For the first ti in years, since the Uchiha clan massacre, the old Uchiha compound was hosting visitors again.
Along with the four mbers of Team 7, Naruto had invited Hinata, who'd just gotten back from a mission. That made five in total.
They gathered around a fire pit, with a big grill set up over the flas. On it sizzled ribs, ham, beef, even strips of bacon. The heat turned the at a deep, inviting golden brown.
Hot oil dripped from the rich cuts, filling the air with a sll that pulled you in. Once they'd brushed on a thick layer of secret sauce and dusted it with chili powder, they wrapped the pieces in crisp lettuce leaves. The first bite released a savory burst that lingered long after.
"Delicious," Sasuke said, even though he usually stuck to vegetables. He couldn't help praising it as he took a bite of the fresh ham in front of him.
So things in life, like good food, were simply not to be taken for granted.
For a devoted at-lover like Naruto, the barbecue was heavenly. He and Hinata devoured the food before them at an astonishing speed, and in no ti, the pile of bones at their feet grew into a small mountain.
Karin took her ti, her eyes flicking back and forth between Naruto and Hinata, her mind clearly elsewhere.
Sakura, anwhile, was the quietest of the bunch. Sure, she was the official mber of Team 7 while Hinata wasn't, but that didn't an much right then. She barely touched her food, her thoughts drifting far away.
'Do you like Sasuke?'
'Would you do anything for him?'
Naruto's questions that he asked while walking towards Uchiha compound, kept echoing in Sakura's head. 'What did he an by that?'
In truth, Sakura's talent wasn't lacking. She was, after all, the sa person who would one day declare, "I've finally caught up to them!" While there was certainly so exaggeration in that statent, her strength in future as one of the new generation of Sannin was undeniable. By the end, her power was already approaching Tsunade's.
Tsunade had trained two apprentices, Shizune and Sakura, but their accomplishnts were worlds apart.
Shizune got crushed by Kabuto when she first showed up. During Pain's invasion, the one of the Six Paths took her down without much effort. She never really had a mont to shine.
Sakura, though, shone against Sasori. She inherited Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal and Chakra Enhanced Strength, putting her skills to real use.
She had value. As the saying goes, being used ans you at least have so worth. The truly pathetic are those who have none at all.
Still, her personality, her overall deanor, was sothing Naruto just couldn't bring himself to like.
The good news was, it wasn't too late to change things.
After the al, Naruto pulled Sakura aside.
"Have you ever thought about stepping out?" he asked suddenly, catching her off guard. "I an, truly being out and in control. Standing in front of the world where everyone can see you."
"What are you talking about?" Sakura replied, looking confused.
Naruto didn't answer right away. Instead, he went on, his words coming slow and asured, like a steady rhythm. "It must be tough, being suppressed every day. No one knows you're there, and you have no one to talk to. You must be lonely."
"Huh?" Sakura took a few subtle steps back, her eyes flickering with fear. The way he was acting... had he gone crazy?
But deep in her mind, a black-and-white version of herself spoke up, hesitant. "You... you can hear ?"
Naruto nodded. "I can see you. I can see every word you've ever said."
No one else could, but Naruto saw her plain as anything, the one buried deep inside Sakura. Inner Sakura. Sakura's second personality.
'What?!' Inner Sakura raised a fist, the monochro version, her expression turning furious. 'You creep, don't you go peeking into a girl's heart so casually! Watch it, or I'll beat you to a pulp!'
"Hahaha, I knew it," Naruto laughed. "Compared to the one on the surface, I like this you better. A bit more rough, maybe, but at least you're not so two-faced. You're honest, not playing both sides."
If Sakura wasn't the current outer Sakura everyone knew, would he accept her on Team 7?
The answer was yes. If it was this version of her.
Inner Sakura was stronger, bolder, and more genuine. She wouldn't be the type to cry for Naruto's help one minute and fawn over Sasuke the next. She was a presence powerful enough to fight back against the Yamanaka clan's Mind Body Switch Technique.
"You're lonely, aren't you?" Naruto said gently. "Even the you on the outside doesn't know you're there."
When he said that, the outer Sakura could no longer bear it. She turned and ran. From her perspective, Naruto was just standing there, muttering incomprehensible things to himself, and the weirdness of it scared her senseless.
But she hadn't gotten more than a few steps before she crashed into soone.
"Sasuke-kun!" Seeing him, her spirits lifted instantly. She pointed a trembling finger back at Naruto. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto's gone crazy! He's saying all these weird things to ! You have to-"
"You're too loud." Sasuke brought the side of his hand down in a clean chop to the back of her neck. She crumpled without another sound.
Sasuke and Naruto were in this together.
"Naruto, this girl's a headache." Sasuke said, his voice flat. "Is soone this weak really worth the effort?"
Outer Sakura was unconscious, but Inner Sakura heard every word.
Sasuke's words snapped sothing inside her.
The one who truly loved Sasuke was her, Inner Sakura. It had always been her, ever since the first mont she saw him. The outer Sakura was just like Ino, drawn to a handso face. It was only through her subconscious influence that Sakura's crush on Sasuke had beco so singular.
Right then, Inner Sakura rembered what Naruto had said earlier.
'Do you like Sasuke?'
'Would you do anything for him?'
'So,' she realized, 'he was talking to .'
Naruto spoke again, his voice a soft whisper that seed to circle around her, infused with a strange, hypnotic power. "Do you want to join us?"
'Forbidden Jutsu: Naruto Special: Talk no Jutsu. Activated!'
Hinata and Karin had appeared at his side, their faces unreadable in the dim light.
Staring at the four of them, Inner Sakura couldn't hold back the longing any longer. "Yeah. I do."
Naruto smiled, his eyes opening just a crack. "Excellent. Sasuke, bring her over. We just need to perform a small surgery."
"Tch," Sasuke muttered. 'What a hassle. Why is it always ?'
In the Naruto world, sealing a personality wasn't so wild impossibility. Souls got sealed all the ti, it was nothing special.
An enhanced Evil Sealing thod combined with a Reverse Seal would do the trick. Conveniently, Naruto knew both.
Layer upon layer of sealing formulas spread across the floor. As Naruto perford the hand seals with deliberate slowness, the symbols began to move like living things, converging on Sakura's forehead. Soon, a faint character for "heart" ford on her wide forehead.
"Seal!"
At dawn, faint sunlight stread into the old Uchiha compound, waking a young girl from her sleep.
"Am I... really out? In control?" Inner Sakura, no, just Sakura now, opened her eyes slowly, staring at her hands with quiet joy.
She took a deep, greedy breath of the fresh morning air. So this was the outside world. The feeling was incredible.
She slowly pushed the door open and saw Naruto standing there with a grin.
"Hey you! You're awake!" he said cheerfully. "Congratulations, the surgery was a success. You're a cute boy now. Enjoy your future as a femboy! You're welco!"
Sakura just stared at him, completely and utterly baffled.
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