Naruto: A New Perspective

Chapter 38

Sakura smiled triumphantly as she knocked her best friend down for the third time, "Got you, Ino." She offered her hand to the Yamanaka girl.

"It was luck." Ino grumbled, but took the hand with a smile, "You've gotten tough, Sakura."

The Haruno girl grimaced, "That's what happens when you go away with Naruto for a month. All he wants to do is train." She raised the pitch of her voice in an attempted approximation of Naruto's own, "'Sakura-chaaaan! You're tired already? I haven't even startedddddd! Let's keep going!'"

Ino laughed, "Yeah that sounds like Naruto. He doesn't know when to stop."

So many things were going through Sakura's head, because so many things had happened during the mission to retrieve Tsunade... Itachi, Naruto kissing her, his acceptance of Jiraiya's dream... the Nine Tails. How much could she actually talk about? Many times she felt out of place on the mission, Naruto was in his depth bantering with two Sannin, learning an A-rank jutsu, not even worrying about himself at all when he found out two S-rank missing-nin were after him... Sakura just watched, she had no real part in any of that. So even if she wanted to tell Ino all of it... how much it was her secret to tell?

The two girls moved to head back to the village after the arduous training session, Sakura was in deep thought, should she mention that? It seems weird to actually say the words out loud... Naruto told her it was a secret, and she couldn't tell anyone... but Ino already knew, so why was she hesitating?

Sakura grimaced, trying to think of the words to express her thoughts, "Ino... I know about Naruto."

"You're going to have to be clearer than that." Ino replied with a questioningly look, "I'm not a mind reader." The Yamanaka snickered at her own little joke.

"Har har." Sakura deadpanned, "I'm being serious here, Ino! I know about... it."

It. Naruto. Ino's heart beat a bit faster, "You do? How?"

"I figured it out myself." Sakura replied, deciding not to mention Jiraiya's hints, "It wasn't that hard if you think about everything Naruto has gone through... what he can do."

The other girl sighed, "He told you not to tell anyone else, didn't he?"

"Yes." Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruto's so stubborn, I don't know why he thinks anyone would care... we're his friends!"

Ino nodded, she had the same frustrations, but it was Naruto's irrational fear and his secret to tell, "We have to respect his wishes." She said, "Eventually he'll realize that he can trust the other rookies."

"Or they'll figure it out alone." Sakura pointed out.

"Or that." Ino agreed, "I think Shikamaru is close... that lazy bastard is too smart for his own good."

"You know he can use its chakra... right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Ino replied quietly as they entered the village, now there were people around, "Naruto told me he used it in Wave... and he used it against Gaara."

Sakura remembered both events with a shiver; the Nine Tails chakra was horrible to be around... to have something like that inside of you... "He told me he never wants to use it, ever."

"He's like that." Ino sighed, "I don't understand how a ninja could deny a weapon like that."

"It's Naruto though." Sakura replied dismissively, as if that explained everything.

Strangely, it did.

"I wonder if-" Ino started, but stopped as three familiar faces crossed their paths, "Oh, hey Tenten, Lee... Neji."