Reversing Fate 14

Deep into the night, the shop was completely empty, with only Teuchi standing behind the counter.

He asked nothing at all, silently pushing a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen toward Sasuke.

The clear broth, the curly chashu, the tender green scallions—everything was so familiar that it made the heart tighten.

"Once, I treated Naruto to a bowl of ramen."

Uncle Teuchi's voice was low and steady, his gaze seeming to pierce through Sasuke's body and look straight at the bewilderment deep within his soul.

"Today, I'll treat you to a bowl too. After you finish eating, head back."

"Some things are not for you to change."

"Back?" Sasuke asked instinctively, his voice dry. "Back to where?"

"Go back to where you came from." A trace of an elusive curve appeared at the corner of Teuchi's mouth, his sight sweeping over Sasuke's pocket containing the talismans as if looking at it yet not.

"As long as you are willing to let go of the 'obsession' in your heart, you will naturally return to the place you truly belong."

As soon as these words were spoken, Sasuke Uchiha shook violently all over! He pressed down on his pocket abruptly, the hard outline of the Rabbit Talisman pressing firmly against his palm.

"Who... who on earth are you?!" he demanded sharply, getting up in a frenzy.

Facing his panic and hostility, Teuchi merely maintained that mysterious smile, his tone as casual as if he were introducing the daily special:

"Who am I? I am the owner of this ramen shop, Teuchi."

Heard at this moment, this understatement sounded more hair-raising than any threat.

Sasuke could no longer stay in this seemingly ordinary yet bizarrely pervasive square inch of space; he stood up abruptly, stumbling as he knocked over his seat, and rushed out