Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 363 Uchiha Sasuke's Parting with Konoha.

They didn't ask any idiotic questions like, "Does Orochimaru really want to take me as a disciple?"

After two minutes of silence, Sasuke Uchiha's eyes gradually turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "Shall we leave now?"

"Oh my, Sasuke-kun made his decision even faster than I expected." Kabuto was genuinely surprised this time.

Seeing that Sasuke Uchiha didn't seem inclined to respond, Kabuto Yakushi wisely continued, "It would be best to leave now, as there's no time to lose."

"How do I get there?" Sasuke Uchiha asked again.

"There are two options to choose from." Kabuto Yakushi looked at Sasuke Uchiha and said, "The first option is that I will take you away from Konoha secretly. There's no need to say more about this. Pack your things and we'll leave now."

"What about the second one?" Sasuke Uchiha asked.

"The second option is safer. Although Konoha is currently at war, the village hasn't been sealed off. You can leave a letter saying you're going to train or travel, and then swagger out of the village's main gate to register and leave. We'll meet up outside," Kabuto Yakushi immediately said.

"Where is Orochimaru?" Sasuke Uchiha asked again.

"Lord Orochimaru is currently in Ryuchi Cave, and the place he wants me to take you to is also Ryuchi Cave," Kabuto Yakushi said with a smile.

"Ryuchi Cave!?" Sasuke Uchiha's eyes lit up with surprise.

His original plan was to first become familiar with Orochimaru, then see if he could get some information about Ryuchi Cave from Orochimaru, use Orochimaru as a platform to make contact with Ryuchi Cave, and finally try to get close to the Spirit Lord.

Unexpectedly, he was able to achieve this goal directly from the beginning and meet Orochimaru in Ryuchi Cave. Doesn't that mean he is very likely to meet the Spirit Lord?

Having already decided to go with Kabuto, Sasuke Uchiha is now quite impatient.

As for how to leave Konoha, it's clear that the first option Kabuto mentioned was to defect, leaving without a word and making a secret escape.

The second method, while also irregular, at least left a letter, leaving some room for negotiation between oneself and the village, and allowing for future explanations.

At this moment, Sasuke Uchiha is unaware of the messy things that the Konoha higher-ups forced Itachi Uchiha to massacre the entire clan. He still has feelings for the village and has no intention of becoming a traitor.

Even if Sasuke were to become Orochimaru's apprentice, he wouldn't genuinely acknowledge Orochimaru. He was even considering that his actions could be seen as an undercover operation. He could leave a letter later, saying that he had heard news about Orochimaru and planned to infiltrate Orochimaru's side to see if he could do anything.

Regardless of whether Konoha believes it or not, that's what he said anyway, and he'll leave a mark. Maybe he can use it to turn things around in the future?

Thinking of this, Uchiha Sasuke said, "Let's meet outside the village, right in front of the rift valley. You go there and wait for me while I pack my things, leave a letter, and come find you."

"It seems Sasuke-kun still has a lot of feelings for the village," Kabuto Yakushi teased with a smile, then added, "Alright, I'll head to the Rift Valley to wait for you now, but be quick!"

After saying that, Kabuto opened the door and went out, and soon there was no sound.

Uchiha Sasuke turned to look at the memorial tablet and photograph in the room. He didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes became even more determined.

A moment later, he began to pack his things.

Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi also secretly left Konoha and met up with the Sound Four, who were waiting for him in the dense forest outside the village.

"What did Uchiha Sasuke say?" Sakon and Ukon leaned against the tree trunk, asking somewhat impatiently.

"He agreed, so there's no need to resort to force to kidnap him. He'll be joining me shortly, and you can proceed with Lord Orochimaru's next order." Kabuto Yakushi's face was no longer adorned with a kind smile; he spoke coldly.

"Don't point fingers at us like that, acting like you're the boss," Tayuya said, looking at Kabuto Yakushi with some displeasure.

"Aside from Lord Orochimaru, only Kimimaro can command us," Jirobo said, glaring at Kabuto Yakushi.

"Come on, don't make things so awkward," Kidomaru smoothed things over, then looked at Kabuto and said, "Are you sure there's no problem? I don't want to be called back to help halfway through."

"Confirmed." Kabuto nodded calmly.

He could tell that Uchiha Sasuke was extremely eager for power. He wasn't just using some pretense to appease him; he genuinely intended to leave Konoha to find Orochimaru!

"Since you've said so, then let's do it this way." Kidomaru nodded, then looked at the rest of his companions and said, "Let's go, pick up Kimimaro, and take him to Ryuchi Cave as Orochimaru-sama ordered."

When Orochimaru went to Sunagakure before, Kimimaro was also seriously ill, but at least he could get out of bed and walk around, and he could still perform his mission as a ninja. But now, Kimimaro is wearing a ventilator and has not been able to get out of bed for a long time.

His condition had reached a point of near irreversibility; if he were to push himself any further, he would surely die.

Orochimaru is a very cold person, but judging from his several acts of letting his disciple Anko go and his special feelings for Jiraiya and Tsunade, he still has a soft side deep down.

He has many experimental subjects and several outstanding talents under his command, but right now, the one he values ​​most is Kaguya Kimimaro.

Initially, Orochimaru also regarded Kimimaro as a vessel for himself and was very interested in the Kaguya clan's bloodline limit, Shikotsumyaku.

However, due to the incurable bloodline disease of Kimimaro and Orochimaru's covetousness of the Sharingan, Orochimaru had essentially given up on using Kimimaro as his vessel.

Given Orochimaru's ruthless nature, those who are abandoned are worthless and should be left to fend for themselves. Although Kimimaro's performance was still good, his value was indeed not very high anymore. However, Orochimaru still favored him greatly. Even though he no longer regarded him as a vessel, he took good care of him and searched for various ways to cure Kimimaro's bloodline disease.

Before he was first summoned to Ryuchi Cave and met Bane and the others, Orochimaru was essentially helpless in dealing with Kimimaro's situation.

Now, he seems to have found hope. If the spirit lord inside the Dragon Cave is willing to help, perhaps Kimimaro can be saved.

With this mindset in mind, Orochimaru planned to send Kimimaro to Ryuchi Cave to give it a try.

After parting ways with the Sound Four, Kabuto Yakushi went to the ravine outside the village where the waterfall was located and quietly waited for Sasuke Uchiha.

At the same time, Uchiha Sasuke packed his things and came out of his house.

Most of his items were sealed in scrolls, so he only carried a backpack-like travel bag on his back, which contained some miscellaneous items.

With his hands in his pockets, Uchiha Sasuke showed no sign of guilt whatsoever, walking calmly and leisurely down the street toward the gates of Konoha.

On the shopping street, Sasuke Uchiha looked at Ichiraku Ramen, which still had many customers. In a daze, he seemed to see Naruto Uzumaki's figure, which made him pause in his steps.

But a moment later, he realized that it was just his imagination.

I just feel a little nostalgic for those rare happy times after our tribe was wiped out.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Naruto, when we meet again, I will definitely not lose to you." Uchiha Sasuke muttered to himself softly, and then took another step forward.

Just as he was about to leave the corner of the shopping street, someone Uchiha Sasuke didn't really want to see walked towards him.

Sakura Haruno was carrying some vegetables she had bought from the grocery store, seemingly planning to go home and cook. She was also somewhat surprised to run into Sasuke Uchiha here, especially Sasuke who was carrying a travel bag.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura Haruno asked curiously, "What's going on?"

"Sakura." Sasuke Uchiha nodded with a very indifferent expression, then said, "I'm planning to go out for a walk."

"Go out for a walk?" Sakura Haruno seemed a little confused.

Sasuke Uchiha paused for a moment, then said, "He won't be back anytime soon."

"Huh?" Sakura Haruno was genuinely taken aback this time, then said, "Where are you going? It's very dangerous outside right now. Although the war is going smoothly, weren't there Sunagakure's assassination squads lurking around the village a few days ago, intercepting intelligence? You're going alone."

Uchiha Sasuke knew, of course, that the pink-haired girl in front of him liked him very much, but he had no intention of being in a romantic relationship at the moment. In his opinion, Haruno Sakura was very naive and had nothing in common with someone like him who was burdened with the hatred of his clan.

But after all, they graduated from the Ninja Academy together, formed Team 7 together, carried out many missions together, and were partners who shared life and death together.

Sasuke Uchiha actually treated Sakura Haruno differently in his heart; he didn't really consider her someone insignificant.

"I've already arranged for my companion to wait for me outside the village, so there's no need to worry," Sasuke Uchiha finally explained.

"Companion?" Sakura Haruno didn't think much of it and said with a little excitement, "Then do you want me to come with you? I don't have much to do lately anyway. If you don't mind, I'll go back and put these things away. Just wait a few minutes."

"I do mind," Sasuke Uchiha said without hesitation.

These words were so cold that they extinguished Sakura Haruno's enthusiasm, leaving her looking somewhat embarrassed and awkward.

Looking at Sakura Haruno's expression, Sasuke Uchiha hesitated, but swallowed his words. Instead, he changed his approach, maintaining his cool and aloof demeanor, and said in a tone that kept people at arm's length, "As you said, it's still very dangerous outside. Your strength is too weak, and it would be more troublesome for me to take you along, so that's it."

After saying that, Sasuke Uchiha stopped looking at Sakura Haruno, put his hands in his pockets, and walked past her.

Sakura Haruno looked at Sasuke Uchiha's retreating figure with some reluctance, feeling inexplicably uneasy and nervous, as if this parting had a special meaning, though she hadn't yet realized it.

She reached out to grab Uchiha Sasuke's hand to say something, but the moment she raised her hand, she let it go.

A moment later, she forced a bright smile and called out to Sasuke's retreating figure, "Be careful, Sasuke-kun! Remember to write to me when you have time!"

Upon hearing the voice, Uchiha Sasuke paused slightly, then turned to look at Haruno Sakura. He didn't speak, but after a moment of eye contact, he nodded gently and continued forward.

Without any surprises, after a simple registration at the village entrance, Sasuke left Konoha without any problems.

More than ten minutes later, he found Yakushi Kabuto squatting by the river near the rift valley, seemingly observing the fish swimming inside.

"Let's go," said Sasuke Uchiha, standing behind Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto then stood up, glanced at the young but determined boy behind him, and then gave a kind smile, saying, "Let's go, Sasuke-kun."

(End of this chapter)