The twilight in Konoha always carries a touch of nostalgia.
The orange-red sunlight slanted through the dilapidated walls of the Uchiha Clan Compound, casting dappled shadows on the overgrown stone path.
Sasuke stood in front of the old house, clutching the residence permit approved by Tsunade in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the building that held so many memories.
The clan crest on the porch is faded and indistinct, but the Gunbai pattern that symbolizes the pride of the Uchiha still stubbornly remains.
After learning the whole truth in the Land of Rain, the obsession with revenge that had once sustained him suddenly collapsed.
Obito's maniacal laughter, Zetsu's sinister face, and the imagined scene of Itachi's death.
These images tormented him day and night.
The Reform Society did indeed take in some members of the Uchiha clan.
But whenever he saw the marks of the Reform Society on the faces of his clansmen, he would imagine Itachi lying in a pool of blood.
He couldn't accept the idea of seeking refuge with those people.
In his eyes, those people, regardless of their reasons, were all traitors.
Therefore, he ultimately chose to return to Konoha.
"How ironic..."
Sasuke tugged at his Akatsuki robe with a self-deprecating laugh.
The black robe embroidered with red clouds seemed particularly heavy at this moment.
He could have continued wandering, but a voice deep inside him kept questioning him.
If even Konoha, which Konoha protected with his life, is not safe, where else in this world can we call home?
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade stared at Sasuke's application file, her thumb unconsciously rubbing the rim of her teacup.
"That kid knows how to pick his timing."
She glanced out the window at the Memorial Stone that was being rebuilt, where the names of the Fourth couple had been newly engraved.
The fact that Shizune seemed hesitant to speak made her sigh.
"What? You think I shouldn't agree?"
"But Lady Tsunade, he is, after all, a member of Akatsuki..."
" Shizune!"
Teuchi her, her fingers lightly tapping on the map of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"The entire Shinobi World must unite to fight against a foreign enemy. Are we really going to push a fighting force away? Besides, that child no longer has hatred in his eyes."
As Sasuke open the creaking door of the old house, a musty smell wafted out.
He stood still, letting the dust dance in the slanting sunlight.
A thick layer of dust covered the low table in the living room, where Father's favorite purple clay teacup, Mother's favorite celadon cup, and... the chipped teacup that Itachi had broken and secretly glued back together when he was a child.
"Snort!"
Sasuke roughly tore off his Akatsuki robe and threw it aside, then drew a bucket of ice-cold well water from the well.
The sound of a rag wiping the tatami mats echoed in the empty room, like a suppressed sob.
When cleaning the parents' bedroom, they found a dusty scroll under the bed.
Sasuke's fingers trembled slightly as he unfurled the scroll, revealing a faded family portrait on its yellowed pages.
In the photo, a dried bloodstain runs diagonally across the father's stern face, while the mother's gentle smile remains miraculously intact.
Young Itachi stood between his parents, while he, the little boy who hadn't yet learned to hide his emotions, awkwardly tugged at his older brother's sleeve on the far side.
Snap--
A drop of water landed on the young face in the photo.
Sasuke slammed the scroll shut, his Sharingan gleaming crimson in the dim room.
at the same time.
The steam from Ichiraku Ramen made Naruto's eyes red.
He was acting very strangely today; he even left half of his favorite char siu (barbecued pork) uneaten.
Kakashi closed the Icha Icha Paradise, his right eye revealing a knowing look. "Thinking about Obito again?"
But how could he not be thinking about it!
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't find Obito's whereabouts and Lady Tsunade's interference, he probably would have left Konoha long ago.
Listening to Kakashi's words, Naruto stared at the oil sloshing in his soup bowl, his fingernails unconsciously digging into the edge of the table.
"I'm such an idiot..."
Those childhood memories, rejected by the villagers, flashed by like a revolving lantern.
The expired bread thrown at him by the convenience store owner, the laughter of children throwing stones at him, and the way his Iruka-sensei, secretly wiped away tears when she treated him to ramen.
" Naruto, I'm sorry! I didn't expect Obito..."
Kakashi gently placed his hand on his trembling shoulder, but he couldn't bring himself to say the rest of the words.
After all, the deceased Fourth and his wife were not only Naruto's biological parents, but also his teacher and his teacher's wife!
"Then why...?"
Naruto suddenly looked up, his deep blue eyes brimming with tears, "Why did you kill my parents! Why did you have to cause Sasuke's death too..."
The sound stopped abruptly because Kakashi's Forehead Protector had slipped down, revealing a Sharingan that was exactly the same as the Uchiha's.
The Teuchi man silently put down the bowl he was wiping, turned around, and walked into the kitchen.
The ramen stall suddenly became eerily quiet, with only the bubbling sound of the soup pot remaining.
" Naruto," Kakashi took a deep breath, "Hatred is like a swamp; the more you struggle, the deeper you sink."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted towards the Uchiha Clan Compound. " Sasuke, he should understand this feeling better than you do now."
Naruto was stunned.
She recalled seeing Sasuke she hadn't seen in a long time, during the day.
That arrogant young man is now cleaning the dusty old house all by himself.
His figure in the morning robe looked so lonely in the setting sun, just like... just like when he stood in his empty apartment, talking to the photos of his parents on the refrigerator.
"I... I'm going to find Sasuke!"
Naruto suddenly stood up, wiped his face haphazardly, and pulled crumpled banknotes from his wallet, slamming them on the table.
"Uncle, here's the money for today's ramen!"
Kakashi watched the blond boy's retreating figure and sighed softly.
Looking at the Fourth's statue on the Hokage Rock, he murmured softly, "Sensei... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
The Uchiha mansion.
Sasuke was staring blankly at the family photo.
The smile on his mother's face in the photo reminded him of a certain afternoon when she hummed a song as she taught him and Itachi how to make tomato dishes.
The cherry blossoms outside the window were blown into the room by the wind, and one of them landed right on the father's serious face in the scroll.
Sasuke reached out to brush away the petals, but suddenly heard a loud 'bang' from the entrance.
His Sharingan activated instantly, but then went out when he saw the panting blond idiot.
They hadn't seen each other for many years.
But when the two met again, they still felt a sense of familiarity, though they didn't know where that feeling came from.
" Sasuke!"
Naruto stood in the doorway, sweat still glistening on his forehead from running, but his blue eyes shone with an astonishing light. "I... I have something to tell you!"
Sasuke instinctively tried to hide the scroll, but stopped when he saw Naruto's red-rimmed eyes.
This guy who came in last, did he cry all the way here?
"... idiot."
In the end Sasuke simply turned his face away and said coldly, "If you want to cry, don't cry in my house."
Naruto paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter through his tears, reaching out to poke the photo of Sasuke as a child.
Wow! Were you this cute when you were little?
"Want to die? You loser!"
"Come on! Who's afraid of who!"
The two boys' bickering startled the sparrows under the eaves, and the Uchiha mansion became lively again after a long time.