The Seeds of a Turning Point

Inside the Dark Room.

Sasuke sat cross-legged, bare from the waist up. Two circles, one large and one small, had been drawn on the floor with kunai, enclosing him at their center.

With cinnabar on his fingers, Kakashi continuously wrote across Sasuke's back. Dense lines of sealing script extended from the ground all the way to Sasuke's shoulders, eventually converging into the wound left by the Cursed Seal.

"All right," Kakashi said. "Bear with it."

Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals, pressed his right hand onto Sasuke's shoulder, and shouted:

"Evil Sealing Method!"

The immense pain made Sasuke cry out. The previously motionless symbols rapidly compressed and shifted, beginning to rotate around the Cursed Seal.

In the end, an irregular circular frame formed around the outside of the Cursed Seal.

"With the power of the Evil Sealing Method, the Cursed Seal won't be triggered the next time you use ninjutsu. However, this Sealing Technique is based on your willpower. If you give up resisting the Cursed Seal's power, it will erupt again."

Kakashi explained.

Sasuke nodded, his face as pale as paper.

"There's still one day left. Get some proper rest."

Up in the Central Tower, rooms had been prepared for the ninja who had completed the competition early. They were not luxurious, but they were clean.

After three days of roughing it in the wilderness, Sasuke finally got to lie on a warm, soft bed that night.

After dinner, Naruto and Sakura came to visit him.

"Sasuke-kun, how are you feeling? Are you better?" Sakura asked.

Naruto followed behind her, looking as though he had something weighing heavily on his mind.

"Yeah. Kakashi-sensei helped me suppress the Cursed Seal. I just need to rest and recover my energy."

"Ah, that's great! Kakashi-sensei really is amazing," Sakura said with a smile.

After a brief silence, Sasuke turned to Naruto. "About Guiju Houju, I really..."

"Ah! I've already thought about it!" Naruto cut him off, flashing a broad grin. "Every ninja has their own way of doing things! I really don't like that monkey uncle's way, but maybe that's also one kind of ninja way in this world!"

"But I still stand by what I believe. In the coming exams, I'll use my own way to become a Chunin and earn everyone's recognition! After all, I'm the man who'll become Hokage!"

Naruto gave a thumbs-up, his face full of pride.

"Honestly, you idiot." Sasuke shook his head with a smile.

Afterward, the three of them chatted and laughed for a while, then spent some time analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the other competitors. Only when Sasuke could no longer hide his exhaustion did the other two hurriedly leave.

Perhaps this was the bond of friendship.

Watching the doorway through which they had left, Sasuke felt warm inside.

Deceitful Monkey Kitsu truly had a considerable impact on Sasuke.

"Only by completing missions do you have any value in existing!"

"If your righteousness means making others—or yourself—bleed, then I, Deceitful Monkey Kitsu, would rather remain in the darkness forever!"

Monkey Kitsu's words rang in his ears once more.

For now, Sasuke still could not fully grasp the truths behind them.

But more than the things Monkey Kitsu had specifically said, his greater effect had been to make Sasuke truly feel the complexity of the world.

Perhaps there was more than one road leading to a goal.

Uchiha Itachi's face flashed through Sasuke's mind again.

But perhaps because of the Will of Steel, this time Sasuke did not flee from the thought and force himself to stop thinking about it. For the first time, he examined what had happened to him from the perspective of an observer.

When Team 7 had first been formed, Kakashi-sensei had asked the three of them about their dreams. Sasuke's answer had been, "Restore the Uchiha Clan, and kill that man."

But those were, in the end, two separate things.

For so long, driven by both hatred and fear, his heart and mind had been filled with his obsession with Itachi and the pursuit of power that stemmed from it.

As for restoring the Uchiha Clan, he had probably long since cast it aside.

Monkey Kitsu's appearance made Sasuke begin to think for the first time: besides becoming stronger, was there some other way to accomplish his ambitions?

For example, like Naruto was always shouting about, "the man who'll become Hokage."

No, that was wrong. Becoming Hokage.

Before this, that brat had shouted the phrase so often that Sasuke's ears had practically grown calluses. But that night, Sasuke truly faced those words for the first time and considered the value behind becoming Hokage.

After thinking for a while, Sasuke only felt irritated.

A twelve-year-old boy knew almost nothing about political maneuvering, much less had any fondness for it. Being able to think this far was already an impressive realization.

Better to look at what was right in front of him.

Sasuke's mood lightened somewhat. He had already fully tasted the benefits of the Collective Wisdom system.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. I have passed the second stage of the Chunin Exams. What suggestions do you all have for the road ahead?"

A reply quickly appeared.

Forgot Love: "Congrats~ Feeling pretty awesome, huh?"

Miao Da Lianlian: "Why aren't you giving a detailed briefing this time? Uchiha Sasuke, you're getting a little full of yourself."

Sasuke's old face reddened. He really did not want to talk about Monkey Kitsu.

Einstein Breasts Exposed: "Hey, what's there to say about beating up a few lousy Rain Ninja? What do you know? My Bro Sasuke is just being modest."

Rain Ninja?

Sasuke was completely confused.

"Don't move! I've got this one! Let me claim the first reply first."

Their old acquaintance Hunshui Moyu had finally arrived.

"This game's gotten me a little hooked. While the OP was gone these past two days, I kept thinking about it whenever I had nothing to do. Everyone, at this point in the timeline, there's a key figure about to appear. Do you remember who?"

After a long while, no one responded, so Hunshui Moyu continued talking to himself. "That's right! It's Jiraiya!"

"OP, I suggest you immediately find a white-haired pervy old man and directly ask him to take you as his disciple!"

Huh? Wasn't that a little abrupt?

Because of Orochimaru, Sasuke had learned about the so-called Konoha's Sannin from Sakura.

Hearing that name now, he quickly remembered that Jiraiya should be one of that group as well.

But did building a relationship with one of the Sannin really have to come rushing in like a storm?

You know, I'm a bit slow to warm up.

"Wouldn't that be a little presumptuous?"

After thinking for a long time and carefully choosing his words, Sasuke replied to Hunshui Moyu.

"No worries! I've thought of that for you too! Just go up and say this word for word—"

"Lord Jiraiya, I wish to become your disciple! My dream is to bring unprecedented peace to the ninja world! I hope to receive your guidance!"

"If he asks further, tell him you saw it in a dream. To fulfill your dream, you must become Jiraiya's disciple."

"Do that, and great things will be accomplished!"

As Sasuke was still trying to process that, he saw another new reply.

Squirrel Duck: "The guy above is an idiot. Sasuke isn't suited for Jiraiya at all. He'd be better off going to Orochimaru and becoming his son."

Hunshui Moyu: "Heh heh, I won't argue. If we argue, you're right. But OP, you have to listen to me. At the very least, having another powerful backer can't hurt."

After a while, Hunshui Moyu posted again:

"Please, let me play just once. 5555"