Chapter 3 – Haruno Sakura
Natsuri stared at the pink-haired girl standing up to introduce herself, a complicated look in his eyes. After all, she could be considered the main female lead of the Naruto series.
Even though Naruto eventually ended up marrying Hinata Hyuga, Hinata didn't get that much screen time. So the role of the female lead pretty much went to Haruno Sakura.
And if you wanted to argue that Uchiha Sasuke was also the "male lead" alongside Naruto... well, you wouldn't exactly be wrong either.
Haruno Sakura—her image among fans of the original story wasn't the greatest. Still, Natsuri had to admit her strength was no joke. Among regular people, she stood at the top. Her determination and intelligence were also pretty impressive.
As far as Natsuri knew, most of the bad rep Sakura got came from how overly obsessed she was with romance. Her feelings for Sasuke came off like pure infatuation. Even compared to someone like Karin Uzumaki, who also had a thing for Sasuke later on, Sakura's reasons seemed way more shallow.
Then, when Sasuke left the village, Sakura couldn't do anything but cry and beg Naruto to bring him back. And knowing Naruto's personality, he would've chased after Sasuke with or without her asking. But because Sakura was the one doing the begging, it felt manipulative. Her actions didn't exactly inspire sympathy.
To be honest, back when Natsuri was still a kid in his previous life, he didn't like Sakura either. His reasoning was even more childish—he imagined himself as Naruto, and since Sakura treated Naruto like crap, he naturally didn't like her. But as he got older, his views changed. Not that he suddenly liked her, but at least now he could respect her struggle.
The reason Natsuri felt a bit guilty toward Sakura now was simple: the spot he was aiming for... was hers. More specifically, the place she currently held in Team 7.
Of everyone in that team, Sakura was the only one Natsuri felt was replaceable. The other positions? Just look at their backgrounds. No chance.
Team 10, for example—Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino—were the classic "Ino-Shika-Chō" combo. A traditional Konoha formation passed down from their parents. No way the village would split them up.
Then there was Team 8—Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. Each one had a unique ability. Hinata had the Byakugan and came from the Hyuga main family—totally untouchable. Kiba had his ninja dog, and Shino had those creepy but useful bugs. Both of them were essential for tracking and recon.
If Natsuri wanted to take a spot from them, he'd have to show off insane talent in scouting or perception—something unlikely to happen given the way academy life worked. Six years wasn't a lot of time, and there were too many unknowns.
That left only Team 7.
Naruto, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Sasuke, the last Uchiha—those two were locked in. No replacing them.
Which meant... Sakura.
She came from a regular civilian family. Sure, her grades were solid, especially on the theory side, but that wasn't anything irreplaceable. Her only edge, honestly, might've been the fact that she was a girl.
That wasn't a joke either. Konoha's team setups often followed a 2-boys-1-girl structure. If Natsuri wanted to take Sakura's spot, he'd have to be an absolute top-tier standout—better than everyone else in the class.
But if he could pull that off, if he could be the best, then the Hokage would have to take notice. There's no way someone that talented would be tossed into a random, low-tier team. Thankfully, the whole "2 boys 1 girl" thing wasn't an actual rule—there were teams with three boys or two girls before.
Natsuri wanted to be strong. No—he wanted to be the strongest. That meant he needed to get into an elite team. And even among those, the gap was huge. Team 7's Jonin leader, Kakashi Hatake, might've been inactive for a while, but he was still an elite jonin. Asuma from Team 10 was decent, probably upper-middle tier. Kurenai from Team 8? Mostly known for genjutsu. Not exactly inspiring.
If that was the standard for elite teams, then regular teams must be a disaster. Some didn't even get a real jonin—just a tokubetsu jonin (a specialist, not a full-on elite).
So yeah, if Natsuri wanted to reach the top, he had to get into the best team. And that meant Sakura had to go. He respected her, sure. But he had his own goals, and they came first.
Besides, Sakura's ceiling was already laid out clearly in the original story. She became one of the "New Legendary Sannin," but only because Naruto and Sasuke had their own cheats. Sakura? She never surpassed Tsunade, just ended up being a "mini Tsunade."
And Tsunade had insane genes—she was from the Senju clan. Her natural physical talent was on another level. Sakura, on the other hand, had an average body. If she'd taken a different path, maybe she could've gone further. But because she followed Tsunade's footsteps exactly, there was a cap on how far she could go.
Which made Natsuri wonder... what about him?
He didn't have any special bloodlines, no kekkei genkai. Just a regular guy with a second chance. Could he reach the heights of someone like Jiraiya—one of the strongest without a bloodline? Or Might Guy, who opened the Eight Gates and burned bright for a moment?
Or... would he never even reach Sakura's level?
Either way, he had to try. After being reincarnated into this world, what else was there to do? Becoming a ninja, aiming for the top—that was the one path worth chasing.
"Kamikawa Natsuri."
Iruka finally called his name.
Natsuri stood up and gave a short, straightforward introduction.
"I'm Kamikawa Natsuri. I don't have any favorite food. I like myself and my mom. I don't like cilantro. I don't hate anyone right now. My dream is to become the strongest ninja."
The class didn't react much. "Strongest ninja" sounded vague to them. A bunch of kids also said they wanted to be Hokage, and to them, that was the strongest ninja. So Natsuri's words didn't exactly blow anyone's mind.
But when it was Naruto's turn, Natsuri paid close attention.
Naruto announced his dream loud and clear—he wanted to become Hokage.
The kids around them burst out laughing.
Natsuri could only sigh.
Even inside the classroom, far away from the streets, the influence of the adults around them was still obvious. The way people treated Naruto carried over into their children.
Outside of class hours, Natsuri didn't bother trying to socialize. He stayed in his seat next to Naruto, and no one really approached either of them. Natsuri looked pretty average. Sure, his face was decent, but not stunning. His black hair was common. The only thing that stood out was his height—he was a bit taller than most kids his age.
He glanced at Naruto beside him. The kid looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back.
After thinking for a second, Natsuri leaned in and said quietly, "In class, we don't need to be as cautious as out in the village, but we shouldn't act too friendly either. Just treat it like we're regular classmates."
Natsuri had already thought about Konoha's future. Danzo probably wouldn't interfere with anything in the classroom. None of the kids had the Shimura name either, so that was good. As long as he kept things neutral, nothing should go wrong.
Naruto would have a seatmate no matter what. As long as Natsuri didn't get too close to him, everything should be fine.
Besides, if he wanted the Third Hokage to notice him, he'd have to show some insane talent soon. And if that worked, even if Danzo came sniffing around, the Hokage would probably make sure nothing happened to him. He just had to buy time and wait for a chance to shine.
Hearing his words, Naruto's eyes lit up. Then he asked awkwardly, "So... can we be friends?"
Natsuri looked at Naruto and saw the hope in his eyes. He remembered everything Naruto had gone through, and he smiled.
"Of course we can."
But that smile didn't last long. His expression quickly returned to its usual flat, serious look. He glanced around the room.
Outside of class, it was better to keep up appearances. Let people think he was just some unlucky kid who got stuck sitting next to Naruto.
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