Sasuke's consciousness receded like a tide from that dark sewer.
The injuries sustained from clashing with the Gillian seemed to have completely healed as well.
He instinctively sensed the power within Naruto.
The rampant red-tailed Chakra had indeed vanished.
'Pretty fast.' Sasuke snorted inwardly, giving Minato a modicum of credit.
He slowly stood up and looked around.
He was still in Konoha's Training Ground 3. The evening sun cast long shadows from the trees.
Not far away, Naruto was lying on the ground. His orange jumpsuit was torn and tattered, and he had several wounds on his body, clearly self-inflicted during his earlier Chakra rampage. But his breathing was even, and he seemed to have just passed out.
Everything was exactly the same as it was before he left for the other world.
At this point, Sasuke was fairly certain: when he went to the other world, time in the previous world did not pass.
"What an idiot."
Seeing the wounds on Naruto's body, Sasuke frowned and cursed under his breath. He still walked over to Naruto.
He bent down, intending to haul this fool up and take him to the Konoha hospital.
However, the moment he leaned over, his peripheral vision caught sight of something by his feet.
It was a sword.
A sword he had only ever seen in that other world. The most basic form of Zanpakuto, an Asauchi.
The Asauchi was the standard-issue Zanpakuto granted to trainee Shinigami by the Shin'o Academy in the Soul Society.
According to regulations, one could only graduate after completing six years of study, or by achieving an early release of their Asauchi.
But few geniuses learned to release their Zanpakuto early. Sasuke was one of them.
It took him only a year to achieve Shikai and successfully join the 11th Division.
'But how could an Asauchi appear in Konoha?'
Puzzled, Sasuke instinctively looked down at Takemikazuchi hanging at his waist. It was still securely fastened there.
Now Sasuke was even more confused. But for some reason, he felt an intensely familiar sensation from this Zanpakuto, as if it were innate.
'A familiar feeling...'
'Innate...'
Sasuke seemed to think of something. He picked up the Zanpakuto from the ground.
'Could it be...'
'That I actually possess a pair of Zanpakuto? I just awakened Takemikazuchi, and this one hasn't awakened yet.'
In truth, almost all Shinigami possessed only a 'single sword', but exceptions existed.
For example, in Sasuke's memory, the Captain-Commander's two students, the 8th Division's Captain Kyoraku Shunsui and the 13th Division's Captain, Ukitake Jushiro, were both special holders of double Zanpakuto.
Sasuke had a vague feeling something was off. Those two Captains seemed to release both swords simultaneously, which was different from his situation.
But double blades were the only reasonable explanation.
Dismissing further thought, Sasuke casually hung this Asauchi on his waist as well.
Then he slung Naruto's body over his shoulder. His movements weren't gentle, even somewhat rough.
Carrying Naruto, he turned to leave the messy training ground, planning to deal with this nuisance at the Konoha Hospital first.
It wasn't that Sasuke hadn't learned Kaido. On the contrary, the 4th Division's Captain, Unohana Retsu, thought he had great talent and had persistently forced him to learn. But he had absolutely no talent in this area, as he couldn't even master the simplest Kaido.
Captain Unohana once even suspected Sasuke was being perfunctory with her and beat him up severely. It was only after finally determining Sasuke was genuinely trying his best that she let the matter drop.
The mere thought of Unohana's benevolent smile sent a chill down Sasuke's spine, 'She was from the medical division, so how could she be so strong?'
Shaking off the thought, he hoisted Naruto and prepared to leave. However, the moment he stepped beyond the training ground's boundary, his footsteps halted abruptly.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Dozens of black figures materialized silently from the surrounding forest, instantly surrounding him.
Abstract animal masks, uniform attire… it was the Anbu.
They showed no overt hostility, but they had completely sealed off all escape routes.
Sasuke's eyes turned cold. He adjusted Naruto on his shoulder slightly, his other hand moving inconspicuously to rest on the hilt of Takemikazuchi at his waist.
At this tense moment, the crowd of Anbu slowly parted, creating a pathway.
Two figures walked side by side through the opening.
Leading them was Konoha's highest authority, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But he wasn't wearing his usual Hokage Robe. Instead, he was clad in black, form-fitting combat gear, his expression grave.
Walking beside him was Kakashi, who was staring at Sasuke with a complex look in his eye.
"Sasuke." Hiruzen spoke first, his voice low, "What happened here just now?"
"This idiot had a problem with his Chakra." Sasuke replied offhandedly, glancing at Naruto slung over his shoulder, "I was checking on him, but the seal inside him went out of control for some reason."
It wasn't that he didn't dare admit he was responsible, it was just that doing so would lead to unnecessary complications later.
Hiruzen remained silent.
Instead, Kakashi stepped forward and took Naruto to examine him.
"Lord Hokage, the seal inside Naruto... seems more stable than before." Kakashi reported.
Hiruzen nodded noncommittally, his gaze returning to Sasuke.
"...Was it you who did this to the seal?"
"No." Sasuke denied quickly. Though he hated to admit it, he currently couldn't handle the Kyubi. Even the leaking Chakra had forced him to take it seriously.
"Then who did it?" Kakashi was astonished. He also didn't believe Sasuke could fix the seal inside Naruto, but Sasuke was the only one here. It was the best explanation.
"It's the Yondaime Hokage."
Sasuke lifted his eyes, meeting Hiruzen's gaze, and spoke calmly, "He left a portion of his chakra inside Naruto precisely to prevent the Kyubi from losing control."
The Third Hokage pulled out his pipe from somewhere, lit it silently, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his feelings mixed.
'If it was Minato... it made sense he could do something like this...'
'But…'
"Sasuke, how did you know about this?" Hiruzen stared intently at Sasuke's face.
Sasuke let out a light laugh, "I accidentally entered Naruto's mental world and happened to see it. And, from the look of the Yondaime Hokage, he seemed to be able to sense the outside situation through Naruto."
He lied about this part. His goal was simple: to unsettle Hiruzen.
During the days Kakashi was teaching him, he had secretly visited the cemetery to see the remains of the Uchiha Clan. As expected, all the Sharingan had been gouged out.
Even if the old bastard before him wasn't directly responsible, he must have allowed it to happen.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Hiruzen's face instantly turned grim.
He took a deep breath, "So Minato knows everything..."
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