Chapter 283: Reunion After Three Years
"That's right."
Sakura quickly picked up on Yamato's idea.
"Kabuto already told us where their current base is."
Her expression grew more determined.
"Even if Orochimaru escapes before we arrive, finding Sasuke would still make the trip worthwhile."
Naruto thought for a moment.
"Kabuto might have lied about the location."
Yamato looked toward him.
Naruto continued.
"But we don't have anything better to go on."
His eyes sharpened.
"So we'll take the chance."
Yamato nodded.
"Then we move immediately."
The three left without wasting another second.
Their destination was the island in the northern lake Kabuto had mentioned.
Far ahead of them, Orochimaru's group was already on the move.
After an exhausting escape from Tenchi Bridge, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sai eventually reached the hidden base.
The moment they arrived, Orochimaru disappeared deeper into the complex.
Kabuto was left to guide Sai through the underground corridors.
Stone walls stretched endlessly around them.
The entire base was buried deep beneath the earth, its passageways twisting together like a maze.
Sai followed in silence for some time.
Then he spoke.
"Since I'm already here…"
Kabuto glanced back.
Sai's artificial smile remained in place.
"I would like to meet Uchiha Sasuke."
Kabuto turned forward again.
"Forget it."
Sai's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kabuto continued walking.
"Lord Orochimaru keeps very few people at this base."
"At present, only Sasuke and I are here with him."
His tone carried a warning.
"You have no reason to wander around."
They stopped outside a room.
Kabuto opened the door.
"This is where you'll stay."
Sai stepped inside.
Kabuto looked at him once more.
"Remain here."
"Do not move around unless you are told."
With that, he turned and disappeared down the corridor.
Sai remained alone.
The smile faded from his face.
His thoughts returned to the true mission given to him before leaving Konoha.
Danzō's order.
Eliminate Uchiha Sasuke.
To Danzō, Sasuke had become a threat to the village.
And Sai had been sent to remove that threat.
He looked toward the doorway.
Then quietly stepped out.
If Sasuke was somewhere inside this base, Sai intended to find him.
Meanwhile, Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato finally reached the region Kabuto had described.
The landscape around them was barren.
Rocky ground stretched in every direction.
Huge boulders rose from the earth, but there was no visible building, tunnel, or entrance.
Naruto looked around.
Nothing.
He spoke inwardly.
"Asuramaru."
"What?"
"Can you sense Orochimaru?"
Asuramaru expanded his Perception.
His answer came almost immediately.
"Deep underground."
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"Right beneath us?"
"Yes."
Then Asuramaru added,
"Sasuke is here too."
Naruto froze.
A rush of emotion hit him.
Three years.
After three years, Sasuke was finally close enough to reach.
Naruto's mouth curved upward before he could stop himself.
But the problem remained.
There was no entrance anywhere in sight.
He turned toward Yamato.
"Captain Yamato."
Yamato looked over.
"The base is underneath us."
Sakura's expression changed instantly.
"You're sure?"
Naruto nodded.
"Asuramaru can sense Orochimaru."
Then he smiled.
"And Sasuke is here too."
Sakura went still.
"Sasuke…"
Her hands tightened.
Yamato remained focused.
"If we know the base is here, finding the entrance won't be difficult."
He formed hand seals.
"Wood Release!"
Wood erupted from the ground.
Several trunks extended outward, burrowing through the surrounding earth and probing beneath the rocky terrain.
Naruto and Sakura watched.
Then one of the trunks struck something beneath a massive boulder.
Yamato's eyes narrowed.
"There."
He pointed.
"The entrance is under that rock."
More Wood Release surged forward.
Roots and trunks forced their way through the stone and soil, carving open a passage.
A dark tunnel appeared.
Yamato moved first.
Naruto and Sakura followed.
The three descended into Orochimaru's base.
Inside, the structure was even more complicated than expected.
Corridors split repeatedly.
One passage became three.
Three became five.
Doors appeared at irregular intervals.
Without guidance, searching the entire complex could have taken hours.
Naruto did not hesitate.
"Asuramaru."
"Left."
Naruto immediately turned.
Yamato and Sakura followed.
"Straight."
They accelerated.
"Second passage on the right."
The three moved rapidly through the underground maze.
They were getting closer.
Elsewhere in the base, darkness filled a sealed chamber.
Sasuke sat alone within it.
White clothing covered his body.
His sword rested nearby.
The face that had once belonged to a young boy had sharpened over the past three years.
There was more maturity in his features now.
More restraint.
And beneath that restraint, something dangerous.
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.
"It's time."
Three years had passed.
The restriction on Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation was nearing its end.
Sasuke knew what that meant.
Orochimaru had never hidden his true objective.
His body.
The Sharingan.
The Uchiha bloodline.
Sasuke had spent three years preparing for this moment.
Orochimaru believed he had been cultivating the perfect vessel.
Sasuke had been waiting for the chance to kill him.
Then Asuramaru's voice entered his mind.
"Sasuke."
Sasuke's expression did not change.
"Naruto and the others have entered the base."
A subtle flicker passed through Sasuke's eyes.
Asuramaru continued.
"And someone is approaching this room."
Sasuke remained silent for several seconds.
Then he spoke.
"Naruto came…"
His voice was quiet.
The thought stirred something he quickly buried.
His gaze hardened again.
"I've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
He rested one hand near his sword.
"My strength has already surpassed Naruto's."
That was what Sasuke believed.
Even so, there was no reason to introduce unnecessary complications now.
"To avoid disrupting the plan…"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I'll postpone killing Orochimaru."
At that moment, the chamber door opened.
Light spilled into the darkness.
Sai entered.
Sasuke looked toward him.
His eyes immediately fell on the Konoha forehead protector.
His expression turned cold.
"A Konoha Shinobi?"
Sai took one look at him.
Black hair.
Uchiha features.
The sword.
There was no doubt.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Sai reached for his scroll without hesitation.
"Super Beast Imitating Drawing!"
His brush moved.
Ink spread across the paper.
Then erupted outward.
Two enormous wrathful guardians emerged from the drawing.
They charged Sasuke from opposite directions.
Their fists came down with enough force to smash stone.
Sasuke did not move until the last moment.
His hand settled on the sword.
"A weakling…"
Steel flashed.
"…actually came here to kill me?"
The sword left its sheath.
One slash.
Then another.
The two ink guardians froze.
Their heads separated from their bodies.
The creatures collapsed into pools of ink before they could reach him.
Sasuke lowered the sword slightly.
His eyes remained on Sai.
"With my current strength…"
His voice carried quiet contempt.
"I could kill you whenever I wanted."
Sai's expression barely changed.
His brush moved again.
More ink creatures surged from the scroll.
At the same time, Sai pulled out several Explosive Tags.
He scattered them across the chamber.
Sasuke cut through the first wave of ink beasts.
Then noticed the tags.
Sai activated them.
Sasuke drove his sword into the ground.
His voice rang through the chamber.
"Asuramaru!"
Black smoke erupted from the sword.
It surged around Sasuke in a dense shroud.
Then the Explosive Tags detonated.
Boom!
The entire chamber disappeared in fire.
Stone shattered.
The ceiling collapsed.
The explosion tore through the underground base and blew open a massive crater all the way to the surface.
The shockwave rolled through the surrounding corridors.
Naruto stopped.
Sakura nearly stumbled.
Yamato looked upward.
"An explosion."
Naruto's expression changed.
"Sasuke."
The three accelerated.
They raced toward the source.
When they arrived, the underground chamber was gone.
Broken stone surrounded a massive crater.
Dust drifted through the air.
Sai lay on the ground nearby.
Motionless.
Yamato immediately moved toward him.
But Naruto barely noticed.
Someone else stood beyond the dust.
White clothes.
Black hair.
A sword in hand.
Sasuke.
He had been waiting.
Their eyes met.
Three years vanished in an instant.
Sasuke looked at Naruto.
Naruto looked back.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Sasuke broke the silence.
"It's been three years."
His voice was calm.
"Naruto."
Naruto smiled.
"Yeah."
His eyes softened.
"Time really flies."
There was no immediate hostility between them.
No dramatic clash.
No desperate attempt to drag Sasuke home.
For those few moments, they spoke like two old friends who had simply been apart too long.
Sakura stepped forward.
Emotion surged across her face.
"Sasuke…"
Sasuke glanced toward her.
She forced herself to continue.
"Come back to Konoha."
Her voice trembled.
"Orochimaru only wants your body. If you stay with him"
"Shut up."
Sakura froze.
Sasuke's gaze hardened.
"I am an avenger."
He tightened his grip around the sword.
"If giving up my body is what it takes to kill that man…"
His voice became colder.
"Then why should I care?"
Sakura stared at him.
Sasuke continued.
"And you…"
His eyes rested on her.
"You haven't changed at all."
A pause.
"You're still annoying."
The words struck harder than Sakura expected.
Her expression stiffened.
She lowered her eyes slightly, hurt she could not completely hide.
Yamato had already reached Sai.
He checked his breathing.
Still alive.
Yamato relaxed slightly, then looked toward Sasuke.
But Sasuke barely acknowledged him.
Sakura.
Yamato.
Sai.
None of them truly mattered to him at that moment.
His attention returned to Naruto.
Naruto met his gaze.
Words were almost unnecessary.
Naruto understood why Sasuke had left.
Sasuke understood why Naruto had come.
Neither had forgotten the other.
Naruto smiled.
"If you ever change your mind…"
Sasuke remained silent.
"I'll still be waiting for you in Konoha."
Sasuke's expression did not soften.
He slid his sword back into its sheath.
"Enough."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
Sasuke looked at him.
"Instead of wasting your time chasing after me…"
His voice carried the faintest trace of familiarity beneath the coldness.
"You should focus on becoming Hokage."
Naruto smiled wider.
Inside the sword, Asuramaru watched the exchange.
Again.
Somehow, he had become the third wheel.
He had no interest in interrupting whatever strange friendship these two had built.
Fortunately, he did not have to endure it much longer.
Footsteps approached.
Orochimaru and Kabuto emerged behind Sasuke.
Orochimaru's golden eyes moved across the Konoha Shinobi.
Then toward Naruto.
His smile was unreadable.
Kabuto remained beside him.
Sasuke turned.
The three prepared to leave.
Naruto did not pursue them.
Sakura looked at him.
"Naruto…"
He shook his head.
"Let him go."
Sasuke glanced back once.
Then left with Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Naruto watched until all three disappeared.
He believed Sasuke would return.
Maybe not today.
Maybe not soon.
But someday.
Inside Ryūjin Jakka, Asuramaru shared that certainty.
Though his expectations for Sasuke's eventual return were somewhat different.
After three years, Sasuke had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Once the truth behind the Uchiha massacre finally reached him…
Asuramaru doubted Sasuke would simply walk peacefully back through Konoha's gates.
By then, what returned to the village might not be Sasuke alone.
It might be Sasuke wrapped inside a complete Susanoo.
And if the truth was what Asuramaru expected, there was one thing he could almost guarantee.
The moment Sasuke learned everything…
Konoha's higher ups were going to have a very serious problem.
....