Naruto: SSS-Rank Romance System

Chapter 12: Cruel Truth



"What's the point of knowing all this?" Sasuke asked, but his tone wasn't as harsh as before. He was just asking. 

"Of course it matters. As far as I know, there's a female ninja who's good at genjutsu among the Jōnin," Naruto said. "It's very likely that she'll be leading Team 8." 

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke frowned. "According to what you said earlier, the higher-ups want to train Team 8 to be a reconnaissance team. Why would they choose a Jōnin skilled in genjutsu to lead the team?" 

"Right, genjutsu probably wouldn't be useful for reconnaissance, huh?" Sakura was also confused, asking. 

"Heh heh, this afternoon, Iruka-sensei will introduce the Jōnin leading the teams in the classroom. But I secretly sneaked into the office and stole the class division table!" 

Saying this, Naruto pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. 

On it was a class division table for four ninja squads, with the name "Kakashi Hatake" written at the top of Team 7's line. 

"Our teacher is him?" Sakura stared at the name curiously. "I'm really looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of person he is." 

Sasuke glanced at the table for a moment, then focused on the name of the leader for Team 8. 

Kurenai Yuhi. 

An unfamiliar name, completely unknown. 

Konoha has many large and small clans, with some powerful ones like the Hyūga and the Ino-Shika-Cho trios. There are also smaller, less-known families like the Yamagiri, Aoyama, and Wildfire clans. 

Naruto didn't respond to Sakura, thinking to himself, *Your teacher is the disciple of my cheap old man, and the future most reliable Hokage, the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi.* 

"Who is Kurenai Yuhi?" Sasuke asked. 

"She's Asuma's girlfriend, the teacher of Team 10," Naruto said, not sure if the Third Hokage was using a crystal ball to watch him while eating. 

But he thought the Third Hokage wouldn't be that perverted, and since he didn't feel any scrutinizing gaze, he didn't mind. 

"Asuma?" Sakura was confused, but quickly found the name on the class division table. "Sarutobi Asuma, the same surname as the Hokage?" 

"Yeah." Naruto glanced at both of them. "Asuma leads Team 10, which consists of the children from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, like Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino." 

"This means the six families—Hyūga, Inuzuka, Yūhi, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi—are all disciples of the Hokage's family." 

"And these six families are all strong supporters of the Hokage, so this class division isn't strange at all." 

"Naruto, how do you know so much information?" Sakura asked, looking at Naruto with a bit of anxiety. This was the first time she was exposed to such adult matters, and she was a little lost. 

Sasuke, however, remained calm. He hadn't forgotten the original purpose. He stared at the sheet for a moment, then raised his head to look at Naruto and asked. 

"So you mean, us being in the same class is not just a coincidence?" 

"Congratulations, Sasuke, you're right," Naruto snapped his fingers. "Nobles and nobles are in one class, and commoners and commoners are in another." 

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression grew darker, and he stared at Naruto. 

"Is that it?" 

"Of course, there's more." Naruto suddenly grinned. 

Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine and asked with displeasure. 

"What are you looking at me for?" 

"Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto smiled and said. "The Uchiha clan is known for its strong combat ability, and by the way, I'm from the Uzumaki clan." 

"You might not have heard of it, but that's okay. All you need to know is that the Uzumaki clan is also strong." 

"And..." 

At this point, Naruto glanced at a dazed Sakura and Sasuke, whose pupils were shaking. He paused for a few seconds, then lowered his voice. 

"Unfortunately, my entire clan was wiped out." 

"Our class isn't called the commoner class, nor is it the fallen noble class, but the rare bloodline class," Naruto said. "Of course, except for Sakura." 

He didn't directly mention the Nine-Tails. It wasn't the right time to bring that up. 

Sakura froze in place, her hands trembling slightly on her legs. She felt lost. She had originally thought this class division was just her own good luck. 

At the same time, she had some small pride. Though she wasn't as good as Naruto or Sasuke in ninjutsu or combat, her theoretical scores were first, and her overall grade was third. 

Though there was a gap, she believed that with a bit more effort, she could... 

But when the harsh truth was laid bare before her, her pride and self-esteem silently melted away. 

She was just an accessory, an ordinary person. In Team 7, she was the one with no special traits. Whether it was Sasuke or Naruto, she... 

The huge disparity made her lose her appetite. Her whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, her stomach unconsciously spasming and wanting to vomit. 

"Sakura." 

Suddenly, a hand landed on Sakura's shoulder, snapping her out of her emotional haze. 

She looked up quickly, and in her blurred vision, she saw Sasuke and Naruto looking at her. For some reason, the two in her line of sight grew increasingly unclear. 

"I'm fine," Sakura said, but the trembling in her voice betrayed her. 

She forced a smile to cover her embarrassment but was startled by the tears that had fallen onto the desk. 

The meal went awry, and the information sharing stopped there. 

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Sakura had calmed down. She apologized to both of them for her earlier lapse, and they assured her it was fine. The three of them became a little closer. 

"Let's make information sharing a regular thing. It'll benefit all of us," Naruto suggested. "But the content must be kept completely secret from outsiders." 

"I agree," Sakura raised her hand in agreement, smiling brightly. 

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded, acknowledging it. 

This kind of information sharing was indeed beneficial. Not only would it deepen their understanding of the village, but it also increased their sense of belonging to the small group. 

Naruto thought that if they could trust each other more and have fewer troublesome issues, their future days together would be much smoother. 

Just as Sakura was about to turn and leave to return to the classroom, Naruto suddenly called out to her. 

"Sakura." 

"Huh?" Sakura turned around in confusion. "What's up?" 

Naruto said nothing but just gestured toward Sasuke, who was like a block of ice. 

"Sasuke wants to talk to you." 

Hearing Naruto call him "Sasuke-sama," Sasuke shot a cold glare at Naruto. 

"Sasuke?" Sakura instantly became nervous. 

Sasuke turned his face away arrogantly, and after a while, he spoke. 

"We're comrades." 

Sakura stood frozen for a moment, then after a while, she finally understood. Her eyes turned red again. 

"Don't cry, Sakura," Naruto said with a smile. "Sasuke-sama is right. You're not ordinary; you're our comrade." 

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with being ordinary. If we had the choice, both he and I would want an ordinary life, but..." 

Saying this, Naruto helplessly shrugged. 

"You know, things don't always go as we wish." 

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