The next day, Sasuke went to Konoha Hospital to see his parents' bodies.
After the night of the massacre, he had kept this matter in the back of his mind, knowing that there were other, more pressing things to take care of first.
"I'm sorry for leaving you here for a few more days. Let's go home now."
Sasuke took out a scroll and sealed his parents' bodies inside.
In fact, it wasn't just his parents; other clan members were placed here as well. However, Sasuke couldn't carry so many bodies by himself.
Thankfully, Konoha Hospital and ANBU would help transport the rest of the clan members to the cemetery. Sasuke only needed to take responsibility for his parents' bodies.
Outside the hospital, Chika and Hatsuka were waiting for him.
As soon as she saw him, Chika ran to his side and gently held his hand.
"I'm fine," Sasuke said with a smile, though the sadness in his eyes lingered.
The next day, the burial was held at Konoha Cemetery.
Almost all the prominent figures of Konoha attended, including the four village elders, heads of various ninja clans, and leaders of important departments.
There weren't many people, only a dozen or so. By all rights, the funeral of the Uchiha clan should have been far grander. It wouldn't have been unreasonable to involve half the village.
But Sasuke didn't want a huge spectacle. He had requested a quick and simple ceremony. All he wanted was for his parents to be buried as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, Dad, Mom," Sasuke thought as he stood in front of their tombstone, "I won't let you stay gone for too long. One day, I'll bring you back."
Memories from his past life told him that there were ways to bring back the dead in the ninja world, such as the Reanimation Jutsu created by the Second Hokage.
People resurrected by this technique could theoretically exist forever, with unlimited chakra, never aging or dying.
However, there was one flaw: if the soul of the deceased found peace or fulfilled their remaining desires, they would disappear and return to the Pure Land.
Fortunately, Sasuke wasn't too concerned about this. Worst-case scenario, he could find a way to obtain the Rinnegan and use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu.
And even if there was a risk of death after using that technique, Sasuke could always travel to other worlds to find a different way to resurrect his parents. With his abilities, he was confident that he would eventually find the best solution.
In fact, if his vitality was strong enough, even using the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu wouldn't necessarily kill him.
Because of this, Sasuke's sadness was temporary, far less than what others might have imagined.
Little Princess Chika accompanied him to the funeral, appearing in front of Konoha's senior officials for the first time. However, given the somber occasion, no one approached her to make conversation.
After the funeral, Sasuke's life returned to normal.
The construction team quickly arrived and began renovating the Uchiha clan's land according to his instructions.
A large number of residential buildings were repurposed according to the latest plans: some turned into shops, others into hotels. The important structures in the clan's area were repaired, then deliberately aged to evoke a sense of history and tradition.
While the renovation was in full swing, Sasuke also resumed his training.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
"Come on! You can do it! Just one more! After we're done, we'll go out and have fun. Don't give up! You've got this!"
Under the scorching sun, Sasuke encouraged Chika.
Her face was flushed red from exertion. She gritted her teeth and, using all her strength, finally completed her 50th push-up.
Before that, she had already completed 50 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a one-kilometer jog.
Considering that Chika was a six-year-old girl who had never exercised seriously before, it was a testament to her determination that she had progressed so much in just half a month.
The moment she finished her last push-up, her strength gave out. Her arms went limp, and she collapsed face-first toward the ground.
Sasuke, who had been watching nearby, moved quickly. He crossed the thirty-centimeter gap in an instant and caught her before she could hit the ground.
Not far away, Hatsuka, who had been watching with concern, hurried over to wipe Chika's sweat and fan her. A maid carrying sour plum soup also appeared, feeding Chika small sips.
Hatsuka stood in the corner of the training ground, silently observing the scene without much expression.
Over the past half month, similar moments had become a daily occurrence, and she had grown accustomed to them. Whenever Sasuke trained Chika, he spared no effort, showing no mercy.
But this was the right way to train. Strength could only be gained through hardship. If you wanted power, you had to endure the struggle. Hatsuka herself had endured much more in her youth.
Unfortunately, she hadn't had a good teacher when she was younger. She had suffered a lot but hadn't reaped the rewards.
Watching Sasuke's training environment and the resources at his disposal, she couldn't help but lament the unfairness of fate.
However, after witnessing Sasuke's talent, she came to accept that fate often favored those with gifts.
She had watched in awe as Sasuke mastered various jutsu such as Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, Lightning Style: False Darkness, and more. He had learned teleportation and invisibility techniques from scratch and mastered them all within a frighteningly short time.
In addition, it seemed like he had his own unique ninjutsu and sword techniques.
Was the gap between people really that vast?
Sasuke, unaware of Hatsuka's thoughts, would have likely nodded and told her that yes, the difference between people could sometimes be even greater than the difference between humans and animals.
He carried Chika over to the shaded area, placing her on a lounge chair.
"Sasuke-nii, am I doing okay?" Chika asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
"You did great. Take a rest, and I'll take you out shopping later."
Sasuke smiled and patted her on the head.
"Really? That's awesome!" Chika cheered, her eyes lighting up as she raised her hands in excitement.
She had been in Konoha for half a month but hadn't had much opportunity to explore. Today was different. They had finished training early — it wasn't even 10 a.m. yet — and Sasuke planned to spend the rest of the day taking her out to relax.
When Sasuke explained the plan, Chika was so excited that she almost jumped up. But then she remembered something and her excitement was replaced by suspicion.
"Are we going out by ourselves? Or is anyone else coming?"
Sasuke hesitated, his eyes wandering.
"Ah-ha!" Chika puffed her cheeks.
"Okay, fine. I admit it. Ino and the others are coming too."
"I knew it! That blonde pest is going to be there!" Chika's eyes sharpened with jealousy.
"Don't say such things," Sasuke admonished. "She's just a classmate."
"Hmph! Are you sure? You've glanced at her a few times. I noticed!"
Sasuke sighed, feeling cornered.
What was with kids in the ninja world? Why were they all so precocious?
Is she really just six years old? In his previous life, even a sixteen-year-old wouldn't be this sharp.
(End of chapter).