Guesswork

After Neji said that, Naruto immediately jumped up from his chair and retorted, "No way, Sasuke wouldn't do something like that, and there's no way he's that strong. There must be some misunderstanding!"

"We don't know the full story yet, but the Star Hidden Village has no reason to lie to us. We should report this to Hokage-sama before making any conclusions. For now, let's rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll take our leave from Star Shadow-sama and head back to Konoha."

"But we haven't figured this out yet! How can we just leave?" Naruto said reluctantly.

"Naruto, we need to report this to Tsunade-sama as soon as possible. Besides, the culprit took the Star and left—no one knows where he is. The only lead we have now is Sasuke. We have to find him... Damn it..." Though Naruto was frustrated, he had no choice but to slam the table in anger.

After that, the four chatted in the room. Soon, Ang came to invite them to dinner. After eating, they returned to their rooms to rest. Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Neji led Naruto and the others to the Star Shadow Building to bid farewell to Natsuhi. Before leaving, Neji asked Natsuhi some questions. She called over a Star Ninja to brief them—the same one who had been interrogated by Chen about the Star's whereabouts when Chen first arrived at Star Hidden Village. Just as Chen was about to kill him, Hong Xing appeared, and Chen tossed him aside. He survived and witnessed the entire battle between Chen, Hong Xing, and the others. From him, Neji and the team gathered key intel: Lightning Release: Chidori, Rasengan, and Susanoo. Armed with this information, they took their leave from Natsuhi and set off back to Konoha.

Back in Konoha, they first went to the Hokage's Office to submit their mission report.

"Hokage-sama!" "Granny Tsunade!"

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

"We verified with the Star Shadow of Star Hidden Village. I showed her Sasuke's file, and she confirmed he was the one who stole the Star."

"Uchiha... Sasuke, huh?"

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

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Neji continued, "Not only does he have the Sharingan, but he also used a Lightning Release jutsu that produces a piercing noise like hundreds of birds chirping at once. It matches the Chidori Sasuke once used. What's puzzling is that just half a month ago, Sasuke was only at Chunin level. How did his strength skyrocket so quickly?"

"I don't know, but I think it has to do with Orochimaru. He's always been obsessed with forbidden experiments. Maybe Orochimaru did something to Sasuke to let him reach that level in just a few days."

"Then what about the giant skeleton the Star Hidden Village mentioned?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Giant skeleton? What giant skeleton?"

"When Sasuke attacked Star Hidden Village, he summoned a giant skeleton made of Chakra that enveloped him. They say the power it showed was despair-inducing—neither ninjutsu nor physical attacks could break its defense. Not only that, but the skeleton also had immense attack power, like a demon god. Sasuke used that powerful jutsu to nearly destroy the entire village." Neji explained to Tsunade.

"A skeleton made of Chakra? I think I've heard of that somewhere..." Tsunade, who had been deep in thought, suddenly changed expression as if she remembered something. She stood up abruptly, a look of shock on her face. "Could it be what Grandpa talked about... No, that can't be. I must be wrong!"

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

"Shizune, immediately issue a notice to the ninja world. Classify Uchiha Sasuke as an S-Class Rogue Ninja. Also, notify every ninja in the village—any information about Uchiha Sasuke must be reported to the village immediately. If any Jonin on a mission finds his whereabouts, they are to capture him alive. If that's not possible, kill him and bring back his head."

"Eh... Eh? S-Class Rogue Ninja? That's only for rogue ninjas who've caused massive damage to the village. Are you sure about this?" Shizune said in shock.

"What? Granny, how can you label Sasuke an S-Class rogue ninja? He's our teammate on Team 7! And you're saying to kill him on the spot? I won't let you do that..." Hearing Tsunade's order, Naruto couldn't stay quiet and jumped up to shout at her.

"Naruto, shut up!... Shizune, what are you stunned for? Get going!"

"Uh... Yes... Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Jolted by Tsunade's shout, Shizune snapped out of it and hurried out of the Hokage's Office.

"Wait..." Naruto tried to stop Shizune, but she didn't pause and was soon gone.

"Naruto! Calm down. I have my reasons for doing this. This is an order from me as Hokage, so just listen. Besides, I'm doing this to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ordered a capture."

"But..."

"Enough. I have things to handle. All of you, leave." Naruto tried to speak again, but Tsunade cut him off.

"Granny..."

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

Neji stepped forward and grabbed the reluctant Naruto. "Naruto, don't disturb Hokage-sama's work. Let's go." He pulled Naruto out.

After they left the office building, Tsunade set down her documents again, her expression grave as she muttered to herself, "I hope my guess is wrong. But if it's true... We have to bring Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. No matter what, Orochimaru must not get those eyes, or the consequences will be unthinkable."

Meanwhile, Neji dragged Naruto out of the Hokage's Office, though Naruto was clearly unhappy and struggling.

"Neji, let me go! I need to ask Granny Tsunade why she's doing this!" Naruto yelled as he tried to break free.

"Calm down, Naruto. Even if you go back to see Hokage-sama now, she won't listen. She must have a reason we don't know about." Neji tried to reason with him.

"Damn it... What reason? Why does she have to do this?" Naruto said bitterly.

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

"Naruto!" Sakura Haruno called out as she ran toward them from a distance.

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

"Just now... Shizune-sama... posted a wanted notice for Sasuke on the Hokage Bulletin Board. It says he's an S-Class Rogue Ninja of Konoha. What's going on?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

"I don't get it either. Granny Tsunade—when we reported back from Star Hidden Village, she changed her expression as soon as we mentioned a jutsu Sasuke used there. Then she immediately told Shizune to post that wanted notice. I asked why, but she wouldn't say!"

"What? You're saying... Sasuke was at Star Hidden Village? Is that true? Did you see him? Tell me!" At the mention of Sasuke, Sakura grabbed Naruto excitedly and pressed him for answers.