15. Flaunting Her Charm

Sasuke was watching her intently.

Haruna struggled to restrain her expression, determined not to reveal too much emotion.

In truth, the young girl knew their paths were destined to diverge; her future held no place for Uchiha Sasuke.

She had been busy lately, and for a long time had not thought about Sasuke at all.

But none of that included the recent rumors of her closeness with Naruto—and then being caught red-handed by Sasuke!

If Sasuke thought she liked Naruto—

A tightening gripped Haruna’s heart. Even if there was no future for them, at this moment, she did not want the black-haired boy to misunderstand.

No reason—just instinctively, she didn’t want that.

Yet, even though she didn’t want Sasuke to misunderstand, Haruna could not twist the truth or slander Naruto.

“No,” she said.

“We were partners… on a mission.” She swallowed the word “date.”

And why did Sasuke ask like that?

Given the situation just now, it was clear she hadn’t been forced. Besides, Sasuke should know Naruto’s character by now.

Haruna’s tone was calm, and to others, it probably sounded unchanged.

But Naruto cared about her deeply.

So he keenly sensed the hidden confusion and nervousness beneath her cool exterior.

People often said he was dull-witted.

But when it came to Haruna, Naruto became unusually sensitive, almost instinctively so.

And then… he only grew more annoyed with Sasuke.

Are you kidding me?

He and Haruna were in that kind of "divorce cooling-off period" relationship.

And in the past two days, they had so many heart-fluttering moments—their bond just right, everyone knew it.

Why was Sasuke coming to interfere?

Calling out to Haruna just now was simply...

Naruto suddenly recalled a phrase he once stumbled upon while flipping through the lecherous sage’s manuscripts—

“Flirting, seducing my wife.”

The lecherous sage’s manuscripts were dull, full of illogical plot points.

Only that line had left a deep impression on Naruto—that was a husband lamenting his wife’s growing coldness toward him.

The line seemed mundane, yet Naruto remembered it vividly.

And at this moment, as Sasuke called out to Haruna, it flashed involuntarily through his mind.

Fortunately, Haruna was different from the other girls. She didn’t push herself away, and Sasuke kept calling her name.

Hearing her reply, Naruto subconsciously relaxed his tightly clenched hand holding the salty soda.

Sasuke fell into a brief silence.

In the slight stalemate among the three, Sasuke’s recently cultivated warmth and dust settled, gradually cooling in the breeze.

This standstill wouldn’t do.

Naruto’s gaze shifted between Sasuke and Haruna, deciding to take initiative.

The lecherous sage liked to write about clueless husbands in confusing scenarios—but he was not one of them.

He would be the proactive ex-husband!

“Sasuke, aren’t you going to rest? Kakashi-sensei wants us to get up early for a meeting tomorrow.”

After speaking, the blond boy deliberately stood between Sasuke and Haruna, blocking his gaze.

Sasuke could no longer see Haruna.

The black-haired boy’s eyes naturally settled on Naruto.

Naruto’s expression was open and straightforward.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sasuke frowned and said coldly, “Your future achievements are not guaranteed facts.”

“Don’t fall too far behind, tail-ender.”

He casually twirled a kunai between his fingers before smoothly sheathing it in his ninja pouch with a grace that was oddly beautiful.

Naruto scoffed.

Showing off again.

But the future Sasuke had personally acknowledged him, after all.

Yet, due to a subtle competitiveness, the blond boy held that comment back.

Probably because it was an achievement of his future self, not connected to who he was now.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto’s wary eyes and deliberately ignored the immature provocation.

Whether the tail-ender chose to train or grow close to girls was none of his concern.

He simply did not care.

The only reason he spoke just now was because he recognized the person hugging the tail-ender.

That person had once warned him to watch out for this girl at school.

Sasuke knew her.

A senior two grades above him.

A senior one grade above him.

A quiet girl sitting in the corner of his class.

Haruna.

That man was hypocritical, pretending to be kind, but she was innocent.

Therefore, Sasuke just happened to pass by and asked if she was being bullied.

If she was, he would help her out.

That was all.

*

Though Sasuke left, the heart-fluttering date between Haruna and Naruto could not continue.

In fact, Naruto had some burning questions.

He asked hesitantly, “Haruna, did you know Sasuke before?”

“Yes, I know his older brother.”

“Older brother? Sasuke has an older brother—is he the one Sasuke wanted to kill?”

Haruna did not answer.

Seeing her mood darken, Naruto decided not to press further.

But he wasn’t willing to end the date just like that, so he brought out a backup plan.

“Haruna, do you want to train with me later?”

At this suggestion, the previously gloomy Haruna was instantly drawn in.

A genuine crisis of fate lay before her, and she had already decided to train hard to improve her self-protection before danger struck.

But she could only rely on herself. The idea of learning from a master was out of the question.

She had a ninja team, but the captain was only a Chunin and not close to her.

After all, it was a makeshift team cobbled together, and the captain only fairly distributed team rewards.

There was no hope he would improve individual skills or teach secret techniques.

He was still figuring out his own strength.

Seeing her hesitate, Naruto encouraged eagerly, “The lecherous sage usually loafs around and is free anyway—we’ll have him teach you.”

“You’re a key figure in Tenmaku now; the lecherous sage wouldn’t refuse you.”

Naruto recommended his master with all his might: “Sometimes, the lecherous sage can be quite reliable.”

“He’s skilled in summoning jutsu and can call forth huge insects and toads!”

Haruna made up her mind: “Okay, I’ll apply to meet the Third Hokage today.”

She felt her initial live broadcast rewards might finally come into play.

“The Third Grandfather? Well—hey?!”

Naruto’s expression shifted slightly. Could it be that Haruna planned to ask the Hokage to teach her?

The Third Grandfather was indeed very powerful and would likely teach her, but… whatever!

He would also go to the Hokage’s office this afternoon.

If all else failed, he could temporarily optimize the lecherous sage.

The lecherous sage would surely understand.

…

That afternoon.

Because Haruna wished to take on the role of Jonin, the Third Hokage arranged a small meeting for her.

Present were the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and Hatake Kakashi.

This time, Asuma Sarutobi, a Jonin, also attended.

The old man’s intentions were clear.

“Actually, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I was going to ask you myself,” he said.

In fact, after stabilizing the village situation the next day, the Third had wanted to find Haruna a bodyguard, teacher, and guardian.

It was clear now that the core trigger for Tenmaku was Haruna and Naruto.

Naruto was a loyal insider, but Haruna was still an ordinary civilian of Konoha without strong ties.

Building connections with such a person was never wrong—perhaps he could also appear in the future she foresaw?

Who wouldn’t want to know the future? Who wouldn’t want to change it?

Other major figures who the Third considered surely thought the same.

The delay in action was due to disagreements among Konoha’s leadership over benefits in this matter.

Of course, the Third ultimately won decisively.

He did not hold back, presenting his own elite disciples for Haruna to choose from.

Even though he hadn’t taken disciples for years, if she wished, this old man could personally take her as a closed-door disciple.

However, the ninjas in the room were basically Konoha’s strongest.

The Third smiled gently: “Haruna, who would you prefer to be your mentor?”

Looking at the three formidable ninja, each with a distinguished reputation among the Five Great Nations, Haruna felt dazed for a moment.

It was as if just yesterday she was a mediocre ninja, barely passing the graduation exam.

Her teachers and teammates had been unremarkable.

Now, even the Hokage spoke kindly to her.

Konoha’s top ninja were at her disposal; she could choose anyone as her teacher.

“Is it hard to decide?”

The Third chuckled warmly: “Let me explain a bit.”

“Jiraiya isn’t a stranger to you. Though he’s my undisciplined student, he has rich experience and has weathered many storms. He’s undertaken countless S-rank missions.”

“He seems lazy, but rest assured, if it’s protecting and teaching you, he will do so seriously.”

“He’s trained many students who became outstanding ninja.”

“No matter your talent or circumstances, Jiraiya will find the right path for you.”

This was the Third’s most rational choice.

Whether guardian, bodyguard, or teacher, Jiraiya was flawless.

“Yo,” Jiraiya greeted Haruna energetically.

The Third then introduced the next candidate: “This one is also familiar to you.”

Kakashi, a disciple of Minato and a direct Hokage successor, was known as a genius since childhood, and the Third had high hopes for him.

However, Kakashi’s relationship with Haruna was somewhat complicated.

The Third believed Haruna likely wouldn’t choose Kakashi.

The silver-haired Jonin had been unusually quiet since entering.

Hearing the Third’s words, his gaze finally settled on Haruna.

His eyes showed a hint of complexity: “...How have you been lately?”

Hmm?

Naruto immediately began to suspect in his heart.

Had Kakashi-sensei’s tone become too gentle and soft?

In Naruto’s impression, although Kakashi was kind, he usually spoke with a lazy, casual air, especially towards girls like Sakura.

Sometimes Sakura doubted whether he was truly attentive or listening seriously.

When scolding, Kakashi’s eyes would narrow into crescents as he said “Yes, yes.”

But now, speaking with apparent careful thought, in a cautious yet gentle tone, Naruto had never heard him like this before.

Such a brief sentence carried a wealth of complex emotion, enough to stew into soup.

Kakashi-sensei speaking to Haruna like this… what was he up to? What was he planning?!

!!

The blond boy instantly became alert.