Chapter 276 : Sakura Seems To Have A Crush On You
Tsunade had been thinking for a long time and still couldn't figure out why someone would seal the Nine-Tails' chakra into Sora's body.
And the identity of whoever did it was equally important.
When Sora stepped out of the Hokage's office, he glanced at Naruto curiously. "Who was that guy in there just now? Why did he suddenly appear?"
Naruto thought for a moment before replying, "That was Riku. You should know him—he's pretty famous in the ninja world. And he's really strong. So don't even think about messing with him."
Sora scoffed. "So that's Riku, huh? Yeah, I've heard of him. But he looks about my age. Can't be that strong."
Naruto was speechless. "You seriously judging people by how they look? His age has nothing to do with his power. He's our age, yeah, but he's way stronger than either of us. You'd better stop underestimating him, or you'll regret it."
Sora just chuckled and didn't respond.
Seeing his attitude gave Naruto a headache. The guy clearly wasn't listening at all.
Still, Naruto thought to himself, We'll need to keep a close eye on this guy. He could stir up trouble.
Looks like he's still underestimating Riku. If he pushes him too far, he's definitely going to get his ass kicked.
Sakura, who was walking beside Naruto, glanced at Sora and warned, "Be careful. He could kill you with one hand—I'm not joking."
Sora clenched his fists and replied, "You talk big, but we're the same age."
Sakura chuckled dryly. Seeing Sora's attitude, she didn't feel like wasting any more breath on him.
It was fine when it came to others, but whenever Riku was involved, Sakura didn't have much patience for Sora.
She hadn't even realized how much more she'd been paying attention to Riku since the incident in Sunagakure.
Her whole perspective had shifted.
Even seeing Sasuke again wasn't as thrilling as she'd expected, though of course she was still excited. Just… differently.
Lately, she found herself bringing up Riku more and more, and she didn't even notice it.
But Naruto, Yamato, and Sai had all picked up on it.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Riku and Tsunade had been discussing for a long time, but still hadn't come up with any solid theories.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed. "All we can do now is wait for them to make a move. It's frustrating."
Even though Riku knew exactly what was going on, he didn't say anything.
With Riku around, Tsunade wasn't worried about any major threat to Konoha. But having to be this passive seriously irritated her.
Still, they hadn't found any useful information so far.
Riku stood behind her and smiled. "Let's just stay passive for now. They'll definitely act eventually. And I'm guessing they'll come after Konoha. When they do, we'll finally understand what they're really after."
Tsunade sighed again. Being forced into a passive role like this didn't suit her at all.
After another long sigh, she turned her chair toward Riku, who was standing by the window. "Go find Sasuke. Yamato mentioned something about Sakura."
Riku paused and turned to look at his hand, confused.
Tsunade leaned back, crossed her legs and arms, and gave Riku a meaningful look. "He said Sakura kept bringing you up on the way back. Same when she went to the Temple of Fire. She mentions you constantly now, barely even talks about Sasuke. And when she talks about you… she always looks happy."
"What the hell did you do to her?"
Tsunade wasn't jealous—she was far too mature for that kind of pettiness.
It wasn't that she didn't care about Riku. She simply knew him too well to worry about him doing anything inappropriate. She trusted him completely.
She was just curious. Sakura hadn't paid Riku much attention at all over the past three years.
Why now?
It was strange.
But Riku stayed calm and looked at Tsunade. "What did I do? I didn't do anything. What could I have done?"
Tsunade stood up and walked over to him, looking up into his eyes. "What's going on with you?"
Riku looked at her fair, beautiful face and smiled. "Are you saying Sakura's got a crush on me?"
Tsunade nodded.
Riku waved her off and leaned against the window sill. "Come on. She likes Sasuke. She probably keeps mentioning me because she's been hearing my name a lot lately. Don't overthink it."
Tsunade stepped closer, leaning slightly against him. She smiled. "I'm not overthinking it, and I'm not worried about her liking you. I'm worried she'll get hurt. She's my disciple, after all."
"I know you better than anyone. If she really falls for you, it'll end in heartbreak. And that's not fair to her."
Riku gave her a dry smile. "Why aren't you worried about me getting hurt?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You? Your heart's like solid steel. What's there to worry about?"
Riku sighed. Tsunade had so much faith in him that she never even considered he might get hurt in situations like this. All she cared about was whether the other person would suffer.
He didn't know whether to be flattered or frustrated.
His own woman didn't worry about his feelings—but she worried about everyone else's.
Still, he knew that Tsunade's confidence came from a deep understanding of who he was, and her complete trust in him.
Anyone else would've flipped out already.
Looking at Tsunade leaning so close to him, Riku gently wrapped an arm around her waist.
Smiling, he said, "You're probably overthinking things. You know how obsessed Sakura is with Sasuke. Even if something did happen, it'd pass. She's still just a girl—she'd get over it in a few days."
Riku really had no feelings for Sakura. He'd always kept a clear distance from her.
He'd never imagined she might have feelings for him.
But even if she did, Riku didn't take it seriously. He figured it was just a passing phase.
Tsunade, however, said, "You don't know Sakura as well as I do. If that girl falls for someone, she won't let go easily. If you make both me and my student fall for the same man, it'll be a disgrace."
Riku groaned. "What are you even talking about? That's never going to happen. And if it ever did, I'd shut it down immediately."
Honestly, having Tsunade was more than enough for him.
She had everything he wanted in a woman, and he wasn't interested in anyone else.
His passions were training, reading, and experimenting with strange techniques.
He barely had time for himself, let alone for juggling women.
That didn't mean he couldn't appreciate beauty, though.
Take Yugito Nii and Samui, for example—Riku definitely admired them.
Great bodies, gorgeous faces, powerful chakra, and icy personalities. Riku appreciated that kind of woman from a respectful distance.
He always believed: admire from afar, don't get involved.
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