10 Chapter 10

"Okay, first," Naruto started, rushing to get this day over with. He's already planning on a full contact brawl fest against as many clones as he can make. He even makes a mental note to give them clear instructions to beat him to a bloody pulp, certain that no matter how badly he was beaten or broken, it wouldn't hurt as much as this. "Do you know what Chakra Control is?"

"Of course, you idiot," she tells him, using her near eidetic memory to recount to him, "it's the ability to sufficiently control and conserve your chakra. They taught us that in the Academy."

"Really," Naruto genuinely asks. "I don't remember that."

"That's because you're an idiot who can barely remember what side of the kunai is sharp," she hurtles back.

"Ha, ha, you didn't have to say all that," he weakly tells her, covering the sting of her verbal jab with a weak smile, though she doesn't seem to care. Eager to move on, he continues, "yeah, well, I know you're the top kunoichi of our year so you must have really good chakra control. In fact, I bet it's perfect!"

Sakura eyes him wearily, never one to particularly like his compliments or advances but she couldn't really say otherwise. "Maybe," she simply states. "I've been told I have good control over my chakra, but aside from the leaf concentration training we hardly use any jutsu in the academy, so I can't be sure. Why? And what does this have to do with Sasuke-kun?"

"Everything," he says with a strained smile, doing everything he can to appear happy to help her even though he was dying inside. "I got the perfect way for you to put your hands all over him, and the best part is, he'll be happy you did!"

Sakura was visibly vibrating with excitement, thinking, 'if what he's saying is true, than I'll be able to touch my Sasuke-kun whenever I wants, and then he'll be happy I did, and then we could probably start dating, and then we could maybe even possibly... kiss.' Sakura's entire body swoons at the thought, turning beet red, her half-lidded eyes were dilated, and her heart and stomach were swapping from warm to fluttery.

This could be a big win for her. Even though she used an entire life's supply of luck to be on Sasuke's team, that wouldn't stop Ino form trying to gain his attention. Hell, Ino might not even stop if Sasuke and herself started dating. With Ino's admittedly mature beauty and charm as her enemy, it wasn't enough that Sakura and Sasuke were on the same team. Sakura couldn't get complacent. She needed to do anything and everything possible to be with Sasuke because she's certain there isn't another Kunoichi alive who would treat him right. Whatever Naruto thought of—if his claim panned out—would be for the amazing future she planned to have with Sasuke-kun.

"Sakura-chan... Saaaakura-chan," Naruto kept calling for three minutes before she finally regained her senses.

"Tell me!" she demanded, rushing him a little with clenched fists. He startled, taking a step back as she insists on knowing, "what's the idea?"

Smiling somewhat happily to see her enthusiastic reaction, though still hurting by the reason why, he tells her, "you become an Iryō-nin!"

"Huh?" Sakura asks, face dropping with disappointment.

"Think about it," Naruto starts. "Sasuke-teme is a mid-to-close range fighter, so every time he gets hurt—even a little scratch on his cheek—you would be the one to heal him, which means you have to touch him. If you knew Iryō-ninjutsu right, you could've healed all his scratches and he would've been super thrilled you did. Plus, it would round out the team, right? Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-teme and I are the fighters, so we'd need someone to patch us up if something happens."

Sakura continued to peer suspiciously throughout his entire explanation, though the reason changed from, 'how idiotic his idea sounded,' to, 'Naruto-baka thought all of that after their first official meeting together?'

"Besides think of all the cool things they can do, like healing people who are hurt and saving lives. With your control, you could be, like the best healer in all of Konoha. Plus, I'm sure they have some really famous Iryō-nin too," Naruto explains. Naru-nii was very adamant about how he said, 'some really famous Iryō-nin too,' because he was pretty sure Sakura-chan would automatically think of the village's most famous Iryō-nin, since a lot of kunoichi look up to her.

Both Narutos keenly understand that in any good prank, the more the person getting pranked thinks on their own to agree with you, the better the result will be. And looking at the realization dawn on her face at the mention of 'famous Iryō-nin,' he was pretty sure she remembered the one Naru-nii briefly talked about.

After a few seconds of deep thought—if her pondering expression is anything to go by—she finally speaks up, "I- there's no way... I- I couldn't-"

"You could!" Naruto passionately interrupts her. "And I can prove it!"

Now completely flabbergasted by the annoying blond, Sakura can't help but gripe, "how?"

"Come on," he calls as he runs over to the nearest tree. After she catches up to him, he tells her, "I bet you anything you can Tree-Walk on your first try. That would definitely tell you if you can do it!"

"I don't know how to Tree-Walk, Naruto," she returns genuinely. "Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught us that. He hasn't taught us anything yet."

"Even if he didn't teach you, I still think you can do it," Naruto returns his enthusiasm for training driving the point home. "All you have to do is focus a steady amount of chakra to the bottom of your feet and use that to stick to the tree so you can climb. If you use too little, you'll slide off. If you use too much, you'll get shoved off, and break the tree. Think of it like a magnet. Come on, give it a try. Remember, this isn't just for the team... it's also for... Sasuke-teme." He sighs at the anguish, but she doesn't seem to notice.

With a determined look on her face, she nods and turns to the tree. Generally, Sakura's accustomed to learning new techniques with the direction of a sensei, and not an idiot like the one beside her, but for Sasuke-kun she's more than willing to try this at least. Because if this was as possible as Naruto seems sure it is, than maybe she could use this to get closer to Sasuke-kun than any other kunoichi could, especially her rival, Ino-pig. Molding her chakra has always been as easy as stretching and she effortlessly manipulates the flow of energy to her feet. Her first step is a tentative one.

She did have to admit, however, that a small part of her liked the prospect of moving in a direction similar to Tsunade-sama of the Legendary Sannin. Like many Kunoichi in the village, Tsunade-sama was a heroine of hers. She grew up hearing stories of her strength, her legendary healing ability, and her beauty. So many girls in the academy aspired to be her, whenever students had to create a report of their favorite shinobi, a good eighty percent of the girls chose Tsunade-sama.

________________________________________________

Patreon.com/Black_Zetsu

Subscribe to my Patreon for more advanced chapters. The story is at the Silver Tier