Uninvited Guest

When Sasuke Uchiha opened his eyes again, the sun that had been overhead at dusk had already shifted considerably.

"Looks like I spent quite a bit of time too..."

Sasuke focused his gaze on Hatake Kakashi, who had pulled aside his forehead protector and was watching him with his Sharingan from not far away. He then glanced at the kunai Kakashi was preparing to put back into his ninja tool pouch.

"What happened?"

Having lowered his guard, Hatake Kakashi slowly walked over.

"Looks like everything's fine. Maybe your sense of time was off—you've been sitting here in meditation for over a day. Good thing it didn't rain last night!"

"Over a day?"

Sasuke Uchiha frowned in surprise. It had only felt like a brief while had passed in his mental space, yet an entire day had gone by outside.

"Looks like I'm no better than Naruto."

Kakashi smiled.

"You caused no less of a commotion than Naruto. Terrifying lightning was flickering all over your body. I thought you'd run into some danger. The fact that nothing happened after it went on for so long is truly surprising..."

Power spilling out uncontrollably, especially when one could not keep their mind under control, was bound to cause problems. There was nothing strange about that.

Hatake Kakashi simply had not expected that Sasuke Uchiha also possessed such powerful, yet-to-be-developed strength hidden within him.

"Sorry to make you worry."

"As your teacher, that's what I should do. It's enough that you're all right! Though I was the one who suggested it, it seems you must have gained some insight, right?"

"I gained a lot. It was a little dangerous, but the risk was worth it."

"That's good, then."

Hatake Kakashi could finally put his mind at ease. This student who had inherited his teachings