Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

On the distant Hokage Rock, a small, thin figure was hanging from a rope, holding a paint bucket and a brush, creating art on the Hokage stone statues by the moonlight.

It's that blond brat, Naruto Uzumaki.

The First Hokage had spiral blush painted on his face, the Second Hokage had a comical mustache added, and the Third Hokage's face was covered with circles.

The most ridiculous thing is the statue of the Fourth Hokage, which is not only covered with snotty crosses, but also with all sorts of meaningless funny faces, as if he had some deep-seated grudge against him.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, looking at the scene with a rare hint of speechlessness in his eyes.

What a complete idiot...

Just as he was about to look away, an accident occurred.

"oops!"

Naruto was probably too overconfident, because he suddenly slipped and the rope tied to the railing snapped instantly.

"what--!"

With a piercing scream, Naruto plummeted straight down from the Hokage Rock, which was tens of meters high.

Meanwhile, on another hidden rooftop, Kakashi Hatake was secretly observing Sasuke's every move.

When he saw Naruto fall from the Hokage Rock, his heart clenched.

That's... Minato-sensei's son!

Before he could think, Kakashi's body turned into a blur in an instant.

He pushed his Body Flicker Technique to its limit and rushed towards the spot where Naruto had fallen.

But the distance was too far, and even for him, it would be difficult to save her in time.

Damn it, faster, faster!

Kakashi's mind went blank, leaving only the instinct to save people.

A few seconds later, when he rushed to the open space below the Hokage Rock, the scene before him made him freeze in place.

The expected bloody and mangled scene did not occur.

Naruto Uzumaki was lying on the ground unharmed, seemingly only temporarily unconscious from shock, without even a scratch on his body.

Standing beside Naruto was his mission target, Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted.

What did Sasuke just do?

He was certain that Sasuke was standing hundreds of meters away before he made his move.

How did he manage to save Naruto from falling from such a great height?

A body-flicker technique even faster than mine?

A hint of seriousness flashed in Kakashi's eyes.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Uchiha Sasuke slowly raised his head, and from a distance of dozens of meters, he silently stared at Kakashi in the night.

In the end, it was Kakashi who broke the silence first.

He leaped down from the roof and slowly walked towards the two of them.

He shifted his gaze from Sasuke to the unconscious Naruto, his eyes filled with a complex and subtle emotion.

Sasuke glanced at him, then looked away, turned around, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute," Kakashi called out to him.

Sasuke stopped and turned around. "What's up?"

"I am Kakashi Hatake."

He gave a brief self-introduction, then pointed to Naruto, "I'm... an old friend of this child's father. Thank you for saving him."

He crouched down, checked on Naruto's condition, and after confirming that he was only unconscious, he looked up at the messy graffiti on the Hokage Rock and sighed with a headache.

"Honestly, he's being ridiculous again. Why does he always do things like this?"

Sasuke followed his gaze and glanced at the comical graffiti, then said something that Kakashi never expected.

"Because he wants to be seen."

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Kakashi paused, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Sasuke shifted his gaze from the Hokage Rock to the unconscious Naruto: "Using such a foolish and noisy method, he desperately tries to prove to everyone that he still exists, craving even the slightest bit of attention and recognition..."

"That's all."

Kakashi was stunned.

It wasn't because Sasuke's insight was particularly amazing, but because the words Sasuke spoke were something that Minato's student had never seriously considered.

Over the years, he has been immersed in his own pain and darkness, using missions in the shadows to numb himself.

He knew of Naruto's existence and would occasionally glance at him from a distance, but what did he see?

A troublemaker who only knows how to cause mischief, a hapless loser who jumps around, and a relic that reminds him of the past.

He never really cared why the child turned out this way.

A strong sense of shame and self-reproach instantly overwhelmed Kakashi.

What am I doing?

Kakashi's expression turned somewhat grim, and after a moment of silence, he spoke again: "...You seem to know him very well."

“I don’t know,” Sasuke replied crisply. “I’ve just seen too many similar looks.”

In Soul Society, in Rukongai, the souls who desperately try to climb up the ranks, to be remembered, to prove their worth, all have the same look in their eyes as this blond brat.

However, their method was to fight, while this brat's method was to play pranks.

In essence, there is no difference.

Sasuke withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Kakashi or Naruto.

"Although I don't know why, the villagers seem to hate him." His words carried a hint of sarcasm, whether directed at the villagers or at the village itself was unclear.

"But to be able to laugh like an idiot in this environment without being stained black... that's quite an impressive guy."

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to leave.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke's aloof back, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

"Wait, Sasuke." Kakashi's voice suddenly came from behind.

Sasuke stopped walking, but did not turn around.

"Let's forget about revenge."

Kakashi said slowly, "At the end of that road, nothing will be left."

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Sasuke turned around abruptly, like a wild beast whose scales had been touched, instantly igniting his anger.

This was the first time he had expressed his emotions so intensely since returning to this world.

"What do you know?"

Suppressing his hatred, Sasuke said, word by word, "Kill all the people you cherish most, one by one, right in front of you..."

What do you think?

Kakashi did not refute Sasuke's almost devouring gaze.

She just stood there quietly, her only exposed eye slowly curving into a crescent shape.

It was a smile that seemed gentle, yet carried countless sorrows.

"Hmm... that could be a good idea," Kakashi sighed softly.

"But unfortunately..."

Kakashi raised his hand, scratched his signature silver hair, and said in a seemingly casual tone:

"The people I cherish most are all gone; they were all killed long ago."

"!!!"

Sasuke was stunned.

He had anticipated countless possible responses, whether lecturing or admonishing, but he never expected to receive such a calm and unsettling answer.

The sadness flowing in the other person's eyes was real; that emptiness from having lost everything was all too familiar to Sasuke.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who was standing there in a daze, and knew that his words had worked.

He slowly stood up and easily hoisted the unconscious Naruto onto his shoulder.

“Your brother, Uchiha Itachi, I know him.”

Kakashi's tone returned to its usual languidness, "He graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven, awakened his Sharingan at eight, became a Chunin at ten, and became an Anbu captain at thirteen. He's an absolute genius."

He looked at Sasuke, his gaze becoming serious again.

"And you? You don't even know a decent ninjutsu. What are you going to use to take revenge?"

"Your incredibly fast movement and that knife in your hand? That's far from enough in the face of a true genius."

“If you really want to kill him, instead of just throwing your life away…” Kakashi turned around and prepared to leave as well.

"Then let's stay and get stronger."

However, he had only taken two steps when Sasuke's cold voice came from behind him.

"stop."

Kakashi stopped and turned around to see Sasuke staring at him.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked with a smile.

Sasuke did not answer. His hand slowly rested on the hilt of his sword at his waist, a standard starting stance for drawing his sword.