At first, Naruto thought he had gone somewhere else. But an inexplicable feeling of unease made him pace restlessly in the room. Until he found a written letter on the table.
Naruto tiptoed over, took out the letter from the envelope and started reading it.
After finishing the whole letter, Naruto's face changed. He rushed outside without hesitation.
"Sasuke, you bastard! I've told you not to leave. Why did you still go?"
.............
Father, Mother:
Father, Mother, I've found what I most want to do in my life, so I'm hereby bidding farewell to you both.
Before long, my actions will be misunderstood by the villagers, bringing troubles to you. I hereby apologize to you. But please believe me, Father and Mother. I will never become a Rogue Ninja and do anything unfavorable to Konoha and our clan. I am always Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha.
I hope you take good care of your health. I also hope that my brother will recover soon.
Naruto: I have important things to do. I won't take you this time. You're just a burden.
You're grown up now. Don't always follow me around. It'll only make you a delicate seedling in the greenhouse, unable to withstand the blows of wind and rain.
You should see more of the outside world, gain more life experiences, learn Ninjutsu from Jiraiya, and strive to improve yourself and practice hard. I hope you'll be stronger than me the next time we meet.
Sasuke.
................
By the woods outside Konoha Village, a glimmer of light had just appeared on the horizon. The weak morning light cast shadows on the leaves of the woods.
The Sound Ninjas were standing around casually. When they heard the noise in the woods, they immediately perked up.
"Ah, it seems you've decided to come with us. I was just gambling with these guys on whether you'd show up. Looks like I won."
"Kidōmaru, don't be so smug just because you won once. I'll definitely win next time."
"Tayuya, save your breath until you win."
"Tsk! I don't know what Lord Orochimaru sees in this pretty boy. He had to send so many of us to pick him up. Hey! Newbie, you're really full of yourself!"
Sasuke didn't plan to argue with a woman. Instead, Kimimaro, who was leading them, frowned and shouted sternly.
"Tayuya, Lord Sasuke is invited back to the base by Lord Orochimaru. Don't be so rude!"
Tayuya glanced at the calm Sasuke and silently turned around without saying a word. There was nothing she could do. After all, Kimimaro was their leader, and she had to obey at this time.
"Lord Sasuke, I have a drug here that can make the Cursed Seal evolve. After taking it, you can force the Cursed Seal to enter its awakened state 2. However, this drug has a side effect. After taking it, your body will need a long time to adapt to state 2 so that you can control the Cursed Seal state."
"The energy of the Cursed Seal State 2 is so powerful that one will die within a few minutes after entering the Cursed Seal State 2. But please rest assured, we are most proficient in Sealing Technique. We can reduce the side - effects of the state and make Sasuke enter a false - death state instead of permanent death."
Kimimaro respected Sasuke very much. He handed the pill to Sasuke, and Sasuke picked it up and examined it carefully.
He is quite different from his former self who would swallow the pill in one gulp. Now, Sasuke can clearly feel the powerful energy contained in the pill.
To put it simply, this pill is a by - product of the Sage Chakra researched by Orochimaru. Although Sage Art can greatly enhance the power of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu, and provide a large amount of Chakra for the jutsu - caster, the cultivation of Sage Art is too demanding. The body can't bear the sudden large amount of Chakra, and will eventually die due to excessive load.
So, as long as he controls and slowly absorbs the medicinal power, he won't enter the state of death, nor will he have to rely on the Sound Ninjas.
It isn't that he doesn't trust them, but in order to gain a better foothold with Orochimaru in the future, he needs manpower.
Whether it's the Fourth Great Ninja World War or dealing with the Kaguya Clan in the future, these people in front of him could be useful.
"Yo! What's the matter? Scared we put Poison in it and too afraid to eat it?"
Tayuya couldn't help but taunt when she saw Sasuke playing with the pill in his hand.
"Tayuya!"
"Kimimaro, this guy has been looking at the pill for a long time and has no intention of swallowing it. How long are we going to waste time with him here? Why don't we just knock him out and take him away by force? Isn't that faster?"
Sasuke eyed the impatient woman in front of him. She's got some skills, but she's not the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Don't worry. I've just examined this medicine. I don't need you to use the Sealing Technique. I can digest and handle it myself. Stand back and don't disturb me while I'm absorbing the energy of this pill."
After saying that, without waiting for the reaction of the Sound Ninjas, Sasuke swallowed the pill in one gulp.
He controlled the flow of Chakra throughout his body, allowing the energy overflowing from the pill to slowly stimulate along his meridians.
Feeling the boundless Chakra growing chaotically in his body, Sasuke, with his strong willpower and control ability over Chakra, absorbed this energy bit by bit.
As time passed, the black Cursed Seal on his neck slowly crawled all over his body until it completely wrapped his body. A pair of huge fleshy wings grew on his shoulder blades, and a pitch - black cross mark appeared in the middle of his nose.
The five Sound Ninjas were stunned. They had taken this pill before. The medicinal effect of the pill was too overbearing. The feeling at that time was really worse than death. The powerful medicinal power rampaged in their bodies. If it weren't for the facilities in the base to suppress it, they would have exploded and died one by one.
But this man in front of them could absorb the power of the pill by himself. Sasuke Uchiha, just who on earth was he?
"I really can't believe that this guy can absorb the medicinal effect by himself."
"Tayuya, Lord Sasuke is the one chosen by Lord Orochimaru. He's not someone we can casually speculate about."
"
"Kimimaro..."
Everyone couldn't help but put away their previous underestimation and patiently waited on the side.
The effect of the medicine was gradually fading. The Cursed Seal on Sasuke's body also gradually returned to his neck. This process was quite strenuous, and he took a few gasps before slowly standing up.
The Sound Ninjas changed their previous arrogant attitude and became extremely cautious.
Looking at their reactions, Sasuke raised an intriguing smile. Well, let's just say that the people Orochimaru raised are really good at reading others' expressions.
Just now they were mocking you, but now they're practically trying to curry favor with you even though you're cold to them. How amusing!
"Lord Sasuke, it's getting late. We should set off."
............