Chapter 228: Trust
Gekko Hayate looked at Naruto, who had appeared behind Satsuki at some unknown moment, understanding in his heart. At this distance... in actual combat, it would have been enough to complete a lethal strike. Did he use a clone to substitute for his real body the moment Satsuki launched the Lightning Flash Bomb?
He glanced at Satsuki in the arena, slightly out of breath, and saw that even the chakra maintaining her Sharingan had been exhausted, the crimson eyes fading back to black. Having personally admitted defeat, the victor was already clear.
Naruto looked at Satsuki before him—breathing slightly heavily, bearing no external injuries yet with a pale face from chakra exhaustion, hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, and some dust on her cheeks. Her tightly pressed lips and the unconcealed unwillingness in her eyes made him understand he needed to comfort her...
He immediately retrieved a clean handkerchief from his equipment pouch and naturally reached out to wipe the sweat and dust from her forehead and cheeks. This somewhat intimate gesture immediately made Uchiha Fugaku's eye twitch slightly in the proctor's seats.
Satsuki was momentarily stunned by this sudden intimacy but showed no resistance. Instead, she subconsciously tilted her face up slightly, cooperating with his movements. Rather, if anyone dared to intervene at this moment, that's when she'd truly get angry.
"Then... ahem... I declare,"
Gekko Hayate broke the brief silence at an appropriate moment, his voice carrying its usual weakness, "The winner of the first match is... Uzumaki Naruto."
Hearing the announcement, Naruto had just finished wiping and put the handkerchief away. He then quite naturally took Satsuki's hand, saying softly, "Let's go to the viewing area." He led her toward the spectator seats.
That's... it? The warmth from his palm against the back of her hand made the slight unwillingness Satsuki felt from her defeat quickly melt away. However, another emotion quietly grew—a lingering sense of loss tinged with slight frustration, like a cat that had been perfunctorily petted twice before being set aside, feeling an indescribable stuffiness in her heart.
As the two arrived at the viewing area, Naruto turned his head and spoke softly again, "Satsuki just now was really amazing."
Satsuki cast him a confused look, as if not understanding why she deserved praise despite clearly losing.
"During the taijutsu exchange, you noticed you couldn't gain an advantage and immediately integrated hand seals into your taijutsu movements, preparing for the Fireball Jutsu. That adaptability and tactical thinking was truly excellent." Naruto analyzed in detail.
Is Naruto... trying to comfort me? Satsuki detected the intention behind his words. Though he was praising her, she knew this was more Naruto's way of smoothing over any disappointment she might feel.
Honestly, was Satsuki truly frustrated? Was she really that unwilling?
Perhaps just a tiny bit. That unwillingness was more like an instinctive emotional reaction after the match concluded. But when she raised her head again and saw those gentle blue eyes of Naruto's, even that tiny bit of unwillingness instantly evaporated. After all, she'd originally planned to forfeit anyway.
In fact... if that gesture of Naruto wiping her cheeks just now hadn't been interrupted by the proctor and could have lasted a bit longer... she probably wouldn't feel disappointed at all, but rather might feel like she'd "profited."
"Also, after being caught by the Adamantine Sealing Chains last time, you specifically researched a countermeasure, right?" Naruto continued. "Thinking to use Lightning Release chakra to disrupt the precise structure of materialized chakra—that's truly impressive."
His praise continued, carefully affirming each of her tactical choices.
"That final offensive was spectacular. Before using the Lightning Flash Bomb to create intense light, you'd already used your Sharingan to place me under genjutsu first. If I didn't have some special resistance to genjutsu, it truly would have been dangerous."
Though saying this was somewhat exaggerating... Naruto knew in his heart that if he'd truly used his full power—he couldn't actually enter Nine-Tails mode and use Tailed Beast Bomb Rasenshuriken in the Chunin Exams, right?
"However, when we spar in the future, we can focus on practicing..." Naruto tried to steer the topic toward future joint training.
"No."
Satsuki suddenly spoke, interrupting him. Under Naruto's puzzled expression, she gazed at him with those jet-black eyes, incredibly serious, and repeated clearly:
"I don't want to fight Naruto."
"..."
Being watched by those undisguised, straightforward and resolute eyes, Naruto felt his cheeks warming slightly, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
He slightly averted his gaze, coughed lightly, and suggested again, "...Then, in that case. How about we train together? Like specifically researching how to more effectively disrupt chakra structures with Lightning Release applications, and conducting chakra refinement and physical endurance strengthening training."
"Mm." Hearing this, Satsuki's face immediately bloomed with a radiant smile, nodding vigorously. "Then it's settled."
Her tone became lighter: "Losing to you, I'm actually not very sad. However..." She slightly raised her chin, carrying a trace of familiar tsundere determination, "Next time, I'll definitely succeed! Also, Naruto, you absolutely must become a chunin."
Watching Satsuki—not the slightest bit upset, but instead sincerely cheering him on—Naruto felt a warm current surge through his heart, yet because of this overly pure trust and expectation, he didn't quite dare look directly into her eyes.
In the distance, Uchiha Fugaku took in the entire interaction between his daughter and Naruto. Seeing his daughter not the least bit dejected after just experiencing defeat, but instead appearing so happy after conversing with Naruto, his gaze was complex, ultimately only becoming an almost inaudible sigh as he said nothing.
Kakashi, quietly observing his two students' interaction from the side, didn't step forward to interrupt. He simply leaned against the wall, his exposed eye curving into a gentle arc. Listening to the conversation between Naruto and Satsuki, the corners of his mouth beneath his mask couldn't help but turn up slightly.
It seems... I was overthinking things. This is good.
Just then, at the center of the arena, that massive electronic screen began flickering again, a mechanical voice announcing the drawing for the next match had begun. Everyone's gazes were instantly drawn over.
When the names on the screen finally froze, displaying clearly, one person's complexion turned deathly pale in an instant. Cold sweat practically burst from his forehead immediately, sliding down his makeup-covered cheeks.
He felt his blood freeze in that moment, even breathing becoming difficult.
What... what kind of joke is this...! He froze in place, his entire being as if plunged into an icy abyss.
[Gaara VS Kankuro]
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