Konoha's Prodigies || Naruto [Sasuke x Sakura x Neji]

Chapter 26

The team of elite Jounins woke up just before daybreak. They enjoyed their last opulent shower in the royal palace and stepped into their ninja attire. Sakura effortlessly swung her large sword to her back and strapped it to her body, her tigress rested on her shoulders.

They waited for each other in front of their doors, the heiress was the last to leave her room. They headed to the entrance of the palace to meet a young king dressed in his uniform waiting for them. His smile was dashing and his blue uniform complimented his hair and eyes very well. He was definitely very attractive, Sakura acknowledged that much. Her emerald eyes were the first pair he caught.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Kakashi greeted as the team leader. All of them bowed together.

"Good morning, how was your night?"

"It had been a pleasant night. We would love to stay longer, but we must leave for our country. Please accept our apologies."

King Kazuki raised his hand to stop the silverette. "It's completely fine, I understand. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." With a last bow, the team walked out of the palace.

Kakashi was in the lead while the two boys were behind him. Sakura was the last and she stopped in front of the king with a smile.

"Good bye, Kazuki." She said softly.

He placed a hand on the back of her head and brought her forehead towards his lips, ignoring the baby tiger who was staring at him. He gently kissed her forehead and said, "Come back anytime."

The reddened pinkette nodded and quickly caught up with her team. She had acted out of character; perhaps it was the empathy she felt. Even her tigress was purring a little too happily, it was teasing her! Of course the guys in her team noticed the close relationship between the two. While Kakashi only smiled behind his mask, the two heirs weren't so happy about it.

As the boat rocked back and forth, Sakura hugged her little tigress while thinking about King Kazuki's proposal and the exchange of kisses between them.

The Uchiha shyly confronted the pinkette and sat next to her with Aka on his head, clawing at his raven hair.

"Hey."

She looked at him, "Hey Sasuke."

"So.. What happened between you and the king?" He asked.

A light blush dusted on her cheeks and Sasuke frowned at how flustered she was.

"Yeah, both of you seem oddly close." Neji suddenly intervened. He brought in a plate of rice balls and shared it with his teammates.

Although the huge boat Kazuki had prepared for them was stocked with sumptuous foods, they could not allow themselves to enjoy such luxury, it simply does not feel right. Not only did he pay for such high ranking ninjas to escort him to his village, he provided them with upmost hospitality which they truly appreciate. He even prepared a grand boat for them which only carried people of a high ranking status called gozabune[1].

Neji sat in front of Sakura while waiting for her answer. He was jealous and so was Sasuke. He did not want to come off as possessive, it simply disturbed him. All he wanted was a peace of mind.

"Nothing much.." She mumbled.

"Yeah, and it was so normal for a king to kiss the forehead of a girl he barely knew." The Hyuga rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure something happened last night as well, he walked you to your room." Sasuke stated. Of course they would know, Sakura wasn't the only strong ninja. Her entire team are elites. They could feel their presence and especially the king's since he has no knowledge about concealing chakras.