Ino Yamanaka noticed the boy drawing her.
Her heart skipped a beat without warning, followed by a rush of warmth from her chest to her cheeks.
He was so handsome.
Although the smile on his lips looked a bit... strange.
But it didn't matter.
What a strange fellow, he should at least tell me what he's doing, otherwise how would I know what he's up to?
Calling it a surprise felt a bit stiff.
Ino's mood instantly felt as if it had been drizzled with honey, so elated she almost hummed aloud. She pretended to be calm, tidied her hair, subtly straightened her back, and struck what she considered her most perfect side profile.
She secretly observed him out of the corner of her eye.
The boy's brush moved rapidly across the canvas, the lines fluid and precise, with a nearly mechanical steadiness.
Ino's curiosity outweighed her girlish reserve.
She tiptoed closer, wanting to see how she looked under his brush.
With just one glance, she froze.
The girl in the painting, her features, hairstyle, and clothing—every detail was identical to herself in the mirror, so precise it impressed her.
But... it always felt like something was missing.
Those eyes were hollow, devoid of spirit.
That smile, stiffly plastered on her lips, had no warmth.
It was beautiful, yes, but like a finely crafted doll.
The joy in Ino's heart was diluted by an indescribable sense of strangeness.
She looked at the boy again, only to find him revealing a profound, bottomless sense of loss she had never seen before.
It was a pure, unadulterated despondency, as if the entire world had lost its color.
"Hey."
Ino's curiosity finally won out, and she spoke boldly.
"Why do you look so unhappy?"
Sai stopped drawing.
He looked up, his dark eyes meeting Ino's, his lips still bearing that standard, fake smile.
"Mission failed."
His tone was flat, without any ripple, as if he were reading a dry report.
"I cannot reproduce the 'happiness' expressed by your facial muscle groups."
Ino's smile completely froze.
What?
Facial muscle groups?
This bizarre answer, comparable to a Ninja Academy textbook, caused Ino's brain to crash on the spot.
You and Naruto must have been taught by the same language teacher.
For a moment, she couldn't tell if he was trying a trendy way to flirt or mocking her smile for not being genuine enough.
But the innate perception of the Yamanaka clan allowed her to keenly sense the fluctuations in his mental state.
It was an extreme confusion, a sense of helpless breakdown when facing an incomprehensible problem.
He wasn't joking.
Ino suddenly realized that this boy in front of her truly... didn't understand what a real smile was.
A mix of sympathy and disbelief welled up in her heart.
"Huh?"
She put her hands on her hips, deciding to take on the role of "teacher" herself.
"What's so hard about this? I'll teach you!"
Ino cleared her throat and told what she considered her funniest joke.
"A turtle was injured and sent a snail to buy medicine. Two hours passed, and the snail hadn't returned. The turtle got anxious: 'If he doesn't come back, I'll die!'"
Sai looked at her expressionlessly, waiting for the punchline.
"Just then, the snail's voice came from outside the door: 'You say that again and I'm not going!' Hahahaha... funny, right?"
The air was utterly silent.
Only a few sparrows flew past the eaves, leaving a string of chirping noises.
Sai's lips still maintained that perfect curve, but his eyes were filled with bewilderment.
Ino's laughter awkwardly caught in her throat.
She refused to give up, took a deep breath, and began making all sorts of exaggerated funny faces—cross-eyed, sticking out her tongue, scrunching up her face.
"Pfft—"
"How about this? This should be funny, right?"
Sai's reaction surprised her.
Like the most precise mirror, he flawlessly mimicked every one of Ino's funny faces.
The exact same cross-eyes.
The exact same sticking out of the tongue.
But on that handsome face, there was still no emotion.
Like a puppet wearing a human skin mask, clumsily imitating the joys and sorrows of living people.
The scene was both comical and imbued with an indescribable sadness.
"Pffthahahaha..."
Ino herself couldn't hold back, she clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she bent over, tears streaming down her face.
"I can't... you guy... too funny..."
Ino's genuine laughter was crisp and infectious.
This laughter, like an unparseable stream of commands, rushed into Sai's brain, throwing his emotions into turmoil once again.
He stared blankly at the golden-haired girl who was shaking with laughter.
For the first time, he felt that his manual, which recorded all social interaction methods, might be a piece of waste paper that needed to be destroyed.
Ino laughed for a good while before stopping. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked at the still bewildered Sai, and gave up on this inefficient teaching method.
She suddenly thought of something.
Ino grabbed Sai's wrist.
"Come with me!"
A warm, soft touch came from his wrist.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Sai's body instantly stiffened, as if struck by lightning, his mind blank, letting her pull him into that colorful flower sea.
The Yamanaka Flower Shop was filled with the rich, mixed scent of various flowers.
Ino led Sai to a carefully cultivated, newly bloomed rare orchid.
The orchid's petals were a dreamy purple, edged with a golden rim, shimmering faintly in the sunlight.
"Look!"
Ino's face was brimming with unconcealed pride and joy.
"This is 'Purple Gold Dream,' it took me three whole months to keep it alive!"
"When I saw it bloom this morning, I felt so, so happy inside! This feeling is what a heartfelt smile is!"
Sai's gaze slowly shifted from the brilliant orchid to Ino's face, radiant with pride.
Her eyes seemed to hold a sky full of stars, sparkling.
Her smile was no longer a deliberate performance but bloomed from her heart, carrying the scent of sunshine.
As if by a strange impulse, Sai subconsciously picked up his brush.
He didn't even think, merely following an instinct, and began to sketch again.
This time, the portrait on the paper, though still a bit stiff.
But in those eyes, there was a faint glimmer that he himself hadn't even noticed.
Meanwhile.
On the rooftop across the street, a masked Root Ninja watched it all.
The pen in his hand rapidly recorded on a scroll.
"Target 'Sai,' contact with Ino Yamanaka. Emotions show weak but observable fluctuations. Mission assessment needs to be readjusted."
...Evening, Root Base.
Under Naruto's modifications, the oppressive atmosphere was no longer as heavy as before, but discipline remained strict.
Sai stood before Naruto with a stack of drawings.
"Reporting, Political Commissar."
He presented the drawings, his voice tinged with undeniable disappointment.
"Mission failed, I cannot draw a satisfactory piece."
Everything he drew, whether flowers, buildings, or people, was precise and accurate.
But he just wasn't satisfied.
Naruto didn't look at the drawings.
His gaze fell on Sai's hand.
Clutched tightly between his fingers was a half-wilted iris.
Ino had casually given it to him when they parted ways.
Naruto smiled.
"Since you can feel dissatisfaction."
His voice echoed in the empty secret room.
"That proves you know what would satisfy you."
Naruto picked up the portrait of Ino.
The subtle glimmer in the girl's eyes in the painting did not escape him.
The flaw was being repaired.
Although the process was somewhat... unexpectedly gentle.
But that wasn't important.
The result was the only thing that needed to be evaluated.
"The mission has not failed."
Naruto handed the drawings back to Sai.
"In fact, there has been great progress. Tomorrow, the mission continues."
"No deadline, until you draw a satisfactory piece."
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