Chapter 53 Let Him Sleep

Everything Sasuke did started with some subtle changes, and these changes did not attract anyone's attention at first.

A forgotten book on a table.

There is an extra shuriken on the shelf.

A kunai hidden under the bed.

Next, there was an extra set of clothes in the closet.

Towels hanging in the bathroom.

Short knives were neatly placed by the door.

A complete set of medical supplies on the dresser.

His favorite oolong tea in the storage room.

His favorite foods in the fridge.

There's even a brand new toothbrush.

It wasn't until one day, when he and Naruto were discussing their training plans for the following week, that Sasuke suddenly realized how important a place he had occupied in Naruto's life.

At that time, Naruto was holding a pen and paper, carefully recording Sasuke's training plan, which surprised Sasuke very much.

Naruto's training plan was very detailed and even included some things that Sasuke had never thought of, such as breathing, balance, and fine motor control.

Moreover, Naruto changes his training method almost every day. He has been training every part of his body, not just those parts that are useful for combat.

Sasuke was deeply moved by Naruto's training attitude and decided to adopt Naruto's training plan.

Any strength was valuable, and Sasuke had never trained so thoroughly before, and he felt every muscle in his body burning, as if a new power was awakening.

Sasuke nonchalantly ate his ramen as he listened to Naruto ramble on about the importance of flexibility and chakra control.

They had just finished a day's training and were now replenishing their energy at Ichiraku Ramen.

This has almost become a regular part of their daily routine.

Sasuke even suspected that Uncle Ichiraku delayed the closing time specifically for them, especially for Naruto.

All this is so natural and so natural.

The chair next to the dining table is Sasuke's exclusive seat, where he sits every day.

Naruto couldn't remember the last time he put away his futon.

They would take turns buying groceries, and this time, it was Sasuke's turn to pay.

He hasn't been back to his home for a long time.

Because he lives with Naruto now.

"Hey, asshole, are you listening to me?"

Even the way Naruto addressed him sounded like an endearing tease rather than a malicious insult.

The blond boy tilted his head and looked at him with a puzzled look. He knew that Sasuke rarely got distracted.

"You've got a carrot stuck between your teeth," Sasuke said casually, trying to cover up his gaffe.

He quickly changed the subject, "How about we do flexibility training on Thursday?"

Naruto was stunned for a moment, licked his teeth subconsciously, and then realized that Sasuke was lying to him.

"It's Wednesday!" he corrected. "That way we can put it in between the endurance and strength training. At least it won't be so tiring."

"You've been spending too much time with Shikamaru," Sasuke thought to himself, "If you keep going like this, he'll infect you sooner or later."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." He nodded in agreement. "By the way, how is Sakura's training recently? Can she keep up with our progress?"

"It's okay." Naruto said vaguely while chewing pork belly, "Her chakra is still too little, but her control is better than both of us. Besides, she has been pestering Ryouta-senpai in the hospital recently, wanting to learn medical ninjutsu from him."

Sasuke couldn't help but shudder. The thought of Sakura holding a scalpel made his hair stand on end.

Although Sakura was no longer as crazy about him as before after that incident, he was still not sure whether it would be a blessing or a curse to let her get in touch with medical ninjutsu.

"She has to catch up with us soon so we can train as a team," Sasuke thought, "She has a talent that neither Naruto nor I have. Having her join our team will be good for all of us."

Sasuke had a plan in mind, one he had been planning for a long time.

If all goes well, they will be fighting side by side soon.

******

Sasuke had not intended to tell Sakura about his plan, but on Friday morning, when he saw Sakura trying to wake Naruto up from his sleep by hitting him with a ball of paper, he changed his mind.

He grabbed Sakura's wrist and stopped her mischief.

"Stop it," he whispered, "let him sleep."

Sakura glared at him angrily, which made Ino, who was sitting next to her, even more confused and dissatisfied.

Sakura has been hanging around Sasuke lately, which makes Ino very uncomfortable.

Sakura shook off Sasuke's hand and reluctantly put down the ball of paper in her hand.

"But he's been sleeping in class lately!" She complained in a low voice, "Even if he's gifted, he'll fail the exam if he doesn't understand the most basic terminology!"

"That's what I meant." Sasuke said calmly.

Sakura was stunned and looked at Sasuke as if he was a monster, as if he had said something outrageous.

"You...what did you say? You hope Naruto will fail?"

Sakura was angry, and that didn't bode well for Sasuke.

In order to prevent the situation from getting worse, he could only sigh and explain patiently:

"Listen, you are the top-achieving female ninja in the grade now, right?"

Sakura was stunned for a moment, then she puffed out her chest and a look of pride appeared on her face.

"Of course, what's the matter?"

"And I'm the top-achieving male ninja in the grade."

Sakura was even more confused. She frowned and asked:

"Yes...yeah, so what?"

At this time, Teacher Iruka came over, and Sasuke immediately shut his mouth and pretended not to be interested in their conversation until Teacher Iruka walked away, then he spoke again.

"There is an unwritten rule in the school. That is, during the graduation exam, the best male and female ninjas will be assigned to the team of the worst students in order to balance the strength of each team."

Sakura suddenly realized.

"You mean, Naruto is the last one now?" She looked at Naruto who was sleeping soundly in the back, then turned her gaze to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded slightly and covered his mouth with his hand to hide the barely perceptible smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I'll keep him in this position."

Sakura immediately understood Sasuke's intention. She laughed happily, leaned close to Sasuke's ear and whispered:

"Count me in, what do you want me to do?"

"You can tutor Kiba first," Sasuke whispered, "That guy is almost dying."

******