In Konoha, Naruto lies down

July.

Naruto, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to hear a knock on the door vaguely. He opened his eyes in a daze, and the knock on the door became clearer.

There really is someone knocking on the door. Who would come at this time?

"Bang bang bang!"

There was a rapid knock on the door, accompanied by a female voice.

"Hey! Naruto, open the door!"

"I knew you would forget! We agreed on this! You promised!"

Naruto, who was still half asleep, went forward to open the door. When he saw the person coming, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"Sakura? Why are you here?"

"Ah!" Sakura was about to explode with rage, "You clearly promised me a few days ago, and I even reminded you yesterday, and you forgot again!"

"Yesterday?" Naruto really couldn't remember anything. After careful recollection, he finally recalled it and asked tentatively, "Sasuke's birthday?"

"Yeah." Sakura turned her head away, looking a little awkward.

"Thanks for remembering Master Sasuke's birthday." Naruto yawned.

"It's all in the file!" Sakura said, standing at the doorway to the corridor. "Sasuke-kun was born on July 23rd, a Leo, and Naruto, you were born on October 10th, a Libra."

"Uh." Naruto was a little surprised that Sakura remembered his birthday, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"See, it's easy to remember, right?" Sakura asked.

"So, Sakura, what about your birthday?" Naruto asked.

"March 28th, Aries, it's long gone," Sakura said, "but boys probably don't care about that."

"Well, I shouldn't have agreed to your request earlier." Naruto said casually, "The training has been so hard, and today is a rare day off."

"Okay, come on, help me pick out a gift for Sasuke-kun. I don't know what to pick by myself." Sakura urged, "As a reward, I'll treat you to barbecue."

"Okay." Naruto heard that there was food, so he forced himself to go back to his room to change clothes.

Team 7's training had concluded, and all three members had performed well. Kakashi had submitted a request to the village leadership to accept a C-rank mission, but the review process would take two days.

For this reason, Team 7 was given a two-day break, a rare occasion in a month and a half. If nothing unexpected happened, they would return to their missions after the two-day break.

At this time, the drunken Dazna, the bridge-building expert from the Land of Waves, should have arrived at the Konoha Ninja Village.

Chapter 17 In the Rain

The low-hanging clouds were dark gray. After Naruto washed, changed his clothes, and opened the door, the sky in the distance suddenly became dark.

It was as if someone had turned off the lights above the clouds, and the surrounding light suddenly dimmed. Then a rumble of thunder resounded through the sky, and heavy rain fell without warning.

Naruto and Sakura stood in the corridor at the door, looking at the heavy rain in a daze.

"Did the Konoha weather forecaster say it would rain today?" Sakura stood by the wall, frowning as she watched the white mist blur almost instantly.

"It's already gloomy this morning," Naruto complained, "The good news is, I have an umbrella."

After about an hour, the rain subsided a little.

"Let's go." Sakura said, standing up.

"Oh." Naruto responded and locked the door after leaving.

With a bang, the dark umbrella was opened. The two of them hid under the black umbrella. Fortunately, the umbrella was large enough, so they didn't have to worry about getting wet.

"Naruto." Sakura broke the silence, seeming to be in a low mood.

"Ah."

"Why did those people look at us like that?" Sakura asked worriedly. "Are they also residents of the apartment?"

As the two of them walked out of the apartment together, Sakura saw for the first time that the villagers standing under the eaves had gloomy expressions on their faces, as if they were looking at something extremely disgusting.

"Because you walk beside me, I am hated too." Naruto said.

"Is that kind of thing really okay?" Sakura couldn't help but shudder, "Naruto, you've always been looked at like that..."

She did not continue to speak and stopped talking.

"Ah, it's okay." Naruto didn't seem to care about Sakura's words. He held the umbrella in his hand and looked straight ahead with steady eyes.

The street under my feet was flowing with rain. There is always a lot of rain in midsummer. The black umbrella looked very abrupt on the cold street.

His voice was firm and cool, as plain as freshly cooled boiled water.

"I've stopped caring about them, even if that's a bit harsh. But they're just brainless parasites who just follow the crowd."

"Or perhaps, disliking me can unite them. No one would want to be a loner, right?"

The raindrops hit the black umbrella, making a rustling sound.

"Excuse me, but they're just living, aren't they? Covered in human skin, the only meaningful thing they can do is to work and reproduce."

Listening to Naruto's words, Sakura didn't know what to say.

After walking through the old streets, the two stopped in front of a gift shop. Naruto gestured for Sakura to go in first. Sakura looked at Naruto with confusion.

"If you go in with me, the boss might not sell it to you."

Sakura was stunned for a moment after hearing this. She looked up at Naruto, then at the rain outside. After hesitating for a moment, she turned around and went in first.

After a pause, Naruto probably guessed that Sakura had made her choice, then he walked into the store.

The boss recognized Naruto and frowned at him, but said nothing.

At this time, Sakura was walking out, holding a gift in her hand, a cute blue stuffed doll. Naruto nodded, turned around and walked out the door.

"You're leaving without buying anything?" the shop owner sitting at the door suddenly said sarcastically, "Next time you don't have money, don't come to my shop again."

Naruto ignored it and continued walking forward.

Sakura felt as if her palm was pricked by a needle. Her brows were furrowed and her fingers were deeply embedded in the doll.

Ninjas cannot harm villagers from their own village; this is clearly stated in the Ninja Code. The owner was obviously aware of this, and he showed no sign of restraining himself as he watched Naruto leave the store.

Although she was mentally prepared, she was still shocked to see the blatant bullying happening right before her eyes, and the person being bullied was her own companion.

Sakura threw the doll heavily into the boss's arms with resentment, which scared the boss.

"What are you doing!"

"I'm not buying any money! What a crappy store!" Sakura glared at the boss and walked out angrily.

"Are you sick? Really!"

Sakura walked out of the gift shop and looked at Naruto who was waiting for her under the eaves on the other side to avoid the rain, and said with pursed lips.

"The product is not good, I won't buy it."

"Yeah." Naruto said nothing, opened the big black umbrella and walked into the rain.

"I'm planning to go to the Ninja Tool Shop and buy a wristband for Sasuke. What do you think?" Sakura said with a forced smile, "I don't understand boys' preferences, so I asked you for advice."

"I didn't know this was going to happen, and I didn't think much of it... I'm sorry."

At the end of her words, Sakura's voice became lower and lower.

"No need to apologize, I heard everything just now. In fact, you can buy it." Naruto said disapprovingly, "I don't care about those bugs talking at all."

"Bugs?" Sakura blinked, not reacting for a moment.

"Well, I see those people as bugs," Naruto said, "but they can't really do anything to me except exclude me."

"They have no power and live in confusion in this world. Even after I became a ninja, they still speak rudely to me as usual."

"I don't care about bugs like these, whether they live or die. To me, they are just bugs of Konoha."

Sakura became increasingly nervous as she listened, and had to change the subject immediately. But just as she was about to speak, a striking golden light flashed before her eyes.

"Why are you walking together?" Ino raised her umbrella and stood in the rain, looking at the two of them cramped.

Sakura was afraid that Ino would know that she was preparing a birthday present for Sasuke, and she was also afraid that Naruto would let the secret slip, so she quickly explained.

"I need your help with something, Naruto!"

"Hmm?" Ino stared at Sakura suspiciously. "When did you two become so close? To the point where you can ask each other for favors?"

"It's about training! Right, Naruto!" Sakura was so concerned that she was confused and looked clumsy, which made it clear that she was lying.

"Yes." Naruto nodded.

"Things about training?" Ino withdrew her gaze, and the gossip and suspicion on her face slowly disappeared.

She did know that the two of them were in the same class as Sasuke, and that Naruto's first place finish in the graduation exam was indeed quite surprising.

If you are asking for advice on spiritual practice, that would make sense.

But there is another thing that Ino cares about. Ever since Naruto said in front of her that day that Sasuke doesn't like women, this has almost become her inner demon.

"I see you've all walked a long way, so are you done asking for advice?" Ino asked.

"Excuse me...that's it." Sakura said helplessly. She really couldn't tell another lie.

"Okay." Ino handed the umbrella in her hand to Sakura, then pulled Naruto and ran away!

"What?" Sakura was stunned.

"Can I borrow someone for a moment?" Ino's voice came from afar, but the two of them had already disappeared.

Chapter 18 Accident

In the alley, Ino cornered Naruto.

Thick golden bangs covered half of her face, and her blue eyes stared at Naruto and said, "Hey!"

"Does Sasuke like girls?"

"What?" Naruto tilted his head and looked at Ino in confusion, not realizing that he was being questioned.

"Damn it! You said that yourself!" Ino was a little crazy and grabbed Naruto's clothes, "Stop pretending to be dead! Naruto!"

"Then you have to go ask Sasuke in person." Naruto suddenly smiled, quite sarcastically.

"Ahhh! Damn it!" Ino was going crazy, holding her head and shaking it from side to side. "Does he like girls or not?"

"I have a way to verify it." Naruto said at the right time.

"What method?" Ino looked up suddenly.

"Konoha ninjas have a collective hot spring vacation once a year." Naruto said with a smile, "When the time comes, you can go directly to the men's bath while Sasuke is alone..."

"Go to hell!"

Ino didn't get an answer, so she let out a long sigh and gave up.

The Yamanaka Flower Shop was not far away, so Naruto sent him there and then returned to the apartment. In contrast, he actually had a good relationship with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

The next day, the two-day holiday ended.

Kakashi summoned Team 7 and told the three that the mission review had been passed, and also gave them their first C-level mission.

"Protect the bridge-building experts of Wave Country?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Kakashi was unhurried, his eyes drooping and his hands in his pockets. "Cheer up, this is the first C-rank mission in your life."

"Although C-rank missions generally don't involve encountering enemies, anything can happen outside the village."

"Bandits, wandering ninjas, pirates, ninjas from other ninja villages. Any of these factors could potentially trigger a fight and escalate the mission."

"I know, Mr. Kakashi, you're so nagging." Naruto was not as depressed as he was yesterday on a rainy day, and couldn't help complaining.

When he went out in the morning, he threw a bag of garbage on the faces of the group of gloomy people downstairs, and he felt particularly cheerful.

Those villagers were just keyboard warriors. When they saw Naruto take out the ninja forehead protector, they immediately shrank back and dared not speak.

Kakashi didn't say anything, but just hit Naruto.

"Class Seven! Meet at the village entrance in half an hour, then disband!"

After saying that, Kakashi turned into a puff of white smoke with a bang and disappeared in an instant.

"I'm really looking forward to this mission!" Sakura said with a hint of longing, "I wonder what kind of person that bridge-building expert is."