Chapter 256: The Second Sword Master, Uchiha Sasuke
Between power and his friend, Naruto never hesitated.
He looked at the unconscious Sasuke and answered at once.
"Please, Asuramaru."
His voice was firm.
"Save him."
Asuramaru had already expected that answer.
Still, he let out a helpless sigh.
"I knew you would say that."
Naruto waited.
Asuramaru continued.
"I do not particularly approve of this choice."
"But you are my Sword Master."
"So I will respect it."
Then, within the mental world, Asuramaru called out to the system.
"System."
"Designate Uchiha Sasuke as the second Sword Master."
The response came immediately.
[Ding! Consuming 10000 emotion points.]
[Uchiha Sasuke has been designated as the Second Sword Master.]
[World approval confirmed.]
Outside, Naruto suddenly saw strands of dark energy emerge from his own body.
They looked like countless thin black threads.
One after another, they flowed toward Sasuke.
The strands entered his unconscious body and vanished beneath his skin.
Naruto watched closely.
The process lasted only a short while.
Then everything became quiet again.
Naruto blinked.
"That is it?"
Asuramaru answered.
"It is done."
His tone turned slightly teasing.
"Do not come crying to me later if you regret it."
Naruto shook his head.
"I will not."
At the same time, deep within Sasuke's consciousness, something changed.
He found himself standing in darkness.
Then the darkness became memory.
The Uchiha compound.
His home.
His childhood.
Blood.
Bodies.
Silence.
Sasuke saw himself as the helpless child he had once been.
His parents lay dead.
His clansmen were scattered across the streets.
Everywhere he looked, there was blood.
And once again, he could do nothing.
Pain surged through him.
Anger followed.
Then hatred.
The same emotions that had driven him forward for years returned with crushing force.
He remembered his weakness.
His helplessness.
The hatred of knowing that the person responsible still lived.
Then his dead parents moved.
Sasuke froze.
His father slowly lifted his head.
Blood ran from his mouth.
His mother followed.
Her face twisted in grief.
"Sasuke…"
"Why have you not avenged us yet?"
His father's voice grew harsher.
"Have you forgotten us?"
His mother stared at him.
"Do you not want revenge?"
Sasuke's expression hardened.
He watched them carefully.
Then his eyes turned cold.
"No."
The two figures paused.
Sasuke spoke again.
"My parents would never say things like that."
His Sharingan seemed to burn brighter.
"Who are you?"
The dead parents smiled.
"Found me already?"
Their bodies dissolved.
Black mist swallowed them.
The darkness gathered into a towering mass nearly two metres tall.
A voice came from within.
"Interesting."
Before Sasuke could move, countless black spikes erupted from the mist.
They pierced through his arms, legs, and torso.
Sasuke cried out.
His body was pinned in place.
He could not move.
The voice became colder.
"I originally intended to crush your will."
"Then I would take your body for myself."
Sasuke gritted his teeth through the pain.
The dark presence continued.
"But I changed my mind."
"I can feel it."
"Your obsession."
"Your hunger for power."
"Your desire for revenge."
The black mist shifted around him.
"I can give you enough power to accomplish what you want."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
The pain did not matter anymore.
"Is that true?"
The voice seemed amused.
"Of course."
Then it became threatening again.
"But there is a condition."
"If your will ever wavers…"
"If you lose sight of your revenge…"
"I will take your body immediately."
Sasuke did not flinch.
Even with the threat of losing himself entirely, his answer came without hesitation.
"If that power lets me kill Itachi…"
His expression became fierce.
"Then what does my body matter?"
The black mist went silent.
Then it dispersed.
Sasuke suddenly found himself standing before his parents again.
This time they were upright.
Whole.
But their faces were filled with grief.
His father looked at him.
"Sasuke."
"Kill Itachi."
His mother spoke next.
"Avenge us."
"Live for revenge."
Sasuke listened.
But his resolve did not change.
He already wanted that.
Nothing they said could make his determination stronger because it had never weakened in the first place.
Then another figure appeared.
Sasuke's breathing stopped.
Uchiha Itachi.
His brother walked toward him slowly.
Calm.
Detached.
A sword rested in his hand.
Sasuke's hatred surged.
Itachi stopped in front of him.
His gaze was emotionless.
"How far can those eyes of yours see?"
Sasuke tried to move.
Nothing happened.
His body was completely restrained.
Itachi raised the sword.
"You still disappoint me."
The weapon came down.
Sasuke did not look away.
His hatred did not falter.
His will did not break.
The sword struck.
Crack!
The entire world shattered.
Sasuke's eyes opened.
The massacre disappeared.
The Uchiha compound vanished.
He found himself at the boundary between an endless sea and an endless sky.
His knees gave out.
Sasuke collapsed to the ground and gasped for breath.
The illusion had felt real.
Too real.
He raised his head.
Then he noticed someone else.
Not far away, another figure had been impaled by black spikes and pinned helplessly in place.
Orochimaru.
His snake like pupils were fixed ahead.
Yet there was no anger in his expression.
No hatred.
Only overwhelming curiosity.
A hunger for knowledge so intense that it bordered on obsession.
Sasuke followed his gaze.
Black smoke gathered in front of him.
Then a pleasant voice came from within it.
"Your resolve for revenge is strong."
Sasuke's breathing slowed.
The voice continued.
"So I will lend you power."
"But remember what I already told you."
"If your determination ever wavers…"
"You know what will happen."
The smoke began to take shape.
"My name is Asuramaru."
"If you desire power…"
"Call my name."
Sasuke stared.
Asuramaru.
That name.
He had seen it before.
Naruto's Flying Thunder God formula.
Before Sasuke could ask anything, Asuramaru spoke again.
"I really do not understand what Naruto is thinking."
Sasuke froze.
Asuramaru sounded almost exasperated.
"He was willing to give up part of his access to my power just to save you."
Sasuke's expression changed.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
The words struck harder than anything in the illusion.
Naruto had sacrificed something for him.
Not because he was ordered to.
Not because there was a mission.
Because Sasuke was his teammate.
His friend.
Sasuke lowered his gaze.
For once, no answer came.
Asuramaru raised one hand.
"That is enough for now."
He waved.
Sasuke's body began fading from the mental world.
Before disappearing completely, he glanced toward the imprisoned Orochimaru.
Then everything went dark.
Once Sasuke was gone, Orochimaru immediately spoke.
There was almost no dignity left in his tone.
Only curiosity.
"Respected Asuramaru."
His eyes gleamed.
"May I ask you a few questions?"
Outside, Sasuke's fingers moved.
His eyes slowly opened.
The first thing he saw was Naruto sitting beside him.
Naruto immediately smiled.
"You are awake."
He leaned closer.
"How do you feel?"
"Anything hurt?"
Sasuke stared at him.
Naruto blinked.
"What?"
Sasuke's expression tightened.
Then he asked abruptly,
"Why are you so good to me?"
Naruto froze.
That was not the question he expected.
He thought about it.
Then his expression became confused.
"Aren't we friends?"
Sasuke went still.
Naruto said it as though the answer were obvious.
Both of them had grown up alone.
Both knew what it meant to return to an empty home.
Both understood things the others around them could not.
Sasuke had watched Naruto for years.
Even when he refused to admit it, he had always paid attention to him.
Their rivalry had gradually become something more.
Recognition.
Trust.
Perhaps even friendship.
Sasuke turned his head away.
He did not answer.
Naruto smiled.
He did not need one.
By nightfall, Sakura had recovered enough to travel.
Sasuke was awake and able to move.
With both the Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll already in their possession, Team 7 had no reason to remain in the Forest of Death any longer.
They headed directly toward the central tower.
The journey was far quieter than what they had experienced earlier.
Eventually, the massive structure appeared between the trees.
Team 7 entered.
The interior was brightly lit.
Naruto took out the two scrolls.
One Heaven.
One Earth.
Sakura looked between them.
"So we open them here?"
Naruto nodded.
"That was the rule."
They placed both scrolls down.
Then opened them together.
The seals inside activated.
Smoke burst outward.
Poof!
All three immediately tensed.
Then a familiar figure appeared.
"Iruka sensei?"
Naruto stared.
Iruka Umino stood before them.
A broad smile spread across his face.
"Congratulations."
"You three passed the second stage of the Chūnin Exams."
Sakura relaxed.
Naruto grinned.
Even Sasuke looked slightly less tense.
Iruka studied them for a moment.
He was clearly happy to see all three standing there safely.
Then he smiled.
"How about I treat you to ramen tonight to celebrate?"
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?"
He placed a hand over his stomach.
"Now that you mention it…"
Growl.
His stomach answered for him.
Naruto looked down.
"I really miss Ichiraku Ramen."
Sakura covered her mouth and laughed.
Even after everything that had happened in the Forest of Death, Naruto was still Naruto.
Iruka smiled warmly.
"Then it is settled."
Team 7 had passed.
And there were still three full days remaining before the second exam officially ended.
....
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