Chapter 60 Powerful Trio

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines through the gap in the curtains, casting a hazy silver hue on the room.

Sasuke woke up, feeling more alert than ever despite having only slept for a few hours.

Naruto's story lingered in his mind, those images filled his dreams, and he kept thinking about how that power shaped Naruto.

Now he knew the source of that anger and understood more clearly the significance of their meeting on the street that night.

He looked up at Naruto on the upper bunk.

Naruto was sleeping on his stomach, one arm hanging casually, his knuckles almost touching Sasuke's tatami.

Sasuke couldn't help but reach out his hand, as if he could feel the warmth radiating from that rough big hand, even if their fingertips didn't actually touch.

This guy is a walking furnace.

Sasuke guessed that this might have something to do with Naruto's appetite.

Naruto always eats a lot and very frequently, more than several adult ninjas combined.

The only other person Sasuke knew of who had such an incredible appetite was Akimichi Chouji.

After lying in bed for a long time, Sasuke stood up and stretched, his bones making a few crisp sounds.

He knew that if he moved too much he would wake Naruto, so he simply headed straight for the bathroom, not bothering to step quietly.

The bathroom was filled with bottles and jars, the result of Haruno Sakura's experiments with various soaps and shampoos.

Her masterpieces were neatly arranged on a shelf to the left of the shower. There were more than a dozen bottles, labeled with medical tape and her name written on the labels in red pen.

Sasuke carefully identified the words on the label and finally found what he wanted: a bottle of unscented shampoo and a bottle of almost empty beige conditioner with the words "Specially made for Sakura" written on the label.

Despite the silly name, the conditioner was lightweight enough not to weigh his hair down, and had only a light scent of sandalwood and cherry blossom, which was pleasant without being overpowering or giving him a headache.

He turned on Naruto's old, beat-up shower head and waited for the water to heat up.

If you are lucky, the water heater will be ready in five to twenty minutes.

While he waited, he began looking for soap that didn't have a floral scent.

This was another result of Haruno Sakura's irregular stays.

When he found that his usual pine soap was used up, he couldn't help but complain a few words, and finally had to "borrow" Naruto's lemongrass soap, which was more or less mixed with a light jasmine scent.

When he came out of the shower, Naruto was already awake, and he stuffed the tatami back under the bed and started doing his morning exercises in the freed up space.

Sasuke wordlessly tossed Naruto's bright orange towel to him, and Naruto yawned and waved lazily in response before standing and walking into the now empty bathroom.

This was not their unchanging habit, and usually the probability of who got up first was 50-50, but this was one of the few comfortable and relaxing moments in Sasuke's life.

Sasuke was almost done with his stretching when Haruno Sakura banged on the door and Mr. Yamada's disgruntled voice could be heard faintly from downstairs.

Sasuke ignored him, and a few seconds later, Haruno Sakura pushed the door open with three lunch boxes in her hands.

"Good morning, I brought breakfast." She lowered her voice so as not to disturb Mr. Yamada downstairs.

Sasuke completed the last action, stood up and stretched his shoulders, then walked into the kitchen, looked at the sumptuous breakfast that Haruno Sakura had laid on the table, and whistled.

"You get up so early." He said, opening the cupboard and taking out chopsticks.

"To be honest, I didn't sleep all night. How about you?" she said, pulling out Naruto's chair and sitting down.

Sasuke shook his head, handed Haruno Sakura her chopsticks, and sat down in his seat.

He placed Naruto's chopsticks on the edge of the table.

According to an unwritten rule, the last person to eat breakfast had to eat standing up - there was no room for another chair in the small kitchen.

“We still have a few hours left, but that’s no excuse to skip a morning workout.”

"That's right." Haruno Sakura said easily, picking up a piece of sweet egg roll and putting it in her mouth. "What time did Kakashi teacher tell us to go to the third training ground? I forgot."

"He said nine o'clock sharp, but based on yesterday's experience, I doubt he will be on time." Sasuke said gloomily.

Haruno Sakura hummed in agreement and suddenly stood up.

"I'll make some coffee, do you want some?"

Sasuke made a face.

“Won’t that thing hinder your growth?” He muttered as he picked up a cherry tomato with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Iruka-sensei said that was just nonsense," Haruno Sakura said, nonchalantly searching for dark coffee beans in Naruto's cupboard.

At this time, Naruto walked into the kitchen. While wiping his wet hair with a towel, he watched Sakura Haruno busy at the coffee pot and couldn't help making a face.

"I'll never understand how you could like drinking that stuff." He muttered, picked up the chopsticks and bento on the table and leaned against the counter.

"Try it." Haruno Sakura pleaded. "You have to try it at least once."

“No thanks,” he refused flatly, defiantly stuffing a piece of fried shrimp into his mouth.

Haruno Sakura ignored his refusal and still prepared three cups of hot coffee, but she added a lot of cream and sugar to Naruto's cup.

She thrust the cup into Naruto's hands so that he could either catch it or watch his favorite amber ceramic cup shatter on the floor.

********

Haruno Sakura walked into the hospital's waiting area with a few cups of hot coffee.

She really didn't understand why Naruto hated coffee so much. It wouldn't be that hard to accept once you got used to it, and the bitterness could be easily neutralized with sugar and cream.

She finished her morning exercise with Class 7. Although she was a little tired, she was still in a good mood. She walked to the information desk and rested her elbows on the table.

“Good morning, Mr. Shiki!” she greeted cheerfully, pushing a steaming cup of coffee across the polished tabletop. “Here’s to you, to wake you up!”

The secretary looked up, his glasses gleaming in the pale light, and took a deep breath.

Shikisenri is the only civilian staff member of Konoha Hospital and a registered special jonin. He is a tall and thin man in his thirties with short amber hair and deep blue eyes.

He sometimes reminds Haruno Sakura of Iruka-sensei, because he always has a sincere smile on his face, a gentle temperament, and hides his strong strength under an approachable appearance. But just like Iruka-sensei, he will never show mercy if someone makes trouble on his territory.

"Are you trying to bribe me, Miss Haruno?" Shiki asked gently with a playful smile on his face, while accepting the coffee without hesitation.

"Does this trick work for you?" Haruno Sakura asked with a smile.

Shiki took a big sip of coffee before answering, and judging by the relaxed look on his face when he put the cup down, Haruno Sakura guessed that she must have guessed his taste correctly: half a spoonful of sugar, no milk.

"To be honest, it was somewhat useful." Shiki admitted with a sly smile. "You are here to see our stubborn old man, right?"

"Is he free now?" she asked politely, although she already knew the answer in her mind.

Unless there was an emergency, Ryouta-sensei would lock himself in his office every morning to process documents. This was also the only opportunity for Haruno Sakura to find him to learn medical ninjutsu.