"Come in!"
Naruto was still dazed when a woman's voice came from inside the Hokage's office. It sounded somewhat familiar, yet carried a slightly unfamiliar majesty.
Naruto pushed open the door and saw many familiar and unfamiliar figures. Tsunade sat in the Hokage Seat, with Shizuka and Sakura behind her. Jiraiya and Nawaki were beside her, followed by Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Shikaku Nara, and several other core upper-level officials of Konoha.
Beyond those people, the rest were also somewhat familiar to Naruto. They were his old friends from the Joint Chunin Exams, the mysterious and powerful Toneri, and... Sasuke, who had been resting with his eyes closed but abruptly turned his head when Naruto entered.
"Sasuke, you—"
As Naruto looked at Sasuke, he sensed an unusual air about his former companion. It was a kind of indifference, an almost emotionless coldness, giving him the feeling of a cold-blooded creature.
"Sorry. It's a side effect of my training. It'll go away after a while."
Sasuke had actually apologized to Naruto, which was rare. Not only was Naruto surprised, but everyone else also wore expressions of disbelief.
Tsunade looked deeply at Sasuke. "It seems you gained quite a lot from Orochimaru."
Sasuke spoke in a somewhat Orochimaru-like, neurotic tone. "Orochimaru's strength wasn't particularly outstanding, but I have to admit that his abilities and wisdom were rare in the Shinobi World. Unfortunately, he still fell to these eyes."
As he spoke, his eyes swiftly changed into the Three Tomoe state. It was obvious that they were not entirely the same as ordinary Three Tomoe eyes, as if they were filled with a certain spirituality.
Tsunade asked with some concern, "How is Orochimaru? He was once a hero of Konoha!"
Sasuke said indifferently, "Although I killed him, given how troublesome Orochimaru is, his return