Chapter 194

Sasuke didn't pay any attention to Teuchi's confusion. After quickly finishing his ramen and revisiting childhood memories, he paid for the meal and stood up, ready to leave.

Suddenly, Sakura appeared in the shop.

"Sasuke!"

Throughout the whole time, Sakura had been keeping an eye on Sasuke. Noticing him head toward Ichiraku Ramen, she quietly broke away from the Konoha forces, coming here for a chance to meet him again.

Now, standing face-to-face with Sasuke, just a meter apart, Sakura's face was filled with both excitement and a hint of complexity.

To be fair, although they had met before, this was the first time they had been this close since Sasuke had left the village.

"Sasuke, I..." Sakura began, eager to say something.

But understanding what she wanted to say, Sasuke shook his head and interrupted, "Sakura, you've grown up."

Sakura was startled.

As she instinctively wondered what Sasuke meant by that—was it a compliment on her maturity?—Sasuke continued, "Now that you've grown up, Sakura, you should understand what the adult world is like."

"There are some things that Naruto, the simple fool, will never understand. But you, Sakura, you can. So I'll explain one last time. Afterward, you can pass the message to Naruto as well."

In the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Sasuke had made up his mind.

With a calm expression, he revealed his true thoughts to Sakura:

"Sakura, we can't go back to the way things were."

"Sasuke! You can still—" Sakura tried to say something, panic evident on her face.

But just as the words formed, she realized she didn't know how to continue.

She wasn't like Naruto, who had the unyielding spirit to keep fighting against all odds, no matter how faint the hope.

She was smart and realistic.

And precisely because of this, even though she was madly in love, she couldn't deny the truth deep down. After everything that had happened, both before and today, she knew it was almost impossible for Sasuke to return.

So when Sasuke said, "We can't go back," she instinctively wanted to refute it but found she couldn't come up with a reason.

In fact, she wasn't entirely sure why she had come here. It had been a reflex.

Perhaps, deep down, she simply wanted a clear and complete answer.

And so, Sasuke gave her the answer she sought.

"The bond of Team 7 still remains in my heart; I haven't cut it off. But, Sakura, I've found new bonds—more bonds that matter to me. I now understand why I live, and the hatred that once consumed me no longer weighs on my heart."

"In the adult world, choices must be made. The childish desire to hold onto everything, that's something for kids... and Naruto."

"I'm sorry, but I've chosen my new bonds."

With that, Sasuke nodded to Sakura, brushed past her, and left the shop.

Sakura wanted to reach out and stop him, but remembering what he had just said, she felt powerless and let her hand drop.

"Sasuke..."

In the end, she could only stand there alone, tears streaming down her face.

The news of the Uchiha Clan's reappearance spread through Konoha like wildfire, and no matter how much the village leadership tried to suppress it, they couldn't stop it.

More and more villagers, eager to catch a glimpse of the Uchiha, rushed to the streets.

The village was far livelier today than usual.

However, the excitement didn't last long.

As time passed, although the Uchiha occasionally stopped to buy things, they didn't linger, continuing their march toward the village gates.

The villagers, familiar with the layout of the village, soon noticed the Uchiha's trajectory.

As they neared the village gates, the villagers started whispering among themselves.

"Looks like they're heading out of the village."

"Are they going on a mission?"

"What kind of mission requires so many people, and all of them Uchiha?"

"Have you noticed how cold they seem? They're barely acknowledging anyone."

"Aren't they always like that?"

"No, this is different. Did you notice? None of the Uchiha are wearing Konoha headbands!"

"And look at that big group of Konoha shinobi following them. They don't look happy."

"What's going on?"

The initial excitement began to give way to suspicion as many villagers sensed something was off.

Soon enough, the Uchiha reached the village gates, and without answering any of the villagers' questions, they walked through without hesitation, not even sparing a glance back as they left.

The villagers who had followed them this far were stunned. The previously lively atmosphere fell into silence.

"Why did they leave without saying anything?"

"Wait... aren't the Uchiha part of Konoha? Why are they leaving? Even if they were going on a mission, they'd need to check in at the gate first."

Someone else scoffed, already piecing it together. "Is it possible... that they're no longer part of Konoha?"

Naturally, this remark sparked a flurry of responses, some in agreement, others in denial.

"But the Uchiha have always been part of Konoha!"

"They were, but after the massacre, maybe they aren't anymore."

"The massacre was Itachi Uchiha's doing! What does that have to do with Konoha?"

"Hmph."

"Now that I think about it, isn't it strange? Back then, they said only one Uchiha boy named Sasuke survived, and everyone else was dead. So where did all these Uchiha come from?"

"Are you saying the village lied to us? That they hid something?"

The discussion at the village gates grew louder.

Then, someone finally said it out loud:

"Stop deluding yourselves! These surviving Uchiha are no longer part of Konoha. In fact, they might even be Konoha's enemies now. If they weren't, why else would so many Konoha shinobi be following them? Are they escorting them? No! They're watching them!"

These words plunged the crowd into silence once again.

Before long, the mass of villagers slowly turned their heads to look at the Konoha shinobi who had followed the Uchiha.

The Konoha shinobi remained silent.

Seeing this, the villagers fell silent as well.

They didn't understand politics or grand strategies.

But they knew this: the Uchiha had lived in Konoha since its founding; they were one of its elder clans.

For the few remaining Uchiha to leave so decisively, without looking back, there had to be something terribly wrong.

And the problem wasn't with the Uchiha, who had left their home.

No.

The problem lay within the village itself, with those who held power in Konoha.

At that moment, the villagers looked at the Konoha shinobi.

The atmosphere had never felt colder.

(End of Chapter)

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