Chapter 94 Sasuke's Defection

The office quickly fell into silence, leaving only the rustling of pages. Occasionally, both Naruto and Sakura would pause to drink water in sync. There's no words exchanged, yet the silence felt comfortable.

A morning wasn't enough to finish all the work. About ten minutes before the end of the day, they both began to stop what they were doing and discussed where to go for barbecue.

"Let's go to that barbecue place near the Akimichi Clan's compound. It's a bit farther, but it's worth it." Sakura suggested, resting her head on the table.

"Sure, sounds good." Naruto leaned back in his chair casually, looking up at the ceiling and said casually, "How about inviting Sasuke? He doesn't have any missions anyway."

Sakura suddenly fell silent for a moment before saying, "Let's not."

"Sasuke seems to be in a bad mood recently. He even had a huge argument with Kakashi-sensei at the hospital a while ago."

"I see." Naruto responded casually, "It's probably because of Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke's obsession with killing him has become almost like a fixation."

"Uchiha Itachi?" Sakura picked up on the deeper meaning in Naruto's words and pressed further, "I only know bits and pieces of the story. Why is Sasuke so determined to…"

"Blood feud." Naruto replied as if discussing something mundane, but he didn't reveal the full truth.

There was no need to explain more and risk getting himself involved in endless trouble.

Dealing with Itachi was terrifying enough, but adding Orochimaru into the mix… Both of them were monsters, each crazier than the other. If Sakura wanted to jump into that mess, she could go ahead, but Naruto had no interest in getting involved at all.

After that bloody night, Sasuke lived only for revenge.

In Tsukuyomi World, Sasuke had watched helplessly as Itachi killed their family, and he could only cowardly question his cold-blooded brother over and over again in vain.

Even though he survived, Sasuke never truly walked out of that bloodstained night behind. In the familiar surroundings of the Uchiha Clan's compound, Itachi had ruthlessly taken everything from him.

Some people are alive, but inside them is a child who died long ago.

"Why is this happening?" Sakura's voice trembled. "Sasuke never mentioned any of this to us."

"Whether he mentions about it or not doesn't really matter." Naruto said as he pushed back his chair and stood up, slowly taking a sip of water, "Sakura, some things are beyond your ability to change."

"I actually hope Sasuke can find some relief in his quest for revenge. If it were me, I'd do whatever it takes to kill Itachi too."

Through the glass, the coldness in the depths of Naruto's blue eyes met with Sakura's who looked up, and the latter shivered in her seat, unnerved by the intensity of his gaze.

The day's work ended, and Naruto went home to relax.

The barbecue that afternoon was unusually quiet. Sakura was a little distracted, while Naruto ate heartily.

Everyone in Team 7 had noticed Sasuke's strange behavior. Naruto wasn't hiding anything, and he was merely stating his stance early: He fully supported Sasuke's quest for revenge.

Itachi's overwhelming presence was suffocating. Though he spared Sasuke, to everyone else, he was a merciless killer. So much so that until now, Naruto still had lingering fears about opening the door.

Among the battle-hardened Shinobi, only those Kage-level Shinobi like the Sannin are capable of posing a threat to Itachi.

With a thud, Naruto collapsed onto the sofa, slowly closing his eyes.

The Next Day.

As expected, the mission couldn't proceed. Team 7 was missing a member, as Uchiha Sasuke had gone missing.

Tsunade was furious. With all the Jonin out on missions, and the remaining Anbu were insufficient, if the Root was not called upon, she would have to rely on the available Genin.

With no other options, Tsunade decided to summon Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto, who were still in the village, to the Hokage's Office. Then, she appointed the lazy military strategist, Shikamaru, to lead the team.

Without much small talk, Tsunade only said to use any means necessary to bring Sasuke back.

"Hokage-sama, we still need more manpower." Shikamaru said bluntly, "If it's just the three of us, we won't be able to complete the mission."

"You can choose any available Shinobi who haven't been assigned to a mission yet, and report the list to me before you leave." Tsunade replied after a brief pause, "You must be quick. We absolutely cannot allow Uchiha Sasuke to cross the borders of the Land of Fire."

"Yes," Shikamaru responded and quickly left, with Neji following behind.

Naruto turned around and tried to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Tsunade.

"Naruto, please stay for a moment."

Hearing this, Naruto stopped and turned to look at Tsunade. Seeing her fair face reminded him of the sword in his chest, and his face immediately fell.

"I'm really busy. Please don't give me any additional tasks besides chasing after Sasuke!!"

Tsunade's face instantly darkened, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She grabbed Naruto by the collar, pulling him face-to-face as she growled menacingly, "I'm telling you to be careful, you little brat!!"

"Give me back that sword!" Naruto glared back, not showing any weakness. "Without it, who knows if I'll even make it back alive."

"What did you say, brat?" Tsunade reached out and squished Naruto's face like it was made of putty, "Who do you think you are? Bargaining with the Hokage? Do you have a death wish?"

"It hurts, it hurts!!!" Even as Tsunade twisted his face, Naruto stubbornly said, "Without the sword, Tsunade-sama, you might as well get ready to send flowers to my grave."

"Who would care about the death of a mere Genin like you!!" Tsunade snapped, getting angrier by the second, "If you keep complaining, I will send you back to the Academy!"

"Well! Do you have anything else to say?"

"You're spitting in my face." Naruto remarked.

"Get out!"

With a bang, Naruto was thrown far away by Tsunade, and the Kusanagi Sword stabbed into the ground beside him with a clang.

Seeing that he got the Kusanagi sword back, Naruto instantly changed his demeanor. He carefully picked out the sword as if he was holding his wife. Then, he looked at Tsunade with a serious face, and his posture suddenly straightened up, "Yes! I will definitely not die."

"Get lost!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Naruto knew when to quit while he was ahead. He grabbed the equipment that Tsunade had dropped and quickly made his exit, closing the door and sprinting down the stairs.

Upstairs, Tsunade was getting angrier and angrier as she thought about it, her chest heaving with frustration.

She grabbed the nearest chair and threw it out the window. The sound of shattering glass was followed by a loud yell from below as Naruto cried out in pain.

"Ah!! Which bastard threw something from above!!!"

Hearing Naruto's shout from below, Tsunade leaned halfway out the window, looking down at him. Seeing her, Naruto instantly went silent, and ran away without saying another word.

Just as Naruto left, Sakura found Tsunade and begged her to join in the operation to get Sasuke back.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and refused outright, citing the rule that Medical-nin shouldn't participate in high-risk missions. She also reassured Sakura that she had already assigned people to retrieve Sasuke, so there was no need to worry.

Meanwhile, Naruto stored the Kusanagi sword in the seal space, quickly gathered some supplies, and immediately set off with the team led by Shikamaru on their mission to pursue Sasuke.

As they rushed through the forest, Naruto couldn't help but think about Tayuya and the other three members of the Sound Four.

'If they dared to make a move on me after eating my ice cream, I'll make sure to give them a good beating once I caught them.'