Chapter 89: Psychological Impact 

At the Konohagakure hospital, Sasuke sat by the bed with an expression of isolation, strange injuries on his body, his face full of hatred. His Sharingan had unknowingly activated.

Naruto lay in the bed next to him, happily eating an apple.

Sasuke was admitted to the hospital last night, while Naruto hadn't left the hospital since returning. He had been lying here every day since Tsunade took office.

Kakashi and Sakura often came to visit them, but Kakashi had been busy with missions recently. When he came, he didn't stay long. Sakura, on the other hand, seemed more free but had been training for something, so even though she visited more often, she didn't stay for long.

Naruto finished his apple, tossed the core into the trash, and curiously looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, who exactly beat you up like this last night?"

Sasuke paused for a moment, put away his Sharingan, and looked at Naruto with a serious expression.

"Naruto, I don't think Konohagakure can offer me a way to get stronger."

Naruto was taken aback.

"Your strength is already pretty good..."

"Not enough!" Sasuke yelled, interrupting Naruto. His cursed seal on his neck glowed slightly as his voice was filled with hatred. "Not enough. To defeat that guy, I need more power. This isn't anywhere near enough!"

Just thinking about Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke couldn't help but feel intense hatred. He thought he was at least getting closer to that guy, but the reality slapped him in the face.

Do you know how much psychological trauma a slap like that can cause someone like Sasuke? (Crying voice)

Naruto scratched his head, sat up from the bed, and thought for a moment before slowly saying, "If you want to get stronger, developing your Sharingan and Fire Release should be the best way. After all, the strength of the Uchiha clan relies on these two."

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

However, Naruto looked a bit troubled. "The manual for developing the Sharingan is probably with Hokage, since most of your clan's materials were recovered by the village. But Fire Release is the bigger issue. Konohagakure doesn't have any ninjas who are really good at Fire Release. The only one I know of is Asuma-sensei, but he specializes in Wind Release."

Naruto hesitated when mentioning the Uchiha clan's destruction. He glanced at Sasuke's expressionless face before continuing.

"According to the pervy sage, 

my growth path is focusing on Taijutsu and sealless Ninjutsu. For you, it should be more about your dojutsu and Ninjutsu." Naruto thought for a moment and continued, "Actually, the best teacher for you would be Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke stared at Naruto in shock, not expecting him to say something so reasonable.

Is this really Naruto? Sasuke thought, bewildered.

"Ahem." Seeing the doubt on Sasuke's face, Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly and explained, "Okay, well, Kurama told me this. I've asked him about you before, so he gave me some advice on your development."

Sasuke already knew who Kurama was. Thinking about it, he muttered, "Kakashi..."

It wasn't that Sasuke was dissatisfied with Kakashi. Kakashi was strong, but Kakashi was also someone who had lost to Itachi. Sasuke instinctively felt that Kakashi wasn't strong enough to defeat Itachi, and learning from him wouldn't help him beat Itachi.

Naruto, noticing Sasuke's hesitation, spoke up.

"Don't underestimate Kakashi-sensei. He may seem unreliable and even got defeated by... that guy with just one Sharingan technique, but Kakashi's reputation with Kurama is very high."

Naruto said seriously, "Even Kurama calls Kakashi-sensei... Hatake Fifty-Fifty!"

Sasuke looked completely confused. "Hatake Fifty-fifty? What do you mean?"

Taking a deep breath, Naruto straightened up and explained, "Kurama says that Kakashi-sensei's strength is really strange. If you say he's strong, he got caught by Momochi Zabuza's water prison jutsu easily. But if you say he's weak, he can still fight most of the Akatsuki members to the death."

"And no matter who he's up against, Kakashi will never be the one to lose in the end," Naruto nodded seriously. "According to Kurama, Kakashi has only ever lost to two people in his life. One is the S-rank rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi, and the other is also an S-rank ninja."

"This..." Sasuke frowned. "Kakashi's really that strong?"

He didn't believe it.

It just didn't seem possible.

"It's true!" Naruto said earnestly. "Kurama says that Kakashi-sensei has this special ability: the stronger the opponent, the stronger he gets, and the weaker the opponent, the weaker he gets. Unless he faces a jutsu that directly counters him, Kakashi-sensei can at least maintain a 50% win rate against any strong opponent."

"Kakashi-sensei has a 50% chance, the other side also has 50%, so it's a 50-50 fight." 

Naruto held up both hands in front of Sasuke, looking dead serious.

But the more serious Naruto was, the less Sasuke believed it. Although he hadn't encountered Kurama inside Naruto, Sasuke could tell from Naruto's transformation that Kurama didn't seem like the kind of person to take things seriously.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "I don't believe it."

Naruto: "…"

Tch, boring.

Naruto pouted and laid back on the hospital bed. "So, what do you think? If you want to get stronger, what are you going to do?"

Sasuke lowered his head in silence, thinking whether or not he should tell Naruto.

Naruto turned to look at him. "I guess you're thinking of going to Orochimaru, right?"

"!" Sasuke was shocked. "How did you know?"

"Kurama told me," Naruto said, resting his hands behind his head. "Actually, I didn't mention something before. Kakashi is the best teacher for you, but you have another option besides Kakashi-sensei."

"Orochimaru," Sasuke whispered the name.

"That's right," Naruto nodded. "Orochimaru has most of Konohagakure's information, including information about the Sharingan. His research on the Sharingan is even more advanced than what's available in Konohagakure, because he lost to Itachi before, so he's kind of obsessed with it."

"And Orochimaru is an S-rank ninja who specializes in mid-range ninjutsu. He can use all five chakra natures for ninjutsu. If he teaches you based on his understanding of ninjutsu, you'll definitely experience a huge boost in your strength in the shortest amount of time."

Sasuke's face showed some hesitation as he stayed silent for a while.

When Shizune came in to check their wounds, Sasuke watched her leave before speaking again. "Naruto, aren't you curious about who hurt me last night?"

"Who was it?" Naruto was indeed very curious.

"It was Orochimaru's four subordinates." Sasuke clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, looking furious. "Those four guys are really strong, way stronger than me. I didn't even have a chance to fight back."

"Those four..." Naruto thought for a moment. "Were they the ones who used a sealing jutsu to trap the Third Hokage on the rooftop?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded.

He turned to look at Naruto, and at some point, his Sharingan had already activated. The blood-red pupils reflected Naruto's figure. "Naruto, what should I do?"

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