Itachi's room

Yes.

In the past, whenever Sasuke played with an unfamiliar boy and his older sister saw him, he would get a precautionary lecture.

But now... Sasuke had not only played with an unfamiliar classmate, but brought him home.

"If my sister were still the way she used to be..."

As Sasuke stepped through the Uchiha main gate, thoughts of his sister, father, and mother rose unbidden in his mind.

Naruto certainly wasn't afraid of ghosts or monsters. He had slowed down earlier because this was his first visit to the Uchiha Clan Compound, and he wanted a good look around.

Following Sasuke through the Uchiha main gate, he was greeted by a long street lined with wooden shops on both sides, stretching dozens of meters into the compound.

After passing through the lifeless street, steeped in deathly silence, Naruto soon saw the residential area.

The residential and commercial districts occupied separate areas.

Since this was Naruto's first visit, everything felt new, and he looked around curiously.

Sasuke, meanwhile, had barely spoken since entering the main gate.

The familiar sights stirred his grief. Whenever he returned here, he couldn't help remembering the scenes of his sister slaughtering their clansmen and parents.

"Sasuke, your home is huge."

In the end, Naruto broke the silence first.

"Hmph. What's the point of being huge? To me, it's just a bigger cage."

Hearing that, Naruto said nothing more.

The massacre had happened only two days ago.

As they walked, he could still faintly smell the pungent blood lingering in the soil. It was all the blood of Uchiha clansmen.

The fact that seven-year-old Sasuke hadn't gone mad in this environment was impressive enough.

"Wow, so many fancy little courtyards. Sasuke, which one's your house?"

The farther they went into the residential area, the more luxurious the houses became, until Naruto couldn't help asking.

"The one up ahead."

Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze and couldn't help marveling. It truly was the clan leader's residence. Even its gateway stood a meter taller than those of the other houses.

Following Sasuke through the gate, Naruto needed only one glance to see that this was an exquisite, luxurious residence with both front and rear courtyards.

"Wow..."

The shots of the Uchiha Clan Compound in the original Naruto story had shown only part of it.

Naruto had assumed the Uchiha Clan Compound was simply a somewhat larger tribal settlement, but seeing it in person revealed an absurd contrast.

"Hmph."

Hearing Naruto's excited, provincial reaction, Sasuke snorted and stepped straight onto the long wooden corridor, heading toward his room.

"Sasuke, wait for me."

Naruto gave an awkward smile at Sasuke's snort. Wasn't he just rubbing salt into Sasuke's wounds?

Tap, tap, tap...

A short distance below the end of the wooden corridor lay a clear little pond edged with pebbles. Lush green water lilies floated on its surface like little green parasols.

Naruto had learned his lesson this time. Even when he recognized a scene from the original story he had read in his previous life, he remained silent.

He followed Sasuke, who soon slid open a wooden door, took off his shoes, and walked inside.

Naruto stood at the doorway and peered into the pitch-black room.

Click.

Sasuke switched on the light with practiced ease, then turned to Naruto. "This is my room."

"Oh, okay."

Naruto also took off his shoes and walked into Sasuke's bedroom.

Perhaps, after becoming a girl, Sasuke was still like other girls. Most of the room's decor was pink.

After entering Sasuke's bedroom, Naruto caught a faint, pleasant fragrance. He couldn't tell whether it belonged to the room itself or was Sasuke's distinctive scent, left behind after living here for so long.

"We're at my house now, so what exactly did you want to say?"

Seeing that Naruto showed no intention of leaving, Sasuke couldn't help asking.

"Uh..."

Caught off guard by the question, Naruto felt awkward for a moment, then scratched his head. "Well, could you show me the other rooms?"

"No."

Sasuke refused the moment Naruto finished speaking.

"I promise I'll go home as soon as I've had a look around." Naruto refused to give up.

"No. I've already sealed off the other rooms," Sasuke said, giving no ground.

Sasuke's resistance gave Naruto a headache. He didn't want to inspect the other rooms because of some strange hobby. He had a plan and a purpose.

"How about we both compromise? Just show me your sister's room."

Naruto spoke with complete sincerity, but unexpectedly, even that immediately struck a nerve with Sasuke.

Sasuke abruptly stood up. His clear eyes turned scarlet in an instant as he activated his one-tomoe Sharingan.

"That woman... why? Why do you want to see her room?"

Faced with Sasuke's piercing gaze and questioning, Naruto answered honestly without the slightest hesitation.

In a situation like this, no matter how fast someone reacted, their mind would pause for an instant while fabricating a lie.

And Sasuke had activated his Sharingan. Under that piercing gaze, even the slightest hesitation would be noticed.

But an honest answer was usually already clear in one's mind and could be spoken directly.

"No reason. I'm just curious."

Seeing that Naruto's gaze was open and unflinching, Sasuke snorted. "Her room's almost empty. There's nothing to be curious about."

With Sasuke still refusing to budge, Naruto knew his attempt to get this for free had failed. He could only bring out his trump card.

"In that case... I'll use up one of the favors you owe me. Then you won't be losing out, right?"

Yes.

Sasuke had lost their last fight by the river and owed Naruto three favors.

The first was to help Naruto get twenty thousand silver taels, and he had done that.

But Naruto had yet to name the remaining two favors, leaving Sasuke with a constant thorn in his heart that made him uneasy.

He hadn't expected Naruto to waste one of his chances on something like this.

"Hmph. Fine, but you have to agree to do one extra thing for me," Sasuke finally conceded.

Naturally, Naruto wasn't too pleased to hear that.

But just as he was about to object, Sasuke's expression suddenly fell. "Tomorrow marks three days since Mom, Dad, and the others died. Could you come with me as a friend?"

Seeing this, Naruto seemed to understand.

He didn't think Sasuke was afraid of anything supernatural.

Rather, facing the vast burial ground of his clansmen alone would be too emotionally oppressive.

Just imagine it.

A seven-year-old girl visiting that vast clan burial ground alone to pay respects, with all that loneliness, anguish, hatred, and memories of former clansmen and loved ones flooding in at once-even an adult might not be able to bear it.

"Deal," Naruto agreed. "When?"

Only after Naruto agreed to his excessive request did Sasuke's dejected mood ease a little.

"Tomorrow's the weekend. Let's go after our morning training."

As he spoke, Sasuke led Naruto to a room next door.

"This is my sister's room... no, that woman's room."

The wooden sliding door slowly opened, revealing an empty room.

Much of the original furniture had been removed. Only a scattering of personal belongings remained, everyday things such as clothes, shoes, and bags of toys.

"Don't touch anything in the room."

Seemingly unwilling to enter his enemy's room again, Sasuke gave that firm warning, then turned and walked back to his own room.

Naruto readily agreed.

Once Sasuke left, Naruto could no longer contain his curiosity.