Sasuke Wakes Up

Konoha.

Three days after Uchiha Fugaku woke up at the distant Revolution Base, Sasuke, who had been unconscious in Konoha Hospital, woke up too.

He looked around in a daze and realized that this seemed to be Konoha Hospital.

Am I injured? Why am I lying in a hospital?

Suddenly, a terrible memory surged into his mind.

Flames, corpses, bloodstains, and the deaths of his parents.

Impossible. Impossible. How could my brother kill our parents? No!

He tried to clutch his head, but a sharp pain shot through his left arm. In his memory, his brother Itachi had stepped on his arm and broken it. The injury was still there, and the pain was real. He was in the hospital, which meant... his parents really had been killed by his own brother, Itachi!

"Ah!"

Two Tomoe appeared in Sasuke's eyes, spinning rapidly. A third Tomoe seemed to be forming in his left eye, but as Sasuke suddenly fainted, they slowly vanished.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto, Hinata, and Neji rushed into the hospital room.

They had come to visit Sasuke and see whether he had woken up. When they suddenly heard Sasuke's cry, Naruto's heart tightened, and he rushed inside.

Seeing Sasuke passed out, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"It looks like he just woke up. Maybe he remembered what he saw a few days ago and couldn't handle it, so he fainted."

Neji noticed the blankets had been pushed aside and realized Sasuke had woken up.

"Naruto-kun, is Sasuke-kun all right?"

Hinata looked worried too.

Although they hadn't spoken much, they had helped each other during training for nearly three years and formed a deep friendship. How could she not be worried when her friend had gone through something like this?

"Don't—"

"Don't worry. Uncle Fei Shi is here too. Sasuke will be fine."

Neji reassured her.

After spending so much time with Hinata and receiving Fei Shi's guidance, Neji had become protective of her, and no longer hated her as he had in the original story. He had also realized that Hinata wasn't lacking in talent. Rather, the clan head was too strict, leaving her timid and bad at socializing. Even things she was capable of doing, she often messed up.

That had made the clan head think Hinata was useless and weak.

Hinata was kind to her family, friends, and companions. Did worrying about them mean she wasn't cut out to be a ninja? No!

Even if Hinata wasn't cut out to be a ninja, Neji would still support her without question and never allow anyone to hurt her.

After learning about the Main Branch and the Branch Family, he had hated Hinata, even though she had always been good to him. But Fei Shi had taken him aside and talked some sense into him, and he had come around.

Now Hinata was precious to him.

Naruto had wanted to comfort Hinata too, but Neji interrupted him, leaving him baffled.

Neji gave Naruto a discreet glance. He had heard Hinata say that Naruto had once saved her, years ago. Over the past few years, the way Hinata looked at Naruto had grown increasingly strange. It was just like... just like the way Yugao looked at Uncle Fei Shi.

Trying to steal my little sister? Get lost!

Even if you're my friend, I won't allow it.

Half an hour later, Naruto grew impatient as he waited. He stared at the left side of Sasuke's face, lost in thought.

Neji shared his experience with the Hyuga Gentle Fist with Hinata while a nurse came in to check on Sasuke.

"Nurse, when will Sasuke wake up?"

"His condition is pretty good. He should wake up soon."

The nurse rubbed Naruto's head as she replied.

"Can I wake him up?"

"Probably..."

"Great!"

Naruto cried out excitedly.

Neji and the nurse were confused. What was he so excited about?

Heh heh heh. Sasuke, don't blame me. A chance like this doesn't come along often. Heh heh heh.

Under the puzzled gazes of the nurse, Neji, and Hinata, Naruto raised his right hand high. Then—

Pow!

Sasuke's left cheek quickly swelled up.

"Ah! Itachi!"

Sasuke woke with a start.

After he passed out, he had a dream. In it, after killing the clan, Itachi beat him up and told him to fight back.

Itachi beat him again and again until he collapsed, exhausted. Then Itachi called him useless and said he didn't deserve to be an Uchiha. At least the others had been able to fight back, but Sasuke hadn't managed to do anything. Then Itachi slapped him hard across the face.

Sasuke woke up at that moment.

His left cheek was badly swollen. He touched it, and it hurt like hell.

Did Itachi just hit me?

But seeing the nurse, Neji, and Hinata looking at him strangely—and Naruto avoiding his gaze—Sasuke immediately understood what had happened.

"Naruto! I'll kill you!"

"Bleh! You can try, jerk! Hahahaha!"

"I...!"

Remembering his injured left arm, and then what had happened that night, he sank into despair.

Seeing Sasuke like that, Naruto stopped fooling around and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sasuke, if you're sad, just cry. It's okay. You still have us, your friends."

"Waaah!"

Sasuke couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears.

"Why? Why did that bastard Itachi kill our parents? Why?"

"They were his own parents! Why? Waaaah!"

Seeing his rival and friend so heartbroken made Naruto feel awful too. He even wondered why Fei Shi hadn't killed Itachi that night.

But comforting Sasuke was what mattered most right now, so Naruto spoke up.

"Sasuke, I know you're hurting, but you have to get through this. I'm your friend, and I'll help you! I'll help you defeat your bastard brother for killing Uncle Fugaku and Aunt Mikoto. And it's not just me—you have all of us behind you."

"Stay strong, Sasuke. Being sad won't change anything."

"Stay strong, Sasuke-kun. You have to hold on. We'll help you."

Hinata didn't even blush for once as she offered her encouragement.

"Everyone... I... I'll get through this. Thank you. Thank you. Waaaah... I... I want to be alone for a while. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to me before I kill Itachi."

Neji took Hinata back to the Hyuga Clan, while Naruto stayed at the hospital, afraid Sasuke might do something foolish.

And what about Fei Shi, who knew the truth?

Fei Shi Manor.

Fei Shi was lounging comfortably in a chair while Yugao Uzuki fed him grapes. Just grapes. Nothing improper.

"Are you sure your student will be all right?"

She and Fei Shi had done everything together except take off their clothes and go all the way. Her whole heart belonged to him now.

Fei Shi doted on her, and she had become half the mistress of the manor.

As Sasuke's master's wife, she felt a little guilty. She now knew what had happened and that some members of the Uchiha Clan, along with Sasuke's parents, were still alive.

The thought of putting a seven-year-old child through such torment was unbearable to her. As someone who knew the truth, she couldn't stand to see a child suffer so much.

Fei Shi replied with a solemn expression.

"You don't understand how much potential Sasuke has, which is why you say that. We had no choice but to take such drastic measures to draw out his full potential. He and Naruto are the only two people in the Ninja World who might be able to keep up with me. Do you understand what I mean?"

You are reading Rise of the New God of Naruto by Legend of Uchiha.