Whoosh!
In the dense forest, a figure swiftly moved, but in an instant, the movement came to a halt, and the person collapsed to the ground.
'Is this… my limit?'
The person lying on the ground was none other than Sasuke.
After leaving Otogakure, he had been moving quickly in search of a nearby town or village, hoping to find some clue about Itachi's whereabouts through intelligence networks.
However, his condition was so bad that he could barely move freely.
Lying on the ground, his consciousness quickly faded again.
He didn't know how long it had been, but he felt warm currents flowing through his limbs and body, as if he were soaking in a hot spring, washing away the fatigue and urgency that had accumulated.
It was a sensation he had never experienced before, even more comforting than being wrapped in a warm blanket.
"Cough, cough!"
With a light cough, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, awakening from his unconscious state.
What greeted his eyes was the wooden ceiling above him.
He quickly stood up and looked around.
Though he had been unconscious, he remembered clearly that he had collapsed in the forest. There was no way he could be inside a room.
But as soon as he tried to stand, he felt a chill.
After looking down, he quickly crouched down.
He was inside a large wooden barrel filled with hot water that emitted a faint green glow. Moreover, he wasn't wearing any clothes.
'No wonder it had felt like a hot spring… I was really soaking in heated water.'
Upon further investigation, Sasuke realized the water wasn't ordinary. It was a special concoction that rapidly healed and restored his body. The healing process was happening at a noticeable speed.
Undoubtedly, this glowing water was a medicinal bath, and a high-quality, rare one at that.
He deduced that someone had saved him, but he didn't understand why someone would go so far to help a complete stranger with such valuable medicine. This raised a lot of questions.
Without dwelling on it too much, Sasuke continued to observe his surroundings.
This was a small wooden hut, devoid of any furniture, and even the windows were missing. Through the opening where a window would have been, he could see the forest outside, which is exactly the same forest he had been in when he lost consciousness.
In other words, this wooden hut is a temporary structure.
For someone to use such precious medicine to save him, and then construct a wooden hut just for him, these odd circumstances made Sasuke more suspicious.
However, he did not sense the presence of other people around him, which was why he didn't leave immediately.
'Could it be that someone truly helped me out of kindness, with no ulterior motive, just for the sake of saving me?'
A doubt arose in Sasuke's mind.
He thought that whoever saved him might not have left immediately. After all, if the person had truly wanted to help, they would likely wait for him to wake up before leaving. Perhaps the person had gone hunting due to hunger.
If that were the case, Sasuke still couldn't be sure whether the person who saved him was a good person or not.
At this point, the best course of action for Sasuke was to focus on recovering. With the help of the medicinal bath, if he rested for just ten more minutes, he could fully heal.
Once he had recovered, he could leave the wooden hut, find a hidden spot, and wait to observe whether his rescuer really had good intentions.
Whoosh!
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Sasuke leapt out of the barrel, quickly donned the clothes that had been placed on the ground, and prepared to leave the wooden hut.
However, just as he stepped outside, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
'How is this possible?'
Sasuke couldn't believe it. He had clearly sensed no one else's presence nearby.
The sudden appearance of this person could only mean one thing: this individual was stronger than him, much stronger.
After all, Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan had the ability to perceive things far beyond what ordinary people could, and even someone as skilled as Itachi wouldn't be able to completely conceal their Chakra.
Such an experience of being unable to investigate had only happened to Sasuke once before… when he encountered Orochimaru.
Although he was equally powerful and also skilled in using medicine, the figure standing before Sasuke was not Orochimaru. Instead, it was a small figure dressed in a black robe, completely shrouded in darkness. Sasuke could only make out that the figure was roughly his own height, which is about 1.5 meters.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!"
As Sasuke began to retreat, he activated his Sharingan, and the unique pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan appeared in his eyes.
'Let me see your true form, you trickster!'
Sasuke used his Mangekyo Sharingan's insight ability, but the result was shocking.
"How is it possible! I can't see through them?"
Despite activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, all Sasuke could perceive from the black robe was complete darkness… like a void. Not only could he see nothing, but it also felt as though he was sinking deeper, as if his soul was being drawn out.
Panicking, Sasuke immediately shut off his Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, the few seconds of intense observation had already drained some of his vision. The unusual exhaustion confirmed that the sensation of his soul being drawn out was not an illusion… it was real.
"Swallow this."
A small blue pill flew out from beneath the figure's hood, appearing as if it had emerged from a black hole.
Sasuke caught the pill, gritted his teeth, and swallowed it without hesitation, not even daring to ask any questions.
He had no choice. The figure's strength far exceeded his own, and Sasuke didn't dare to resist. The black-robed individual was likely at a level far beyond Orochimaru's, so if Sasuke fought back, he might be obliterated with a mere gesture.
With his vengeance against Itachi remained unfinished, he didn't want to die before fulfilling his mission. If he died now, it would be a failure, and Naruto and his clan would never have peace.
The black-robed figure could have killed him while he was unconscious. In Sasuke's opinion, this pill was probably poison, and after taking it, he would have to obey the orders of the black-robed figure.
Sasuke had no objection to the pill, as he knew that whatever the figure wanted him to do, he had no choice but to comply. There was a chance that, by gaining the figure's trust, he could use him to finally take down Itachi.
"Glug!"
Sasuke swallowed the small blue pill in one gulp.
The pill dissolved immediately as it touched his tongue, but instead of going to his stomach, it rushed straight toward his head.
Just as Sasuke had guessed, the black-robed figure had given him the pill to control him. Now, he could only hope to guard his mind with his Chakra, hoping that, even as the control took effect, he would not lose his consciousness.
If he lost his sense of self, it would be no different than being dead.
"Hmm?"
Sasuke couldn't help but let out a surprised sound.
The blue liquid from the pill didn't invade his brain as he had feared. Instead, it moved toward his eyes.
The most surprising thing was that Sasuke felt no discomfort. On the contrary, it felt as though his eyes had been lubricated with eye drops. The liquid from the blue pill was like a soothing balm for his eyes.
The previous strain on his vision seemed to be replenished as well.
When Sasuke opened his eyes again, he was astonished to find that his vision had never been clearer. The usual blur was completely gone, and even the strain from using his Mangekyo Sharingan was completely alleviated.
His eyes now seemed as if they were freshly unsealed, as if they were brand new.
"This... what exactly is going on..."