Concern

Inside Konoha.

The sun shone brightly overhead, and emerald branches swayed gently in the warm breeze. In the golden light, a hidden door creaked open.

Sunlight fell upon the figure, revealing Sosuke.

His left arm hung in a sling, wrapped in bandages. Clearly injured, he stepped slowly out of Root Base's intelligence archive.

Basking in the warm sunlight, he nevertheless wore a faint smile.

"Rock Ninja, huh...? So Danzo's actually in contact with the Land of Earth?"

Sosuke thought to himself. Beneath his thick-rimmed glasses, a glint shone in his eyes—nothing like the gaze of an injured man.

Several days had passed since the battle.

Since the mission had involved Pupil's death, their first priority had been to escort Shijimi Tamako back to the Daimyo Mansion. Their next task was to bring Pupil's body back to Konoha.

Every ninja village had to recover the bodies of its shinobi!

It wasn't only to give the deceased's family a chance to pay their respects. Ninja corpses also concealed many subtle pieces of intelligence.

A shinobi's body could reveal not just their identity, bloodline abilities, and techniques, but even secrets about their village that they had known in life.

Every ninja village took this extremely seriously. There could be no mistakes.

After the battle, Sosuke and Shackle had escorted Shijimi Tamako back to the Daimyo Mansion.

When Feudal Lord Shijimi Nobuo heard Sosuke's detailed account of the ambush on the road, he paid close attention to his reaction. Shijimi Nobuo was furious; his anger and dark expression were unmistakably genuine.

This left Sosuke somewhat puzzled.

Could it be that the Feudal Lord knew nothing about the ambush? Was it all Danzo's doing, without anyone else's knowledge?

Since they needed to return Pupil's body and the bodies of the Rock Ninja attackers to the village as soon as possible, Sosuke didn't stay. He told Shijimi Nobuo that they had to leave.

Shijimi Nobuo was extremely grateful to Sosuke and the others for saving his daughter.

He personally saw Sosuke and Shackle off, treating them with great respect.

As they parted, Shijimi Tamako fixed her bright black eyes on Sosuke. Her expression was no longer cold. Though reluctant to part, she still managed to force a smile.

"Aizen, thank you for saving my life. I believe you now. As long as we don't surrender to fate and bravely take steps toward hope, we can create a miracle!"

With quiet resolve in her eyes, Shijimi Tamako spoke softly, in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Sosuke answered with a faint smile. A strange light shimmered in his dark eyes as he looked at Shijimi Tamako.

"Tamako, I truly believe your talent can't be confined by the shackles of convention. If you want to seize control of your own fate, then try to reach the position from which fate itself is controlled. I look forward to the moment you bloom."

Without drawing attention, he slipped a scroll to Tamako.

Shijimi Tamako felt something odd at her waist. She glanced at the scroll, froze for a moment, then smoothly concealed her reaction.

On the road back to Konoha, Sosuke smiled faintly beneath his glasses, a glimmer in his eyes.

"Tamako, let's see how far you can go with this opportunity. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire, huh..."

The scroll contained instructions for training in the Slash Path and the basics of Flash Step.

Deep beneath Konoha.

In a cramped room, melted candle wax had pooled over the base.

The flame flickered gently but remained alight, casting its glow over the figure seated in the main chair.

Danzo narrowed his eyes as he quietly read the mission report that Sosuke, Shackle, and the others had submitted upon their return.

When he reached the princess of the Land of Fire's account and Shackle's report, his impassive face finally creased with a slight frown.

In the dim room, Danzo muttered to himself.

"Uchiha Pupil died at the hands of the Rock Ninja...? It seems they didn't act on the intelligence this time. They even managed to injure Sosuke. With Hyuga Minato and the princess as witnesses, the Uchiha Clan probably won't be foolish enough to accept that story..."

"But regardless, the rift between the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga is now impossible to conceal. I have to bring the Hyuga over to my side before Sarutobi does."

"And the Rock Ninja... Were they the reason things went wrong?"

"It's unfortunate about Sosuke, but fortunately, the Hyuga Clan shouldn't pose any problems. With the Feudal Lord's support as well, I can gradually encroach on Sarutobi's influence."

"Hokage..."

As he spoke, burning ambition glimmered in Danzo's eyes.

As Sosuke walked home,

the familiar streets of Konoha seemed strangely foreign, as if he hadn't seen them in a month.

Then his gaze flicked to the side!

The golden ponytail he remembered caught his eye and made him pause.

But when he noticed the light-blue-haired boy beside the girl, his expression darkened in an instant.

Sosuke was skilled at hiding his emotions. He concealed his displeasure without a trace, replaced it with a warm smile, and greeted her softly.

"Tsunade, long time no see!"

His rich voice was soothing to hear, and paired with his handsome features, it made him quite charming.

At his greeting, Tsunade quickly looked up and spotted Sosuke at the end of the street!

Her eyes immediately lit up with joy!

She shouted, sounding somewhat angry.

"Sosuke!! Where have you been this past month!?"

She sounded like she was complaining, but her words were filled with longing.

But when she saw the bandage wrapped around Sosuke's arm, panic filled her eyes. She hurried over to him.

Her pretty face was full of worry, and her voice trembled as she asked,

"Wha—Sosuke! Your le—left arm, what happened!? Are you hurt!? How badly!?"

Her barrage of questions left Sosuke at a loss for how to respond, but her heartfelt concern filled him with happiness.

He kept a faint smile on his face, his eyes soft as he looked at Tsunade.

"It's all right. I just got a minor injury during a mission."

Seeing Sosuke smile, Tsunade was angry that he hadn't taken better care of himself. For the first time, she disliked how he always smiled through everything that happened to him. She puffed out her cheeks and sulked.

"You idiot! You're hurt and still smiling! Don't you know people will worry when you get injured!? Why didn't you take better care of yourself?!"

When Sosuke saw that Tsunade really seemed angry, he finally stopped smiling.

She'd called his smile stupid, which left him at a loss. Still, he looked at her with complete sincerity.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Tsunade. I like it."

Seeing Tsunade's face turn red, Sosuke smiled softly again.

That's right... Having someone care about you... felt wonderful...