Team 7 got a big achievement in being the fastest to complete a great number of Missions, and that too with a perfect score. They were also being the most active of the 'Nine Rookies', making it so their name spread across the village quite fast.

Especially since Naruto's attitude seemed to have improved compared to before. Although the prejudice around him was thick as usual, that didn't change the fact that his actions were changing their view on him. Even if it was little by little.

Prejudice could last a long time when you're far from the subject of your hatred, but how could they keep their hearts cold when being subjected to his 'warmth'. Naruto's nature being like a child's.

Monster… That's what they used to call him.

Many had lost their families to Kurama. The loss of what they'd held close seeped in like a burning fire.

But time was a water that eased all flames…

Allowing their fears of the child to gradually fade.

Team 7 was unaware of how their actions were being remembered. Even if it seemed trivial.

On their time off, Sakura took the team to meet Hinata, Kiba, and Bug Guy (the one with a hood that thinks he's recognisable when everyone in his Clan dresses the exact same way as each other).

Kuranai, the one who was in-charge of them, wasn't around… which was the perfect opportunity for her to get Naruto and Hinata together.

"Naruto, that's the girl who likes you." Sakura pointed at Hinata. This caused Sasuke to be surprised. He didn't know there was someone who would find an idiot like Naruto to be attractive. 

The orange-clothed youth himself was a little embarrassed. No one's actually liked him before...

"That's only your guess. She could just have something she wants to say to me." Naruto could sense negative emotions in other people, but not anything else. Complex emotions were still far too difficult for him to comprehend at this moment. 

Even if there WAS another girl who liked him, he still liked Sakura.

"Sasuke, you're in-charge of distracting Kiba… so Naruto and her can have time to talk. Think of this as a lesson in socialising." Sakura spoke while remembering how introverted he was in the future. 

It would be better if he hanged around with people rather than earning merits. That would help more.

At least he wouldn't turn into some king of outcast like before. Maybe he'd think twice before 'leaving'.

Hopefully…

Sasuke wanted to refuse, but couldn't. This was considering how important this seemed to Sakura. 

He jumped down the tree, approached, and tried his best to socialise with them, but the results were him challenging them to a kunai throwing showdown where the loser buy's lunch.

It really seemed like there was nothing but fighting in this guy's head... Even trying to befriend people turned into gaining new rivals. Not that it mattered though. These results were what she wanted.

"You go wait nearby. I need to talk to her about something first before I give you two some alone time to talk with each other." Sakura lightly slapped Naruto on the back. She ignored the complicated look on his face...

"You really think it'll work out...?"

"Just go wait at that tree." Sakura didn't want to wait about any longer and approached Hinata openly.

The shy girl recognised that pink hair.

"Did your Clan refuse to let you come to that training session or were you too shy to come?" Sakura was the first to speak. 

Hinata was embarrassed about how she couldn't join them when they were training together...

"I am... not confident in Taijutsu." The white-eyes girl tried to make an excuse, but that was useless.

"Isn't that what Training is for? No one trains if they are confident in their abilities." Sakura refuted.

"My Clan wants me to stay away from Naruto."

"Is that what YOU want as well?" She looked at her deeply, causing Hinata to shake her head furiously.

"I don't want to cause him trouble... and want to cheer him on." Hinata couldn't understand why she was saying so much to a girl she barely knew. 

Although she knew Sakura was on Naruto's team, she couldn't understand why this girl wanted her to confess the feelings she currently had for him so spontaneously.

Although Naruto would mostly used Shadow Clones for battle, Sakura on the other hand used them to build up relationships with the people she cared about. 

Even as she had been going around with her team, she DID take her time befriending Hinata in the background. This so she could set Naruto and Hinata up quickly.

It would be wasting time to do this one at a time, so having several clones of her about was useful.

Maybe not as much as Naruto, but having three to four was enough to not get noticed by others.

The first part of Sakura's plan went smoothly. After all, she was friends with Hinata in the future too. 

It was to the point that the white-eyed girl seemed to visibly become more confident in herself.

She was influenced by the active aura around Sakura. 

The friends a person picked in life could change them deeply, and Hinata was no exception.

"Naruto is an idiot who won't understand a girl's feelings unless they're beaten into his head. You have to speak straightforwardly if you want him to understand anything." Sakura encouraged her strongly.

But even as she was talking to her, the two Bloodline Seals in the shape of Hearts integrated into Hinata's Chakra Pathways without her noticing. 

Sakura didn't know how to explain things to a smart girl like Hinata, so she decided this would be the best way to extend her 'gift' to her without wasting word for explanations.

"Thank you, Sakura."

"You're welcome! No go talk to him." Even though she was old on the inside, her pushy nature hadn't changed as she encouraged her again. Then secretly followed to see what they were going to talk about.

Naruto was lost in his thoughts.

The feeling of the girl he liked setting him up with another girl left a bad taste in his mouth. 

Due to the lack of socialising Sakura had done in the latter half of her life, she didn't understand that trying to force a relationship together didn't have the best effects. 

Naruto, being a pubescent kid who had yet to understand what 'liking a girl' meant, was kinda nervous by how sudden everything was.

'She is someone you will fall for. Destiny says so!' The words Sakura said to Naruto appeared in his heart, and he shook his head. 

This knucklehead didn't understand complicated things like destiny and stuff. All he cared about was the here and now. Stuff like fate had zero meaning to him.

But what DID bother him was the negativity that didn't seem to leave his teammates. 

He could feel the almost self-destructive anger that Sasuke was hiding from the surface and how Sakura almost seemed melancholic… no, actually, it was hard to get a read on her emotions at times.

But he could feel there was an overall darkness colouring her heart. 

What was making her so sad all the time?

"Naruto." He heard Hinata call out.

"Oh hey, Sakura said you wanted to say something to me." There was a curious look on Naruto's face as he spoke.

"..." Hinata blushed while hesitating, then brought up her courage to say exactly what she was feeling.

"I... really admire you...!" These words were like a paper bomb that blew up away his previous thoughts.

"You admire me! Haha! You really have good taste in the people you admire! You see, I am definitely going to become the future Hokage and surprise the entire world!" Naruto was ecstatic to find another person who wanted to be his friend. 

What was he thinking about before? Meh, it probably wasn't that important.

Hinata was sincerely happy that he finally heard her feelings. Then talked more with him with a smile.

Sakura, who was watching from afar, gaped at how despite how she confessed her feelings, there wasn't a pink or romantic atmosphere around them. In fact, this was due to her not understanding Hinata that well.

The girl she was pushing forward to meet him had a pure heart that didn't have ulterior motives. 

When she said she admired Naruto's earnest efforts, that was exactly what she meant. 

There was no deeper meaning to her words other than genuine admiration. A love born of purity.

Maybe those feelings could have grown into something more with time, but Hinata was too pure to understand what a 'first crush' was. She really did admire Naruto, and finally told this to her idol,

As a indecisive girl with a weak will, she naturally admired someone like Naruto, who never gave up no matter what was against him. He was everything she wanted to be. Confident, assured, and brave.

Hinata only hoped that she could one day be more like him… as the pure child she was... 

If those feelings had been unheard for a few years like the original timeline, then perhaps she may feel some special feelings for him, but the Hinata of now had yet to become that girl Sakura met in the future.

She watched as the two talked about many things as they took advice from each other. 

Who said a boy and a girl couldn't have a genuine friendship? Sakura felt her world was turning upside down after hearing their topics. The most infuriating one was the last one.

"Hey, you know. Do you know how I can get Sakura to like me?" Naruto brought up the subject expectantly.

"Aren't you two friends?"

"But I want her to like me more." Hinata didn't seem to find anything wrong with that. She gave him some advice.

"Sakura said she liked flowers and... seemed to like it when people praise her." Hinata remembered Sakura's earlier words and decided to give that advice to Naruto. That latter part a direct copy.

She didn't understand what those words meant, but she was sure it was probably good advice if her friend said it.

"Oh?! Tell me more about this!" Naruto was inwardly taking notes as Sakura was hitting her head on a wall.

'What have I done?!' Sakura thought as things weren't going as expected. Why was Hinata actually giving Naruto tips on getting her to like him?! Didn't future Hinata say she liked always like Naruto?

The complexity of the situation was beyond what she could understand, so she decided to leave it alone.

They had got together in the future, so it was probably fine if she let their relationship blossom by itself. Since they now knew each other, it shouldn't take more than four years like the last time for them to get together.

Meanwhile, Naruto was having a lot of fun planning out his next confession and wanted to make it as elaborate as possible. After saying goodbye to Hinata, he went to the store Ino worked at for some nice flowers.

"You're going to confess to Sakura?" A blonde girl asked.

"I'm super duper serious this time! You have to help me pick out some flowers she would like!" Naruto begged.

Ino, who was happy to see that there was someone who just sincerely wanted to confess to the friend got back, decided to help him out. Of course, she wasn't polite. 

Ino spoke out about how dirty his clothes looked… and a bunch of stuff about how girls want confessions.

Naruto also took notes of all the girly nonsense she was saying so he could find some inspiration.

"I got an idea! Thanks, Ino!"

"You're welcome. Be sure to buy more products and not cry to me after you get rejected!" Even though his feelings were sincere, Ino truly didn't have high expectations of him since girls had high standards. It would be a miracle if Naruto actually succeeded.

Meanwhile, Zabuza and Haku were being persuaded by Sakura about joining her team.

Which was a lot easier than she thought.