Naruto: SSS-Rank Romance System

The next day.

Naruto was urgently called by Kakashi early in the morning, and Team 7 was to regroup and prepare for a mission.

Under the large tree where they were supposed to meet, Sasuke arrived first. His face was cold, and his eyes looked a bit off, as though something was troubling him. Upon seeing Naruto, he just clicked his tongue and turned his head without saying anything.

Naruto, however, didn't seem bothered. He found a spot on the grass, sat down, and rested, his expression calm.

"Sasuke, I suggest you sit down and wait. Kakashi's sure to come up with some ridiculous excuse for being late."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto with a blank expression.

"Idiot."

Ten minutes later, Sasuke obediently sat on the grass.

Twenty minutes after that, the two were lying on the ground some distance apart, looking like two corpses lying in perfect alignment.

"Sorry!!! I... I'm late."

Sakura hurried over, her pink short hair bobbing with each step, her eyes closed as she hastily bowed and apologized.

"A sudden influx of patients at the hospital kept me there to help."

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the two of them lying on the ground.

"Eh?"

Ten minutes later, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all lying on the grass.

Naruto tilted his head slightly, meeting Sakura's eyes. He couldn't help but smile awkwardly at her.

Sakura still looked the same, her short hair tied casually, looking much more composed. Her slender, pale arms were exposed, and her chest was gently rounded. Her smile was confident and warm.

Sakura seemed to have grown a lot in the medical department, shedding her previous naivety and panic.

"Naruto, you seem to have grown a bit taller?"

"I think so," Naruto said, rubbing the top of his head. "It's probably because I've been eating vegetables, and my appetite has definitely gotten bigger."

"But Sakura, your skin looks even better."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah, ask Sasuke if you don't believe me."

"Boring."

"Well, we all arrived pretty early, so it looks like no one's late." Kakashi suddenly appeared in the tree, giving all three of them a fright.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you want to check what time it is?" Sakura said helplessly.

"It's obviously you who's late!" Naruto complained.

"35 minutes," Sasuke said with disdain.

Kakashi jumped down from the tree and gave a lazy smile, his eye staring blankly as he scratched his head.

"A black cat just ran past me, so I..."

...

"This mission is over now. I'm going back to the Hokage Tower to submit the report," Kakashi said lazily. "You all did well, and Sakura's progress is fast."

"Anyway, we're dismissed. There should be a new mission tomorrow. After the Fifth Hokage took office, all the accumulated missions need to be completed, and other teams are in a similar situation."

"Yes!" The three of them answered, dragging out the last syllable, then laughed.

Kakashi scratched his head and smiled too. Team 7 was the first ninja team he led, and it might also be his last. Before leaving, Kakashi quickly glanced at Sasuke.

This mission showed some unusual behavior from Sasuke, as he seemed too eager.

The four of them scattered in different directions—Sakura headed back to the medical department, Sasuke went to train, Kakashi had a report to submit, and Naruto went home to lie down.

---

*Konoha Street.*

After aimlessly wandering, Naruto entered the abandoned building he knew well.

However, after searching around, he found that the place was completely empty.

It seemed that Doyuya had already left, along with all traces of what had been there. As the last light of day faded, the abandoned building was swallowed by darkness.

In an instant, the building was pitch black.

Naruto stood in the corner for a while, guessing that Doyuya had probably joined up with the other three members of the Sound Ninja, and that Sasuke's strange look this morning was a sign he might be defecting.

He left the building, heading downstairs.

He quickly found a place to fill his stomach; he didn't feel like cooking for himself. With another mission coming tomorrow, he decided to go to bed early.

---

*The next day*, Naruto arrived at the same meeting place, only to receive a last-minute notice from Kakashi.

The mission was canceled.

"Why was it canceled?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure." Sakura said helplessly. "Kakashi-sensei only told me the mission was canceled, but he seemed to have something urgent to attend to and just told me to notify you all before leaving."

"Maybe it's a more dangerous S-rank mission?"

"Then... let's disperse," Naruto yawned and waved. "I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't sleep well, so I'll just catch up on sleep."

"Mm." Sasuke turned and left.

"Sakura, see you," Naruto said, pretending to walk away, but Sakura quickly grabbed his arm.

"Naruto, can you do me a favor?" she asked.

---

*Konoha Hospital, Hallway.*

The white walls reflected a bright halo, and the strong smell of disinfectant lingered in the air. The corridor was damp, obviously just mopped, and there were caution signs warning of slippery floors at both ends.

"I'm really sorry, the medical department is overwhelmed," Sakura said with a guilty expression. "If we're doing missions tomorrow, I might be late again."

"It's just organizing some forms, no big deal." Naruto glanced at the stack of papers on the office desk.

He wanted to say that maybe tomorrow they wouldn't be going on a mission. Although a team without a guiding jonin could still handle simple C-rank missions, a team couldn't go on a mission if it was short-handed.

"Thank you, Naruto." Sakura said somewhat awkwardly.

"Sakura, come quick!!" A head popped out from the end of the corridor, a ninja in medical uniform waving urgently. "Come help!"

"Yes, senior!" Sakura quickly ran toward the person, her white legs flashing by as she called back to Naruto, "I'll treat you to barbecue after I'm done!"

"Okay."

Naruto entered the empty office, pulled out a chair, and started sorting the papers. These were all records left over from the time of Konoha's collapse when there were too many patients and not enough time to complete the paperwork.

It wasn't tiring, just a bit tedious. Sakura had already told him how to do it. Naruto followed the procedure, and time passed quickly.

At noon, Sakura walked into the office, stretching with a tired look and sitting opposite Naruto. She grabbed a large stack of papers and started organizing them with him.

"The medical department is really busy, I'm sorry to bother you," Sakura said, a little guilty. "I wanted to ask Ino, but she's out on a mission today."

When Naruto heard Sakura mention Ino, he couldn't help but recall what had happened the night before. He sighed. He should've never brought up the topic about Temari, since it wasn't fully explained.

Ino had stormed out of the store, and the matter had been left unresolved.

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