Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 129 A Dangerous Visit

"Sorry to bother you..."

Sakura finished speaking somewhat awkwardly and cautiously stepped into Naruto's small apartment. She looked around curiously, a little surprised.

Is this the home of Naruto Uzumaki, the class's acknowledged genius? The room was simply furnished, but surprisingly clean and tidy, with items arranged in an orderly fashion, completely different from the mess she had imagined a boy living alone might have.

Logically speaking, being grouped with her idol Satsuki and the genius Naruto in her class, and being invited to her home, should have been an exciting and joyful thing for her.

But for some reason, starting just now, that faint, icy chill started to creep back up, making her feel cold on her back, like she was sitting on pins and needles, unable to relax at all.

"Don't be shy, make yourself at home," Naruto said with a smile, turning to open the refrigerator and taking out a can of chilled red bean soup. He handed it to Sakura, "Here, I remember you like this, right?"

Then, he skillfully took out another box of strawberry milk—a drink that Satsuki had particularly loved for a long time and that she would drink almost every time she came.

"Ah, thank you!" Sakura quickly thanked him and took the red bean soup, but Naruto's enthusiasm did nothing to dispel the inexplicable chill.

She sat down next to Satsuki at Naruto's small dining table. Satsuki quietly took the strawberry milk, sipped it, her gaze seemingly fixed on the patterns on the table, neither looking at Sakura nor speaking.

The atmosphere became subtly silent and...frozen for a moment.

Sakura tried hard to find something to talk about to break the awkward silence, but every time she caught a glimpse of Satsuki's expressionless profile and the invisible pressure emanating from him, she felt as if something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't say anything.

"Wait a moment, the food will be ready soon."

From the kitchen, the sounds of cooking and Naruto's voice could be heard. Originally, Naruto's kitchen was in the living room, but since Satsuki started visiting often, Naruto moved the kitchen to another room, since the smoke from cooking was quite pungent.

To ease the suffocating silence and tension, Sakura's gaze involuntarily began to wander around the room, trying to find some decorations or items that could start a conversation.

Then, her gaze was drawn to something unusual next to the bedside table.

It was a carefully constructed little nest made of soft fabric and insulating materials, with some heating devices attached to the side that appeared to maintain the temperature. And in the center of this warm little nest, there was a...egg?

A giant egg, about the size of two footballs, pure white, with green circular patterns on it?

What is this? It's a huge egg... Is it the egg of some kind of summoning beast? Or is it some kind of special ninja tool?

Sakura's curiosity was instantly piqued, temporarily overshadowing the inexplicable chill. She instinctively wanted to stand up and get closer to examine the mysterious egg more closely.

However, just as she stepped off the chair and leaned forward—

A hand gripped her raised wrist tightly! The force was so great that she even felt a slight pain!

"Eek—!" Sakura was caught off guard and couldn't help but cry out in pain.

She turned her head in alarm and met Zuo Yue's dark eyes, which had somehow become incredibly cold. There was no warmth in those eyes.

"Don't touch that thing... no, to be precise, don't touch anything in this room. Understand?"

"I'm so sorry! I... I didn't mean to!"

Sakura was startled by the sudden, stern warning. She shakily sat back down in her chair, her heart pounding wildly.

Strangely, after being sternly warned, Sakura felt that Satsuki actually spoke to her on his own initiative, and her cheeks inexplicably became hot.

A silent and awkward atmosphere once again enveloped the small dining table.

After a while, just when Sakura thought the conversation was over, Satsuki's cold voice rang out again, still without any inflection.

"Sakura...right? We'll be teammates from now on, right?"

"Yes...yes." Sakura immediately straightened her back, not expecting Satsuki to speak up again.

"Well then, Sakura," Satsuki slowly turned his head, his deep black eyes focusing on Sakura's face for the first time in a truly meaningful way.

"You know, if one of the three genin in a ninja squad unfortunately suffers some kind of 'accident,' such as... being killed, or being 'seriously injured' and unable to continue the mission... then what happens to that squad?"

"Huh? This one..."

Sakura was taken aback by this sudden question. She tried hard to recall the relevant regulations she had seen in the Konoha Ninja Handbook.

"According to regulations... when a ninja team is on a mission, the basic formation must be one Jonin leading three Chunin or Genin. If... if any member of the team is missing for any reason, the entire team must immediately cease all missions until that member recovers or... a new member is added."

"...Tsk."

Satsuki let out a very soft click of her tongue. Clearly, Sakura's standard answer about the "missing team members" had not satisfied her.

The next moment, she spoke again. This time, facing Sakura, her originally cold eyes curved into two beautiful crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

However, this smile inexplicably made Sakura feel a pang of unease.

"So, Sakura..." Satsuki asked in a seemingly friendly tone, "What are your personal thoughts on Naruto?"

"Naruto...?"

Sakura had no idea that she was standing on the edge of a dangerous cliff, nor did she know that if her answer was slightly off, the next time Satsuki opened her crescent-shaped smiling eyes, what abyss would be revealed!

She thought about it seriously for a moment and decided to tell the truth, since it seemed to be a topic that Sasuke was interested in. "Naruto is an outstanding person! In the Ninja Academy, it seems that only you, Sasuke, can fight him to a draw, right? Even though you're both still students at the Ninja Academy, you're both so strong, it's truly amazing!"

Of course...

Zuo Yue closed her eyes, nodding inwardly. Naruto is the only opponent I acknowledge as someone I must go all out against. Hmph, at least you have some judgment.

Seeing that Satsuki didn't seem to object and even maintained a smile, Sakura was encouraged and continued, "Also, Naruto is a very thoughtful and kind person! I often see him proactively helping his classmates, although... because of some bad rumors in the village, most people in the class are somewhat prejudiced and distant towards Naruto-kun, which is really too much!"

"Yes, that's right!" Zuo Yue's agreement grew even stronger. Those ignorant fools didn't understand anything at all! How could they treat Naruto like that? It was too much!

Seeing that Satsuki had closed his eyes and started nodding slightly, seemingly agreeing with what she said, Sakura was delighted. She felt that she had indeed found the right topic, and that the two of them really had a very, very good relationship!

The atmosphere seemed to have eased considerably, and Sakura had become a little bolder. Remembering some rumors circulating at school and the intimate interactions she had witnessed today, she couldn't help but ask, with a mixture of curiosity and a hint of probing.

"Oh, right... this might sound strange and presumptuous..." Sakura's face flushed slightly, and her voice softened a little, "Excuse me, Satsuki, are you... dating Naruto-kun?"