Chapter 222:
Konoha Village.
"Sarutobi Mirai assisted an unknown individual to steal both the Sealing Scroll and the Mount Myōboku Scroll from the village. The Sixth Hokage left with her and has since gone missing…"
"Even so, I don't believe Mirai would betray the village. There must be another reason behind it."
"I know. That's exactly why, although she's being hunted as a rogue ninja, I've issued a strict order not to harm her."
…
As he watched Kurenai's frail figure fade into the distance, Shikamaru took a drag from his cigarette, saying nothing.
"Lord Shikamaru, Sarada has returned to the village."
At that moment, an Anbu agent suddenly appeared behind Shikamaru.
"…I see."
Shikamaru gave a small nod.
At the village gate—
Sakura rushed forward and hugged Sarada tightly, her voice filled with concern. "Sarada, are you alright?"
"Mm, I'm fine, Mom…"
On the other side, Sasuke approached Shuyu and asked, "Where's Naruto?"
"This entire operation was a trap. Naruto stayed behind to cover our retreat," Shuyu replied simply.
"I see…" Though Sasuke's expression remained calm, his hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. Looking toward Sarada, who was still in Sakura's arms, he asked, "Sarada, do you still remember the coordinates to that other dimension?"
"Yes, I remember, Dad."
"Tell me."
After receiving the coordinates from Sarada, Sasuke turned and began walking toward the village's edge.
"Where do you think you're going, Sasuke?"
Just then, Shikamaru arrived and asked.
"I'm going to find Naruto."
Sasuke didn't even look back as he answered.
"But you can't sense Naruto's chakra anymore. That means…"
"There's no way Naruto would die so easily—I believe in him!"
Sasuke suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to fix Shikamaru with a sharp gaze.
"Damn it… You idiot. How can you be so sure Kara won't set another trap there, just waiting for you to walk right in? Sasuke, Konoha has already lost Naruto—we can't afford to lose you too!"
Shikamaru shouted at Sasuke, and the force of his words made Sasuke hesitate.
"He's right, Sasuke. I'm worried about Naruto too. But none of us can be certain that Kara won't lay another trap. We should wait, just for a bit," Sakura added gently. She couldn't bear the thought of one day receiving the news that Sasuke had died.
"Don't worry, Sasuke. We're not going to give up on Naruto—not that easily. After all, he's still the Hokage. I've already sent Anbu to search for traces of the Hydra. Once we've re-established contact, we'll head to that dimension to find Naruto," Shikamaru said as he turned toward Tentō and Shinki. "In the meantime, you two will stay in Konoha. I'll assign Jōnin to give you special training."
Konoha Burger Shop.
Kawaki, Sarada, and Shuyu had taken Himawari out of the house, leaving Hinata behind to quietly face the reality that Naruto might never return.
"Mmm… I want this one!" Himawari placed her order and waited patiently, mumbling to herself, "I wonder what Sarada-nee and Kawaki-nii are doing… And when will Dad come home…"
"Don't worry. Naruto should be back soon," Shuyu said gently, watching over her.
Outside the burger shop, Kawaki gave a glance toward the still-relatively-well-behaved Himawari inside, then turned to Sarada. "So, the Seventh didn't come back with you?"
"No."
Sarada gave a small nod.
"Damn it!" Kawaki cursed. It was the first time he ever truly wished he still had the Kāma. Without it, he was just an ordinary person. "Sarada, you remember the coordinates to that other dimension, right?"
"I do… but Kara may have set another trap there…"
"So what? Sarada, if it were your father left behind in another dimension, would you just abandon Sasuke?" Kawaki said firmly. "My father abused me from the moment I was born. He even sold me to Jigen. It wasn't until I met the Seventh that I understood what a father's love is. If Himawari found out, she'd be devastated…"
"But…"
Sarada hesitated, trying to respond, but Kawaki cut her off.
"If you're not going, then just give me the coordinates. I'll go myself."
"But without the Kāma, you don't even have the ability to travel through dimensions."
"I'll figure something out! Sarada, give me the coordinates!"
Seeing the determined—and somewhat frightening—expression on Kawaki's face, Sarada could only shrug and say, "Alright, Kawaki. I'll go with you."
"Sarada… But we can't let too many people find out about this. Otherwise, the adults will definitely stop us."
Sarada nodded. "Yeah. But we'll need to bring Tentō and Shinki too. We'll need the Light Armor to deal with the Mutant Beasts."
…
Late that night.
Kawaki quietly slipped out of the house.
"Let's go," Sarada said to him. Following beside her was Uchiha Shuyu.
Konoha Resort Hotel.
At present, the Konoha Resort Hotel was closed to the public and solely reserved for Tentō and Shinki. All expenses were covered by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
Under Shikamaru's deliberate arrangements, all hotel staff had been replaced by liquid-state robots.
"Ninja patrols…? Seriously?"
Kawaki frowned as he watched the patrolling shinobi outside the hotel. His expression turned grim as it brought back memories of being guarded like a criminal during his time with Kara.
"It's probably just to protect Tentō and Shinki," Sarada offered, trying to explain. It really was the most logical reason under the circumstances.
"So what now?" Kawaki turned to Sarada.
Sarada looked to Shuyu.
"I'll use my Sharingan genjutsu," Shuyu said.
…
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
One of the patrolling Konoha ninja stepped toward Shuyu.
"…"
"Did it work?" Kawaki whispered to Sarada as he watched Shuyu and the ninja. He wasn't a member of the Uchiha, so he didn't know much about the Sharingan. Still, having experienced Shuyu's genjutsu firsthand, he was fairly confident it would be enough to handle a few patrol ninjas.
"…No," Sarada said, shaking her head. Her face grew serious. "It failed."