"Excuse me."
The door of Cube Internet Café swung open. There was no "welcome" sound effect—only a wave of cool, refreshing air.
Sakura carefully scanned the interior. The place looked like a cozy café, but it was empty—probably because it was noon.
Wait, no—there was someone behind the counter.
"Welcome."
Kuroda looked up just in time to see Sakura step inside. Since he was the only one running the place, he naturally had to do the greeting himself.
Come to think of it, this was Sakura's first time visiting here.
"Hello."
Sakura nodded politely, her gaze lowering slightly as she noticed Kuroda holding a glass, wiping it clean with a towel.
So this is the boss...
She chose a seat near the counter, picked up the menu, and casually ordered a cup of coffee.
Oh? Sakura's having black coffee?
Kuroda looked at her with mild amusement—but then his expression froze.
Mmmph!
The moment Sakura took her first sip of coffee, she clamped both hands over her mouth, desperately holding herself back from spitting it out.
The taste was… indescribable. Not exactly bad, but… just uniquely terrible.
Several minutes later, Sakura finally managed to swallow the whole mouthful down.
Kuroda was touched by the sight.
No wonder Naruto used to like her—apparently their coffee taste was identical!
A flicker of hesitation crossed Sakura's face. She couldn't decide whether to just say what she came for, or to force herself to keep drinking this coffee.
Originally, she thought it'd be rude to come to someone's shop and not order anything…
Forget it. Better to just say it!
Sakura took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the counter, locking eyes with Kuroda.
Kuroda assumed she was going to ask for advice on how to make the coffee taste better, so he waved his hand generously.
"Coffee, you see, is all about—"
"Please teach me how to become stronger!"
"—about brewing with care… huh?"
Kuroda blinked, finally realizing what she'd actually said.
Seeing the serious expression on Sakura's face, his eyebrow twitched, and he felt a wave of disappointment.
If she'd said she liked his coffee, he might've actually agreed to teach her!
Still… she was being polite enough.
"Why come to me? I'm just an ordinary café owner who happens to make outrageously good coffee," Kuroda said casually.
Sakura wanted to retort, but held back.
"Naruto told me that the café owner's skills were the most incredible he'd ever seen."
She paused for a moment before explaining, "Naruto, another person, and I—we're all on the same team."
"I want to grow stronger. I want to stay by their side, not just watch their backs as they move forward."
"But... Sasuke has his Sharingan, and Naruto's getting stronger and stronger. In the future, they'll only become more powerful—so powerful that no one else can keep up."
"But me… I have no idea where to start. We're all part of Team 7, yet…"
"I'm sorry, but you're the only one I could turn to."
Hearing that, Kuroda chuckled softly. "Don't you genin teams have a jonin-sensei to guide you?"
"Don't even mention it! He's a delinquent jonin—barely gives us guidance, and half the time he's impossible to find!" Sakura complained.
"I see."
"Yeah! If things keep going like this, how am I ever supposed to catch up to Naruto and Sasuke?!" Sakura's brows furrowed in frustration.
This development really was straight out of the original story—only now, it was happening in the world of the Ninja Mobile Game.
But for some reason, watching Sakura, Kuroda suddenly recalled a famous line...
Tsunade-sama! They can't seem to catch up to me anymore!
"What a shame," Kuroda said, picking up the glass he'd just polished and pouring himself a cup of plain water.
The sight made Sakura's mouth twitch.
Seriously? You drink water yourself, but serve coffee to customers?
"Please!" Sakura bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"I already told you," Kuroda sighed, "the one who can help you catch up—or even surpass those two—isn't me."
"Then… who is it?"
Who else? Chiyo, of course!
But since that legendary planner couldn't exactly be summoned right now, Kuroda could only shake his head regretfully.
Seeing his refusal, Sakura let out a small sigh.
Just then, the café door opened again. A family of three stepped in, their faces filled with curiosity about the new shop.
Kuroda's eyes lit up. "I've got something to take care of right now. Could you help me attend to the customers?"
"Really?" Sakura's heart leapt with excitement.
Unlike Naruto, she knew the importance of social grace—helping with someone's business before asking for a favor, drinking the coffee no matter how awful it was, that sort of thing.
It was just a shame that pretending to like the coffee was a bridge too far.
Still, she couldn't afford to ignore the subtleties. Whether or not her request would succeed depended on details like this.
Sakura suddenly felt something placed on top of her head—Kuroda had put something there.
"Wear this, and they'll know your role," he said, looking her over with satisfaction.
Sakura was indeed beautiful, her cherry-colored hair adding to her charm—but now, with a coffee cup–shaped hat on her head, she looked… eccentric.
The front of the hat read: Waitress No. 2.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror nearby… Well, fine. She'd endure it.
Sakura stretched her face muscles, practicing a service-ready smile until she finally managed a sweet, professional grin.
Before leaving, she couldn't help asking, "Coffee boss, are you developing a new blend? When will it go on sale?"
Inner Sakura: The day it goes on sale, over my dead body will I show up!
"Coffee's important, sure—but no, I'm closing the shop for another reason. Just need to prepare for the next information conference," Kuroda said.
The next information conference?!
Sakura's heart jolted. That was something that hadn't even been announced on the Ninja Mobile Game's bulletin yet—how could he know?
As expected, he was no ordinary man! Whether it was as the host of the information conference or something else entirely, he was definitely special.
Still full of questions, Sakura went off to serve the guests.
Kuroda knew his words would arouse suspicion, but he didn't mind.
The entire Ninja World was already full of people who doubted him—but here he was, living just fine.
He summoned a holographic screen, displaying a lineup of upcoming High-Class Recruitment characters.
Might Guy, Jiraiya...
No time to mourn the removal of [Might Guy]—because next up on the roster was the new High-Class Recruitment A-rank ninja: [Uchiha Itachi]!
The ninja had already appeared in Kuroda's game interface. Under his control, Itachi was strolling around the training field, occasionally casting a few jutsu.
After playing around for a while, Kuroda fell into thought.
This guy...
Was there even anyone in the current version who could beat him?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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