Naruto and Sasuke followed behind Kakashi, the pressure around Sasuke growing heavier with every step.
A ninja's senses were sharp, and Naruto could clearly feel it—the same looks he'd endured for twelve years. Fear. Disgust. Hatred, all directed at him by the villagers.
"The demon fox and an Uchiha… just looking at them makes me sick."
"Hey, keep your voice down!"
Sasuke didn't know what "demon fox" meant. But for someone whose ambition was to restore the Uchiha clan, hearing "the Uchiha make me sick" was enough. His Sharingan snapped open instantly, and he locked his glare onto the whispering villagers.
The two Leaf civilians froze under his stare, bodies stiff, fear flashing in their eyes. Around them, even more condemning looks turned toward the three of them.
Ninja Rule Number Three: No using ninjutsu on unarmed civilians inside the village.
A hand landed on Sasuke's shoulder.
"That's enough, Sasuke."
"Kakashi!" Sasuke growled, anger boiling over. "This is what you meant by 'mental preparation'? What the hell happened?!"
Kakashi closed his little orange book and, with a few quick leaps, took Sasuke and Naruto to an empty rooftop.
"Well… after you left, that thing showed up again," Kakashi said lazily. He hadn't been far away at the time. The disturbance at the Ninja Academy had been impossible to miss, so he'd gone back, watched the entire recording, and only then came looking for them.
He told them everything—the Fourth Great Ninja War mentioned in the footage, the masked man who had declared war and possessed a Sharingan, and the analysis by the Nara clan head regarding the Five Kage Summit.
"Itachi!!"
Sasuke couldn't suppress the killing intent or the grief surging up inside him. It had to be that man. What more did he plan to do? Declaring war at the Five Kage Summit—was he really going to stand against the entire world?!
"Sorry to interrupt your guesswork," Kakashi said, "but the masked man in the footage probably isn't your brother."
"Brother?" Naruto blinked, completely lost. "What are you talking about, dattebayo?"
Sasuke grabbed Kakashi by the arm. "What did you just say? Not Itachi?! How do you know?!"
Back then, aside from him and Itachi, were there any other Uchiha left alive?!
"No!" Sasuke trusted his memories of that night absolutely. "I'm the only one who survived. Itachi killed everyone else! There can't be any other Uchiha!"
The sound of a blade piercing flesh, then being pulled free—again and again. Screams of agony.
Scalding red splashing across the doors. The Uchiha compound drowned in blood.
Only he had lived.
Why leave him alive? Why not kill him too?!
"Sasuke!!"
Naruto's voice yanked him back from the sea of red.
"What are you spacing out for? We're going to see your mom, remember?!"
Kaa-san…
Right. Kaa-san was still here.
Sasuke looked at Naruto. This idiot had brought his mother back.
"W-What are you staring at, dattebayo?!" Naruto shrank back half a step under Sasuke's pitch-black gaze.
Sasuke shook his head, forcing the chaos down. "Yeah. Let's go." He looked at Kakashi. "Whether that masked man is Itachi or not, I'll find out myself."
Seeing Sasuke return to his usual smug, confident self, Naruto muttered, "Don't make people worry, you jerk."
Sasuke curled his lips. "Keep up, dead last."
"Hey! You called me dead last again! Bastard Sasuke!!"
Kakashi sighed and followed after them, suddenly feeling his age.
—
The three arrived at the Ninja Academy, where a huge crowd of off-duty ninja and Leaf villagers had already gathered.
Mikoto Uchiha stood behind the Third Hokage and several advisors. The probing stares around her were noticeably restrained, thanks to the Hokage's presence.
"Kaa-san!"
Sasuke jumped over and stood in front of his mother. Mikoto smiled and ruffled his hair, making him squirm slightly.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Kaa-san."
Danzo let out a cold snort. "The cursed Uchiha…"
"Danzo!" The Third Hokage frowned. "Nothing has been concluded yet. Don't jump to assumptions. And regardless, this has nothing to do with Mikoto and her son."
Their voices were low, but Sasuke heard every word.
His grip on his mother's hand tightened. The joy of seeing her alive was dulled by a chill in his chest.
Mikoto looked down at the top of her son's head, pain flickering in her eyes. She squeezed his hand in return, silently telling him not to act rashly.
Sasuke believed he understood what was going on. Just like the villagers earlier, the higher-ups must be blaming the Uchiha because of the masked man in the footage. No matter how dissatisfied he felt, he forced it down—mostly because Kaa-san was here. He couldn't let his impulsiveness drag her into trouble.
What they failed to account for was the presence of a certain unpredictable, number-one knucklehead ninja who once graffiti'd the Hokage Monument with "idiot," "moron," and "jerk"—
"Apologize to Sasuke and his mom, you stinky old geezer!!"
"Sasuke!"
Naruto glared up at Danzo, chakra flaring—he looked exactly like an enraged fox.
Danzo slammed his cane into the ground. "You little demon—"
"Danzo!" the Third Hokage cut in sharply.
The two Leaf elders locked eyes, an invisible clash crackling between them. The surrounding ninja all silently cursed their luck for standing in what felt like a battlefield.
Because of the Nine-Tails brat, Danzo knew he'd already clashed with Hiruzen multiple times without getting him to budge. Since this was clearly Hiruzen's bottom line, there was no need to escalate things further.
"Hmph." Danzo turned away with a snort. Letting Naruto's rudeness slide was already his biggest concession. There was no chance he'd apologize to Mikoto and her son.
Naruto pulled a face, no longer interested in dealing with that gloomy old man.
Because of Naruto's outburst, a strange, nameless anger flared up inside Sasuke. He was angry—but he didn't even know why. Was it Naruto's recklessness? Being defended by Naruto? Or his own weakness?
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe and smoothed things over with a smile.
Naruto scratched his messy blond hair. "So who are we reviving this time, dattebayo?"
[Answerer—Naruto Uzumaki—please randomly select one individual to revive from all deceased ninja in Konohagakure.]
"!!"
Not ten choices anymore?!
Even without much hope, many people couldn't help but wish they'd get to choose one more from the remaining nine coffins.
Kakashi was among them. He'd wondered if Naruto might get the chance to revive the Fourth Hokage…
"Ahhh!" Naruto clutched his head. "Do I have to line up all the dead people's coffins?! How long would that take me to pick, dattebayo?!"
The Leaf villagers: "..."
Other village ninja: "..." All his stats went into luck, huh?
"You idiot, dead last!" Sasuke snapped, still irritated. "It said random draw! Do you even know what that means?!"
Naruto bristled. "Bastard Sasuke! Why are you so snappy?! So what does random draw even—"
"Poof!"
Before he could finish, a cloud of white smoke exploded.
Unlike what Naruto imagined, countless coffins didn't appear. But unlike what everyone else expected, this wasn't what they'd pictured either…
The crowd collectively twitched, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them.
The Third Hokage and the elders couldn't help covering their faces.
Naruto: "???" What is that?
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto tugged on Kakashi's pants. "What's this, dattebayo?"
Kakashi smiled mysteriously. "If you don't know what it is, that just means you're a good kid, Naruto."
"Huh? What do you mean, dattebayo?" Naruto tilted his head.
"Idiot!" Sasuke scoffed. "That's a slot machine! You seriously don't know that?!"
"Hmph!" Naruto didn't know what a slot machine was, but he definitely didn't want to ask Sasuke now.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke, you actually know?"
Sasuke suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, cursing himself for snapping earlier. He'd only seen them in street ads—but a proud Uchiha never bothered explaining!
Beside him, Mikoto's smile froze. "..." Leaving Sasuke alive back then… was that really the right choice?
[Please pull the lever beside the machine to begin the draw.]
[No time limit. One chance only. Please choose carefully.]
The emotionless mechanical voice cut through the crowd as the ninja portraits on the screen began spinning faster and faster.