Naruto: In the future world

#Scene_Thirteen

. . .

Disturbed

. . .

That long day—sorrowful for some, joyful for others—finally came to an end.

A day when hearts were shattered.

A day when the seed of love began to bloom.

A day when a strong bond of friendship grew in an instant.

A day when our hero became the target of someone lurking in the shadows!!

But who is this person targeting him? Why Sakura in particular? And what will happen when they meet face-to-face?

---

The morning began swiftly at the Uchiha mansion...

Where Sasuke was sleeping deeply...

"Sasuke–kun, ever since I met you, I've loved you..."

In front of him stood the cherry blossom, confessing her feelings. The perspective was from his point of view, making it impossible to see his expression or gauge his emotions.

"Sakura... I..."

But alas, the dream began to twist before Sasuke could steer it in the direction he desired. Reality crept into the dream maliciously, reminding him that what had occurred was real—a past he could no longer alter.

"You're annoying."

(What is this?! Why can't I control my words?!) Sasuke thought, but nothing changed.

Those dreadful moments began replaying slowly.

"You're annoying, pathetic, desperate for attention. After you're done using Naruto, you're going to cling to me and use me too?!"

(No!! That's not what I meant to say!!)

"Don't follow me, don't talk to me, don't look for me, don't let me see your face again—just looking at trash is painful for the eyes!!"

(N–No... This isn't what I wanted to say!!)

---

"Haah...!!"

He jolted awake, gasping for air. Someone was lying on top of him...

And by the feel of two soft mounds pressing against his face—

It couldn't be...?

Sasuke shoved the body off of him and shouted with some irritation, "Is that you, Karin?!"

His guess was right. The red-haired girl slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh? Sasuke-nii-san, good morning."

"Good morning?! You were about to suffocate me to death with your chest!!" Sasuke snapped.

"Hehehe, my bad, sorry," she giggled awkwardly.

That made Sasuke swallow hard, unnerved. Karin never apologized so cheerfully.

Then her demeanor turned stiff as she continued, "It's my fault for being worried and coming to check on you... and my fault that when I tried to wake you, you grabbed me and hugged me in your sleep and didn't let go."

Sasuke looked away, one cheek slightly red. "Tch... I don't remember any of that."

"Heeey, don't tell me you've got a little sister complex, Sasuke-onii-chan~" she teased mischievously.

"Even if you were the last woman on Earth, I'd rather see the human race go extinct than sleep with you."

"I am your little sister, even if we're not related by blood, you bastard! How could you say I'm that awful?!" Karin shouted, exasperated.

"Because it's the truth. And you're annoying," Sasuke said coldly as he got out of bed. He shot her a half-glance and added, "Go change. We have school."

"Yeah, yeah. Just say talking to me is boring," she mumbled as she stood up with a pout.

"Exactly. Now hurry up and don't make me late."

"Jerk! You'll never be popular with women, you damned jerk!!" Karin stormed out, grumbling furiously about Sasuke's behavior.

Sasuke sighed and entered the bathroom to shower. As the water poured down, he couldn't stop thinking about the dream—or rather, what happened the night before.

How was he supposed to look Sakura in the eyes now?

He was deeply unsettled. He had assumed Sakura and Naruto were romantically involved or something like that, so her confession had completely thrown him off—and made him interpret everything the wrong way.

Looking back, he truly had committed a terrible sin.

It wouldn't be strange if Sakura hated him now.

He placed his right hand on his chest—his heart was pounding like crazy. Just the thought of the cherry blossom hating him...

. . .

#Scene_Thirteen

. . .

Disturbed (End)

. . .

In another mansion no less grand than the Uchiha estate—

This one belonged to the Hyūga clan.

Inside, we see Neji Hyūga dressing himself while his cousin Hinata assists him.

"Thank you, Hinata."

"It is my duty, Neji–sama." Hinata closed her eyes and bowed respectfully. As a member of the branch family, she was obligated to show proper deference at all times.

"Well then, I'm heading out," Neji said calmly.

"Please take care, Neji–sama."

Once Neji had left the mansion, he sighed and placed a hand on his head, muttering tiredly, "How long will this go on...?"

"What will go on?"

A female voice responded, and his face immediately brightened. He smiled. "You pestering me to go to school together every single morning, Ten Ten."

Ten Ten smiled, hands on her hips. "Until the grave, of course."

"You're relentless." Neji chuckled, and the two began walking down the road together.

"What do you mean 'relentless'? If you don't want me to come, I won't."

"Sorry. Please do come every day, Ten Ten–saan."

"See?"

They both laughed and paused for a moment.

From behind, we could only see their backs. Ten Ten's fingers slowly reached toward Neji's, gently brushing against them. He showed no sign of embarrassment.

He extended his fingers to meet hers, intertwining them.

Of course, their faces remained hidden—this was from a third-person perspective.

Once their hands were clasped, they resumed walking and began chatting about other things.

Inside the mansion, near the entrance, two white eyes observed what had just taken place between Neji and Ten Ten. It was odd to see Neji looking so genuinely happy.

In the estate, he was like an emotionless puppet—only reacting when spoken to, always preoccupied with clan matters. The pressure rained down on him like a storm.

The eyes watching from the doorway darkened, and a single tear formed in the right eye before the door was quietly shut, vanishing without anyone noticing.

. . .

"Naruto–sama, it's time for breakfast."

Still half-asleep, I heard Mina's voice waking me. I opened my eyes and saw her standing respectfully at the door.

"Oh, Mina–chan, good morning."

Mina was a woman in her thirties. Still young, right? She'd been with me since I was four years old, caring for me ever since.

She had started serving me in her twenties, and over the years, she'd become more like a big sister than a maid.

She had dark skin and was incredibly beautiful—no exaggeration, many from our branch family were chasing after her. Yet she had rejected them all.

And still, some hadn't given up.

"Good morning, Naruto–sama."

I yawned a little. "Did you prepare the bath?"

"Yes, you can bathe now."

"Thank you."

Still groggy, I went to wash up and clear my thoughts.

Once I was done, I heard message notifications on my phone and went to check.

It was Sakura!! Oh my god, she never texts me first—what could it be??

I thought nervously, then read the message.

"Good morning, Naruto–kun. I hope you slept well today."

My face lit up bright red. What bliss! Receiving such a sweet morning message from her!!

I quickly typed back with a grin...

"What a beautiful morning—but not as beautiful as the cherry blossom who sent this message."

I stared at it, cheeks flushed. No way I could send this! I used to flirt like this, but after confessing my feelings, I didn't want her thinking I was being too obvious.

I hastily deleted it and replaced it with:

"Good morning, Sakura–chan. I'm really happy you messaged me. I feel like today is going to be the best!"

I sent it and waited anxiously for a few seconds...

Her reply came quickly:

"B–baka! It's just a morning greeting—don't get the wrong idea!!"

I grinned and replied immediately:

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing. See you at school!"

And her final reply:

"Okay!! See you later, Naruto–kun."

I tossed my phone on the bed and jumped up, shouting joyfully, "Yes!!"

. . .

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

Two boys were walking together, chatting. One wore glasses and a face mask, though bruises were clearly visible on his face.

Beside him walked a slim boy with an eccentric hairstyle and thick eyebrows.

"So, Shino, are we confronting him today?"

"Yes. We'll settle things today."

"But you haven't forgotten that humiliating defeat, have you? Are you okay with this?"

Shino sighed and replied quietly, "Yeah. What matters is getting this done—and we'll do it, even if we have to summon the devil himself."

"Such fierce resolve... That's why I admire you, Shino!" Rock Lee smiled as he followed Shino, whose eyes were fixed on a goal that had to be accomplished—no matter what.

. . .

In a cozy, medium-sized home—

The Yamanaka residence. Currently, Ino Yamanaka was asleep beside her new—or rather, only—friend, Sakura Haruno.

The two had already woken up and were getting ready to leave.

Sakura grabbed her phone and slowly looked at it. The last message was from Naruto.

Why not send him a greeting?

She thought, then typed:

"Good morning, Naruto–kun."

She was about to send it—but hesitated.

Isn't that a little too cold?

That's what she thought.

Odd... Usually she wouldn't hesitate to send something like this. But now she wanted to write something warmer.

"Good morning, Naruto–kun. I hope you slept well."

This felt just right, so she sent it without delay.

Moments later, Naruto's reply arrived—he always replied as fast as possible.

Come to think of it, didn't I used to ignore his messages just to text Sasuke? How foolish I was!!

She scolded herself quietly.

"Good morning, Sakura–chan. I'm really happy you messaged me. I feel like today is going to be the best!"

As she read his message, her heart began to race.

She typed back quickly with a smile, unaware of the blush warming her face.

"B–baka! It's just a morning greeting—don't get the wrong idea!!"

It didn't take long for his response to arrive:

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing. See you at school!"

Sakura let out a small sigh—it was over.

She covered her mouth, startled.

Did I really feel disappointed that the conversation ended...?

"Okay!! See you later, Naruto–kun."

She hastily wrote and sent it before closing her phone.

"So heartless, ending the conversation just like that. He didn't even say he's looking forward to seeing me... What a big idiot."

She shivered and turned to see Ino glancing at her phone with a curious look.

"W–Wait!! What are you looking at?!"

Sakura panicked, stepping back and stuffing her phone into her bag to hide it.

"Hehehe, you look like a maiden in love~" Ino grinned mischievously as she watched Sakura's flustered behavior.

"W–What are you talking about?! I–I don't love him like that!" Sakura protested, eyes squeezed shut.

"Doesn't look that way to me," Ino replied slyly.

"We're going to be late!! Let's go!!"

Sakura bolted to the door, her face beet red, slamming it shut behind her.

"Pfftt... Hahahahaha!!" Ino burst into laughter.

Outside, Sakura stood catching her breath, a hand on her chest, her heart pounding.

"T–This is impossible, right?? I mean, just yesterday I was head-over-heels for Sasuke. Feelings don't change overnight..."

Her eyes shadowed by her bangs as she recalled her first kiss with that blond boy.

"This can't be... right? Because if it is—it would mean my feelings for Sasuke were never real to begin with!!"

She didn't know what to do. The confusion was driving her insane.

She took a sharp breath and steeled herself.

"I need to make it clear to Naruto–kun that there's nothing between us. That kiss was just desperation—a way to get back at Sasuke for rejecting me so cruelly. That's all. It can't be anything deeper."

. . .

At school, in a second-year classroom, a ruckus broke out among the students.

Three boys stood over a fourth, mercilessly beating and kicking him as he curled up, powerless.

"Oh my god... All he did was step on his foot, and now this?!"

"Poor guy..."

In front of the three stood a red-haired boy, exuding arrogance like he owned the place. Judging by his attire, he was a delinquent—clearly dangerous.

"Alright, that's enough. We don't want to send him to the hospital just for stepping on my foot by accident, right?"

The three henchmen stopped, and one of them spat on the beaten boy coldly.

"What are you all looking at? Want to join him?" the red-haired boy said to the rest of the class. They immediately turned their gazes forward, terrified.

The red-haired delinquent rested his head on his hand and spoke coolly: "So boring. When will I be free of this unbearable boredom...?"

. . .

#To_Be_Continued.