Chapter 168: Strategy
"Unfortunately, Satsuki, if you truly like Naruto, you absolutely cannot hold the mindset of 'being satisfied just staying by his side.'"
Kakashi decided to stop beating around the bush and had to lay out the most realistic and cruel possibilities before her. He looked at Satsuki raising her tearful eyes with confusion and a trace of panic, then continued.
"You say you just want to stay by Naruto's side, and that sounds beautiful and selfless. But have you ever considered that Naruto... he might not stay in the same place waiting forever, and he won't always maintain just the current relationship. His life will continue moving forward, he'll meet more people, and more things will happen."
Kakashi paused briefly to let the weight of these words settle, then began constructing scenarios Satsuki had never dared to think about in detail.
"Let me give you some very realistic examples." Kakashi's words slowly dissected Satsuki's deepest fears.
"When men have girlfriends, they usually become inseparable for long periods. Their worlds become tightly intertwined, making it difficult to accommodate a third person."
"Try to imagine—if one day, perhaps tomorrow, for instance... Sakura suddenly musters the courage to confess to Naruto, and he accepts. From then on, what kind of scenes would you witness?"
Kakashi spoke to himself without looking at Satsuki's expression. Satsuki's breathing instantly became cold and suffocating. The light in her eyes was instantly drained by these words, leaving only emptiness and deathly silence.
Kakashi didn't stop. He began painting specific scenarios that would completely devastate Satsuki.
"In future missions, every time there's danger, Naruto would definitely prioritize protecting Sakura without hesitation. His embrace, his back, all his caring gazes would naturally focus on her alone."
"And you could only watch from the sidelines as your rightful place is completely replaced."
"During rest periods, you might see Sakura naturally linking arms with Naruto or resting against his shoulder. Naruto might smile while ruffling her hair, and there might even be... more intimate gestures."
"All of this would have nothing to do with you anymore. You wouldn't even have the right to approach."
"When missions ends, Naruto probably wouldn't invite you to dinner at his house with the same enthusiasm as now. His cooking skills would be exclusively reserved for one person from then on. You might not even find suitable reasons to step foot in his home again."
With each sentence Kakashi spoke, Satsuki's body trembled violently, as if enduring invisible lashes.
The emptiness in her eyes was no longer just deathly silence, but began twisting toward something darker—an emotion like an endless abyss.
Surging within were unbelievable pain, cold fear, and extremely dangerous possessiveness that quietly sprouted after being driven to desperation by cruel reality.
She seemed to already see those scenes playing out before her, every detail suffocatingly clear.
Yes... wasn't she being too confident, too presumptuous? Naruto was obviously so excellent—why would he only look at her forever?
Sakura... she actually dared... how dare she do such things?!
She was obviously the weakest! Always hiding behind others needing protection! What good was being first in theoretical knowledge?! Her taijutsu and ninjutsu were both mediocre!
What right did she have to disregard others' feelings? What right did she have to covet what belonged to me...?! I absolutely... absolutely won't forgive that wide forehead!
The scenes Kakashi painted were too specific and too cruel, making it impossible for Satsuki to think rationally.
Meanwhile, Sakura at home, completely unaware of all this, had no idea she had inexplicably almost died.
Similarly, the completely oblivious Naruto would never know he had almost been completely claimed by a certain extreme form of love.
And Kakashi, the "culprit" behind all this, after listing all the possible heart-wrenching scenarios, finally offered the ultimate solution.
"Therefore," his tone was decisive, "if you truly like Naruto and don't want to see any of the situations I just described happen—then what you need to do now isn't cry here or be afraid, but immediately take the initiative and make that guy completely 'yours' as your boyfriend before any of that happens."
"Eh...?"
This sudden directive, completely opposite to the previous cruel prophecies, instantly pierced through the darkness surging in Satsuki's heart. Those twisted, jealousy-filled thoughts quickly dissipated and faded.
They were replaced by familiar, overwhelming shyness and panic.
"Be-become... my... boy-boyfriend?!" Satsuki stammered as she repeated the word, her previously pale cheeks instantly exploding into red. She stood there at a loss, her eyes starting to dart around again. "This... this kind of thing... how can I... I could never do something like that! Suddenly going to say... those words..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming almost incoherent mumbling as she transformed back into an ordinary girl at a loss due to unrequited love.
Of course, if Satsuki could be one hundred percent certain that Naruto would definitely accept her confession, she probably would have mustered the courage to rush forward long ago instead of struggling in pain here.
But the biggest problem now, what truly hindered her, wasn't girlish shyness but fear of rejection. She was terrified of that one-in-ten-thousand possibility.
"Heh heh heh..." Seeing Satsuki still hesitant and anxious, Kakashi suddenly let out a meaningless low chuckle. "Of course, I didn't say all that just to scare you. Regarding this matter, as your teacher, I naturally won't stand idly by."
He also secretly mused that even with the Sharingan that could see through ninjutsu and genjutsu, he ultimately couldn't see through human hearts.
"...You?"
Satsuki raised her head, her tone filled with undisguised doubt.
This couldn't be blamed on Satsuki's disbelief. After all, in her impression, Kakashi spent all day reading what appeared to be an improper novel with great interest, and she'd never heard of any successful romantic experiences or partners he'd had.
Could such a person... really give reliable advice?
Faced with his student's skepticism, Kakashi wasn't angry at all. Instead, he proudly pulled out another book from his ninja pouch.
This book's cover design was similar to Make-Out Paradise, exuding an extremely improper atmosphere.
"What is this thing?" Satsuki looked at this book whose appearance alone made her want to retreat, wrinkling her brow in disgust.
"'Make-Out Strategy'!" Kakashi announced in a tone mixed with pride and boasting. "This is my current life guide, a treasure trove for handling all kinds of interpersonal relationships!"
He put down the book and showed Satsuki what she considered a somewhat sleazy smile, though Kakashi thought it was full of wisdom.
"How about it? Don't judge it by its appearance—it contains detailed records of how to understand boys' thoughts, how to get along with girls (though you won't need that part for now), and even methods for deepening relationships with future sons and daughters!"
Kakashi enthusiastically promoted it. "How about it? Want to know the secrets inside about 'how to make someone you care about care about you in return'?"
Satsuki was stunned by Kakashi's words. Looking at that suspicious "Make-Out Strategy" and then at Kakashi's confident expression, she fell into enormous internal struggle.
Logic told her this was definitely unreliable, but the deep desire to progress further with Naruto and prevent all those terrifying futures ultimately overcame both logic and disgust.
Breaking into a cold sweat after an internal battle between heaven and earth, she finally nodded almost imperceptibly with difficulty, her voice barely audible.
"...I want to know."
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