Chapter 270: Sasuke and Naruto's Second Meeting
"You mean you want to leave Sasuke with me for a while?" Kenichi looked at Itachi in surprise, then glanced at Sasuke standing beside him. Even after hearing it once, it still sounded absurd.
He had never expected Itachi to entrust Sasuke to him. Did Itachi really have no one else he trusted?
Itachi only seemed to have Shisui as a close friend right now, but that did not mean he had no connections at all. Minor characters were never fully shown. Kenichi had even heard Shisui mention that Itachi might have once considered entrusting Sasuke to a shinobi named Hayato.
Uchiha Hayato. Kenichi had never heard that name before, though he had heard of someone called Nikko, which was certainly an unusual name.
"Yes," Itachi said. He looked awkward, but he still explained. "This time, everyone wants to go out and search for our clan members."
He had originally planned to leave Sasuke with a few friends, but those friends were also joining the search for the Uchiha who had escaped. After going in circles, Itachi realized he truly had no one suitable left.
Then he remembered Shisui once praising Kenichi as an exceptional shinobi. With Kenichi's relationship with Shisui, Itachi believed Kenichi would not harm Sasuke.
Kenichi nodded. That made sense.
Even though the Uchiha had come here to live the life they wanted, they had not severed their ties with the clan. After hearing what happened, of course they wanted to go out and find people.
Until they received certain news, everyone would secretly hope their own family members were among the survivors.
Even though the chances were slim.
"Then is Sasuke willing?" Kenichi asked. He rubbed Sasuke's head. The feel was, as always, dangerously satisfying.
"I'll wait for my big brother to come back," Sasuke sniffled. His voice was still a little wet, like he had just cried. Itachi was leaving too, and for Sasuke, that was hard to accept.
He was already trying to accept that his parents were gone.
Now even his big brother was leaving his side.
Little Sasuke felt abandoned all over again. If he could stay cheerful, that would be the real miracle.
Kenichi agreed in the end. Taking Sasuke with him was not a bad choice. He could also see whether the Sage of Six Paths would pay attention to Sasuke, though proving something like that would be troublesome.
"Young man, want to buy a mask?" Obito leaned over at the worst possible moment and winked at Kenichi.
Kenichi's mouth twitched. This guy.
"Mask!" Sasuke's eyes lit up. He reached out instinctively, then pulled his hand back, cautiously glancing at Kenichi as if asking permission.
Kenichi simply took out money and bought one.
What he did not expect was Sasuke's choice.
A fox mask.
Sasuke put it on immediately, clearly delighted.
"Thank you, Big Brother Amemiya!" Sasuke grinned. Kenichi chuckled and rubbed his head again. Building rapport with Sasuke now was useful. In the future, Sasuke would work for him with far fewer doubts.
Obito watched, then asked with fake curiosity, "Young man, is he your little brother?"
Kenichi glanced at him. Obito obviously knew who Sasuke was. He was testing him, checking what he was doing with the child.
"Sasuke," Kenichi said calmly, lifting him up, "don't talk to strange uncles."
Then he walked off with Sasuke in his arms.
Behind them, Obito's expression darkened. He watched Kenichi's back, then looked at Sasuke, hesitated, and silently returned to his stall.
Sasuke was too young. He could not bear the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. At that age, most Uchiha were still playing in the mud.
Obito decided to keep watching Shisui and Itachi instead.
Especially Itachi.
Those eyes of his felt… wrong. Obito could not help doubting reality itself. He had paid such a price to awaken the Mangekyo.
So what had Itachi experienced?
After leaving the village with Sasuke, Kenichi began to consider where to go.
He could not bring Sasuke back to the laboratory, so after a brief hesitation, he decided to take Sasuke to Konoha.
One reason was to let Sasuke see it.
The other was to see Naruto along the way.
Naruto was a year older now. It was time to start thinking about taking him under his wing, at least building a relationship first.
Naruto was more suitable than most. He respected teachers, unlike certain shinobi who seemed to think murdering their teacher was the path to enlightenment.
Obito and Nagato were excellent examples. And so were their teachers.
"Why do I feel like some kind of training master?" Kenichi scratched his head.
It was like playing a shinobi mobile game, collecting rare characters and raising them into monsters. Except reality was kinder than a gacha.
He did not need to spend anything to collect Sasuke and Naruto.
"Sasuke, do you want to go to Konoha to play?" Kenichi crouched and pinched Sasuke's cheek. Soft. Ridiculous.
"Yes!" Sasuke answered without hesitation. He blinked up at Kenichi, suddenly feeling that this big brother was really nice.
Children really were children. Sasuke had been crying earlier, and now he was already excited just because something sounded fun.
Kenichi also found himself looking at Sasuke's eyes for a moment.
Sasuke had not awakened the Sharingan yet. Even after losing his father, he still had not awakened it, and Kenichi was not surprised. It was hard for children to truly understand what death meant.
Kenichi considered using the method he had used before.
Then he dropped the thought.
He did not want Shisui and Itachi turning on him when they returned.
And after a year locked in a laboratory, his skin was pale enough to scare ghosts. Going out for a walk was not a bad idea.
"Then let's go," Kenichi said, lifting Sasuke again. "I'll take you."
He brought Sasuke to a secluded spot outside the village, summoned his airship, and flew away from the Land of Rice Fields toward Konoha.
The moment Kenichi left, a figure rose from the ground and stared at the shrinking black shadow in the sky.
Black Zetsu licked his lips.
"Hehehe… this Kenichi is interesting. He can fly like that?"
He had been hiding nearby, observing Kenichi's every move. It was Obito's order, and Black Zetsu himself also wanted to see what Kenichi would do.
He had not expected to witness Kenichi's method of flight. For a moment, Black Zetsu wondered whether it would affect his plan.
Then he decided it would not.
Even if it flew, it was still ultimately under the moon.
As long as Madara carried out Infinite Tsukuyomi, Kenichi would not be able to change anything, even if he hid in the sky.
"And Obito is still worrying about that little brat at a time like this," Black Zetsu muttered as he sank back underground. "So cautious. So noisy."
He needed to report back, or Obito would start nagging again.
Kenichi noticed none of it.
Black Zetsu's hiding technique was too strong. He even seemed able to erase his presence entirely.
On the airship, Kenichi guided it swiftly toward Konoha. Soon, the cluster of buildings came into view, and he spotted a small figure sitting by a stream.
"Is that Naruto?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow. His luck was excellent. He had run into Naruto immediately.
He parked the airship in a hidden place, then took Sasuke down and headed toward the stream.
"Big Brother Amemiya, aren't we going to Konoha?" Sasuke asked, tugging Kenichi's hand.
"You saw Konoha just now, didn't you?" Kenichi rubbed his head. "Going in directly is troublesome. We'll enter from here."
Kenichi crouched on a nearby treetop and looked down.
Three shinobi were present.
They formed a triangle around Naruto, like watchers.
Or rather, guards.
After everything Konoha had been through, Naruto was crucial. The safety of the Nine Tails jinchuriki had to be protected. But too many people would draw suspicion, so an ANBU squad handled it.
Kenichi dealt with them cleanly and quietly, then brought Sasuke down to the stream's edge.
Naruto was fishing.
"Naruto," Kenichi said, squatting beside him. "Fishing?"
He had not expected to see Naruto doing that. It suggested Naruto's life had become a little tight, but that did not quite fit either. The Third Hokage should have given Naruto living expenses. That was mentioned in both manga and anime.
Yet Naruto was clearly fishing now.
So what was going on?
"Huh?" Naruto looked up, then his face brightened. "It's the big brother from last time!"
He stood up happily, then hurriedly grabbed the crude fishing rod he had made.
Naruto remembered Kenichi clearly. Kenichi was one of the few people who showed him no disgust, and who treated him kindly. For a child constantly shunned, that kind of warmth left a deep mark.
But the fishing rod mattered too. It was how he filled his stomach, so Naruto would not abandon it.
Sasuke stood beside Kenichi, studying Naruto curiously. He had heard of Naruto before.
People threw things at him in the village. Sasuke's mother had always told him not to go near him.
But now…
"Are you fishing?" Sasuke leaned closer, genuinely curious. An uncle in his clan loved fishing, but had refused to take Sasuke along, saying he was too young.
Yet this boy looked around Sasuke's age, and he was fishing.
"Yes," Naruto said, surprised. "I'm fishing. I can roast the fish later."
He looked Sasuke over. This kid was not afraid of him. He was not disgusted.
Naruto hesitated, then asked softly, "You… you're not scared of me?"
Ever since he could remember, most people treated him like filth. Even children avoided him and called him a demon fox.
But this kid did not.
"Why would I be scared?" Sasuke asked, cautious but serious. "Are you going to turn into a monster that breathes fire?"
Kenichi's shoulders shook. He nearly burst out laughing.
This was too good.
At the same time, Kenichi pulled a camcorder from his pocket and started recording.
There were television shows in the shinobi world. A camcorder was not unbelievable. It was just expensive, and normal people could not afford it.
For Kenichi, that was irrelevant.
This was Sasuke's future dark history.
When Sasuke grew up, this would be an unspeakable black mark. How could you measure something like this in money?
You couldn't.
"Of course not!" Naruto shook his head hard. "I'm a ninja!"
How could he turn into some fire breathing monster? Would that even be human?
"I'm a ninja too!" Sasuke's competitive streak instantly flared. He declared it like a challenge.
Kenichi rubbed his face. He really couldn't. He was seconds away from laughing out loud.
This second meeting between Sasuke and Naruto was absurdly entertaining.
Then Kenichi heard a loud rumble.
Naruto's stomach.
"Naruto," Kenichi said, watching Naruto blush and stiffen, "you haven't eaten, have you?"
Kenichi sighed inwardly.
This was the Fourth Hokage's son.
.....
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