"They're all Four-Star Village ninjas, and they're stronger than me. They've gotta be pretty good, right?"
Haku smiled at Sasuke, his eyes crinkling as the battle—ending in under two minutes—faded behind them.
"So, do you think you can beat them both?"
Sasuke glanced at the monstrous Hidan, then at the Nine-Tails' grotesque laughter. He turned his head away, ignoring Haku's question and downplaying the whole thing.
"Hmph, even Orochimaru wasn't my match back then! If those three Sound Ninja hadn't ambushed me and used cheap tactics to weaken my Tailed Beast chakra, I would've finished them all off ages ago!"
Just recalling how he'd beaten the hell out of Orochimaru with two tails of chakra was something Sasuke could brag about for a lifetime.
Hearing this, Haku just shook his head, amused, and didn't bother responding.
"Now that this is settled and you've decided to come to Four-Star Village, stick with us," Haku said. "Menma and the others are waiting. You need his help with your current situation."
Menma had seen Sasuke leave the village. After creating his shadow clones, he'd sent Haku and Hidan to meet up with him. This was to stop Orochimaru—who never gave up—from intercepting Sasuke on the road. As for the Nine-Tails, well, that was just for fun. Menma wanted to see if there was a chance to test out his own method of using that power.
In the end, Menma's prediction was spot on. The moment Sasuke left the village, he'd nearly been captured by Kimimaro and his team, who were lying in wait. Even with chakra from two tails, Sasuke's fighting strength was still way behind.
Without the ambush, he might not have been able to beat those three anyway. After all, Sakon and Jirobo had activated the second stage of their Heavenly Curse Seal, putting them a step above your average Jōnin. Kimimaro, thanks to his hardened bones from Shikotsumyaku, was at an Elite Jōnin level. His overall strength was easily a match for Asuma Sarutobi—or even Zabuza Momochi without Tailed Beast chakra.
Leading Sasuke, the group hit no more obstacles and quickly reached the inn in the small town where they were staying.
Inside, Kushina was holding a scarf, complaining angrily to the smiling Minato. As she spoke, she'd glance now and then at Menma's masked shadow clone standing silently by the window.
"That old bastard, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is a real piece of work! I spent half a year knitting this scarf for my son, and he just stuck it in his own warehouse! Embezzling our money is one thing, but what's the big deal with a scarf?!"
She glared at Minato. "Hmph, is this the kind of leader you trusted?"
Minato stayed silent, looking a bit helpless. He couldn't help but feel grateful he was just chakra right now. If he and Kushina were still alive, he'd probably still be getting an earful about this when they were old—maybe even some domestic violence. But he'd chosen her, so he had to humor her.
"Calm down, don't hurt yourself," he said soothingly. "Next time I get the chance, I'll make the Third Hokage face my Rasengan and get your revenge for you."
But Minato completely missed her point.
Furious, Kushina flung her hair back and shoved the scarf in his face. "The scarf! I'm talking about the scarf! It was supposed to be for our son. Since he's not getting it, what are we supposed to do now?"
Minato wasn't an idiot; he got it immediately. Kushina wanted to give the scarf away again, but she was afraid Menma—still full of resentment—wouldn't accept it. She wanted him to come up with a solution.
"Ah, this..."
Minato glanced at Menma, who showed no reaction, and sweat beaded on his forehead. If Menma truly rejected it, Minato had no doubt he'd get scolded and beaten.
Just then, in his panic, Minato caught a glimpse of Haku, Hidan, and Sasuke walking through the doorway. He immediately snatched the scarf back and changed the subject.
"Kushina, don't worry. Menma and Naruto will definitely like it. I'll give it to them later. Look! Sasuke is really here to see us!"
"Mikoto's son!"
Kushina's attention was instantly hooked, and she looked excitedly in the direction Minato was pointing. A cute, pretty baby face—almost like a girl's—flashed through her mind. That was the image of Sasuke she'd seen when she ran into Mikoto before giving birth.
"He'll be so handsome when he grows up, the aloof type. But that tadpole tattoo's a little ugly. Still a bit less handsome than our older son! He's barely on par with our little boy's warm, gentle type!"
Sasuke, who'd just walked in, frowned slightly at Kushina's unclear words and ignored her. His expression only flickered when he saw Minato.
"The Fourth Hokage?"
He paused. "Also an Impure World Reincarnation?"
Sasuke had been unconscious for over two days after Itachi's Tsukuyomi. He'd woken up thanks to the healing power of Nine-Tails chakra, but before he could even understand what had happened while he was out, he'd been drawn by Kakashi's earth-shattering shout that echoed through the village.
Kakashi had only given him a quick explanation of Impure World Reincarnation after seeing the Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees descend. He understood it was a forbidden technique that could revive the dead.
"It's not Impure World Reincarnation," Minato said, approaching Sasuke with a gentle smile. "It's chakra I left behind before I died. You can think of it as a shadow clone."
"I see." Sasuke nodded slightly, then tried to walk past Minato to Menma's side. He didn't care where the chakra came from, and he had no intention of asking Minato why he was there. He just wanted Menma to give him the power to get stronger, enough to kill Itachi himself. Then he'd go back to Konoha and defeat Naruto and Menma.
Sasuke tried to leave, but Kushina had somehow appeared right beside him. With a mischievous smile, she kept elbowing him in the ribs.
"Handsome little Sasuke, your mom and I are best friends, you know. C'mon, be honest—how many girlfriends you got? What about Naruto and Menma? You secretly dating them too? Are you all as close as brothers?"
She paused, her smile fading. "Mikoto said back then that since you were born first, you'd be the big brother and she'd take care of the younger ones..."
Kushina's smile finally turned into a sigh. Hiruzen Sarutobi would never let the Uchiha Clan have contact with Naruto, so her question was pointless.
"You knew my mother?" Sasuke's stride faltered. He frowned at Kushina. "And you mentioned Naruto and Kaze—who the hell are you?"
"She's my wife," Minato interjected, stepping in. "And she's also Naruto and Menma's mother. I'm sorry to bring it up, but when we were alive, we were close friends with your parents."
"Mother? Close friends?"
Sasuke's pupils constricted sharply. His face went pale.
"Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son?!"
"He's actually the son of a hero?"
Sasuke had always thought he and Naruto shared a similar fate—both orphans, both gossiped about behind their backs by the villagers. In the end, not only did Naruto have a powerful alternate personality, but his true identity was some prince fallen to earth?
So from the very beginning, the joke was on him?
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