Naruto walked home, his brain feeling fried from the day's events. Sakura had changed—maybe she was a transmigrator from Earth, just like him.
"System, Sakura is acting strange. Is it possible her soul was replaced like mine?"
[Host, that is impossible. I have scanned her soul; it remains unchanged. Only her attitude toward you has shifted.]
""Hmph. Something definitely happened. I need a plan to get her back to her old self," he thought. After a few moments of thinking, his stomach groaned. "I'll think later. Right now, I need to eat."
Naruto remembered the original Naruto's favorite food. "Hehe, let's try the legendary Ichiraku Ramen."
When he reached the shop, he stepped inside with a grin. "Old man Teuchi! One extra-large miso pork, please!"
Teuchi looked up, surprised. "Long time no see, Naruto! Did you finish your training?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, offering a sheepish smile. "Yeah, Old Man. I got back yesterday. Sorry I didn't stop by sooner."
"Haha! Since you've been gone so long, this bowl is on the house!"
Naruto's eyes sparkled. "Seriously?! You're the best! In that case, I'm definitely not holding back!"
After finishing his meal, Naruto left feeling satisfied. However, his mood soured as he remembered he had to meet Tsunade regarding the Sasuke mission.
"Man, I really don't want to go," he muttered. "I'm not the real Naruto. I just want to finish my mission and move on to the next world."
He checked in with his System. "Can I skip these plot points? I don't want to get involved with people I don't care about. Sasuke is bad enough, but as soon as I get back, Tsunade is going to send me to save Gaara. Why should I care about these emo kids?"
["Host: You must adhere to the plot and complete your mission by sacrificing yourself for Sakura Haruno. Any deviation will allow the 'Will of the World' to detect and eradicate us. Proceed as planned; I am monitoring your progress."]
"Damn it," Naruto thought.
He arrived home and spent the hour meditating to refine his nine tails chakra. When the time came, he headed to the Hokage's office. Kakashi and Sakura were already there. Sakura looked at him deeply with a brief smile before turning back to Tsunade.
"Haha! Am I late, Granny Tsunade?"
"You're just in time," Tsunade replied, her voice firm. "Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business."
Tsunade handed a small scroll to Kakashi. As he read it, his eye widened. Sakura and Naruto, however, remained indifferent; they already knew exactly what it said. It was about Sasuke and Orochimaru.
"The reports from our scouts have been confirmed," Tsunade stated, her expression grim. "We've located one of Orochimaru's hidden strongholds. According to our intel, Sasuke Uchiha is being held there."
Kakashi closed the scroll, his brow furrowed. "This is a high-risk infiltration. If Orochimaru is there personally, we're looking at an S-rank threat."
Naruto suppressed a yawn, leaning against the wall. He already knew how this ended—they'd find the hideout, the "emo kid" would try to Chidori them all, and then he'd vanish again. It was a massive waste of time.
"Sakura, Naruto," Tsunade said, her eyes narrowing at Naruto's lack of enthusiasm. "This is the lead you've been waiting for. We are forming a specialized team to retrieve him. You'll be heading to the Tenchi Bridge!"
Tsunade looked at Sakura, waiting for a reaction. She knew her disciple's history with the Uchiha. At the same time, Naruto watched Sakura, looking for a shift. 'If she still has feelings for Sasuke, I can reset our relationship. It'll make completing my mission much easier.'
But to his disappointment, Sakura's face remained a mask of indifference. She looked like she couldn't care less. Tsunade was equally stunned. 'What's happened with this girl? Shouldn't she be ecstatic?'
As Sakura listened, she felt a gaze on her. Turning slowly, she saw Naruto looking worried. She assumed he was afraid she still loved Sasuke and would get hurt again.
'No, I will never hurt him. I don't care about Sasuke,' she thought. She approached Naruto, her eyes filled with a desperate need to reassure him. "Don't worry, Naruto. I don't feel anything for Sasuke anymore."
She gave him a firm look before turning back to Tsunade. "Master, don't worry. We will succeed in our mission."
Naruto's mouth hung open. "Haha, Sakura-chan, you don't have to force yourself. I know how you feel about Sasuke. I'll definitely bring him back, just like I promised."
Tsunade watched them, wondering, 'Is Sakura into Naruto now? Or is she just hiding her feelings for Sasuke so she doesn't hurt Naruto? These kids are so troublesome,' she murmured.
Sakura said nothing more. 'Even if you don't believe me now, I'll make you believe me. You belong to me.'
Kakashi watched the silent exchange, a drop of sweat sliding down his temple. He recalled Guy's rambling rants about the "intensity of youth" and sighed. "Well, it seems the team dynamic has... evolved."
'Why did she tell me this?' Naruto thought nervously. 'Who cares? Just keep being a Sasuke simp and let me finish my mission.'
Tsunade cleared her throat. "I'm adding two more members to Team Kakashi for this mission. Sai, Yamato—come in."
A pale boy with black hair and a painted-on smile entered the office. "This will be your new teammate."
Sai looked at them with his hollow smile. "Hello. My name is Sai. I hope we can become... good friends."
Sakura let out a sharp "Hmph." She remembered this guy's attitude from her previous life and her nerves were already frayed.
Naruto simply nodded, while Kakashi studied the newcomer. 'So, this is the boy from the Root. This is going to be troublesome.'
Yamato stepped forward with a polite bow. "I'm Yamato. I look forward to working with all of you. Please, treat me well."
Naruto and Sakura offered him small smiles, recognizing his reliability. Kakashi offered a lazy wave. "It's been a while, Tenzo. Glad to have you on board."
"It's Yamato now, Kakashi-senpai," the younger man corrected with a sigh.
Tsunade finally dismissed them. "That's all. You head to the Tenchi Bridge tomorrow morning at dawn. Dismissed!"
As Tsunade dismissed them, Naruto bolted from the office. He couldn't bear to stay in the same room as Sakura for even a moment longer, he was terrified of whatever words or actions might come next.
I need to go quietly, he thought.
"Naruto, wait!" Sakura called after him, but he didn't stop.
He ran several streets away before finally slowing to a normal walk. The gap between him and Sakura had grown wide enough that he could breathe again.
Turning a corner, he nearly collided with a blonde girl.
"Ino-chan! It's been way too long," he said with a soft, genuine smile.
Ino froze. Her breath hitched, and she looked at him with a strangely bright, fragile happiness. Her eyes immediately began to shimmer with moisture. She bit her lip hard, looking away as she tried to force the tears back, her shoulders trembling.
"Naruto..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "You're... you're really here."
She pulled him into a tight embrace and began to cry softly against his shoulder.
Just the night before, Against all logic, something inexplicable happened to Ino last night.
As she prepared for bed, a sudden, overwhelming wave of memories flooded her mind, memories that belonged not to this life, but to another one she had lived before. They crashed over her like a tidal wave, vivid and heartbreaking, showing her a version of events that had already played out once.
In those memories, she had watched Naruto grow from the loud, annoying kid everyone dismissed into something far more. After his tree years of training with Jiraiya, he returned to the village taller, sharper, steadier. The baby fat in his face was gone, his blonde hair a little longer and messier in a way that suited him perfectly. His blue eyes carried real depth now. The orange jacket and whisker marks remained, but the way he carried himself had changed: calmer, more focused. He still spoke with that same determined spark, but he listened now. He thought before acting. And his devotion to Sakura hadn't faded. If anything, it had deepened into something quieter, more intense, a steady flame rather than wild fireworks.
She had started noticing it during missions, around the village, even when he stopped by the Yamanaka flower shop to buy flowers (usually for Sakura, of course). He protected people without fanfare. He smiled through rejection with a quiet strength, carrying pain without letting it break him. He had become someone who could stand alone, who didn't need constant attention to shine.
And somewhere along the way, watching him pour his heart into Sakura, still believing in her happiness even when she barely glanced his way—Ino realized it wasn't just puppy love anymore. It was real, selfless loyalty. The kind most shinobi never found. The kind that made her wonder what it would feel like to have someone look at *her* that way.
Her heart began racing whenever he walked into the shop not from irritation, but from something warmer, deeper. She had fallen for the man he had become: the one who came back changed, and still chose kindness over bitterness every single day.
She never said a word. Sakura was her best friend, and Naruto's heart still belonged to her. So Ino kept it hidden, arranging bouquets, smiling when he visited, pretending the ache didn't exist every time he looked at Sakura like she was the sun.
Until the day he confessed with that delicate heart-shaped necklace.
She remembered every detail: Sakura's cold rejection, Naruto's hollow laugh, the way he set the necklace down gently and walked out with slumped shoulders. Ino had chased after him but arrived too late. When she returned, Sakura had already left, and the necklace still lay untouched on the table.
Ino had picked it up, pressed it to her chest, and felt something crack inside her.
Three days later, she met him again. He greeted her with his usual goofy grin, invited her to eat as an apology for "disturbing the shop." They went for barbecue. She teased him, tested the waters, even confessed half-joking, half-serious that she had started falling for his stubbornness and sincerity.
He didn't laugh it off completely. Instead, he grabbed my hand and said, "That joke isn't funny, Ino-chan. I really might fall for you."
Her heart had pounded so hard she could barely breathe.
Then Sakura stormed in, slapped him, screamed that she hated him, and ran out.
Naruto didn't chase her that time.
He just sat there, broken, whispering how pathetic he was, how much loving Sakura hurt, how he would never be enough.
Ino had pushed him to go after her anyway—because she loved him enough to want him happy, even if it wasn't with her. She wiped away her own tears as he thanked her for being "an amazing friend".
After that day, she helped him many times. Her feelings only grew stronger, deeper, more painful. But she never told him—not really. That silence became her greatest regret, the one that haunted her for the rest of her life.
And then came the day he sacrificed himself to save Sakura.
In that final, terrible moment, everything ended for her.
The memories faded, leaving Ino trembling in the present, clinging to Naruto in the middle of the street. She cried not just for this timeline, but for the one she had already lost, for the love she had buried, for the chances she never took, and for the boy who had always deserved so much better.
Naruto stood paralyzed. He had no memory of a past life, no idea that just the night before, Ino had lived through a decade of regret in a single dream.
She remembered the man he became, the heart-shaped necklace Sakura rejected, and the moment he died to save a girl who hadn't loved him back.
"Whoa, Ino? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused
She clung to him in the middle of the street, crying for the hero she had lost once, and the boy she wouldn't let go of a second time.