Take This Ancestor Out for a Stroll

"Ah Luo? Don't worry, Big Brother's fine..."

Sasuke rushed back before dark. When he opened the door and saw Ah Luo staring blankly ahead, he ran over to comfort his younger brother first.

He had been about to head home after school when that bastard Naruto Uzumaki suddenly lost his mind and blocked his way, insisting on a fight.

So he beat that idiot up, but before he could return home, Iruka caught them and dragged them off for a long lecture about friendship between classmates...

"Did Sasuke get into a fight?"

Ah Luo pointed at the footprint on Sasuke's shoulder where he had been kicked. That was Naruto's shoe, right?

So the two of them had arranged a fight after school and kept at it until now?

Sure enough, his heart had grown old. He couldn't keep up with the rhythm of youth these days!

"Sasuke ran into that idiot Naruto Uzumaki. He wouldn't let me go home, so I beat him up, then the teacher caught us..."

Sasuke turned his head awkwardly, unwilling to look at his younger brother's clearly smiling eyes.

It was all that idiot's fault. Not only had he delayed Sasuke from coming home, he had also let his younger brother find out that he had fought someone after school...

"Sasuke won, right?"

Without asking what had happened after the teacher caught them, Ah Luo smiled and asked Sasuke. The winner had to be Sasuke.

"Yeah. That idiot couldn't take a beating at all. I'm going to make dinner!"

Sasuke nodded. He figured there was no need to dwell on it.

After all, he had won!

"Then I'll go wash my hands first!"

Ah Luo watched Sasuke head into the kitchen, called out a greeting, then went to the sink. He turned on the faucet and quietly washed his hands.

Izuna drifted over beside him once again.

Ever since Sasuke had come home, Izuna Uchiha had circled around the two brothers, looking them over again and again. Now that they had separated, he had first gone to take a look at Sasuke before coming over to greet Ah Luo.

"Your brother just got into a fight. Why are you still letting him cook?"

Izuna already knew they were twins, so he had long been mentally prepared for Sasuke's appearance. Having seen him now, he no longer dwelled on it.

But he was curious. Ah Luo's body was weak, but not so weak that he could not even cook a meal.

He clearly cared deeply about his brother, so why had he not prepared the food first? He had spent the whole afternoon at home with nothing to do, after all...

"..."

Ah Luo lowered his head and washed his hands. When Izuna leaned closer to look at him, he rolled his eyes hard.

Was he supposed to talk to thin air at a time like this, or put on a show of his consciousness leaving his body right here?

"You rolled your eyes at me. You actually rolled your eyes at me... Oh, right, you can't talk to me now. Then come chat with me after you fall asleep tonight. Do you want your brother to learn the Uchiha clan's ninjutsu and training methods? Looking at things now, Konoha probably didn't leave much behind, but I know a lot. Take me out for a walk, and I'll teach you. Then you can teach your brother..."

Izuna huffed twice when he saw the child roll his eyes at him, then suddenly realized that he was currently only a soul, and every action the child took was being watched by certain shinobi.

Even so, not only did he fail to end the conversation, he followed beside the child and kept nagging him to take him out, saying what benefits he could offer.

Ah Luo only occasionally let his gaze linger on him. There was truly no greater response than that.

After eating the simple dinner Sasuke made, Ah Luo continued watching Sasuke complete his training goals. Then came their daily lesson, with Sasuke teaching Ah Luo how to read.

After learning a few more characters, Ah Luo said he was sleepy. Only then did the two brothers return to their room, turn off the lights, and go to sleep.

The brothers lay in separate blankets. Once Ah Luo made sure no ANBU were crouching on the roof watching them, he reached a hand out from under his blanket and tugged at the corner of Sasuke's shirt.

This afternoon, a soul came to our house. He might be an ancestor. He said he can teach us our family's inherited training methods and ninjutsu. Sasuke, wait at home for me. I'll learn it and come back to teach you.

Ah Luo traced the words into Sasuke's outstretched palm with his finger.

After Clan Massacre Night, once Ah Luo had learned some characters, he had secretly told Sasuke that he possessed an ability that allowed his consciousness to briefly leave his body while he slept.

The matters of ANBU being stationed around their home, and how the two brothers had always been watched by Konoha, were all things Ah Luo had quietly told Sasuke before bed, writing in his palm again and again.

Sasuke had been shocked and worried. Once he confirmed that Ah Luo truly had no adverse reactions other than sleepiness, he allowed Ah Luo to move around near their home.

But before using this ability, Ah Luo had to tell him first.

Be careful. If you feel that something is wrong with him, come back immediately.

Sasuke tightened his fingers around Ah Luo's hand in his palm.

Only after a while did he let go and write those few words.

He was too weak to protect Ah Luo, so he had to become stronger.

But Konoha had taken away all of his family's training scrolls, secret techniques, and all kinds of information. He could only rely on the little foundation in ninjutsu and taijutsu he had learned before, studying at the Academy...

Letting Ah Luo meet a dead ancestor now was too dangerous, but Sasuke could not see him himself. He could only let Ah Luo act as the intermediary.

I'll be back soon.

Ah Luo wrote a few words with his finger, then relaxed his hand and fell asleep.

His consciousness left his body. In soul form, he greeted Sasuke, but unfortunately, Sasuke could not see him.

Seeing Sasuke's eyes turn red, the one-tomoe and two-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes actually became two two-tomoe Sharingan at that moment. Ah Luo felt that he might have been a little too hasty.

"He's very worried about you. Let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we return. Take me to see Hokage Rock and the Hokage Building. I'll teach you some basic training he can learn along the way."

Izuna looked at Sasuke's eyes, shook his head, and sighed. Then he reached out, picked up the child, and drifted straight through the roof.

After Ah Luo pointed out the direction, Izuna carried him and floated that way. But at the outer wall of the Uchiha clan compound, an invisible wall blocked Izuna's soul.

"You can't get out?"

Ah Luo was a little dumbfounded. Something was wrong with this situation!

Could this ancestor-level soul have turned into an earthbound spirit the moment he appeared here?

"Take me out. This thing blocks me every time."

Izuna raised his foot and kicked at the space before him a few times. This invisible thing was trapping him here.

"Fine, but don't struggle, or I'll get hurt."

Ah Luo waved a hand in front of himself. This barrier did not exist for him.

After telling Izuna to let him go, Ah Luo tried floating around on his own. Being a drifting ghost felt quite strange, but also rather fun.

After playing around for a moment, he used the tiny amount of spiritual energy he currently possessed to form something like a cage around Izuna.

Then, carrying that "cage," he brought Izuna out of the Uchiha clan compound.

Once they were outside, the cage formed from spiritual energy dissipated, and Izuna finally saw what lay beyond.

Yet in only an instant, Izuna vanished from where he stood and reappeared within the invisible wall from before.

"..."

Ah Luo tilted his little head and looked at Izuna's despairing expression. He was rather confused now too.

Was this really an earthbound spirit, complete with location-locked teleportation?

"Put me in that thing again. Let's go take a look at the Hokage Building, then come back."

Izuna angrily kicked the invisible wall several more times, then looked at Ah Luo with great hesitation and asked him to use that cage-shaped thing to take him out again.

Today, he absolutely had to see what this so-called Hokage Building looked like!