Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 199 Venomous Tongue

When Naruto arrived at the meeting point according to the message, he noticed that Boruto was already waiting there. He waved and greeted him warmly, "Hey! Boruto!"

"Sakura, you're here too." Naruto looked around, his gaze lingering on Sakura for a moment.

Then Naruto turned his gaze back to Boruto and asked curiously, "So, what's the reason for this gathering? Isn't Kakashi-sensei still in the hospital and unable to go on missions?"

Therefore, Naruto speculated that this gathering might be related to Kakashi's absence, but he did not know the specific reason.

In response to Naruto's question, Boruto explained, "So from now until Kakashi-sensei recovers, I will temporarily serve as the team leader."

"In addition, there are some changes in our team; a new member will be joining us," Boruto added.

Naruto was surprised when he heard Boruto's words: "Really? I don't see anyone." Naruto then looked around, but found nothing. There were only the three of them there.

Sakura said softly, "It's okay, we're just a little early. There's still a while before the scheduled meeting time."

Naruto wasn't too bothered by it, and he replied casually, "Never mind, as long as this new team member doesn't have the bad habit of always being late like Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto was already used to Kakashi's frequent lateness, so he didn't care about waiting a little longer, as long as the new team member could show up on time for the mission.

After waiting for a while, as the meeting time approached, they heard light footsteps. The three of them turned around at the same time and saw a figure walking towards them from a distance.

Naruto squinted, his gaze fixed on the approaching figure, and asked, "...Is that our new team member?"

Sai walked up to them, looked at Boruto and the others, a slight smile on his face, and greeted them softly, "Hello."

Upon hearing Sai's greeting, everyone immediately responded, "Oh... hello."

Naruto's gaze fell on Sai in front of him. His first impression of Sai was that Sai's skin was unusually fair, more so than any woman he had ever seen, and even comparable to Orochimaru's.

And this guy's smile always gives me a very uncomfortable feeling.

Sai noticed that Naruto had been staring at him the whole time, so he narrowed his eyes, smiled and said bluntly, "Please stop staring at me like that, or I'll beat you up."

Upon hearing Sai's words, Naruto's lips curled up slightly, and he rubbed his hands together, saying to Sai, "Oh? Then I'll have to see your strength. What makes you so confident?"

Sai heard Naruto's words and, just as he had hoped, reached for the sword on his back. Naruto, on the other hand, pulled out a kunai from his sleeve and confronted Sai, and the atmosphere became tense.

Sai pondered to himself. During the time he had been assigned to Kakashi's team, he had gained some understanding of Sakura's strength, who had been training with the Fifth Hokage in the village. Moreover, he had previously fought Boruto, thus gaining a preliminary understanding of Boruto's strength.

However, the strength of Naruto, who is also training outside the village with Boruto, is still unknown. Sai believes this is a good opportunity to test Naruto's strength through a sparring match.

Sai chuckled, "Although you look like an idiot, I still hope your abilities won't disappoint me, since you don't seem like the smart type."

Naruto pointed at Sai in front of him and said, "Huh? What do you mean by that?! You..."

Sakura, standing to the side, advised them, "Alright... Naruto, he's going to be our comrade from now on. Don't start fighting so soon after you meet..." As teammates who will soon be fighting side by side, harmonious coexistence within the team is even more important.

As Sakura spoke, she turned her gaze to Sai and said frankly and directly, "But you really give off a very uncomfortable feeling." She expressed her opinion on Sai's first impression.

Sai responded dismissively, "Oh, is that so?" However, he didn't take Sakura's comments to heart, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior.

Sakura continued, "Saying things like that will make people dislike you."

Sai paused, looked at Sakura, and said, "I actually quite like ugly girls like you who have such a high opinion of themselves."

“Ugly…” Sakura was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, clearly provoked by Sai’s words. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief, and then her anger erupted. She shouted angrily, “What did you say? Say it again if you dare! Say it!” Sai’s words had crossed her bottom line.

"Alright, alright, Sakura, don't take it to heart." Naruto quickly grabbed Sakura, knowing that once Sakura's superhuman strength was unleashed, the consequences would be no joke.

He worried that if Sakura really attacked, it might cause serious harm to Sai, since Sai didn't look strong and was quite slender.

Boruto said helplessly to Sai, "You really don't know how to talk, you could even be described as cunning. You've angered two of your teammates in no time."

"Hehe, is that so?" Sai smiled faintly, his expression suggesting that he didn't care much about what others thought of him, after all, he was just speaking his mind.

Sai looked at Boruto and continued, "I don't actually have any ill intentions towards you guys. I just really want to get this team member position."

Boruto said calmly, "But I don't think that's what you think."

"Also, you shouldn't try to gain people's trust with that fake smile. Those insincere smiles will only backfire and make you disliked," Boruto continued.

Upon hearing this, Sai put away his deliberate smile and his expression became serious: "I'm sorry, because the book says that smiling can shorten the distance between people, but it seems that it has not achieved the desired effect."

By this time, Sakura and the others had gradually calmed down, and Boruto suggested, "Alright, let's introduce ourselves first."

Although Sakura and Naruto still harbored resentment about their earlier argument, they reluctantly gave their names as Boruto suggested.

Sai simply stated, "My name is Sai."

......