Sasuke, Who Carried the Black Pot

"So that's it. No wonder Hokage-sama gave me a graduation photo of Sasuke Uchiha before we left—she must have already known!" Neji thought to himself after hearing what Natsuhi said.

"Star Shadow-sama, could you tell the approximate age of that ninja with the Sharingan?" Neji asked Natsuhi.

"Age? He should be around thirteen or fourteen, about the same age as you all." Natsuhi said a bit sheepishly, since it was a disgrace that their Star Hidden Village had been destroyed by such a young boy, and none of their ninja could do anything about it.

"What? The same age as us? How is it possible..." Tenten exclaimed from the side.

"Hmph! I'm reluctant to admit it, but this matter has already brought shame to our village. Do you think I would joke about the honor of Star Hidden Village?" Natsuhi frowned, a little displeased.

"Sorry... I..." Seeing Natsuhi angry, Tenten quickly apologized.

"Could it really be him..." Neji thought to himself, then pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and spread it open. On the paper was Sasuke Uchiha's ninja file, with a photo of Sasuke attached.

"That's Sasuke's ninja file. Neji, how do you have this?" Tenten curiously leaned over when she saw the paper in Neji's hand, and asked in confusion.

"Hokage-sama gave this to me before we left. She must have known what happened here. It seems she sent us to investigate."

"Investigate? You... you mean this might have been done by Sasuke Uchiha? This..." Tenten was stunned again.

"It looks like you already have a suspect!" Natsuhi asked after hearing Neji and Tenten's conversation.

"Star Shadow-sama, please take a look at this photo. Is this the person who attacked Star Hidden Village?" Neji walked up to Natsuhi and handed her Sasuke's ninja file.

Natsuhi took the paper, immediately spotted Sasuke's photo, and her face twisted with anger: "It's him, that demon, no mistake. Sasuke Uchiha? So he really is your Konoha's Uchiha. Damn it, did Konoha order this?"

"It really is Sasuke Uchiha... How is it possible... It's only been half a month since he defected. How could his strength have grown so much in such a short time..." Confirmed by Natsuhi, Neji was deeply shocked. He found it hard to accept that the same age peer who had participated in the Chunin Exam with him just half a month ago could do this. "How is it possible... Sasuke was just a Genin like us. How could he be the murderer who destroyed Star Hidden Village? You couldn't have mistaken him, could you?" Tenten clearly couldn't believe Sasuke was responsible either.

"A Genin? Impossible. That demon showed strength that even I, a Jonin, couldn't match. Are you questioning me?" Natsuhi was no longer as calm as before, and she demanded of Neji and the others, "Or is Konoha trying to cover for him?"

"Star Shadow-sama, please calm down. Think about it—if we wanted to cover for him, we wouldn't have given you his photo. Regardless of whether this was done by Sasuke Uchiha, even if it was him, Konoha did not order it, and we would never cover for him. Sasuke Uchiha defected from the village half a month ago. He's a Rogue Ninja on Konoha's wanted list. His actions have nothing to do with Konoha anymore. While failing to capture a Rogue Ninja is Konoha's fault, you can't blame all his crimes on us!" Neji retorted to Natsuhi.

"A Rogue Ninja? You mean this Sasuke Uchiha is a Rogue Ninja from Konoha?"

"That's right. Sasuke Uchiha defected from Konoha half a month ago, so Konoha had no knowledge of his actions!"

"Half a month ago... So he came to our village after defecting." Natsuhi frowned.

Neji said, "We still don't know for sure if Sasuke Uchiha did this. We didn't see it ourselves, and it's all too unbelievable. Half a month ago, Sasuke Uchiha was still taking the Chunin Exam with us. His strength was at most Chunin level. How could he have risen to defeat a Jonin in just a few days? It's hard to believe. So we can't conclude that Sasuke Uchiha is responsible. But we'll report this to Hokage-sama, and Konoha will investigate thoroughly. We'll give Star Hidden Village an explanation. Once Konoha captures Sasuke Uchiha, we'll definitely notify Star Shadow-sama to come to Konoha for interrogation."

"In that case..." Natsuhi was about to say something, but just then, Naruto, who had gone after Ang, burst through the door in a hurry, with Ang following behind him.

"Neji... Sasuke..." Naruto started to say something.

"Alright, Naruto. Show some respect." Neji scolded him.

"No, Neji, listen to me..."

"Enough, Naruto. We'll talk when we get back."

"But... Ah!" Seeing Neji's stern expression, Naruto had to hold back what he wanted to say.

"Apologies, Star Shadow-sama! This guy Naruto is always so reckless. Please don't mind him!" Neji said apologetically to Natsuhi.

"Heh, it's fine." Natsuhi glanced thoughtfully at Naruto, then said to Neji and the others, "Alright, I imagine you're tired from the long journey today. I'll have someone take you to rest."

"We are a bit tired. Thank you for your trouble, Star Shadow-sama."

"Ang, take the guests from Konoha to rest." Natsuhi instructed Ang.

"Yes, Star Shadow-sama." Ang bowed to Natsuhi, then turned to Neji and the others. "Follow me!" He said and walked out of the room.

"Star Shadow-sama, we take our leave." Neji and the others bowed to Natsuhi, then followed Ang out of the Star Shadow's office.

Soon, Ang led Neji and the others to a room and said, "You'll stay here tonight. Sorry, the village is still being rebuilt, so space is limited. You four will have to share this room."

"It's fine. This works. Thank you!"

"Then I won't disturb your rest. I'll come get you for dinner. I'll be going now." Ang said and left.

After watching Ang leave, Neji pushed open the door and went inside. Inside the room, there were exactly four beds, with a table and four chairs in the middle. The four of them entered, closed the door, and gathered around the table to talk.

"Neji, why didn't you let me speak earlier?" Naruto grumbled as soon as he sat down.

"I know what you wanted to say. It's about the Sharingan, right?"

"Exactly! I just found out from Ang that a few days ago, a ninja with the Sharingan attacked their village and stole their star. That guy also had the Sharingan! Could it be related to Sasuke?"

It turned out that after Naruto caught up with Ang, they had talked. Since both shared the same dream of becoming the village's Kage, they understood each other and became friends. Naruto learned from Ang about the attack on Star Hidden Village. But he hadn't immediately suspected Sasuke; instead, he thought it might be someone else, so he rushed back to tell Neji what he'd heard.

"I already showed Sasuke's photo to Star Shadow-sama and confirmed it. She said... the person who attacked their village is the one in the photo."

"What! That's impossible, absolutely impossible!"