Chapter 158

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"You young, ambitious Uchihas, seeking more power, aiming for revenge for your clan. Come closer to me, and I will grant you—" the Nine-Tails began to entice them with its usual venomous allure.

But before it could finish, a slender hand clamped down on its mouth.

Izumi interrupted the beast, her expression uncharacteristically cold. "Nine-Tails... I remember that night vividly."

On the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, Izumi had witnessed the deaths of countless loved ones under the monster's claws. She held no fondness for the beast, nor did she care to hear any more of its poisonous words.

"My mother... also died that night," Jin added, stepping forward to press down on the fox's snout with seething rage.

The night the Nine-Tails attacked had left the Uchiha district in ruins, just like the rest of Konoha. Even though Sasuke had been a baby at the time, safely held in Uchiha Itachi's arms, the devastation was not something easily forgotten.

Though Sasuke lacked personal memories of that night, he shared the same hatred. He glanced at Naruto, who stood frozen and unsure of what to do, before speaking coldly. "Tailed beasts don't die. The best punishment is to keep it locked inside a jinchūriki forever, never to see the light of day."

With that, Sasuke also placed his hand on the bubbling fox's mouth.

"You wretched Uchiha…"

Before the Nine-Tails could finish its hateful rant, Sasuke, Izumi, and Jin pressed down firmly, causing the giant fox head made of chakra to burst into foam, shattering completely.

In an instant, everyone in the mindscape disappeared.

Back in reality, the trio withdrew their gaze as Yamato's delayed Mokuton finally wrapped itself around Naruto, who had calmed down, and sealed the rampaging tailed beast chakra back inside him.

Naruto's crisis had passed.

Yamato, still tense, didn't relax just yet. He turned toward Sasuke and the others, who were preparing to continue their assault. With three Uchiha wielding the fully matured Sharingan and one equally powerful ally, the odds were no longer in his favor. His team was already injured and weary from the previous exchanges.

Realizing that the battle could end disastrously if they pushed further, Yamato made up his mind to retreat. He swiftly pulled the still-bound Naruto back to his side.

Before Sasuke's group could strike again, Yamato brought his hands together in a firm clap and shouted:

"Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan!" (Wood Release: Birth of Dense Woodland)

A mass of trees sprouted from the ground, creating a thick forest of vines and trunks. Though not as powerful as Hashirama's legendary techniques, it was more than enough to enclose the battlefield.

Out of caution, Sasuke and his team withdrew to avoid getting trapped within the dense wood.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yamato motioned for the rest of the team to retreat swiftly.

"...Sasuke."

Naruto wanted to say something, but seeing the injured Sai and the unconscious Iwa shinobis, he knew that Yamato's decision to retreat was the right one. Lowering his head in frustration, Naruto, along with Sakura, glanced one last time at Sasuke before the thick trees obscured their view entirely.

"I need to train harder! I need more rigorous training!" Naruto clenched his fists. He had thought that after two years of training with Jiraiya, his strength would be enough to handle anything. But now, it was clear that he was still far from ready.

Sakura felt the same. As Tsunade's disciple, aside from medical ninjutsu and her monstrous strength, she had been working on mastering the Yin Seal. However, she still hadn't perfected it yet.

"After we return, I have to push myself harder. I don't want to feel powerless like this again, especially when Sasuke is right in front of me," Sakura vowed silently.

Sasuke, meanwhile, wasn't as sentimental. Seeing that the dense forest blocked their pursuit, Jin asked if they should give chase. Yuikei shook his head, indicating that their priority was to move forward. With that, Sasuke sheathed his blade, cast a final glance in the direction of Naruto and Sakura, and then turned to leave with the rest of the group.

As they traveled, Izumi suddenly brought up a topic that made Sasuke nearly stumble.

"Sasuke, that girl named Sakura—she's the one you like, isn't she?"

Crack.

The branch beneath Sasuke's foot snapped, and if not for his quick reflexes, he would have fallen. His sudden awkwardness only deepened as Jin, seeing Sasuke flustered for the first time, looked back with curiosity and added, "Huh? Sasuke, you like someone?"

Seeing Sasuke's normally composed demeanor crack, Jin seemed utterly delighted.

Sasuke quickly regained his balance and firmly denied it, "No! I don't have anyone I like!"

"Is that so? But that girl Sakura sure seems to like you a lot," Izumi teased with a playful smirk.

"I don't need women," Sasuke replied in the coldest and fastest way possible, trying to end the conversation.

Yuikei joined in with a chuckle, "That's true, Sasuke. Right now, you don't need women. But give it a few more years, and you might change your mind. When that happens, I'll find a suitable match for you."

With a grin, Yuikei added, "I've got plenty of sisters!"

Sasuke: "…"

Jin chimed in, "That would make Sasuke my brother-in-law!"

Izumi, not to be left out, joked, "Sasuke's so talented, why not give him a few more?"

Seeing that the conversation was spiraling out of control, with the adults teasing him relentlessly, Sasuke quickly changed the subject, "Captain, Jin, Sister Izumi, do you know where the new Jōmae Village will be located?"

Yuikei and Jin were still on the previous topic, but Izumi, noticing Sasuke's discomfort, decided to give him a break and answered, "If I'm not mistaken, it'll be in the Land of Waves."

"The Land of Waves?" Sasuke's expression shifted slightly.

Yuikei and Jin turned their attention back to Izumi, both of them confused.

"The Land of Waves? Never heard of it. What kind of place is that?" Jin asked curiously.

"And how do you know this?" Yuikei added. The location of the new village was classified information, known only to the higher-ups.

Izumi explained, "I happened to overhear Gensou-sama talking to himself in his office about setting up the new village in the Land of Waves."

"One time?"

"Gensou-sama?"

"In his office?"

Yuikei and Jin immediately perked up, their gazes now laser-focused on Izumi.

Even Sasuke raised an eyebrow, curious. "Sister Izumi, why were you in Gensou-sama's office?"

Yuikei and Jin jumped in, asking:

"Was it just once or multiple times?"

"Did you have a reason or were you just there?"

"Were there others present?"

"What stage is your relationship at?"

"Sister Izumi, should we start calling you 'Lady' as well?"

"…"

The smile on Izumi's face froze. What had started as a simple answer had somehow turned into an interrogation about her private life.

(End of Chapter)