How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Naruto is very persistent. Anyone who sees his growth would say the same thing—he keeps going, and then keeps going some more. As long as there's hope, Naruto will never give up. 

But he can still tell the difference between what he can learn and what he can't understand. 

The Flying Thunder God is one of those things he can't understand at all. At least Rasengan has a relatively simple entry level. The only thing holding him back now is the last step, but the Flying Thunder God, no matter how many times Sakura explains, still sounds like a completely different language to him. 

Sorry, Dad, I just don't get it. I'll leave the Flying Thunder God as your signature ninjutsu for now. Once I've mastered Rasengan, the Shadow Seal, and the Diamond Seal, I'll try learning it. 

Right now, Naruto would rather learn sealing techniques than the Flying Thunder God. 

At the training ground in the dead of night, Sakura had already gone home, and Naruto stood alone in the center. He was gathering his incomplete Rasengan, his body covered in dust, and his sleeves had even been torn by his chakra. 

But even so, Naruto gritted his teeth and continued, trying to keep the Rasengan from dispersing, his eyes filled with determination. 

Unfortunately, determination didn't help his chakra control much. In the next moment, the Rasengan in Naruto's hand suddenly exploded, and the powerful force slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground. 

His hand was injured again, but thanks to the development of the Diamond Lock and his adaptation to Kurama's chakra, Naruto's recovery ability had been steadily improving. This injury would heal completely in just a few minutes.

Naruto collapsed on the ground in a large, sprawled-out position, his chest rising and falling heavily as his gaze fixed on the sky. 

Kurama couldn't bear to watch any longer. He slowly spoke up, "To think you could learn Rasengan in just two days... that's nothing but a fantasy."

Naruto's breath caught, and then a smile appeared on his face. 

"Kurama, you're back."

He thought Kurama had just returned now.

"Yeah, as soon as I got back, I saw you struggling to maintain the Rasengan," Kurama said indifferently. "Rasengan isn't like the Tailed Beast Boom. Even if you fail to maintain the chakra, it won't cause such a shock. Clearly, your focus isn't on Ninjutsu at all."

The Tailed Beast Boom is more stable once it's fully formed, because it doesn't require extra effort to maintain. On the other hand, Rasengan is more stable before it's fully formed than the Tailed Beast Boom, so it doesn't immediately explode if chakra is mishandled.

But even so, if the chakra used to maintain it goes wrong, the Rasengan will still explode. The damage is very minor, though—just enough for a regular person to visit the Konohagakure hospital. With Naruto's strong recovery abilities, he might only need to wait for a while.

Kurama lay in the sealing space, watching Naruto through the seal.

"Well, share with me what's on your mind. Let me help you sort it out."

Naruto's breathing gradually calmed, but he still didn't answer. He just quietly stared at the sky.

Kurama wasn't in a rush. He knew Naruto's personality. Maybe Naruto was just thinking about how to respond to such a question.

After about a minute, Naruto spoke. He continued looking at the sky and said, "Kurama, when you weren't around, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei came to see me. Sakura even brought me dinner. It was hot and really delicious."

Sakura's cooking was already pretty good, though she had the wrong talent when it came to military rations.

"So? Did you get hooked, thinking Sakura is more charming now? Do you like her more?" Kurama yawned.

Naruto had always been like this with his devotion to people—no one could argue with it. He lived very humbly. So, Kurama's guess was logical, and he even thought he had it right.

But... that wasn't it.

Naruto shook his head, his tone a bit distant. "No, Kurama, or rather, it's actually the opposite."

"Huh?" Kurama immediately became interested. "Explain."

Naruto paused in silence, thinking for a moment, then slowly spoke. "I find it strange. I like Sakura. Every time I say it, I say it with confidence. No matter what others say, I always agree because I've always believed that it's the truth."

"But... when Sakura teased me about it earlier, I suddenly felt..." Naruto's expression became conflicted. "I felt sorry for Sakura."

Sorry for Sakura? Kurama was stunned, almost instinctively asking, "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know," Naruto's eyes were blank. "I don't understand why. It's like, at that moment, when Sakura acknowledged me as a teammate, I should have been happy. But when she said I liked her, I suddenly felt guilty."

"Kurama, why? Why do I feel this way?"

Kurama was silent.

Perhaps now he should say, 'It's because you don't like Sakura, you just thought you did to oppose Sasuke.' But he couldn't bring himself to say it—not because of any sentimental reason, but because...

Human emotions are inherently complex. Did Naruto truly like Sakura in the beginning, or was it just as some online rumors say—only to go against Sasuke? No one could know for sure.

But one thing was clear: Naruto did care about Sakura... and maybe even more so about Sasuke.

After a moment, Kurama slowly spoke. "Actually, there's a simple way to figure this out. I don't know what it feels like to like someone, but determining if you like someone isn't hard."

Naruto was surprised.

Kurama continued, "You can go to Sakura directly, look her in the eyes, and tell her that you like her."

"That's easy." Naruto was confused. He had confessed to Sakura more than once, "Kurama, can't you give me a useful suggestion?"

"I haven't finished yet," Kurama glanced at him and continued, "Then, go to another girl, confess using the same method, and compare your feelings when confessing to both of them."

Naruto frowned, "Confessing to Sakura isn't a big deal, but confessing to another girl feels weird, right? And who should I even confess to?"

"Excluding the girls you're close to and those much older than you, pick someone from the rest," Kurama said mischievously, "Let me list them out. Excluding Sakura, the ones you can confess to are Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Temari. Yep, that's it."

Tsunade and Shizune are out of the question; they're both elders, and confessing to them would likely get him beaten up. Among the girls Naruto knows who are about his age, the ones he has a somewhat close relationship with are just these four. Temari is actually a no-go, since she's from the Land of Wind.

So that means Naruto is left with only three choices.

Kurama grinned knowingly, "You don't have to think about Sakura right now. Think carefully about who you should confess to, to test your own feelings."

Naruto hesitated, then looked puzzled, "Kurama... you're not just messing with me again, are you?"

"Am I that kind of fox?" Kurama puffed out his chest, looking righteous, "I admit I do enjoy messing with you, but have I ever tricked you about serious things? Hmm? Think about it with your conscience. Am I not reliable most of the time?"

Naruto touched his chest, speechless.

It did seem that way. Although Kurama wasn't always reliable, he never lied about big, important matters.

With that in mind, Naruto looked a bit troubled and scratched his head. "In that case… maybe Ino? After all, Shikamaru and Chouji will be around, so I'm less likely to get beaten up. Tenten... I'm worried Neji will kill me. Or maybe Hinata. Her personality is a bit weird, but she probably wouldn't hit me."

"What should I do? Kurama, can't you just help me figure it out?"

"Nope." Kurama rejected him without hesitation, a smile creeping onto his face.

The point of the test wasn't really to figure out whether Naruto liked Sakura, but rather which girl he would choose after excluding her from his heart.

Whether Naruto liked Sakura or not didn't matter. After all, Sakura didn't like him. The real focus of the test was who Naruto would choose next.

Kurama's smile turned more mischievous.

Now, it's your turn, make your choice.

I'm really looking forward to your final answer.

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