Chapter 33

As the morning sunlight streamed through his window, he got up from bed, stretched, and made his way to the bathroom. The water was refreshingly cold against his skin as he showered, but before he could fully relax, a knock on the door caught his attention.

With a sigh, he turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist before heading toward the door.

When he opened it, he was greeted by Sakura, standing there with a friendly smile.

“Yo,” he said casually.

The greeting barely registered in Sakura’s mind. The moment her eyes landed on him, her thoughts froze. His well-toned upper body was still damp, droplets of water running down his chest.

His powerful thighs and defined calves were on full display, and—whether she meant to or not—her gaze briefly flickered lower, catching sight of the outline beneath the towel.

Her brain short-circuited.

‘Oh my god.’

It all happened in the span of a second, but to her, it felt like an eternity.

“You alright?” Travis asked, snapping her out of her daze.

Sakura quickly straightened, forcing herself to focus. “Uh—yes! Yes, I’m fine! Sorry, I was just thinking about something.” She cleared her throat, trying to sound composed. “I actually came to see if you’d like a tour of the village. Since you’re still new here, I figured introducing you to some of the people might be a good idea.”

Travis nodded. “That’s nice of you. Give me a moment, though—I was in the middle of something.” He gestured inside. “Come in. It’d be rude to leave you standing outside.”

“Thanks,” she said, stepping inside. She glanced around, taking in the sparse interior—there was barely any furniture, just a bed and an empty kitchen area.

“Where should I sit?” she asked, turning back to him.

Travis shrugged. “You can sit on my bed for now.”

Sakura nodded and sat down while he returned to the bathroom. The sound of running water resumed as he continued his shower.

Left alone in his room, Sakura found herself in an unexpected internal battle with her thoughts.

‘Holy crap, I can’t believe I’m in a guy’s room,’ she thought. ‘And not just any guy—Travis, of all people.’

She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves. ‘The first guy I thought I’d be visiting in his room would’ve been Sasuke… but I guess that’s not happening anymore.’

A strange warmth settled in her chest.

‘Not that I mind. Travis is… interesting. He’s strong, he’s confident, and he actually seems like a nice guy. Plus… he’s hot. Not gonna lie.’

Then, another thought crept into her mind.

‘Let’s just hope Ino doesn’t try anything. That bitch always has to compete with me over guys.’

Her gaze wandered across the room before landing on his pillow. She stared at it for a moment, her fingers twitching slightly.

‘No… I shouldn’t…’

But the temptation was too strong.

Glancing toward the bathroom door to make sure he was still occupied, she leaned down and pressed her face against his pillow, inhaling deeply.

Her eyes widened slightly.

‘His hair smells really nice… I’ve noticed how well-groomed he is, too.’ She bit her lip. ‘A guy who takes care of himself? That’s already a huge plus.’

Just then, the water stopped running.

Sakura shot up like she’d been caught committing a crime.

A moment later, Travis stepped out, now fully dressed in his usual attire.

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Sakura quickly composed herself and nodded. “Right! Let’s go.”

...

They left his apartment and made their way into the village. As they walked, Travis noticed something peculiar—he no longer sensed any ANBU watching him.

‘Huh. Guess they trust me now… or at least they’re pretending to.’

His lips curled into a smirk.

‘Oh, I almost forgot about that ugly-ass Danzo. Meh. Not my problem. I’ll let Sasuke handle that.’

As Travis and Sakura strolled through the village, they ran into some familiar faces from the main cast. The first to spot them was Kiba, who was standing with his loyal companion, Akamaru.

Kiba’s nose twitched as he caught the scent of an unfamiliar person. His brows furrowed as he watched Travis walk past. “Who’s that guy?” he asked.

Shino, standing beside him, adjusted his glasses. “Not sure,” he replied in his usual monotone voice.

Just then, Naruto arrived, full of energy as always. “Yo, guys!”

Kiba grinned, his sharp sense of smell confirming Naruto’s return. “Naruto, you’re back!”

“Yeah!” Naruto beamed before glancing at Shino. “Wait… who’s this guy?”

Shino crossed his arms, feigning disappointment. “Wow. You don’t recognize me? That’s really saddening. I’d expect you to recognize me since we’re comrades and all.”

Naruto blinked, then smacked his fist into his palm as realization dawned on him. “Oh, I remember now! Shino!! Man, you haven’t changed—well, apart from your appearance, of course.”

His gaze then drifted toward Travis and Sakura. “Wait, is that Travis?”

“Oh, so his name is Travis,” Kiba muttered, eyeing the newcomer. “Is he your new team member or something?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head. “Something like that. Anyway, gotta go, guys—see ya!”

Before they could say anything else, Naruto sprinted toward Travis and Sakura. However, he suddenly stopped at the next corner when he saw them talking to someone.

It was Hinata.

Sakura smiled at her. “Hinata, how have you been?”

Hinata’s entire body tensed as she turned and saw Naruto looking at her with a friendly smile.

“Hey, Hinata! How have you been?” Naruto asked.

Her face turned beet red in an instant. The next second—

Thud!

She fainted.

“Eh? What just happened?” Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

Sakura crouched down, shaking her lightly. “Hinata, are you okay?”

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, but the moment she saw Naruto again—

Thud!

She fainted again.

Travis watched the scene unfold and sighed internally. ' Yeah… she’s gonna be a hard nut to crack.'

He briefly considered using his abilities to change fate and make her fall for him, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Nah, that’d be cheating. I wanna do this the old-school way.

He turned to Naruto. “Let’s go for now.”

He then glanced at Sakura. “Thanks for the tour, Sakura. I’ll see you later.”

Sakura watched as the two walked away and let out a small sigh. ' I wanted to see if he wanted to grab some food… Guess I’ll have to try later. '

As they walked, Naruto was reminded of his current task. Lady Tsunade had sent him to find some people willing to assist with an upcoming mission, but so far, he hadn’t had much luck.

That’s when they ran into Shikamaru.

Naruto perked up. “Shikamaru! Just the guy I was looking for!”

Shikamaru looked at him with a lazy expression. “Let me guess—you want my help with something?”

“Yeah! We need some backup for this next mission.”

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temple. “Sorry, but I’ve got a ton of work because the Chunin Exams are coming up. I can’t help you.”

“Man, who can I ask now?” Naruto groaned.

“I can help.”

Naruto and Travis turned to see Chouji approaching.

“Oh, Chouji! You sure about that?” Naruto asked.

“Don’t you have a mission with Asuma-sensei?”Shikamaru asked.

Chouji shrugged. “I can’t just ignore a request from a friend.” He then turned to Travis, giving him a once-over. “Also, who’s this guy?”

Naruto grinned. “Oh, this is Travis, our newest substitute team member!”

Chouji extended his hand. “Ohh, cool. Sup, bro? Name’s Chouji—nice to meet you.”

Travis shook his hand. “Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

As they stood there, a figure nearby was silently sketching on a scroll. Sai, hidden from view, finished his drawing and tapped the paper.

In an instant, the ink morphed into a creature that sprang to life—a dark, inky beast that lunged toward Naruto and Travis.

But before it could even get close, Travis was already prepared.

A translucent blue barrier materialized in an instant, stopping the ink beast dead in its tracks.

Shikamaru and Chouji’s eyes widened. “What the—?”

Naruto stared at the glowing blue wall. “Woah… that’s cool.”

Travis glanced in Sai’s direction, unimpressed.' I already knew he was there.'

Sai watched the scene unfold before quietly putting his scroll away. Without a word, he turned and walked off.

Naruto frowned. “Who was that guy?”

Shikamaru shook his head. “Dunno. Anyway, I’m heading back. See you guys later.”

As Shikamaru walked off, Travis continued on his way.

That’s when he passed by Ino.

She gave him a full-body scan, her eyes taking in every detail.

' Damn… he’s pretty hot.'

Travis smirked to himself.

' Time for the Sasuke retrieval mission. Well it was originally Sasoris spy mission. I’d better get ready. Aha who am i kidding. Wonder who I’ll be fighting? Maybe Orochimaru for a bit…'


TO BE CONTINUED