Uchiha Sasuke walked out of Konoha Hospital, his gaze fixed on the distant Hokage Rock as he pondered.
The Third Hokage said "a few nights ago," not "three years ago."
Did that mean that during his three years in the Soul Society, time in this world had been relatively stagnant, only starting to flow again upon his return?
"Get lost, get lost! Don't come near my store!"
A clamor pulled Sasuke back to the real world.
"You brat, what are you standing there for? Can't you understand what I'm saying?"
Not far away, a convenience store owner was raising a broom high, and below him was a small, blond-haired kid clutching a banknote, too scared to look up.
But the broom didn't hit Naruto's head as it usually did.
The moment the owner swung.
A flash of cold light, and the soft handle was sliced in two, the broom head falling to the ground.
"You bastard, my broom!"
The store owner, blinded by rage, clearly didn't realize what had happened, his mind only on the useless broom.
He looked up, about to continue shouting, when he suddenly felt a blade pressed against his throat.
The blade was extremely thin, glinting with an ominous light. With the slightest movement, it could slice open his throat in the next instant.
All the curses died in the store owner's throat. He looked at the child before him in terror, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.
Sasuke didn't look up at him, merely saying in a low voice, "To raise a weapon against someone weaker than yourself... How unsightly."
"You..." The store owner's teeth began to chatter. He swallowed hard, unable to comprehend the nonsensical sentence.
Sasuke's gaze finally shifted slightly upward, landing on the man's face, which was twisted with fear.
"You're loud."
He stated a simple fact. Then, the blade against the man's throat pressed a little harder, leaving a shallow, bloody line.
"If I hear your ugly roar again, or see your disgusting face again..."
Sasuke's voice remained calm, yet it made the store owner feel as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.
"...I'll kill you."
As his voice fell, he flicked his wrist, and the Zanpakutō returned to its scabbard with a light ring.
The damnable pressure vanished instantly. The store owner's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, panting in short gasps, not daring to make another sound.
This was the most direct way of handling things he had learned in Squad 11.
From beginning to end, Sasuke never once glanced at Naruto on the ground.
Having done all this, he turned and continued walking towards the Uchiha clan compound, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.
He left behind the store owner,瘫软 on the ground, and Uzumaki Naruto, who was covering his head, secretly peeking through his fingers at the departing figure.
Smoke filled the air.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his large desk, taking a deep drag from his pipe.
Before him floated a crystal-clear sphere, which clearly reflected everything that had just happened on the street.
From the store owner's roar, to Sasuke's impossibly fast draw, to his cold threat afterward.
The Third Hokage's brow was furrowed, his expression complex.
When he saw Sasuke step in for Naruto, a flicker of relief crossed his mind.
"Even after such a tragedy, he still retains the instinct to protect a comrade? This is the very embodiment of the 'Will of Fire'..." he subconsciously muttered to himself.
However, the next second, the image of Sasuke holding a blade to a villager's throat, and his unhesitating "I'll kill you," made his heart sink again.
It didn't seem like protection, more like a casual act.
And that longsword that appeared out of thin air in his hand... These things were like sharp thorns stabbing at the Third Hokage's heart.
"Hiruzen, it seems you saw it too."
A grim voice came from the shadows of the office.
Shimura Danzo, leaning on a cane, had appeared there at some point. The bandages covering half his face made him look even more sinister.
His gaze was also fixed on the crystal sphere, but his eyes held none of the Third Hokage's worry, only an unconcealed greed.
"A Uchiha survivor, filled with distrust for the village, and in possession of a different kind of power."
"Such an existence is too dangerous."
Danzo's voice was somewhat hoarse, like a snake hissing. "He is like an unsheathed blade, liable to injure the one holding it at any moment."
He turned his head to look at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said, "Give him to me, Hiruzen."
"Only in 'Root' can we completely erase the excess emotions in his heart and forge him into a weapon used solely for Konoha. This is the most beneficial choice for the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent, taking another puff of his pipe. The thick white smoke almost completely obscured his face.
"Danzo, I refuse."
"Why?!"
Danzo's tone carried a hint of anger. He reminded him, "Are you still clinging to your naive ideas? The Uchiha clan is naturally prone to being driven by hatred, let alone a child who witnessed everything with his own eyes!"
"Letting him grow freely will only create a second Uchiha Madara!"
"It is precisely because he witnessed everything that we cannot push him into the darkness," Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly put down his pipe and looked directly at Danzo's exposed eye.
"He is a hero of Konoha, the son of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, a member of the village."
"We already owe the Uchiha enough. We cannot use dark methods to treat this sole survivor."
"Naive!" Danzo rebuked angrily. "A woman's kindness will only destroy Konoha!"
"I have my own judgment," Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and walked to the window, turning his back to Danzo as he overlooked the thriving village.
"I will send someone to guide him in the future. I believe that leaves can only grow strong under the sun. I will make him understand that Konoha is his home, not a cage."
"You will regret this, Monkey!"
Danzo forcefully slammed his cane on the floor. "When this beast loses control and turns its claws on the village, you will regret your decision today!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not turn back.
"Enough. I will not regret it. Remember, I am the Hokage."
Bang!
Danzo fell silent in the shadows for a moment before finally letting out a cold snort and storming out of the door in a rage.
The office became quiet once more.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the empty doorway and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Have someone replace the door. Also, put the bill on Danzo's tab."
Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head to look at the crystal sphere again, the worry in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest.
He knew that Danzo's words were not entirely without reason.
The child's indifferent profile, and that ninja sword that appeared out of thin air...
"I hope my choice... is the right one," he murmured to himself, picking up the heavy pipe once more and looking towards the distant Hokage Rock.
"Sensei, everything that has happened these past few days... it was all for Konoha, right...?"