Tasty Ramen!

"Well, that's it for training," said Kakashi calmly. "You've got an hour for lunch."

The result of Sakura's gruelling two-hour training was that she could now (sometimes) summon sparks at the tip of her fingers. It was a far cry from punching holes through boulders, but at the very least, she was closer to forming a true Chidori than Naruto, who would probably never succeed, since he had zero affinity with lightning.

"Wanna go on a date, Sakura-chan?" said Naruto, grinning dumbly at her. "I've got a free ramen voucher for Ichiraku's…"

Naruto reached behind his Leaf forehead protector and retrieved a slip of paper, slick with sweat due to the training.

"That depends," said Sakura, leaning slightly forward and giving Sasuke a sidelong glance, batting her eyelashes seductively at him. "Sasuke, do you want to eat with us?"

'Oi!' shouted Inner Sakura. 'It doesn't count as a date if Naruto's going to be a third wheel! It needs to be just the two of us! And a fancier place than Ichiraku's!'

Since Inner Sakura was still holding her Genjutsu powers hostage, Sakura figured that she might as well kill two birds with one stone— by taking Sasuke on a ramen date and making Naruto pay for it…

How to be cheap was basically one of the only things that Kakashi-sensei had ever taught her!

"Nah," grunted Sasuke moodily. "I'm going to train some more."

And just like that, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and trudged away, looking awfully broody. How was it, he bitterly wondered to himself, that he was growing so slowly compared to others? He had even allowed himself to get beaten by a Hyūga— what would his parents think if they were still alive…? They would surely be disappointed of him, compared to his genius older brother…

"Naruto," Sasuke growled through gritted teeth.

How could he have allowed himself to get surpassed by that dunce Naruto— the boy who kept scoring dead last in every conceivable exam, practical or theoretical!? Sure, Naruto had used Tenten's war fan to save the village, but the fact remained that he had still summoned a gigantic whirlwind to push that gigantic sand monster into the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu formula…

Sasuke had tried laying a hand on the fan after that, thinking that it might be useful against Itachi, but to his horror, he had felt all of his chakra draining away in an instant— undeniable proof that Naruto was that much stronger than him.

And what about Sakura?

While Sasuke had already noticed her intelligence and her proficiency with the three basic Jutsu at the academy, Sakura had never been particularly skilled in combat. But to his shock, just by awakening her unknown Kekkei Genkai, she had turned into a genius overnight.

She could learn elemental Ninjutsu within days; she had mastered powerful Kenjutsu in secret; and most depressingly of all— she had developed a Genjutsu as powerful as his brother's, capable of holding more than fifty elite Jōnin in thrall at the same time…

And those fat breasts, which seemed to be in a state of perpetual motion; always bouncing or jiggling, and sometimes even growing…

Sasuke shook his head angrily.

Friendship, breasts— they were all unnecessary distractions. He was an avenger, not a gooner! How could he think of restoring his clan before killing Itachi? His brother would probably just murder his new family all over again, just to torture him!

No, breeding Sakura to make little Uchihas would have to wait…

Wait, what was he thinking about again!? Focus on vengeance, Sasuke berated himself!

-----------------------------------

"Oh, and by the way, Sakura," Kakashi said nonchalantly, watching as Sakura took a seat next to Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen. "Your mother wanted to see you once we were done with training— something about delivering dumplings to the Yamanaka?"

Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Since their apartment building had been spared the destruction of the Konoha Crush, her mother Mebuki had taken it upon herself to cook meals for those who had lost everything. An admirable gesture, but did she really have to use her daughter as a delivery girl?

Sakura was one of the heroes that had saved the village, for goodness' sake!

…

"So, what'll it be?" said Teuchi jovially, turning away from his stove and leaning on the counter. "The usual?"

"I'll start with an extra-large bowl of tonkotsu miso ramen, with lots of chashu and extra Naruto fish cakes!" said Naruto, licking his lips. "No menma, though."

"And I'll have a large bowl of extra spicy miso ramen," Sakura added. "With chicken katsu and two eggs— fried, not hard-boiled. And when I say spicy, I mean really spicy."

Incidentally, Sakura had been looking forward to the Kurosuki Family Removal Mission arc, because Tenten was in it— but after getting her memory wiped quite unfairly, Sakura was now more hyped about the curry of life.

Hang on, had Sakura even been part of this mission in the anime? She just couldn't remember…

"Coming right up!" said Ayame cheerfully. "Your meal's on the house, seeing as you two saved our shop!"

"All right!" Naruto cheered, discreetly pocketing the free meal voucher that he wouldn't have to use, after all.

A few moments later, two steaming hot bowls of ramen were placed in front of the two hungry Genin.

Sakura's bowl of ramen was a veritable work of art, filled to the brim with fresh toppings— dried seaweed, breaded chicken cutlets, fried eggs, Naruto fish cakes, freshly chopped green onions…

A heavenly odour wafted up from her bowl; it was sure to taste twice as good as it smelled!

"Thanks for the food!" sang Sakura and Naruto, clapping their hands together before snapping apart their disposable bamboo chopsticks and digging in.

'If this were a cooking anime,' Inner Sakura remarked as Sakura slurped down her noodles, 'this is where we'd strip to our underwear and use the chicken katsu as a surfboard to surf on the broth. D'you think Sasuke would like to see that? Maybe in the beach episode…'

Sasuke this, Sasuke that— Did everything have to be about Sasuke? Sakura thought to herself angrily. She just wanted to enjoy her ramen in peace, but her gay thoughts just wouldn't leave her alone! Actually, since Sakura was now a girl, was it really that gay…?

"Guess the rumours are true," came a man's voice from behind Sakura. "You really do eat nothing but ramen, eh?"

"Pervy sage!" Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of ramen, turning to face his master.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Jiraiya, as he goggled at Sakura's amazing body. "Is that your girlfriend, Naruto?!"

Like hell she was! Sasuke was one thing, but Naruto!? Sakura and Naruto were like two sides of the same coin— too similar to ever have a successful romantic relationship, but just similar enough to be good friends.

"Yeah," said Naruto, acting nonchalantly. "Me 'n Sakura have got something special going on, ya know?"

Just grin and bear it, Sakura told herself— though her smile didn't reach her ears.

"What else can I say, except… as expected of my number one disciple!" shouted Jiraiya obnoxiously, winking at Naruto. "You sure know how to pick 'em! So, er… you know… have you two… you know… yet?"

"I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE, SHANNARO!" Sakura exploded.