Chapter no.44 Naruto

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Chapter no.44 The First Step Forward

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Sakura's eyes snapped open, her body jolting upright as a scream tore from her throat. She gasped for breath, her chest heaving as her frantic gaze darted around. The sunlight filtering through the trees was warm and real. The training ground came into focus—familiar and steadying.

And there he was. Sasuke. Whole, unharmed, standing just a few feet away, deep in thought.

The relief hit her like a tidal wave, and before she knew it, she was moving, closing the distance between them. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him, clinging to him with every ounce of strength she had. Her face pressed against his shoulder as the tears spilled freely, her body shaking.

"Sasuke-kun."

The sight of the last Uchiha in that genjutsu had shattered something deep inside her, and now, feeling the warmth of him—solid and alive—she couldn't bring herself to let go.

Sasuke stiffened, clearly caught off guard, but he didn't push her away. He stood awkwardly, his arms unmoving, his gaze shifting uncomfortably.

"Dobe, you hug like this," Naruto said, demonstrating an exaggerated motion.

Sasuke pushed Sakura away.

"Now that's the opposite of hugging," Naruto added with a pointed finger, as if lecturing the last Uchiha on basic human interaction.

Meanwhile, Sakura barely registered the exchange. Her mind felt distant, her body like it wasn't her own. She blinked once, twice, her eyes sliding over to Kakashi, who stood nearby, his attention buried in that stupid book.

"Sensei… what happened?"

Without even glancing up, Kakashi replied, "Genjutsu. I wanted to test how you'd react under an intense situation. Maybe even see if you can break out of it."

His tone was casual, indifferent, like this was just another lesson in a long line of many. But to Sakura, it wasn't. Her fists clenched at her sides as a horrible, sinking feeling settled in her chest.

She felt it all at once: the humiliation, the shame, the overwhelming sense of failure. Her mind raced as memories flashed before her—her insistence on proving herself, on questioning Kakashi's evaluation, on begging him for a second chance.

And this was what she'd done with it.

She swallowed hard, bile rising in her throat. She couldn't shake the crushing weight of it all.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts, quieter now, with an edge of concern.

Her eyes darted to him, but she couldn't meet his gaze for long. "I… I just need a minute," she murmured, her voice cracking slightly.

Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward the nearby lake, her feet heavy but determined. She needed space—away from Kakashi, from Sasuke, from Naruto. From the reality that she was the weakest link on this team.

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At the lake's edge, Sakura knelt, her hands trembling as she stared at her reflection in the water. The rippling surface blurred her face, but she could still see herself: the girl who'd thought she was so much more than this.

You're pathetic, Sakura thought bitterly. You had one chance to prove yourself, and what did you do? You panicked. You cried. You couldn't even tell it wasn't real.

Her nails dug into the dirt. She gritted her teeth, but it didn't stop the flood of thoughts from crashing over her.

You're the dead weight of Team 7. Sasuke doesn't need you. Naruto's lost interest in you. Even Kakashi-sensei probably regrets taking you on.

The words grew louder in her mind, each one driving deeper, relentless and cruel. They weren't coming from anyone else—just her. She didn't need an outside voice to remind her of her failures; she could do that all on her own.

Mom was right, she thought, the realization twisting in her stomach like a knife. I'm not strong enough to be a kunoichi. I should've trained harder. I should've listened to her instead of chasing after some boy who barely even looks at me.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears spilled over anyway, hot and unforgiving as they streaked down her cheeks. Her fists clenched against her thighs, trembling as she tried to hold herself together, but the cracks were already there, and she felt them widening with every passing moment.

She hated herself in that moment—hated how right it all felt. Hated that she couldn't find anything, not even a single spark of hope, to cling to.

The soft crunch of footsteps behind her startled her, and she quickly wiped at her tears, though she knew it was pointless.

Kakashi sat down beside her, his presence quiet. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the gentle lapping of the lake the only sound between them.

"Am I…" she hesitated, her voice trembling. "Am I going to be sent back to the academy?"

"You're already a genin, Sakura. You're part of Team 7."

"But I don't have anything to offer," she whispered. "I'm the weakest one here. I don't have Sasuke's talent, or Naruto's… whatever bag of mysterious abilities and items. I don't even know why I'm here."

Kakashi didn't reply immediately. Instead, he leaned back slightly, gazing out at the water. "So what?"

"What?"

"So what if you're weak now?" Kakashi said. "Do you think the Sakura sitting here, right now, is the same Sakura you'll be in a week? A month? A year?"

"I… I don't know."

"The answer is no," Kakashi said simply. "People change. They grow. Do you know I once had a teammate who was the weakest in our group? Barely scraped by in the academy. His chakra control was abysmal, his ninjutsu was atrocious, and his taijutsu was a mess. The only reason he even passed was because during the war Konoha hands out the title of genin if you can use chakra at all."

"What happened to him?"

Kakashi's visible eye softened. "He became one of the strongest people I've ever known."

Her breath hitched at that, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest despite herself.

"You see what I'm saying?" Kakashi asked, turning to look at her directly.

"I… I think so."

"I believe you can be an excellent kunoichi, Sakura," Kakashi said. "Don't doubt that. You've got the sharpest mind on this team, and I don't say that lightly. But you have to decide to put in the work. You can be all that, but it's up to you to get there."

Sakura exhaled shakily, wiping at her face again. "Thanks, sensei. I think I just… I just need some time to sort it all out. It's not every day your entire idea of yourself gets shattered."

"That's true," Kakashi said with a smile. "But shattering is the first step to rebuilding something stronger."

Meanwhile, Naruto was pacing nearby, his face twisted in worry.

"Sasuke, you're a monster," he finally declared, jabbing an accusing finger at the Uchiha.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at what you did!" Naruto flailed his arms for emphasis. "If only you had hugged her back! A hug, teme! How hard is that?!"

Sasuke frowned, his expression unreadable. "Whatever," he muttered and turned to walk away.

But before he could take another step, Naruto lunged forward, grabbing the back of Sasuke's shirt like a desperate man clinging to hope.

"Oh, no you don't!" Naruto shouted. "You're going to hug her. Right now."

"What?" Sasuke whipped his head around, glaring at Naruto. "No. Let go of me, dobe."

"Go hug her, you emotionally stunted iceberg! This might be the only chance you ever get for a woman's touch!"

Sasuke's eye twitched, his patience officially gone. "I said, let go!"

What happened next was something neither of them would forget anytime soon.

There was a loud, tearing sound as Sasuke yanked himself free. Naruto stumbled back, holding a large piece of black fabric in his hands, blinking in confusion.

The air grew heavy as Sasuke slowly realized what had just happened. His once pristine black shirt was now a tattered mess, with most of the front ripped clean off, exposing his pale chest to the world.

Naruto stared at the scrap of cloth in his hand, then at Sasuke's exposed chest, then back at the cloth.

"Er… oops?" Naruto offered weakly, a nervous laugh bubbling up as he slowly took a step back.

For a moment, there was silence. And then it happened.

"DOOOOOOOBE!"

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 22, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!