naruto said, getting up after being healed and preparing to continue.

"Bring it on, dead-last," Sasuke retorted, also standing up and taking a stance.

"That's enough! If you two have so much energy, come and fight me!" Sakura said, seeing that they were about to continue. She activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal, cracking her knuckles and giving them a strained smile.

"Uh..." Naruto and Sasuke, seeing Sakura in this state, recalled the terror of being utterly crushed, and their movements stiffened.

"Haha~~~~ Sakura-chan, I'm going home! We might get assigned a high-level mission tomorrow," Naruto said with an awkward laugh, preparing to leave.

Sakura noticed a flicker of disappointment in Sasuke's eyes, and her suspicions were confirmed.

It seemed that her decision to have Naruto interact with Sasuke early on had been the right one. Before Sasuke had formed his own worldview, he was easily influenced by the people around him.

Sasuke was like a blank canvas; if painted black, he would become black. Right after the Uchiha clan massacre, Sasuke's heart was filled with thoughts of revenge, and he became cold and aloof.

Although Naruto's rampage had shaken Sasuke awake somewhat, he had merely hidden that obsession deep in his heart. If something triggered the memories buried deep within him, he could easily become an avenger again.

Sakura wasn't against Sasuke's revenge, but she didn't want him to lose himself on the path of vengeance. Even if he succeeded in his revenge, he would be left with an endless void.

Naruto, on the other hand, was someone who could easily influence those around him. He could fill the emptiness in Sasuke's heart after his revenge. And now, it seemed that Naruto, because of Sakura's influence, understood Sasuke's feelings and had reached out to him early on. Although they often argued, Naruto already considered Sasuke a brother.

After several years of early interaction, it seemed to be having some effect. The darkness in Sasuke's heart had been significantly diminished by Naruto's influence. Sakura had even wondered why Sasuke hadn't mentioned "killing that man" during Team 7's self-introductions.

And today... calculating the month, it was probably Sasuke's birthday. Usually, Sasuke, with his tsundere personality, wasn't as lively as Naruto. Although she paid attention to him, she hadn't been overly attentive. In a group of three, someone was bound to be overlooked.

If it had been the original Sakura, who was infatuated with Sasuke, this wouldn't have happened. But the current Sakura wasn't interested in Sasuke, and since Sasuke didn't talk much, he was naturally overlooked at times.

"Pfft," Seeing Sasuke's slightly disappointed expression, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "He's still just a kid, after all. If he didn't have such deep-seated hatred, Sasuke wouldn't be so bad."

"Naruto, don't go. I want to eat the grilled fish you make. Go catch some fish in the river, and check the forest for any rabbits while you're at it," Sakura said, calling out to Naruto, who was about to sneak away.

"Sasuke, go to the village and buy some seasonings. To celebrate Team 7's first successful B-rank mission, we're having a wild barbecue tonight," Sakura said, watching the disappointment fade from Sasuke's eyes, confirming her guess.

Sasuke had indeed changed a lot.