Naruto watched Sasuke leave in a daze, a powerful urge to go comfort him welling up inside. Yet faced with Sasuke's tightly shut heart, he couldn't find the right words to open it.
Itachi Uchiha seemed to see through Naruto's thoughts. He gently patted Naruto's shoulder, his eyes filled with understanding and helplessness.
"Let him calm down on his own for a few days, Naruto. I'm really sorry about what happened today. I made you come all this way for nothing."
There was a trace of apology in Itachi's voice, as though he, too, was lamenting this unavoidable family tragedy.
Naruto forced a smile, though endless confusion and bewilderment lay hidden behind it.
"How could I blame you, Itachi? If Sasuke needs anything, or if anything changes, you have to contact me right away!"
Naruto felt as though a massive boulder was pressing down on his heart, and he couldn't let the matter go.
He couldn't understand why, in the same world and under the same surname, two people could have such completely different fates.
Itachi Uchiha's gentleness and thoughtfulness stood in stark contrast to the cold and heartless Itachi Uchiha from that other world.
That made Naruto feel even sorrier for Sasuke. He knew full well that the truth was undoubtedly a devastating blow to him.
As the sun sank in the west, Naruto stepped through his front door. The outside world had already been gently wrapped in night.
Inside, steam billowed through the air, blurring the view beyond the windows while clearly outlining the warmth of home.
The aroma of his mother's cooking filled the air—the familiar scent of New Orleans wings and spicy, numbing fried chicken legs. Yet Naruto had no appetite at all.
He took a deep breath outside, gently patted his cheeks, and tried to