Chapter 31

Orochimaru's mouth twitched, and he forced out an awkward smile.

The man before him had come to him not long ago, saying he wanted to recruit him into some organization called the Akatsuki...

He had not agreed yet, but he had already decided to make contact and see how it went first.

So he had followed this mysterious man on this trip.

Who would have thought this guy's temper would be so explosive? The slightest carelessness, and he looked ready to start a fight. "Everything here is to pave the way for making a move against Konoha later."

"As for those conditions you brought up, I'm afraid only we, the Akatsuki, can help you realize them."

"So if there's work to do, just do it honestly. Stop asking pointless questions..."

His Sharingan closed, and he sank straight into the ground, vanishing without a trace.

That's right. This man was none other than Runtu Uchiha, who called himself Madara Uchiha!

"How arrogant!"

Orochimaru licked his lips. His words sounded helpless, but excitement flashed in his eyes.

An illusion technique of that level could only have been used by a top expert of the Uchiha.

That pressure just now—maybe that lord really had come?

If it really was him, then if he could obtain his body...

Schemes were already spinning through Orochimaru's mind.

Of course, in the current situation, even if someone lent him a few extra lives' worth of courage, he would not dare actually make a move...

Orochimaru rapidly formed a hand seal. A snake shot out of the ground and swallowed him, then vanished with a bang into white smoke.

The entire Hidden Sand Village had already been sealed tight beneath the stench of blood.

That's right. This was Obito's calculation.

The Hidden Mist Village had long since become the Village of Bloody Mist. Not only had the Land of Water been thrown into chaos, it had also created plenty of trouble for the entire Shinobi World.

After all, those who could walk out of the Village of Bloody Mist alive were nine times out of ten rogue ninja.

The next target was the Hidden Sand Village.

As for the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village, the foundations of those two villages were too solid.

With the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand causing trouble, that would be enough.

So Obito could not be bothered to invite humiliation.

Next, it was time to prepare the next target of revenge.

That's right. Obito's next target for revenge was Konoha!

To pry open Konoha's gates, he first had to deal with the troublesome police force.

Otherwise, once those people took action, it would be those few experts again, plus the clan leader's Mangekyo Sharingan of unknown depth. They really would be difficult to handle.

Right now, there was probably someone even more anxious than me, wasn't there?

A faint smile curved Obito's lips.

Then his figure flashed, and he shot straight toward Konoha.

One week later.

After what had happened last time, the Root Organization had not sent anyone to trouble Sasuke again during this period.

This left Sasuke feeling just a tiny bit disappointed instead!

Uchiha Sasuke had just finished a fight, and his whole body radiated a sense of satisfaction.

To him, this kind of real, bare-knuckle combat was far more interesting than shutting himself away to train. Every fight made the ninjutsu ideas in his head clearer. "Sasuke... can I still not refine chakra with you tonight?"

Naruto drooped his head and stared at Sasuke eagerly, looking just like a little dog neglected by its owner.

Ever since the two of them had trained together last time and Sasuke had called it off, Naruto had kept thinking about it.

Sasuke genuinely felt helpless.

It was not that he was stingy. The key was that this kid's foundation was simply too terrifying.

Setting aside how outrageous the super refinement technique he had gotten from Itachi was, just Naruto's Uzumaki Clan bloodline combined with his status as the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki meant the amount of chakra in his body could not be measured in "milliliters"—it had to be calculated in "tons."

Refining chakra with him?

That was pure self-torture. "Your chakra has already grown quite a bit compared to before."

Sasuke's tone was calm, as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world. "You won't get stuck using ordinary ninjutsu anymore either. For now, calm yourself down and properly feel the flow of chakra inside your body."

After saying that, Sasuke prepared to close his eyes and enter a state of training. "Hmph, cheapskate!"

Naruto pouted so hard his lips nearly reached the sky, and it took him a long while to squeeze out that sentence.

Still, although his mouth refused to admit defeat, his body was very honest—he obediently closed his eyes and followed Sasuke's instructions to sense his chakra.

Early the next morning, just as the sky had fully brightened. "Sasuke, I brought over all the ninjutsu scrolls you wanted."

Itachi held a stack of scrolls in his arms and stood before Sasuke, the smile on his face warm enough to melt snow in the depths of winter. "But I remember you have fire and lightning chakra natures. What do you need these Wind Release ninjutsu for?"

Only now did Itachi come back to his senses, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off.

This was the first time his own little brother had taken the initiative to ask him for something. To him, it was practically as exciting as New Year's.

As Konoha Village's number one brocon, his brain had heated up at the time, and he had rushed to the mission hall to trade his accumulated points for a pile of ninjutsu scrolls without thinking it through at all. "They're for Naruto."

Sasuke took the scrolls and casually flipped through them. "His chakra is wind nature."

After a pause, Sasuke raised his head and looked at Itachi. "Big bro, are you free this morning? If you are, practice with us for a bit?"

Today was the weekend, so Naruto had shamelessly planted himself in Sasuke's house and refused to leave.

Ever since Sasuke learned that Itachi had always been secretly protecting him, he had become much more confident in doing things—anyway, with his real brother backing him up, what was there to fear?

"Sure."

Itachi smiled until the corners of his eyes curved. "Let's go. Straight to the training ground."

Sure enough, he still liked this feeling best—the feeling of being needed by his little brother, of being relied on by his little brother. It was sweeter than honey.

The three of them strolled over to the public training ground inside the Uchiha Clan Compound and began the day's morning training.

At first, it was all basic physical training, just a warm-up.

And right at that moment, an uninvited guest arrived at the main gate of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

The man had a head of white hair, wore a black mask over his face, and his forehead protector was slanted to cover one eye.

Just standing there, his whole body gave off a detached air that kept strangers away. One glance was enough to know he was a man with a story.

That's right. It was Kakashi Hatake, who had hurried over after receiving orders from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Kakashi Hatake?"

An Uchiha clansman rushed over and blocked the entrance, his eyes full of vigilance and hostility. "Are you here to see the clan leader?"

He stared hard at Kakashi—this guy was not only a member of the Anbu, but more importantly, he had the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai installed in him.

Ever since that Sharingan of Kakashi's had been implanted, more than once, people in the clan had wanted to dig that eye back out.

It was just that every time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had forcefully suppressed it.

Kakashi himself was talented enough and had strong execution ability, so the Third old man was willing to place a bet on him.

The matter of that eye had been dragged out like this all along.

And precisely because of that, no matter how the Uchiha looked at Kakashi, he was an eyesore. "I'm here to find someone."

Kakashi's tone was flat, his voice coming through the mask with a slightly muffled texture. "Naruto Uzumaki."

He paused. "And Uchiha Sasuke."

"This is..."

Kakashi took out the document Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him.

Temporary Guardian of Naruto Uzumaki

Nagasawa Uchiha saw those words clearly, and the flesh on his face twitched.

The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was to be watched by this guy?

No matter how much weight Kakashi Hatake's paper carried with Konoha's upper levels, under the current circumstances, he had no authority to stop him.

He could only lead Kakashi to find Naruto and the others.

After the two of them had walked far away, the surrounding air suddenly twisted.

"Hmm?!"

Hidden in the shadows, Obito narrowed his eyes as he watched Kakashi follow Nagasawa Uchiha into the compound, and a hint of amusement surfaced on his face.

He had not come to Konoha this time to fight.

He had come to sound things out.

On the training ground. "Huff... huff... Sasuke, today I was only ten laps slower than you!"

"It won't be long before I catch up to you!"

Naruto's food had improved a lot lately, but his stamina still could not beat Sasuke's.

Someone who had only gotten a full meal every few days going up against someone raised on rich food every day was, to some degree, a bit unfair...

"Mm."

"Not bad. Next, we—"

[Ding! S-rank danger detected. Host, please immediately prepare to respond.]

[Ding! Emergency mission issued: survive for five hours.]

Before Sasuke could finish the words at his lips, the system panel popped up before his eyes. "...?"

Sasuke froze.

His big brother, Uchiha Itachi, was right here in the compound, and this place was the Uchiha's main base.

As long as there was the slightest disturbance here, dozens of big men could instantly rush out from the surroundings... cough, getting off topic.

What was more, he still had the magatama hanging on his chest, with Susanoo protecting him. Yet the system had actually still jumped out with this kind of warning.

Was that guy Pain coming to Konoha to carry rice?

Or had the Otsutsuki Clan come knocking?!

"Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"

Naruto saw that he had suddenly stopped talking and looked utterly puzzled.

Could it be that what he had said just now had stunned this guy?

At that thought, Naruto grew even more fired up inside. "It's nothing. We—"

"Hmm?!"

Sasuke was pondering how to send Naruto away so he could think of a method on his own.

But when he raised his eyes, he saw a guy standing outside the training ground who seemed rather off...

Kakashi Hatake?!

Had this emergency situation been brought in by that guy?

Or perhaps...

A heap of thoughts had just flashed through Sasuke's mind when Kakashi had already stepped into the training ground, one step at a time.

The moment Kakashi stepped into the training ground, Sasuke's gaze locked onto him.

Everyone else's eyes turned over as well.

Uchiha Itachi sensed the aura coming from the covered Sharingan eye of Kakashi's, and his brow moved slightly as he looked at the newcomer. "Kakashi Hatake."

"What business do you have coming to our Uchiha territory?"

Itachi's tone was very calm, and his question was unhurried.

The relationship between the two sides could hardly be called good.

Especially because of Kakashi's eye, the Uchiha Clan had long since put him on the kill list.

Now that this guy had swaggered in, Itachi wanted to hear what he had to say. "I'm here to carry out a mission."

Kakashi raised the order in his hand and showed it directly to Itachi. "Temporary guardian of Naruto Uzumaki—Kakashi Hatake?"

Itachi immediately caught the most important words.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had handed Naruto Uzumaki over to Kakashi Hatake.

Itachi had already more or less figured out the background of that blond brat.

With Kakashi appearing at this time, he could basically confirm who that kid was. But then came the problem—even if he really had that identity, why was the Third old man suddenly pulling a move like this?

Could it be...

"Naruto."

As Itachi pondered, he beckoned to Naruto Uzumaki. "Brother Itachi?"

"Mm?"

"Who's that old grandpa?"

Little Naruto stared at Kakashi's head of white hair and asked innocently. "Uh..."

"..."

Itachi and Kakashi both got stuck at the same time. "I'm not an old grandpa. My name is Kakashi Hatake."

"My teacher was the Fourth Hokage."

"Starting today, I'll be your temporary guardian, and I'll also teach you things."

Kakashi Hatake did not waste words. He directly explained why he had come, and at the same time handed Naruto the document signed by the Hokage. "Guardian? And teacher too?"

Little Naruto's head buzzed. His big eyes blinked, full of question marks.

But very quickly, that shock turned into pleasant surprise.

Everyone else had parents come to parent-teacher meetings.

Everyone else had family pick them up after school.

Everyone else had someone with them on their birthdays.

But no one had ever looked after him. He could only go home all alone. "Training ends here for today."

"I'll move in next door to you later."

"If you're willing, you can live with me. If you don't want to, staying by yourself is fine too."

Kakashi put the document away, casually took Naruto's small hand, and led him outside.

When had Naruto ever experienced treatment like this?

His brain crashed on the spot.

Whatever Kakashi said, he followed along, obedient as a wooden puppet.

Perhaps he was just too afraid this warmth would disappear. "You're not going to stop him?"

Itachi strolled over to Sasuke's side, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Logically speaking, if a child's little friend was taken away by someone, a kid this age should at least make a fuss, right?

But Sasuke's expression... not only was there no reaction, his face looked pretty awful too.

Could he have been hit too hard by the shock?

"I won't stop them."

"Brother, I feel like... something's wrong."

Sasuke suddenly raised his head, stared at Itachi, and voiced the vigilance in his heart.

The time on the screen was still moving, but that was five hours!

And what place was this?

The Uchiha Clan Compound!

Even so, the system had still given a life-threatening warning.

Either the other side was so strong that even Konoha, even the Uchiha, could not withstand them.