Chapter 54: Sasuke's Loss, The Nine Gather

"Yo, Naruto, well done! Keep working hard!"

Standing beside Kakashi, Tetsuya waved to Naruto with a cheerful grin. Kakashi glanced at him, his tone as relaxed as ever.

"They're different from you, Tetsuya. I won't take them on missions if they don't understand the importance of the team."

"I think you just want to be lazy," Tetsuya complained without hesitation. "The Third Hokage has already told me there's a mission for Team 7 tomorrow."

"Anyway, go back and prepare to leave the village," Kakashi responded, a hint of a smile on his lips.

The two exchanged only a few more words before the trio—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—completed their task and joined them.

"Tetsuya! I'm going to challenge you! I've gotten a lot stronger!" Naruto shouted, running up to Tetsuya. "I've already defeated Sasuke; that guy's no match for me at all!"

"What's going on?" Tetsuya's interest was piqued. At this stage, Naruto was still inexperienced in physical skills compared to Sasuke, but now he claimed to have won against him.

"Shut up! It was a sneak attack!" Sasuke's eyebrows twitched wildly. Naruto had ambushed him, tied him up, and thrown him into a toilet. It was a dark history Sasuke could never erase.

Tetsuya, understanding the situation, looked at Sasuke with a teasing grin. "Sasuke, your vigilance is slipping."

"Who would have thought that idiot Naruto would attack me?" Sasuke grumbled, clearly irritated.

Tetsuya declined Naruto's challenge to fight. "Naruto, we're going out of the village for a mission tomorrow, so let's forget it today."

After half a month of running around, Tetsuya was mentally exhausted from the constant missions. He needed a break.

Naruto's attention quickly shifted to the upcoming mission. Tetsuya suggested, "Hinata and Ino don't have assignments today. Why don't we have a meal together?"

Naruto hadn't attended their last graduation party, so this was an opportunity to make up for it. Surprisingly, even Sasuke didn't object.

But deciding on a location became a problem. Naruto proposed Ichiraku Ramen, but it was too small for a gathering. BBQ was another option, but they had been there too often recently.

While Tetsuya was struggling, Sasuke spoke up. "Let's go to my house. It's big enough. We can buy whatever we want to eat."

His face turned slightly to the side, embarrassed by his own suggestion. Tetsuya was surprised. Sasuke rarely invited anyone over.

"Alright, then let's go to Sasuke's house," Tetsuya agreed.

"Call me Sasuke!" Sasuke corrected, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

...

Sakura went to the Hokage building to hand in the task, while Naruto volunteered to find the rest of their friends. Tetsuya split into two Shadow Clones to find Hinata and Ino.

As for Kakashi, Tetsuya smiled and said, "Sensei, this is a party for us students. You wouldn't want to intrude, right?"

Kakashi shook his head, amused. "Kids these days are really not cute anymore." He left with his beloved book in hand.

After everyone left, Tetsuya turned to Sasuke. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

Sasuke had been hesitant to speak since Tetsuya arrived. Finally, he asked, "Naruto said you have a Sharingan like Kakashi. Is that true?"

The last time Naruto had stolen the scroll of sealing, he had noticed the change in Tetsuya's eyes. During a conversation, Naruto had mentioned it, and Sasuke had overheard.

"If you mean this," Tetsuya said, revealing his Sharingan with three tomoe.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You have a Sharingan! Are you from the Uchiha clan?"

"I'm not from the Uchiha clan," Tetsuya replied, shaking his head. "It's complicated how I got it."

Sasuke's excitement faded into disappointment. The Uchiha clan had been decimated by Itachi, and Tetsuya's Sharingan had given him a sliver of hope that there might be another Uchiha survivor.

Tetsuya patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "Focus on getting stronger, Sasuke. You're not ready to face him yet."

Sasuke remained silent, turning away and heading towards the Uchiha compound.

An hour later, everyone gathered at the Uchiha compound. Hinata and Ino, who hadn't seen Tetsuya for half a month, were thrilled to see him. The three of them chatted animatedly, while the others busied themselves with preparations.

Lazy as ever, Shikamaru took on the task of organizing. They decided on a barbecue for its simplicity and convenience. Sasuke's house had enough ingredients, so there was no need to buy more.

Kiba and Shino handled the barbecue tools, while Hinata, Ino, and Sakura prepared the ingredients. Tetsuya and Sasuke took charge of the grilling, keeping Naruto away to prevent any mishaps. Choji, of course, was given snacks to keep him busy and prevent him from devouring everything before it was ready.

After much preparation, they finally started the barbecue. To everyone's surprise, Sasuke's grilling skills were impressive. Living alone since he was a child had forced him to learn basic life skills.

As they ate and chatted, the conversation naturally turned to the missions they had undertaken in the past month. Most complained about the monotony of D-rank missions, while Tetsuya became the center of attention for having experienced higher-level tasks.

Tetsuya chose some less graphic missions to share, keeping the more gruesome details to himself. The group listened eagerly, their eyes wide with admiration and curiosity.

As the night wore on, they laughed and talked, enjoying the rare moment of camaraderie. The bonds they forged would only grow stronger as they faced future challenges together.

And so, under the starlit sky of the Uchiha compound, the nine young ninja strengthened their friendships, unaware of the trials and tribulations that lay ahead.