Chapter 412

The attack by Kara had caused significant damage to Konoha.

The Konoha prison was nearly destroyed, with more than twenty casualties. However, the good news was that Victor had not been taken, and they had managed to gather intel on the short-statured Kara member, Daemon.

While he was tricky to deal with, he wasn't invincible.

During the battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and the two Kara members, Yoichi had observed everything. He hadn't expected Kara to send people to retrieve Victor—let alone Daemon, the modified cyborg who was supposed to be sealed away.

"The only valuable thing left on Victor is the artificial God Tree... Looks like Jigen isn't confident about reclaiming the Ten Tails and wants to grow a new one quickly."

Having roughly guessed Jigen's intentions, Yoichi decided not to interfere. His Kamui clone had already located Kara's base, and now his priority was retrieving Otsutsuki Shibai's corpse before Kara was eradicated.

"There's nothing to worry about."

After careful consideration, Yoichi realized that in this timeline, there was almost no real threat to him. The only thing that required his full attention was Otsutsuki Shibai.

If he could consume a Chakra Fruit that had absorbed the life force of an entire planet, he would become just as indestructible as Kaguya Otsutsuki. If he consumed at least three, he might even reach Yoichi's current level.

As for how many Chakra Fruits Shibai had consumed, there was no way to verify. However, the Divine Techniques extracted from the modified humans suggested that at least five or six had already been taken.

Even though Shibai's consciousness no longer resided in his body, Yoichi would remain extremely cautious when facing an enemy stronger than himself.

...

"Sasuke-kun? You're back."

Sakura opened the door and saw the person she had been longing for—Sasuke. Her face lit up with a smile, but beneath that smile, an inexplicable fear and guilt crept in.

As long as neither she nor Yoichi spoke of that matter, it would never come to light. Yet, Sakura couldn't shake off the unease.

For the past two days, since Sasuke's return, she had barely spoken to him.

Hiding her emotions, she welcomed Sasuke inside with a smile. "Sasuke, is it over?"

"My power is restored, but suddenly there was an attack on Konoha Prison. Naruto and I handled it."

Sasuke took off his cloak and handed it to Sakura before walking into the house. Upon reaching the living room, he didn't see Sarada and asked, "Sakura, where's Sarada?"

"She's probably still out training. Lately, she's been working hard to become the top student at the Academy. Maybe it's because I told her that you were always number one when you were young."

Hearing this, Sakura smiled warmly, full of motherly pride. Sasuke also recalled his own childhood, always chasing after his older brother.

"I'll train her- when I return after dealing with Kara."

Sasuke paused mid-sentence before correcting himself. He realized he was leaving the village again tomorrow.

"Sakura, I'll have to leave tomorrow. Sarada's training will be in your hands for now."

Sakura was startled. "Eh? So soon? You've only been back for three days."

Sasuke shook his head. "The enemy is trying to create another God Tree. We must locate them quickly. This can't be delayed."

Victor's greatest value lay in his secret experiments with cultivating the God Tree. Kara likely lacked the necessary methods, which was why they were desperate to extract it from him.

"I'm back!"

Before Sakura could say anything more, the front door opened, and Sarada stepped in. She took off her shoes and, upon seeing Sasuke, looked at him with joy and anticipation.

"Dad, how long are you staying this time?"

"...Tomorrow. I leave tomorrow."

Sasuke's voice was calm, but Sarada's smile faded slightly. Despite her disappointment, she still smiled and said, "Then be careful on your mission, Dad."

"Mm. Let's eat."

Sasuke hesitated, unsure of what to say, so he simply called Sakura to dinner. However, in his heart, he promised himself—once the ninja world was at peace, he would train Sarada personally.

The current threats to peace were few: the Otsutsuki and two unknown individuals targeting the God Tree.

But Sasuke was confident now. His left arm was restored, and his body had absorbed an enormous amount of chakra. This power was even changing his physique and chakra flow.

Once he fully digested this power, he would return to his prime—his peak during the Final Valley battle in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

At that time, he would be the strongest.

Once all the Otsutsuki were eliminated, he could finally return to Konoha.

With this thought in mind, Sasuke spent the night at home before heading off to train—despite technically being on "rest." He wanted to regain the full dexterity of his left arm as soon as possible before tracking down the enemy.

Not just Sasuke, Might Guy also had his injuries healed today.

After finishing his duties in the village, Naruto had gone to help Guy regain the use of his right leg.

Now, Guy could stand on both feet again. Though his newly restored leg didn't fully match his body yet, given his unwavering youthful spirit, he would recover completely in no time.

...

"I'm home!"

Naruto's voice echoed through the house, filled with joy. Despite the attack on the prison, their gains outweighed their losses.

At the entrance, Himawari greeted him with a bright smile. "Dad, you sound really happy! Did something good happen?"

"Of course! And I brought you a gift, Himawari!"

Naruto was in such high spirits that, on his way home, he had bought gifts for both Himawari and Boruto—a Tailed Beast plushie and a few ninja trading cards.

"Welcome home, Naruto-kun. Dinner is ready."

Hinata smiled as she stepped into the living room. With no more filming obligations, she was gradually forgetting about the intimate moments she had shared with Yoichi during the drama shoot.

However, late at night, memories of those moments would occasionally surface. Sometimes, during midnight trips to the bathroom, she would unconsciously...

Boruto, excited about his new ninja cards, noticed Naruto's good mood and couldn't help but ask, "Did something good happen, Dad?"

"A lot of good things, actually. Even though we still have strong enemies, we also have the power to fight back. Sasuke and Guy-sensei have both recovered, and the village is getting stronger."

Naruto grinned, running a hand through his hair. Though Kurama was still asleep, he was sure that once Kurama woke up, he would be even stronger than before.

Thanks to Yoichi's Onmyojutsu, which had activated the residual energy left in the Pure Land, Naruto now had a real chance against Jigen.

"Hinata, I'd like to invite someone over for dinner sometime. He's helped me a lot recently."

"Eh? Who? If he's helped you a lot, I'll prepare a feast to welcome him."

Hinata smiled warmly.

"The village's Onmyoji, Yoichi-san. Oh, right, Hinata, didn't you also work with him on that drama?"

Naruto suddenly remembered, having watched a few episodes with Hinata. Though he'd heard there was a late-night version, he never stayed up for it.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat.

Memories of Yoichi pinning her down, moving forcefully, flooded her mind.

"N-Naruto-kun, you want to invite... Yoichi-san?"

"Yeah. He's helped both the village and me a lot."

Hinata subconsciously tightened her thighs under the table, her mind replaying certain intimate scenes she wished she could forget.

After a long moment of hesitation—

"I... I agree."

(End of Chapter)

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