Sasuke: It Was All Because I Was Too Weak

"A Luo..."

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes were still somewhat dazed. He had just seen A Luo floating there...

So, A Luo was dead?

Was it because he had stopped Sasuke from going home that something had happened to A Luo?

He did not know whether all this was his fault, but he did not dare say anything now. He did not dare say that A Luo had died, nor did he dare say that he had seen A Luo.

Those masked ninjas had appeared too strangely. They did not care about Sasuke at all. They merely checked to make sure Sasuke was not dead, then carried him away...

Trembling with fear and aching inside, Naruto got to his feet and staggered home.

Izuna, who had rarely gotten the chance to go out and move around today, curiously looked at Naruto, then toward Konoha Hospital, before deciding to follow the blond little guy.

This should be that little fox boy surnamed Uzumaki that A Luo had mentioned.

Had he just seen A Luo?

But he himself had already been able to cultivate today, while this brat still could not see him. Did that mean A Luo had deliberately let the brat see him?

Not understanding what connection there was between them, he could only keep an eye on him for now. If the brat said anything, at least he could tell A Luo everything that had happened.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sasuke lay on a hospital bed as the doctors examined him.

Outside the ward, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were both waiting.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned coldly toward Danzo several times.

But Danzo did not glare back this time. Instead, he kept his head lowered, his cane striking the floor several times. His anger was even greater than Hiruzen Sarutobi's.

Inside the ward, besides the doctors, nurses, and ANBU ninjas conducting the examination, two illusory boys sat on the windowsill.

On the way there, A Luo had temporarily pulled Sasuke's soul out of his body.

Because Sasuke's soul could not completely leave his body, part of it was still connected to it. They could only sit a short distance from Sasuke's body and talk.

"Orochimaru is one of the Sannin. You said he uses the bodies of gifted young people as spare vessels. Would you be safe going there?"

After his younger brother had told him about the surrounding circumstances, Konoha's various attitudes, and some of its schemes, Sasuke had forced himself to learn all kinds of disguises for the sake of protecting his brother, even if he was not used to it.

From writing in his palm at first, suppressing his rage and resentment, to later using certain outward emotions to conceal his true feelings whenever something happened.

Now, hearing A Luo explain how his body had been transferred into Orochimaru's hands, he was filled with countless grudges toward Konoha. But he knew his own strength and would not naively run off to question Konoha's higher-ups.

He had to live. Live and grow stronger. Then, once he was strong enough, take revenge on Konoha!

It was just that Orochimaru had already taken his younger brother's body away. He would not be able to see him from now on.

And Orochimaru's place was too dangerous. A Luo had told him before that none of Konoha's Sannin were easy to deal with...

"He is interested in my soul. I can tell that Orochimaru's soul has suffered a lot of damage. In the future, he'll support my cultivation, and I'll help maintain his soul. While I'm at it, I can get some materials and bring them back for you to use. Konoha won't give us the chance to grow stronger, so we can only do it in secret. I'm still waiting for you to grow stronger and protect me..."

A Luo tilted his head against Sasuke's shoulder as he spoke of his deal with Orochimaru and some of his expectations for the future.

In a place like Konoha, they practically had no chance to grow.

So the way things were now was quite good.

"When you have time, come back and visit more, as long as it doesn't affect your cultivation..."

Sasuke's hand gripped A Luo's. He did not want to let go, but he had no choice.

He had always refused to place his hopes in others. Yet now, all he could do was hope that Orochimaru truly would not harm A Luo.

"I told him that I'd come home often to keep you company. Once I figure it out, I'll teach you how to cultivate too. You'll have to eat by yourself from now on, so make sure you eat enough. Don't let training interfere with the rest you're supposed to get, either. A proper balance between work and rest is the foundation needed for growth..."

A Luo spoke slowly, telling Sasuke that he absolutely had to take care of himself and grow up healthily.

Ahead of them, after a series of examinations, the busy doctors and nurses determined that Sasuke had merely fainted from extreme anger and agitation. The examination and treatment finally came to an end.

A Luo carefully put Sasuke's soul back into his body. After checking and confirming there were no other hidden problems, he left the ward.

After leaving the ward and floating to the hospital entrance, A Luo saw Izuna hovering above the blond child's head.

What was this guy doing, stepping on Naruto Uzumaki's head? He could not even step on it. How childish!

"Come on. Go back to your house, and I'll tell you what happened."

A Luo glanced at the vacant-eyed Naruto and urged him to go home first before they talked.

For now, there was no problem with Naruto coming to the hospital entrance. Sasuke's condition earlier had frightened Naruto badly enough.

But if they said anything here and Naruto got worked up and started shouting, there would be trouble.

"..."

Naruto Uzumaki had many questions he wanted to ask, but with A Luo floating ahead of him, he could only lower his head and run home with tears filling his eyes.

Once he got home, Naruto shut the door, turned around, and reached out to grab A Luo and demand an explanation.

Instead, his outstretched hand was tugged forward and tossed aside. It looked as though he had thrown himself straight onto the bed without even taking off his shoes.

Then he clutched the blanket with both hands, rolled over, and wrapped himself in it, hiding beneath the covers as he let out several muffled sobs.

The ANBU outside the window listened to Naruto cry, glanced in through the window, then shook his head and continued sitting outside, staring blankly at the sky.

Before long, the room fell quiet. The ANBU peeked through the window again and found Naruto already asleep, wrapped in his blanket.

But in truth, Naruto had been dragged by two souls into a place resembling a sewer, where his head was held down as he obediently listened to a story.