Red sand dust

Haruno Sakura is only sixteen years old now, not long after her birthday. She is in adolescence, when her inner emotions are rich and delicate. Her crush since childhood is now a rebel ninja. As a Konoha ninja, her position should be the same as his. hostility.

He has experienced a lot of unsatisfactory things over the years, but Uchiha Sasuke is the only one who can't let it go.

The orphan of the Uchiha family, who reappeared in the ninja world and became active, has already done several major things that shocked the ninja world. He forcefully argued that he was deceived by Orochimaru, not a defector, but a victim, which was obviously a bit lacking in confidence.

"Are you still worried?"

Kurama Yakumo, who seemed a little bored humming alone, glanced at Haruno Sakura, who was worried, and asked with a chuckle,

"Are you worried about the Five Kage Conference, or are you afraid of meeting Uchiha Sasuke in battle?"

"Well?"

Haruno Sakura, who didn't expect Kurama Yakumo to ask such a direct question, laughed awkwardly and looked at the closed carriage uneasily.

This is not a private gathering of best friends, but a mission to protect the Sixth Hokage. It's okay to talk about some romantic anecdotes, but it seems a bit inappropriate to talk about the traitorous ninja Uchiha Sasuke in broad daylight near his immediate boss.

"Don't worry, our Lord Sixth Generation can't hear you?"

"this……"

Hearing this, he was stunned and immediately realized that the girl he was talking to was the top illusion master in the ninja world. He could even deceive the current world to the point of making the fake come true. It couldn't be easier to say something unknown in private. .

Of course, the real situation is far more bizarre than Haruno Sakura.

"Sometimes, I am a little envious. What is the bond between the ninja team? I really want to experience it..."

Kurama Yakumo's ninja path was too tortuous. Haruno Sakura, who knew something about it, also understood the meaning of his words.

In all ninja villages, including Konoha, there are still many who are not born in the right way and do not have a fixed team and mentor. Although it does not affect their identity and identity, they always feel that there are shortcomings in the path of ninja.

Especially when you don’t have it but everyone around you does, this feeling of relative deprivation will be very strong.

Kurama Yakumo is special, but he is not out of touch with the world to the point of being completely aloof from the world.

"With your strength and character, I'm afraid you can only experience the feeling of teaching and educating people and integrating into a team by becoming a team teacher in the future..."

Haruno Sakura responded with a smile, Kurama Yakumo nodded:

"Maybe! In fact, I just sighed casually. Since Teacher Hong resigned from the position of tutor, it is not easy for me to accept another teacher..."

"Teacher Hong! He is indeed a gentle person. Not only is he beautiful, but his personality is also very popular! I heard that I will have a baby soon... By the way, have you gone to see him?"

"No……"

"How come... you are still brooding about the past?"

Haruno Sakura's question made Kurama Yakumo couldn't help but laugh a few times. He jumped down and sat next to Haruno Sakura. He reached out and took out the falling petals from Haruno Sakura's hair and blew it gently with the wind. Dance away.

"During the Chuunin Exam, we had a conversation. Hong-sensei still cared about me, but..."

After a pause, Kurama Yakumo said sadly,

"I can only say that I no longer have the trust and attachment I had before! Time is such a terrible thing. It's clear that Teacher Hong did nothing wrong, and I don't mean to blame him, but it's just different!"

If you are not there when you are most trustworthy and need help the most, whether it is due to lack of ability or unforeseen complications, you will always miss it.

"The misunderstanding has been clarified, are there still any grudges?"

After listening to Kurama Yakumo's explanation, Haruno Sakura couldn't help but persuade him,

"As long as we treat each other sincerely, we will definitely get back together..."

"You... misunderstood me! I didn't say that I didn't get along with Teacher Hong. I would say hello occasionally when we met, and my colleagues in the official business were also very friendly. However, the line of bondage was broken, and it would be difficult to reconnect, even if If we renew our relationship, it will be different from before..."

From "the most special one" to ordinary friends, if there was no chance of meeting, it would probably be like this in the future.

"how come……"

Haruno Sakura was a little regretful and helpless. It was clear that Kurama Yakumo and Yuhi Kurenai had already revealed their original misunderstanding, but their relationship could not be restored. It really made people feel powerless and even a little worried.

Uzumaki Naruto traveled with Jiraiya for three years, and Haruno Sakura was worried whether he would become more mature after returning.

Facts have proved that the so-called growth of a boy has nothing to do with age. Even if he changes from a short winter melon to a boy taller than himself, he still looks like the same idiot.

The appearance of the companion whom she had not seen for many years had changed slightly, but his character remained the same. Haruno Sakura felt relieved at the same time.

The three students of Class 7, Haruno Sakura knew that she was the "third pole" who stabilized Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke's role was no longer there. Uzumaki Naruto, himself, and Hatake Kakashi-sensei, Whether the team can be maintained and whether it will be like before has always been a shadow that lingers in Haruno Sakura's heart.

As Kurama Yakumo said, time is a terrible weapon that destroys everything. Even if Uchiha Sasuke can come back, will he still be the cold boy he was?

Or has he turned into a villain who is rumored to do all kinds of evil and is the accomplice of others?

Seeing Haruno Sakura deep in thought, Kurama Yakumo answered:

"Are you worried that you will be at a loss when meeting Uchiha Sasuke? Just stick to your original intention..."

"I understand! In fact, Naruto didn't have to work so hard. It was because I couldn't let go that he promised to get Sasuke back..."

"Well, you don't have to think too highly of yourself..."

Kurama Yakumo waved his hand to interrupt Haruno Sakura's self-blame words, smiled and said,

"Even if it weren't for you, Uzumaki Naruto would not give up on pursuing Uchiha Sasuke. His persistence is no weaker than yours, and is even stronger! Friendship and love, at least for boys of this age, most will value the former, especially the former. It's Naruto Uzumaki..."

"Really……"

Sakura Haruno smiled unnaturally at Kurama Yakumo's straightforward words and said,

"I can't hide anything from you. You are really a devil who ruthlessly peeps into people's hearts..."

"Hmph! How many people in this world are worthy of my concern? They are all boring and dirty thoughts, and only a few have the shining point that people care about! By the way, even you are a violent person by nature. She is a strange and powerful woman, but she suppresses her true nature and pretends to be well-behaved, and I see it in my eyes..."

"this……"

Being pointed out her inner thoughts sharply, Haruno Sakura was really uncomfortable with having her mask removed and her weaknesses exposed. Fortunately, she had been with Kurama Yakumo for a long time, and she also understood that this girl, who was nearly two years older than herself, was the one who brought her to the outside. I only said this as a friend. If there were other unrelated people, I would probably be too lazy to deal with him perfunctorily.

Before Haruno Sakura could defend herself, Kurama Yakumo continued with a smile:

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with this. The way you behave and behave yourself is not bad either. Compared with those idiots who keep saying excuses like 'I'm just like this' but mess up the relationships around them, you are still like this Yeah, it’s more comfortable to get along with..."

Kurama Yakumo has seen too many idiots who are stupid, direct, and unable to see form. They show their so-called personality regardless of the situation. They have no ability to let others accommodate themselves. It is best not to take yourself too seriously. Outsiders will not care what you say. Personality, those who will be hurt and inconvenienced will only be those who care about and care about themselves.

"That's right! I always thought that my social skills were very successful, but I didn't expect that they were quite average..."

"It's not bad! Just give up some invalid social interactions, and that's almost it..."

As he spoke, Kurama Yakumo looked up at the sky. Following the resonance of the chakra from the same source in his body, the small black spot in the sky that was almost indistinguishable to the naked eye was so eye-catching. It was probably because he had isolated himself from nearby sensory exploration. Let Daimaru send another "eye" to follow.

Kurama Yakumo, who was laughing secretly in his heart, did not have the idea of ​​letting Daimaru know everything about the topics between girls. He added a few layers of genjutsu shell to prevent his "Telescopic Eye" from decrypting the content of the conversation by observing lip reading, and then continued to laugh. He said:

"I know a little girl who is about the same as you. She is somewhat similar to you. She is obviously not a timid character, but she has a dark appearance. She knows that she cannot deceive others and cannot change her habits! If I have the opportunity to introduce you to each other, maybe There will be a common language!”

Kurama Yakumo felt funny when he thought of the red-haired girl he had met several times. Neither Daimaru nor himself were people who would be misled by appearances. The people arranged around her were all people with strong determination, and that disguise , completely useless.

"Okay! I didn't expect you to have such a friend..."

"I'm not really a friend, I just think she's a bit interesting!"

Kurama Yakumo thought for a moment, and suddenly realized that the girl named Kaoru seemed to be very fond of Uchiha Sasuke, and she seemed to be seriously poisoned, not much better than Haruno Sakura. I hope they wouldn't start a fight by then.

With a bit of bad taste, Kurama Yakumo noticed something strange coming from Danzo Shimura in the carriage behind him. It was probably because Daimaru couldn't help it, so he started trying remote sensing control again.

This time, Kurama Yakumo did not stop him and allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

"Stop talking about me! Do you think you can do anything to Uchiha Sasuke when you meet him?"

"It might work!"

Of course Kurama Yakumo was not satisfied with Haruno Sakura's vague answer, but said from another angle:

"If you say categorically yes, I will think you are scary! It's not normal for close companions and loved ones to take action calmly!"

Not to mention acquaintances, even if you are facing a stranger, it is quite terrifying to be able to kill someone as a matter of course. If a naturally derived creature has not evolved a control mechanism for killing its own kind, it will be difficult to reproduce, let alone It is said that it has become a social intelligent creature.

Even ninjas have to give themselves a reason before taking the lives of others. Similar to mission requirements, the enemy is cruel, commits many evil deeds, and deserves death, or when they meet on the battlefield, if they don't kill, they will be killed. This is a psychological environment of last resort. .

You have to find an excuse for everything so that you can feel at ease.

"Now that you have found an excuse to be hostile to Uchiha Sasuke, are you ready to kill him?"

"I……"

Haruno Sakura was speechless.

She had only been a ninja for a few years, and even in her missions she rarely caused death.

Haruno Sakura felt ridiculous when she thought that her former self had even thought of defecting with Uchiha Sasuke.

Today, I probably won’t be so naive anymore.

After thinking for a long time, Haruno Sakura said firmly:

"I haven't seen Sasuke, so I don't know if I can persuade him to come back. As for fighting, I'm not ready. However, I think I can do something to prevent myself from thinking about what I did back then. Apart from crying, and There is nothing you can do except leave the pressure to Naruto..."

"That's enough!"

Kurama Yakumo's affirmation made Haruno Sakura feel a little better:

"As you said, more than three years is already a long time, but I feel that the bond between Team 7 is still there. Naruto and I are working hard, hoping that Sasuke can change his mind..."

Before he finished speaking, Kurama Yakumo's expression changed and he looked ahead at the big tree that fell in the middle of the road. In the dense forest on both sides, it was strangely quiet, not even the cicadas chirping or birds chirping.

"Be careful! Be alert..."

Just now she was talking private words, but she might be in danger in the blink of an eye. Haruno Sakura didn't care about her random thoughts, jumped on the roof of the carriage, took out her kunai, and watched the surrounding movements warily.

"I haven't gone very far when someone spotted me. It seems that our Sixth Generation has really offended a lot of people..."

In the blink of an eye, a dozen ninjas who could not tell where they belonged to the village or the force they belonged to gathered around him without saying a word.

Fights between ninjas sometimes happen so suddenly. Maybe the other party is just a bandit who is blocking the road and wants to take a hit on a lonely luxury carriage driving on a mountain road with no village or shop behind.

Especially the carriage drivers were two young female ninjas who looked very weak, which gave them even more courage.

Of course, it is not ruled out that this was a trap arranged in advance, and the original intention was to ambush Shimura Danzo.

The enemy's target is not important. Since they have already taken action and seem determined to win, Kurama Yakumo and Haruno Sakura have no intention of being merciful.

Showing mercy should also be considered after ensuring your own safety.

Just when the battle was about to break out, the incoming enemy felt something strange under their feet. When he lowered his head and took a look, he was suddenly horrified.

The originally solid land turned into a swamp filled with blood-colored bubbles, and the surrounding environment also turned into a lake of hot blood. It was as if the red mist was filling the eyes. I knew that this was most likely an illusion, but the force that rushed towards me was... The smell of blood also made people dizzy for a while.

Immediately afterwards, several ferocious beasts emerged from the Blood Lake swamp, roaring and biting, and pounced towards them.