7.Looking at Konoha From a Distance
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"Uchiha?"
Sasuke also activated his Sharingan.
"My father once said that the Uchiha clan originated from the Sage of the Six Paths. I didn't expect it to be true."
Kaito deactivated his Sharingan and smiled, saying, "That's correct. Indra inherited the Sage of the Six Paths' Rinnegan, which led to the Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan."
"And Ashura inherited the Sage of the Six Paths' body, which is why the Senju and Uzumaki clans have such strong life forces and vastly superior chakra reserves."
Sasuke touched his eyes and murmured, "Rinnegan, body of the Sage, Uchiha, Uzumaki... is this destiny? Are Naruto and I fated to be enemies?"
Kaito looked at Sasuke, who had sunk into his own world, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
This kid, why has he suddenly become a bit silly?
After a while, Sasuke came back to his senses and looked up to find Kaito watching him with a gaze that seemed to pity a fool.
Sasuke's face turned red, he puffed up his cheeks, and defiantly began to retort, "After all that, you still haven't gotten to the main point! But, it doesn't matter. I just want to know about your power!"
Kaito raised his hands slightly and laughed, saying, "Alright, alright. But that's another long story for another time. Let's not get into it now."
Lowering his hands, he then said more seriously, "You just need to know that this power predates the birth of chakra. Chakra is an external force, while this power truly belongs to this world."
"Hmph." Sasuke crossed his arms and turned away.
He said irritably, "I don't care about these useless things. I just want the strength."
"It's not wrong to think that way. However, we can't stay here to train. It's time to go, Sasuke."
Kaito stood up, waved his right hand to collect the bedding spread in the cave, then walked over to the rock wall, erasing the carved words with his hand.
Sasuke stood up and silently observed.
How did he do that?
Just a light touch and a layer of rock was erased?
Hmph, I'll be able to do it too, sooner or later.
"Aren't you going to ask where we're going, Sasuke?"
After completely erasing their traces, Kaito headed toward the cave entrance, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts.
"It doesn't matter. I just want to start training quickly." Sasuke excitedly followed Kaito's steps, "And then... give that man a harsh lesson."
The two jumped onto the top of the tree at the cave entrance. Kaito looked up at the cliff's edge and turned to ask, "Can you get up there on your own?"
"Don't underestimate me!"
Sasuke smiled confidently, gathering chakra under his feet to stick to the vertical cliff, and began running upwards first.
But he hadn't gone far when Kaito's voice came from above.
"Not bad, Sasuke. I'll wait for you up there."
Sasuke looked up to see that Kaito wasn't running up the cliff using chakra like him.
He was still floating lightly, lightly touching the rock with his toes before leaping up a great distance and disappearing at the top of the cliff in the blink of an eye.
Damn it!
At this moment, Sasuke felt both annoyed and excited.
He was annoyed with his own strength and excited about the mysterious power he was about to encounter and learn from Kaito.
When Sasuke reached the top of the cliff and saw Kaito standing on the other side, he walked over and looked into the distance alongside Kaito.
That was the direction of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Both of them remained silent for a while, letting the mountaintop wind tousle their clothes and hair.
After a period of silence, Sasuke suddenly lowered his head and asked in a restrained voice, "Will you ever go back to Konoha?"
"I will," Kaito answered softly.
There are scores to settle with certain people.
"Why!"
Sasuke's outburst at the idea of returning seemed to strike a nerve. He suddenly raised his head, furiously saying, "Why go back! It's not our home anymore! Neither for Uncle nor for Itachi. Is the village that important?"
Watching Sasuke roar at him like an angry little beast, Kaito could only sigh helplessly. He reached out and gently ruffled Sasuke's spiky hair, soothingly saying, "I didn't say I'm going back. Calm down, Sasuke."
"You're right; it's not our home anymore. Home is where our family is."
Petting Sasuke's hair, Kaito thought, huh, this spiky hair is actually quite soft.
Sasuke quieted down but continued to stare stubbornly at Kaito.
Kaito, with a gentle gaze, softly said, "Still, the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out overnight. We must settle things with certain people from Konoha."
His voice grew colder as he continued, "Even if the Uchiha clan harbored thoughts of rebellion, not sparing even the children is something I cannot accept."
Hearing Kaito's words, Sasuke's expression darkened. He brushed away the hand on his head and hesitantly said, "But, the Third Hokage is already dead, and there was no one in the village before the Fifth Hokage... The only culprit is Itachi."
"Itachi needs to be taught a lesson, but that's something for the Uchiha to handle."
Kaito turned his back, hands behind him, gazing in the direction of Konoha.
"Although the Third Hokage is no longer with us, the decision surely wasn't made by just the Hokage alone. Konoha has the so-called Hokage advisors and elders. And from the beginning, some of them have been particularly hostile towards us Uchiha."
"Is that so? I want to be involved too," Sasuke said without hesitation.
"Alright!" Kaito once again patted Sasuke's head, "But not now. You need thorough training first."
"Hmph, got it. Let's start training quickly. I can't wait any longer."
"Then... let's head out."
Kaito pulled out a wooden-carved whistle from his sleeve and blew it.
The clear sound of the whistle echoed, and from the distant forest, a large grey bird, laughing oddly, soared from the trees and flew toward the mountaintop.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan to take a closer look and realized it was actually an owl.
He immediately turned to Kaito with a somewhat puzzled look.
Though the traditional summoning animals for the Uchiha are generally ninja cats and ninja birds, there wasn't a need to combine them.
"Ha, look at that face, Gurē. Are you unhappy with the magnificent me?" The grey owl, noticing Sasuke's expression as it approached, immediately ruffled its feathers and started causing a commotion.
It quickly landed on Kaito's shoulder, turned its head, and glared at Sasuke with its round golden eyes.
"Hmph." Sasuke also turned his head away to avoid the owl's gaze.
"Hey! Look at me!"
"Alright, alright."
Kaito interrupted the owl, introducing them to each other.
"Sasuke, this is my friend, just call him Gurē."
"Gurē, this is my sister's child, Uchiha Sasuke."