Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

She looked up and stared intently at Ino for a long time, then silently lowered her eyes and looked away from Ino.

Sakura, of course, knew why Ino was crying.

Shikamaru had already told her about Team 10's experience in the Konoha forest.

"sorry."

Sakura said that all the comforting words were ultimately condensed into these three words.

Ino encounters a fellow villager with whom she spends every day, who makes no attempt to conceal his desire to kill her.

Not just Ino, but anyone else would have been unable to withstand such a violent emotional shock.

Sakura felt powerless; all she could do was apologize to Ino on Naruto's behalf.

"Thinking about it carefully, it's not hard to understand why Naruto would hate me so much that he wanted to kill me."

Ino, however, comforted Sakura instead.

Why would you say such a thing!

Upon hearing Ino's words, Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief.

Regardless of Naruto's reasons for wanting to kill Ino, and regardless of why Naruto ultimately didn't turn his idea of ​​killing Ino into reality.

But in this process, Naruto was undoubtedly the perpetrator, while Ino was the victim who was powerless to resist.

Why……

Sakura looked sadly at Ino.

Why do you have to consider my feelings...?

But what Sakura grieved about was not just that Ino, out of consideration for Sakura's feelings, gave up her right to be angry at Naruto for what he had done to her.

Sakura is also grieving over her own joy.

Ino's words relieved Sakura of the difficult choice between Ino and Naruto.

She was actually happy about it...

"Sakura has heard about Naruto these past few days, right?"

Ino simply watched Sakura quietly until Sakura's emotions had calmed down a bit before asking her a question.

Sakura nodded.

Two days ago, the Third Hokage died in battle.

At that time, the One-Tailed and Nine-Tailed appeared in Konoha and destroyed most of the village.

The One-Tailed Beast is a tailed beast owned by the Sand Village, which participated in the destruction of Konoha.

Its jinchūriki was Gaara, who infiltrated Konoha under the pretext of participating in the Chunin Selection Exams.

And the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki—

—It's Naruto.

Following the chaos caused by the One-Tailed and Nine-Tailed beasts, Naruto's past, which had been forbidden from being discussed by the Third Hokage for twelve years, was revealed to all the people of Konoha in an extremely rapid manner.

“My father told me some things about Naruto. Although I could sense that there were still many things he hadn’t told me… but based on the facts I already knew—if I were Naruto, I wouldn’t have waited until now to leave Konoha.”

Ino's words were pointed.

Sakura, who has heard bits and pieces about Naruto's background over the past two days through rumors, will inevitably have some inaccuracies in the details.

Ino learned about Naruto's experiences over the past twelve years from her father, Yamanaka Inoichi—not just the simple hatred the public felt towards Naruto, but also... the attitude of the Konoha leadership towards Naruto.

Team 10, through Pakkun's investigation, learned the truth about Naruto being surrounded and attacked.

Sakura also encountered masked ninjas who harbored ill will towards Naruto during her battle with Gaara.

Ino's words silenced Sakura.

"In Naruto's eyes, Konoha had no place for him... but he was clearly the son of a hero."

Ino also looked up at the Hokage Rock, her gaze fixed on the head sculpture of the Fourth Hokage, which looked extremely young.

"A hero who protects Konoha, yet is despised by Konoha."

At this point, Ino chuckled and couldn't help but mock herself: "And I must be the most annoying person among all the people in Konoha who hates Naruto, the one who always manages to make him angry with perfect accuracy."

"They even mocked him as a rogue ninja..."

At this point, Ino suddenly paused.

After a long silence, Ino finally asked Sakura, "Sakura, have you made up your mind?"

"Decide……?"

Sakura didn't immediately understand Ino's question.

"Attitude towards Naruto".

Ino explained.

"I've cried all night because of him, and I understand why Naruto wanted to kill me..."

"But I can't make any more concessions to Naruto."

"I am Yamanaka Ino, a member of the Yamanaka clan, which has been glorious since the founding of Konoha."

"The pain that Konoha inflicted on Naruto was retaliated against by Naruto in the same way two days ago."

“Hate can end with hatred, but new hatred will arise. I’ve tried to truly hate Naruto from the bottom of my heart, but I can’t do it.”

"Putting myself in Naruto's shoes, I would probably make the same choice as him—but I am not Naruto after all, and assumptions only lead to meaningless talk—Naruto's actions are wrong ones that I must completely reject."

"I will firmly treat Naruto, who has defected from Konoha, as a Konoha ninja."

"If I encounter Naruto again, I will not hesitate to kill him for the future of Konoha, or be killed by him because I am not skilled enough."

This was the strong choice Ino made after crying alone until dawn on a night when she was vulnerable and helpless.

As always... a strength that Sakura envies.

Ino has always been like this, and Sakura understands Ino's strength best.

She, who was once timid and disliked, was attracted by Ino's strength.

—As long as I stay by Ino's side, I can feel at ease.

But this time, Sakura must find her own choice regarding her future attitude towards Naruto.

Sakura... hasn't made a choice yet.

"Whatever Sakura chooses, I will support you... but if you keep delaying your choice, all you'll have left yourself with is endless pain."

After speaking, Ino remained silent.

It was her turn to pay her respects and bid farewell to the deceased Third Hokage.

Ino stepped out of the mourning procession, leaving Sakura alone.

Just like the current situation that Sakura is facing.

A ninja's life is filled with countless choices, made entirely by themselves, without the help of others.

……

The memorial service for the Third Hokage has finally come to an end.

The subsequent burial ceremony did not require Sakura and the others to participate; it was conducted only by a small number of relatives related to the Third Hokage.

After leaving the memorial service, Sakura was momentarily at a loss as to what to do next.

Her close friends, the three members of Team 10, need to help their clan overcome this crisis in Konoha.

And the members of Class 7 also...

"Even ninjas, if you kids who are still growing keep getting rained on, you'll only end up with a fever, a cold, and being bedridden."

Jiraiya came to Sakura's side, interrupting her thoughts as she stood in the rain.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Sakura was unaware of Jiraiya's intention in greeting her. Logically, a ninja like Jiraiya should be busy working for the village at this time.

Kakashi-sensei was so busy that he only learned a little about Sasuke's situation from Sakura and didn't even have time to visit him in person.

"Kakashi and I have discussed it. You'll be going on missions with me from now on."

Jiraiya explained his reasons.

The elite ninjas of Konoha naturally have their own duties, but what kind of mission could a powerful ninja like Jiraiya possibly need the assistance of a... genin?

"Don't worry, it's not a combat mission—if you really have to categorize it, it's more like a search mission."

Sakura's eyes lit up when she heard Jiraiya's words.

Unfortunately, it wasn't what Sakura thought.

"This mission is not to search for Naruto's whereabouts. Although the One-Tail was a means for Orochimaru to carry out the plan to destroy Konoha, judging from various intelligence, Sunagakure had already given up using the One-Tail to attack Konoha at that time."

"It was Naruto who summoned the One-Tailed Beast back to Konoha, and the Nine-Tailed Beast transformation he created using the Nine-Tailed Beast's chakra clones—these were all methods he used to hinder Konoha's pursuit of him."

"Judging from the results, he did indeed succeed... Konoha currently has no resources to search for him."

Jiraiya glanced at Sakura and stated the purpose of this mission: "With the passing of the Third Hokage, we must immediately find a new leader to restore peace to the leaderless Konoha, and also to suppress the covetousness of other countries towards the currently battered Konoha."

"Our mission this time is to find the Fifth Hokage."

"The Fifth Hokage?"

Sakura was curious about who the Fifth Hokage that Jiraiya mentioned was.

During this time, besides the rumors about Naruto's background, it was also widely rumored in Konoha that Jiraiya would succeed his teacher, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Fifth Hokage.

But judging from Jiraiya's words, he doesn't seem to be the Fifth Hokage.

"That's right, she's a woman who's quite beautiful even though she's older—you should have heard of her name—Tsunade, the flower of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha."

"But why should I also be on this mission?"

If Tsunade, who is on par with Jiraiya, were to succeed as the Fifth Hokage, she would certainly be able to gain the respect of the people.

Or rather, given the current internal and external troubles facing Konoha, Tsunade is the most suitable successor among all those qualified to become the Fifth Hokage.