By the time Ino returned to the waiting hall, the light in the operating room was still on. She found a spot to sit, and before she knew it, time had passed. By sunset, the surgery was finally over.
Kankuro was no longer in immediate danger, but Sakura still needed to continue working on an antidote.
When she came out, she casually asked where Naruto was. After receiving a vague answer, she didn't press further and went straight back to her work expressionlessly.
The Sunagakure's side seemed to have obtained some significant intel from Kankuro, but they didn't share it with Konoha's group immediately, possibly out of distrust for the younger generation.
It wasn't until Kakashi, who hadn't been seen for a while, finally arrived at Sunagakure that the situation began to improve.
"Hello everyone." Kakashi scratched his head and greeted with a friendly smile.
"Kakashi-sensei." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Kakashi was the real backbone, and Sunagakure only gave face to him.
However, after hearing Shikamaru's calm explanation of Naruto's disappearance, Kakashi was a bit dumbfounded. Scratching his head, he opened his mouth, but eventually just said, "Let's wait and see."
Upon hearing that Kakashi had arrived, Sunagakure's side immediately sent someone to invite him to a meeting.
"Shikamaru, why do I feel that Kakashi-sensei seems to have a good relationship with Sunagakure's people?" Choji asked quietly in Shikamaru's ear.
"How can Sunagakure not take the future Rokudaime Hokage seriously?" Shikamaru replied with a deadpan expression, "I've heard from my father that Kakashi-sensei has deep ties with various Shinobi Villages."
"Even when it comes to matters outside of missions, he handles them with discretion. Over time, he has gained a great reputation among the Five Great Shinobi Countries."
Now that they were almost adults, most of them had started getting involved in clan affairs or working at the Hokage Tower. The more they learned, the more they were amazed at the legendary figure like Kakashi who was famous in the Shinobi World.
It was like how you don't realize in school just how incredible your teacher is until after graduation. Of course, Kakashi was the teacher for other people's class.
"Shikamaru, do you think Naruto might have... died?" Choji asked again.
"Achoo!! Achoo!!"
Naruto, who was rushing to the border of Sunagakure, sneezed twice in a row and muttered to himself, "Damn it, that Choji must be saying something unlucky about me again!"
Yellow sand filled the sky behind him, and several shadowy figures followed him in the distance.
Naruto glanced back and silently complained to himself, 'That Pervy had completely forgotten about his disciple after finding the Child of Prophecy. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state.'
'Digging up others' ancestral grave!!!'
If word got out, I'd probably be beaten to death. No, worse… my body would likely be hung from a lamppost.' Just thinking about it made Naruto shiver.
Out of fear, Naruto immediately used Transformation Technique to change into Sasuke's appearance. Only then did he feel a bit more at ease, surveying his surroundings with a sigh of relief.
He patted his head and muttered to himself, "When it comes to grudges, Sasuke, I'll make sure to defend the honor of the Uchiha Clan for you."
With that said, he continued on his way, feeling a bit more reassured.
According to his plan from the previous year, once he completed the mission in the Land of Snow and obtained the Max-level Flying Thunder God Technique, he would be able to team up with Jiraiya in destroying the Akatsuki's lair.
Crushing Pain, and subduing Konan.
Right in front of their master, well, former master, he would publicly teach them a lesson.
Everything would go smoothly, and with the intelligence he had, the success rate of the plan was as high as 70%.
Unfortunately, that old pervert, Jiraiya, got fooled by the Great Toad Sage again and went off searching for the Child of Prophecy. Normally, chasing after perverted snake was already bad enough, but now, he had to find this so-called Child of Prophecy.
After all the twists and turns, it's all in vain. The era of Shinobi will eventually end with the Otsutsuki.
Originally, this mission had gone according to his expectations.
Either he and Jiraiya would work together as a perfect duo, or they'd bring more help, ideally involving the mighty Guy, who could deliver a life-ending kick to Nagato's tubes.
Who knew that in the end, it was just him left alone.
Although he also wanted to trust Shikamaru, Neji, and the others, trust alone couldn't guarantee survival. When facing Akatsuki, having more inexperienced people around would only lead to casualties.
Losing even one of them, whether a brother-in-arms or a cherished friend, was too high a price. So it was better for him to go alone and ensure Gaara's safe return.
Although it may sound a bit arrogant, that's truly how he felt. Originally, he wanted to get rid of the Akatsuki as soon as possible, spend the next few years living peacefully, and then gradually grow stronger.
However, plans never keep up with changes. For now, he had to start with Deidara and Sasori. After all, 'Uchiha Sasuke' had already reanimated Sasori's parents, so the odds were already in his favor before the battle even began.
'Damn, what an evil Uchiha!' He thought to himself without the slightest bit of guilt. He became more determined to follow the path he had chosen and finish the fight as soon as possible so that he could go home sooner.
…
Land of Rice Fields.
In a deep cave, flickering firelight illuminated the walls.
Sasuke, who had not been seen for a long time, emerged with his usual cold expression, his chest exposed, and his gaze calm like still water as he stared at the greed-filled eyes of Orochimaru. The reincarnation ceremony had begun, and Indra's soul was slowly taking effect on him.
The setting sun dyed the sky red, the clouds ablaze like fire. After a few hours, everything returned to silence.
Sasuke pushed open the door and walked slowly through the dim passageway, only to come face-to-face with Kabuto, who is returning from a mission. Seeing his frightened and bewildered gaze, Sasuke slowly stopped.
"Are you Orochimaru-sama or Sasuke?" Kabuto's forehead broke out in cold sweat. The fiery clouds overhead and the strange phenomena in the sky spelled nothing but bad omens.
Hearing this, Sasuke smirked disdainfully, "Orochimaru? I've taken everything from him."
Seeing Sasuke draw his sword, Kabuto's back was drenched in sweat. He looked at Sasuke and spoke stutteringly, "Wait... I brought back some information. It's about you."
"I'm not interested." Sasuke replied, his voice dripping with disdain. He pulled out his blade, his face brimming with victorious arrogance.
At this moment, Sasuke finally understood where the pride of his clan came from. Relying on the pair of eyes that the Uchiha Clan were proud of, he effortlessly seized everything that Orochimaru had painstakingly planned.
It was like a long-dormant god easily crushing an ant.
"You will be interested." Kabuto gulped nervously and pushed up his glasses that had slipped down due to excessive nervousness, "The Five Great Shinobi Countries have all issued a warrant for your capture. They say you attacked Kumogakure and even abducted Nibi's Jinchuriki from Kumogakure."
"Huh?" Sasuke was stunned for a moment.
"Wha... What?! Say that again?"
Then, Kabuto repeated the information he had obtained in detail, even including the details of Sasuke's desecration of the previous Kage of Kumogakure, leaving no detail unspoken.
The more Sasuke listened, the more confused he became. His face darkened as his joy from victory was completely overshadowed by this disgusting news.
"I don't know that technique." He said coldly, "Someone is impersonating me. Do you have any other information about that person?"
Beneath his calm exterior, a storm of rage brewed. It felt as though he hadn't been online in three years, and the moment he opened his phone, it was flooded with slander about #SasukeIsAScumbag.
Isn't this just pure disgusting?
What kind of nonsense villain reputation was this? A troll of the Shinobi World?
"The clues were cut off in Kumogakure, and it's difficult to investigate any further." Kabuto said truthfully.
Sasuke's face twitched, but then a smile appeared on his face. Sheating his sword, he walked past Kabuto without a second glance.
As the night wind howled, he left only a single sentence behind.
"I'll find that person."
Once Sasuke was gone, Kabuto, still rooted to the spot, finally took a deep breath, as if he hadn't breathed in a long time. He gulped nervously and hurriedly returned to the base.
…
Sunagakure.
Kakashi, the Social Butterfly of the Shinobi World, massaged his temples and leaned back in his chair as he thought through the situation. Shikamaru, who was standing beside him, also fell silent after receiving the information repeated by Kakashi.
"There's no time left. We'll head out tomorrow morning once Pakkun returns." Said Kakashi, the future Rokudaime Hokage.