At the entrance of Konohagakure, Team 7 was gathered once again for a mission after three years. Kakashi was still dressed in his same old ninja outfit, holding a copy of Icha Icha Paradise in his hand.
Sakura's outfit had changed into something similar to a short qipao, with high slits on the sides, but she wore ninja leggings underneath, so there was no risk of exposure.
Speaking of which, the female version of those leggings had a shorter option—only slightly longer than safety shorts. And since Sakura, now fifteen, had grown, well… ahem.
Naruto was still in his orange outfit, with short hair and his forehead protector. It seemed like nothing had changed.
Sasuke's outfit, on the other hand, had undergone some changes. His deep blue top had been replaced with a solid black, long-sleeved shirt, paired with standard ninja pants in a matching dark color. Aside from that, he looked just like before.
All four of them carried backpacks, with ninja tool pouches strapped to their waists.
After handing in their travel permits to the gate guards and completing the registration, the four of them wasted no time setting off for Itachi's location.
Leading the way, Kakashi read his book as he spoke: "The Uchiha clan's old armory is within the Land of Fire, but it's in a remote area. At our current pace, it'll take us about a day and a half to get there. If we take breaks, it might stretch to two days. At the latest, we should arrive by the morning after tomorrow."
"Can't we go any faster?" Sasuke asked impatiently.
"This is already the most efficient plan. If we push any harder, we'll have to sacrifice our recovery time, and we won't be in top condition when we get there," Kakashi said, looking at Sasuke. "Think carefully."
Sasuke fell silent. If speeding up meant weakening their condition, it wasn't worth it.
Naruto raised his hand. "I could just stay in my—uh, Gundam mode—no, I mean Kurama mode and fly us all there."
Kakashi gave him a deadpan look. "You want to announce to the whole world that we're going after Uchiha Itachi? We're supposed to be moving in secret to avoid unnecessary trouble, and you're talking about flying a giant Kurama through the sky? Might as well send up a signal flare while you're at it."
"Uh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head and nodded. "You're right, Kakashi-sensei."
At that moment, Sakura, who had been trailing behind, suddenly spoke up. "My healing jutsu is pretty good. If we're only worried about exhaustion, I can use it to reduce recovery time."
Sasuke's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"
Kakashi stroked his chin. "I almost forgot that Sakura is a medical ninja."
After all, when they were on missions before, Sakura always charged in harder than anyone else—punching enemies from one end of the battlefield to the other without so much as blinking.
Oh, right. Sakura's eyes never got dry—she's a medical ninja.
Healing jutsu could restore physical fatigue, and mental exhaustion was even easier to deal with. As ninja, going a day or two without sleep wouldn't affect them too much. Of course, if they pushed it for three to five days straight, there'd definitely be problems.
But in this situation, they could handle it.
"Alright." Kakashi nodded. "We'll change the plan. We'll move at full speed and try to reach our destination by tomorrow noon. Sakura will use her medical jutsu to keep us going."
After saying that, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Sakura's chakra might not hold up, so make sure to help her recover when needed."
Naruto's Six Paths Sage power had incredible healing abilities, but restoring fatigue wasn't exactly part of its skill set.
Sakura's chakra reserves were actually quite decent, but since she hadn't fully stored up her Strength of a Hundred Seal yet, she couldn't afford to use too much chakra at once. That meant Naruto would have to support her.
Both Naruto and Sakura nodded.
Seeing this, Kakashi nodded back. "Alright then, full speed ahead."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kakashi shot forward like a sharp blade. From a Genin's perspective, his speed would be completely invisible.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances and smirked.
Naruto was the first to react, transforming into a golden streak as he took off after Kakashi.
Sasuke didn't immediately follow. Instead, he turned to Sakura. "Can you keep up?"
Sakura, who had just been about to speed up, paused for a moment before flashing him a bright smile. "I've improved a lot over the years, Sasuke. When it comes to speed, you might not even be my match anymore."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Before you start bragging, make sure you know who you're talking to."
"Compete with me?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, looking playful.
Sasuke... He actually took the bait. His competitive spirit kicked in immediately. "Let's go!"
Come on, who else have I ever acknowledged besides Naruto? Sakura, you're underestimating me. It's time to show you what real speed is!
Before a sound could even be heard, the two had already vanished in an instant—one like a black bolt of lightning hidden in the night, the other like a cherry blossom petal drifting in the wind. The lightning was obviously much faster than the petal, yet the petal stayed right behind it.
Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who was keeping up with him, and was momentarily surprised.
Sakura, satisfied with his expression, kept pace with him while explaining, "My strength is different from Lady Tsunade's. She focuses purely on destructive power, pushing it to the limit. But for me, it's more about precise chakra control within my body."
"So in terms of raw power, I'm not at her level. But when it comes to versatility, even she can't match me."
Of course, Tsunade had a deeper understanding of strength. She could easily follow the same path as Sakura, and Sakura wouldn't have gotten this far without her guidance. Tsunade fully supported her in finding her own way.
A teacher can show the way, but the journey is up to the student.
If Sakura had just followed Tsunade's exact footsteps, that would've been disappointing.
Like Shizune.
Shizune: Why am I getting dragged into this?
Sakura... has really grown.
Sasuke's expression shifted as he looked at her. The girl who used to trail behind him, desperate for his attention, was now someone who could keep up with him.
Independent, confident, and beautiful—completely different from before.
Sakura smiled. She liked who she had become.
Maybe she and Sasuke weren't that close. Maybe she only saw him once in a long while.
But she was content.
Because now, for the first time, she could see herself in Sasuke's eyes.
She had spent countless times trying to enter his world, only to be met with his distant back.
She had tried over and over to get closer to his heart, only to be met with cold indifference.
She wanted to change. Not just for Sasuke, but for herself.
She wanted Sasuke to like her.
But more importantly, she wanted to like herself.
Sakura looked at the three figures ahead, a genuine smile appearing on her face.
"It feels like... I'm finally a little closer to you all."
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman