Sasuke's Bond Level Rises! Team 7 Reunites!

Yamanaka Fū spun around in horror. Somehow, Sahiro Uchiha himself was standing behind him. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared straight into his pupils as they shrank in terror, like a bottomless sea of blood.

"Do you still want to negotiate with me?"

All the strength drained from Yamanaka Fū's body. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Rage, humiliation, fear... The emotions tangled together until he nearly went mad. But he knew he had lost. In strength, tactics, and sheer force of will, this boy had crushed him completely.

He gritted his teeth. After a long while, he forced out a bitter threat: "Sahiro Uchiha, you'd better pray you never fall into my hands!"

Sahiro did not look at him again.

He turned and leaped lightly onto a high branch, took Sasuke from his Shadow Clone, and settled his younger brother securely on his back.

Sasuke weakly raised his eyes to his brother's profile. His lips moved. "Brother... How did you..."

"Don't talk." Sahiro's voice was soft, but it carried a steady reassurance. "I'm taking you home."

He glanced down at the battered Yamanaka Fū and left him with one message. "Tell Danzo I'll visit him myself."

With Sasuke on his back, Sahiro vanished into the night.

Yamanaka Fū looked up at the pale moon. His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, and a low, stifled roar rose from his throat.

"Uchiha... I won't let you get away with this!"

Sahiro carried Sasuke through the night for roughly half a quarter of an hour. Only after he was sure he had shaken off any pursuers did he stop before a hidden hollow in a tree.

He gently set Sasuke down and pressed a palm to his younger brother's burning forehead. He frowned.

The Cursed Seal had spread deeper than he expected. Yamanaka Fū and the Root ninjas had not had another chance to attack, but what Orochimaru had left behind was like a seed already rooted deep in Sasuke's chakra pathways.

Just then, the familiar mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Sasuke's Bond Level has risen to LV3!]

[Bond Level advancement rewards being issued...]

[Reward 1: Sharingan ocular power increased. Current ocular power has surpassed the Three Tomoe limit. Kamui Dimension enhanced accordingly; visual range and motion-tracking ability greatly improved.]

[Reward 2: Lightning Release nature transformation, Chidori, and Chidori Stream series Ninjutsu.]

A warm surge of chakra rose from deep within him and flowed along his pathways toward his eyes.

Sahiro closed his eyes. The faintly burning power within them was changing, and the Three Tomoe spun more smoothly than before.

He opened his eyes slightly. A flash of crimson gleamed in his Sharingan, then faded.

Chidori... Just what I needed.

Through his haze, Sasuke felt his brother's cool palm against the back of his neck. The searing pain seemed to ease a little.

He struggled to open his eyes. Sahiro's profile blurred into view, and his lips parted. "Brother... Did I... hold you back again?"

"I told you, don't talk," Sahiro said quietly. He took a roll of bandages from his ninja pouch and deftly wrapped the torn wounds on Sasuke's wrist. "You're my brother. You could never hold me back."

Sasuke fell silent. His eyes stung, but he said nothing more.

A thin line of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Sahiro lifted Sasuke onto his back and headed toward the Forest of Death's exit in the faint morning light.

He deliberately slowed his pace so Sasuke would not be jostled too much.

At a stream, he stopped to let Sasuke drink a few mouthfuls of water, then wiped the blood and dirt from his face with a damp cloth.

"Brother," Sasuke said suddenly, his voice stronger than before. "When I'm better... I want to get stronger. Not just talk about it. I want to be strong enough to stand beside you."

Sahiro looked back at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'll wait for that day."

They continued on. As they passed through the brush at the edge of the dense forest, Sahiro sensed two familiar presences ahead.

One was hotheaded. The other was anxious.

"Sahiro! Sasuke! Where are you?" Naruto's shout made the leaves tremble.

He called out as he pushed aside the vines in his way, his face still marked with bruises and streaks of mud.

Sakura followed behind him. When she saw the two figures emerge from the brush, she froze for an instant, then rushed toward them.

"Sasuke!" Sakura ran up to him. Seeing that he was weak but conscious, her eyes reddened and tears spilled down her cheeks again. "You're okay... Thank goodness... You're really okay..."

Naruto hurried over too. He looked Sasuke up and down, and only when he was sure Sasuke was still breathing did his tense shoulders relax.

He broke into a huge grin.

"Sasuke! You scared me to death. I thought they'd really taken you!"

"You loser. You think I'd be that easy to take?"

Sahiro stood to one side without interrupting. The light had finally returned to Sasuke's eyes.

Naruto kept shouting, but he refused to take his hand off Sasuke's shoulder.

Sakura wiped away her tears while scolding Naruto for touching Sasuke's wounds.

"Let's go," Sahiro said. His voice was quiet, but all three fell silent and turned to him.

He turned and took a step toward the Forest of Death's exit.

"Our destination: the tower."

Sahiro glanced back. His gaze passed over Naruto and Sakura before settling on Sasuke. His Sharingan turned quietly, and the faintest smile touched his eyes.

"Team 7, together again."

Naruto grinned and thrust a fist into the air.

"All right! This time, we'll show everyone what we can do!"

Just then, Sakura spoke up, uncertainty in her voice. "But... we only have one Heaven Scroll. We don't have the other scroll."

The corner of Sahiro's mouth lifted. He said nothing.

He turned his palm, and the Earth Scroll appeared in his hand.

Sasuke's pupils contracted. He blurted out, "That's... an Earth Scroll! Where did you get it?"

Sahiro answered evenly, as though it were nothing worth mentioning. "I was taking care of something earlier, so I grabbed it on the way."

Naruto stared for a moment, then nearly jumped with excitement. His face lit up. "That's great! That's really great! Now we have both scrolls, right? We're about to become Chunin!"

Sahiro slowly shook his head, calmly dampening his excitement. "Don't celebrate yet. Becoming a Chunin isn't that simple."

Meanwhile, deep beneath Konoha, inside the Root Base.

Dim light fell across Danzo's grim face as he listened to Yamanaka Fū's urgent report.

"What did you say?" Danzo snapped his head up, a cold gleam in his eyes. "Sasuke was rescued? Sahiro fought all twenty of you by himself?"

Yamanaka Fū lowered his head. His voice was heavy. "Yes, sir."

Danzo's face turned livid. He clenched his jaw and forced out each word through his teeth. "Damn it... Not one of those wicked Uchiha should have been spared! I'll make sure you bastards who threaten Konoha's peace die horribly!"