Kakashi gave Sasuke a complicated look, but asked no questions and began dealing with the prisoners and the aftermath.
Naruto walked over to Sasuke, glanced at his taut profile, then at the blood seeping through his own shoulder. Suddenly, he said quietly, "Hey, Sasuke."
Sasuke ignored him.
"That Uchiha Ryūha..." Naruto paused, seemingly gathering his words. "He's strong, right? Strong enough to make you scared. To make you despair."
Sasuke's body abruptly stiffened.
"But," Naruto raised his head and looked at the narrow strip of sky above the pass, light reflected in his clear blue eyes.
"Lilynette told me that fear and hatred are useless.
They only turn you into a slave to power, or... a madman.
Real strength means seeing the path you want to take, then walking it one step at a time, no matter who your opponent is."
He turned to Sasuke, his gaze clear and unwavering. "I don't know what happened between you and him, or what that power inside you is.
But if you stay trapped in hatred and let that power control you, like you did just now... you'll never beat him. And you'll never overcome yourself."
Sasuke slowly turned his head, his black right eye meeting Naruto's blue gaze.
He saw the seriousness in Naruto's eyes, the wound on his shoulder.
He saw the pain and exhaustion on his face, and the light that still shone in his eyes.
This dead last...
This idiot he had once considered a burden, who did nothing but yell...
When had he already pulled ahead of him?
Not in strength, but... in heart.
Sasuke's lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply turned back to gaze at the distant mountains.
Yet his clenched fists loosened a little.
Beneath the bandages over his left eye,