136 Gathering in Konoha

Returning to the Hidden Leaf Village after several days, although their total absence had not even reached a month, the three members of Team 7 felt a collective, inexplicable sense of disorientation.

"It feels as if we haven't been back in ages..." Naruto muttered softly.

Kakashi seemed quite surprised by this remark. He looked at Naruto with an expression that seemed to say, "I never expected you to have such a delicate and sentimental side, Naruto."

This naturally caused the little fox to bristle, and he began to protest loudly. Beside him, the other two members of Team 7 reacted differently: Sasuke remained silent, observing from the sidelines, while Sakura offered verbal encouragement while her inner monologue spiraled.

Kakashi smiled silently. As a jounin with extensive experience in combat and mission execution, he understood all too well the impact and shock that killing an enemy—whether directly or indirectly—would have on young genin who had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy. Seeing that the three kids had recovered a bit of their spirit and no longer looked as lost or dejected as they had when leaving the Land of Waves, Kakashi felt a sense of relief. After instructing them to go home and rest, he followed protocol and headed to the Hokage’s office to submit his mission report.

Watching his retreating back, the three members of Team 7, now dismissed, had clear intentions—except for Sakura, who seemed to have something on her mind. Sasuke and Naruto were single-minded: home!

"It's been so long since we've been back, I wonder if Kurama and Hades-san have been worrying about us," Naruto said. He greeted Sakura, a teammate he had become somewhat familiar with over this period, completely oblivious to the young girl's internal struggle. He turned and headed toward the Uchiha compound.

Beside him, Sasuke had noticed Sakura’s hesitation but, indifferent to her concerns, he didn't want to meddle. He "opportunely" picked up his friend's thread of conversation: "I don't know if Kurama or Hades-san were worried, but as for certain people... the first time being away from home, sneaking out in the middle of the night and calling out Kurama's name..."

"...You jerk, Sasuke, shut up! Damn it! So you weren't asleep back then!"

"Do you really think you were loud enough not to wake me? Unlike you, my alertness has been personally praised by Hades-san!"

"A 'personal praise'? It was just a 'not bad'!"

"→_→ Don't you think that for Hades-san, 'not bad' is already a rare compliment?"

"............" Naruto, who frequently received ratings lower than "not bad," fell silent.

As the two chatted—or bickered—and walked away, the look of hesitation on Sakura’s face turned into frustrated rage, and she fiercely slammed a kunai into the ground.

"Could the rumors spreading among the girls these past two years be true?" the young girl thought, her face darkening in frustration. Sasuke and Naruto...? No, no, no! Wait! What was she thinking? How could someone as outstanding as Sasuke be with that Naruto... with *that* Naruto...

She accidentally crushed another kunai in her hand. Seeing the fear and wariness on the face of a passerby, the pink-haired girl twitched her lips in silence. "Don't overthink it, Sakura! The kind of girl Sasuke likes must be a cute one like me!"

Clenching her fist to cheer herself up, she turned and hurried in the direction the two boys had vanished—the path that led to her own home as well.

***

Sasuke and Naruto had not yet reached the gate of the Uchiha mansion when Kurama already knew of their return, thanks to the demonic dandelions scattered throughout the Uchiha compound.

So, when the two boys turned the final corner, still habitually bickering, they saw Kurama waiting for them at the door with a smile. Standing beside him was the dark-haired King of the Underworld, Hades, whose expression was as stoic as ever, though his eyes were gentle. From where Sasuke and Naruto stood, the two appeared so close and perfectly matched, as if they were about to merge into one, never to be separated again.

Both boys stopped in their tracks. For a fleeting moment, they keenly sensed that something between Kurama and Hades had changed.

But Naruto was, after all, Naruto. Even if he sensed something unusual, Kurama was still Kurama, and Hades was still Hades. Perhaps the strange feeling was just an illusion caused by being away from home for too long?

The thick-skinned little fox thought this, then shouted their names joyfully and darted toward them, leaving Sasuke behind.

"............" Sasuke stood there, radiating dark energy. *Useless teammate! Is it too late to ask for a refund?* Silently looking up at the sky, Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and, under Naruto’s insistent urging, followed behind with a look of impatience.

***

Dinner that evening was exceptionally lavish. Although Kurama said it was to celebrate and encourage them for completing their first C-rank mission, Sasuke vaguely felt something was off.

However, since living with Kurama, there had been no shortage of celebrations at home. Gen and Sui were always finding excuses to prepare grand feasts, and Kurama, who had always been indulgent, would go along with their wishes. If there was a feast, there was a celebration—whether it was Sasuke getting full marks again, Naruto’s grades improving, or them doing well on a quiz. Gradually, Sasuke and Naruto stopped being surprised by these regular celebrations.

Sasuke’s initial sense of unease lasted only a few seconds before he cast it aside, focusing entirely on the food. Having been away for days, he, like Naruto, had missed the culinary skills of Gen and Sui.

After devouring the meal, as they both sprawled back in their chairs, patting their full stomachs and sighing with identical expressions of contentment, Kurama couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"You two make it sound like your team leader mistreated you on the road," he joked.

Naruto pouted. "Kakashi-sensei didn't exactly mistreat us," he said honestly. "But because we had to hurry, we had to camp out in the wild for a while, and besides some dry rations, we only had flavorless military ration pills. Once we reached the Land of Waves, we didn't get to enjoy the local food because the situation there..."

Naruto grew more and more animated as he spoke. Kurama listened with a smile, nodding occasionally. Slowly, Sasuke joined in, filling in details whenever Naruto’s story had gaps. They recounted the mission and their experiences in the Land of Waves in exhaustive detail. When they reached the battle, their eyes shone—it was clear that this real-world experience had taught them a lot.

However, when they reached the ending involving Haku and Zabuza, their expressions dimmed.

"We didn't want to kill him," Naruto murmured. "He seemed like such a gentle person. Even if he was an enemy..." Even as an enemy, he couldn't bring himself to end Haku's life. "But we are ninjas, aren't we?" Naruto looked up, his large blue eyes filled with confusion, frustration, and sorrow. "Kakashi-sensei said that as long as we are ninjas and continue to take on missions, we will see these things often."

"Kurama, is this really okay? Because of us, other people lost their lives..." Naruto lowered his head, his voice fading. Sasuke, beside him, kept his lips tightly pressed, saying nothing.

Kurama watched the two transition from excitement to distress and sighed softly. "I cannot give you a definitive answer to that question," he said gently, offering a reassuring smile. "The ninja code prioritizes the mission; every obstacle to that mission must be eliminated. When two groups of ninjas become opponents for their respective goals, killing or severely wounding the other seems to have become an unspoken rule."

"Sasuke, Naruto, no one can decide if another person's life has value, or whether it should or can be taken. For a ninja on a mission, this is not a question that needs to be considered. When an enemy's life becomes an obstacle to the mission, harvesting it seems to be a matter of course—something that doesn't require distress or conflict."

"Whether to follow this convention, or whether to use the ninja code as an excuse to mask the fact that you have easily taken a life—that is entirely for you to decide. Anyone else... any answer they provide cannot replace the feelings in the depths of your own hearts."

"However, Sasuke, Naruto, whatever you decide, I hope you remember to follow your own hearts. Only then can you make the choice you won't regret. I cannot say whether it is right or wrong; I only ask that you have a clear conscience."

After speaking, he watched the two boys fall into deep thought, their eyes brightening almost simultaneously. The Nine-Tailed Fox curled his lips and cleared his throat before they could speak.

"Before you come to a conclusion," he said with a smile, "there is something you should know. Hades and I have started dating."

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

An awkward silence filled the room the moment Kurama finished speaking. A few minutes later, a shriek pierced the air.

"Ehhhhh!!! Since when?!!" Naruto jumped off his chair and scurried over to Kurama. "Why choose when Sasuke and I weren't home? You guys did that on purpose, didn't you!"

Kurama looked at him, amused. Their reaction was completely different from what he expected. "Is that the only reaction you have to the news that we are dating?" the fox asked, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

Sasuke looked at him calmly. "What kind of reaction do you want?" he retorted coolly. "We’ve seen how you two have interacted for the past five years. If you didn't want the kids to know too early, you should have at least been more restrained."

"............" Kurama felt a vein pop in his forehead after being "lectured."

A glimmer of amusement flashed in Sasuke’s dark eyes. Although it was fleeting, the sharp-eyed fox caught it. In the next second, the composed young boy had his cheeks pinched, and his cool demeanor instantly shattered. He struggled under Kurama’s grasp but couldn't escape. In the end, he could only sit there miserably, letting Kurama pinch and pull at him.

Naruto, lacking any brotherly solidarity, laughed loudly at Sasuke. Soon, he shared the same fate and was grabbed by Kurama.

After the laughter died down, the four of them looked at each other with smiles, finally bursting into genuine laughter together. For a moment, the atmosphere in the Uchiha mansion was warmer and more harmonious than ever, dissolving any potential tension.

After this, the relationship between the four became noticeably closer. It was a change easily noticed by Itachi, who often came to stay at the Uchiha mansion to spend time with his younger brother after reconciling with Sasuke. However, the Uchiha elder had his own way of being considerate. Even after learning the reason from his brother, he said nothing. From that day on, however, he would often fall into deep thought, and sometimes the look in his eyes when he gazed at Sasuke would be so profound that it made the boy’s heart flutter...

Time passed quickly. Naruto and Sasuke returned to their mundane life of performing simple D-rank missions until one day, they heard from Kakashi that the Chunin Exams were about to begin.