How Could They Not Come When We Made Plans?

Konoha School.

Naruto lay listlessly sprawled across his desk.

He had dreamed all night about scenes of being bullied in the past, so naturally, he had not slept well.

Moreover, his body felt heavy, completely unlike usual.

He had originally been looking forward to competing with Sasuke in the high jump today.

But Sasuke had not come to class.

Naruto was even less spirited.

Listening to Iruka explain some geographical knowledge from the front of the classroom, Naruto only felt drowsier and drowsier.

Scrape—the sound of the door sliding open.

"Sasuke!"

"Ah! It's Sasuke!"

Amid the cries of several girls in the class, Naruto snapped awake.

Sasuke had arrived.

"Iruka-sensei, I'm here for class."

Iruka glanced at the figure in the corridor and did not say much. "Mm, go take your seat."

Sasuke walked over to Naruto's side and plopped down.

Naruto said somewhat impatiently, "Sasuke, where did you go? I thought you weren't coming."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and smiled. "I promised you yesterday. How could I not come?"

Naruto froze, and his heart thumped hard twice.

It was the first time someone had kept him in their thoughts. The first time—someone cared about him this much.

Naruto was quite an emotional person. Just that one sentence made his eyes redden.

He hurriedly turned his head away. "After class, I'll show you what I'm made of."

"Mm-hmm..."

Sasuke responded absentmindedly.

He had not realized that he had moved Naruto. After saying that, he turned his gaze toward the corridor outside.

Senyo's silhouette was faintly visible, along with the people guarding his side.

"Senyo, why are you here again?"

When Senyo had brought Sasuke near the school, the Anbu immediately reported it to Jiraiya. Left with no choice, Jiraiya had to come over again himself.

He had originally planned to gather some material, but now he was forced to watch over Senyo instead. Naturally, his expression was unpleasant.

Senyo yawned boredly.

"Jiraiya, what are you talking about? Our young clan head is coming to school. It's perfectly reasonable for me, his bodyguard, to appear at the school."

"Instead of watching me, you should hurry up and kill Danzo."

Jiraiya snorted. "Danzo is the Hokage's Assistant. You can't put him on trial with just one sentence."

Senyo looked at Jiraiya with a half-smile.

"I think Danzo dying sooner would benefit you."

He remembered that Danzo had been the main culprit behind Yahiko's death.

This time, with Konoha and the Uchiha facing off, there would probably be quite a few people coming to watch the spectacle.

The Akatsuki Organization might very well come to join in, and if Konan showed herself, that would be interesting.

Naturally, Jiraiya knew nothing of this and did not take it seriously.

But the next two days were crucial. Those outside who traveled quickly had probably already drawn close to Konoha.

By tomorrow, even the ninja from the Land of Lightning would arrive.

Jiraiya suspected that Senyo intended to forcibly control Naruto now!

Bringing Sasuke here was merely an excuse.

He had to keep a close watch on Senyo. As long as he made it through tonight, once the Third Hokage's people arrived, the situation would truly stabilize.

Senyo knew Jiraiya was nervous, but that was exactly why he was doing this on purpose.

After all, if the Uchiha did not put on the appearance of stirring up trouble, that would be truly abnormal.

Although he did not know when the Third Hokage's people would appear, for the period ahead, Konoha was a grand stage. If you wanted the bounty, come and get it.

After all, this bounty had been issued by Uchiha Itachi. Though it was anonymous, everyone who understood, understood.

Though the Uchiha still nominally had a Security Force, there were only a few squads left in total, and they were all guarding the streets where their own families did business.

They had truly become a neighborhood watch.

The invasion of Konoha had nothing to do with the Uchiha.

They could only defend themselves.

Senyo was still standing in the hallway, just as he had yesterday.

During the outdoor class afterward, he stood not far from Sasuke.

Not to mention that Sasuke had already awakened his eye—even if he had not, Naruto still could not compare to Sasuke.

Their high-jump competition naturally ended in Sasuke's victory.

"Today... today I just didn't perform well!"

"Next time, next time I'll beat you!"

Naruto was as stubborn as ever, but this time, Sasuke did not refute him.

Instead, he suddenly said, "I won't be coming to school next week."

Naruto froze for a moment. "Sasuke, do you have something to do?"

Sasuke shook his head. "We probably won't be seeing each other for a long time."

Naruto's expression stiffened slightly. After all, Sasuke had never looked down on him, and he was willing to play with him.

But Naruto quickly adjusted his expression. "It's fine! We can just meet again later!"

Thinking of the responsibility on his shoulders, as well as the fact that he had already awakened his eye.

Sasuke coolly turned his head away. "I'm already different from you guys."

Seeing Sasuke like this, Naruto muttered, "Show-off Sasuke!"

The day at the Ninja Academy ended amid the noisy squabbling of a bunch of brats.

Jiraiya had watched Senyo all afternoon until his eyes were sore, yet Senyo had done absolutely nothing, making Jiraiya waste an entire day.

When they reached the school gate, Senyo scooped Sasuke up and placed him on his shoulders.

He let Sasuke ride on his shoulders as they left.

Sasuke might have been a child of the prestigious Uchiha clan, but he was still only seven years old.

Fugaku had never accompanied him like this, and Itachi had only carried him on his back before.

Although Senyo was doing this so that yesterday's actions would not seem too abrupt, Sasuke still felt a little thrill of joy in his heart.

"Naruto! I'm leaving!"

Sasuke looked a little excited. Today, he had not shown off the fact that he had awakened his eye.

That meant he could exchange secrets with Senior Senyo again.

Of course, Senyo letting him ride on his shoulders also filled a gap in Sasuke's childhood.

Hearing Sasuke say goodbye to him, Naruto vigorously waved his arm. "Bye, Sasuke!"

He did not lower his arm until Sasuke had gone far away.

The smile faded from Naruto's face, and he walked dejectedly toward the swing in the corner.

He watched as the children with parents were picked up one by one.

He would have to wait a while longer before he could go home again.

Not far away, Jiraiya was relieved to see that Senyo had not succeeded today.

He paid no attention to Naruto waiting by that swing again.

From Jiraiya's perspective, there was nothing wrong with Naruto.

Seeing Anbu protecting Naruto, he left without worry.

Jiraiya had already heard Sasuke and Naruto's conversation and knew that Sasuke would not be coming tomorrow.

That might mean the Uchiha were about to take action.

He hurried off to discuss it with the Third Hokage.