Sasuke duduk pasrah dengan membenamkan wajahnya pada lengannya di dalam sebuah penjara

sempit dan kumuh yang hanya disinari oleh bara api temaram. Di sampingnya duduk seorang pria
kurus dengan jubah kumuh dan wajah cekung tampak melamun memikirkan nasib malangnya.

Tiba-tiba pintu penjara dibuka dan seorang penjaga bertubuh kekar masuk ke dalamnya dengan
membawa sepiring makanan. Penjaga itu dengan acuh tak acuh meletakkan piring itu di hadapan
mereka berdua.

“What are you trying to do, starve us?” shouted Sasuke loudly in anger to the guard who exited the
sel tahanan.

Si pria kurus di samping Sasuke dengan lesu mendekatkan piring itu padanya dan mulai
mengambilnya dengan tangan dan melahapnya.

“Hey, this looks good,” kata Sasuke dengan penasaran dan perut keroncongan sambil merangkak
mendekati si pria kurus itu. Ia lantas mengambil makanan itu dan humming softly while realizing it
tastes much better than he expected.

“Say, that is good,” said Sasuke again, chewing another bit. “What is it?” he asked curiously.

“Goats' eyes,” answered pria kurus nonchalantly.

Sasuke immediately stopped eating dan mendorong piring itu kembali ke dekat si pria kurus.

“lt's a special treat. Today is my birthday,” murmured the pria kurus.

“Yeah?” asked Sasuke dengan tidak percaya, “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” answered the man nonchalantly again.

Sasuke instantly scoffed in disbelief, realizing that the man’s answered and his old appearance were
contrast with one another.

“Well, how long have you been here?” asked Sasuke again, curiously.

“Eighteen years,” replied the man in deadpanned expression.

“What's your name?” asked Sasuke indifferently.

“Turhan,” murmured the old man.

“Now, look, Turhan, is there any way out of this place?” asked Sasuke again, a bit whispering.

“Oh, yes,” the old man nodded weakly before pointing out to the cell door, “We all go out the same
way.”

“Well, l'm not going out that way, l can assure you,” stated Sasuke firmly.

“Do not do anything foolish, stranger. They have an expert here whose only task is thinking of new
ways to cause exquisite pain,” warned the old man with nonchalant demeanor.

“Well, don't worry about me. l've studied commando tactics,” replied Sasuke smugly, memangku
lengannya di paha kanannya yang terangkat.

Tak lama, seorang penjaga berwajah seram masuk kembali ke dalam sel tahanan dan dengan paksa
mencengkeram bahu Sasuke dari belakang.

Sasuke yang tidak awas dengan serangan itu pun tak bisa membela dirinya.
“You!” shouted penjaga in anger.

“Uchiha Sasuke, sophomore student at Konoha High School. And that's all the information l'm
required to give,” stated Sasuke indifferently with deadpanned expression as he struggled to stand
up.

“Come!” shouted the guard in thin patience as he clutched Sasuke’s shoulders, “Majestic One will see
you!”

He then shoved Sasuke out of the door.

“lt's about time l got to see somebody in authority,” stated Sasuke firmly before completely
disapperead from the cell, “l'll put in a good word for you too, Turhan.”

Not long after, Sasuke found himself in surprised and bamboozled to enter a woman’s bedroom that
decorated with golden teratai yang terukir di dinding berwarna merah. There, in bed, lay a beautiful
Persian woman complete with hiasan rambut emas dan gaun silky gold yang menghiasi lekukan
tubuh sensualnya.

“Halt!” shouted the penjaga sambil mendorong tubuh Sasuke untuk maju mendekati si wanita seksi
itu.

“What's--?” protes Sasuke with a pout.

Penjaga itu lantas mendorong tubuh Sasuke lagi untuk semakin lebih dekat ke wanita asing itu dan
memaksanya untuk duduk bersimpuh di hadapannya.

Wanita itu terpukau dengan ketampanan Sasuke yang baru pernah ditemukannya dan dengan
tersenyum menggoda menyentuh dagu pria itu.

“So thou art the new slave,” murmured the woman in red lips with seductive tone, “They told me
you were not right in the head. lt be true.”

Sasuke winced in uncomfortability while the woman kept caressing his cheeks.

“lt is not so. l'm perfectly normal,” Sasuke scoffed disdainfuly.

“They tell me you come from a far-off country,” said the woman again, getting her face even closer to
Sasuke.

“Yeah. Only they don't know how far off,” replied Sasuke nonchalantly with a scowl.

“And how did you get here?” asked the woman again even more aroused by Sasuke’s typical harsh
response. She toyed with Sasuke’s untidy necktie.

“l can't tell you,” frowned Sasuke, pulled his ujung necktie back from the woman’s hand.
“Why not?” asked the woman, smiling faintly, playfully icking Sasuke’s torn off shirt.

“You'd think l wasn't right in the head,” stated Sasuke firmly.

“Peel me a grape,” asked the woman with a breathy voice as she lay down again on her bed.

“Don't be silly,” Sasuke scoffed mockingly.

Unbenkownst to him, the guard instantly tore off the shirt of the back of Sasuke.

“Hey, watch the shirt!” protested Sasuke, grumbling.

Another guard tiba-tiba mencambuk punggung Sasuke dengan keras dan membuat pria itu
mengerang kesakitan.

“You really know how to hurt a fella,” mocked Sasuke while pointing at the two guards behind him.

“l'm-- l'm sorry about all this. l really don't even belong here. l don't even have a visa,” kilah Sasuke
dengan wajah tertekuk.

Sebuah cambuk kembali bersarang di punggung Sasuke.

“You're looking for a crack in the mouth!” shouted Sasuke in growl while pointing at the guard yang
memegang cambuk.

Secara mengejutkan, wanita seksi yang memerintah Sasuke tadi menampar dengan keras pipi pria
itu, “l do not stand for insolence in my slaves!”

“Now, wait a minute,” protested Sasuke while caressing his painful cheek, “Let's get something
straight!”

He then yelled at the guard who almost landed another cambuk at him, making him stopped before
turning back at the lady with sharp gaze, “l am not your slave. I happen to be a high school student in
reputable school.”

“High school?” asked the woman in confusion, furrowing her perfectly shaped brows.

“Look, let's not go into that right now. All l want to do is get out of here. l lost a friend of mine. l
simply want to go and search for her,” explained Sasuke in frustration.

The woman surprisingly caressed Sasuke’s face again, “Well, that's your trouble. You're preoccupied
with women.”

Sasuke scoffed in exasperation.

“Well, l have someone who can take care of that,” whispered the woman gently, kept giving Sasuke’s
face unnecesarry touch that left him even angrier. He clenched his fists, gatal untuk cepat-cepat
mendorong jemari lentik wanita itu untuk lepas dari wajahnya, tapi ia terpaksa mengurungkan
niatnya karena tidak ingin mendapatkan cambukan lain dari penjaga.

The woman suddenly clapped loudly while smiling. She kept caressing Sasuke’s chin.

Sasuke’s widened his eyes in shock when he saw the giant guy : Ali was coming back, standing
proudly and smugly in front of him.

“l have been searching everywhere for thee, son of a jackal!” shouted Ali in anger while pointing at
Sasuke.

“He needs to be tamed. See to it,” perintah si wanita seksi yang menyentuh dada Sasuke dengan
menggoda.

“With great pleasure, Princess Fatima,” said Ali enthusiastically while he approached Sasuke and
shoving his body dengan kasar.

Sasuke merasa lega ketika melihat ada sebuah asap di balik tirai jendela ruangan itu, mengira itu
adalah wujud Sakura.

“l wouldn't do anything l'm gonna be sorry for, pal,” threatened Sasuke bluntly.

“On your feet!” shouted Ali while memaksa Sasuke untuk berlutut di hadapannya, “Now!”

Sasuke refused to bow down and tried to shove the giant’s hands from clutching his shoulders.

“Listen, if there's anything l can't stand it's a bully who hits women, son of a pig!” bellowed Sasuke
while dengan kurangajar menunjuk ke wajah si raksasa.

He then smugly slapped the giant’s face alternatively and leaving him groaned even angrier.

“And there's more where that came from, chum!” threatened Sasuke with no fear in his eyes,
especially when he saw the smoke outside the window was moving closer.

With angry groan, Ali bersimpuh di hadapan Putri Fatima, “l ask thy permission. Let me break him in
half with my bare hands!” he bellowed impatiently while clentching his fists.

“You have my permission,” said princess fatima firmly.

“l don't think you're gonna break anybody in half with your bare hands!” shouted Sasuke while
panickedly walked backwards when the giant approached him dengan gusar.

“Okay, Gennie, get him!” seru Sasuke while pointing at the smoke that approached him from behind.

His panicked grew and his heart raced uncontrollably when he found out the smoke was coming from
a food that was carried by a maid.
“Luncheon, Your Highness,” said the maid while gracefully brought the food tray closer to Princess
Fatima.

Sasuke quickly menghindari pukulan si raksasa dengan meluncur di bawah ketiak pria itu dan berlari
mendekati mangkuk besar berisi makanan berasap itu.

“Now, come on, Genie! Stop fooling around!” he shouted impatiently towards the bowl. “l mean, this
is you, isn't it?” he shouted in anger before Ali snatched his hair strongly from behind.

Meanwhile, Sakura in her extravagant palace was reuniting with both of her parents after such long
time.

“l came as quickly as l could to tell you the news,” announced Sakura with beaming smile and
gleaming in her eyes.

She then knelt in front of her mother and hugging her warmly. “Oh, Mama. l can hardly wait for you
to meet your new son-in-law,” she murmured with teary eyes.

“Oh, my dear,” said her mother while gently caressing her pink hair, “What does he do for a living, my
daughter?”

“He is a swimmer, Mama,” said Sakura with wider smile.

“From this he makes a living?” asked her father increduously.

“He is most clever,” murmured Sakura in blushing cheeks while imagining Sasuke’s face.

“When will the wedding take place?” asked her mother with a smile.

“At once. l wish you could have seen him attack Ali and risk his life for me,” said Sakura with too
much enthusiasm while gently patting her father’s arm.

“Our ancient proposal custom,” remarked her father while nodding understandingly.

“You shall be married here in your house,” tawar ibunya dengan membelai wajah Sakura. However,
she started crying karena terharu, “l'll make the wedding arrangements now.”

Her mother swiftly rose up from her seat and walked meninggalkan Sakura dengan ayahnya di ruang
tamu.

Sakura then happily hugged her father tightly, their cheeks touching warmly. “l shall go and tell him,
Papa. He'll be so thrilled,” exclaimed Sakura in a very wide smile.

On the other hand, Sasuke was tortured by Ali in his first sel isolasinya.

The poor man’s hands terikat dengan kuat di atas kepalanya dan tubuhnya penuh luka cambukan.
Ali dengan garang mengambil garpu tajam panjang yang sedang dipanaskan di atas bara api dalam
tungku di hadapannya dan mengarahkan benda itu ke dagu Sasuke.

“Think about it,” geram Ali with smug smirk, “lt's almost ready.”

Pria raksasa itu lantas mengembalikan benda tajam itu di atas tungku dan dengan gusar pergi
meninggalkan sel.

Sasuke menghela napas lega karena setidaknya garpu panas itu tidak jadi merobek wajahnya.

Jantungnya nyaris copot ketika tiba-tiba saja Sakura muncul kembali di sampingnya setelah seharian
ia menghilang entah kemana.

“l'm sorry l was detained, master,” said Sakura nonchalantly while menyenderkan tangannya pada
batang kayu besar dimana kedua tangan Sasuke terikat.

“Genie, where have you been?” shouted Sasuke in grump.

“l've been preparing for my wedding,” said Sakura with a wide smile.

“Your wedding?” Sasuke furrowed his brows. He then scoffed in irritation, “Oh, sure, you're back
home now and you wanna settle down,get married.”

“Are you not pleased?” asked Sakura with flirtatious smile.

“Oh, sure,” murmured Sasuke with a smirk.

“lt's the best news l've ever heard in my life,” he quipped sarcastically at Sakura, “And you'll make
someone a wonderful wife.”

“l shall try very hard,” said Sakura determinetly while making her face closer to Sasuke.

“lt's a big day for you, isn't it?” asked Sasuke in scowl, averting his gaze from her.

“For both of us,” Sakura nodded enthusiastically with beaming eyes.

“Yeah, for both of you,” sneered Sasuke.

“lt will be a beautiful wedding,” remarked Sakura while gently touching Sasuke’s lebam cheek.

“Well, l wish l could see it,” said Sasuke with a smirk.

Sakura then stiffly folded her arms and blinked quickly.

All out sudden, Sasuke was shocked to find himself in a huge extravagant palace with turban dan
jubah hitam mewah. Sementara itu, Sakura telah mengganti pakaiannya menjadi pakaian pernikahan
ala wanita timur tengah dengan hiasan rambut dan kerudung pink khasnya yang masih melekat.
Sasuke mengedarkan pandangannya ke sekeliling melihat ada banyak sekali orang dengan jubah
mewah di sekitarnya dan ia lebih tidak percaya dengan pakaiannya sendiri.

Belum sempat Sasuke memahami apa yang barusan terjadi, tiba-tiba Sakura menggamit lengannya
dan membawanya ke hadapan kedua orangtuanya.

Sasuke tak dapat mengontrol detak jantungnya ketika berhadapan langsung dengan kedua orangtua
Sakura yang tampak seperti pasangan Raja dan Ratu dari kerajaan kuno Persia.

“This is Uchiha Sasuke, a talented swimmer,” Sakura introduced Sasuke to her parents with a proud
smile while clutching his arm.

“This is my mother,” said Sakura gently while pointing at her mother.

Sakura’s mother tampak terpesona dengan ketampanan Sasuke. Ia dengan senang hati menjulurkan
tangan kanannya pada pria itu.

Sasuke dengan gugup menyalami tangan Sakura’s mother, “Well, how do you do, ma'am?”

“Pleasure,” responded Sakura’s mother with shy smile.

“And this is my father,” said Sakura, memperkenalkan laki-laki paruh baya dengan janggut
kebanggaannya.

“How do you do, sir?” greeted Sasuke stiffly out of nervousness.

Sakura’s father responded, “Nice to meet you.”

“Will you excuse us? l think we should go attend to our other guests,” said Sakura while winking at
her mother and grabbed her wrists before leaving Sasuke with her father.

“That's quite a wonderful girl you have there, sir,” said Sasuke stammeredly with stiff expression.

“lt is sad,” suddenly Sakura’s father’s expression turned somber, “We were such a happy family
before the tragedy overtook us.”

“Tragedy?” Sasuke furrowed his brows.

“When our daughter refused to marry the wicked Jinn and he turned her into a genie,” said Sakura’s
father with melancholic stare.

“Yes, that,” Sasuke nodded nonchalantly, “Well, every family has its little problems.”

“Will the wedding be soon, sir?” asked Sasuke in uncomfortableness since it was schorching hot
wearing this kind of thick garment, “l'd like to see it, but l have to get back to Cocoa Beach.”

“What is this Cocoa Beach?” Sakura’s father gantian mengerutkan dahinya dengan bingung.
“lt's a little town east of… Baghdad,” kilah Sasuke with nervous grin. “l wish you will be very happy.”

“Thanks,” murmured Sakura’s father with genuine smile.

Suddenly someone patted Sasuke’s arm gently. “May Allah bless you,” said a woman with long white
pashmina veil, smiling at him.

“Well, thank you very much, ma'am,” responded Sasuke deadpannedly.

“l must say, your guests are certainly friendly,” komentar Sasuke blurtly.

“lt is our custom to wish the groom good luck,” said Sakura’s father with a faint grin.

A jolted of realization immediately woke Sasuke up. He looked at his attire and realized that
something was off, “The groom, huh?”

He then pondered for a while, “The groom, huh?”

He quickly ran meninggalkan ayah Sakura dan mencari-cari gadis itu di antara lautan tamu undangan,
“Genie!”

Sasuke swiftly pulled Sakura who was talking to one of guest closer to him, “Genie-- Pardon me.”

He then grabbed Sakura’s slender wrists dan berusaha keluar dari sela-sela kerumunan yang padat,
“Pardon me.”

“Excuse us,” murmured Sakura nervously.

The two of them stopped in the quieter corner. Sasuke’s piercing gaze instantly landed on Sakura, “l
want to have a little word with you.”

“What has happened to upset thee, master?” asked Sakura in confusion, realizing there’s tense in
Sasuke’s expression.

“Well, there's been some kind of ridiculous mistake,” sneered Sasuke in protests, “Everybody here
seems to think l'm the groom.”

“What is the mistake?” Sakura smiled anxiously.

“You don't think we're getting married, do you?” snapped Sasuke dengan menggerutu.

“Of course,” Sakura nodded. “You proposed marriage to me.”

Sasuke shook his head, mengeratkan genggamannya pada pergelangan tangan Sakura, “l did no such
thing.”

“Did you not attack Ali and risk your life to avenge me?” asked Sakura in puzzlement.
“Well, yes, but--,” Sasuke groaned in frustation.

“Well, in Baghdad, that is a proposal of marriage,” Sakura cut off Sasuke’s words with innocent
explanation.

Sasuke scoffed, “Now you tell me. l'm afraid you'll have to call off the wedding or find yourself
another groom, or--”

He laughed in frustation before continued, “Yeah, that's it. You must have known some wonderful
chaps back in the old days.”

Sakura quickly held both of Sasuke’s cheeks, “l do not want another groom. l want you.”

“Genie, l can't marry you,” Sasuke stated firmly while swiftly removing Sakura’s hands from his face.

Sakura started sobbing and touching her own cheeks, “You hate me!” She then squeeshed her
cheeks, “You think l am ugly.”

“Of course l don't,” murmured Sasuke, almost inaudibly, noticing his cheeks felt flushed out of
sudden.

“Then you will change your mind?” pleaded Sakura again while caressing Sasuke’s cheek.

“No. No, l won't, and that's final!” snapped Sasuke in annoyance.

Sakura grunted in anger, “So be it!”

She then stiffly folded her arms and blinked.

Sasuke magically back in his isolation cell with his worn-out uniform shirt dengan kedua tangan yang
kembali terikat di atasnya. Ia merasakan kembali rasa perih di sekujur tubuhnya yang terluka dan
menganggap bahwa pesta pernikahan yang dihadirinya lima detik yang lalu hanyalah halusinasinya.

“Nothing personal,” murmured Sasuke to himself. His gaze was vacant but beaming with passion at
the same time, “l think you're beautiful.”

At the same time, Ali rushed to enter Sasuke’s cell. “Oh, do you? That won't help you!” he snapped in
grumble.

Ali lantas mengambil garpu panas dari atas tungku dan mendekatkannya ke bibir Sasuke, “The iron is
ready. Let's start with your tongue.”

“For a man who's about to die, you speak with a loud mouth,” threatened Sasuke dengan gusar.

“What are you talking about?” snapped Ali in exasperation.

“Your hourglass is running out,” mocked Sasuke. “What do you think they'll do to you when they find
that Turhan has escaped?” kilahnya, menakut-nakuti Ali.

“Turhan's escaped?” shouted Ali in disbelief, “That's impossible! Turhan is in his cell.”

Ali then put back the fork yang panas dan tajam kembali ke atas tungku.

Sasuke scoffed mockingly, “Well, l'm glad you think so.”

“l will find out,” snapped Ali in grunt. He then grabbed Sasuke’s collar dengan kasar, “And if this is a
trick to gain time when l return to you, my pleasure will be doubled,” he threatened before hastily
exited out of Sasuke’s cell.

Sasuke sighed loudly, at least he could spare himself this time. “Genie. Genie, now come on. Get me
out of here, please!” He shouted in frustation.

Suddenly Sasuke came back at the wedding, unbruised, and back with his thick black garment and
turban. However, his hands position remained the same eventhough he had already not unbounded
anymore.

Shockingly, Sakura’s father approached Sasuke with concerned out of nowhere, “Do your arms
trouble thee?”

Sasuke’s heart raced faster but he tried to remain his composure and pretended to stretch his arms
upwards, “No. No, sir. l was just-- l was just stretching.”

“l would have a word with thee, my son,” asked Sakura’s father with a faint smirk.

“And l would have a word with thee, sir,” said Sasuke stammeredly. “There's something we ought to
get straight right now,” he continued while biting his lips.

“Yes, of course, the dowry,” said Sakura’s father casually.

Sasuke raised his brow, “The dowry?” He continued with more exasperation, “Well, that's it. There's
just not going to be--”

However, his words were abruptly cut off by Sakura’s father, “Yesterday a man was beheaded
because he failed to provide sufficient dowry.”

Sasuke almost had a heart attack hearing that.

“May Allah have mercy on his miserable soul,” exclaimed Sakura’s father in melancholic tone while
pointing upwards.

“Beheaded?” Sasuke furrowed her brows in confusion.

Sakura’s father then hugged Sasuke’s tense shoulders, “Tell me, my son how many camels dost thou
have?”
Sasuke pondered hard for a while and stutteredly responded, “Why-- Why, none. l--”

“None?” Sakura’s father snapped in anger out of sudden, startled Sasuke.

“Well, l mean, l have none with me,” kilah Sasuke with frantic heartbeats.

“My daughter tells me that thou art a prince among princes,” said Sakura’s father with a smirk.

Sasuke faked a laugh, “Well, you know how she exaggerates.”

“l would wager that thou hast a king's ransom in goats and oxen,” quipped Sakura’s father with a
wide smile.

“Yeah, well, l can honestly say l have as many goats and oxen as anyone in Cocoa Beach,” responded
Sasuke sarcastically.

“l'm pleased to hear that,” said Sakura’s father eagerly while patting Sasuke’s shoulders.

“Would you excuse me, sir? l want to go and see the bride,” kilah Sasuke dengan nervous sebelum
pergi mencari Sakura.

Sakura was talking to a female guest before Sasuke hastily snatched her wrists, “Genie. Excuse me.
May l have a word with you, please?”

Sakura confusedly followed his brisk pace until they stopped in the quieter corner.

“Listen, when l get you home--” scolded Sasuke in hushed tone.

“We are home, master, unless you would prefer a bigger palace,” quipped Sakura innocently.

“Do you know what you're doing to me?” scolded Sasuke again in frustartion. “Ali is waiting for me
with a hot iron, your father is ready to have me beheaded! And l'm about to miss an important
swimming training in Cocoa Beach!” He continued lashed out his anger towards Sakura.

“That is more important than our wedding?” snapped Sakura while folding her arms.

“l told you, there isn't going to be any wedding,” stated Sasuke firmly with piercing gaze.

However, as he realized Sakura was ready to send him back in prison in just a second, Sasuke dengan
pasrah mengembalikan posisi lengannya seperti terikat di atas kepalanya.

Dan benar saja, tak butuh waktu lama, ia kembali terikat di dalam sel sempitnya dengan Ali yang
sudah tidak sabar menunggu untuk mencabut lidahnya dengan grapu panas.

“So thou tried to trick me!” snapped Ali in furious while pointing the fork at Sasuke’s face. “Turhan
was in his cell!”

“Well, you can't win them all,” kilah Sasuke nonchalantly.

“Before l make thee sorry thou wert born tell me where the girl is,” threatened Ali while grabbing
Sasuke’s face dengan kasar.

“What girl?” asked Sasuke, pretended to not know.

“The pink hair. You were with her in the marketplace,” sneered Ali in grunt.

“You'll never get your hands on her!” shouted Sasuke in anger.

“Then thou shalt die in agony!” snapped Ali furiously while deciding to stab Sasuke with the hot fork
he’s holding.

However, magically, the iron fork turned into a feathery stick.

Sasuke couldn’t help but laughed uncomfortably while getting tickled by the stick, “Hey, come on, cut
it out!”

“Genie!” he shouted out in frustattion between his uncomfortable laughter.

Suddenly Ali turned into a white smoke.

“What is happening?” shouted Ali in exasperation.

The smoke turned smaller and smaller until it revealed Ali who its size had been reduced sampai
hanya sekecil belalang.

“What art thou doing to me?” yelled the previous giant man, now looking more like a useless
cockroach in anger.

“Now you can go and pick on somebody your own size,” mocked Sasuke smugly.

Tiba-tiba Sakura muncul dalam kedipan mata dan memeluk tubuh Sasuke dengan sangat erat, “Thou
were willing to die for me. Thou art the bravest man l have ever known.”

“Can we go back to Cocoa Beach now?” pleaded Sasuke in exhaustion.

Sasuke released her hug and pondered for a while, “You may go back to Cocoa Beach.”

She then walked past Sasuke with a mischievous smirk, “l will never forget thee.”

“Genie, l wish l could explain how l feel about you,” Sasuke murmured. “l think you're a -- Forget it.
Well, it just wouldn't work out,” he tried to lowered his head to hide his blushing cheeks.

Sakura folded her arms and blinked. Out of sudden, Sasuke back to his home and Sakura giggled
happily.

Sasuke was shock to realize he’s back in his apartment, “l'm home!”
He shouted frantically, “l'm home!” and ran switfly to grab Sakura’s bottle that still lay still on the
cupboard near TV.

“Genie! Hey, Genie, thanks!” Sasuke stammered while talking to the bottle. But he realized that
there’s something off with the bottle.

“Genie, where are you?” He tried to peek inside the bottle. Panick washed over him when he
couldn’t find her inside, “Genie, are you in here? Genie?”

He shook the bottle vigorously but sighed loudly when there’s no genie inside.

At the same time, someone rushed to his living room.

“Sasuke! Where were you?” shouted Naruto in confusion to find Sasuke’s uniform was torn-off and
he was covered in bruised and blood.

Sasuke ignored Naruto’s presence and kept talking to the bottle with sad smile. “This is goodbye,
isn’t it? Well, Genie, wherever you are, l want to thank you for everything. You've been the greatest
thing that ever happened to me,” he confessed genuinely.

He rubbed the bottle gently, “And if it means anything to you, l'll never forget you.”

“That means a lot to me, Sasuke,” exclaimed Naruto who suddenly touched Sasuke’s shoulders and
unintentionally startled him.

“Who does your shirts?” mocked Naruto while looking at Sasuke’s disheveled uniform
condesecendingly.

“Naruto, what are you doing here?” snapped Sasuke while shoving away Naruto’s hand from his
shoulders.

“What am l doing here?” Naruto irritably pointed at himself, “What are you doing here?”

“You were supposed to be at the training centre two hours ago,” shouted Naruto in frustration, “We
tried to call you for the last hour!”

“l'm sorry. Come on, let's go,” perintah Sasuke seraya menaruh kembali botolnya ke atas meja nakas.

“Where you going? The training is over,” asked Naruto in confusion.

“l'd better phone our new sensei and apologize,” murmured Sasuke with frowned.

Naruto gave Sasuke unecessary bear hug, “Sasuke, are you feeling okay?”

Sasuke instantly shoved Naruto away, “l'm fine. l'm just fine, sure.”
“Know what's the matter with you?” quipped Naruto, “You're in a rut. You need excitement in your
life!”

“Listen, remember the brunette chick with big boobs that I tried to introduce to you,” said Naruto
with a wide grin, “She’s back and she’s hotter than ever.”

“Sorry, I’m not interested in any other chicks,” refused Sasuke firmly, “One chick from Baghdad is
annoying enough.”

“From Baghdad? Apa aku tidak salah dengar?” Sasuke scoffed in disbelief, “Where do you meet her?”

“I don’t want have business with girls or their fathers will behead me if I can’t provide the dowry,”
Sasuke scowled.

Naruto bursted out into nervous laugh, “What are you saying? Are you nuts?”

Unbenknowst to them, Sakura was appeared again near her bottle and giggled silently watching
confused Sasuke.

“Okay. Forget it. I want to take a bath and get back to my sanity,” snapped Sasuke with groaned.

“Sasuke, tell me more about this Baghdad girl? Isn’t she hot?” shouted Naruto while trailing behind
Sasuke who walked to nearby bathroom.

Sakura continued to giggle before returning to a pink smoke and entered her bottle again.

….

Sasuke dengan marah keluar dari kamar mandi dengan krim shaving yang masih ada di sekitar mulut
dan dagunya serta hanya memakai handuk di pinggangnya.

“Where is that razor?” gertaknya pada dirinya sendiri dengan menggerutu sambil mencari-cari razor
di setiap sudut cupboard dan di sela-sela pajangan di ruang tamu.

“A razor just doesn't simply get up and walk away by itself,” gerutunya lagi sambil membuka-buka
dengan tidak sabaran beberapa laci di meja nakas.

“Can't go to school without a shave,” murmured Sasuke as he frantically continued searching for the
razor.

Ia lantas terkejut ketika menemukan pigura foto keluarganya yang tiba-tiba saja tersembunyi di
dalam salah satu laci meja nakas, padahal ia ingat dengan betul bahwa ia selalu menaruhnya di atas
meja nakas.

Ia lebih terkejut ketika melihat ada sosok Sakura yang berdiri menggamit lengannya di sampingnya.

“I don’t know aku punya tambahan anggota keluarga yang sinting,” sneered Sasuke in disdain while
holding the pigura.
Ia lantas berlari menghampiri botol Sakura yang tergeletak di atas meja dekat sofa.

“Genie!” teriaknya dengan marah sambil grabbing the bottle that he deliberately left it opened. Ia
lantas peeking inside the bottle ketika sama sekali tak mendapatkan reaksi dari Sakura.

“Genie?” teriaknya lagi dengan gusar sambil mengocok-ngocok botol itu. “Genie, you come out of
there right now!” teriaknya lagi dengan kesabaran yang semakin menipis sambil meletakkan botol itu
dengan kasar kembali di atas meja.

Tiba-tiba sebuah kepulan asap pink muncul dari dalam botol dan Sakura dengan riang gembira
muncul secara mengejutkan di samping Sasuke, “Good morning, master darling!” sapanya dengan
seringaian lebar yang berbanding kontras dengan wajah cemberut Sasuke. “How may l serve you?”
lanjut gadis itu lagi dengan mengatupkan kedua telapak tangannya.

“First of all, you can stop calling me ''master darling.''!” Barked Sasuke with grump. “And secondly,
you can stop being such a neatener,” he pointed angrily at Sakura who looked at him in confusion.

“What means this word '' neatener''?” asked Sakura while batting her eyelashes in confusion.

“Well, it's like when you throw out my books before l've read it,” ketus Sasuke, “And-and I need
explanation for this!”

Sasuke shoved his family photo towards Sakura who immediately grabbed it.

She only giggled softly which left Sasuke furious.

“Oh, you don’t like me being the new member of your family, master darling?” asked Sakura in wider
smile.

“Yeah, nobody like different color in my family’s hair,” cibir Sasuke while merebut figura foto itu
kembali dari Sakura. “Can you get rid of the pink hair?”

Sakura groaned softly while pouting her lips before nodded and blinked quickly.

The Uchiha family photo turned back to its previous stage. All family members with black hair and
stern expression.

“This one look better,” cibir Sasuke dengan menyeringai penuh kemenangan, leaving Sakura puffing
her cheeks.

Pria itu lantas meletakkan kembali figura fotonya ke tempat semula.

“And now, my razor is missing,” geram Sasuke, turning back at Sakura with piercing gaze.

“Oh, that. l got rid of it,” said Sakura, beralih dengan sengaja memunggungi pria arogan itu dengan
melipat kedua tangannya.
“Why?” gertak Sasuke dengan melangkah kembali menghampiri Sakura.

“ln the land from which l came it is the fashion for all masters to wear beards,” said Sakura
nonchalantly while sitting at the sofa.

Sasuke scoffed mockingly, “Well, Genie… if I grow my beard, I will look like either homeless people…
or Steve Aoki.”

“Who’s this Steve Aoki?” asked Sakura dengan penasaran dan berpangku tangan.

“He’s a man with long beard who spinning around the DJ,” explained Sasuke nonchalantly sambil
berkacak pinggang.

“But my handsome master would look like a king with a warrior's beard,” said Sakura with a gentle
smile.

Sasuke couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Behold!” exclaimed Sakura while folding her arms stiffly and blinking quickly.

Sasuke suddenly stopped laughing when he realized he’s growing a beard out of sudden.

“Beautiful!” puji Sakura dengan tersipu-sipu dan tersenyum simpul, “Now you look a proper master.”

“lf l walk around school like this they'll kicking me off instantly without an explanation,” cibir Sasuke
dengan geram.

Sakura tertawa puas.

Tiba-tiba saja seseorang dari luar membunyikan bel pintu apartemen Sasuke.

“That must be Naruto,” murmured Sasuke in shock. He then turned at his genie, “Now get me out of
this, quick!”

Sakura rolled her eyes and stood up from the sofa before quickly blinking her eyes.

Sasuke was surprised to find himself now already wore his full uniform and realizing his beard was
gone in an instant.

“Well.... Well, thanks,” murmured Sasuke while touching his face, “Oh, thanks for the shave.”

As he walked past his family photo, Sasuke was surprised to find himself in the photo suddenly grew
a beard.

He looked at Sakura with a pout, “Now, hang on to it!”

Sakura giggled happily while clutching her stomach.

Sasuke sighed loudly while opening the door, “Not very funny,” he sneered at Sakura.

“No, it's not very funny,” responded Naruto nonchalantly, “But then how many doorbells are?”

“Oh, hi,” greeted Sasuke stammeredly, “Just a little problem with finding my razor.”

“You look neat, dude,” komentar Naruto sarcastically, “Kupikir kau bukan tipe pria yang gampang
punya janggut.”

“Yeah, just five minutes ago I have one that looks like Arab Sultan,” ketus Sasuke with sulk. “Now,
bisakah kita berangkat sekarang? We don't wanna be late for the test.”

“No, we don't, do we?” replied Naruto nonchalantly.

Sasuke closed the door dengan kasar meninggalkan Sakura yang dengan cemberut berjalan tanpa
arah di ruang tamu. Gadis itu lantas mengintip di balik jendela dan memastikan bahwa her master
was already gone with Naruto.

Karena kesal, ia melampiaskannya dengan membuat semua anggota keluarga Sasuke, termasuk
ibunya, memiliki janggut.

Sakura laughed mockingly at the Uchiha family photo before sitting dengan santai di atas sofa and
blinking, automatically turning on the new TV that already fixed.

After school, the training session for swimming athletes in that indoor swimming pool was growing
intense as the new coach, Kakashi Hatake, menerapkan new parameter and perfection for candidates
for national swimming competittion in the next mid-July.

Sasuke became the first yang menggapai tepian kolam disusul dengan Shikamaru di urutan kedua
dan Naruto di urutan ketiga.

“First spot, Sasuke. And you only can mark 2.38 minutes?” sneered Kakashi while holding his
provocative novel that he had just read when waiting for his students swimming.

Sasuke opened his swimming glasses with panted breath, “How long I should remark then?”

“The fastest, the better,” said Kakashi nonchalantly. “I don’t know what happened to kids these days,
but in my generation, boys can swim only in 1.42 minutes.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes in frustation.

“I thought he already fast, sensei,” remarked Shikamaru.

“Yes, fastest among all of you. But if you want to win the national competition, you should be the
beast among the beast,” said Kakashi while squatting at Sasuke.
“And Naruto, tolong perkuat ketahanan napasmu atau kau akan melambat saat sudah di tengah
jalan,” advised Kakashi while looking at Naruto.

“Alright, sensei,” said Naruto nonchalantly.

“Okay, guys. Time for second assesment,” Kakashi mempersiapkan stopwatch di tangannya,
“Bersiaplah di hitungan 3, 2, 1, go!” Ia dengan cepat lantas menekan stopwatchnya dan para
muridnya tanpa lama langsung berenang menuju arah sebaliknya dengan cepat.

After reaching the opposites direction, para murid berlomba-lomba untuk berenang kembali ke
tempat semula saat mereka berhenti tadi.

As usual, Sasuke always marked the first spot easily dan disusul oleh Naruto di nomor kedua dan
Shikamaru di nomor ketiga.

They both panted their breath after intense swimming.

“Uchiha Sasuke, 2.45?” cibir Kakashi saat melihat ke stopwatchnya, “Apa-apaan ini? Kenapa malah
jadi jauh lebih lambat dari sebelumnya?”

Sasuke dengan gusar membuka kacamata renangnya, “Apa yang terjadi? Kupikir aku sudah berusaha
secepat mungkin?”

“A-a-a, ‘berusaha’, kau hanya berusaha, tapi tidak benar-benar melakukannya,” sindir Kakashi dengan
santai. “Listen, if you do want to be the perfectly fit candidate for next swimming competition, you
should mark at least one minute.”

“One minute? Are you kidding?” Sasuke scoffed in disbelief.

“Alright. Alright, boys. Get up now!” perintah Kakashi while tossing his provocative book away toward
nearby kursi selonjor.

All ten boy athletes yang telah dipilih berdasarkan seleksi panjang dan ketat pun emerged from the
swimming pool.

Sasuke melepaskan kacamata renangnya dan dengan lesu menghampiri Kakashi menyusul rekan-
rekannya.

“Look at you guys, swimming like girls,” cibir Kakashi while folding his arms. Ia lantas menghampiri
Sasuke dan memegang pergelangan tangannya, “Dan lenganmu sangat kurus dan jemarimu lentik,
pantas saja kau berenang seperti gadis!”

Sasuke sighed in furious and rolled his eyes.

Kakashi lantas menghampiri Naruto dan memegang dengan kasar kedua bahunya, membuat anak
laki-laki itu kaget, “Tegakkan bahumu seperti seorang pria!”

Ia lantas gantian menghampiri Shikamaru, “Perbaiki postur tubuhmu, luruskan kaki dan lenganmu
ketika berenang! Ingat, postur tubuh yang tepat akan sangat berpengaruh pada kecepatan dan
agilitas kalian saat berkompetisi. Apa semua paham?”

“Paham!” jawab para anak laki-laki dengan lesu.

“Apa-apaan ini? Kenapa kalian lunglai begitu? Ayo jawab dengan lantang. Apa kalian paham?” teriak
Kakashi sternly, contrast with his usual santai demeanor.

“Paham!” sahut para muridnya dengan lebih nyaring.

“Nah, begitulah menjadi seorang pria yang tangguh!” tegas Kakashi menatap satu per satu muridnya
dengan tajam.

“Sebagai bentuk training untuk melatih kekuatan dan kelenturan otot kalian, aku akan mengajak
kalian untuk bertamasya ke suatu tempat yang kujamin akan sangat menyenangkan,” kata Kakashi
dengan ekspresi mischievous.

Para murid saling berpandangan dengan penasaran sekaligus kebingungan.

“Selama tiga hari saat weekend minggu ini, kalian akan kukirim ke Tottori dune, tempat dimana
sengatan matahari akan melatih daya tahan kalian!” tegas Kakashi lagi, “Dan tidak ada satupun di
antara kalian yang tidak ikut, apapun alasannya!”

“T-tapi, sensei,” keluh Naruto tiba-tiba, “S-saya punya kecenderungan seizure jika terkena panas.”

“Dasar kalian bocah kota!” cibir Kakashi, “Pantas saja kalian sangat manja dan lemah seperti
perempuan!”

Naruto pouted and lowered his head dengan lelah.

“Makanya latihan ini akan sangat cocok untuk kalian! Membuat kalian jauh lebih kuat dan manly!”
tegas Kakashi. “Tidak lagi ada yang protest. Keputusan sudah final! Weekend ini kalian akan
bersenang-senang bersama di gurun dan berlatih untuk bertahan hidup! Buktikan kalau kalian adalah
pria sejati!”

“Kita kan dilatihnya untuk jadi perenang handal, bukan malah jadi tentara bayaran,” cibir Naruto.

“Apa barusan yang kau bilang tadi, Naruto?” snapped Kakashi out of sudden, startling Naruto.

“T-tidak apa-apa, sensei. Saya sangat siap untuk training itu!” bohong Naruto dengan pura-pura
menyeringai.

“Bagus, anak muda! Itulah semangat yang ingin kulihat dari kalian semua!” tukas Kakashi while
patting Naruto’s shoulders loudly.
Sasuke sighed loudly. Definitely this was not the kind of training he ever expected from the new
coach.

Pada jumat sore, mendengar kabar bahwa Sasuke akan dikirim ke sebuah gurun antah berantah di
Jepang, Sakura tentu saja melayangkan protesnya.

Dengan posisi terbaring tertelungkup di atas sofa, Sakura menggembungkan pipinya kepada tuannya,
“But it is utterly ridiculous. You cannot go out into the desert without me.”

Sasuke melipat pakaiannya dan dengan wajah cemberut melemparkannya ke dalam tas ransel besar
di atas meja, “Oh, yes, l can. This is a do-it-yourself survival mission.”

Ia lantas dengan kasar menutup resleting tasnya dan mengambil botol ajaib Sakura, “l am leaving you
right here. Just to make certain you don't interfere, back in the bottle you go!”

Sakura yelled in shock and immediately jumped from the sofa, stepping backward when Sasuke
pointed the bottle towards her.

“Oh, please, master. Over 2000 years l've spent in that accursed bottle,” Sakura pleaded desperately
while pointing at the bottle.

“Then one more week can't make that much difference,” sneered Sasuke indifferently. He opened
the bottle cap and placed in on top of the table, “Now be a good girl and back in the bottle.”

“You are the most difficult master l have ever served!” pointed Sakura at Sasuke with furious.

Sakura groaned angrily before turning herself into pink smoke and entered the bottle.

“Thanks, Sakura,” murmured Sasuke towards the bottle. However, before he had a chance to close
the bottle again, suddenly someone rang the belldoor.

He placed the bottle cap near the bottle and walked casually to open the door.

Little did he know, Sakura emerged out from the bottle in the form of smoke and menghampiri botol
minum Sasuke yang tergeletak di atas sofa. Tutup botol minum Sasuke terbuka sendiri dan melayang
ke atas salah satu pot tanaman hias yang ada di dekat tungku perapian. Isi air di dalam botol itu pun
dituangkan ke tanaman oleh si asap pink.

Setelah botolnya benar-benar kosong, asap pink itu pun gantian masuk ke dalamnya.

Tak lama Sasuke kembali ke ruang tamu bersama Naruto yang telah bersiap untuk pergi training
dengan menggendong tas ranselnya.

“And when l told Hinata we're going out of town for a week you should hear the way she cried. Like a
baby. And she completely--”
Naruto words abruptly cut off by Sasuke’s nonchalant response, “Who’s Hinata? I thought it was
Miranda?”

“Hinata is my girlfriend. I don’t who’s Miranda you’re talking about,” bantah Naruto.

“All right. lf we hurry you'll have time to say goodbye to your girl,” cibir Sasuke sambil memasukkan
botol minumnya ke dalam tas ranselnya sebelum menggendongnya di satu lengan.

“She can wait,” replied Naruto casually. “Let me grab this,” he continued while grabbing Sasuke’s cap
from nearby nighstand.

“Okay, thanks,” Sasuke murmured before secretively grabbing the bottle as he thought Naruto
already left his apartment.

“Now, Genie, l want you to be a good girl, you understand?” he whispered towards the bottle while
mendekatkan benda itu ke mulutnya. Ia lantas meletakkan botol itu di meja nakas dekat telepon
rumah.

“Look, look. Here,” katanya sambil mengambil beberapa kelereng dari dalam vas hias, “You can play
with your marbles while l'm gone.”

Ia kemudian memasukkan kelereng itu satu per satu ke dalam botol Sakura, mengira genie itu masih
ada di dalamnya, “l hope-- l hope l didn't hit you.”

Sasuke smirked dengan puas. Ia lantas menutup kembali botol Sakura dan caressed it slowly, “There.
You'll be safe right here.”

“But how safe am l gonna be on a desert with a guy who talks to bottles?” seru Naruto yang tiba-tiba
saja masuk kembali ke dalam dan spontan mengejutkan Sasuke.

Sasuke menggigit bibirnya dan dengan gugup patted Naruto’s arm before walking away towards the
kitchen to hide his embarassment. Meanwhile, Naruto curiously looked at the antique bottle that his
friend was looked amused about and scoffed mockingly.

In the Saturday morning, the Tottori dunes already schroching hot like it was in the mid afternoon.
The boy athletes already gathered near the tent after being dibagi menjadi beberapa kelompok yang
terdiri dua orang. Tentunya, Sasuke dipasangkan dengan Naruto dan meskipun temannya tampak
senang akan hal itu, Sasuke merasa ia seperti selalu ditimpa kesialan karena selalu bersama
dengannya.

“Well, is it everything l promised?” tanya Kakashi dengan lantang.

“Yes, sensei,” replied the boys with loud voice, eventhough tubuh mereka terbakar kepanasan.

“Boy, it must be in the shade out here. lf there was any shade,” bisik Naruto di telinga Sasuke sambil
mengelap peluh di pelipisnya dengan punggung tangan.

“Well, cheer up. lt's only : in the morning,” replied Sasuke indifferently.

“l know l don't have to remind you of the importance of what you're about to do,” tegas Kakashi lagi.

“No, sensei!” shouted the boys, masking their uncomfortableness with the heat.

“I hope you appreciate me choosing you guys for this mission! After this, it will seem like a weekend
in Hokkaido!” tegas Kakashi, ignoring their students’ uncomfortability.

“Any final orders, sensei?” asked Shikamaru with clenched fists.

“No. Just stay alive and cover as much ground as possible,” commanded Kakashi.

“Let's get cracking,” tukas Naruto dengan menyeringai kepada Sasuke. Ia lantas menunjukkan sepatu
boots barunya, “l'm anxious to try these synthetic boots. See how they work.”

“You go ahead. l'm gonna stick with the old-fashioned kind,” cibir Sasuke dengan cuek.

“Alright, kids. I’ll wait you guys in the finish line. Hope you still alive,” said Kakashi smugly before
meninggalkan para muridnya dengan naik kembali ke dalam mobil jeep.

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at that smug coach in disdain.

Naruto and Sasuke panted their breath after hours of walking around in the schroching hot weather
and they headed towards bukit berbatu untuk sejenak beristirahat.

“Boy, this survival business is pretty thirsty work, huh?” keluh Naruto sambil bersender pada bukti
berbatu sambil mengeluarkan botol minumnya, “I thought this weekend I will spend my time in the
pool, tapi kenyataannya kita malah terjebak semakin jauh dari air.”

Sasuke sighed loudly dengan muka tertekuk dan bersender di samping Naruto. Ia lantas
mengeluarkan botol minumnya.

“l'll drink to that,” kata Naruto, mengajak bersulang.

“Well, here's to you,” replied Sasuke nonchalantly while bersulang dengan temannya.

Naruto segera meminum botolnya dengan cepat. Di sisi lain, Sasuke yang baru saja membuka botol
minumnya terkejut mendengar gelak tawa suara perempuan dari dalam dan buru-buru menutupnya
kembali.

“Oh, no,” murmured Sasuke in panic before hiding his bottle behind his back.

“Oh, no, what?” asked Naruto in confusion.

“Oh, no, l don't think l'll drink yet,” kilah Sasuke with fake smirk.

“Try and test the old endurance, huh?” asked Naruto nonchalantly.

Sasuke nodded quickly, “Yeah, yeah. Something like that.”

“Listen, why don't we split up for a while, huh? l'll.... l'll meet you on the other side of that butte,”
kilah Sasuke, mencari alasan yang tepat untuk membuat Naruto pergi sebelum temannya
mengetahui apa sebenarnya isi dari botol minumnya.

“Okay, here we go. See you,” Naruto agreed without too much thought while patting Sasuke’s
shoulders before leaving him alone.

After making sure Naruto already gone, Sasuke then angrily put the bottle on the nearby big rock.
“You come out of there!” he hushedly commanded while opening the bottle cap.

“Now, now, come on. l'm in no mood to play games!” seru Sasuke dengan lebih gusar karena Sakura
tak muncul-muncul juga dari dalam botol.

Baru beberapa meter berjalan, Naruto mengira Sasuke sedang berteriak kepadanya dan spontan
menghentikan langkahnya. Ia dengan cepat kembali menghampiri Sasuke dan dengan bertanya-tanya
melihat tingkah temannya itu yang dengan anehnya sedang memarahi sebuah botol.

“Genie, look. Don't be afraid,” said Sasuke again, now in calmer tone, putting his hands on his hips, “l
just wanna talk to you.”

“Talking to your canteen. Aren't you afraid your bottle'll get jealous?” sneered Naruto out of sudden
beside Sasuke that started the grumpy guy instantly.

“No, l wasn't talking to it,” bantah Sasuke dengan terbata-bata dan jantung berdegup kencang, “l
was-- Well, you know--"

Sasuke then pretended to puff the bottle and made the loud whistle voice.

“Would you like me to play ''Sugar Blues'' on my comb or shall we get on with the mission?” asked
Naruto mockingly, witnessing his friend’s sudden change of demeanor.

“Yeah, you're right,” Sasuke nodded. He then patted Naruto’s shoulders, “See you on the other side
of the butte.”

“l'll see you,” said Naruto before they parted ways again.

After making sure Naruto truly disappeared from his eyes and didn’t come back again, Sasuke
frantically ran towards quieter space and put the bottle on top of the rock.

“All right now, Genie. Now you come out of there!” perintah Sasuke dengan tingkat kesabaran yang
sudah menipis, melipat kedua tangannya.
Sakura instantly emerged from the bottle in the form of pink smoke before turning into herself again.

As if she ignored Sasuke’s frowning expression, she beamed widely, “O, cleverest master in all the
world teach me the meaning of this strange incantation -“

Sakura then mimicked the sound of Sasuke’s whistling the bottle previously, leaving Sasuke more
baffled than before.

“Every drop is gone. Do you realize what you've done?” scolded Sasuke with anger by grabbing his
now empty bottle dan memegangnya dengan posisi terbalik, menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada satupun
isi air di dalamnya, “Well, l'll die without water!” he shouted while putting his bottle back again on its
previous spot.

“By this time tomorrow, l'll look like a bag of raisins! Humans just can't live without--” Sasuke kept
venting out his frustation and ignoring the way Sakura stiffly folded her arms and batted her eyes
quickly.

Suddenly burst of water magically coming from the rock near Sasuke and made the man shocked and
jumped menghindarinya.

Sasuke instantly put his empty bottle to catch the water. He smiled dengan lega. “Hey, you're the
most wonderful genie l've ever seen in my life,” katanya, gantian memuji Sakura.

Sakura blushing and smiled shyly while lowering her head.

“What am l being grateful for? lf it hadn't been for you in the first place...,” Sasuke continued
expressing his satisfaction, but his words cut abruptly when he saw Sakura’s expression turned to
displeasure. He realized his water bottle already full and quickly put the cap back, “All right, that--
That's enough. That's all l'll ask.”

Sakura quickly folded her arms again and blinked. The water tiba-tiba mengecil dan mengecil hingga
lenyap secara keseluruhan.

Sasuke langsung meneguk botol minumannya dan tiba-tiba merasakan lehernya terbakar dan
memegangnya. “lt's a vodka martini!” shouted Sasuke while preventing himself from throwing up.

“ls that not every man’s favourite potion?” asked Sakura in confusion.

“Yes, at cocktail time for adults, but I’m still teenager and this is life or death!” scolded Sasuke again,
suffering more from the burning sensation in his throat. “Just one quart plain, please,” pleaded
Sasuke desperately with hoarse voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes and blinked quickly.

Sasuke felt his bottle was shaking vigorously and the water in it almost blurted out sebagian.

“Plain water,” said Sakura nonchalantly, folding her arms.

Sasuke breathed sigh of relief, “Oh, that's better.” He then qucikly drank the water and sighed loudly,
“l mean under the circumstances, that's better.”

“lf you are pleased, l am content!” exclaimed Sakura happily while putting her hands on her hips with
a wide smile, “Now, what do we do?”

“Well, l get on with my mission, and you get out of here,” scolded Sasuke before putting back his
water bottle in his bag and walked away from her.

Sakura desperately trailed behind him, “Oh, but you need me!”

Sasuke tried hard to avoid Sakura, “No, no, l don't. Now-- Now listen. Can't you get it through your
head l don't need you.” He then climbed the rocky bukit dengan secepat mungkin.

Sakura grunted and folding her arms, looking at her master disdainfully.

“Look, this kind of training is to make my muscles stronger,” blurted Sasuke harshly while walking
backward, “l-- l don't need your help. l'm-- Really, l-- l--”

His words cut abruptly when he almost slided out from the rocky backward. But before he had a
chance to fall to the ground, Sakura instantly froze his body.

“Genie. Let me go!” shouted Sasuke, despite his frozen body.

Sakura sighed loudly before blinking her eyes in hesitation.

Sasuke instantly fell hard to the ground and collapsed instantly.

Sakura carefully climed the rocky bukit dan terkejut melihat prianya tergeletak tak berdaya di bawah
sana. She shook her head in corcern while bitting her lips.

Inside the tent that seems like garden of eden or oasis in the middle of schroching desert filled with
fruits, aneka makanan lezat dan anggur merah, Sasuke terbaring nyenyak di atas sebuah kasur bulu
domba asli tanpa diketahuinya. Sakura yang baru saja masuk ke dalam langsung duduk bersimpuh di
samping Sasuke dan meniup sup panas yang akan disuapkannya ke pria itu.

Tak lama, saat Sakura nyaris menyuapkan sup itu ke bibir Sasuke, pria itu mulai terbangun dari
pingsannya. Dengan bibir bergetar ia blurted softly, “Where am l?”

Sakura smiled in relief, noticing her master was completely fine.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and was utterly confused to find himself inside a silk maroon tent
complete with many foods and laying peacefully on the kasur bulu domba.
“Where am I?” he wandered around with trembling lips, confused of his state now. Sakura smiled
softly when her master looked at her in shocked.

“You’re completely safe, master. Don’t worry. Now, eat this and you will be strong again,” said Sakura
dengan kembali mendekatkan sendok sup itu ke bibir Sasuke.

Sasuke was baffled when Sakura shoved the soup inside his mouth and made him forcefully
swallowed it.

However, he kinda pleased when realized it tastes delicious, “What’s this?” he murmured while
looking at the bowl Sakura carrying.

“Baktu malali. An ancient Persian remedy,” replied Sakura nonchalantly, menyuapkan sesendok lagi
ke mulut Sasuke.

“Oh, boy. What is it?” asked Sasuke grumpily while mengusap bibirnya.

“Hot chicken soup,” replied Sakura curtly.

“lt's great. Great,” murmured Sasuke noddingly, realizing he liked that weird soup before a sudden
realization woke him up, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Take that away. l'm not allowed to eat
during mission!”

“You have had enough?” asked Sakura in confusion.

“Enough what?” snapped Sasuke while pushing away the bowl from him.

“Well, this is my master's third bowl full,” replied Sakura innocently.

“Oh, you didn't. l didn't,” Sasuke murmured in frustation and laid back down in anger. “You did? l
did? Oh, boy,” he sighed in furious, clutching his throbbing forehead.

“l've displeased you?” Sakura in confusion caressed Sasuke’s cheek gently.

“Oh, Genie, you meant well but you've just ruined the whole mission,” protested Sasuke harshly.

He then noticed a weak voice came from his walkie talkie that lay beside him.

“Sasuke? Sasuke?” murmured Naruto in weak signal.

“No. No, no, not the whole mission,” murmured Sasuke while grabbed his walkie talkie. “There's
always Naruto. Yeah, good old Naruto.”

“Naruto. Naruto, are you there? Over,” shouted Sasuke in panic.

Ignoring Sasuke’s distress, Sakura instead caressed him with feathery kipas and wiped his sweat on
his temple while giggled softly.
“Naruto, come in,” Naruto in the middle of desert was jolted in shock when he heard Sasuke’s voice
finally coming. “Hello, Sasuke?” he shouted right in front of his walkie talkie in panic, “Where you
been? l've been trying to raise you. l'm headed for the wildest mirage you ever saw.”

“Mirage? Mirage?” Sasuke frowned in confusion while kept pushing Sakura’s feathery kipas away
from his face, “What kind of a mirage?”

“There's this oasis, see?” exclaimed Naruto from across the line, “One of those silk Arab tents and a
while back, I saw the wildest pink hair.”

“Well, boy, l sure wish l had your imagination,” Sasuke stammeredly lied with a fake grin. He then
turned back at Sakura, scowling with hushed tone, “stop it!”

“No-- No fooling! I can even smell the incense,” said Naruto, trying to convince his friend.

“l'll get back to you later when l get a better look,” he continued while squinting his eyes due to
schroching sunlight, “Maybe she's got a friend for you. Out.”

“No, no, no, Naruto! Now don't do that!” shouted Sasuke in panic while trying to shove Sakura’s
feathery kipas that kept caressing his head. “Naruto, there is no girl. She's all in your mind. Naruto!
Naruto?” he kept shouting in frustation when he didn’t get response back from his friend.

“Now look what you've done!” scolded Sasuke while tightly grabbed Sakura’s wrist, looking at her
sharply, “He's on his way over here.”

“lf my master wishes, l can turn that one into a pillar of salt,” said Sakura with a smile.

Sasuke shook his head in exasperation, “No. No, no, please. Just get rid of all this!”

Sakura puffed her cheeks in annoyance while throwing her both feathery kipas and silk napkin away.
She then reluctantly folded her arms and blinked quickly.

The tents and all its content quickly disappear, leaving Sasuke only on the hot pasir.

“lt is done,” said Sakura tiredly with a sigh.

“No, no. Not quite. You too!” scolded Sasuke angrily while laying with his back against her.

“But -“ Sakura pleaded desperately.

“And take your chicken soup with you!” snapped Sasuke grumpily while indifferently raised the gold
bowl in his hand, without looking at her.

Sakura groaned in frustation and she quickly blinked, making her and the bowl simulatenously
disappear from Sasuke.

Sasuke smugly decided to lay on the sand. However he yelped when realized there’s a hard rock
beneath his head.
Grumpily he threw the rock away towards nearby bukit pasir.

Tanpa disadarinya, batu itu dengan tidak sengaja mengenai seorang macan tutul yang sedang
berbaring di atas bukit. Macan itu pun mengaum marah dan sontak mengejutkan Sasuke.

Sasuke sontak beranjak berdiri dan mengambil batu lainnya di sekitarnya. Ia lantas melemparkannya
ke arah macan itu.

Namun, hal itu justru semakin menambah kemarahan binatang itu dan secepat kilat ia meloncat ke
arah Sasuke.

Beruntung bagi pria arogan itu, Sakura diam-diam membantunya dengan sihirnya dan mengubah si
macan menjadi kelinci putih.

Sasuke yang panik dan ketakutan pun terjatuh ke pasir dan menangkap hewan itu yang masih
dikiranya adalah macan.

Naruto yang tengah menghampiri sekitar situ pun kaget melihat Sasuke yang berteriak-teriak
ketakutan hanya gara-gara kelinci.

“You may kill me, but you'll have a fight on your hands!” shouted Sasuke before he realized his
stupidity and threw the kelinci away in confusion.

“Need any help?” asked Naruto dengan menjulurkan lengan kanannya pada Sasuke.

Sasuke dengan menahan malu menundukkan kepalanya dan menerima uluran tangan sahabatnya
itu.

Mereka berdua pun melanjutkan perjalanan di tengah padang pasir yang semakin menyiksa itu.

Naruto tertegun ketika menyadari bahwa cara berjalan Sasuke agak sedikit pincang. “What's the
matter with your ankle?” tanyanya dengan khawatir.

“l just twisted it a little,” murmured Sasuke, “lt'll be all right. See?” lanjutnya dengan menggoyang-
goyangkan kaki kanannya.

“You take it easy and l'll see what l can scrape up for breakfast,” said Naruto nonchalantly while
patting his friend’s shoulders.

“Okay. l'll try to make a snare for that rabbit,” replied Sasuke indifferently, wiping his sweat from his
temple.

“lf you're gonna wrestle that thing again,” quipped Naruto with mocked grin, “take it easy.”

Naruto left Sasuke to find any food. After he disappeared between bukit berbatu, Sakura tiba-tiba
muncul di samping Sasuke.
“lf my master's hungry, l could spread a six-course--” exclaimed the girl happily before being abruptly
cut off by her master.

“Of course, l'm hungry. But you know the rules,” responded Sasuke bluntly.

Tiba-tiba suara Naruto terdengar dari walkie talkie di tangan Sasuke, “What'd you say?”

“l said l was hungry,” replied Sasuke bluntly, before his walkie talkie magically turned into daging
domba thanks to Sakura.

Sasuke induced by his hunger couldn’t help himself to munch his daging domba di tangannya.

“Sasuke. Sasuke, what are you doing?” tanya Naruto dengan panik ketika sinyal di walkie talkienya
tiba-tiba rusak.

“You're not gonna believe this but l got so hungry l took a bite out of my walkie-talkie,” murmured
Sasuke nonchalantly with food in his mouth.

“God! Hang on, will you? l got some cactus here that looks beautiful,” shouted Naruto while looking
at the weird cactus that grew in front of him. “l'll try to get the needles off and bring you some,
okay?” he continued talking while trying to snatch the sharp cactus from its root.

Sakura noticed that her master didn’t look happy with his food, “lf the meat is not pleasing to you, l
could...?”

“No. This is wonderful, but...,” Sasuke looked at his food hesitantly, “l can't gorge myself on roast
lamb while my buddy is out eating needles.”

Sakura quickly nodded and blinked and suddenly the roast lamb on Sasuke’s hand turned back into a
walkie talkie.

Sasuke noticed that bekas gigitan di walkie talkienya dan ia menyadari bahwa yang ia makan barusan
adalah walkie talkie dan mulai memegang lehernya dengan panik.

Tak lama, Sasuke tampak duduk sendirian di atas pasir untuk beristirahat sambil membetulkan tali
sepatu bootsnya.

“l ran into a special down at the supermarket,” shouted Naruto while running frantically approached
Sasuke. “Look what dad's got for breakfast!”

“Looks delicious,” cibir Sasuke saat melihat kaktus besar di tangan Naruto yang terkena blister saat
mencabutnya.

“Hey, you know something, l must be cracking up,” kata Naruto kemudian before sniffing dramatically
around him, “l could swear l smell roast lamb.”
Naruto then picked up Sasuke’s walkie talkie that had already bitten for some reason and smelled to
it before putting it back on the sand. He grew even more confused since he didn’t find any sisa-sisa
daging bakar domba di sekitarnya meskipun baunya sama sekali tak hilang.

“Oh, that. Yeah, well, l got so hungry, l cooked my shoe and l ate it,” sneered Sasuke nonchalantly.

“Roast shoe? How did it taste?” asked Naruto confusedly.

“A lot like roast lamb,” lied Sasuke while surpressing his laugh.

“Oh, boy. No matter how hungry l get l can never eat these fibreglass goodies,” keluh Naruto while
sitting beside his friend.

“Listen, dobe. With this bum ankle, l'll never be able to keep up with you,” said Sasuke firmly. “You
better.... You better go out on your own.”

“And leave you out in this wilderness? Forget it?” snapped Naruto, folding his arms.

“The faster you get back to civilization the faster you'll be able to send help for me,” said Sasuke,
convinced his friend while patting his back.

“l am not leaving you--” protested Naruto while proceeded to get up.

“Naruto, the mission comes first,” said Sasuke firmly while grabbed Naruto’s arm.

“All right. l'll come back and pick you up myself,” Naruto reluctantly agreed while patting Sasuke’s
shoulders before getting up.

“Oh, and look, don't burn yourself out,” peringat Sasuke, pointed his finger at his friend, “Slow and
easy does it.”

“Okay,” Naruto nodded. “Sasuke l was just thinking,” he said immediately, “You won't be doing much
walking. Could l have your other shoe?”

“My other shoe?” asked Sasuke while furrowing his brows.

“Yeah. lt'd be kind of a change of diet and it did smell like roast lamb, and....,” pleaded Naruto.

“Okay,” Sasuke rolled his eyes while melepaskan sepatu kanannya dan memberikannya pada Naruto,
“But promise me you won't eat it unless there's absolutely nothing else around.”

Naruto happily took Sasuke’s shoes.

“And don't overcook it,” peringat Sasuke sambil menunjuk ke arah Naruto.

“l'll check with you every three hours,” said Naruto while patting Sasuke’s shoulders again.

“l'll be here,” said Sasuke nonchalantly.

“You'll be here. Okay,” replied Naruto, nodding quickly before reluctantly leaving his friend away.

After Naruto had completely gone from their sight, suddenly Sakura appeared beside Sasuke.

“Your friend is a good man,” commented Sakura dengan berpangku tangan.

“Yeah. None better,” replied Sasuke nonchalantly. “lt will be hot out there,” he continued while
picking the noodles fruit that Naruto brought for him.

“lf you like, l could make a cooling shower of rain for him,” tawar Sakura with smile.

“l'd like to put him in an air-conditioned car,” murmured Sasuke in concern for his friend’s well being.

Suddenly he was surprised to find Sakura was already folded her arms and ready to blink.

“Now stop that,” Sasuke quickly grabbed Sakura’s hand, “He's got to do this on his own otherwise the
whole mission is for nothing. You understand?”

“No,” Sakura shook her head innocently.

“But if you want your best friend to suffer,” cibir Sakura with a loud sigh.

Sementara itu, beberapa meter jauhnya, Naruto sedang memanggang sepatu boots Sasuke di atas
bara api.

In a hunger parah dan perut keroncongan, Naruto terpaksa menggigit sepatu itu yang diyakininya
beraroma domba panggang.

Namun, ia merasakan rasa gosong yang aneh dari sepatu itu. Ia lantas mengambil walkie talkienya
dan menghubungi Sasuke.

“Hello, Sasuke?” panggil Naruto dengan panik.

Di seberang line, Sasuke immediately replied, “Yeah, Naruto.”

“l must be doing something wrong,” said Naruto after carefully tasting Sasuke’s shoe, “lt tastes like
shoe.”

“l'm sorry, Naruto,” Sasuke replied indifferently while picking some cactus. “This cactus you gave me
tastes exactly like--”

Sakura then instantly blinked and turned the cactus into melon before Sasuke bite it. “Like melon,”
continued Sasuke again nonchalantly before realizing there’s something wrong.
“Boy, I wish I had your imagination,” commented Naruto snarkly while throwing away Sasuke’s shoe
in gusar.

Sasuke angrily threw away melon piece in his hand. He looked at Sakura with disdain, “Genie, it's
against my principles but you better get us out of here!”

He then got up, “l won't have Roger risking his life coming back for me.” He then commanded Sakura
with both hands on his hips, “Get me some fast transportation fast.”

“Well, as you say, master,” replied Sakura tiredly before stiffly folded her arms and blinked.

Sasuke was surprised to find himself riding a camel behind Sakura yang mengendarainya dengan
tersenyum lebar.

“This is not exactly what l had in mind,” murmured Sasuke in pout.

“lt is the only way to travel,” replied Sakura with soft giggled before the camel ran fast through the
desert.

Meanwhile, Naruto was searching for Sasuke for hours and couldn’t find him. It left him desperate
and he almost fainted due to low energy and the heat of the sun.

Before he decided to give up, suddenly a jeep ran towards him and berhenti tepat di depannya.

“Sasuke, l left him behind that butte five hours ago!” shouted Naruto in desperation after Kakashi
menghampirinya. Ia lalu clutching both of his coach’s arm, “We gotta find him.”

“Sasuke’s already in,” said Kakashi firmly.

“He's already in?” asked Naruto in disbelief and shock, “Sasuke’s already in?”

Kakashi nodded and wrapped his hand around Naruto’s shoulders, “Come one,” he commanded him
to enter his jeep.

Seusai mission survival itu berakhir, pada sesi latihan selanjutnya diadakan pengecekan kesehatan
dan stamina bagi para atlet oleh seorang dokter dan juga didampingi oleh Kakashi.

Kakashi was surprised to see Sasuke’s health report.

“Amazing. Unbelievable!” exclaimed Kakashi in disbelief.

“Couldn't the report be wrong?” asked Sasuke in confusion.

“No, kiddo. Let's face it,” said Kakashi while wrapping his hand around Sasuke, “You not only
survived, you gained five pounds.”
Sasuke bit his lips and lowered his head in shame, “l'm sorry.”

“And one ounce. That's not the worst of it,” continued Kakashi again in mocking tone. “How am l
gonna explain your condition? Why, you're in perfect health.”

“What about my elbow?” asked Sasuke while touching his right elbow.

“What about that elbow?” asked Kakashi back, repeating Sasuke’s sentiment.

“lt hurts. lsn't that something?” asked Sasuke in confusion.

“l know it hurts, and l know why it hurts. There's only one thing that could be,” Kakashi tried hard to
surpress his laughter while patting Sasuke’s shoulders.

“What?” Sasuke furrowed his brows.

“Gout. You know what'll happen to me when l got that in the test report?” quipped Kakashi. “They
won't only fire me as your coach. They'll laugh me out of the swimming coach profession!” he
continued in snarky remark.

“Well, can we just forget about the gout?” pleaded Sasuke.

“No,” tolak Kakashi firmly while folding his arms.

“No?” Sasuke frowned.

“And l have an even bigger problem,” remarked Kakashi again with loud sigh.

“What?” asked Sasuke with grunt.

“Explaining how a man walks across the desert in his stockinged feet and winds up with saddle
sores,” interrogated Kakashi.

Sasuke scoffed, realizing the absudirty was caused by none other than his genie.

“Change your clothes and back to training quickly,” commanded Kakashi while patting Sasuke’s back
before leaving him.

Sasuke then walked dengan lesu ke ruang ganti pria seorang diri. Saat ia berniat mengganti
pakaiannya dengan pakaian renang, mendadak Sakura muncul di sampingnya.

Sasuke yang terkejut nyaris terkena serangan jantung dan menutup pintu loker dengan keras.

“That coach, l do not think l like him!” protested Sakura with a pout and folding her arms.

Sasuke’s blushing while covering his front with his uniform and averted his gaze. “Well, if he caught
you here, l don't think he'd be too happy either. You better beat it!” he stammeredly sulked.
Sakura blinked and instantly turned her back against Sasuke without even moving, “l wish to help.”

“No,” tolak Sasuke firmly while quickly removing his pants and changing it to swimwear.

“There's no way for you to get me out of this spot, Sakura,” snapped Sasuke, folding his arms, “l've
gotta tell Kakashi the whole truth. lt may mean my swimming career…”

“Well, then why tell him?” asked Sakura, without turning her gaze.

“Because the results of my survival test are gonna be used to confirm if I perfectly enough for the
next swimming competition and it won’t be fair to my peers because they don’t have a genie,”
explained Sasuke dengan gusar.

“ls it any wonder l love you?” exclaimed Sakura happily, ignoring Sasuke’s protest, and grabbing both
of his cheeks while kissing him passionately.

However, she quickly disappeared when someone entered the men’s changing room and leaving
Sasuke tilted his head in awkward position.

“He may be in better physical shape but l bet l'm in better mental shape,” murmured Naruto to
himself, mocking Sasuke.

Kakashi also entered the changing room following Naruto.

Sasuke was shocked to find Naruto’s feet was bandage. “Naruto! Your feet, what happened?”

“Blisters this big, that's what happened,” Naruto sighed loudly while dengan timpang berjalan
menghampiri temannya. “Boy, you try walking on a desert, you'll have blisters too. Only come to
think about it,
you couldn't have because you didn't have any shoes because l ate one of them and....”

“Hey, wait a minute. Wait, what did happen out there?” asked Kakashi in confusion, scratching his
head.

“Well, l've been trying to figure out a way of telling you, sensei,” replied Sasuke, “But Naruto chose
the hard way, and l chose the easy way.”

Kakashi nodded understandanbly, “Obviously. Naruto lost pounds travelling miles in one day while
you turned up only five hours early, miles from the drop zone and looking like the guest of honour at
the gourmet's club.”

“Explain that. How come you didn't let me in on the easy way?” protested Naruto.

“l wanted to, but l couldn't,” replied Sasuke nervously, “Well, what l mean is....”

“What? What?” Naruto got closer to Sasuke and shook his shoulders impatiently.
Sasuke bit his lips, “Well, while you were collecting cactus and bones and feathers, l was.... l was
having a big meal of chicken soup and roast lamb and melon...and there l was lying in this beautiful
silk tent.”

Naruto quickly shook his head, “No fair. No fair. That's my mirage he's doing.”

“A beautiful tent and beautiful food? No beautiful girl?” Kakashi abruptly memotong pembicaraan.

“There was in my mirage,” Naruto sneered while pointing to himself.

“After l ate the melon....,” Sasuke continued hesitantly.

“Don't listen to him,” snapped Naruto out of sudden, startled Sasuke, “Aside from what was on the
ground, the only thing he ate was his left shoe!”

“lt was my right shoe, and l didn't eat it,” snapped Sasuke tidak terima.

Kakashi nodded in amusement while touching his chin, “Remarkable. And the miles?”

“l rode most of the way,” Sasuke scoffed while averting his gaze.

“On a camel?” guessed Kakashi.

“Yes,” Sasuke lowered his head in shame.

“That was my mirage too. l must have told him on the walkie-talkie!” shouted Naruto.

“Of course you did. You saw it, but he rode it,” pondered Kakashi, trying to make sense in this absurd
situation between the two boys, “Very interesting.”

“Wait a minute. Wait, coach,” snapped Sasuke while touching Kakashi’s shoulders.

“You don't believe him, do you?” Naruto protested.

“Of course not,” bantah Kakashi firmly. He then pointed at Sasuke, “But the important thing is that he
believes it. A remarkable manifestation of mind over matter.”

He then walked towards Naruto, “You see, Sasuke was so convinced the food was there he not only
put on weight, he got the gout. And as for your camel, he got the saddle sores.”

“Then you don't think l'm crazy. You won't kick me out of the seleksi kandidat?” tanya Sasuke
impatiently.

“Well, hardly. We need men like you--,” Kakashi surprised both Sasuke and Naruto in his response. He
grabbed Sasuke’s shoulders, “Men of imagination and determination, --if we're to win the national
competition.”
“Thank you. You'll never regret this,” said Sasuke with satisfied smirk.

“l'm recommending you beat the best of the very best record: 1.42 minutes!” Kakashi exclaimed
while loudly patted Sasuke’s shoulders, leaving him startled.

Kakashi then left the both of them.

Naruto clutching his throbbing forehead.

“Look, Naruto,” exclaimed Sasuke with a faint grin. Happy to be trusted in national competition by his
coach. “Naruto?” he was confused to see his friend so distressed overhearing the news.

Keesokan harinya, seperti biasa Sakura selalu berusaha melarang Sasuke untuk pergi ke sekolah.

“Then l'm really going with you,” she pleaded while hugging Sasuke from the back.

“l wouldn't tackle swimming competition without you,” Sasuke turned toward her and smirked
faintly.

“l'm so pleased. I will make sure you beat the best of the best record, master,” she giggled happily.

“Oh, l bet you do,” quipped Sasuke in mischievos tone.

He then removed Sakura’s hands from his waists and walked briskly towards the nearby cupboard,
grabbing Sakura’s bottle.

“All right. ln your bottle,” commanded Sasuke with stern voice while pointing the bottle towards
Sakura.

“But--” Sakura pleaded while sobbing, but she had really no other choice but to obey her master.

After Sakura turned into smoke and entered the bottle, Sasuke quickly closed it.

“l'm sorry, Sakura,” Sasuke bit his lips in agony, “l know this is a dirty trick and l hate myself, but l'm
going to accomplish this competition on my own.”

He then placed the bottle back in the cupboard, “With nothing going for me.”

Sasuke exited his apartment and leaving Sakura alone in her bottle.