With Uchiha Sogetsu's current "status," His will is the will of all living beings.
Though his influence may be limited, a small village like Konoha is not enough to trouble him. In an instant, he planted a thought in their minds.
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lost focus, but quickly regained clarity. She seemed to have a moment of realization, vaguely remembering that the Hokage had mentioned a genius from Yugakure participating in this Chunin Exam!
She then casually "ignored" the inconsistencies, winking affectionately at Erii.
"Welcome to Konoha. I hope you'll show mercy in this exam~"
"I won't hurt you."
Erii said seriously.
She had grown up in an environment with almost no friends, so she could easily distinguish between kindness and malice.
And the feeling Uchiha Sasuke gave her was like a warm sun, full of passion, with positive and energetic vibes.
Moreover, when she saw them in danger, Sasuke had rushed to stop it without hesitation. Even though she could have escaped, Sasuke had turned back to save her without a second thought. This undoubtedly proved Sasuke's kindness and innocence.
"Hahaha, then thank you~"
Uchiha Sasuke laughed confidently, then patted her head. "What was I thinking? I'm Uchiha Sasuke, what about you two?"
"Uesugi Koeru."
Uchiha Sogetsu gave a fake name.
"Uesugi Erii."
Erii stated her real name.
"Erii is such a beautiful name."
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up, and she took Erii's hand. "Thanks for saving my life earlier. If it weren't for you, I'd probably have been turned into meat paste by that guy!"
"No, if it weren't for saving us, with your speed, you would never have been caught."
Erii shook her head and smiled gently. "If anything, we should be thanking you."
"Then, does that mean we're friends now?"
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes sparkled, as if eagerly awaiting her response.
"Mm, of course."
Erii nodded.
"Yay!"
Uchiha Sasuke clenched his fists, a look of joy on his face. "I made a new friend!"
Wait a minute. Is it just me, or is this Sasuke completely different from what I remember?
Uchiha Sogetsu couldn't help but rub his temples.
How did Shisui even raise him?
Could it be... when they were at Konoha Hospital, Shisui ended up holding the wrong person?
However, Uchiha Sogetsu used his Spirit Vision and noticed that Sasuke's soul was infused with Indra's chakra, which completely negated his theory.
"By the way, where are you staying?"
Uchiha Sasuke suddenly asked, feeling a bit awkward. Her face turned slightly red as she quickly explained, "Please don't misunderstand. I just feel really close to Erii-nee, and I wanted to take her out for a little walk."
"We just arrived today, and we haven't found a place to stay yet."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled gently. "We came from the Land of Hot Water, so we arrived a bit late."
"But... the Chunin Exams are in just three or four days."
Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Erii, her face slightly flushed, then gritted her teeth and said, "Also, the inns that were supposed to accommodate foreign ninjas seem to be all full."
The lie was so obvious.
Uchiha Sogetsu stared at Sasuke and suddenly realized that after her change, her personality seemed to differ quite a lot from the original version.
"If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for a few days," Uchiha Sasuke said, seemingly very fond of Erii. She took her hand and said with hopeful eyes, "Don't worry, I'll inform the Anbu. Besides, my house is pretty big, but... I mostly live there alone."
"Oh?"
Uchiha Sogetsu chuckled. Although he could see through Sasuke's little intentions, he didn't call him out.
"Won't it be too much of a bother?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Uchiha Sasuke shook her head, almost as if she was hoping they'd move in.
"I'm alone anyway, and I really like Sister Erii. Is that okay?"
Erii turned to him, asking for his opinion.
"…Alright, then we'll be intruding for a while."
Uchiha Sogetsu didn't refuse anymore. It was a good chance to go back and take a look at the place he used to live.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
Ever since the tragedy of the Clan Massacre Night, over a hundred clan members were slaughtered. The vast compound was left with only a single flickering light.
Back then, Konoha's higher-ups had considered reclaiming the Uchiha estate.
But in the end, because of Shisui's presence, they had to abandon the plan.
As he stepped over the familiar threshold, Uchiha Sogetsu looked southeast—
At a single, lonely house—
And fell into memories.
"That's the home of the Fourth Hokage—Uchiha Sogetsu!"
Sasuke's face lit up with pride as she spoke.
"He was the only Uchiha to ever become Hokage! During the Third Great Ninja War, he traveled across the battlefield alone to rescue Lord Minato, even fought off over ten thousand enemy ninjas by himself, and eventually killed the Third Raikage!"
Ten thousand?!
Sogetsu twitched at the corner of his mouth.
If there had really been that many, he would've died on the spot.
And a solo rescue mission? What about the Anbu?
Did they not count as people?
"What else? Tell me more!"
Erii knew his real name—Sogetsu—
But she had never heard anything about his past.
Now that someone had brought it up,
Her curiosity flared.
She clung to Sasuke's arm, eager to hear more.
"There's too much! The stories of Lord Uchiha Sogetsu could go on for three days and three nights!"
Uchiha Sasuke practically had "I'm his fan" written all over her face. Her eyes were blazing with excitement.
"For example! Lord Uchiha Sogetsu stormed into the Hidden Mist Village—slashing from east to west, then back from west to east! Ten full rounds! Three days and three nights without sleep! Just slash after slash! Slash after slash!"
At that point, Uchiha Sogetsu couldn't take it anymore and interrupted, "Hold on a second—three days and nights without sleep? Wouldn't his eyes dry out? That makes no sense!"
"How could Lord Sogetsu's eyes get dry when he's that powerful?"
Sasuke, annoyed at being cut off, shot him a look, then kept narrating passionately.
"I'm telling you, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—each one a top-tier jōnin—got taken out by Lord Sogetsu one by one! He sliced through them like paper! Even the Mizukage couldn't escape. Word is, once he caught up, he chopped him into meat paste!"
Wait, was he really that brutal?
Seriously, what the hell? The Mizukage didn't escape and got turned into meat paste?
And didn't he not kill all seven swordsmen? He was pretty sure two of them were left alive.
Where did this ridiculous rumor even come from?
Shouldn't those two survivors have come out and debunked this nonsense by now?
There were just too many absurd parts—even someone like Uchiha Sogetsu, with his 'status,' was struggling to handle it.
*********
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 30 early chapters,