Sasuke's Parenting

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

The Shinden Saga – Arc 4: The Otsutsuki War

.

Chapter 148 – Sasuke's Parenting

.

In Kirigakure, on the roof of the apartment building where Takeshi Minamoto lives, the latter is waiting for an update on what is or has happened with the masked Otsutsuki. He was joined by his father Tsubai, who brought his daughter Yoshinari as well. The little girl is currently playing around with Tojiki, who came back with them and waited for Rihetsuki to wake up, still shaken by Tokubei's attack.

It has been barely half an hour since Sasuke arrived on the scene and took the fight elsewhere, yet Takeshi already sees a black rift appear next to him, from which the Uchiha steps out, seemingly victorious.

"What happened?" Takeshi stands up in a hurry and asks, before his father and the two girls also come closer. "Where is the masked man?"

"… He got away…" Sasuke hesitatingly says, still wondering about this curious character, before confidently looking at Takeshi. "What did he want? Why did he come after you?"

"… It was about Hyakki… The man who… killed my mother." Takeshi sadly replies. "He said that I was considered his murderer, just like you are for Momoshiki."

Sasuke, doubtful about this, looks at Tsubai and takes his serious stare as a confirmation. This could be a massive problem in the future. He could fathom the fact that he will have to fight against the Tenshin. However, having to protect not only Boruto but also Takeshi from them makes things much more complicated.

"Sasuke, …" Takeshi insists on getting his attention. "Where did that man go? He took Saki away. Where is she now?"

Sasuke, who got in action too quickly to understand what was happening, only now learns of this. He notices Tojiki, the little girl next to Tsubai's daughter, clenching her fists and stepping forward. She seems concerned by Sakitsuki's case as well but mistrustful of him. Anyway, there is only one possible answer to their question.

"If he took her away, he certainly sent her to the Moon." he answers to Takeshi.

"The moon? How do I get there? Can you send me where she is?" the Minamoto mindlessly asks.

"I can't do that." the Uchiha simply replies.

"Why not? Just let me through a portal." the ninja in black insists, refusing to let go.

"He can't, because the whole Otsutsuki clan is there." Rihei gets in the conversation as he stands up, now feeling well.

"Daddy!" Tojiki exclaims as she runs to hug him.

Yoshinari, seeing her friend hug her father, goes to her own dad and tightly holds him by the jacket. Takeshi stays silent, agape. No one will let him go to save Saki. Does it mean he has to accept this kidnapping? Sasuke, distracted by Rihei, quickly forgets about the golden-eyed one and greets the elder celestial.

"Long time no see, Rihetsuki." he simply says.

"I told you to call me Rihei." the Otsutsuki answers before bringing his own demand. "Uchiha Sasuke, I would like to meet the 7th Hokage."

"And what for?"

"Isn't it obvious? Our worlds are at war, and I am on your side. I consider the Hokage to be the leader of your kind, so if my help would be of interest anywhere, it is by his side. I hate to admit it, but I have no choice but to do what I can. This planet and my family are in danger."

"I see, but you'll have to get there by yourself. I won't let another of you come into Konoha unannounced. You wouldn't be welcome."

"… Then can you at least spread the word, to announce my visit?"

Sasuke lightly nods in agreement, and looks down at Tojiki who's still holding her father's waist. Rihei slightly hides her away from the Uchiha's gaze, knowing that he is only now noticing the unknown power she holds. Sasuke's attention is drawn away however, by Tsubai who comments on the apparent trust between Sasuke and the elder celestial, whom he is meeting for the first time.

"Wait… So that's once another alien good guy?" he says, which makes Rihei raise an eyebrow.

Sasuke, now focused on Tsubai that he didn't see in person since even before the Chimera's death, gets an odd feeling. Using his Rinnegan, he analyzes the chakra of his friend worriedly. The Minamoto patriarch, meanwhile, is more concerned about Takeshi that he sees blankly staring at the moon.

"Hey, Takeshi, are you okay?" he asks his son who is obviously struggling to process his separation with Saki. The ninja in black still looks up with pain in his eyes, and stares back at his dad and sister. Before he can answer, Sasuke abruptly addresses Tsubai.

"No. Are you okay, Tsubai?" he asks, to their surprise, before explaining his worries. "You're hiding something, aren't you? I can feel it." he adds as he menacingly steps forward.

"Me? I'm fine. I feel fantastic. What do you mean?" Tsubai replies, while mistrustfully stepping back, foolishly taking cover behind his daughter who naively stands to protect him.

Sasuke, fully serious about his intuition, raises his hand and gets past Yoshinari, directly to reach her father.

Gakido

By absorbing his chakra from a distance, he forcefully undoes a jutsu and gets startled by the result. Takeshi and Yoshinari, seeing this, gasp aloud and step back confusingly. What Sasuke just dispelled was a transformation that Tsubai was using to hide his state. His true current self, now unveiled, has noticeable wrinkles and hair turned gray. From head to toe, he looks 15 years older than he should.

"His aging accelerated…" Tentoki comments in Takeshi's mind. "Just like for all the previous Minamoto clan leaders…"

To Takeshi, this solves the mystery he was feeling lately, but leaves him confused, in denial. Sasuke honestly addresses it and questions the embarrassed father.

"How long have you been hiding this? Is it the effect of the same curse that your father wanted to escape?"

Tsubai refuses to answer and just avoids eye contact with anyone. Yoshinari, lacking too much information, just looks weirdly at her dad, trying to recognize him. Rihei stays indifferent. Takeshi, after hearing Sasuke and Tentoki's remarks, feels crushed by the news. If he's right, this is the effect of Sojobo's curse. This is what the Daitengu foretold 2 years ago, and it could cause his father's death soon.

Bothered by the judgment and worries of Sasuke, and the visible early grief of his son, Tsubai is reminded exactly of why he was hiding it.

"Come on, stop being so dramatic!" he argues to play it down. "It's just gray hair and wrinkles. I'm just aging fast because of stress I guess. Otherwise I'm fine. Not like it's time to worry about that anyway."

Sasuke squints his eyes and thoughtfully analyzes him. Yoshinari, reassured by his voice and attitude, recognizes her father and worriedly holds his jacket again. Takeshi, refusing to accept another bad news today, sees the silhouette of Sojobo next to him within his soul and waits for a reaction.

The Daitengu speaks no word, but his silence is louder than any answer. Forced to face the truth, Takeshi covers his face with his hands and washes away his sweat. Tsubai, annoyed by the concern of his friend and his son, brings the focus on another problem.

"There's more important things going on, guys. Chojuro's gonna need our help soon. There's an entire nation at stake right now."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asks, unaware about Iwa's case.

"See, you don't even know about it. One of the Otsutsuki is already down here and took over Iwa." he explains, to Sasuke's astonishment.

"… This must be Yasona, the goddess of beauty, temptation and mischief." Rihei guesses. "Only she could do such a thing without anyone sensing her."

"See?" Tsubai tells Sasuke to make his point. "Since you need an update, can you stop worrying about how old I look and come with me to Chojuro's office?"

Sasuke clenches his fist and teeth, and stares at Takeshi who's still deeply worried. Yet, Tsubai is right. He has to find out about this. Iwa is near the prison of his son Oshio. He needs to know if anything happened to him. So, he lets go and agrees to follow Tsubai.

"I will come with you." Rihei says, before looking at Takeshi. "Young Minamoto, we are right above your home I believe. Could you please look after the children in the meantime?"

Taking silence as a positive answer, Rihei leaves, followed by Sasuke. Tsubai thoughtfully looks at his son before going without a word as well. They leave Takeshi alone with the girls, alone with his problems.

"I don't get it, Bro." Yoshinari tells him. "Why does Dad look like a grandpa?"

Takeshi doesn't answer. He just tries to hide his trembling and guides the girls down the roof to his apartment. He and Yoshinari leap down to his staircase while Tojiki follows them, flying. Inside, the girls rush to the living room and get cozy. Takeshi closes the door and silently stares at them, trying to silence his thoughts. But a sudden question coming to Tojiki's mind breaks his peace.

"Mister Takeshi…" she says, suddenly serious. "What's gonna happen to Saki?"

"… I-… I don't know." he answers after containing his surprise, with his lips trembling.

After these words, he goes to his bedroom where, to jab the pin of this loss deeper, he finds the dresses of his aunt's brand lying around, out of the closet. Right before being forced away so suddenly, Saki must have been here, alone, trying these on.

"These are Tokiwa's dresses!" Amabie, the mermaid tengu, exclaims in his mind.

Startled by the voice of the one he sees as the ghost of his mom, Takeshi feels weak and falls to his knees. She is right. These are clothes that belonged to Tokiwa, but that Saori willingly gave to Sakitsuki. Even though he still tries to ignore Amabie, he couldn't hide his reaction this time. Tentoki and Makura stay silent, leaving Takeshi to process the memory of his dead mother, his separation with his girlfriend and his father's illness all at once.

Takeshi, alone in his soul with the silence of Makura and the presence of Sojobo sitting on the bed next to him, feels sick, overwhelmed. With dry eyes, lacking even the strength to cry, he picks up the black and blue dress of his mother on the ground and seeks comfort in the still noticeable smell of Saki in them.

.

.

A few hours later on the same day, in Iwagakure, Yasona Otsutsuki is lying on a couch on the large balcony of the Tsuchikage's mansion, surrounded by villagers who have to go along with their new queen's whims. On her back with her kimono lowered to let her bare shoulders out, she is receiving a massage by a professional physiotherapist she found in the village while being fed mountain strawberries by a group of servants. Used to much better, she finds it hard to enjoy.

"Is that really the best you can do?" she says to the masseuse as she interrupts them and sits up. "No offense, really. I'm sure you're doing great for an earthling. But that's just not it. Why aren't you using any chakra?"

"Uh?… I-… I don't have any." the woman embarrassingly replies.

"All humans have chakra. You mean you don't know how to use it." Yasona replies boringly. "To have inferior beings use chakra in this was all the thrill for me, But if you can't, what's the point?" she asks the poor physiotherapist before sighing out. "Sit here, girl. Let me show you how it's done."

The masseuse timidly sits by the goddess' side while the servants stand still, jealously staring. The goddess of beauty raises her hands and strips the woman to free her back and prepares to demonstrate her vision of a proper massage, but abruptly stops and stands up to stare in a specific direction.

Byakugan

With her Dojutsu, she gazes outside of the village and sees whose chakra got her attention. The Rinnegan user, the acolyte of the yellow fox, Sasuke Uchiha. He just stands a few hundreds of meters away from the village's walls. While he's there, Yasona analyzes his chakra and tilts her head.

"Hmm… That's not as much as I expected from him… Yet I still feel like he'd beat me." she comments aloud, confusing the few people with her on the balcony. "But I know more about his eyes than he knows about me! So, who knows…" she adds, standing still, to know if the enemy will come to her or not.

After a minute, she gets at ease when she senses him get further, and sits back on her chair. Seeing everyone else around her still confused, she makes a little hand sign to let them resume what they were doing, forgetting about the massage she was about to give.

Sasuke, who just left to go where he originally intended, could barely sense any energy within Iwa, not even the massive chakra of the mischievous goddess. Lacking any intel about this opponent, and still recovering chakra after his fight with Tokubei, he prefers not to engage in another battle for now.

.

Further from the hidden village, in between the mountains, atop of the volcano where lies the infamous prison of Iwa, Oshio sits patiently and calmly stands up when he senses a visitor that he immediately recognizes.

"Hello, father." he greets the visitor.

"It's been a while…" Sasuke slowly says, unsettled by the weak state he finds his son in. "I'm sorry. I still couldn't find a solution."

"You're not to blame." Oshio calmly replies, giving no detail about what he knows of his situation. "Why are you here this time?"

"… I was told Iwa was under occupation." Sasuke explains.

"Are you here to take down the invader?"

"No. I had a fight just a few hours ago, and can't get into another one so soon. I'm here to see you. I was afraid something might have happened to you, since you're only a few miles away."

"Well, nothing happened to me. I've been here alone for over a week."

Sasuke looks around and focuses to sense the surroundings. There is indeed absolutely no one aside from sleeping prisoners in nearby undergrounds. Not a single ninja is here to guard Oshio's cell.

"No guards…" he says, worriedly. "How did you get your meals then?"

"I haven't. I haven't eaten anything in a week." Oshio answers, still oddly calm.

His father, bothered by this, pulls out a lunch box from under his cape. It's the one Sakura gave him before he left to help Tsubai. He sends it to his son by letting it levitate over the pool of lava with his Rinnegan.

"Here. Your mother made it. Sorry if it's a bit shaken and cold. It got messy during my fight."

Oshio grabs the box, sits down in his tiny suspended cell and starts eating. Sasuke stays there silently, looking at him and waiting for something to say. He is sitting on a bunk that doesn't have a blanket, sheet or even a headrest. It's just a thin, seemingly uncomfortable, mattress.

"It's delicious." Oshio says, appreciating his father's intention. "Could you thank Mother for me?"

Sasuke, knowing that a nod won't be seen by his blind son, lets out just a light sound of acknowledgement, and keeps thoughtfully staring at the one he's failing to save. Oshio, in the middle of his meal, takes a pause to discuss serious matters.

"So… it seems the gods have come down to us, as I foresaw."

"… Yes…" Sasuke answers after a long silence.

"But you and the Hokage are here to fight back and protect the world. In this I was wrong. I didn't think you'd be able to make it."

"… I don't know if we will." his dad replies after a long silence again, to Oshio's surprise. To him, this unfaithful remark sounds unreal. Sasuke and Naruto are much more powerful than he envisioned. For his father to still be pessimistic, he had to seriously misinterpret the boundaries of the celestials' power. Who exactly are those that Momoshiki wanted to go against, and did he even have any chance to do so?

This remark is depressing, but still makes the former leader of Kakumei giggle, which catches Sasuke's attention. The prisoner resumes his meal and just makes one last comment.

"I'm sure the Hokage is much more confident than you are… I wish I got to know him better… I wish I got to know you, and mom, better."

After this heartfelt comment, he stops speaking and quietly finishes his lunchbox. Sasuke stays there for a moment, regretfully thinking of these words, troubled by this sudden declaration. Feeling like this moment is special, he sits down on the end of the bridge that brings the visitor at the closest possible to the one jailed in this unique cell.

With his left eye's Tendo again, he sends his black cape, that Sakura dislikes seeing him wearing, over to Oshio and leaves it on his bunk, to serve as a blanket later. The pink haired Uchiha felt it, but doesn't acknowledge it, feeling like he's already been grateful enough today.

For Sasuke, this is so different yet so alike in feeling to seeing his wife bring lovingly prepared lunches to his daughter and him in the middle of a training session. It is an undeniably precious moment of peace that he wished he could have lived in a better context. This train of thought brought him to remember his promise to Sarada. He still has to keep it.

.

.

In Konoha, in the center of the village, a group of teenagers get on the streets to walk around. Inojin Yamanaka, Shikadai Nara and Chocho Akimichi just left Ino's flower shop to join Sarada Uchiha and Mitsuki that they saw walk by outside.

"Sarada!" Chocho exclaims, running first to fall on her friend's shoulders. Sarada stands still with a bored face. "Where are you two going? Dinner? Great! We're joining you!" the kunoichi talks alone in excitement.

"Chocho, we're supposed to be on the training ground with Inojin's parents in 20 minutes." Shikadai says, running after her to join them.

"20 minutes! Just enough for a meal!" she yells in the ears of Sarada who remains calm and looks at Mitsuki to share her embarrassment.

"Like you're not fat enough already!" Inojin yells, catching up to them at last.

"The fatter, the better! I'm an Akimichi. That's how we work." Chocho answers.

"We may not have time to eat in a restaurant with Sarada and Mitsuki, but I'm sure madam Yamanaka brought dinner for us at the ground. Or maybe she'll invite us afterwards." Shikadai says, full of hope, just excited to get to the training.

Inojin cringes and seeks help in the comprehending gazes of Sarada and Mitsuki. The latest generation of Ino-Shika-Cho seem like complete opposites of their parents. Chocho takes any remark about her weight or silhouette as a compliment, unlike her father who doesn't like being judged for what his ninja arts require. Shikadai is an optimistic and volunteering young man, unlike the lazy Shikamaru who finds everything troublesome. And Inojin doesn't seek compliments from others like his mother, nor does he hold his tongue to appear friendly like his father.

However, Chocho is also as enthusiastic about meat as Choji and Karui. Shikadai is a genius just like his father, and has a bossy and elder sibling-like behavior similar to Temari. At last, Inojin keeps it a secret but actually cares about his looks just as much as Ino, and is as brutally honest as his father used to be.

Sarada has the same reputation as her mother for both co-students and adults, but also has the purposefully mysterious aura of her father. She stares at Mitsuki, as awkward yet comprehensive as his parent, and waits with him. They quietly stare at Inojin arguing with Chocho who keeps jokingly messing with him while Shikadai just listens in the middle with a naive smile.

This silly scene is ended by Mitsuki who brings everyone's attention to a familiar face coming nearby.

"Well, you won't have time for a restaurant it seems." he says as he points to where Sai comes from, making them all go quiet.

Inojin instantly calms down, willing to maintain a mature image of himself in front of his father. Shikadai, noticing this sudden change in behavior, looks at Chocho and waits for her to notice as well. Just as Sai arrives, the Akimichi figures out what her friend wanted her to see and they start laughing. Just before Chocho can call out Inojin in front of his dad to embarrass him, Something otherworldly interrupts her and startles Sai.

Chimatakami

Between Mitsuki and the Yamanaka father, a space rift appears and Sasuke Uchiha steps out from it. Having localized the chakra of his daughter, he thoughtlessly decided to appear by her side. Sai and Sarada saw this happen before, so they're only a bit startled when they notice it. Mitsuki, who never saw such portals but is well informed about the Rinnegan user, stays calm. The Ino-Shika-Cho kids, unfamiliar with this, step back in confusion and mistrustfully stare at the man who stepped out, whom they actually never saw before.

"Sasuke?" Sai says aloud, making everyone guess who this man is.

Sarada, seeing him without his cape and slight bruises on his clothes, is still surprised by this sudden arrival. Shikadai smiles, just glad to have understood that this man is an ally. Chocho can't take her eyes off the man's empty left sleeve.

"Uh? Hey Sarada! You never told me our dads were alike!" she says.

"Alike?" Sarada exclaims, as Sasuke thinks about it quietly.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Inojin comments. "Sasuke Uchiha doesn't look easily offended, and isn't a fat ass either."

Right after impulsively bragging out this insult, Inojin notices his dad's shocked and disappointed reaction and backs off. Chocho is however unbothered and explains.

"No, silly. I mean he's also missing a part of his left arm." referring to her father's left hand lost against the Daitengu when she was still an infant.

Sasuke is still confused, unaware of Choji's injury, and even unable to figure out who the parents of these kids are. Judging from the face of the kid with light brown hair and the way he attached his hair, he must be the son of Shikamaru. The blond pale kid with light blue eyes looks like Sai, so he must be the little brother of Izuna's girlfriend.

And so he figures out that the last girl, with brown skin and red hair, is the daughter of the Akimichi clan's leader, even though she looks like she's originally from the land of Lightning. Sasuke may not know it, but he was present at the very moment this girl's parents met for the first time and fell in love with each other, 19 years ago. Sai interrupts the Uchiha's thoughts and the teenager's gossip about him.

"Inojin, your mother is waiting for us." he says. "Let's go."

After a simple head gesture to greet the Uchiha, Sai leaves with the kids, still chatting about the mysterious ronin.

"He looks good, doesn't he?" Shikadai comments.

"Oh my god! I was hoping someone would say it!" Chocho reacts. "No wonder Sarada is that cute."

"What do y'all mean?" Inojin says with a nervous tone. "He looks like my sister's boyfriend but emo."

Sarada, who heard this last comment, sighs. Sasuke doesn't mind. And Mitsuki plays it off with a light laugh. Now alone and seeing the mean look her father gives to her classmate, the Uchiha girl figures she should make an introduction.

"Um… Dad, you never met Mitsuki before, did you?" she says.

"Nice to meet you, Sir." the boy adds with his arm raised for a hand shake, to the Uchiha right and only hand.

"I know who you are, kid. I know it very well." Sasuke answers with squinted eyes, finding the resemblance that this child has with Orochimaru overwhelming and disturbing.

"I assume you know my parent?" Mitsuki says peacefully, still with a bright smile that Sasuke only sees as the mocking arrogant grin of the snake sage. While staring at him, he notices how close he is standing to his daughter and finds it bothering. Orochimaru has been talking about this every time they met since he first introduced him to his son, but the idea of their children becoming friends never sounded good to Sasuke. To see it happen is confusing to say the least, especially considering that it is his youngest child, with the first and only of an 80 year old snake person.

Sarada, unhappy about her father's mean reaction to this meeting that he isn't even trying to hide, hums to get his attention.

"This… encounter with Chocho and all… It was embarrassing." she says.

"Yes it was." Sasuke answers, still confused by the change of atmosphere between Sarada and Oshio's life.

"What do you want?" she asks.

"… Training. Didn't I promise you we'd go on when I'm back?"

Seeing Sarada's disapproval, but acknowledging her father's intention, Mitsuki decides to help him by stepping away.

"Oh, I guess you should do that." he says. "I just remembered I had something to do right now."

"What? But we were about to get dinner. And you said you were free." she argues.

"Yes I did, but I just remembered that… I may have a mission to complete." Mitsuki hesitatingly says, looking at Sasuke to find help.

"You do have a mission." Sasuke takes advantage of this moment and joins in the improvised excuse of Orochimaru's son. "Your task is to inform the Hokage's office that a celestial called Rihetsuki Otsutsuki, but going by the name Rihei Otsu, is on his way to Konoha and is willing to bring his help to us in our conflict with his clan."

"Is this true?" Mitsuki asks, impressed by the fact, to which he receives just a nod as a reply. "I see. Consider it done, sir." he adds before waving goodbye to Sarada with his shaky hand and vanishing with a Shunshin.

Sasuke, who's eyes can't be fooled by this jutsu, sees the boy leave and remarks how well executed this was for someone who isn't even a genin. This kid is or could easily be the best student of his promotion, and certainly has much more power hidden. Sarada, seeing her friend leave her alone here, gets her father's attention.

"So we're going to train now?" she says.

"Yes. Why? You don't feel like it?" Sasuke answers and asks.

Sarada looks around, not sure about what she wants. It is getting late, but her mother won't complain if she's with her dad. And right now, he looks so odd and confused, like he's seeking a family interaction at all cost. So she can't really decline this invitation.

"Hm? Okay. We can go training, but I have two conditions." she demands.

Sasuke lightly smiles, glad that she doesn't reject him, and waits to hear the conditions.

"First, don't treat me like a child. Don't go easy like this morning." she first asks.

"I agree." he says after a light smirk. "I'll still hold back, but I'll treat you just like any other student." he says, obviously referring to his only pupil Boruto. "What's second?"

"Second,… We have to go to a far away place like when I was a kid." she shyly asks before blushing.

"You mean another planet or dimension?" her father clarifies about the places he used to bring her to in her daydreams.

"What? Planet or dimension?" Sarada exclaims. "You mean none of these places were on Earth?"

"Of course not. The sky isn't green anywhere on this planet. There are no plains of salt on Earth. Neither are there oceans of acid or magma at the surface." he explains, mocking her childish naivete.

Sarada scratches her head lightly and shrugs with her shoulders, to show how stupid she feels. Of course, it was simply easier to believe that these places were real on Earth rather than to fathom the fact that it was possible for her father to travel through multiple spaces like that. With a confident smile, she then stares at her dad and waits to go. Sasuke breathes in and turns around, ready to open a portal. However, behind him, he sees someone running to him.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" a woman he doesn't recognize yells.

"Madam Hanabi?" Sarada says, letting her father guess who she is. She's Hanabi Hyuga, the head of the Hyuga clan and Boruto's first master. She comes up to them and immediately addresses the Uchiha.

"Hey." she says first, leaving a little awkward blank. "You've trained Boruto for a while, haven't you?"

"Trained for a while?" Sasuke replies with an interrogative voice. "I taught him enough to make him the greatest ninja of this generation, with or without the Tenseigan."

"Yeah! Sure! Don't take all the credit. I'm the one who made him find his style and path first." she argues, before coming to her offer. "Anyway, you probably know him very well. And so do I. Considering all the stuff he has now, isn't there anything you'd love to teach him?"

Sasuke stays silent for a moment and thinks of it. It's true that there are a lot of things he and Boruto were scheming before Toneri abruptly came in. From his facial expression, Hanabi guesses the answer she wants.

"Right? Me too!" she exclaims. "So… Would you mind coming with me? I've got ideas that could greatly help and satisfy our common student in his future task. We can discuss that with a cup of tea."

Sasuke is sure intrigued by this idea and the opportunity it could be for Boruto, but he just interrupted his daughter's day to bring her on a training course. Accepting means leaving her behind. He turns around and looks at Sarada, figuring he should probably stay with her. Sarada, with a compassionate smile, waves at him to bring his head closer.

Sasuke, curious about what this gesture means, bends his knees to bring his shoulder to her head's level. There, to his surprise, she pokes his forehead with two fingers, which makes him lightly shiver, in remembrance of childhood memories.

"Maybe next time?" she adds, to copy his manner.

Sasuke smiles, stands up, and lets her go to join Mitsuki, whom he sent on a mission he should have accomplished. He and Hanabi look at her before staring at each other, ready to plot an optimized training for their common student.

.

End of Chapter 148 – Next Chapter: Moon Buster Canon