Decision

After Sasuke left, Masayo tidied up and headed to the Hokage's Office to seek instructions from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.

Why hadn't Masayo refused? Because he had a fairly good impression of Sasuke. How should he put it? Sasuke was probably the only normal person.

At first, Sasuke had made a good impression. He was handsome, his personality was good, and he was cold on the outside but warm within. But as time went on and Masayo followed the story further, why did Sasuke keep getting beaten up? What was going on? Why had he gone dark? Why had he become someone who recognized no family ties? How had he turned out like this? What was he even doing?

Then everyone had joined in mocking him. The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and Uchiha Sasuke thought he could do it again. Back then, Masayo had also become one of Sasuke's haters. But after Naruto ended, he watched it all over again from beginning to end, and it felt different from before.

Naruto seemed to have some problems. He was too idealistic. As for Itachi Uchiha, it was hard to say. In Masayo's past life, there had been far too many examples of people like Itachi Uchiha, undercover within the enemy's ranks. They had no choice in the matter. Masayo could not judge him. He himself could never make the kind of sacrifice that gave up the small self to fulfill the greater good.

And Sasuke—Masayo had been too one-sided before. Sasuke bore the hatred of his clan's extermination, yet while training under Orochimaru, he had still retained his true nature. More importantly, when it came to battle, if he could fight, he fought—he never dragged things out. Especially during Naruto: Shippuden, when he wore white: whether it was his looks, bearing, or combat prowess, he had been at his peak.

In Masayo's impression, more than ninety percent of the male protagonists in novels and anime probably did not perform as well as Sasuke. At the very least, Sasuke did not spend every day acting like the entire world owed him because he carried a blood feud. Some people possessed cheats even more broken than Sasuke's status as Indra's reincarnation, yet ran around committing murder and arson, acting lawlessly and doing all kinds of disgusting, utterly vile things. Looking at it calmly, Sasuke was not as unbearable as Masayo had once thought.

Masayo arrived at the Hokage's Office and explained the situation to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Uchiha Sasuke? No wonder. Did he come to find you after watching the movie?"

Masayo nodded. "Probably. Lord Hokage, what should I do? Should I refuse him?"

Masayo kicked the ball to Hiruzen Sarutobi and let him make the decision. Whether it was Uchiha Sasuke or Naruto Uzumaki, neither had anything to do with him. He had not taken the initiative to approach either of them. This time, Sasuke had come looking for him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a long time before saying, "Masayo, what do you think? What is your opinion of Uchiha Sasuke?"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi kick the ball back, Masayo rolled his eyes speechlessly. "I have a fairly good impression of him. All alone, he still managed to become the top student in his year. He is far better than I was back then. But in the end, Lord Hokage, the decision still needs to be yours."

"Ah..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Masayo a somewhat surprised look. Based on what he knew of Masayo, Masayo should have kicked the ball around and bickered with him like before.

"You think that highly of him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in surprise.

Masayo nodded seriously. "That's right. He possesses astonishing potential. Even if he is an Uchiha, why not let him become Konoha's Uchiha, Lord Hokage?"

"Become Konoha's Uchiha!?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze sharpened. Did he not want that? His emotions surged as he asked, "Do you think I don't want to do that? But how? The conflict between the Uchiha and the village has accumulated over many years. The Fourth Hokage died young. What am I supposed to do?"

Masayo smiled and nodded. Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed ready to argue with him, he hurriedly said, "I understand, Lord Hokage. Your wisdom is as endless as the rolling river. I was simply too foolish. Now I have finally grasped your meaning. Lord Hokage, I will take my leave. I know what to do now."

Masayo vanished from the office in a Body Flicker, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been preparing a lengthy speech, standing there in a daze. It took him a long time to recover.

"What did he understand?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, his mind in complete chaos. What had Masayo understood? Hadn't he been asking about Uchiha Sasuke? What was going on?

"What is Masayo going to do?"

Filled with intense curiosity, Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

After having his Shadow Clone help handle the official work, Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly left the Hokage's Office. The only ones aware of it were the hidden Anbu.

At dusk, Sasuke sat at home and looked out through the window. The Uchiha Compound was empty and silent. In the vast compound, he was the only one left.

"Itachi..."

Sasuke clenched his fists. Every night, this made him feel sorrow and pain. The night of the Uchiha clan massacre seemed to replay endlessly in his mind, deepening his hatred for Itachi Uchiha even further.

Knock, knock, knock...

Suddenly, a series of knocks brought Sasuke back to his senses. He hurried over at a light run.

"Teacher Masayo!"

Sasuke stared at him with blazing eyes. He needed power—power that could allow him to take revenge. His father, his mother, the entire Uchiha clan... He needed power, power to take revenge.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry. Those higher-ups disagreed. They all opposed it. Aside from me and the Hokage, every other senior official opposed it the moment they heard I was going to teach you. Sigh!"

"Fuck..."

Watching everything from the shadows, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately cursed. Masayo had actually dumped the blame on the other higher-ups.

"That's too petty, Masayo. You really know how to hold a grudge."

Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled how Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura had treated Masayo earlier. Fortunately, Masayo had not dumped the blame on him. That was acceptable.

"Why? Why won't those higher-ups allow it?"

Sasuke asked in disbelief.

Masayo spread his hands. "Who knows what those brain-dead idiots are thinking? I ran into a situation similar to yours before. Those people kept making excuses and passing the buck then too. They are just a bunch of people with nothing better to do."

"Damn. Sure enough, it's better not to provoke Masayo. Still, Koharu and Homura, you two brought this on yourselves."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also dissatisfied with his two colleagues, but out of consideration for their relationship, he had not lashed out.

Masayo looked at Sasuke's lowered head, at his expression full of unwillingness and disappointment, then continued, "There's no fate for us to become master and disciple, Sasuke. For the next month, I'll be training at Training Ground Forty-Four. Do you know the Shadow Clone Jutsu? School attendance affects graduation, you know!"

Sasuke abruptly raised his head. He was not an idiot, much less a single-celled fool like Naruto. He immediately understood what Masayo meant.

"I don't know Shadow Clone!"

Sasuke shook his head. He truly did not know that technique yet. No one had guided him, and no one had taught him. He had relied entirely on his own exploration. As for the things taught at school, there was nothing more he could learn from them.

"I'll teach you now. Tomorrow, send a Shadow Clone to school and meet me at nine in the morning!"

As Masayo was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly added, "Right, don't eat too much. It's bad for your body!"