Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 459 Waking Up from a "Dream"

Today, he will officially become a ninja, which means he is one step closer to his goal.

Unlike him, that man didn't graduate until the right age, and that indelible shadow always weighed heavily on him. But at least the gap between them was no longer so vast that it was despairing. As long as he kept trying, one day... he would kill that man, just like that man killed his father and mother!

However, his heavy thoughts were interrupted by the noise in the classroom. The person the teacher had announced failed the test had appeared, wearing a headband, and happened to be sitting in his row. This guy had always been at odds with him. He had once thought that this person could at least understand his loneliness, but after getting to know him, the guy turned out to be unusually noisy and didn't like to speak properly. Even though he was always swinging alone under the big tree in the school, he pretended not to care about being lonely with his loud and boisterous manner.

Now, that guy started causing trouble again. He jumped onto the table amidst the girl's screams and looked down at her. Of course, I couldn't back down, so I glared back without hesitation.

They seemed a little too close; the feeling of their breaths mingling was strange, but the boy's competitive spirit prevailed, and neither of them backed down. Then the guy moved even closer, so fast that the boy couldn't dodge. They touched and then pulled away, each making a vomiting gesture and frantically wiping their mouths.

Damn it, wasn't he doing this on purpose? Why is he wiping his mouth?! He hasn't even complained about the miso ramen smell yet!

The blond boy was punished by the girls because the most handsome boy in their eyes had his first kiss stolen by this annoying guy. Watching the guy slumped listlessly on the table after being beaten, he felt a sense of satisfaction mixed with a strange sense of unease.

Why did this guy kiss him?

But this slight doubt was just a drop of water falling into a deep pool; his life had long been consumed by hatred, and he lived only for it.

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"The soul's light is much more normal now. Although it's still a bit dim, it has at least recovered to about 70-80% of its original state."

"Stop staring at him. This surgery has cost you half of your chakra. At this rate, how long can you survive? To put it bluntly, once those guys outside and this brat aren't watching you... who knows how much trouble they'll cause. They might even ruin your future plans."

"Don't say that, Kurama. I know it's hard for you to trust them as much as you trust me, but we've all been working towards a common goal for so many years. My plan may not be the best, and it's normal to make reasonable adjustments based on the actual situation."

"...Sigh, I should have known that it wouldn't do you any good to talk to me about this. You always think that everyone can be saved."

"I don't agree with that. At least I didn't object to Tobirama's decision to take this opportunity to clean house."

"Heh, that guy deserved it. The Uchiha didn't grind him to ashes only because it was necessary for evidence; otherwise, just wait and see how those fire-wielding bastards would have burned him—almost alive!"

"Oh...you seem to know a lot about this, Kurama."

"How could I not know? I was forced to be Madara Uchiha's summoning beast for a period of time. That guy was truly brutal."

"That's true... Wait, Sasuke? You're finally awake!"

Sasuke had actually been awake for a while, but he had been keeping his eyes closed, sorting through his memories until he was sure he wasn't so confused as to have misremembered such important things. In the midst of the confusion, he overheard Naruto and Kurama's conversation, clearly catching the most crucial part.

"Has the eye transplant surgery been completed?"

Naruto blinked and asked with some concern, "Your eyes showed signs of atrophy after the two consecutive impacts. Our medical team believes you should get Itachi's eyes as soon as possible. After consulting with your family, we performed emergency surgery. Are you in pain? You must tell me if you feel any discomfort. My chakra was reserved for this."

Sasuke had just woken up; he hadn't even had time to assess his physical condition yet, having only awakened in his mental space. But he firmly shook his head, determined not to cause Naruto any more trouble.

"I'm fine. As for Konoha..."

"We've temporarily sent Tobirama to fill in. Kurama gave him some chakra, enough to fool those sensory types who aren't familiar with us. Konoha's busy cleaning up Pain's attack; nobody's got time for us. Tsunade's exhausted, and the perverted sage's gone to bed too. Meanwhile, the Daimyo's come demanding a reasonable explanation from Konoha's higher-ups. Anyway, that's how things are outside." Naruto had experienced something similar before, and the situation back then was much worse.

Konoha was utterly destroyed during the invasion. Although everyone survived, the reconstruction was incredibly arduous. Danzo had taken advantage of this power vacuum in Konoha to obtain the title of Sixth Hokage. Upon assuming his post, he encountered the Hokage Summit, where he used Kotoamatsukami to control the host. After his scheme was exposed, he fled in the chaos, nearly causing a serious diplomatic incident. Fortunately, Konoha's deep resources still held sway. After Tsunade awoke, she quickly restored Konoha's reputation, and the Kage of various countries still trusted Princess Tsunade, who had truly earned her position through strength and conviction.

"...How much time do I have?" After hearing this extremely brief summary, Sasuke only cared about one thing: he absolutely could not fail at this crucial moment and ruin Naruto's plan.

However, Naruto understood it differently: "Your eyes will need at least another week before the bandages can be completely removed."

“I mean, the longest I can leave Konoha.” Sasuke didn’t care about that at all. “Even if Konoha’s surveillance is lax, they shouldn’t have been able to stay away from Konoha for so long without discovering that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is fake.”

"That's what Tobirama-san needs to think about. Don't overthink it, just focus on recovering."

Sasuke glared disapprovingly at Naruto, deciding to let him wake up first. Since he was in Hokushin, his father, mother, and... Itachi must have been waiting for him to wake up.

As for those inexplicable, strange dreams, he always felt they were very likely related to Naruto, but he didn't want to ask the current Naruto. Such an important matter could only be revealed after Naruto's true form returned. The people in his dreams were both like them and unlike them; different experiences shaped them into completely different individuals. Even a heaven-defying eye technique like the Dark Light could exist, so why couldn't there be another similar world where a different story was unfolding?

Although everything that came after he opened his eyes was unpleasant, at least two things made him feel a little better.

One thing is that his family has never left him, and the other is that even in another world, his fate and Naruto's will be intertwined.