Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 224 Departure

"I need to go out for a while."

An old man said those words and turned to leave. This time, he didn't even bother to pretend to accept a task; he just planned to give a brief report and leave.

"If I asked you where you were going, you probably wouldn't answer, would you?" Orochimaru hadn't even put down the reagent bottle in his hand; he had anticipated this situation.

Sasuke crossed his arms and responded with silence as a matter of course. Even if Orochimaru disagreed, he was still going to leave through that door.

Orochimaru's eerie laughter arrived late, but he waved his hand, beckoned Kabuto over, gave him a few instructions, and then his right-hand men went out, their plans unknown.

"If you insist on giving me a task, I won't do it if it's not on my way." Sasuke finally broke his silence, speaking quite ruthlessly.

"Hehehe, what are you saying? I just thought it wasn't safe for you to go out alone, so I specially arranged two companions for you, and they're even the same age as you." Orochimaru is indeed very indulgent towards Sasuke, but recently Akatsuki has started to become active again. It is said that Itachi was spotted in the Land of Fire, which is not good news.

If you take a good look at the list of missions Sasuke has volunteered for over the years, and then look at where Naruto Uzumaki was during the same period, there's a 100% overlap. Kids really can't keep secrets; Sasuke doesn't even try to hide anything. Finding out his whereabouts is incredibly easy.

The Land of Waves' "Spring Festival" is generating a lot of buzz, even with official advertisements stating that Konoha ninjas will be responsible for security during the festival. According to Konoha tradition, ninjas who have previously served in the same region are usually assigned to the same area. The Land of Waves is Team 7's first destination, so it's highly likely they will be sent there. With Kakashi absent, Naruto Uzumaki, a Jonin, will be leading the team.

With Orochimaru's worries in mind, Sasuke had no choice but to take his two burdens with him on his journey. Fortunately, they were somewhat acquaintances of Sasuke, not to the point that he would reject them.

"Sasuke-kun~ I didn't expect to have another chance to go on a mission together~" Karin tried to pounce on Sasuke as soon as they met, but he skillfully dodged her.

"Yo." A boy with a mouthful of shark teeth waved his hand listlessly, appearing approachable on the surface, but inwardly he was probably thinking something else entirely.

"What kind of greeting is that? Be serious!"

"Who wants to go on a mission with a violent woman like you!"

Before Sasuke could even utter a word, his new comrade was already fighting. Of course, it was a one-sided beating; the shark-toothed boy was punched into a puddle of water by Karin, which was quite frightening. Is this a unique ability of the Hozuki clan? The ninja's body is truly an unfathomable thing.

"That's enough. I'm not out on a mission, I'm keeping an appointment. If you don't want to, you don't have to come with me, just stay where I can find you on my way back." Sasuke was in a hurry to leave and had no time to watch this farce.

Karin immediately abandoned the puddle, completely shedding her aggressive demeanor, and said shyly, "Master Orochimaru told me to follow Sasuke 'never leaving his side,' how could I not be happy?"

"...They just told us to follow, they didn't add those four words, did they?" A head emerged from the puddle of water, and even in its current state, it wouldn't stop talking, and sure enough, it received a kick, stirring up a wave.

"Hmph, that depends on whether that person is willing to give you a ride." Sasuke ignored those words, turned around and left, at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow, just enough for an average ninja to keep up.

The two temporary teammates were completely confused, but Sasuke had already set off, so they didn't have time to think and could only hurry up and catch up. However, after only about five kilometers outside of Otogakure, they saw someone on a normally deserted main road.

The blond boy wore a deep red divine robe with a pure black lining and orange trousers. The leg straps and distinctive shoes clearly identified him as a ninja. However, this ninja was not wearing a headband, and his expression was quite relaxed. His short hair stood up stubbornly, giving him a sunny and cheerful look.

"Wait, Sasuke! I can't sense any chakra. His concealment skills are amazing!" Karin suddenly got into the zone and tried to call out to Sasuke, who was accelerating, but he acted as if he didn't hear her. He flashed away and left them far behind.

"Is this going to be a fight?" Hozuki Suigetsu was excited. He had ranged attacks, but they were easy to miss from too far away, and their power would also decrease. However, with Sasuke holding him back, the Water Gun should be able to hit him, right?

Unfortunately, neither Karin's worries nor Suigetsu's expectations came to pass. Sasuke stopped beside that person, looked him up and down for a while, and then, surprisingly, made a comment like a normal person.

"This outfit is not bad."

"You too, but could you lower the neckline a bit? It looks a little strange."

Then, the two children, who had only ever seen Sasuke's rebellious nature, were shocked to see a beautiful woman fully clothed. But they didn't have time to appreciate it properly; instead, they were both so shocked that they fell off the tree.

Is that still Sasuke? Can he still be this obedient?

"You brought a friend? Aren't you going to introduce them?"

The blond boy kept smiling, a gentle smile that made people feel naturally close to him. Only now, at this close distance, could they see the details of his face: blond hair, blue eyes, a striking long beard—weren't these the characteristics of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?! The people of Konoha had actually ventured into the Land of Rice Fields and even managed to get within a few kilometers of Otogakure! They were incredibly audacious!

Sasuke looked over with a hint of disdain, probably because the way they fell from the tree was rather silly...

"Karin, Hozuki Suigetsu. Ignore them, it's Orochimaru who's gone crazy and insisted I bring them along."

The two people who were ordered to follow: "..."

"You're getting worse and worse at talking, aren't you?" The blond boy elbowed Sasuke and explained with a smile, "He was just kidding. Sasuke brought you here to see me, so he must consider you one of his own. Since you're already here, let's set off together. Hopefully, we can still book a room."

What did you order?!

The two screamed inwardly, but the two opposite them clearly had no intention of explaining; the blond one even extended a hand to them.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha, the user of the Flying Thunder God Technique. If you understand what this means, then please take my hand and let's set off."

As for why they can only have one hand when there are clearly two of them... even a blind person could see that Sasuke completely monopolized the other hand!

The legendary Flying Thunder God Technique... could it be leading them astray? None of them knew the final landing location, but Naruto seemed reliable and didn't appear to be the type to sabotage them.

Let's take a gamble, since they only have one life anyway.