Chapter 414 – The Prison Called Sasuke

Chapter 414: Chapter 414 – The Prison Called Sasuke

YAMANAKA FLOWER SHOP

Ino was crouched near one of the outdoor counters, organizing some newly arrived flowers when she heard hurried footsteps approaching down the street. Sakura’s voice came before she had even fully raised her head.

"Ino... can I talk to you?"

Something in her tone made Ino stop immediately. She put away the flower she was holding and slowly stood up, noticing the tears gathered in her friend’s eyes.

"Sakura?" Concern appeared almost instantly. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

Sakura tried to answer immediately, but her voice failed before she could even finish the first sentence. She had to take several deep breaths before she could speak.

"Tsunade-sama..." The tears came back stronger. "She... she said I’m not her student anymore."

The news caught Ino completely off guard.

For a moment, she had no reaction. For years, Sakura had exactly what Ino envied most. Not only the Hokage’s training, but also the closeness, trust, and admiration that existed between the two of them.

"Wait." Ino frowned. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Sakura lowered her head while trying to control her crying.

"I went to talk to her about Sasuke."

Ino closed her eyes for a moment.

’Of course it was about Sasuke.’

"I just wanted to find a way for him to come back to the village." Sakura clenched her fists as she spoke. "I asked if there was any possibility of him being forgiven. The conversation kept getting worse and... in the end she said I wasn’t her student anymore."

The tears flowed again.

"She cast me aside, Ino."

Her voice came out broken.

"And now I don’t know what to do."

Ino remained silent for several seconds while absorbing everything. The more she listened, the harder it became to feel angry at Tsunade for her decision.

Because she could imagine exactly how that conversation had gone.

’She really went to the Hokage to defend a missing-nin.’

The problem was that Sakura didn’t seem to realize how serious that was.

"I just wanted Sasuke back..." Sakura continued. "Was that really so wrong?"

Ino slowly exhaled.

Looking at her friend like that, crying over someone who had abandoned the village years ago, she felt something she never expected to feel.

Exhaustion.

’My God... it’s like she hasn’t grown a single day.’

"Look, I understand they’re your friends." Ino crossed her arms before continuing. "But both of them committed crimes against the village. Wait... you talked about Sasuke, but what about Naruto? Did you talk about him to Tsunade too?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Actually... no."

Ino frowned.

"No?"

"I only talked about Sasuke."

The answer made Ino blink several times.

"But Naruto was part of your team too." Her voice became more serious now. "And he helped you more times than I can count. Or am I wrong?"

Sakura didn’t answer immediately.

Because Ino was right.

Naruto had always been there. During missions, during difficult moments, and even in situations where she herself didn’t believe in him.

Even so, when she decided to seek out Tsunade, it wasn’t for Naruto that she entered that office.

It was for Sasuke.

’Because I love him.’

The thought naturally appeared inside her head.

Sakura lightly tightened her hands.

She wanted Naruto back too. She wanted Team 7 to exist again. But whenever she imagined someone returning to Konoha, it was always Sasuke who appeared first.

Always.

"I just wanted a chance to bring him back." Her voice became quieter. "That’s all."

Ino watched her friend for several seconds.

Then she finally understood.

And that didn’t improve the situation.

’My God... this isn’t normal.’

She had been in love with Sasuke for years. She knew exactly what it felt like to admire someone, build expectations, and dream about impossible possibilities.

But this was different.

Very different.

’This doesn’t feel like love.’

The conclusion came effortlessly.

’Love doesn’t make someone ignore everything else.’

Ino took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Sakura... do you realize you just confirmed exactly why Tsunade got angry?"

Her friend slowly raised her face.

"What do you mean?"

"You went to talk about a criminal wanted by the village." Ino kept her tone firm. "And when I asked about Naruto, you practically forgot about him."

Sakura opened her mouth to answer but couldn’t find an immediate response.

"You say you want both of them back." Ino continued. "But every time you talk about it, Naruto becomes a detail and Sasuke becomes the center of everything."

Those words hit harder than Sakura wanted to admit.

Because part of her knew it was true.

Even so, accepting it was another matter entirely.

"I didn’t want things to end like this..." Sakura murmured.

Ino slowly exhaled.

"Honestly? Neither did I."

She ran a hand through her hair before continuing.

"But maybe Tsunade didn’t distance herself because you talked about Sasuke."

"Then why?" Sakura asked almost immediately.

Ino slowly exhaled before answering.

"Because you didn’t talk about Naruto."

Sakura blinked several times, clearly not understanding where her friend was going.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with it." Ino replied. "Think about it. Naruto was close to her. When he killed Jiraiya, Tsunade put him on the village’s wanted list. Dead or alive."

Sakura lowered her gaze slightly.

Ino continued before she could answer.

"But you walked into that office to talk about Sasuke. Not Naruto. Not both of them. Sasuke."

Those words hit harder than Sakura wanted to admit.

"I wanted to help both of them..."

"Maybe." Ino replied without aggression. "But that’s not what you showed."

Sakura remained silent while trying to find a better answer.

Deep down, she knew Ino was right.

She wanted Naruto back.

But when she decided to seek out Tsunade, she wasn’t thinking about him.

She was thinking about Sasuke.

It always ended up being about Sasuke.

"I just wanted a chance to bring him back." Her voice came out quieter this time.

Ino ran a hand through her hair while watching her friend.

This had stopped looking like a crush a long time ago.

She herself had been in love with Sasuke for years, so she knew that feeling better than anyone. But what she was seeing now was different.

’This is starting to look like an obsession.’

The conclusion came naturally.

Because Sakura kept placing Sasuke above everything, even after years of abandonment, crimes, and distance.

"Do you think..." Sakura hesitated before continuing. "Do you think Tsunade might change her mind?"

Ino honestly didn’t know.

After everything that had happened, any answer would just be a guess.

Even so, she didn’t want to completely destroy her friend’s hope.

"Maybe." She answered after several seconds. "But if I were you, I wouldn’t bring up Sasuke with her again for now."

Sakura immediately frowned.

That felt unfair.

In her mind, she was only trying to help someone important.

But after everything she had heard that day, even she could see that insisting on the subject would probably only make things worse.

"I understand..."

The answer came without conviction.

Ino noticed it immediately, but decided not to push further.

Some lessons needed time to be understood.

And perhaps Sakura was finally beginning to take the first step in that direction.

"Thank you for listening and talking with me, Ino." Sakura wiped away some of her tears while trying to regain her composure. "I really needed to talk to someone."

Ino placed a flower on the counter before answering.

"You don’t need to thank me." She shrugged casually. "That’s what friends are for. Whenever you need to talk, you know where to find me."

Sakura managed a small smile after everything that had happened that afternoon. It wasn’t enough to erase her sadness, but at least it eased some of the weight she had been carrying since leaving the Hokage Tower.

"Yeah..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I think I’ll stop by the hospital."

Ino raised an eyebrow.

"The hospital?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded slowly. "If I sit around thinking about this, I’ll go crazy. Working always helps me get my mind back in place."

That at least made sense to Ino.

Sakura might be stubborn, emotional, and completely irrational whenever Sasuke was involved, but she was still one of the village’s best medical ninja. When she focused on her work, she could usually forget everything else for a few hours.

"Then go." Ino replied. "And try not to turn everything into drama again."

Sakura let out a small laugh through her nose.

"I’ll try."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Sakura waved one last time before leaving the flower shop and heading down the street toward the hospital. Her steps seemed a little lighter now, even though her problems remained exactly the same.

Ino watched her friend disappear down the street through the window for several seconds before letting out a long sigh.

’At least she stopped crying.’

But that didn’t solve the main problem.

Sakura was still trapped by Sasuke in a way Ino could no longer understand. The more she thought about the conversation they had just had, the harder it became to see it as love.

It looked like a prison she refused to leave behind.

’I hope she finally starts moving on.’

Because if she kept going down that path, Ino had a feeling Sakura would end up losing far more than just Tsunade’s approval.

And this time, there might not be anyone left to fix the damage afterward.

Support here: patreon.com/22Mirko22

Thank you so much for reading - see you in the next Chapter!