Chapter 45: Sakura Haruno
Shikamaru listened and nodded, saying, "What you say makes sense. the Fourth's wife's inheritance is no small sum. Even if the Third and the others want to scrape it together, it will take time."
"Exactly! I'm giving them three years to gather the inheritance, which is plenty of time. In three years, we'll be graduating from the Ninja Academy. I'm sure the Third will have it ready by then and won't have any more excuses not to return it. I'm sure he's already realized this as well."
Just then, Sasuke suddenly asked Naruto, "Why are you so concerned about the Fourth's inheritance?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke and smiled, saying nothing.
Shikamaru also smiled at Sasuke, but he shook his head and said, "While quite a few people know about this, it's better if you don't. However..."
At this point, Shikamaru looked at Naruto again and said, "You still can't deny that you've set us up."
Naruto laughed loudly and said, "At worst, I'll treat you to BBQ every day when the time comes."
Shikamaru smiled and didn't say much more. In truth, he had already realized that even if Narutohad caused such a scene today, the Third and the others wouldn't dare trouble their clans.
Saying it now was just to give Naruto a heads-up and make him consider their feelings more.
But after hearing Naruto's explanation, Shikamarurealized that Naruto had already thought of everything he needed to.
When Choji heard Naruto mention BBQ, his drool started flowing uncontrollably.
Another half month passed like this, and Hiruzen Sarutobi grandly handed over 630 million Ryo to Uchiha Sasuke.
The explanation given to Uchiha Sasuke was that the Uchiha Clan's inheritance had been kept together with the rent from the Uchiha Clan's shops, and it was only discovered after auditing the accounts.
From now on, he could just go to the Hokage Building at the end of every year to collect the rent from the Uchiha Clan's shops.
Whether Sasuke believed it or not, Hiruzen Sarutobi had given an explanation, so Sasukedidn't pursue it any further.
In fact, Sasuke knew very well that his words carried little weight right now. Without the help of Naruto and the others, he wouldn't have been able to get this inheritance at all.
As soon as Sasuke received the inheritance, he treated Naruto and the others to Yakiniku Qiochimichi.
Sasuke said bossily to Naruto and the others, "Eat as much as you want today. This young clan headis picking up the tab."
Naruto said with a chuckle, "Duh, of course you're paying. I'm broke! And while they live comfortably, they aren't in charge of the money!"
Choji swallowed hard and said, "BBQ, BBQ! I want BBQ right now!"
Just as everyone was about to start eating amidst the laughter.
Naruto suddenly said to Sasuke, "Let me invite one more person to eat with us!"
"Who?"
Naruto smiled and said, "You'll find out in a bit."
After saying that, Naruto activated Kagura's Mind's Eye and quickly found Kakashi. Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared before Kakashi and said, "Come on, let's go grab a bite together!"
Kakashi shook his head and said, "I'm currently on a mission. Thank you for the offer."
"Tsk! Your loss!"
In truth, Naruto was just being polite, and also trying to leave a good impression of Sasuke with Kakashi so that Kakashi wouldn't slack off when teaching him in the future.
After Naruto returned, Sasuke asked, "Where's the person you invited?"
"He's on a mission. Let's eat! I'll just bring him whatever leftovers are left later."
Everyone smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
Shikamaru actually guessed who Naruto had gone to find, but he didn't expose it.
Once Sasuke had money, Naruto wrote out some prescriptions and sent Sasuke to buy medicine.
"Your diet probably hasn't been great these past two years, and your body is severely depleted. I've written a prescription for you; you need to take a medicinal bath every day. Don't do any intense training for the next two months. Once your body has recovered, I'll draw up a training plan for you."
Sasuke wasn't someone who ignored advice. He understood Naruto's intentions, so he nodded and left with the prescription.
Naruto smacked his lips and looked at Shikamaruand the others. "How about we train at the Uchiha Clan grounds from now on? It's spacious and fewer people are watching."
Shikamaru thought for a moment and shook his head. "Better not. The reason you returned to the Village was to stay under everyone's watchful eyes so they would have reservations. The Uchiha compound is on the edge of Konoha Village. It's better to keep a low profile."
"Sigh! Living under surveillance is no freedom at all."
Shikamaru smiled and said, "Didn't you say it yourself? Three years! Once we graduate in three years, it'll definitely be fine."
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Sasuke's body had mostly recovered, and Narutohad made some plans for him.
First, he taught Sasuke the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. On one hand, it was so Sasuke could have time to learn more theoretical knowledge; on the other, it was to help Sasuke increase his spiritual energy.
Knowing the drawbacks of the Multiple Shadow Clone, Sasuke didn't create many clones at once. He only made two: one to study theory and the other to practice Chakra Precision Control.
Then, Naruto taught the Lightning Release Body Forging Technique to Sasuke.
It had to be said that Sasuke was a tough character. Naruto only dared to use the Lightning Release Body Forging Technique frequently because of his Spirit Spring Space, but Sasuke kept it active as long as he didn't pass out.
Seeing this, Naruto had no choice but to give Sasuke the prescription that Might Guy had Kakashi bring over.
With money, Sasuke wasn't afraid to spend. He bought a large amount of medicinal herbs and even quite a few weights.
Meanwhile, Sakura, who had a long-standing crush on Sasuke, often found various excuses to go see him.
However, she was always ruthlessly scolded away by Sasuke.
Seeing this, Naruto felt inclined to explain things to Sakura.
But remembering Sakura's behavior in the original story—turning to Naruto in times of trouble and Sasuke in times of peace—Naruto gave up on the idea of guiding her.
In fact, Ino had tried to advise Sakura several times, but Sakura remained stubborn, thinking Ino wanted to steal Sasuke from her. This even caused some friction between them. From then on, Ino stopped interfering in the matters between Sakura and Sasuke.
While Sasuke was training with Naruto and the others.
Sakura showed up again, which made Sasuke quite annoyed.
So, Sasuke went to Naruto and asked to spar with him.
Naruto glanced at Sakura and also felt she was a bit annoying, so he helped Sasuke out of the situation.
"Alright! But let's be clear first: is it just pure Taijutsu, or a comprehensive spar?"
Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "Taijutsu first, then a comprehensive spar!"
"Fine! Then you'd better be prepared to get hurt."
Sasuke nodded and settled into a horse stance, preparing to duel with Naruto.
Seeing this, Shikamaru and the others also stopped their practice to watch the two spar.