Sasuke's Question

On the way back, Naruto felt a bit dazed, wondering if this was the only ultimate outcome for a ninja.

Reaching home, he lay on his bed and began to reflect on the day's events: Jiya's threats, the Third's death, and the realization that ninjas... really do die. If only he were strong enough...

Elsewhere, Sakura returned home. "I'm home~! Hmm? It smells so good." She followed the scent to the kitchen.

"Sakura, you're back. Come and eat." Haruno Mebuki was overjoyed to see Sakura return safely; one could only imagine how worried she had been while that monster was rampaging, only finding peace once she received word.

Sakura suddenly froze, looking at Haruno Mebuki. She felt that having ordinary parents was actually quite nice, and she decided she would be the one to protect them. Thinking of Sasuke and Naruto, she wondered, am I useless?... I can't be a burden anymore!

As for Orochimaru, he had already arranged for his subordinates to investigate information on Uchiha Gen. However, until his hands were healed, he wouldn't be pouring too much energy into Uchiha Gen.

Put that way, Uchiha Gen might seem safe for the moment, but that wasn't the case. Don't forget there was a brother-obsessed maniac out there; once he heard the news, he would likely go berserk. Once the buffer period ended, Uchiha Gen would face Konoha, Orochimaru, and the pursuit of Itachi from the Akatsuki. It could be said that having Sasuke in his hands was like holding a ticking time bomb!

The sky was clear, and the sunlight lazily spilled into the room without making it feel hot.

Sensing the light, Sasuke slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he saw was a face staring at him with a look of intense scrutiny. Furthermore, his head was being held down, his eyelids forced open, and his eyes pried wide. If anyone were to walk into the room right now, the position would easily invite suggestive thoughts.

His pupils contracted sharply as he realized what was happening. Sasuke swiped his hand to knock Uchiha Gen's hand away—though, of course, that was only because Gen hadn't used any force. He jumped up to face Uchiha Gen, his chest heaving uncontrollably. Despite forcing a calm expression, he couldn't hide the panic in his eyes. He felt his pockets; his weapons were all gone. Without moving his head, his eyes darted around, searching for a way to escape or counterattack. "Where is Orochimaru?!"

Contrary to his expectations, the environment looked like a hotel.

"Looks like you've recovered well," Uchiha Gen said, his eyes brightening with relief. Two nights had already passed; if Sasuke hadn't woken up, he would have started to worry that he'd accidentally broken him.

Recovered well...? Sasuke suddenly seemed to think of something. The forced calm on his face completely crumbled, and he panicked, running out the door. Uchiha Gen didn't stop him. It was such a small place; if he let a Sasuke of this period escape, he might as well go eat dirt.

Sasuke ran to the bathroom to check his eyes. He saw his black pupils transform into blood-red, with two comma-like black patterns swirling within each iris. Seeing this, Sasuke felt a weight lift from his heart.

At this moment, Uchiha Gen's voice drifted over, "Don't need to use the facilities?"

Hearing this, Sasuke frowned deeply. Whether it was to hide his embarrassment or because he really hadn't relieved himself all night, he actually went into the restroom.

Uchiha Gen took bag after bag of items out of the room's cabinet. When he pushed the door open, Sasuke stood by the table, vigilant. Taking a closer look at what Uchiha Gen had brought out, he realized they were all food items, including a variety of snacks.

"I figured you must be hungry after not eating for so long. If you want to eat, go ahead. Don't worry about it being poisoned; if I wanted to kill you, I have plenty of ways." At the same time, a drop of sweat fell in his heart, as he couldn't taste anything but liked to buy snacks, resulting in a rather large pile of food.

"What exactly are you trying to do?! Where is Orochimaru?" Ignoring the food on the table, Sasuke had many questions in his heart. The Sound ninja before him seemed to have no intention of explaining, and unable to hold back any longer, he demanded an answer, feeling a sense of "the barefoot aren't afraid of the one wearing shoes."

Hearing this, Uchiha Gen felt extremely annoyed and mocked, "Orochimaru this, Orochimaru that. What's the matter? So eager to become his spare body?"

Spare body?! Sasuke knew Orochimaru's motives weren't pure, but what did he mean by that? Had this Sound ninja betrayed Orochimaru? Thinking of this, Sasuke temporarily calmed down. He didn't know what Jiya was thinking; if he were still Orochimaru's subordinate, Orochimaru needed him, so he wouldn't do anything to him. But the current situation felt wrong.

"You betrayed Orochimaru?" Sasuke sat cross-legged, his heart full of questions. He still had no intention of eating and asked with a frown.

Uchiha Gen was completely on a different wavelength. Seeing Sasuke ignore the food on the table, a vein popped on his forehead. What, having a sense of taste is something to be proud of? He didn't want to deal with Sasuke for the moment, so he picked up a bag of instant noodles and bit into it viciously. Crunchy. Even without taste, hearing the crunch was satisfying enough.

It wasn't that he was intentionally giving Sasuke the cold shoulder; anyone in his position would feel the same way. Although, strictly speaking, Uchiha Gen was the one who had kidnapped him, if he was annoyed, he was annoyed. He just wouldn't say anything, so what?

Seeing that Uchiha Gen didn't want to talk, Sasuke calmed his mind for a moment. He looked at the food in front of him and realized there was nothing he could do for now, so he picked up two rice balls, intending to fill his stomach first.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the chewing of food, aside from Uchiha Gen, who kept crunching away at his instant noodles.

Sasuke, who had a good upbringing, kept hearing this sound—and it had been two bags already, with a third one coming up. His eyelid twitched, and he was left speechless. "You could soak them in water to eat them."

Uchiha Gen waved his hand. "It's fine, I just like the sound."

Sasuke: "..."

However, having broken the ice, Uchiha Gen finally explained Sasuke's current situation, including the fact that he might be turned into a vessel by Orochimaru at any moment.

"By the sound of it, it seems you don't think much of Orochimaru?"

"That's not quite it. As one of the Sannin, if it weren't for the Yellow Flash stepping up back then, and the leak of the human experiments, the Fourth on the Hokage Rock might have been Orochimaru." Uchiha Gen was speaking from an objective standpoint.

Hearing this, Sasuke looked surprised. The Fourth? Even so, the fact that Orochimaru was so easily betrayed by his own subordinate caused his standing in Sasuke's heart to drop a notch. "Then who is the Fourth Hokage?"

Uchiha Gen said calmly, as if mentioning something trivial, "A sunny guy, Naruto's dad."

Sasuke looked shocked. "The Fourth Hokage is Naruto's father?!"

"Yeah."

Uchiha Gen saw Sasuke fall into a stunned silence at this news, then dropped another bombshell. "By the way, if nothing went wrong, the Third Hokage should have been killed by Orochimaru."

Sasuke: "..."

After a long time, he asked, "Then aren't you afraid of Orochimaru's revenge? He was able to kill the Third; can you beat the Third? Or do you have a trump card to deal with Orochimaru? And the most important question: who exactly are you?! How does a mere Sound ninja know so much about Konoha?!"

"Revenge? I can only say that I am stronger than the current Orochimaru. As for... my identity, you're so smart, why don't you take a guess?" Uchiha Gen played coy; acting mysterious in front of the arrogant Second Pillar was quite a fulfilling experience.

Sasuke remained skeptical about Uchiha Gen's claim of being able to beat Orochimaru. If he could beat him, why run away? Why not just kill Orochimaru? "You were a Konoha ninja!" Sasuke used a declarative sentence.

Uchiha Gen clapped, smiling. "Congratulations, you guessed part of it! Your little brain turns pretty fast."

Sasuke looked disdainful. "Knowing so many secrets of Konoha and having followed Orochimaru, it's easy to guess. I'm not an idiot like Naruto. And one more thing... do you know where that man is?!"

Knowing that Jiya was a Konoha ninja, Sasuke had no interest in continuing to probe his identity. After all, he had never heard of any other rogue Konoha ninja who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Orochimaru. Except for that man. He must! He must kill him with his own hands!