Sasuke stood calmly, his posture leaving no room for maneuver.
"Do you know what you are doing, Sasuke…?" Kakashi, who had been silent until now, asked softly.
He already knew no words would reach Sasuke at this point… but still…
"Yeah. I do."
Sasuke replied calmly, without the slightest hesitation.
Kakashi closed his eyes briefly, then gave a small nod.
"I see…"
After a short pause, his gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Then where is Sakura?"
Naruto, who had been on the verge of exploding, suddenly froze.
Only now did he realize—
He hadn't seen Sakura for a while.
"I dealt with her."
"She was annoyingly getting in my way."
Sasuke's tone remained indifferent, as if he were talking about something trivial.
Beneath the mask, Obito's eyes curved faintly—
'That's my boy… good job, stepson.'
He praised him inwardly.
"W-What did… you say, Sasuke!?" Naruto's voice trembled, shock turning into anger almost instantly.
"Yawn…"
A lazy sound cut through the tension.
Obito raised a hand, covering his face as if he might fall asleep at any moment.
"Well, that's it then. Let's go… I've had enough. Any longer and I might really fall asleep."
Obito casually placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, already preparing to transfer.
He wouldn't admit that he was eager to eat that special Shinigami sauce.
Orochimaru signaled the four who were still trying to maintain formation, then stepped closer to Obito as well.
"Sasuke, answer me… what happened to Sakura-chan!?"
Naruto's voice shook.
But the only response he got—
Was Sasuke's cold gaze.
Filled with nothing but contempt.
The next moment...
Obito, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and the four ninja vanished.
"Dammit… Sasuke…"
Red chakra began leaking from Naruto's body.
His eyes turned blood-red as his aura started to twist violently—he was just about to lose control.
"Calm down, brat."
Bang!
Kushina's fist struck the back of his neck.
Naruto's body went limp as he collapsed unconscious.
Kakashi's eye twitched slightly—
But more than anything, he felt relieved.
If Naruto had been allowed to go berserk in this situation…
Then the village would truly have been finished.
But even now…
Kakashi looked away from Naruto and turned his attention toward the smoke-filled village.
Buildings had collapsed.
Ninjas' bodies lay scattered across the ground.
Then his gaze shifted—
To the Third Hokage's body, now being handled by the ANBU the moment the formation disappeared.
Kakashi's expression darkened slightly.
'So… what happens now…?'
--
Not long after…
The entire village stood in silence.
Black clothes.
White flowers.
A sea of bowed heads gathered at the memorial grounds.
At the very front...
The Third Hokage's portrait stood quietly, surrounded by incense and wreaths.
The air felt damp and heavy.
No one raised their voice.
Under the quiet drizzle, even grief seemed muted.
Naruto stood there with his fists clenched so tightly his nails bit into his palms, tears running freely down his face, and he made no effort to wipe them away.
Beside him, Kushina stood quietly. Unlike Naruto, she showed almost nothing on her face, but the thoughts in her heart were far more complicated than that calm expression let on. Her eyes stayed on the open sky, watching the raindrops fall one after another.
No one knew what she was thinking.
Not far away—
Kakashi stood with his usual slouched posture.
But somehow…
He looked even more lifeless than before.
Like the last bit of light in him had dimmed further.
Beside him...
Guy cried without holding anything back, tears and snot running freely, completely unrestrained.
"Hokage-sama…"
A quiet sigh broke through the silence.
"Ha..."
Asuma stood slightly apart from the others.
A cigarette rested between his trembling fingers.
The faint glow at its tip flickered in the wind.
He took a slow drag—
Then exhaled.
Smoke drifted upward… disappearing into the gray sky.
'Old man… I've realized something… when it really matters, I can't seem to do a damn thing.'
Kurenai stood toward the back, her brows slightly furrowed as one hand held the other, her expression complicated.
Because her thoughts weren't on the ceremony.
That man…
He looked very familiar…
Her fingers tightened slightly around her arm.
No…
Her gaze lowered faintly.
That man was the same person… right?
A quiet unease settled in her chest.
What am I supposed to do now…?
She asked herself—
Only to realize, somewhat bitterly, that she didn't have the heart to tell anyone.
--
"Allies my ass…"
"They kicked us out just like that!?"
"Such fuckery should not be tolerated."
Karin fumed as she kicked a rock under her feet, sending it flying down the road.
"It's not their fault, Karin," Yugao replied flatly.
"The 'allies' you're talking about were watching the whole thing like it was some kind of TV show."
Karin clicked her tongue, clearly not convinced.
"Of course they wouldn't let us stay," Yugao continued, glancing ahead.
"They've already lost too much."
Her tone didn't carry sympathy—
Just blunt reality.
"They didn't hold us accountable or accuse us of anything… they just closed the gates."
Yugao let out a quiet breath.
"Honestly, that's already them being polite."
"They had it pretty bad this time." Hinata said softly from the side, but then she quickly waved her hands. "N-Not that I mind or anything… What Lord does… is what I would follow." She added the last part in a much quieter voice.
"Hehehe… Hinata, I heard that~" Karin's eyes lit up the moment she found someone easy to tease. "Seems like you have some thoughts about what happened this time, huh? Maybe I should complain to him about it…"
"W-Wait… Karin-chan, I really, really don't mind, so please don't say anything!" Hinata panicked immediately, fluster written all over her face. She wished she could go back and shut her past self up before those words ever left her mouth.
Ahh… what should I do… if Karin-chan really tells him…
Hinata could already imagine the scene playing out in her head.
"Hinata… you disappoint me."
Lord's eyes narrowed slightly before he turned away from her.
No…!
Hinata shook her head in a hurry, but before she could say anything else, she saw Yugao tap Karin lightly on the head.
"Stop bothering her."
"Ehh!? Why can't I?" Karin protested at once. "She looks cute when she gets all flustered. It's hilarious."
So Karin-chan was joking…
Hinata let out a quiet breath of relief.
That really scared her.
"Haha…" Haku chuckled softly from the side, looking at them with a gentle expression. Then he noticed that Kimimaro had been unusually quiet ever since they left the village.
"Kimimaro-kun, what's wrong?" Haku asked softly. "Is something bothering you?"
The others gradually stopped fooling around as well.
Only then did they notice how strange Kimimaro had been acting.
Kimimaro glanced at them after being called out, then lowered his eyes before speaking in a faintly bitter tone.
"I failed to understand Lord's intentions this time…"
His fingers curled slightly at his side.
"Even an outsider understood him better than I did…"
There was a rare trace of sadness in his voice.
"I…"
He paused for a moment, as if even saying the words hurt him.
"Then… can I really call myself Lord's most loyal follower?"
"..."
"Hey, bones, what brought this on?"
Karin tilted her head, clearly not following the strange train of thought in his head.
"Uchiha Sasuke…" Kimimaro said quietly. "He captured the One-Tail Jinchūriki and handed him over to Lord personally, right in front of the entire village. Then he turned his back on that same village for Lord's sake and became a rogue ninja without caring about the consequences."
His voice grew lower.
"I failed to see that for what it was."
A faint bitterness crept into his expression.
"I couldn't do anything myself… nothing that would truly please Lord."
After saying that, Kimimaro looked up at the sky, sadness and frustration written plainly across his face.
The road fell quiet.
For a moment, no one knew what to say.
Karin, who usually had something to blurt out immediately, actually opened her mouth—
Then closed it again and scratched her head feeling unsure.
Hinata blinked, still holding the sleeves of her uniform lightly, her eyes drifting toward Kimimaro with a trace of worry.
Haku's gentle expression softened further, but he didn't speak right away either.
As for Yugao—
She just stared at Kimimaro for a second, her face turning a little strange.
Not because she didn't understand him.
But because she did.
And that somehow made it even harder to respond.
Honestly she was glad Kimimaro was a boy... otherwise she felt that her unique position would have been threatened.
The atmosphere became awkward in an entirely different way.
Karin scratched her cheek and muttered under her breath,
"…You're taking this way too seriously."
But even she sounded less certain than usual.
Because deep down—
None of them could really deny it.
Sasuke had, in fact, done something huge this time.
Something none of them had expected.
Something that had clearly caught even Lord's interest.
Kimimaro lowered his gaze again, and that only made the silence heavier.
In the end, it was Haku who spoke first.
"Kimimaro-kun…"
His voice was as gentle as ever.
"I don't think Lord would measure loyalty with just one action."
Kimimaro didn't answer.
But his ears twitched slightly, showing he was still listening.
Haku looked at him quietly before continuing.
"You've always been by Lord's side. There are things only you can do… and things only Sasuke-kun could do in that moment."
Hinata gave a small nod from the side, as if agreeing.
Even Karin folded her arms and clicked her tongue.
"…Yeah, well, if Lord really thought you were useless, he wouldn't keep dragging your weird bony self around."
That was probably Karin's version of comfort.
And somehow—
It actually worked a little.
Kimimaro went silent for a few seconds before letting out a slow breath.
But the sadness in his eyes still didn't disappear completely.
Because to him...
This had never been about being praised.
It was about whether he was truly worthy of standing near the person he admired most.
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