Bonds

"It's over. How did revenge taste?"

Big Naruto looked at Little Sasuke was slowly walking back.

Little Sasuke's face remained expressionless.

It wasn't the cold, expressionless kind, but rather a dazed look, as if he hadn't fully recovered from what had just happened, and hadn't truly internalized the fact that "Danzo is dead."

"... I have no idea."

There was no sense of satisfaction in Little Sasuke's tone after achieving his revenge. When he said "I don't know," he genuinely didn't understand how he was feeling.

This is completely different from Sasuke Danzo the original work.

"But... I have a question for you."

Little Sasuke struggled to pull himself out of his daze and fixed his gaze on Big Naruto.

"The strength you gave me..."

"But I feel that before I gained this power, you didn't seem to care about anything I had... So..."

There was something uncertain in his eyes that rarely appeared on his face—a cautious hesitation, as if he were testing something.

He was worried. He worried that if he made the wrong decision, if he chose the path Big Naruto didn't want him to choose, if he used these eyes to do things he shouldn't have—would Big Naruto take back this power?

Furthermore, what if Big Naruto asks him to forgive everything else? Not Danzo, Danzo is dead and doesn't need anyone's forgiveness.

Instead, he should forgive those who stood with Danzo, those who gave him a push in the shadows. If Big Naruto said, "You should let go of your hatred," what should he do? Could he refuse? Should he refuse?

"... I don't want to decide other people's lives without my consent."

Big Naruto spoke up,

"But I think these eyes are a help, not a distraction."

"It's up to you to decide what to do. But... if I had to make a request, I would only ask that you remember this one thing."

Little Sasuke's heart began to race as he waited for Big Naruto to make that request, for the answer he both feared and anticipated—an answer that could change all his future decisions.

"Don't hurt innocent people."

Little Sasuke was taken aback for a moment.

"... Then what?"

"That's all."

Big Naruto shook his head. "That's all."

"... Is that all?"

Little Sasuke thought that Big Naruto would ask him for more, that he would say things like, "You must use these eyes to protect the village," the kind of things an adult his age would usually say to a child.

"But don't narrow the scope of 'innocent' too much."

Big Naruto had no choice but to add this sentence.

"For example, you could kill Danzō Shimura, the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Rebellion, or even the Konoha High Command who pressured the Uchiha back then—no problem."

"However, if it's a decision made by some high-level officials, and you want to take your anger out on the entire village or the country and kill all the civilians in the village, I don't want to see that kind of scene."

"... I'm not that extreme."

Little Sasuke's voice carried a slight hint of displeasure, a quality that only comes with being offended.

Little Sasuke thought that Big Naruto was being a bit too extreme.

"Okay, that's good."

Big Naruto's lips curled up slightly. "Anyway, I hope you can control your vengeful heart, just like now—not disappear, but control it."

"I won't interfere in your life. I can understand what the Uchiha Clan has suffered in Konoha..."

Big Naruto wouldn't dare say he fully understood, but he at least knew that such pain couldn't be relieved by simply saying "let it go."

"So, even if you leave the village, I can understand."

He was giving Little Sasuke the right to choose. He didn't have to return to Konoha, he didn't have to forgive those people, and he didn't have to follow the path that others had laid out for him.

You can choose to leave, you can choose to go wherever you want, you can choose to live any kind of life you want. I won't stop you, and I won't let anyone else stop you.

"Wait, wait, wait! No! Sasuke! You can't leave the village!"

However, from the Forest behind came a hurried, urgent sound, as if someone had stepped on its tail.

That voice was so familiar, so familiar that Little Sasuke knew who it was without even turning around. Little Naruto had finally confirmed the situation of his companions—those who needed to be sent back had been sent back, and those who needed to be settled had been settled—and then, relying on the sounds of the battle and that all-too-familiar chakra aura, he found his way here.

As he walked through the Forest, he was still thinking, "How is Sasuke doing?" But as soon as he got close, he heard Big Naruto say, "Even if you leave the village, I can understand." He immediately exploded.

Little Naruto emerged from the Forest looking somewhat disheveled, with a few leaves clinging to his hair, and completely ignoring the corpse not far away.

Little Sasuke glanced at the idiot who was rushing over, covered in sweat and with leaves stuck to his face, then turned his head back.

"Shut up, you complete idiot."

"Seriously! Why are you saying all this!"

Little Naruto ran up to Little Sasuke, grabbed Little Sasuke's shoulder, and clenched his fingers tightly on Sasuke's shoulder blade, as if afraid that Sasuke would suddenly disappear.

He stared straight at Big Naruto, at that face that looked exactly like his own, yet was many times more composed, his voice filled with undisguised accusation.

"My goal was to get Sasuke back to the village! Why did you say anything about Sasuke leaving the village?!"

Little Sasuke's shoulders were being gripped by Little Naruto, but he made no attempt to break free. His body stiffened slightly for a moment, then slowly, little by little, relaxed.

Big Naruto watched this scene unfold, seeing Little Sasuke being held by the shoulders by Little Naruto but not resisting at all.

"... I was merely stating my position."

"Besides, Sasuke isn't leaving the village to join Orochimaru again, and his life isn't in danger. Even if he's heartbroken by the Uchiha Massacre, is it wrong for him to leave the village if he wants to?"

"Huh? This..."

Little Naruto's voice suddenly lowered, and the expression on his face changed from anxious to conflicted.

Yes, Little Naruto thought to himself. He knew everything Sasuke had experienced in his childhood. He knew what Sasuke had lost, what Sasuke had gone through, and how many nights Sasuke had spent alone in that empty clan compound.

He knew there were problems on all sides. He knew Sasuke had reasons to hate Konoha, reasons to leave Konoha, and reasons he never wanted to return to that place. He knew. He knew everything.

However, he still didn't want Sasuke leave.

"Then I'll go with Sasuke!"

"Huh? Idiot! What are you saying?!"

Little Sasuke's voice suddenly rose, and his face—which had just been cold, expressionless, and deliberately avoiding looking at Little Naruto —suddenly turned red.

He leaned back, trying to break free from Little Naruto's grasp, but Little Naruto's grip was too tight, and he struggled twice without success.

"How could I possibly let you leave the village alone!"

Little Naruto's voice boomed in front of Little Sasuke. His eyes were fixed on Little Sasuke, on those eyes filled with panic, shyness, and a little anger. His expression was one of stubbornness, as if he wouldn't change his mind no matter what Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, you're not getting rid of me again!"

Although Sasuke hadn't decided whether to leave the village or not, and probably hadn't seriously thought about the issue, Little Naruto still shouted that.

"Whether you leave or not is your business, but I will follow you; that's my business. Don't even think about getting rid of me, don't even think about leaving alone, and don't even think about leaving me alone in that village without you."

"Why are you following me?!"

Little Sasuke's face was still red. "Didn't you want to become Hokage?!"

"If even you can't see how this goes, what right do I have to become Hokage!"

Although Little Naruto himself has never admitted it, and although he always uses words like "rival," "comrade," and "friend" to define their relationship—in those unspoken corners, perhaps even in places he himself is not fully aware of.

In terms of possessiveness and importance, Sasuke far surpasses the Hokage.

Hokage was his dream, but Sasuke — Sasuke was something else entirely. It was something he had never told anyone, something that even he himself felt was a bit off, but something he simply couldn't control.

Having grown up without family and lacking love, Little Naruto projected all his stubbornness, domineering nature, and possessiveness onto Sasuke.

It wasn't intentional, not even something he was aware of—but that's how it was.

From the moment they became teammates, eating together, training together, and doing missions together, Sasuke became an irreplaceable and more important presence in his life than anything else.

He couldn't speak, didn't know how to express himself, but his actions spoke for him—he wouldn't let Sasuke go alone, wouldn't let Sasuke disappear from his side, wouldn't let anything widen the distance between them. Even if Sasuke went to the Ends of the Earth, he would follow.

Big Naruto stood to the side, watching the two children bickering, and prepared to turn away and stop watching.

But Satsuki, who was next to him, suddenly became very interested.

Big Naruto glanced at her, then at the two children who were still arguing, and was about to say, "Never mind, let them argue for a while longer"—when a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

"Hey, you two. Come on, follow me."

Big Naruto called out to the two of them, interrupting their argument.

"The resurrected Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, the Fourth Hokage, and his wife have awakened."