Chapter 309: Sasuke, For Your Sake
Somewhere far outside Konoha, a bandit stronghold hidden in the mountains was completely wiped out by Sasuke alone.
After eliminating all the bandits in the stronghold, Sasuke stood at the gate, feeling strangely empty.
After returning to Konoha and confirming that Orochimaru had not lied to him and that Naruto really had been taken by the Kumogakure Village, Sasuke regained his trust in Orochimaru.
The reason he chose to carry out this bandit-suppression mission was precisely because it was part of the training plan Orochimaru had given him.
According to Orochimaru, research showed that extreme arrogance was essentially the result of extreme inferiority.
He also said that if Sasuke could not maintain a calm mindset toward the growth of his strength, then every time his power increased, he would impulsively seek out someone stronger than himself just to get brutally beaten.
Therefore, after improving his strength, Orochimaru recommended that Sasuke go "bully weak opponents" for a while to break this cycle and stabilize his mentality.
"Big brother~"
While Sasuke was lost in thought, the villagers at the foot of the mountain saw that he had wiped out the bandits and began cheering as they ran toward him. Leading them was a little boy.
"No need to thank…"
"Big brother, why didn't you come earlier? If you had come half a month earlier, my mom and dad wouldn't have died! It's your fault my parents died! Give them back to me!"
Sasuke had just been about to act cool while secretly leaving behind a gentle remark before turning away when the little boy running in front suddenly began accusing him.
Sasuke froze.
If he remembered correctly, this mission was part of a nationwide suppression campaign.
After the disappearance of the daimyō, the Hokage had launched a sweeping cleanup across the Land of Fire in order to gain full control of the country.
Simply put, this mission hadn't been initiated by the villagers themselves. They hadn't paid for it.
The mission had been issued by the authorities, by Konoha, by the Hokage.
It wasn't that the villagers had requested the mission and Konoha deliberately delayed responding. It was that they had never issued a request in the first place.
This bandit group had only recently been discovered and recorded by the intelligence department. Only after the information was sent back to Konoha headquarters had it become an official mission.
"That's right. If Konoha's ninja had come earlier, the money and grain I stored in my barn two years ago wouldn't have been stolen."
"There wasn't anything left in the stronghold. You must have hidden it. That was all our hard-earned money!"
"You can't leave. If you go, what are we supposed to eat?"
"Yeah, what are we supposed to eat?"
After the child spoke first, the villagers behind him began chiming in one after another.
The things in the bandit stronghold?
Sasuke hadn't taken anything.
As a proud member of the Uchiha clan, he had no interest in picking up stolen gold and silver.
And just listen to what these villagers were saying.
Money that had been stolen two years ago?
This was a bandit camp, not a bank.
Did they think it was some kind of savings account?
Deposit money here and withdraw it later?
Bandits lived day to day. They spent whatever they had as soon as they got it.
Let alone two years. Money stolen today might be gone by tomorrow.
Sasuke felt more and more exhausted. His vision even started to blur.
Listening to the villagers' endless accusations made his head feel like it was about to explode.
Was he about to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Or was he simply about to be angered to death?
Suddenly.
Sasuke remembered the way Orochimaru had taught him to deal with situations.
More precisely, it was the way things were handled in the Amegakure Village now.
Sasuke, who had been holding his head from the headache, slowly raised it. His three-tomoe Sharingan glowed red as he scanned the crowd.
One day later.
After completing the mission, Sasuke returned to the Hokage office and submitted the mission scroll.
"That took a little long. You didn't run into any trouble, did you?"
While stamping the document, Kakashi casually asked.
The question was just a habit. Kakashi hadn't expected anything unusual to have happened.
It was just a bandit cleanup mission.
Even a few ninja fresh out of the academy could have handled it.
"I ran into some issues…"
"The inherently evil Orochimaru used Living Corpse Reincarnation to take over the bodies of a pitiful little boy and some kind villagers. It took me some extra time to deal with them."
Sasuke said calmly.
After using the Amegakure Village's method of handling matters that Orochimaru had taught him, he felt much better inside.
"Huh? Orochimaru?"
Kakashi looked confused.
Hadn't Orochimaru already… turned over a new leaf… well, made peace with them?
Didn't Sasuke's earlier misunderstanding about Orochimaru lying to him already get cleared up?
Why was it Orochimaru again?
Was it because Danzō, the ultimate scapegoat, was gone now, so people were just throwing the blame around randomly?
"It was Orochimaru."
Sasuke slowly explained.
"Every curse mark Orochimaru leaves on someone is essentially a fragment of his soul. Any of them can be used by him to revive through Living Corpse Reincarnation."
"Orochimaru's main body may have become somewhat normal now, but the soul fragments he previously split off into those curse marks won't instantly change."
"Orochimaru is extremely afraid of death, so he casts a wide net…"
"Anyway, that's how it is."
"Really?"
Kakashi looked half-convinced.
Wasn't he supposed to cooperate with the Amegakure Village's plan to fool Sasuke?
Why did it suddenly feel like Sasuke was the one fooling him instead?
"I heard that Orochimaru's curse mark vessels actually require specific qualifications, which is why he came looking for you and originally planned to use you as a vessel. People like the Sound Four wouldn't even qualify as vessels…"
"Do you understand Orochimaru, or do I understand Orochimaru?"
Sasuke interrupted Kakashi's doubt and asked calmly.
After that, he didn't say anything more to Kakashi.
He returned home alone, crawled straight under his blanket even though it was still daytime.
Although Sasuke had used the Amegakure Village's method to deal with those villagers and felt temporarily relieved, the feeling didn't last long.
Being bullied by those "inherently evil villagers" reminded him of Naruto when they were children.
Was bringing Naruto back to Konoha really the right decision?
Originally, Sasuke had wanted to go to the Kumogakure Village and bring Naruto back, just as Naruto had come to the Otogakure Village to bring him back.
But now, Sasuke restrained himself.
He endured it painfully.
Hiding under the blanket and trembling.
The good news was that Sasuke's mental resilience was extremely strong.
The bad news was that Sasuke's mental resilience was extremely strong.
He still hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Shiromo's plan was a complete set, but even Shiromo himself didn't know at which exact step Sasuke would awaken his eyes, or what ability he would gain.
For example, if Sasuke awakened them at this moment, then according to the rule that the Sharingan reflects the heart, the ability he desired would probably resemble Shiromo's "Wonder of U". It might be something that could mark both Naruto and himself so that anyone who insulted them would end up with pus leaking from their mouths and sores growing on their faces.
If he awakened them while searching for Naruto, the ability he gained would likely be some kind of tracking or detection ocular power.
If he awakened them after being defeated and humiliated by Kumo Ninja, then he might really end up stuck with Amaterasu.
For Uchiha, one thing is clear.
Never pursue power itself. Only pursue love and other emotions.
Uchiha Madara, the one who pursued power the most, never displayed any particular Mangekyō ability.
Then came Itachi and Sasuke, who also pursued power.
And what did they get?
A lousy Amaterasu.
(End of this chapter)