The sound of splintering wood echoed across Training Ground 7. Sakura pulled her fist back from the trunk, observing the cracks spreading from the point of impact. She hadn't used the [Breaking Point], just brute force and basic chakra.
Right, left, center. Breathe.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and prepared to strike again.
"Sakura-chan."
The punch stopped millimeters from the bark. Sakura exhaled and turned around. Naruto was there, hands in his pockets and an unusually serious expression on his face, even though he had a leaf stuck in his hair.
"You're late if you intended to train with me, Naruto. Tsunade-sama let me out early, but I have to go back to the hospital in an hour."
"I'm not here to train. Well, yes. But not that kind."
Sakura arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"What kind then? Eating ramen until we explode? Because I don't have time for that."
"I need you to teach me how to talk."
Sakura blinked.
"Talk? You haven't shut up since you were three. Your problem is that you don't know how to be quiet."
"I don't mean that. I need to speak... Ino language."
Sakura dropped her arms. The seriousness on Naruto's face didn't waver, which was worrying.
"Ino? What do you want to talk to Ino for? Are you going to fight with her again? Last time she threw you through a door, Naruto. If you're going looking for a fight, at least wear a helmet."
"I don't want to fight. I want you to help me recruit her."
Sakura felt a cold prick in her stomach.
"Were you serious? Ino-Pig?"
"Her Shintenshin, Sakura-chan. Think about it." Naruto took a step forward, intensity shining in his blue eyes. "If she catches someone for us, and I hit him... or you hit him... it's over. It's the perfect combo. I need her in the Family."
Sakura looked to the side, biting her lip. The logic was solid. Ino was useful. But the idea of Ino... with them... with him...
"She hates you, Naruto. She thinks you're an annoying clown."
"I know. That's why I need your help. You speak her language. You know what she likes, what bothers her. I need you to tell me how to ask her out without her throwing a flowerpot at my head before I can say 'hello'."
"Ask her out?" Sakura felt her voice jump an octave. "A date? You want to go on a date with her?"
"It's the only way she'll listen to me. If I say 'hey, I want your power', she'll kill me. I have to... how do you say it? Soften the ground?"
"Court her," Sakura corrected, the word coming out tasting like vinegar.
"That. Court her. But tactically."
Sakura looked at him. Naruto, with his loud orange jacket, his messy hair, and that look of absolute determination. He wanted to help Ino. He wanted to make her strong. Just like he did with her.
"Sakura-chan, please. You're the only one who can help me. If I go alone, I'll ruin it. And we need to be strong. All of us."
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath. It was for the team. It was for everyone's safety.
"Alright," she said opening her eyes, her gaze sharp. "But if you're going to do it, we do it my way. Because if you go there and say something stupid about noodles or frogs, I swear I'll punch you myself before she does."
Naruto smiled, that foxy, bright grin.
"I knew I could count on you! What's the plan, captain?"
"The plan is that you are a disaster and we have to fix you before sunset. Let's go."
*****
An hour later, in a secluded corner of the forest, Kurenai was sitting on a low branch, swinging one leg and watching the scene with barely disguised amusement.
Below, Sakura had driven a log into the ground. She had put a crooked blonde wig she found in Naruto's disguise kit on it and had drawn furious blue eyes with a marker.
"Meet Ino," said Sakura, pointing at the log. "Your objective is to invite her to dinner without the log insulting you or imaginarily hitting you."
Naruto looked at the log with skepticism.
"She looks... a bit stiff."
"It's her best angle," Sakura retorted. "Now, try it. Approach. What is the first thing you do?"
Naruto smoothed out his jacket, approached the log with long strides, and put a hand on the wooden "head".
"Hey, Ino! What's up? Hey, you have strong arms for a girl. Mind helping me move some boxes?"
Sakura slapped her hand to her forehead. Kurenai let out a giggle from the branch.
"Wrong," Sakura sentenced. "Terrible. You died three times in that sentence."
"Why? I asked her for help! That worked the other time!"
"It worked because she pitied you, Naruto. You can't base a professional relationship on pity. And never, ever, tell a girl she has 'strong arms' as an opening line. It sounds like you're calling her manly."
"Then what do I say?" Naruto threw his hands up, exasperated. "She is strong! It's the truth!"
"Tell her she's skilled," Sakura instructed, walking around him. "Ino likes it when people recognize she isn't just a pretty face. Everyone tells her she's cute. You have to tell her she's smart."
"Smart. Okay. Got it."
Naruto cleared his throat and stared at the marker-drawn eyes.
"Hello, Ino. Your head is... very big. Because you have a lot of brains inside."
There was a silence. A leaf fell slowly between them.
"Seriously?" Sakura asked, her voice flat.
"I said she was smart!"
"You just called her big-headed, Naruto. If that was the real Ino, you'd already be under a mental jutsu making you cluck like a chicken."
Kurenai jumped from the branch and landed softly next to them.
"Naruto," said Kurenai, with a kind but firm smile. "Subtlety is a ninja weapon. You don't need to throw an explosive kunai to get her attention. Sometimes, a needle is enough."
"I don't understand weapon metaphors, Sensei. What do I tell her?"
"Tell her what you see," Kurenai suggested. "But filter it. Don't say everything you think."
Sakura nodded and stepped in front of him, kicking the log away.
"Look at me. Imagine I'm Ino. But without the bad attitude."
Naruto looked at her. Sakura had her arms crossed, waiting.
"Okay... Sakura-chan, you are... uh... intelligent."
"Boring. More effort."
"You are... the best kunoichi I know."
Sakura blinked, lowering her guard for a second.
"That's... better. But Ino will know if you're lying. You have to be specific. Why do you need her? Why not anyone else?"
Naruto frowned, truly thinking.
"Because when she uses her jutsu, she has guts," said Naruto, and his voice changed, losing the joking tone. "Leaving your body lying in the middle of a fight is crazy. You have to be very brave to trust your team that much. And she does it every time."
Sakura fell silent. Kurenai nodded, impressed.
"That," said Sakura softly. "Tell her that. Exactly that. Don't talk about her hair, or her clothes, or if she's pretty. Tell her you respect her courage."
"Just that? Do I not bring her ramen?"
"No!" Sakura yelled, regaining her intensity. "If you invite her for ramen, I'll kill you myself. Ino hates eating greasy things in front of boys. She thinks the steam makes her makeup run."
"Then what do girls eat if they don't eat ramen?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused. "Ramen is the perfect food. It has everything."
"Real food, Naruto. A restaurant. With cloth napkins." Sakura pointed at him accusingly. "Also, you must dress decently."
"Dress decently?" Naruto looked at his orange tracksuit. "What's wrong with this? It's comfortable and aerodynamic!"
Sakura looked at him with an expression that said we have a lot of work to do.
"Take it off," Sakura ordered.
"WHAT?!" Naruto hugged himself. "Hey, at least buy me dinner first!"
"No, idiot. The jacket. And the pants. We're going to my house. My dad has clothes from when he was young that will probably fit you. You are not going on a date dressed like a radioactive pumpkin."
"Orange is the color of fire! Of passion!"
"It's the color of 'caution' traffic signs, Naruto. And today we want Ino to stop and listen, not run away. Let's go."
Sakura grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him. Naruto looked at Kurenai for help.
"Do what she says, Naruto," said Kurenai, laughing. "It's for the good of the mission."
****
The Yamanaka Flower Shop was quiet that afternoon. Ino was cutting rose stems, humming a song, trying not to think about how her generation mates were saving the world or training with legends while she removed thorns.
The bell on the door rang.
"Welcome to..."
Ino looked up and the phrase died in her throat.
There was a boy in the doorway. Blonde. Blue eyes. But he wasn't wearing orange. He was wearing a black shirt, rolled up to the elbows, and simple dark pants. He was clean. His hair, although still a spiky mess, looked freshly washed.
It took her two full seconds to process that it was Naruto Uzumaki.
"Naruto?" Ino lowered the scissors slowly, as if fearing he was an illusion that would shatter with sudden movements. "Did you... fall into a bucket of bleach and fade?"
Naruto entered, closing the door carefully. He walked to the counter and stopped at a respectful distance.
"Hello, Ino."
His voice was normal. Not the usual shouting.
"Hello..." Ino looked him up and down. The clothes fit him well. Surprisingly well. It highlighted that, under that horrible orange jacket, the boy had shoulders. "What... what are you doing here? Here to bring more weeds?"
"No," said Naruto. He put his hand in his pocket. Ino tensed, expecting a prank, a smoke bomb, or something worse.
Naruto pulled out a small card.
"I'm here to invite you to dinner."
Ino blinked. Once. Twice.
"What?"
"Dinner," Naruto repeated, and although he seemed calm, Ino noticed the slight tremor in his fingers as he held the card. "At The Hearth of Konoha. At eight."
Ino let out a nervous, incredulous laugh.
"The Hearth of Konoha? Naruto, that place is super expensive. And you are... you."
"I have money," he said quickly. "I won a bet. It's legal. And I have a table."
"Why?" Ino crossed her arms, defensive. "Is this a prank by Sakura? Are she and Kiba hiding outside laughing?"
She leaned over the counter to look out the window.
"There's no one, Ino. It's just me."
Naruto rested his hands on the counter and looked her straight in the eye. That intensity. The same one she had seen the other day, but without the blood madness.
"I want to talk to you. Seriously. No shouting. No fighting."
"Talk about what?"
"About potential." Naruto held her gaze. "The other day I said stupid things. I know. Sakura explained how bad it sounded. But what I was thinking... that wasn't stupid."
Ino felt herself blushing and hated it.
"Naruto, if you're going to start with the making me strong thing again..."
"You're brave," he interrupted her.
Ino stood still.
"Your jutsu," continued Naruto. "You enter someone else's mind. You leave your body behind. You trust your friends to protect you while you're out fighting a battle no one else can see. That... that is incredible, Ino. You have to have a lot of guts to do that."
Ino opened her mouth to answer, to say something sarcastic, but nothing came out. No one had ever told her that. They told her that her jutsu was useful for spying. Or dangerous. Or weird. No one had told her she was brave.
"I need that bravery," said Naruto. "I need it on my team. That's why I want you to come to dinner. I want to explain the plan to you. The real plan. And if after dinner you think I'm an idiot and want to leave, I'll pay the bill and I won't bother you anymore. I promise."
Ino looked at the card in his hand. Then she looked at Naruto. She saw the seriousness. She saw the effort. He had dressed up. He had combed his hair. He had come alone and was talking like a normal person.
And, damn it, he looked handsome.
Ino Yamanaka wasn't stupid. She knew when someone was being sincere. And her curiosity, that damned curiosity that always got her into trouble, was itching hard.
She sighed, setting the scissors on the table with a metallic clink.
"The Hearth of Konoha has the best Peking duck in the city," said Ino, as if she were talking to the flowers.
Naruto smiled, and for a second, the old Naruto peeked through, bright and hopeful.
"Then we'll order two!"
"One," corrected Ino, pointing a finger at him. "And don't slurp the soup. If you slurp, I get up and leave."
"Zero slurps! Ninja promise!"
"And no talking about Sakura."
"Not a word."
"And if I see a toad, I scream."
"I left the frog wallet at home! I brought normal bills!"
Ino looked at him, trying to keep up her tough girl facade, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Alright, Uzumaki. You have a date. But you have to leave now, I have to close and get ready. I can't go to a place like that smelling like fertilizer."
"Great! I'll pick you up at ten to eight!"
"Eight o'clock sharp, Naruto. Don't arrive early and don't be late."
"Eight o'clock! Got it!"
Naruto turned around and walked toward the exit.
"Ah, and Naruto," called Ino.
He turned in the doorway, with the afternoon light behind him.
"Yeah?"
"That shirt... doesn't look bad on you."
Naruto blushed, running a hand through his hair.
"Thanks, Ino. See you later."
He went out and closed the door.
Ino was left alone in the shop. She put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating a little faster than normal.
"What the hell did you just do, Ino?" she asked herself aloud. "A date with Naruto? The guy who painted his face in the registration photo?"
She looked at the vase with the weeds he had brought her, which were strangely still alive on the counter.
Well, she told herself, taking off her apron and running toward the stairs to her house. At least it won't be boring. And if he gets annoying, I can always use the Shintenshin and make him dump the soup on himself.
She went up the stairs two at a time. She had to find something to wear. Something that said "I am a professional listening to a business proposal" but also "look at what you're missing, Sasuke Uchiha".
In the street, Naruto turned the corner and, as soon as he was sure Ino couldn't see him, he released the air he had been holding and jumped into the air, clicking his heels.
"YES! I DID IT!"
He landed and saw a figure leaning against a nearby wall. Sakura was there, arms crossed and a small smile of satisfaction.
"Well?" she asked.
"She said yes! She accepted! We're going to dinner!" Naruto ran toward her, wanting to high-five, but stopped so as not to wrinkle the shirt. "Sakura-chan, you're a genius! Everything you said worked! The bravery thing was the finishing blow!"
Sakura pushed off the wall and started walking beside him.
"I told you. Ino likes being challenged intellectually, not treated like a doll. You did good, Naruto."
"I was super nervous! I thought she was going to throw the scissors at me."
"I thought so too for a second," Sakura admitted. She fixed his shirt collar, which had popped up a bit with the jump. "But you handled it. You seemed... almost like an adult."
Naruto smiled at the gesture.
"Thanks for the clothes. And for the training."
"You're welcome. Now comes the hard part."
"Dinner?"
"No. Convincing her to let you draw on her back without it looking like a satanic ritual. That will be up to you, Naruto. I opened the door for you. You have to walk through it."
"I will. I have a plan."
"A plan?" Sakura looked at him suspiciously. "What plan?"
"You'll see. It's a Hokage-level plan."
Sakura sighed, but she couldn't help feeling a little proud. They had worked together. They had achieved the impossible: getting Ino Yamanaka to agree to go out with Naruto Uzumaki.
"Just... try not to get sauce on yourself, okay?"
"I'll try!"