Where am I...
Lying on the hospital bed, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, his expression somewhat dazed.
It took a while before focus returned to his unfocused gaze. "So I'm in the hospital..."
Then, bit by bit, he recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness. He remembered his first battle after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan before countless spectators—and the crushing defeat he had suffered.
"Damn it!"
Beneath the blanket, Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, his face turning pale, then livid.
Whenever he thought of his humiliating defeat in public, he felt too ashamed to show his face. He simply could not accept that, even after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had lost to a Kirigakure Genin.
At that moment, Naruto's voice in the ward gradually became clearer.
After bracing himself and barely sitting up, Sasuke was surprised to discover that the patient in the opposite bed was Naruto, wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
Yet Naruto had no awareness of being a patient at all. He was smugly telling Sakura and Hinata by his bedside, "Kirin isn't all that impressive! Next time, I'll definitely beat him!"
Hinata nodded earnestly. "Mm, Naruto, you can definitely do it."
Sakura handed Naruto an apple and smiled. "You did pretty well this time. You may have lost, but you gave Kirin a real beating! I heard from Kakashi-sensei that Kirin is no pushover!"
"Hehe!"
Naruto grinned as he accepted the apple Sakura handed him.
Then Sakura noticed that Sasuke had awakened. She hurried over and asked worriedly, "Sasuke, you're finally awake! How do you feel? Does anything still hurt?"
Sasuke asked coldly, "How long have I been out?"
Naruto, wrapped head to toe in bandages, leaned over as well. "You've been unconscious for two days!"
"What!?" Sasuke was startled. "I was out for