Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 92 Night

Kakashi's house is very lively today.

Seeing the enemy retreat, the three Jonin who were still mobile immediately began their respective actions. Might Guy, the fastest and strongest, was responsible for chasing after Jiraiya, relaying the message that Akatsuki was targeting Naruto, and could also provide support if necessary. Kurenai was the only one uninjured and conscious, so such a serious matter naturally had to be reported to the village. As for Kakashi and Asuma, the two wounded individuals naturally had to go to the hospital.

Asuma's physical injuries were relatively easy to treat, but the mental anguish Kakashi suffered was much more troublesome. The current medical system lacks effective treatments for damage caused by genjutsu, so the doctor could only prescribe some sedatives and suggest Asuma take him home to rest. A hospital is definitely not a good place to sleep.

The wounded carried another wounded soldier to Kakashi's apartment. After keeping watch for a short while, Kurenai arrived with Anko. The single apartment was still too cramped with so many people. Seeing that Kakashi showed no signs of waking up and not wanting to disturb his rest, they had no choice but to leave temporarily. However, before leaving, Kurenai placed the dessert Kakashi had bought on his bedside table, just in case Kakashi woke up before they arrived, at least he wouldn't faint again from hunger.

The room returned to silence as dusk fell. The clock on the wall was first bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun, then filled with artificial light, and finally disappeared into the darkness. The moonless night was eerily dark, the perfect place for ghosts living in the shadows to roam.

The dessert box on the table suddenly moved. A hand reached out from the darkness, lifted the lid, and poked the cold, hardened shell. Then, the chair beside the bed was moved and placed directly opposite the bed. The mischievous ghost stopped. It had completely concealed itself in the darkness, except for one blood-red eye. After circling around, it fixed its gaze on the person on the bed and remained still.

The hands of the clock ticked silently on the dial. Occasionally, a few footsteps echoed across the street, and the distant chirping of insects abruptly ceased, presumably taken down by some annoying, noisy ninja. The ghost that had inexplicably appeared in the house remained motionless until the dim light of day pierced through the window, dispelling the utter darkness.

The ghost revealed its true form: a strange man wearing an orange swirling mask with only a single, conspicuous hole. His entire body was covered in close-fitting, jet-black clothing, so much so that even in the shadows, one could mistake him for a flying mask.

In a few hours, dawn would break. Daytime was unsuitable for ghosts, so the strange man left the chair and moved to the bedside. The three-tomoe pattern subtly expanded as it spun, finally settling on a shape resembling a three-bladed leaf. The ghost's hand touched Kakashi's left eyelid, as if it were merely a fleeting impulse. Then, he took the red bean cake, leaving behind another food box, and vanished as silently as he had arrived.

Kakashi often has dreams, but they are never good dreams. Even in his dreams, he cannot escape the painful loss, but he has become accustomed to enduring it, even in dreams. Because he can no longer see the vivid faces of his deceased loved ones in reality.

A dense forest obscuring the sky, a red and white fan-shaped family emblem, and a boy's silhouette so close at hand.

We've arrived here again. Now, it's time for him to say that next.

"A person who doesn't cherish their companions is utterly worthless!"

Then... he should leave now.

The boy suddenly pulled his foot back, and his still-childish face came into Kakashi's view. The boy's outstretched hand approached the ninja's sensitive defenses, but Kakashi did not flinch, letting the hand reach for his left eye.

...It is "his" left eye.

"You promised to witness this world for me, how can you fall here?"

Kakashi opened his eyes.

It's been so long since I've seen that spirited smile on a young man's face. Could it be that he was so thoroughly defeated by Itachi that he couldn't help but fantasize about his childhood friend coming back to cheer him on?

Kakashi chuckled inwardly. A moment later, he found himself lying at home; Asuma and the others had clearly brought him back. His body was still not fully functional, but hunger compelled him to force himself to get up. As a eligible bachelor, even when he was sick, he had to feed himself; otherwise, he'd just have to wait for some suspicious friend to come and pick him up.

With just a slight shift of his gaze, Kakashi could spot the food box on the bedside table, with several rice balls neatly arranged inside. Although they were cold, at least they weren't hard and were still edible.

She even put saury in the serving dish? Did Hong prepare it? Ladies are definitely more thoughtful...

"Are you really not going back to the village to see a doctor?" Jiraiya felt a headache coming on. It was really difficult to deal with a child who was vomiting blood and refusing treatment. Akatsuki might take action next, and it was a bit overwhelming for one person to take care of two children.

Sasuke firmly rejected the suggestion to return to the village, and walked a few steps with his back straight to prove that he was perfectly fine.

"I used Kurama's power to heal it," Naruto muttered under his breath. "Besides, Granny Tsunade's chakra was very close, so it wouldn't be a problem to ask her to take a look, right?"

"Are you two conjoined twins? How can you be so inseparable?" Is the focus on treatment? Besides, this might be the first meeting of the Sannin in over a decade. Orochimaru, who covets Sasuke so much, should be preventing them from meeting, right? Doesn't Naruto know this? Why is he joining in this nonsense!

Little did he know, Naruto had absolute confidence in himself and believed that staying in the village wasn't as safe as staying by his side, which was why he supported Sasuke's choice. Besides, wasn't watching the three legendary Sannin fight quite an eye-opener?

Unable to resist the two children's pleas, Jiraiya could only continue to worry. Naruto was also quite concerned, since Sasuke was proving impossible to cheer up this time, no matter how he tried. Therefore, he dared not leave Sasuke to overthink things alone; he was quite experienced in this kind of situation!

Although the three of them had completely different thought processes, they still had to keep going. With Naruto pointing the way, their first encounter was not in a tavern, but rather... they "accidentally" stumbled into Orochimaru's charade!

"Yo~ What a mess you've made~ I could see the smoke from far away." Jiraiya led the two children into the battlefield, first greeting them with a smile, then his face quickly darkened. "Orochimaru, after killing the Third Hokage, do you still want to bewitch the future Fifth Hokage?"

Tsunade, taken aback by being suddenly called out, promptly refused: "Jiraiya, I didn't agree!"

"Well, we can talk about that later. Let's take down Orochimaru first, shall we?"

Tsunade, who should have had no hesitation, fell silent. This long silence made Orochimaru, whose face was extremely pale, burst out laughing.

"It seems your wish will be in vain, Jiraiya. I will come back to find you again, Princess Tsunade."