Chapter 33:
"No matter how difficult it is, I believe that hard work will make it possible. But Naruto… your parents… they wouldn't happen to be the Fourth Hokage and his wife, right?"
Sasuke lay on the hospital bed, squinting at the ceiling.
He seemed to have stumbled upon an incredible secret.
So that was Naruto's background. The constant curses and abuse the villagers had thrown at him for years suddenly felt incredibly ironic.
'Yeah… the son of a hero, yet branded with the name of a criminal…'
Lying in bed, Naruto opened his eyes. There were already some subtle changes happening among the ordinary people of Konoha.
But his revenge would not be so simple.
Once he devoured the Nine-Tails, Konoha would once again experience the true terror of the demon fox.
'Those two boys who hurt you… was it you who killed their entire families?'
After a long silence, Sasuke thought back to their two former classmates.
When Naruto had been hospitalized, he had heard those two boys bragging at school about how they had "killed the demon fox" with a rock.
'Their whole family said I deserved to die, so I just let them experience death for themselves…'
Naruto didn't hide this from Sasuke. Right now, Sasuke was the only person he could truly trust. If Sasuke would betray him for the sake of those villagers…
Then he would have no choice but to leave this place, abandon this relatively stable environment for growth, and choose another path.
'Next time you do something like that, think of a better method. Being too direct will make people suspicious of you. What an idiot!'
This time Sasuke didn't stay silent for long. His reply made Naruto smile under the blanket.
As expected!
How could Sasuke possibly feel pity for those people who deserved to die?
'I can feel you laughing. What are you laughing about?'
The emotional fluctuation was so strong that Sasuke instantly sensed Naruto's mood.
'I'm happy. Because Sasuke is on my side. Sasuke is the only one who will stand by me… the only one…'
Naruto's response gradually faded. Curled up in his blanket, he fell into a comfortable, peaceful sleep.
In the hospital, Sasuke slowly closed his eyes. Feeling the happiness coming from Naruto's side, he too fell asleep shortly after.
As for whether Naruto had killed people…
If someone deserved to die, why keep them alive? Just to disgust others?
But…
Was he really the only one?
After a comfortable night's sleep, when the sun rose the next morning, Sasuke was already mentally shouting at Naruto to wake up.
'What time is it and you're still sleeping? You talked about working hard, yet you're lazing around like this? Effort isn't just empty words!'
Sasuke had woken up intending to say good morning to Naruto, but after calling twice with no response, he realized the idiot was still asleep!
They had talked about so much yesterday — effort, the future — and now he had forgotten it all and gone back to sleep?
'Alright, alright… If I woke up without being called, that would be abnormal…'
Naruto rolled over in his blanket and continued sleeping, feeling quite helpless about being disturbed so early.
He didn't mind waking up early, but he needed a proper excuse!
After all, there were Anbu constantly watching his house.
'Get up and come visit me at the hospital!'
Sasuke grumpily gave Naruto an excuse, then turned over and hugged his own blanket, planning to sleep a little longer.
He was a patient right now. He couldn't train even if he wanted to. All he could do was sleep.
'Don't push it. I'm so poor right now I only have enough money for one bowl of ramen. If I come to the hospital to see you, wouldn't it be weird if I didn't bring a gift?'
Naruto realized that the problem he was most conflicted about had appeared.
He'll have to deal with a proud and awkward Sasuke ahead of time, and he'll also have to be bossed around by that jerk...
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