Guesswork

After Neji said those words, Naruto immediately jumped up from his chair and protested, "Impossible! Sasuke would never do something like that. And there's no way he could be that strong. There has to be some kind of misunderstanding!"

"We still don't know exactly what happened, but there's no reason for the people of the Star Hidden Village to lie to us. Let's report this to Hokage-sama first and decide what to do afterward. For now, get some rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll say goodbye to Star Shadow-sama and head back to Konoha."

"But we haven't figured out what happened yet! How can we just leave?" Naruto said, unwilling to accept it.

"Naruto, we have to report this to Tsunade-sama as soon as possible. Besides, whoever took the Star left the Star Hidden Village, and no one knows where he is. Our only lead is Sasuke. We can only find him if—" "Damn it..." Naruto was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only punch the table to vent his frustration.

The four of them chatted in their room for a while. Before long, Ang invited them to dinner. Afterward, they returned to their rooms to rest. The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Neji led Naruto and the others to the Star Shadow Building to say goodbye to Natsuhi. Before they left, Neji also asked Natsuhi a few questions. She called over a Star Ninja to explain what had happened. This was the same Star Ninja Chen had interrogated about the Star when he first arrived in the Star Hidden Village. Just as Chen was about to kill him, Hong Xing had appeared. Chen then casually tossed him aside, and he had survived by sheer luck. He had also witnessed the entire battle between Chen and Hong Xing's group. In the end, Neji and the others learned a few things about Chen, including that he had used Lightning Release: Chidori, Rasengan, and Susanoo. After learning this, they said goodbye to Natsuhi and set off for Konoha.

When they returned to Konoha, they first went to the Hokage's Office to report on their mission.

"Hokage-sama!" "Granny Tsunade!"

"Hmm! You're back. How did the investigation go?" Tsunade set down the documents in her hands and asked Neji and the others as they entered.

"We confirmed it with the Star Shadow of the Star Hidden Village. After I gave her Sasuke's file, she concluded that Sasuke was the one who took the Star."

"Uchiha... Sasuke?"

"We can't be certain it was Uchiha Sasuke, but based on the information provided by the Star Hidden Village, there's an eighty percent chance."

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" Neji continued, "He not only has the Sharingan, but also used a Lightning Release Ninjutsu that made a piercing noise, like hundreds or thousands of birds crying out at once. It must have been Chidori, which Sasuke used before. What's hard to understand is that half a month ago, Sasuke was only at Chunin level. How did he become so much stronger in such a short time?"

"I don't know what happened, but I think it must have something to do with Orochimaru. He's always been obsessed with experimenting with all kinds of forbidden techniques. Perhaps Orochimaru did something to Sasuke that let him reach that level in only a few days."

"What about the giant skeleton the Star Hidden Village mentioned?" Tenten asked curiously from the side.

"Giant skeleton? What giant skeleton?"

"When Sasuke attacked the Star Hidden Village, he apparently summoned a giant skeleton made of Chakra that enveloped him. They say the power it displayed was despairing; neither Ninjutsu nor physical attacks could break through its defenses. And it had overwhelming offensive power, like a demon god. Sasuke nearly destroyed the entire Star Hidden Village with this powerful technique," Neji explained to Tsunade.

"A skeleton formed from Chakra? I feel like I've heard about that somewhere..." Tsunade had been deep in thought, but suddenly her expression changed, as if she'd remembered something. She sprang to her feet, looking shocked. "Could it be what Grandpa mentioned...? No, that can't be. I must be mistaken!"

Tsunade's reaction startled Neji and the others, and Naruto hurriedly asked, "Granny Tsunade, what's wrong?"

"Shizune, immediately issue a notice to the Ninja World and designate Uchiha Sasuke an S-Class Rogue Ninja. Also, notify every ninja in the village: if they hear anything about Uchiha Sasuke, they must inform the village immediately. If any jonin out on a mission discovers his whereabouts, they must capture Uchiha Sasuke alive and bring him back. If they can't capture him alive, kill him and bring back his head."

"W-what? An S-Class Rogue Ninja? Only rogues who pose a serious threat to the village are given that classification. Are you sure we should do this?" Shizune said in shock.

"Whaaat? Granny, how can you label Sasuke an S-Class Rogue Ninja? He's our teammate from Team 7! You're saying he should be killed on sight? I absolutely won't let you do that..." Hearing that Tsunade was going to classify Sasuke as an S-Class Rogue Ninja, Naruto couldn't sit still. He jumped up and shouted at her.

"Naruto, be quiet!... Shizune, what are you waiting for? Go!"

"Uh... y-yes, Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade's shout jolted Shizune back to her senses. She hurriedly ran out of the Hokage's Office.

"Wait..." Naruto tried to call after Shizune, but she didn't stop. In the blink of an eye, she had left the Hokage's Office.

"Naruto! Quiet down. I have my reasons for doing this. This is an order I'm issuing as Hokage, so you'll listen. I'm doing this to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ordered them to capture him alive."

"But..."

"That's enough. I have work to do. You can all leave." Naruto still hadn't given up and was about to say something, but Tsunade cut him off.

"Granny..."

"Leave!" Tsunade sat back down, picked up the documents on her desk, and continued reading without looking up.

Neji stepped forward and grabbed the frustrated Naruto. "Naruto, don't disturb Hokage-sama while she's working. Let's go." With that, he led Naruto out.

After Naruto and the others left the office, Tsunade set down the documents again and murmured gravely, "I hope my guess is wrong. But if it's true... we have to bring Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. No matter what, we can't let Orochimaru get those eyes. The consequences would be unimaginable."

Neji led Naruto out of the Hokage's Office, but Naruto was clearly unwilling to go and struggled against him.

"Neji, let go of me! I'm going to ask Granny Tsunade why she did that!" Naruto shouted as he tried to pull free.

"Come on, Naruto. Stop making a scene. Even if you go back to see Hokage-sama now, she won't listen to you. She must have a reason for doing this, even if we don't know what it is."

"Damn it... What is the reason? Why does Granny have to do this?" Naruto said, unwilling to accept it.

"I don't know, but Hokage-sama's attitude changed when I mentioned that skeleton technique Sasuke used. I think it must have something to do with that technique."

"Naruto!" Sakura Haruno ran toward them from a distance, calling out to Naruto.

"Sakura... What are you doing here?"

"Just now... Shizune-sama put up a wanted notice for Sasuke on the Hokage Bulletin Board. It says Sasuke is an S-Class Rogue Ninja of Konoha. What's going on?" Sakura asked Naruto, panting.

"I don't understand why Granny Tsunade did that either. When we got back from the Star Hidden Village and reported our mission, all we did was mention one of the techniques Sasuke used there. Then Granny's expression changed, and she immediately told Shizune to put up the wanted notice. I asked her why, but she wouldn't say!"

"What did you say? Sasuke... was at the Star Hidden Village? Is that true? Did you see him? Tell me!" As soon as she heard news about Sasuke, Sakura Haruno grabbed Naruto and pressed him for answers.