Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 487 Standoff

The moment Sasuke landed back in the village, he almost instinctively reached for his lower back, but there was still nothing there.

"Naruto-sama, may I ask where you've been?" The ANBU-dressed man began questioning them abruptly. There were three ANBU members within sight, already the size of a small squad. Apart from the one who asked the question, the other ANBU members remained armed.

"You're finally back." Shikamaru's words broke the tense atmosphere. He looked out of place among the Anbu team, casually leaning against the wall not far away. "Lady Tsunade guaranteed that you would come back, but they insisted on staking out this place."

Sasuke quickly relaxed from his slightly bowed, alert posture and stood up straight, showing no intention of answering.

"Are you planning to attack me, the one appointed as the Sixth Hokage?"

The surrounding spies were slightly taken aback, but quickly released their weapons. However, their momentum showed no signs of diminishing.

The leader reacted quickly, bowing slightly but speaking in a respectful yet firm manner: "I apologize, Lord Naruto. This is our duty, and we did not mean to offend you. Please cooperate with our work."

"I'm off today. I've never heard of a Hokage needing to report their schedule to an advisor during their rest time. If this happens again, I'll sue them for stealing secrets." Sasuke only needed to release a little more chakra to suffocate these four people. He was in a good mood today and didn't want to offend the advisor's eyes.

"Not all tasks are reasonable. Think it through before accepting a task next time. Let's call it a day."

The ANBU members left, drenched in sweat, but Shikamaru walked over from a short distance away, still wearing an expression of utter disdain.

"So you need to report your itinerary to Lady Tsunade? I can pass on a message for you."

Having witnessed Naruto's rescue of the Jinchuriki, Tsunade was truly hesitant to let him fly around carelessly. It was already the eve of the Fourth Shinobi World War, and with the help of various clues, Madara Uchiha's whereabouts were gradually becoming clearer; a battle between the two sides could break out at any moment.

“Mount Myoboku summoned me, saying that the Great Toad Sage saw my prophecy.”

Having spent a considerable amount of time with Tsunade, Shikamaru had overheard some stories about the "Child of Prophecy." He quickly deduced the cause and effect, and asked with some curiosity, "Is the prophecy related to the Fourth Shinobi World War? Would you mind revealing that?"

"It's nothing more than me facing a powerful enemy soon; it's not that important." Sasuke's statement was understandable. Before the prophecy appeared, he had already made up his mind that victory in the Fourth Shinobi World War was something he had to fight for with all his might. The prophecy merely made him more certain that Naruto would definitely return.

As for the second half of the prophecy, it is probably also related to Naruto. Isn't what Naruto is doing also striving for a new future for this world? He is happy to share the weight of the world with Naruto.

"Please tell Granny Tsunade not to worry too much. I'll definitely leave on time tomorrow." Sasuke turned to leave, but his steps suddenly stopped. It wasn't that he wanted to stop, but rather that his body was bound by some force, forcing him to stop.

However, this pause did not last long. As long as enough chakra was used to counteract that force, the restraints were easily broken.

Sasuke didn't turn around immediately. He knew Shikamaru was a smart man who usually didn't like to get involved in silly or playful things, always finding everything troublesome. But when something really needed to be done, he would never back down and would always find a way to get things done, no matter how difficult or challenging it was.

Therefore, Shikamaru is unlikely to suddenly attack Naruto unless...

"As expected..." Shikamaru's voice turned serious, and his nonchalant flippancy vanished instantly. "Uchiha Sasuke, may I ask where Naruto went?"

"I knew I couldn't fool Shikamaru. That guy's brain is too sharp; he even guessed who you are." Naruto in the mental world wasn't nervous at all. He gave Sasuke an elbow and laughed heartily. "Sasuke, you still need to work on your acting."

Sasuke sighed, a rare occurrence for him. Did this idiot even realize how difficult Shikamaru's question was to answer? What if someone else figured it out? Did he really have to explain?

“Naruto will appear when needed.” Sasuke turned around and looked directly into Shikamaru’s eyes as he answered. He wasn’t lying, so of course he had no guilty conscience.

Shikamaru's expression was indescribable, a mixture of disdain and worry. He struggled between trust and doubt for a long time before asking, "Is this another strategy that Lady Tsunade doesn't know about?"

"Who knows? That guy's ideas are always so unexpected." The expressionless "Naruto" was indeed very much like Sasuke. His identity had already been exposed, so why bother pretending anymore?

The implication is that you shouldn't say what you shouldn't say, and you shouldn't ask what you shouldn't ask. For the first time, the clever Shikamaru realized that being too smart was a big problem, and concealing the next Hokage's capriciousness from the current Hokage was a difficult choice.

"Let me ask you one more time, did he give you the Nine-Tails chakra that you possess?"

"Why don't you answer me first? How did you figure out I wasn't Naruto?" Sasuke asked the question that intrigued him most. He thought he had tried his best to act, even coming up with Naruto's strange nicknames and verbal tics on the spot. None of Naruto's many friends noticed anything unusual about him, so how come Shikamaru was the one who saw through him?

Shikamaru didn't mince words and said directly, "First of all, even when Naruto is busy, he will always make time to get together with everyone. The longest interval is only half a month. Admittedly, he has been extremely busy lately, but you are avoiding me too obviously. Sometimes you even avoid places where you are with me, and you haven't seen Sakura at all. This is very strange."

"Secondly, regarding what just happened, Naruto will choose a gentler approach rather than resorting to intimidation."

"Third, and most importantly. Naruto is the only person I've ever seen who is completely unaffected by the Shadow Imitation Technique, whether it's his clones or his real body. You were just hit by the Shadow Imitation Technique, and you broke free quickly, but you were still frozen for a moment. So, I'm sure you're not Naruto."

Sasuke smiled, though it was hard to catch his smile. "As expected of the Nara clan, which specializes in producing strategists, I can't afford to relax at all when facing you."

"You're joking. Me too. If I were to face the Uchiha, I would definitely lose in a one-on-one fight."

Shikamaru didn't completely relax, nor did he laugh. Instead, he continued to ask, "The Nine-Tails chakra within you..."

“It’s Kurama,” Sasuke corrected his form of address, saying, “He gave it to me for better disguise. How does that answer sound?”

Shikamaru's seriousness melted away in that frankness, and he reverted to his disdainful attitude towards everything before turning and leaving.

"I will relay the prophecy to Lady Tsunade. Get some rest."