How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Five days quickly passed, and Kurama learned the Tail Beast Clone Jutsu two days earlier, thanks to the combined pressure from Gyuki and Killer Bee.

To be honest, his mind was full of Killer Bee's rap. Every time he took a few steps, he'd unconsciously sing a line, then freeze in place. Gyuki, seeing this, wasn't surprised at all; he had gone through a similar experience.

Kurama felt that if he stayed much longer, he'd be completely brainwashed by Killer Bee. The thought of occasionally rapping like him in the future made Kurama feel gloomy.

So under this pressure, Kurama finished his Ninjutsu training two days ahead of schedule and told the reluctant Killer Bee that he had to leave.

Killer Bee, with tears in his eyes, immediately made a song for Kurama, begging him to stay until the last day, as his song would soon be ready. Touched, Kurama left Naruto's Shadow Clones behind and ran off.

He couldn't stay there any longer. He had to get out of there fast.

Returning that night, Kurama saw Naruto working hard on Rasengan. Although he hadn't made much progress compared to five days ago, when Kurama saw Naruto's familiar face, he couldn't hold back the tears.

It was still Naruto, so warm.

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Later that night, after exhausting his chakra, Naruto lay in the training field, gasping as he stared at the stars in the sky. He hadn't had dinner, and there was no time for it. Time was running out, but he hadn't made much progress in learning Rasengan.

Well, it wouldn't be fair to say there was no progress. A few days ago, while training with Shadow Clones, Naruto accidentally discovered that he could use them to help gather chakra. By having the clones assist with chakra gathering, his main body only needed to maintain it, which made the difficulty a lot lower.

Theoretically, Naruto had already learned Rasengan, but he remembered that Kurama's requirement was to use it single-handedly, without any clones. Shadow Clones would be considered cheating.

But it wasn't all for nothing. At least, the use of the Shadow Clones helped Naruto understand what a complete Rasengan looked like. When using it alone, he could occasionally maintain it, but not for long.

He still hadn't found the right balance.

Jiraiya had gone off somewhere, and now the entire training ground was empty, with only Naruto left, while Kurama had just returned.

Seeing Naruto lying on the ground, panting, Kurama couldn't help but chuckle. He was about to say something sarcastic when he suddenly felt a familiar chakra approaching. Kurama paused for a moment, then closed his mouth, silently watching the scene with an amused expression.

A few minutes later, a figure landed at the edge of the training ground. At first, the person looked around out of habit, then their gaze locked onto Naruto.

The figure seemed to relax for a moment, then tightened their grip on something in their hand and began walking toward Naruto.

Naruto heard the footsteps and turned his head instinctively. When he saw who it was, he froze, sitting up from the ground, staring at the approaching figure in confusion. 

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

As Sakura stepped out of the shadows, the cool moonlight bathed her, casting a gentle glow on her pink hair that swayed softly in the night breeze.

She walked toward him and spoke, "I ran into Jiraiya-sama at the hospital. He told me you were still here training and probably hadn't had dinner, so I thought I'd bring you something to eat."

She raised her hand slightly, and in the soft moonlight, Naruto saw the bento she was holding.

Naruto was immediately touched. "You knew I hadn't eaten and came all the way to bring me food? Sakura-chan, thank you!"

He knew Sakura was currently interning at the hospital and wanted to apprentice under Tsunade. Although Tsunade was busy with other matters and had just sent Sakura to the hospital, Sakura was still taking it very seriously. 

For the past few days, Sakura had been at the hospital every day, staying late into the night and going back first thing in the morning. The only person who could make her stop was Sasuke. 

Yet, despite all this, Sakura came all the way here to bring him food because she knew he hadn't had dinner. Naruto was deeply moved.

Kurama: "…"

Seeing Naruto like this, Sakura didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She sat down beside him, not like before when she would be annoyed, but instead very naturally sat across from him and opened the bento. "This is a bento I made myself. On my way home from the hospital, I made one for you too. I still have to go to the Konoha hospital later."

Naruto was so moved that he immediately took the bento and chopsticks from her, and without hesitation, began to eat like someone who hadn't seen food in days.

Then he choked.

"You should eat slower. The bento is still warm; there's no need to rush," Sakura said helplessly, watching Naruto flail around. She took out a bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to him. "Are you going to keep training after eating?"

Naruto gulped down the water, clearing his throat, and after a deep breath, he continued eating, but this time more slowly. As he ate, he replied to Sakura, "I'm almost there with the Rasengan. Once I've mastered it, I'll have a real fight with Sasuke and beat him using my true strength."

"Don't you already have more power than Sasuke?" Sakura said, resting her chin in her hand, curious. "I remember you can use the chakra from the… Kurama. From what Sasuke told me, in that state, 

your strength is impressive."

Naruto paused eating and looked at Sakura seriously. "That power comes from Kurama, not from me. The strength I want is real strength."

Sakura was taken aback for a moment, then nodded slowly as if she understood. "I get it."

Naruto resumed eating, and Sakura continued to watch him, her chin resting in her hand. She vaguely remembered that this was probably the first time she truly looked at Naruto with no other emotions—just as a friend, teammate, and partner.

He looked kind of cool, a different kind of cool from Sasuke.

But still, Sasuke was a bit cooler.

Sakura squinted, a smile playing on her face as she remembered something funny.

Naruto paused his eating, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Sakura-chan, can you stop staring at me like that?"

"We're teammates, so why can't I look at you?" Sakura tilted her head and asked teasingly. "And didn't you say you liked me? You should be happy I'm looking at you like this."

"Ah, um…" Naruto awkwardly scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to explain himself.

Seeing Naruto's silly expression, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "Naruto, do you know what I was thinking when I was looking at you just now?"

"What?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura pretended to reminisce, but the smile on her face seemed a bit mischievous. "I was thinking about the day we graduated from the Ninja Academy and first saw Kakashi-sensei. That was the first time the three of us met him."

Naruto scratched his head. "What happened that day? What's the big deal…"

Sssss—

Naruto suddenly gasped, his eyes wide open in disbelief as he looked at Sakura. "No way!!!"

"Yep, the day you kissed Sasuke." Sakura lightly tapped her lips with her finger, winking playfully with her left eye.

"STOP!!!" Naruto shouted, holding his head in agony.

"Take it back, take it back! I've got images in my head now!!!"

"Pfft… Hahahaha…" Sakura laughed wickedly, enjoying the sight of Naruto writhing on the ground in apparent pain. Her joy seemed to grow as she watched him struggle.

"Ahhhhh!!!" Naruto held his head, rolling around like a hamster stuck in a wheel. With his teammate's "help," he kept spinning.

Sakura's laughter slowly faded, and as Naruto curled up, she suddenly stopped.

"Naruto, I've always been thankful for you, so… I'm sorry."

Naruto froze completely.

The stars in the night sky twinkled, complementing the glowing moon. A cool breeze mixed with the sound of sobs, brushing against the brilliant figure that shone like the sun.

"Did you do anything wrong? Sakura-chan~" 

Her smile was warmer than the sun itself.

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