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"Sasuke?"
"Is Sasuke-kun okay?"
Hearing the keyword "Sasuke," Naruto put down his bento, and Sakura immediately stood up.
Shikamaru paused for a moment before speaking, "This is really troublesome, Sasuke has disappeared."
"What? What exactly happened?"
"Naruto, be careful."
Watching Naruto stand up from the hospital bed despite his injuries, Shikamaru's frown deepened, and he said with a helpless tone, "It seems that the message was voluntarily sent from Orochimaru's side. Sasuke didn't make it to Orochimaru; instead, he was taken away by an unknown person on the way."
"How could that be? Sasuke-kun..."
After hearing Shikamaru's message, Sakura felt her heart clench, tears uncontrollably flowing down.
"Damn it! Who took Sasuke away this time!" Naruto clenched his fists and shouted a few times.
Then, he surprisingly calmed himself down, his gaze burning as he looked at Sakura.
"Sakura, what you said earlier still counts, right? Whether it's Orochimaru or some other guy, we have to work together to bring Sasuke back!"
"Naruto..." Sakura wiped her tears, looking at Naruto's determined gaze; she seemed to find courage and slowly became resolute.
"Thank you, Naruto. We will definitely bring him back."
"Really, Naruto, you just like to shout and scream. Now that Sasuke has disappeared, you better not act recklessly. We need to find reliable information to determine Sasuke's location first."
Shikamaru watched the two reignite their determination and reminded them helplessly.
"Right!" Naruto, scratching the back of his head, grinned foolishly at Shikamaru and gave him a thumbs up.
"You'll help us, right, Shikamaru?"
"Well, I'm not one to volunteer for such troublesome tasks," Shikamaru turned around, hands in his pockets.
After a pause, his voice came again.
"However, the first mission I led as a team leader ended in failure. As the team leader, I also want to do something to make amends. Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for information about Sasuke."
"Thank you, Shikamaru."
"Well, I have to check on Chōji and the others."
Shikamaru didn't turn back, just raised his right hand in greeting and left the hospital room.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
"Is it really okay to tell those kids this information, Lady Tsunade?"
The Hokage's secretary, Shizune, hesitated while organizing documents.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, didn't immediately answer, her gaze turning to the silver-haired masked ninja standing by.
"What do you think, Kakashi?"
"Well, there's no helping it," Kakashi's tone lacked its usual laziness.
"Naruto is too impulsive. While he's unable to move freely, it's better for him to be mentally prepared early on. We'll also have to keep a strict eye on him in the future, otherwise, who knows what he might do."
Tsunade nodded and looked out the window, saying, "That's the only way. Orochimaru wants to use our power in Konoha to find Sasuke's whereabouts. He might deliberately spread the news. If we hide it and Naruto suddenly gets the news, it'll be troublesome."
Shizune set down the organized documents and asked, "So, are we going to dispatch ninjas to look for Sasuke, Lady Tsunade?"
"Tch."
Tsunade looked troubled as she spoke to the other two in the office, "Right now, Konoha is short on manpower for missions; we really can't spare anyone to search for Sasuke."
Rubbing the crease between her eyebrows, she continued in a weary tone, "Moreover, Jiraiya sent a message before. Due to the Akatsuki organization, which targets the Tailed Beasts, being active recently, he plans to take Naruto out of Konoha for training for two years."
"Sasuke?"
"Is Sasuke-kun okay?"
Upon hearing the key word "Sasuke," Naruto set aside his bento, and Sakura immediately stood up.
However, Shikamaru hesitated for a moment before speaking, "What a hassle, Sasuke has gone missing."
"What? What exactly happened?"
"Naruto, be careful."
Seeing Naruto stand up from the hospital bed regardless of his own injuries, Shikamaru's frown deepened, and he said with a tone of resignation, "It seems the news was voluntarily shared by Orochimaru's side. Sasuke didn't make it to Orochimaru; instead, he was taken away by someone unknown along the way."
"How could that happen? Sasuke-kun..."
After hearing the news from Shikamaru, Sakura's heart clenched, and she couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Damn it! Who took Sasuke away this time!" Naruto clenched his fists and shouted.
Then, he somehow calmed himself down and looked at Sakura with a determined gaze.
"Sakura, does what you said earlier still count? Whether it's Orochimaru or some other guy, we have to work together to bring Sasuke back!"
"Naruto..." Sakura wiped away her tears, looking at Naruto's determined gaze, she seemed to find courage and slowly firmed her resolve.
"Thank you, Naruto. We will definitely bring him back."
"Really, Naruto, you're just good at shouting. Now that Sasuke has vanished, you better not act recklessly. We need to find useful information to determine Sasuke's whereabouts first."
Shikamaru watched the two rekindle their fighting spirit and reminded them helplessly.
"Right!" Naruto, scratching the back of his head, grinned foolishly at Shikamaru and gave him a thumbs up.
"You'll help us, right, Shikamaru."
"Well, I'm not one to volunteer for such troublesome tasks," Shikamaru turned around, hands in his pockets.
After a pause, his voice came again.
"However, my first mission as a team leader ended in failure. As the team leader, I also want to do something to make amends. Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for information about Sasuke."
"Thank you, Shikamaru."
"Well, I have to go check on Chōji and the others."
Shikamaru didn't turn back, just raised his right hand in greeting and left the hospital room.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
"Is it really okay to tell those kids this information, Lady Tsunade?"
The Hokage's secretary, Shizune, hesitated while organizing documents.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, didn't immediately answer, her gaze turning to the silver-haired masked ninja standing by.
"What do you think, Kakashi?"
"Well, there's no helping it," Kakashi's tone lacked its usual laziness.
"Naruto is too impulsive. While he's unable to move freely, it's better for him to be mentally prepared early on. We'll also have to keep a strict eye on him in the future, otherwise, who knows what he might do."
Tsunade nodded and looked out the window, saying, "That's the only way. Orochimaru wants to use our power in Konoha to find Sasuke's whereabouts. He might deliberately spread the news. If we hide it and Naruto suddenly gets the news, it'll be troublesome."
Shizune set down the organized documents and asked, "So, are we going to dispatch ninjas to look for Sasuke, Lady Tsunade?"
"Tch."
Tsunade looked troubled as she spoke to the other two in the office, "Right now, Konoha is short on manpower for missions; we really can't spare anyone to search for Sasuke."
Rubbing the crease between her eyebrows, she continued in a weary tone, "Moreover, Jiraiya sent a message before. Due to the Akatsuki organization, which targets the Tailed Beasts, being active recently, he plans to take Naruto out of Konoha for training for two years."
"Well, I won't have to keep an eye on that troublesome kid anymore."
Kakashi had already reverted to his usual laid-back demeanor.
"As for Sasuke, I'll go to the Valley of the End and use my ninja dogs to see if there are any clues. If that doesn't work, we'll just have to ask everyone to keep an eye out during their missions."
"Still worried about your rebellious student, Kakashi? Then, you head to the Valley of the End first and report back to me afterward."
"Yes, Lady Hokage."
...
At that moment, within a cave on a cliff in an unnamed forest, Sasuke was listening to Kaito Uchiha explain the origins of chakra.
"In ancient times, at some unknown point, a divine tree appeared on the Earth, absorbing the world's power to grow a fruit."
"Later, a woman named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki descended from the heavens, consumed the fruit of the divine tree, and acquired power known as chakra. She became an immortal, god-like being and ruled over the entire world, revered by people as the Goddess of the Dawn."
"Afterward, Kaguya used her divine power to give birth to two children naturally possessing chakra, named Hagoromo and Hamura."
"However, not satisfied with ruling the world, Kaguya merged with the divine tree, aiming to convert all the power in the world into chakra and gather it within herself."
"The brothers Hagoromo and Hamura rebelled, ultimately sealing the divine tree's husk along with Kaguya's consciousness on the moon. Hagoromo became the first Jinchūriki by sealing the divine tree's chakra within himself."
"Later, the younger brother, Hamura, took their people to the moon to guard the seal, while the older brother, Hagoromo, stayed on Earth and established the ninja creed. He distributed chakra among the people, hence was revered as the Sage of the Six Paths."
Sasuke couldn't help expressing doubt upon hearing this, "Isn't this just a myth?"
It was too far-fetched.
"Not at all, Sasuke," Kaito shrugged.
"This is all historically accurate."
"How do you know it's true?" Sasuke's gaze was skeptical.
Kaito smiled good-naturedly, "You can take it as a story if you like. Do you want to keep listening?"
"Hmph, since you're kindly telling me a story, I'll reluctantly listen."
"Alright, alright."
"After establishing the ninja creed, the Sage of the Six Paths had two children. The older brother was named Indra, and the younger brother was named Ashura."
"Indra was a genius from birth, inventing hand signs, which lowered the difficulty of using ninja techniques."
"The younger brother, Ashura, was an ordinary child, but he was better at getting along with others than his brother."
"As time passed, the Sage of the Six Paths needed to appoint a successor to the ninja creed. Indra, being a genius, seemed the obvious choice over Ashura, but the Sage ultimately chose the unremarkable Ashura."
Hearing this, Sasuke frowned unhappily and asked, "Why?"
"The Sage of the Six Paths said Indra was too obsessed with power, while Ashura understood love, making Ashura more suitable to lead the ninja creed."
"Hah? What nonsense. Power is obviously more important!" Sasuke scoffed at the Sage of the Six Paths' words.
"Well, who knows. Maybe Indra reminded him of his mother, Kaguya," Kaito continued with a shrug.
"Ashura inherited the ninja creed, but Indra, unwilling to accept this, fought him. With the help of others, Ashura defeated Indra."
"Afterward, the Sage of the Six Paths passed away, fearing the resurrection of the sealed Kaguya. Before dying, he divided the divine tree's chakra within him into nine, which became the nine Tailed Beasts."
"After the death of the Sage of the Six Paths, the conflict between Indra and Ashura became even more intense. After their deaths, the war continued among their descendants."
"In the era of the warring states, Ashura's descendants took the surnames Senju and Uzumaki."
Saying this, Kaito leaned forward to look into Sasuke's eyes, his pupils glowing red and the tomoe spinning.
"And Indra's descendants took the surname Uchiha."