Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 382 Gathering

This wasn't his first time coming to this road outside Otogakure. In the past two years, there hadn't been any major changes, but this year, the road seemed... a bit wider, and his favorite shade tree was gone, probably now part of the roadbed.

Although he had sent out invitations, he wasn't confident he would receive any this year, so he paced around rather frequently, and after a few laps, he actually felt quite tired. So he had no choice but to stop torturing his body and instead found a tree canopy to hide in.

There's no movement from my senses. Is this guy really not planning to go? He even booked the best ocean-view room in advance. No, if there's still no sign of him by noon, I'll just go to the base and take him away. The training has been crazy enough lately; he needs a break.

Fortunately, Sasuke wasn't so stubborn as to completely ignore orders. His chakra left the area of ​​Otogakure before noon and headed down this road.

Naruto was secretly pleased, but decided to deliberately ignore the guy to express his frustration at not receiving the letter. No matter how angry he was, he should at least reply; it wasn't the guy's fault. Besides, they were supposed to work together to condemn Danzo, so what was wrong with exchanging information? Why was he being so uncooperative?

So, the person in the tree canopy deliberately concealed his presence, trying to see if Sasuke could still find him after the tree disappeared. However, he seemed to have forgotten the special nature of the Sharingan and underestimated Sasuke's current vigilance.

Before the person had even reached the base of the tree, someone suddenly appeared and climbed up the tree, startling Naruto.

What are you doing squatting here?

Good, his emotions are calm and his tone is normal. He's Sasuke who can understand what people are saying!

"It's too sunny, so I came up here to cool off. It's not like you were that slow; it's almost noon."

Sasuke's brow twitched slightly, and he said, "Orochimaru tried to force someone into his service again, but I didn't agree."

“Didn’t they not pass through last year? It can’t be this year. Your killing intent towards him is too strong, and they’re afraid you’ll run away…” Naruto was just joking, but when he met a pair of heavy, dark eyes, he almost immediately understood what they meant.

"You really want to kill me?"

"Why not?" Sasuke made no attempt to hide his killing intent, which stemmed not only from the anger at the desecration of his clansmen's bodies, but also from the boy's disapproval of Orochimaru's usual actions.

Since that guy thinks life is something that can be toyed with at will, let him taste what death, which he fears most, is like after so long.

Naruto ultimately didn't voice any objections. He had no say in the matter, and he knew very well that Orochimaru probably wouldn't die. As long as Sasuke was happy, nothing else mattered.

The Land of Waves has become a regular meeting place for Team 7. As long as they bring their own people, they don't mind being casual about what they bring. This year's festival seems to have attracted even more people than last year. It's visibly getting better every year; even the cherry blossom trees lining the streets are blooming more and more profusely.

As the number of tourists increases, the security work should become more complex. However, the Land of Waves always seems to do the opposite. They appear to be intentionally building up their own defense forces, resulting in a year-on-year decrease in the workload of the ninjas, who now only need to patrol and stand guard along fixed routes. This year, the situation is even more absurd; the patrol duties have been taken over, and the ninjas only need to appear in fixed locations for a short time to prove that the area is still under the protection of Konoha ninjas.

This was, of course, a special favor from Hokushin. Hashirama had gone to great lengths to make Naruto work less, but there was a legitimate reason for it.

"The festival is just a temporary problem. What we really want to protect is the Land of Waves. Without power commensurate with our wealth, this place will probably remain unsettled." Mr. Tori, who was more composed than last year, said, "Konoha is still a few days away from us. Asking for help might not be enough time. We have to face this world on our own."

Sixty percent of the above words came from a certain special collection of comprehension texts, making them particularly familiar to Naruto. It seems Zabuza is indeed becoming increasingly adept at management, and his physique hasn't deteriorated; he's probably still training diligently. The only question is whether his skills and combat awareness have declined.

Haku has indeed grown a lot taller. He was already older than Naruto and the others, and in terms of appearance, he was almost out of adolescence and entering adulthood.

Naruto was very pleased to see Haku grown up, and he talked more than usual, with a smile never fading from his face. This, however, made someone a little unhappy.

"What would you like to have for lunch?" After the meeting ended, Naruto declined Haku's invitation to lunch and turned to ask Sasuke, who insisted on traveling with him.

"Why don't you eat with him?" Sasuke's answer was completely flat, pretending that he wasn't being sarcastic.

"Public officials are very busy during holidays. How long would it take to organize a dinner party?" Naruto couldn't hide this little temper tantrum. He had felt a chill running down his spine all morning, guessing that he had neglected Sasuke for too long and had angered him.

"I finally get to go out and have some fun, I don't want to waste my brain on this kind of thing. Have you decided what to eat?"

It's unclear what words had the effect, but Sasuke's mood calmed down again, and he said, "Let's eat seafood. We're already at the seaside."

Naruto nodded in agreement, then turned around and happened to pass by Sakura's post, so he called her over. The three of them only get together about once a year, so this meal was quite enjoyable.

"Sound" is a special midday program that tells the story of "Hui" in the form of a stage play. "Color" refers to the dishes, whose plating and colors are extremely pleasing to the eye and can whet the appetite at a glance.

The three chatted casually about their recent situations, and last year's Chunin Exams naturally came up. The only one who didn't become a Chunin was teased by his classmates.

"Sasuke, when are you planning to come back for the exam?" Sakura asked deliberately, trying to break the ice.

Sasuke slowly swallowed a mouthful of squid and gave the same answer as before.

"After killing that man."