Chapter 137

After watching Sasuke leave, Natsuki stretched his body lazily.

He hadn't expected Sasuke to come seeking guidance, let alone with such a sincere attitude. Naturally, Natsuki wasn't stingy with his advice.

Although he had no intention of meddling in the fate of the "Savior," Sasuke was a friend. Since Sasuke had taken the initiative to ask for help, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. That would be too heartless.

Besides, if his words could truly help Sasuke, maybe that was a good thing.

Sasuke's early life had been far too bitter. If he could avoid going dark, that would be best. Going to Orochimaru wasn't a good option—better for Sasuke to stay in Konoha, at least where he had friends and comrades, so he wouldn't be alone.

As long as he understood how to get stronger, Orochimaru's power would lose its appeal.

As for the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre, well, that involved the "F4." Or rather, Danzo would end up being the scapegoat. That didn't matter much.

With Danzo's ambitions, he was bound to stir up trouble before the final act, and he'd inevitably get killed off eventually. Ideally, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane would die too—Konoha didn't need those old vampires sucking the village dry any longer.

It would be best if Sasuke understood that the Uchiha clan's massacre was orchestrated by the F4 and had little to do with Konoha itself.

Let him take his revenge on those four geezers, but don't destroy the entire village. After all, Konoha had quite a few assets belonging to Tenten's family—if the village was destroyed, wouldn't Natsuki suffer a massive loss?

Yawning, Natsuki thought about how he hadn't taken a nap that day. He was feeling a bit lazy.

Seeing that it was getting late, maybe it was time to buy groceries. He hadn't cooked in a while—today, he'd make an exception.

Grabbing a shopping basket, he headed out.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was looking at the paper in his hands. It listed his strengths and weaknesses, Natsuki's training tips, and important advice. The more Sasuke read, the more it all made sense.

"Looks like I've been blindly training all this time, no wonder my progress has been so slow. Compared to Natsuki, he's so much smarter—he knows exactly how to get stronger quickly. He was already pursuing Tenten when he was only six, right? That means he started thinking about how to grow stronger at six.

Now he's twelve—that's six years of dedicated effort, while I was just learning basic school stuff. Of course he's stronger than me!"

Thinking this, Sasuke carefully tucked the paper away.

The contents were too important to him. He needed to reflect and plan carefully—he couldn't just muddle through like before.

"Right, I should go find Kakashi while there's still time."

With that thought, Sasuke headed off to places where Kakashi was known to hang out—like the training grounds, Ichiraku Ramen, or the dango shop.

But as soon as he got near the dango shop, he saw Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma racing across the rooftops.

Three jōnin rushing like that—something serious had to have happened!

Sasuke's instincts told him this was big, so he immediately gave chase, but he didn't call out to Kakashi. He knew that if it was a major issue, Kakashi wouldn't let him get involved, so he just followed quietly from a distance.

What he didn't notice was that Natsuki, who had gone out shopping, also saw this scene.

Not long after, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma arrived at a riverbank outside the village.

Kurenai and Asuma were the first to leap out, blocking two figures wearing straw hats and black cloaks adorned with red clouds—the Akatsuki.

They were here to capture the Kyūbi Jinchūriki.

Uchiha Itachi.

Hoshigaki Kisame.

The battle broke out immediately.

Asuma faced off against Kisame but was wounded by Samehada.

Kurenai tried to trap Itachi with genjutsu, but it was easily deflected, leaving her injured as well.

Kisame swiftly formed hand seals, summoning a water dragon that surged toward Asuma and Kurenai.

But suddenly, another water dragon rose up to block the first one.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)

It was Kakashi—he had copied Kisame's water jutsu!

Itachi's voice was cold and emotionless.

"Long time no see, Kakashi-san. Tell me... where is the Kyūbi Jinchūriki?"

Kakashi's expression darkened. "Uchiha Itachi... Your target is Naruto?!"

Sasuke, who had just arrived, heard these words clearly. Seeing his long-lost nemesis—the man who slaughtered his clan—his mind was instantly consumed by hatred.

But somewhere deep inside, a thought flickered to life, keeping his mind barely clear.

Naruto? Their target was Naruto?

No... he had asked for the Kyūbi Jinchūriki. Their target was the Tailed Beast?!

So if he became a Jinchūriki, he wouldn't just gain immense power—Itachi would also come looking for him?!

This thought flashed through his mind, but it was quickly drowned out by hatred. His expression twisted, and he drew his short sword, charging forward.

"Uchiha Itachi! Go to hell!!!"

But just as he roared, the world around him suddenly spun, disorienting him.

He instantly realized—he had been caught in Itachi's genjutsu in an instant. And it wasn't even a high-level genjutsu...

As Natsuki had said, his unstable mind couldn't even resist a basic genjutsu!

"Calm down! Calm down! Keep your head cool! Yes, that's it!"

Sasuke took a deep breath and stabbed the blade into his own hand, using the pain to snap himself out of it.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the others had already moved onto the river's surface, locked in a tense standoff.

Clearly, while he was trapped in the illusion, a fierce battle had erupted—the river's surface was churning violently.

And Kakashi... Kakashi looked bad, kneeling on the water, clearly in great pain.

"Asuma, Kurenai, close your eyes! Don't look at him! His genjutsu is too dangerous!" Kakashi gasped for air—he had just endured three days and nights of torture in Itachi's Tsukuyomi.

"Kakashi, are you alright?" Asuma and Kurenai quickly closed their eyes, worried about Kakashi's condition.

(Kakashi's inner thought: I'm fine! I can handle another three days and nights no problem...)

"Fine my ass! Just don't open your eyes!" Kakashi gritted his teeth.

Then he glanced at Sasuke, who had snapped out of it. "Sasuke, calm down! Be careful of his genjutsu!"

Sasuke nodded slowly, not daring to look directly into Itachi's eyes. He knew that if he did, he'd be trapped again, with no chance to fight back, no chance for revenge.

His heart was full of hatred, but he wasn't an idiot.

Still, if he couldn't open his eyes, couldn't look at his opponent—how was he supposed to fight?

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a figure flashed between the two sides.

"Kakashi-senpai, Sasuke, are you guys alright?"

Kakashi's eyes lit up. "Natsuki?! Why are you here?"

Sasuke also instinctively relaxed. Maybe it was knowing Natsuki's strength, maybe it was his trust in him, but when Natsuki appeared, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a sense of reassurance...

(End of Chapter)

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