Too many things happened tonight. For some, it will take a long time to heal, and the scars will be permanent. Only by finding something to carry within their hearts can they truly recover.
Sasuke, for example.
Inside the Uchiha compound, Sasuke was curled up, sleeping on the tatami. His body trembled occasionally, but don't misunderstand, it's not that kind of thing!
Sasuke was having a nightmare!
He dreamt that his beloved brother Itachi was looking at someone with affection, laughing and talking happily. It turned out love could be transferred!
In his dream, Sasuke was crying alone, hugging his head in sadness. All around him were couples in groups, and his brother Itachi was among them.
But Sasuke couldn't blend in, as if something was missing. He called out, he ran, but he couldn't get close to Itachi, and Itachi couldn't hear him.
Damn it! If this continues, my brother will truly no longer belong to me!
Just then, a light shone on Sasuke. The light was warm and bright, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth, and the dejection on his face gradually eased.
So warm!
The light gradually coalesced into a human figure. An arm emitting light reached out to Sasuke, as if to offer support and encouragement.
Sasuke instinctively raised his head. The glowing arm gently stroked his cheek, bit by bit wiping away the decadence and unwillingness from his face.
Sasuke suddenly felt himself gradually blending in, and the people around him also moved closer, all casting encouraging glances at him.
His brother Itachi was no exception.
At this moment, Sasuke felt he had found a sense of belonging, and the emptiness in his heart, caused by the loss of his brother, was refilled.
"Who are you?"
As if hearing Sasuke's inner whisper, the light gradually dissipated, and a head of spiky yellow hair came into Sasuke's view.
"Sasuke! I told you I'd come back for you!!"
"What the hell! Naruto!"
Sasuke shouted, quickly swatting away the hand on his face and struggling to escape. But suddenly, arms reached out from all around, pinning him to the ground.
"Hehehe, little Sasuke, you can't escape my grasp!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto getting closer and closer, struggling with all his might. But for some reason, it was like sleep paralysis, he couldn't muster any strength.
He could only watch as Naruto got closer and closer to his cheek. Sasuke could already feel Naruto's hot breath.
"Sasuke, here I come!"
"No!!!!!"
Sasuke suddenly woke up from his bedding. His dilated pupils gradually contracted, and he gasped for air.
"Huu, so it was a dream!"
Sasuke felt sticky all over. The nightmare had scared him into a cold sweat, more than the time he wet his bed as a child.
"Sasuke! Open the door quickly!"
"No way! A dream within a dream?!" Sasuke seemed to hear Naruto's voice and quickly slapped his cheek.
It hurt!
"Sasuke, open the door! I have something urgent to tell you!"
"Coming!"
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. Naruto in reality was much cuter, the one in the dream was too terrifying!
No! Naruto the idiot isn't cute at all, just silly!
*Splash...*
As soon as the door opened, Naruto from outside jumped in, grabbed Sasuke's arm, and said urgently, "Sasuke, quick! Come with me!"
"What are you doing! What's so important that you're bothering me so early in the morning!"
"Come with me quickly! I'll explain on the way! Otherwise, we'll be too late!"
Sasuke saw that Naruto didn't seem to be lying, but this was the Uchiha clan head's residence. Who would dare to be presumptuous?!
"This is my home, who dares to..."
"My sister is coming to find you!"
"Then what are we waiting for! Let's run!"
Sasuke pulled Naruto and ran towards the small path, not even changing his pajamas. Time was of the essence, and he absolutely couldn't be caught!
For some reason, Sasuke felt a sense of fear towards Karin, not fear of her strength, but fear of *that* kind.
His sixth sense told Sasuke that Naruto's sister, Karin, was terrifying!
Naruto appreciated Sasuke's "sensibleness." His sister was a true demoness, and it was best that Sasuke understood that.
Sasuke was his first friend, and he absolutely couldn't let Karin ruin him!
"Sasuke, why are you so wet? Did you just take a bath?"
"Uh... probably... you idiot, why are you talking so much! Let's run first!"
"...Oh!"
Not long after the two left, a little girl arrived at Sasuke's doorstep and rang the doorbell.
"Excuse me, is the handsome young boy Sasuke-kun at home?"
...
Hokage Building.
Minato Namikaze, who had come to work "early," was sternly dealing with yesterday's matters.
After all, family matters were family matters, but matters between villages and countries were far more important.
"Hokage-sama, you're really early today!"
Shikaku Nara, the Hokage's assistant, placed a pile of documents on the desk. The Hokage today had arrived even earlier than him.
Truly rare!
"It is my duty."
"Huh! Hokage-sama, what's wrong with your eyes?"
Minato Namikaze quickly picked up a document to cover his dark eye circles and coughed, "Working all night, just dark circles, it's nothing!"
"Hokage-sama, you truly have perseverance."
"Ahem, low profile."
Minato Namikaze coughed again, his voice serious, "Report the situation from yesterday."
"A total of twenty-one Cloud Village envoys came to Konoha. Thirteen of them disguised themselves as attackers to assault the Hyuga clan..."
Shikaku Nara placed a document on the desk and reported the situation from last night with a serious expression.
He had finished organizing all the intelligence before going to sleep yesterday. By the time he got home, it was already dawn. However, seeing that even the Hokage had been working overtime to handle official business, his mood instantly balanced out.
"So, Cloud Village's goal was to steal Uchiha Sasuke and covet the Uchiha's kekkei genkai, the Sharingan?"
"From a factual standpoint, that is indeed the case. The alliance was probably just an excuse."
Minato Namikaze looked puzzled. "The Uchiha don't have the Caged Bird like the Hyuga clan. Cloud Village could have obtained the Sharingan on the battlefield, there's no need to go through so much trouble."
"Perhaps there are other factors we are unaware of."
Even with Shikaku Nara's high intelligence, he wouldn't have guessed the Fourth Raikage's intentions.
Ay, the Fourth Raikage, didn't just want to obtain the Sharingan; he wanted to cultivate an entire clan of Uchihas!
If Shikaku Nara had known this was the reason, he probably would have couldn't help but retort, "You think too highly of Sasuke, how old is he!"
"Let's put this problem aside for now. How to deal with Cloud Village is the more troublesome part."
Minato Namikaze rubbed his head. To be honest, he didn't want to start a war, but if someone had attacked his home, anyone would find it unbearable.
"Currently, only one Cloud Ninja, Ito, survived who came to Konoha. However, he is unable to speak and is currently undergoing Yamanaka clan memory probing in the interrogation department."
Shikaku Nara continued, "However, the plan is probably as we guessed, and there won't be any significant deviations. What do you think, Hokage-sama?"
"Sigh..."
Minato Namikaze suddenly had an idea and immediately gave himself a thumbs-up!
"Dispatch Konoha envoys to Cloud Village. We Konoha need an explanation!"
"As for the candidate... let it be... Uzumaki Rin!