Compared to Itachi, things on Sasuke's side were peaceful beyond expectation.
Like a dream, he went home with his mother, sat in the living room waiting for a home-cooked meal he hadn't tasted in years, and that night desperately showed her everything he'd learned over the years—his shuriken skills, his Fire Style jutsu…
The next morning, the moment he opened his eyes, Sasuke's dark gaze fixed on the ceiling above him. Tears quietly slid from the corners of his eyes, soaking into his hair and dampening the pillow.
He didn't want to wake up from this dream so soon…
"Sasuke? If you're awake, come eat breakfast~"
"M-Mom…"
It took nearly half a minute for him to fully confirm that this was all real. Uchiha Sasuke hurriedly threw on his clothes and rushed into the living room.
Mikoto was holding a bento box. "After breakfast, can you help Mom deliver this to Naruto-kun? Sasuke."
"Naruto?" Why…?
"Didn't I tell you? Treat him like a little brother." She smiled. "Come to think of it, Sasuke, you've never been an older brother before, have you? When Itachi found out I was pregnant with you, he was really happy."
Sasuke didn't understand.
Why could Mom still calmly say that man's name?!
Mikoto turned away, deliberately changing the subject. With no other choice, Sasuke finished breakfast and carried the bento bag to that dead last's place.
…
Naruto was woken up by knocking on his window. Wearing loose pajamas and a ridiculous sleeping cap, he looked like a small animal just out of hibernation. Rubbing his eyes, he saw Sasuke standing outside with that twisted expression like the whole world owed him money.
Naruto pushed open the window and complained, "Why are you starting to use windows too, just like Kakashi-sensei, believe it?"
Just like that delinquent jonin…
Sasuke looked instantly offended. "Idiot! If you knew how to open the door, would I be knocking on your window?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
"Seriously, this place of yours…" Sasuke glanced at the room where there was barely space to stand and felt too disgusted to step inside. "Can't you at least clean a little? Tch, forget it. Here."
He awkwardly shoved the bento into Naruto's hands. "My mom made it for you."
"!!"
Those sky-blue eyes widened, round and shining, blond hair sparkling in the morning sun. "Really?! As expected of Sasuke's mom!!"
"Go wash your face first, idiot dead last."
"Oh!"
For the first time eating a mom's cooking, Naruto was so happy he didn't even mind being called dead last.
After spending some time clearing out a clean space in the room—like setting up an invisible barrier that sealed off the dirty clothes and leftover ramen bowls—it somehow felt incredibly ceremonial. He was only one step away from going to take a bath.
After breakfast, the two of them headed to Training Ground Seven to practice. Sakura was already waiting there.
After several sparring sessions, Naruto went from brimming with confidence to stubbornly refusing to give up. In the end, it was Sakura who suggested they go check on Kakashi-sensei, which finally brought an early end to the duel where neither Naruto nor Sasuke would back down.
The three of them arrived at the jonin dorms and knocked on Kakashi's door. They waited for quite a while, but no one answered, and there was no movement inside.
"Is Kakashi-sensei not here?" Sakura asked.
"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head. "Doesn't he always end up like that and lie in bed for a whole week every time he runs out of chakra?" He exaggeratedly mimicked Kakashi's injured state from the Land of Waves.
"Hey. You three."
They turned around. At some point, a man wearing a jonin vest had appeared behind them, a senbon clenched between his teeth like a toothpick.
"Who are you, mister?" Naruto asked.
The low-energy jonin spoke around the senbon. "I'm here to inform you. Tomorrow morning at seven, assemble at Training Ground Forty-Four. The second stage of the exam will be held there."
"The second stage?!"
"The Chunin Exam?!"
"Training Ground Forty-Four?"
It was a training ground they'd never been to before.
"Get ready, brats," Genma Shiranui said. "That place also has another name—the Forest of Death."
"Death…"
"Forest."
After giving Naruto a sidelong glance, Genma vanished from sight.
The sudden news left the three of them no choice but to hurry back and prepare their ninja tools for the second stage of the Chunin Exam, postponing their visit to Kakashi until after the exam was over.
At the same time—
"I won't thank you with words alone. Once I find my family and finish what I must do, I'll return to repay you."
"Thank you for saving me. When I return to my clan, my father will definitely send people to deliver an equivalent mission reward as thanks."
In the southern regions of the Land of Fire, at the entrances of two remote villages, two ninja were each heading toward the place they called home…
Perhaps everyone in Konoha had made one assumption—that the bizarre "horror Q&A" that occurred during the Chunin Exam only happened in Konoha, and only once.
What they hadn't anticipated was that it wasn't limited to Konoha at all.
Across the Land of Fire—and even the entire world—similar "horror Q&A" events were randomly dropping.
Even ordinary civilians could be targeted by the questions.
According to the underlying rules, if a civilian from the Land of Fire answered correctly, it would be treated as if a Konoha ninja had answered correctly. In addition to physical rewards, they could also revive one deceased ninja from Konoha.
Just like the two ninja now rushing home with all their strength.
They had both been revived by villagers from two different settlements in the Land of Fire.
Each of them had bonds in their hearts—and people they longed to see again.
Pushing their bodies to the limit, they sprinted toward home.
As for why only during the Chunin Exam did Naruto's correct answers trigger future visions broadcast across the entire world—
That credit went to Morino Ibiki's negotiations with the other side.
After all, Ibiki had questioned the authenticity of the answer and made a demand—
"Show us proof! Why was Uzumaki Naruto's answer correct?"
"We want to see footage proving that the supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Fourth Great Ninja War really did say he'd agree to let other villages' ninja cut off his head after the war, just to protect 'that person'!"
"Of course, we also question whether the Fourth Great Ninja War even happened."
And the reply they received was—
[Understood.]
So really, the definition of "we" was far too broad.
If it wasn't quantified…
Then the default scope was the entire world.