A rustling sound echoed from the nearby woods...
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees. Short black hair, a Konoha headband, and a pair of striking red eyes spinning with three pitch-black tomoe.
Sasuke Uchiha.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in surprise. The moment he saw his rival, all of his complicated thoughts vanished. "What are you doing here?! Are you... are you here to see me off?!"
Naruto planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin, doing his best to look smug. "Hmph! I was going to stop by your house to tell you I'm leaving on a mission with the Pervy Sage, but you weren't there. I can't believe you actually came to see me off personally!"
Normally, Sasuke would have just glared at him. He would have spat out an "Idiot" or a "Who's seeing you off?" before turning on his heel to leave.
But today, Sasuke was unusually calm. He looked briefly stunned, clearly not expecting Naruto's little speech. Then, the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
He actually smiled.
"Ah," Sasuke replied, even though he hadn't known a thing about Naruto's mission. "Something like that." He paused for a second, then added, "Be careful on the road."
To top it all off, he even gave Naruto a small nod.
Naruto froze, his jaw dropping open. He had been fully braced for cold insults, but now his blue eyes went wide as if he were staring at a ghost. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Sasuke from head to toe.
'Something is wrong. Very wrong!' Not only did Sasuke hold back from cursing at him, but he smiled? And nodded? And told him to be careful?!
Alarm bells blared in Naruto's head. He leaned in close, his nose practically touching the other boy's face. "Are you... are you really Sasuke?!"
Sasuke frowned at the sudden invasion of personal space. He leaned back instinctively, raising a hand to shove Naruto's face away.
"Idiot, get away from me."
The familiar annoyance was there in his voice, but it completely lacked its usual icy edge.
That reaction actually made Naruto relax a little. At least Sasuke was still calling him an idiot. It had to be the real deal.
Still, the knot of confusion in his chest didn't go away.
"You're acting weird today..." Naruto scratched his head, looking troubled. "You seem... happy?"
Sasuke didn't answer right away. He shifted his gaze, looking over toward Tejima Shinichi.
"It's nothing," Sasuke said quietly. "Just... figured some things out."
Naruto felt a headache coming on.
'What is going on? Everyone's hiding a secret today. First Shinichi, then the Pervy Sage, and now even Sasuke.' His brain strained to connect the dots, but complicated plots just weren't his style.
After agonizing over it for a few seconds and getting nowhere, he threw his hands up and simply gave up.
But then, a sudden realization struck him. Naruto slapped his thigh.
"Wait! Sasuke! I forgot to tell you! Uchiha Itachi! Your brother! He was just here!"
Naruto pointed frantically in the direction Itachi had disappeared, the words spilling out of him.
"He's the guy you've always wanted to kill! He was just fighting with Shinichi—well, no, maybe they weren't really fighting—but then the Pervy Sage and I showed up, and he ran away! Are you... are you okay? Did he do anything to you?!"
Listening to Naruto's panicked rambling, Sasuke's face didn't twist with the anger, hatred, or excitement Naruto expected to see.
He just looked slightly surprised. And then, the corner of his mouth curved upward again.
"Not anymore," Sasuke said simply.
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean, not anymore?"
"Starting today..." Sasuke lifted his chin, looking out toward the distant outline of the Hidden Leaf Village. After a moment, he pulled his gaze back and looked Naruto dead in the eye...
"...He is no longer the man I intend to kill."
Naruto's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. He was completely stunned. "Then... then he is..."
Sasuke pondered for a brief moment.
"Irrelevant."
Naruto stood rooted to the spot. His brain essentially short-circuited as he watched Sasuke calmly walk away. He just couldn't process the sudden shift.
Shinichi watched Sasuke approach, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"It seems...you got the answer you were looking for", Shinichi said, his voice quiet but clear.
"Ah," Sasuke responded, nodding. "I did."
He paused, organizing his thoughts. Then, he turned slightly.
He threw a glance at the still-dazed Naruto, then at Jiraiya holding his travel pack, before looking back at Shinichi...
"He said... he wants to talk to you alone...Find a place."
Shinichi's eyes shifted.
'Talk alone?' Combined with what Itachi had just said, it seemed... Itachi had some unfinished business.
"Understood," Shinichi nodded. He turned toward the other two. "I'll take Sasuke back to the village first. As for Sister Tsunade's matter... I'll leave that to you, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya looked at both of them with a complex gaze.
He desperately wanted to ask what else had just happened here, but in the end, he swallowed his questions and held his tongue.
"Alright." He patted Naruto heavily on the shoulder. "Let's go, kid. We're setting off."
Naruto looked from Shinichi to Sasuke, muttering under his breath. "Everyone's being so secretive..."
Shinichi said nothing more. He gave Sasuke a subtle signal, and the two turned back toward the village. Jiraiya watched them go, not retracting his gaze until their silhouettes finally disappeared at the end of the road.
'The prophecy...' Jiraiya thought back to the vision seen by the Great Toad Sage. In that glimpse of the future, the young man standing atop the Wooden Buddha had two figures standing behind him...
One was the Child of Prophecy. And the other... was someone whose eyes harbored the 'power of destiny.'
Jiraiya's eyes remained locked on the empty dirt road.
'Could it be Sasuke?!'
"Let's go, Naruto." Jiraiya finally turned and started walking. "I'll explain what I can on the way."
...
The two stepped into the empty courtyard. Sasuke turned around to face Shinichi. He opened his mouth, looking as though he was about to say something.
Suddenly, his body violently stiffened.
"Ugh—!"
A black crow forced its way straight out of his mouth.
The moment the bird broke free, it shifted, its feathers expanding and swirling until it transformed into a human figure.
The figure settled, lifting his gaze to speak.
"We meet again, Tejima Shinichi."
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