[500PS REACHED!! Next Goal: 1000PS!]
After sensing the surroundings, Yamato frowned and reported, "There's no one here."
It was unusual for a village known for selling information to have no guards at its outskirts.
"The village is also completely silent," Kurotsuchi said, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized the village ahead.
Had the people of Jōmae Village already relocated? Had their mission been compromised? Both Kurotsuchi and Yamato considered this possibility.
Regardless, the mission had to proceed.
Yamato gestured, and the group imdiately moved into the village, sneaking forward. Click.
The sound of a lock being picked echoed softly.
With the massive lock on the door falling away, Naruto and Sakura quickly entered the house, sweeping their gaze from left to right.
Finding nothing of note, they returned to the entrance, where Yamato, Sai, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, Bunya, and Ichiha erged from the houses they had searched. After exchanging glances, the group continued their search through Jōmae Village.
One by one, giant locks were opened. One by one, houses and secret chambers were inspected. Still, no useful clues were found.
Everything was too clean.
"Sasuke..." Naruto, having finally gotten so news of Sasuke, clenched his fists, unwilling to let this opportunity slip away again. He quickened his pace, searching the village with increasing urgency.
Sakura, seeing Naruto's determination, also sped up.
...
Ti passed quickly.
Having searched most of the village, the Konoha and Iwa shinobi gathered at the entrance of a large underground base. Together, they ventured into the base, moving swiftly through rows upon rows of densely packed rooms, continuing their search.
This was once the intelligence storage center of Jōmae Village.
Room after room contained scrolls ticulously organized by ti period, displayed neatly on shelves-a truly impressive sight.
Now, however, the rooms were empty.
The few scrolls that remained were blank.
"There's nothing... nothing at all..." Naruto ran through corridor after corridor, pushing open door after door, only to be t with disappointnt ti and again.
Just as he was starting to lose hope, the group pushed open the last door of the underground base.
Blinding sunlight stread in, causing everyone, who had been in the dark for so long, to instinctively lower their eyes.
In that instant, Naruto's eyes widened, his face lighting up with joy.
"Sasuke."
He saw him!
Outside, bathed in sunlight, was the person he had longed to see-the one who had grown taller and looked more mature.
"Sasuke!!!" Naruto finally couldn't hold back his emotions and shouted.
"Sasuke?" Sakura looked in disbelief, her eyes welling up with tears.
Yamato, Sai, Kurotsuchi, and the others quickly tensed, realizing they had finally caught up. "Sasuke, do you know those people?" asked Yuikei, the captain of Jōmae Village's security squad, who had just finished the final tasks and was preparing to leave according to plan. He glanced at the newcors and questioned Sasuke.
Sasuke turned around, his gaze calmly passing over Naruto and Sakura. Though it had been two years, he still recognized them imdiately.
He nodded calmly and said, "They were my teammates from my ti in Konoha."
Upon hearing this, Izumi, dressed in her ninja attire, looked over the group, focusing particularly on the emotional Naruto and Sakura. Smiling faintly, she said, "It's clear you had a close bond."
"Indeed," Sasuke replied without hesitation. He had long abandoned the belief that severing bonds was the only way to grow stronger, as Itachi had once told him. While he no longer had strong feelings toward Konoha, the bond he shared with Naruto, Sakura, and Team 7 still existed.
Of course, while there was still camaraderie, Sasuke's new identity ant he wouldn't let those bonds hold him back if it ca to a fight.
"Sasuke..."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto was overwheld with emotion. He had so much he wanted to say, but when the mont ca, he didn't know where to start.
"Should we say goodbye before we leave?" Uchiha Jin, the only one from Jōmae Village who hadn't spoken yet, asked. Having married and had children, his previously sharp deanor had softened considerably, allowing him to speak with more calmness.
As for the potential danger ahead... the pride of the Uchiha still remained.
As mbers of the squad responsible for wrapping things up, Jin, Sasuke, and Izumi all had three-tomoe Sharingan, while Yuikei, the captain, was an elite jōnin.
The incoming group stood no chance of stopping them.
This was why Jin and the rest of the squad were so confident, even making light jokes with Sasuke.
Hearing Jin, Sasuke gave a casual nod, his gaze briefly sweeping over the unfamiliar Iwa shinobi.
"Iwa shinobi, huh," he muttered, easily guessing their purpose for being here. After all, he had been the one to capture the Iwa jōnin that Gensou used as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei.
Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto, Sakura, and the other Konoha shinobi he didn't recognize. He spoke calmly, "It's been a while, Naruto, Sakura."
"Where's Kakashi? Didn't he co?"
Sasuke was slightly suspicious that Kakashi, known for his sneak attacks, might be hiding sowhere nearby.
Yamato stepped forward and answered, "Captain Kakashi isn't here. I'm leading the mission this ti. The objective is to bring you, Sasuke, back to Konoha."
The mission to investigate Jōmae Village had already failed. For Yamato, the next best thing
was to bring Uchiha Sasuke back.
Sasuke surely had valuable information about Jomae Village.
Not just Sasuke, though-his companions might also have information.
Yamato's eyes briefly scanned Izumi and the other two.
Though they gave him a vague sense of danger, the addition of the Iwa team put them at a
nurical advantage.
At that mont, Kurotsuchi spoke up, "Uchiha Sasuke, right? Let ask you, what happened to Iwa shinobi Ishikawa, who ca here a week ago?"
Sasuke turned his head. "Ishikawa? If you an the big guy who specialized in Doton, he's no
longer with us."
"What do you an 'no longer with us"?"
"Obviously, I killed him."
Crack!
Kurotsuchi clenched her fists, her gaze instantly turning cold.
"A missing-nin like you dares to be so arrogant!"
"Doton: Dosekibari!"
Not wanting to waste any more ti, Kurotsuchi swiftly ford hand seals, and bamboo
shoot-like rocks erupted from the ground, aiming to pierce through Sasuke and the others
from Jōmae Village.
Seeing this, Yamato and the others had no choice but to join the fight.
The battle had officially begun.
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