Change

Lin Ke reached out and placed his hand on Sasuke, performing a standard healing treatment before following up with a Mystical Palm Technique. He said, "I've met with the Third Hokage. He'll be talking to you."

"I understand." Uchiha Sasuke nodded. He had enough trust in his companion now, knowing that the other wouldn't harm him, so he wasn't worried about what they would discuss.

"Don't hold back then." Lin Ke smiled. "Make whatever demands you want from the Third Hokage. I don't think he'll refuse you anything."

Uchiha Sasuke's mood lightened slightly.

"Really, don't put too much pressure on yourself." Lin Ke released his hand and sat down on the chair next to the bed. Seeing a peeled apple on the bedside table, he picked it up and took a bite.

It was quite sweet.

He crunched as he ate, saying, "With my secret technique helping you, you'll catch up to him sooner or later. And don't always think about doing everything alone..."

Damn it!

Haruno Sakura was pressed against the door, watching her peeled apple being eaten by someone else, veins popping on her forehead.

Uchiha Sasuke glanced at the door. The hospital room door had decent soundproofing, and at this close range, normal speaking voices shouldn't be heard outside.

"What do you think of Sakura?" Lin Ke naturally noticed the girl at the door who was a little frantic. He smiled and said, "If you want to restore the Uchiha's glory, choosing a good wife is a must."

"Next time, I'll have Uncle come out to help you advise."

He occasionally summoned Uchiha Fugaku when he was alone with Sasuke, letting the father and son chat.

As a father, Fugaku was very dedicated to guiding his son. Don't let the fact that this guy was an ambitious schemer of rebellion fool you; his love for his son was genuine, otherwise he wouldn't have willingly died at Itachi's hands.

Having died once, he was even more open-minded. Apart from still not having a good look for Konoha, everything else was fine.

After all, in his eyes, there were only two Uchiha left, one of whom was the main culprit, and the other should be normal.

Tenten being bitter and resentful wouldn't do.

Uchiha Sasuke turned his face away, clearly becoming awkward again, and said, "I'll think about it after I kill Itachi and Danzo."

"I think Sakura likes you quite a bit." Lin Ke threw the apple core into the trash can.

"I don't like her." Uchiha Sasuke replied with a bit more seriousness.

This dislike was genuine, whether it was her overly naive personality, her weak strength, or the fact that she had once spoken ill of orphans in front of him...

In short, he just didn't like her.

"Alright." Lin Ke wasn't in a hurry. In the manga, Haruno Sakura chased after her husband for so many years before barely achieving success, going through being scolded by her husband countless times, being stabbed through, almost being killed, and various other events that would make the average person give up.

Finally, all the way to the Scarlet Spring chapter in the Gaiden, Sakura actually followed Sasuke on a journey for a period of time before returning to Konoha Village with their child, becoming a single mother. Even more tragically, her child's father was out wandering, and she didn't even have a family photo at home, waiting for Sasuke while raising their child.

This persistence was definitely not something a normal person could do, so he wasn't really in a hurry to bring them together now.

Uchiha Sasuke was completely unaware that he had long provoked the number one most difficult woman. He sat on the bed and said, "I plan to join the Anbu after being promoted to Chunin."

"My combat experience is too far behind that guy..." He said, with hope in his eyes, talking about his next plan.

The obsession with revenge had been changed by the truth and the father who had returned to his side, and he finally had the appearance of an ordinary twelve-year-old boy.

Lin Ke quietly listened to Sasuke's plan, stood up, and said, "It's late, you should rest early." He walked to the door, paused, and said:

"I'll find Aunt as soon as possible." Recently, the time for practicing Summoning Jutsu had been compressed. With the Konoha Crush Plan over, and with a full three years before the Akatsuki Organization destroyed Rain Hidden Village and began its plan to dominate the world, it was time for him to pick up his daily training again.

Uchiha Sasuke watched Lin Ke's figure disappear, and the hospital room door closed. After a long while, he said a little wistfully, "Thank you."

He owed the other person too much... Sometimes, even saying thank you felt too easy, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.

But he was too weak now, and had no ability to fight alongside the other person.

This feeling of being protected and cherished made him, who had been alone for so many years, feel incredibly reluctant, but also made him feel that he should be the one protecting the other person.

...

Late at night, in the hospital, in Sasuke's room.

"Huff~" A breeze blew, and a masked figure appeared in front of the hospital bed.

"!"

In the next second, the masked person suddenly realized that a Kunai was already silently placed against his neck.

"Wearing Anbu gear..." The expression on Uchiha Sasuke's face was very cold, and the Sharingan had already opened. "Who are you?"

"Splash!" The person he was holding suddenly turned into ink and spilled all over the ground.

He spun around, pushing off the ground to avoid the ink, and dove into the intruder's embrace. Evading the attack, he pressed a Kunai against the other's neck once more from the front.

"Don't think your tricks can evade these eyes…"

"So, it's the Sharingan." The masked person lowered his hands, as if giving up resistance, and obediently allowed the mask to be removed, revealing a pale face beneath. He said expressionlessly, "I represent Root, and I'm here to invite you to join, Uchiha Sasuke."

Root, isn't that—

Uchiha Sasuke's face revealed a hint of killing intent, but he still didn't kill the person. Instead, after a few seconds of stalemate, he retreated with the Kunai in hand and said, "What is this Root you speak of?"

The boy, who was about the same age as him, forced out an extremely ugly and emotionless smile, saying, "The Root buried deep underground exists to protect Konoha above ground."

"What kind of smile is that? It's disgusting," Uchiha Sasuke said.

"Apologies, I'm just beginning to learn how to smile." The boy immediately reverted to his original expressionless state. "If you want to gain more power…"

Could this be a chance to see Danzo? A chance for revenge? Or perhaps…

Uchiha Sasuke was struggling internally. He never expected to have a chance to get close to his enemy so soon, but…

He had just promised Lin Ke not to be impulsive.

Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice, "You can leave."

"If you have any thoughts…" The boy didn't show any abnormality, taking out a scroll and placing it on the bedside table. "You can use this code to contact us…"

With that, he left through the window.

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