Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

"Hmm, very good." Kakashi nodded in satisfaction. "You three are all quite unique! Well then, tomorrow morning at five o'clock, we'll begin our class's first mission—a survival drill."

"Wait a minute?" Sakura immediately sensed something was wrong and asked in confusion, "An exercise? How can a mission be an exercise? Besides, we've had many exercises at the Ninja Academy."

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph..."

Just as Sakura finished speaking, Kakashi suddenly lowered his head and let out a series of low, sinister laughs.

The laughter sent a chill down Sakura's spine. "What...what's so funny?"

Naruto's expression turned somewhat strange as he looked at the scene before him.

You should know that in the original work, Kakashi was a typical aloof and sharp-tongued genius when he was young. Even when he occasionally showed a bit of human kindness, it was nine parts tsundere and one part spoiled!

At the same age, he is even more ruthless than the original character, Erzhuzi.

But how did he become like this, with his repressed, scheming, and wicked sense of humor?

...All I can say is that Teacher Kai's influence is truly terrifying; he's practically turned an iceberg into a cunning and sly one.

Kakashi finally stopped his chilling laughter, raised his eyes, and swept his dead fish eyes over the three of them. His tone became "earnest" yet full of mockery.

"Those games of make-believe at school don't count as real drills. My survival drill... is on a completely different level. By the way, let me tell you something interesting—" He paused deliberately, admiring the three of them, especially Sakura's tense expression.

"If you fail, you are not qualified to be a ninja and will have to return to the ninja academy, and..."

"Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 were recognized as genin... In other words, this is an extremely difficult test with an elimination rate of over 66%. Therefore, you'd better participate in tomorrow's exercise with the mindset of 'going back to the ninja academy and starting all over again.'"

"Anyway, assemble at the training ground at 5 a.m. tomorrow! Remember to bring your ninja tools."

This statement about a "mortality rate as high as 66%" had a significant effect. Sakura felt her heart begin to race uncontrollably, and her palms started to sweat. No! Absolutely not!

She finally managed to be grouped with her idol, Satsuki, how could she be eliminated here?! She had to pass this test! No matter what!

Satsuki maintained her calm and indifferent expression on the surface, but her hands on her knees clenched slightly with tension and determination.

Kakashi's exaggerated elimination rate did put some pressure on her... But no matter what, she was determined to become a ninja alongside Naruto! They absolutely couldn't be separated!

Naruto, on the other hand, remained completely unmoved, and even felt a little like laughing.

Survival drill? Isn't it just about stealing bells? The same old routine… The question he's pondering now is, how much strength should he display tomorrow?

Would it be inappropriate to overdo it and defeat Kakashi outright? Would it scare him?

"Oh, right." Kakashi, who had already turned to leave, seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back to add, "Remember not to eat breakfast tomorrow morning... or you'll throw up."

After saying this "friendly reminder," Kakashi disappeared from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Huh? They're gone already?" Naruto looked at the empty space and scratched his head with a hint of regret. "I was thinking of treating him to lunch..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt someone gently tug at his sleeve. Naruto turned around and saw Satsuki looking up at him with his big, dark eyes filled with anticipation and a hint of... obvious craving?

Why? Because today is an important day—the day Naruto and Satsuki agreed that Naruto would cook lunch himself! Satsuki had been looking forward to this meal since morning, and Kakashi's threats had not affected her appetite at all.

"Okay, let's go then. Today's lunch is all your favorite dishes." Naruto smiled, habitually reaching out to ruffle Satsuki's soft black hair. He did this intimate gesture with perfect naturalness, and Satsuki squinted her eyes slightly, clearly enjoying it.

Sakura, watching this incredibly harmonious and intimate scene, was extremely envious and gave Satsuki a gentle head pat... She really wanted to try it too!

But did they agree to have lunch together? ...But back in the ninja academy, I did see them eating together every day at noon...

Watching her two future teammates seemingly leave her behind so naturally, and recalling Satsuki's crisp, even cold, rejection of her invitation, Sakura felt a wave of loss and loneliness wash over her. So, she still couldn't fit in...

However, Naruto noticed the subtle look of disappointment on Sakura's face. This behavior, which resembled "isolating" a teammate, made him feel uncomfortable.

After all, they'd be on the same team soon, and it wouldn't be good to make things too awkward. So he turned to Sakura and extended an invitation. "By the way, Sakura, why don't you come too? As future teammates, this is a good opportunity for us to get to know each other and also try my cooking."

"Huh? Really?!" Sakura was flattered when Naruto invited her, and her eyes lit up.

"Yes, of course it's true." Naruto said with a smile, his smile as open and honest as ever.

As for Satsuki standing next to Naruto... although his face remained expressionless, his inner thoughts suddenly became intense.

Huh?! This...this just sounds like a polite remark, doesn't it?! Although...judging from Naruto's way of thinking, he's definitely serious...but!

But you can probably tell that's just polite talk, right? A girl agreeing to have dinner at a boy's house so easily? There's a limit to being overly familiar! Have some sense of propriety!

You wouldn't actually agree, would you?!

"Thank you so much, Naruto-kun! Then I won't be polite!" Sakura happily and without hesitation agreed, a bright smile blooming on her face.

However, the very next second after she finished speaking—

Sakura suddenly shivered violently without warning. What, what's going on?! Why do I suddenly feel so cold?!

She instinctively hugged her arms and looked around warily, only to see Naruto smiling and... Uchiha Sasuke, who was still staring at her expressionlessly.

Is it just my imagination...?

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(Still updating at 3 PM)