126 The Demon Fox and the Young Boy

Sasuke’s spirits were still quite low, so Kurama soon sent him back to his room to rest and catch up on sleep.

The Demon Fox and the Lord of the Underworld were left alone in the living room, enjoying a moment of quiet leisure. Hypnos and Thanatos were nowhere to be found—they had been dispatched by Kurama on essential (?) surveillance and tracking missions. According to Kurama’s estimates, the two gods would have little chance to return until the official start of the Naruto storyline. After all, they could communicate via their cosmos without needing face-to-face meetings, and besides...

Having Kurama and Hades as Sasuke’s "guardians" was already more than enough. If Thanatos and Hypnos were added to the mix, the already high level of vigilance from the Konoha higher-ups would likely skyrocket even further.

Ultimately, although Kurama had successfully obtained guardianship of Sasuke, the trust placed in him by Konoha’s leadership remained extremely limited. After all, appearing in Konoha the morning after the Uchiha clan was wiped out, claiming to be a branch of the Uchiha family seeking their roots... such a "coincidence" was far too suspicious.

Even though Kurama and Hades had provided a complete, "flawless" set of credentials, and even though the Third Hokage had sent people to investigate the village where they had "once lived" during the days Sasuke was unconscious, confirming their identities were not forged—and that, according to the village’s household registry, they were indeed descendants of an Uchiha branch that had been lost during the Ninja War (thanks to the Sleep God’s formidable hypnosis and illusion skills)—the timing of their appearance was just too coincidental. Even if the Third Hokage was willing to believe them, Danzo Shimura, the man behind the Uchiha massacre, would never trust them so easily.

Undercover Anbu surveillance was the least of it; in the days before Sasuke regained consciousness, Hades and Kurama had been subjected to no fewer than a dozen sneak attacks and assassinations. The strength of the attackers varied, and while it seemed more like they were testing their combat abilities rather than truly intending to end their lives, Kurama did not doubt for a second that if the strength he and Hades had displayed had fallen below certain expectations, they would be...

"We might have already become two cold corpses, or worse, like those Uchiha clansmen, had our eyes gouged out," the Demon Fox said to His Majesty, half-jokingly.

Hades cast a silent glance at him. If Kurama hadn't stepped in to resolve those attackers first... if the Lord of the Underworld had taken action himself, the Konoha Anbu would likely have suffered a devastating blow, and it wouldn't be impossible for them to have been crippled for good.

But then again, if things had truly turned out that way, it could, to a certain extent, be considered "subverting the threads of fate," right?

With a subtle, knowing smirk, the Demon Fox cleared his throat, feigning seriousness as he attempted to change the subject. "Speaking of which... it's still early. How about it? Do you want to go for a stroll with me?"

"This place is quite different from the world you lived in before; some of the unique aspects are actually quite interesting. A backward social system combined with advanced technological levels..."

"Honestly, experiencing this kind of contradictory world setting firsthand is actually quite something to look forward to."

The Demon Fox, who had learned to find joy for himself in his travels, did not realize how much his eyes sparkled as he described this new world. Reflected in the eyes of the silent, dark-haired Lord of the Underworld, this expression caused the god’s calm, waveless gaze to suddenly deepen, his entire aura softening significantly.

"Let's go."

The Lord of the Underworld spoke with his usual brevity. However, as he walked to the doorway and paused naturally, turning to wait for the Demon Fox, his gaze held a faint gentleness that Kurama almost mistook for affection. It made the Demon Fox’s heart skip a beat, and even his breathing seemed to lose its rhythm.

Kurama quickly lowered his eyes.

"...Mm."

He responded in a low voice. As he caught up to Hades and began walking beside him, he cast a sidelong glance, as if by accident, at the god’s impossibly handsome profile.

This... surely this wasn't his imagination, right?

Narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, the Demon Fox’s expression was, for a moment, full of hidden meaning. The dark-haired Lord of the Underworld walking beside him curled his lips imperceptibly, a faint trace of a smile flashing through his calm, emerald eyes.

It was time... to begin.

***

Sasuke had enjoyed a deep, restorative sleep. His own familiar room held the scents he was used to, and it brought him a sense of security far greater than the sterile environment of the hospital. The sleepless tossing and turning he had expected never came; in fact, the moment his head touched his familiar pillow, Sasuke fell into a deep slumber, sleeping from the afternoon when Kurama brought him home from the Konoha hospital until the twilight descended outside the window.

The orange-red glow of the sunset spilled through the window onto the side of Sasuke’s bed. The young boy’s flushed face still held a trace of post-nap confusion. He sat on the bed in a slightly dazed manner, his eyes slowly clearing as the sleepiness faded.

"I’m home..."

He whispered to himself, as if confirming the reality of it. Then, the boy quickly jumped off the bed and dashed out of the room. He ran like the wind down the long corridor and arrived at the living room door. After leaning against the doorframe to catch his breath until his breathing steadied, he hesitated for a moment before finally gathering the resolve to push the door open.

"Sasuke?"

The moment the door opened, the red-haired youth sitting not far away turned his head. Seeing Sasuke, he immediately smiled and waved him over. "You’re awake? Come sit here."

Sasuke glanced hesitantly at the dark-haired Lord of the Underworld beside him, but he obeyed and sat down obediently.

"Did you sleep well? Are you feeling any discomfort?"

As soon as he sat down, a warm palm pressed against the top of Sasuke’s head. The boy felt a bit awkward, but more than that, he felt a shyness that made him shake his head, offering no further resistance to the intimate gesture from the person beside him.

"I slept well. Apart from my limbs feeling a bit weak, everything else is fine—the wound on my shoulder has healed a little, and the headache isn't as bad as it was before."

He answered obediently, as if the version of himself from before—the one full of guardedness and wariness, who had trusted neither Kurama nor Hades—had never existed.

The Demon Fox raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't truly expected Sasuke to reach this point so quickly. While children in the ninja world were generally precocious due to their unique environment, the change in attitude—or perhaps "realization"—in just a single sleep was drastic.

Rubbing his chin, Kurama began to understand why this child would become the character with the most screen time and the greatest achievements in the original story, aside from the protagonist, Naruto.

"Very good."

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet Kurama showed nothing on his face. He smiled and gave Sasuke’s hair one last rub, and before pulling his hand away, he lightly touched Sasuke’s soft cheek.

"Go wash your hands and get ready; it's almost time for dinner."

Before he finished speaking, the snow-rabbit Shikigami, Gen, with his long, silky ice-blue hair and rabbit ears that twitched involuntarily, poked his head out from the kitchen doorway, greeting them cheerfully: "Lord Kurama, Lord Hades, sorry to keep you waiting. Sui and I are serving the food now~"

With that, he ducked back inside, and the faint sound of dishes being set was heard shortly after.

Sasuke stared at the kitchen with wide eyes for a long time before he finally couldn't help but turn his head, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg. "Th-that person is...?"

The young boy, who had never seen a "human" who looked so unscientific, opened and closed his mouth, completely at a loss for how to express his shock and wonder.

Kurama smiled and pinched his cheek. "That is Gen, my Shikigami."

He laughed. "And there is another one, of the same 'kind' and a companion of his, named Sui. She is a very beautiful woman."

As soon as he said this, a clatter of dishes came from the kitchen, accompanied by a soft, flustered female voice apologizing, and a refined, laughing male voice—clearly Gen’s—offering reassurance.

Kurama’s smile deepened at the sound.

"And this one," he said, gesturing for Sasuke to look at Hades beside him, "his name is Hades. He is my close friend and travel companion."

The Lord of the Underworld gave Sasuke a faint glance, acknowledging him. The boy couldn't help but tremble slightly, which made Kurama chuckle again.

"Finally," he cleared his throat, suppressing the laughter in his voice, "this is Mokona. He is my most important family member and companion."

The white ball was thrust into Sasuke’s arms. The black-haired boy froze instantly! He stared blankly at the white creature in his arms, who held the exact same smiling expression as the Demon Fox, for a long time, and then...

Sasuke’s face slowly turned red.

...So, so cute...

His eyes shone as he gazed at the soft, white creature that looked like a Daifuku mochi. Finally, unable to resist, he reached out and hugged him gently under the little creature’s smiling gaze.

"I, I am Uchiha Sasuke," he whispered, blushing. "Nice to meet you."

The white ball looked at him in silence for two seconds with a beaming smile, then suddenly stretched out a hand and patted his arm. "Mokona is Mokona. Hello."

After speaking, he added a super-sparkly, Mokona-style smiling face!

Sasuke stared at him, stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly stuffed the little creature back into Kurama’s arms and ran out of the living room, blushing furiously.

The Demon Fox blinked and looked down at his little ball. "Mokona, you dialed the cuteness factor up too high."

The little creature blinked innocently. "But, Mokona is just acting like usual?"

Kurama held him up, looking "helpless." "That’s because Mokona is usually very cute! This level... is a bit too intense for a child like Sasuke, don't you think?"

After saying this, the two shared a tacit, knowing sigh, then turned their heads to look at the silent Lord of the Underworld. "Hades, what do you think?"

"............"

The Lord of the Underworld watched them for a while. "Don't bully him too much."

Ultimately, he replied with a deadpan expression.

The Demon Fox and the white ball looked at each other again. On both faces—which possessed the exact same degree of gentle, harmless-looking smiles—a flash of cunning passed by.

From that day on, the poor orphaned Uchiha boy, Sasuke, began a life of "being pampered"—a life that was both painful and happy. Under the protection of Kurama’s insanely powerful hallucinogenic plants, the young boy’s days were strictly divided into several blocks.

Chakra control, ninja basics, shuriken practice, combat techniques, hand-seal practice, essential ninja knowledge... Sasuke absorbed knowledge from all sides like a dry sponge.

In the intervals between his studies, he had the care of the snow-rabbit Shikigami, the playful company of Mokona, the meticulous guidance of Kurama, the occasional cold-faced supervision and advice from Hades, and... information about Itachi that he received from time to time from Kurama and Hades.

Sasuke grew at an astonishing speed, changing every single day. So much so that when he received notification from the Third Hokage that his medical leave had expired and he was expected to return to the Ninja Academy, Sasuke, who had grown accustomed to Kurama’s training and nurturing methods, secretly pursed his lips. He had to expend significant effort to suppress the strong urge to talk back to the Hokage and refuse to return to the academy.

His unhappy expression earned him a long, gentle consolation from Kurama. On the morning he returned to school, the red-haired youth even held his hand and walked him all the way to the school gate.

Although Sasuke felt it was a bit embarrassing to be walked to school at his age, he felt his heart settle into a state of absolute peace and calm. He was being led by the hand—a warm hand belonging to the person who, after all this time, he had truly accepted. Regardless of what hidden motives might lie behind it, this person had indeed treated him with the most sincere gentleness and concern.

As he walked down the path that Itachi had led him down countless times before, he remembered what Kurama had said.

It was not... beyond saving.

Under the various gazes, both hidden and overt, he kept a straight face and allowed Kurama to ruffle his hair. Sasuke secretly curled the corners of his lips, his heart feeling completely relieved.