Lying on his bed, Sasuke Uchiha remembered the nine masked figures from the incident on the bridge.
One of them was around their height, with bright red hair. Sasuke felt like he recognized this person somehow.
The person Sasuke recognized was Uzumaki Sōnagi.
Back when he was at the Ninja Academy, Sōnagi never tried to stay low—he always acted as dramatically as possible.
Moreover, before the age of three, Sōnagi started training under Chinya alongside Neji Hyuga.
Therefore, until Uzumaki Sōnagi left, he had always held the title of top student at the Ninja Academy.
After Sōnagi left, it was finally Sasuke Uchiha who became number one.
At that time, Sasuke felt quite discouraged.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't beat Sōnagi.
At that time, Itachi Uchiha hadn't yet left Konoha. As a caring older brother, he spoke with Sasuke and helped him move past his frustration, motivating him to work even harder.
Later, after Sōnagi defected, combined with Sasuke's hatred toward Itachi, he gradually forgot about his former rival he had once tried so hard to catch up with.
But now, seeing those unmistakable crimson red locks reminded Sasuke of Sōnagi again.
Sasuke suddenly frowned and turned to ask Sakura, who was sitting beside him, "Sakura, I vaguely remember hearing Kakashi say that those nine people seemed to be ninjas from Otogakure, right?"
Sakura responded, "Yes. Kakashi said those Otogakure ninja were here on a mission. Their objective was Gato, and after killing the wandering shinobi and wandering samurai brought by Gato, they left."
Sasuke drifted into deep thought.
Several names appeared in his mind.
Uzumaki Sōnagi, Uzumaki Naruto, Kakashi, Chinya...
Sasuke's eyes slightly widened. "Could it be... that's what it is?"
Sakura asked puzzledly, "What do you mean, Sasuke?"
But Sasuke didn't answer her question yet—he was only forming a guess for now.
His guess was that the person who looked around their height might actually be none other than Uzumaki Sōnagi.
Furthermore, Sasuke also suspected that Naruto's Wind Breathing was taught by Chinya.
Previously, Sasuke had secretly watched Naruto practicing Wind Breathing All Sword Techniques.
At that time, while observing through his Sharingan, Sasuke noticed something unusual—that Naruto's Wind Breathing felt like it belonged to the same style as Kakashi's Thunder Breathing.
By "same style," Sasuke didn't just mean both were hybrid techniques combining ninjutsu and taijutsu (Nin-Taijutsu). There was an additional factor involved.
For example, when Kakashi used Thunder Breathing compared to other Konoha ninja who knew the same technique—the results were vastly different in power.
There must have been some unique element behind this difference.
When Sasuke said Kakashi and Naruto used the same style, he meant that this crucial element was shared between them.
Back when Sōnagi was still attending the Ninja Academy, he had already demonstrated Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques.
It was definitely Chinya who taught Sōnagi that Thunder Breathing.
Although Sasuke Uchiha had never met Kakashi before, he had heard in the Uchiha Clan Headquarters about someone who was Chinya's disciple and inherited Chinya's Thunder Breathing.
That disciple should be Kakashi.
Therefore, Kakashi's Thunder Breathing must have been taught by Chinya.
Back then at the Academy, Uzumaki Sōnagi had been close friends with the universally disliked Naruto Uzumaki.
Since both Uzumaki Sōnagi and Naruto Uzumaki shared the same surname, everyone had thought it was a coincidence—but now, Sasuke Uchiha no longer believed that.
If that red-haired man was indeed Uzumaki Sōnagi, then one of those two who looked like adults back then was likely Chinya.
And the other red-haired woman… Could she be Kushina Uzumaki?
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly.
If his guess was correct, then there was something seriously off about Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi.
Kakashi must have already known that Naruto could use Wind Breathing. That must have been why, right from their first meeting, Kakashi gave Naruto that ninja sword—and giving kunai and shuriken to him and Sakura Haruno were just afterthoughts.
At the time, the look on Naruto's face when he received the ninja sword had also been worth noting—he seemed utterly shocked.
Sasuke's expression grew dark.
So, putting it all together, if his suspicions were correct, Naruto Uzumaki's Wind Breathing Sword Techniques must have been taught to him by Chinya while Chinya was still in Konoha.
Chinya had also assisted Itachi Uchiha during the Uchiha Clan Purge.
Chinya was also one of his enemies.
But seeking revenge against Chinya? Right now, Sasuke didn't even dare to imagine it.
In the Uchiha Clan, Chinya had always been a forbidden name—a figure considered beyond reach, beyond challenge.
Growing up among his kin, Sasuke naturally carried an innate sense of fear toward Chinya.
Still, both Uzumaki Sōnagi and Naruto Uzumaki—who had received Chinya's teachings—were extremely powerful.
What unsettled Sasuke even more was how Kakashi performed the Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques.
If only he could...
Shaking his head, Sasuke scoffed inwardly at his own foolish thought.
It was well known that Chinya intensely hated the Uchiha Clan, so there was absolutely no chance Chinya would ever teach him.
Just then, Kakashi and Naruto returned; the day's bridge-building work was over.
Seeing that Sasuke was awake, Kakashi greeted casually, "Yo, Sasuke, you're up. Mr. Tazuna still needs several more days to finish the bridge. After this mission is done, we'll return to Konoha. Until then, you should rest well these few days."
Sasuke glanced briefly at Kakashi, then looked toward the sullen-faced Naruto, and simply nodded, "I understand."
To Sasuke, whether Kakashi and Naruto stayed loyal to Konoha didn't matter. He himself had no loyalty to Konoha either—he loathed it.
Because all members of his clan bore the Cursed Seal.
And now, his sole purpose was clear—to kill Itachi Uzumaki—and for that goal, he would stop at nothing.
Moreover, he also hoped to learn some real skills from Kakashi, so although he had his own suspicions, Sasuke Uchiha didn't plan to expose anything.
While Kakashi's team was protecting Tazuna during the bridge construction, Zabuza and Haku were exploiting Gato for financial gain.
Gato's business extended across not only the Land of Waves but also many other countries, and he had numerous hidden assets.
Therefore, it would still take some effort for Zabuza to fully extract all of Gato's wealth.
Meanwhile, Chinya and his group had already returned to Otogakure.
Uzumaki Miyuki couldn't wait to find Kushina Uzumaki and share the news about meeting Naruto Uzumaki.
Chinya told Uzumaki Sōnagi, "Stay in the village these next few days. I have something to talk to you about later."
Chinya was also thinking about giving Sōnagi a proper talking-to together with Kushina Uzumaki.
Uzumaki Sōnagi surprisingly listened and nodded respectfully, saying, "I understand, Dad."
Sōnagi's behavior struck Chinya as odd—usually he would complain in a situation like this.
Still, Chinya didn't think much of it. After parting with Sōnagi and the others, he made his way toward Orochimaru's base.
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