Kapitel 51: Willing to Take the Bait
When Sakura returned to the riverbank, Naruto had already dealt with several fish. Blood from the fish flowed downstream without any hesitation.
"You actually caught some? So quickly?"
Sakura was stunned. She placed the bundle of dry branches she was holding on the ground and walked toward Naruto.
"Yeah, just caught a few casually," Naruto replied without looking up. "We don't have enough salt to preserve the meat, so..."
"Naruto, you're amazing," Sakura murmured.
"It's nothing special—just practice makes perfect," Naruto said, standing up. "Don't sleep too soundly tonight; there will be more fish biting."
"At night? Fish?"
Though Sakura didn't fully understand Naruto's words, the sight of blood floating in the river instinctively sent a shiver down her spine. Blood could attract more predators, and nobody knew what might happen after dark.
With a "whoosh," Naruto used a small amount of his Lava Release to ignite a pile of dry grass, quickly producing a roaring flame.
The firelight drove away Sakura's fear. She stood up, fetched water from the river, and soaked a towel to place on Sasuke's forehead. After that, all she could do was wait.
She glanced over at Naruto, who was skewering the cleaned fish with branches and setting up a simple grill.
"Let me help," Sakura said.
She got up and carefully took over the task of grilling the fish, mimicking Naruto's movements to avoid burning them.
The firelight flickered on Sakura's dust-covered face, her eyes slightly lost in thought. She seemed to be replaying the events of the day, her gaze filled with fear and confusion.
After a long while, she lowered her head and asked softly, "Naruto, why would Orochimaru attack Sasuke?"
"Who knows?" Naruto replied casually. "Maybe Orochimaru has his eyes on Sasuke. He must've said something about power, right?"
"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "He did say that if Sasuke needed power, he could come to him."
"Well, there you have it," Naruto said nonchalantly as he and Sakura grilled fish side by side. "Sasuke cares so much about power and is consumed by revenge. Who knows? He might actually take Orochimaru up on his offer."
"Huh? What should we do?" Sakura asked, panicking. "Do you really think Sasuke would do that?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask him," Naruto replied, flipping a fish to prevent it from burning. "Didn't he always talk about revenge before? Hatred is like that—it festers and pulls people deeper into the abyss."
"Unless..."
"Unless what?" Sakura pressed.
"Nothing," Naruto said with a smile. "Unless he dies—then the hatred ends."
What Naruto really wanted to say was, "Unless Sasuke also gets reincarnated like me, then all those past obsessions wouldn't matter anymore. If someone messes with me, I'll fight back with no hesitation!"
But Naruto had no intention of interfering with Sasuke's quest for revenge. He believed in minding his own business to live a long life.
As for the world's future? That could wait.
Nightfall came, and the forest was cloaked in darkness.
By the campfire, Naruto handed a grilled, salted fish to Sakura.
"Try it," he said.
"Thanks." Sakura, having gone hungry all day, immediately took a bite. "It's delicious."
Sasuke remained unconscious but seemed to be recovering, his breathing now steady. Naruto glanced at Sasuke lying nearby and thought, This guy should be able to resist the Curse Mark, right?
Naruto and Sakura each ate two fish, leaving two for the unconscious Sasuke.
After eating, the two began discussing their next steps.
"Orochimaru stole the Heaven Scroll," Sakura said worriedly. "Now we'll have to defeat two teams to advance. But Sasuke is still unconscious."
"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, pulling two pairs of scrolls from his pocket and handing them to Sakura. "Here, I got them."
"Huh?" Sakura was dumbfounded. "How did you manage to get two pairs of scrolls on your own?"
"On my way to deal with the Sound ninja, I ran into a Grass ninja team," Naruto explained, scratching his head. "They happened to have a Heaven Scroll. I wasn't planning on carrying them, but I figured they might come in handy."
"That's amazing, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, hugging him in excitement.
---
From a distance, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio watched the campfire scene from behind some trees. Shikamaru, hands cupped like binoculars, stared at the scene and grumbled.
"What are those guys up to? Lighting a fire in the middle of the forest at night—don't they know that'll attract attention?"
"That's near the river," Ino said with arms crossed. "Maybe they lost their rations and decided to cook whatever they hunted."
"Looks like Sasuke is still out cold," Shikamaru observed lazily. "And why is Naruto being hugged by Sakura? That guy is too lucky with girls—it's not fair."
"What? Hugged?" Ino's demeanor changed instantly.
She looked toward the fire but saw nothing unusual. Naruto and Sakura were just sitting by the fire talking.
"Ino, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked.
"Nothing," Ino replied, forcing a smile. "I just thought it was strange. Sakura's supposed to only like Sasuke, right? There's no way she'd hug Naruto. You must've seen it wrong."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Shikamaru said, scratching his head. "I probably did."
"But they might run into trouble," Choji interjected, squinting. "If they keep that fire going, they'll attract other teams."
"It's too late for that," Shikamaru said, lowering his voice. "Hide—someone's coming!"
The trio quickly concealed themselves as three figures silently approached the river.
---
By the riverbank, the campfire was almost out.
Sakura sat nervously nearby but stayed silent, following Naruto's advice to close her eyes and pretend to sleep.
Soon, three Grass ninja emerged from the river, moving quietly toward the campfire.
Naruto, still poking at the fire with a stick, appeared completely unaware. This made the Grass ninja relax as they signaled to each other and launched a surprise attack.
At the last moment, Naruto's figure by the fire vanished into thin air.
"What?!" The Grass ninja realized too late that it was a trap.
Naruto suddenly appeared behind one of them, a bright blue glow in his hand. Without hesitation, he shoved a ball of lightning directly into the ninja's body. The air filled with the sound of crackling electricity and a scream that echoed through the forest, startling birds into flight.
______________________________________________
If you want 20 chapters ahead, check out my Patreon:
patreon.com/PureParadox
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein