"What a great gift, my replacement is already trying to kill me."
Sasuke's voice had a hint of mockery, but he didn't sound worried at all.
They were the ones who surrounded Sasuke, but from Sasuke's voice, it sounded like he was the one who surrounded them.
Sasuke raised the Kusanagi Sword in his hand, and sparks of electricity wrapped around it. Bright light flashed on the sharp blade.
Seeing that his short sword was about to be drawn into this lightning-style Chakra, Sai quickly pulled it back, barely dodging two steps back.
Sai's dark eyes stared intently at Sasuke, like a cat ready to pounce.
What an annoying look.
And that face, which is subtly similar to his own, like a clumsy imitation.
A substitute mixed in with those people.
Sasuke's expression showed a hint of disdain and coldness, and he took off the hat he was wearing.
The small bell hanging inside the hat rang softly.
The young man, who had completely grown out of his childishness, looked down at everyone below.
Sakura's pupils narrowed slightly. She hadn't seen the fake Sasuke with Naruto in Sunagakure Village, but only met him here for real.
She had thought many times about what Sasuke would look like when he grew up, or how they would meet again, and where.
"Sasuke..."
The same as the one she saw before, yet different.
Naruto couldn't describe the feeling, like he could tell the real from the fake at a glance.
That grumpy face, and the cold, slightly mocking tone, it definitely had to be Sasuke.
Naruto's gaze dropped from Sasuke's face to his clothes, the black and red Akatsuki robe billowing.
It was indeed a familiar person, but they were now on opposite sides.
For a moment, both of them were filled with mixed emotions, looking at Sasuke standing above, wanting to say something but holding back.
"Come back, Sai."
Kakashi's lazy voice sounded from behind Naruto and Sakura.
Naruto and Sakura blinked as if waking from a dream, and turned to look at Sai standing beside them.
Kakashi wouldn't just stare blankly at Sasuke, even though Sasuke was his former student.
But because he often carried out all kinds of missions, he knew better what Sasuke had done after joining Akatsuki.
Sasuke was no longer the Sasuke from their childhood, nor was he their friend.
He had chosen a different path and intended to follow it to the end.
The time to stop him had passed. Sometimes, to keep some things, you have to give up others.
Sai stared at Sasuke without moving, and Kakashi frowned with a headache.
In fact, Sai had shown this trait on the way. He wouldn't obey Kakashi, but seemed to have other purposes.
But confronting Sasuke now was definitely not a good idea.
"Don't rashly fight him. Our mission this time is to assassinate Orochimaru."
Kakashi emphasized their purpose again. Sure enough, it was easy for things to go wrong when Danzo's people were rashly added.
They didn't know Sasuke's current strength, but this person had been in that Akatsuki organization for several years.
The last fake Sasuke was also good at using illusions, so it was likely that Uchiha Itachi had given Sasuke some guidance.
Although they didn't know what the brothers' goals or feelings were, the Akatsuki organization could definitely make good use of them.
Although Sai came from Root, he should be more experienced in doing missions and actual combat than Naruto and Sakura.
But even so, rashly fighting Sasuke alone would definitely not be a good sign.
"Your new teammate doesn't seem to listen to you very well, Kakashi."
Sasuke looked at the people standing below as if watching a joke.
Did playing friends and emotional exchange bring about this kind of person?
When Sasuke wanted to leave Konoha to seek power, Kakashi couldn't stop him.
Now that Sai was attacking Sasuke here, Kakashi couldn't stop Sai either.
No matter how you looked at it, Kakashi didn't seem to be a good teacher who could teach his students well.
"How can you say something like that..."
Naruto could also hear the mockery in Sasuke's tone.
No matter how you looked at it, Kakashi was a good teacher to Sasuke before he left Konoha.
Even within Team Seven, Kakashi and Sasuke got along unexpectedly well.
So before Sasuke left Konoha, it could almost be said that Kakashi was very biased towards Sasuke as a teacher.
But now Sasuke was actually mocking him like this.
Even though Naruto was determined to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, he couldn't help but speak up for him.
Sai paused for a moment before honestly retreating from Sasuke's side.
Not for any other reason, but from the moment he exchanged blows with Sasuke, he realized the gap between him and Sasuke.
In a head-on collision, Sai might not really be able to beat him.
Sai was almost 100% sure that Naruto and Sakura wouldn't be able to attack in this situation.
If he was alone at that time, he would really get beaten.
"Along the way, although we haven't gotten along very well, I've seen an almost obsessive bond from you guys."
"I feel like I can vaguely understand some of your bond. You're all trying to maintain this relationship and rebuild your connection with Sasuke."
"But when I see this person, I still don't think he's worth you doing this."
Sai put the short sword with the white bandage wrapped around the handle into the sheath behind his back, and he straightened up.
He put away the fake smile he often wore on his face, and said to them with a serious and earnest expression.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like everything was just Sakura and Naruto's wishful thinking.
Sasuke joining Akatsuki might not just be because they kidnapped him. It was very likely that this guy went there on his own.
The real mission that Danzo gave Sai was to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke, not Orochimaru.
But besides the order, Sai sincerely felt that Naruto and Sakura should see the reality and not be deceived by Sasuke anymore.
This guy was just made to be a traitor.
Naruto and Sakura didn't like others saying bad things about Sasuke, but in this case, they couldn't say anything to refute it.
"Am I not even worth your comment?"
Sasuke lowered his head from above with amusement and jumped down. It didn't matter what Naruto and Sakura did or said.
After all, they had really known each other before, and had really gone through many things together.
But this replacement who just joined the team was taking himself too seriously, wasn't he?
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