Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 469 Successful Fusion

"I have good news and bad news about Danzo. Which would you like to hear first?"

A thing that looked remarkably like a Venus flytrap slowly rose from the ground. This thing had previously dressed up in a black robe with red clouds, but now it was too lazy to pretend and directly exposed its strange half-black and half-white body.

However, he wasn't interested in figuring out what kind of creature the one called "Ze" was; he was only focused on the information about Danzo in the creature's mind.

"Where is Danzo now?"

This question seems somewhat pointless. Where could Konoha's advisor be? Of course, it's Konoha itself. He clearly stated unequivocally that he would destroy Konoha, yet his progress is always so slow? Is it because Konoha offered him false warmth?

"He's still in Konoha now, but that might change later." White Zetsu, with an air of gleeful anticipation, said, "He's been chosen as the Sixth Hokage, Sasuke. Assassinating him now would be considered assassinating the Hokage!"

His heart sank, but his face remained impassive. Konoha had actually chosen someone like this as Hokage? Did that mean the Uchiha clan's deaths were insignificant, a mere stain on their reputation? Danzo's Konoha—he wouldn't hesitate to destroy it. He wished he could be at Konoha's gates right now, and in front of everyone, annihilate that guy under Amaterasu's black flames.

Seeing him about to leave, Bai Jue spoke up again, "Aren't you going to ask him where he'll be next?"

"Stop fooling around, let's get down to business." The more composed Black Zetsu stopped White Zetsu's antics, saying, "The Five Kage Summit is about to begin, and Danzo will be attending as Hokage. This is an excellent opportunity. That guy usually doesn't leave his shell."

He stopped in his tracks. Even upon hearing the name of the Five Shadows, he felt no fear. The flames of hatred had already ignited within him. The closer he got to the culprit he had to kill, the more fiercely the fire in his heart burned, almost consuming everything else.

Where will the Five Shadows Summit be held?

"The Land of Iron," Black Zetsu coaxed, "We also have something to discuss with the Five Kage. Perhaps we could cooperate again and have Tobi distract the other Kage? He'll be here soon."

He didn't say "good" or "bad," but simply found a shady spot and sat down, which meant he agreed to cooperate. His companions remained silent, simply sitting down not too close to him and keeping watch over every blind spot outside his line of sight.

This is the "eagle," a hunter that sheds its "snake" skin and soars high in the sky.

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"What's wrong?" The voice that reassured him most rang out again. Naruto, who was sitting in a meditative posture, looked up at him with a face full of confusion.

Naruto certainly had reason to be puzzled. These past few days, the first thing Sasuke did upon waking was to check on him in the spiritual dimension. He assumed Sasuke hadn't recovered from that nightmare and tried his best to talk to him every day, but the situation didn't seem to improve at all. He wanted to find out more, but getting Sasuke to tell him the truth was simply too difficult.

Sasuke, of course, wouldn't say that his dream seemed to be a complete life, albeit with some breaks in between, and he was certain that the protagonist in the dream was himself. It was a world without "Hikari," and "Naruto" didn't seem very bright, but his unwavering desire to lead him out of revenge was just as burning. He almost physically felt that heart's warmth again in his dream, but thankfully Naruto's trajectory changed at the last moment.

After that terrifying dream ended, he stayed in the mental space for a whole morning until Naruto became suspicious and he reluctantly went out to face the real world.

His suspicions about those "dreams" deepened. Everything that happened there felt so real, even his inner thoughts were captured so subtly. If Naruto hadn't protected the Uchiha clan in another way, and hadn't stopped his battle with Itachi, he probably... really would have chosen a different path after suddenly learning the truth.

But the worst didn't happen, just like Danzo could only realize his dream of becoming Hokage in his dreams.

"Today is the day to completely remove the bandages. After that, you'll have to go to Konoha." Naruto ended his levitating meditation posture, put his arm around Naruto's neck like a good buddy, and teased, "Are you nervous because it's your first time being Hokage?"

That's right, the original recovery time was expected to be a week, but Sasuke, who doesn't play by the rules, secretly started removing his bandages after completing the Edo Tensei, perfectly inheriting Naruto's bad habit of not caring about his body. Aunt Mikoto reprimanded him for this, and several doctors examined him, only to find that his recovery was excellent, probably because the combined chakra of Naruto and Kurama was just too effective.

"You talk like you were Hokage." Sasuke's mouth was never one to back down. He was a little nervous, but not because of the Hokage position, but because... Naruto's friends would most likely use this opportunity to celebrate. He had thought he was the one who understood Naruto best, but he realized that he had never truly understood Naruto's true thoughts. Now, he was asked to perfectly imitate Naruto, and he was a little unsure of himself.

“Being ‘Kinrin’ is much harder than being ‘Hokage’. You’re doing a great job, aren’t you? Relax, you can do it.” Naruto gave him a thumbs up, offering his sincerest encouragement.

God knows why Naruto finds the "Golden Wheel" title harder than the "Hokage" title. At least here, he's much more relaxed, probably because he knows at least half the people on the street are Uchiha. However, his "Golden Wheel" is merely a facade; it doesn't achieve the core essence described in that book of sayings. He still needs to work harder.

By this time, all the bandages on the outside had been removed. Hashirama did a final check before letting Sasuke open his eyes.

These eyes are a very good match for Sasuke's, probably because Sasuke and Itachi are brothers, a blood connection that goes even further than that between father and son. The sample size for the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan is still too small; only three cases have been seen so far. They can't really summarize any patterns and can only rely on physiological assessments of the recovery process.

After Itachi obtained the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, patterns appeared in his eyes beyond the three-lobed shape. Sasuke's pattern was not as obvious; only a small pattern similar to Itachi's original Mangekyou Sharingan appeared in the center of his six-pointed star.

Sasuke felt completely refreshed, and that feeling was even more pronounced after summoning Susanoo. Before, when he used Susanoo, he always felt as if he was being restrained by some kind of power, and the flow of chakra felt sluggish. Now, however, he felt none of that at all. As long as he consumed chakra and eye power, he could use the Mangekyou Sharingan however he wanted.

With this layer of strength as a guarantee, he could be much more assertive when he went to Konoha. Even he could guess that ascending to that position would inevitably bring a bloody storm.