Meeting Old Acquaintances

Naruto?

Sasuke looked at Naruto, as if he hadn't seen the guy in three years. In those three years, he had indeed learned many true things from Orochimaru.

He had truly benefited greatly. He was now nothing more than a tool for revenge; what did it matter who he was with?

"Sasuke, come back to Konoha with me!"

Naruto's eyes were still as bright as ever, but he was no longer the boy he once was.

"What are you talking about?"

Sasuke found it somewhat amusing; truly naive.

However, Naruto still said, "Sasuke, come back to Konoha with me!!"

At this moment, Sasuke thought Naruto was like someone who hadn't grown up, exceptionally naive. There was no point in talking further if they couldn't agree. Sasuke didn't want to waste any more words.

He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Naruto and hooked his arm around Naruto's neck.

But he didn't attack...

"Naruto, isn't your dream to become Hokage? Instead of wasting your breath on all this nonsense with me, you should focus on training."

"Sasuke..."

Naruto fell silent. He didn't understand why Sasuke had become so unfamiliar; this wasn't the Sasuke he knew.

"You think I'm right, don't you, Naruto?"

With that, he drew the Kusanagi Sword from behind him.

"And now... I might just take your life!"

Josuke, who was secretly watching from the side, couldn't help but complain. As expected of the "King of Show-offs," he really knew how to put on a performance. But he could show off too; Josuke just didn't want to.

Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword was already in an attacking stance, but Naruto didn't dodge. His tone was firm.

"Becoming Hokage is important, but! What's the point of being Hokage if you can't even save your comrades? How can you become Hokage... don't you think so, Sasuke?"

As expected of Talk no Jutsu, Sasuke didn't know how to respond.

The Kusanagi Sword was thrust down. Seeing Naruto make no move, Sai couldn't stand it any longer and ran to the two of them, blocking Sasuke's attack.

Immediately!!!

Sasuke unleashed lightning all over his body and attacked them!

Both were injured by Sasuke's lightning. Seeing the situation turn dire, Sakura and Yamato rushed forward to help, but they were also injured by the super-powerful second pillar. Yamato was even struck by a sword.

Naruto originally intended to use the Nine-Tails' Chakra to attack Sasuke, but Sasuke entered his consciousness space and shattered the Nine-Tails' welcome.

(Then there's a bunch of nonsense, I don't want to pad the word count, so I'll skip it. If you want to know, you can check the original Naruto.)

After speaking, Sasuke raised his hand to unleash a big move, but Orochimaru grabbed his arm.

"Our enemy now is the Akatsuki. Don't cause chaos at this time. We and Konoha have a common enemy."

Sasuke pondered for a moment and understood the implications, stopping his attack.

Orochimaru was very satisfied and spoke to the air, "Alright, Josuke-kun, you don't need to hide anymore. Come out!"

Before the words fell, a man who looked nine-tenths like Sasuke appeared beside Orochimaru. Wasn't this Josuke?

Everyone was shocked. It seemed they really couldn't complete the mission. With Sasuke and Orochimaru, there was still a possibility, but with Josuke added, it would be quite difficult.

Sasuke also looked at Josuke, very surprised.

His eyes flashed with all sorts of confusion and bewilderment, but Orochimaru interrupted Sasuke's thoughts.

"We'll talk about it after we retreat..."

Orochimaru used Ninjutsu to make the three of them leave with him, leaving behind the disheveled Team 7.

Facing such a powerless scene, Sakura and Naruto fell into self-blame. If only they could be a little stronger, would the outcome be different?

Everyone decided to continue improving their strength.

On Josuke's side, he sat down face-to-face with Sasuke. Josuke poured Sasuke a cup of tea.

"Ask, what do you want to ask?"

Looking at his brother, whom he hadn't seen in three years, it would be a lie to say he didn't miss him.

Sasuke didn't know where to start, so Josuke broke the silence.

"How have the last three years been?"

Sasuke thought for a moment.

"I've been training with him all this time. The days haven't been great, but it's much better than being in Konoha. How about you?"

"Just like you, I'm training."

Sasuke's life was exactly as Josuke had predicted. Orochimaru treated his subordinates quite well, even though he had ulterior motives for Sasuke.

But wasn't this also mutually beneficial for Sasuke? Orochimaru had told Sasuke long ago that he would take over his body, and he had indeed fulfilled the terms of their agreement.

Giving Sasuke the power he desired.

But it's just not as strong as my God Itachi.

Cough, cough, cough.

Now that the topic had been opened, there was naturally more to discuss.

Sasuke was somewhat confused by Josuke's defection.

"You... why are you here too?"

Of course, he couldn't mention the agreement he made with Orochimaru three years ago. Instead, he brought up our great Pot Kage.

Josuke's voice was deliberately angry.

"It's all because of Danzo, that son of a bitch!!"

"?"

Knowing Sasuke was confused, Josuke continued.

"Do you know? That night... besides that man, I also discovered a deep connection between him and Danzo. And I don't know when Danzo took notice of me. He wants my eyes.

He even threatened me, saying that if I didn't comply, he would make it impossible for me to stay in Konoha. Heh, sure enough, I was framed as a murderer! So I had no choice."

Sasuke was horrified! He clenched his fist. Danzo, huh? Everyone connected to that man deserves to die!

Sasuke didn't have the mood to verify whether Josuke's words were true or false. At worst, he'd kill one innocent person. After hearing his brother's words, Sasuke's blacklist had grown by one more person...

Land of Fire

Temple of Fire

Hidan and Kakuzu successfully killed Chiriku, cruelly cutting off his head and deciding to take it to the black market for a bounty. Kakuzu carefully examined his blacklist.

There were hundreds of ninjas, big and small, on it, and half of them had already been crossed out.

This was enough to show the strength of the subordinates recruited by the Akatsuki Organization.

However, the protagonist was not them, but Josuke. After the news of Chiriku's death spread, Josuke arrived here. At this moment, the Temple of Fire was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

Gone was its magnificent appearance; now it was just a ruin. Josuke strode into the Temple of Fire.

(The following related plot is original anime content, so manga readers, please do not mind.)

Seeing someone arrive, the gatekeeper monk immediately stopped Josuke.

"I'm sorry, sir, but due to the damage to the Temple of Fire, it is temporarily closed to the public. Amitabha, please forgive us."

Forgive?

He wouldn't forgive!

How could he forgive? Being a rogue ninja is great, carefree, and without all sorts of restrictions. It's not like normal ninjas, whom even dogs would shake their heads at.