Chapter 6
"Your dark cuisine dares to see the light of day again?"
Naruto relentlessly roasted Sakura: "I'm just saying—other girls are super gentle, but with you it's full-on tough-girl mode. If I were Sasuke, I wouldn't give you the time of day."
Sakura, with her explosive temper, immediately fired back: "NANI??!"
"Uzumaki Naruto, you actually dare say my cooking sucks? Who's the one I've been feeding until you're all plump and healthy?!"
"How does me not being gentle to you mean I'm not gentle to everyone?!"
"Damn it… just some Uzumaki Naruto, acting like he's too good for me—waaah~"
That's right. Over the past few years, Naruto's allowance was nowhere near enough to cover his food bills.
The main reason he never went hungry was because Sakura, in order to use him as a bridge to Sasuke, brought him homemade lunches every single day.
No matter her motives, it was an undeniable fact.
Naruto had grown so used to Sakura's cooking that it was exactly why he felt comfortable roasting it.
Hearing her say that, Naruto did feel a little bad. He scratched his head and admitted, "Fine, my bad. Your food is delicious. I totally like you. I'd take you right here, right now if I could."
Sakura: "???"
"NANI!!! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!?!"
Naruto and Sakura bickered nonstop—this was just their usual way of interacting.
After a while, Naruto suddenly turned serious and asked, "Hey, if you were picking a gift for a girl, what would you go with?"
Sakura looked at him in surprise. "Eh? A gift for a girl?"
"Well… it depends on the girl's personality~"
"Who are you buying for? I can help you pick~"
"I'm telling you, different girls react differently to different gifts. You probably wouldn't get it anyway."
Naruto gave her a deadpan look. "What's with that 'your IQ couldn't possibly comprehend this' expression?"
"Hmm… as for who it is, it's kinda special. Better not tell you."
The moment Sakura heard that, her gossip radar activated. Her eyes practically blazed with curiosity. "What? It's not Hinata???"
"So who is it?!"
Naruto flashed a mysterious smile.
If Sakura knew he was buying a gift for Sakyo, who knew what her reaction would be.
But… Naruto couldn't bring himself to shatter her dreams like that.
No matter what, Sakura had helped him a lot. He'd return the favor whenever he could—but this was one thing he absolutely couldn't help with!
He couldn't exactly use Edo Tensei on Mikoto and Fugaku, have them make another kid named Uchiha Sasuke, send him to another world to grow up for 11 years, then bring him back here, could he?
Way too ridiculous~
"You don't need to know who. She… she's right in front of us, but nobody knows the real her."
"Anyway, she's pretty cold. Almost nobody understands her. Emm… actually, 'cold' isn't quite right—she's more of a tsundere."
"Her hobby is training and getting stronger."
"That's about it. So, what should I get her?"
Naruto watched Sakura's face carefully as he spoke.
As expected, she looked a little disappointed. "What? You're being all mysterious about it."
"But is there really a girl whose hobby is just training and getting stronger?"
"And that personality you described—what even is a 'tsundere'? I've never heard that word."
Naruto explained accurately, "Huh? Tsundere? If I had to define it—it's someone who acts tough and arrogant to hide their shyness and embarrassment. Their words and actions don't match what they really feel."
"Yeah, that's it."
As he said that, images of both Sasuke and Sakyo flashed through Naruto's mind.
Whether it was the original Sasuke or Sakyo, they both had a definite tsundere vibe~
Sakura tried to imagine the personality he described and said incredulously, "Ah? So that's what a tsundere is?"
Naruto asked curiously, "What, are you a tsundere?"
Sakura's face flushed slightly. She stammered, "Uh… do I seem like one?"
Naruto shrugged. "Oh, didn't notice. Doesn't really seem like it."
Sakura: "…"
As expected.
In the eyes of pervert Uzumaki Naruto, only girls like Hinata registered.
Someone flat as an airport runway like her didn't even qualify for his attention.
Thinking that, Sakura glanced down at her completely flat chest and sighed gloomily: I hope Sasuke-kun isn't like that.
If Naruto knew what she was thinking right now, he'd probably laugh himself silly.
Because he knew Sakyo was way more developed than Sakura…
The day Sakura finally learned that "Sasuke" was actually Sakyo—and that she was bigger than Sakura to boot—what kind of expression would she make?
Naruto was genuinely looking forward to it.
After thinking for a bit, Sakura slung an arm around his shoulders and put on a sleazy grin. "So…"
"She's a tsundere, right? The more tsundere she acts, the more you lean into it—what do you think will happen?"
Naruto shoved her off in disgust. "So, what's the gift?"
Sakura clasped her hands under her chin, face flushed with fantasy. "If it's a tsundere girl, just give her a sweet kiss. It'll have the best effect~ Ahh~ Sasuke~~"
Naruto's mouth twitched. "Damn fangirl."
With that, he bolted.
Just moments ago, he'd picked out an exquisite little bear necklace and left the exact amount of silver on the counter before leaving.
By the time Sakura snapped out of her daydream, Naruto was long gone.
Sakura: "Damn it! He ditched me here! I still have to see Sasuke-kun today!"
Sakura: "Boss, how much for this bear?"
Boss: "This bear's not for sale!"
Sakura: "Nani? Why?!"
Boss: "Because you were walking around laughing and chatting with that monster!"
Sakura: "Baka yarou! Naruto's not a monster! Five hundred ryō, right? Here, take it, you stinky boss!"
Boss: "Still not selling!"
Sakura: "I'm buying it!"
Boss: "Outrageous! You're trying to force a sale—I'm reporting you to the Hokage!"
Sakura: "Gah! Are you stupid? The Hokage doesn't have time for this crap!"
Boss: "Y-y-you! How can a girl say such vulgar things?!"
Feeling singled out, the pink-haired girl angrily slammed down the five hundred ryō and stormed out.
That word "Gah" was something she'd picked up from Naruto.
He'd told her it was just an interjection for surprise—same as "holy crap."