章 176: Ch.176 Friends
Hidden Leaf Streets.
Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, his face full of impatience: "Why are you following me? I told you, I want to be alone!"
Naruto had his hands behind his head: "I'm not following you!"
"You've been following me this whole time!" Sasuke snorted and said, "Don't forget, I have the Sharingan!"
Naruto complained, "Sharingan, Sharingan… I'm so sick of hearing about it! Shinji never talks about the Sharingan!"
"That's because he doesn't have it!"
"So what if you have it? You still got beaten into the hospital!"
Naruto mumbled under his breath.
Sasuke's face darkened, "What did you say?!"
"You heard me clearly enough to ask." Naruto pouted, then continued, "Sasuke, everyone wanted to celebrate you getting out of the hospital. Why won't you come to dinner with us?"
"Not interested."
Sasuke ignored Naruto and walked towards his apartment.
Naruto ran after him, "Everyone cares about you!"
"I don't need that!"
Sasuke said coldly, his gaze growing colder.
After being beaten by Itachi, he realized that friendships only made him weaker, so he distanced himself from his peers.
Of course,
There was another reason he didn't want to admit.
He feared that one day he would lose control, seeking the power beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan—the Mangekyo Sharingan—and raise his blade against his friends.
To prevent that from happening, he chose not to have friends.
Soon, they left the bustling streets.
Walking along the shaded path, Naruto continued to try to persuade him, while Sasuke occasionally responded with disdainful grunts.
Clang, clang-
Suddenly, there was a sound of metal clashing!
Then, from the nearby forest, a few dull thuds were heard, as if someone had collapsed.
Naruto was confused and looked back, "Huh? What was that sound?!"
Sasuke immediately drew a kunai from the pouch at his waist and moved to protect Naruto: "Careful!"
Naruto asked, "What's going on?"
"You idiot!" Sasuke cursed, keeping his eyes on the forest, "Someone's fighting in there!"
"Who?"
Sasuke was exasperated, "Who else? It must be the Anbu assigned to protect you!"
Naruto leaned forward and looked carefully, then asked, "Why is it so quiet now?"
"They must have finished the fight."
No sooner had Sasuke spoken than they heard soft, measured footsteps coming from the forest, like someone leisurely walking after dinner.
Sasuke's face instantly changed, and he activated his Sharingan: "Be careful, it's an enemy!"
To be able to deal with Anbu so easily meant this enemy was no ordinary foe, so Sasuke immediately went on high alert.
A figure slowly emerged from the forest.
Sasuke's face tensed, and a hint of panic appeared on his usually guarded face.
Naruto was also startled: "A red cloud robe… Akatsuki?!"
The figure emerging from the forest glanced at Naruto, then looked at Sasuke: "Uchiha Sasuke, this has nothing to do with you. Stand down."
Realizing that Naruto was the target, Sasuke gritted his teeth: "Naruto, run! This guy is an Akatsuki member with the Mangekyo Sharingan. I won't be able to hold him for long!"
Naruto asked, "What about you?"
Sasuke snorted, "You should worry about yourself! I have the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, I can take care of myself!"
"Oh, really..."
The figure from the forest smiled.
Swoosh!
In an instant, he flashed to Sasuke's side.
With just a look, Sasuke felt his body freeze. He was horrified, "Wh-what's happening?!"
"What did you do to Sasuke?!"
Naruto yelled as he charged forward.
Thud-
With a dull thud, Naruto took a heavy punch to the stomach and collapsed to the ground, curled up like a shrimp.
The figure from the forest once again turned his gaze to Sasuke, without saying a word.
But Sasuke could see the disdain in the eyes beneath the mask, and he grew furious, "Damn it!"
No matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn't move.
"What kind of genjutsu is this?!"
He was both terrified and enraged!
Terrified that the enemy had immobilized him with just a glance, and enraged that the enemy hadn't even considered him a threat, taking Naruto away right in front of him.
Moments later, Sasuke suddenly staggered as his body regained movement.
Huff, huff...
He panted heavily, quickly scanning the area. By now, there was no sign of Naruto anywhere.
"Why would the Akatsuki want Naruto?"
Suppressing his doubts, he dared not waste time and immediately dashed toward the Hokage's office.
Upon learning that Naruto had been abducted by an Akatsuki member who infiltrated the village, the Third Hokage frowned deeply.
Nearby, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances.
Danzo's face darkened as his mind raced.
For the Akatsuki to dare infiltrate the Hidden Leaf at this time showed recklessness, but the fact that they could precisely locate Naruto, understand the village's security measures, and easily take out the Anbu protecting him—something was definitely off.
The only explanation was that the Akatsuki had planted a spy near Naruto.
With this in mind, Danzo looked at Sasuke with a dark expression, "How did the Akatsuki know where Naruto was? Did you tell them?"
Sasuke froze for a moment, then erupted in anger, "What are you talking about, you bastard?!"
"Watch your tone!"
Danzo barked, signaling the Anbu to take Sasuke.
At that moment, the Third Hokage coughed lightly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Danzo and Sasuke, "The priority now is to rescue Naruto!"
Bang!
Just as the Third Hokage finished speaking, the door to the Hokage's office swung open.
Tsunade, accompanied by Shizune, burst in: "Naruto Uzumaki was taken by the Akatsuki?!"
The Third Hokage nodded.
Tsunade frowned, "What exactly happened? Who did it?"
Sasuke quickly replied, "The one who took Naruto is the masked Mangekyo Uchiha from the Akatsuki!"
Tsunade asked, "A or B?"
"A or B?" Sasuke hesitated briefly before realizing, then said, "It was the Mangekyo Uchiha who defeated the demon in the Land of Demons!"
"A."
The room grew tense.
'A''s strength was well known, having been demonstrated in multiple battles. According to the Intelligence Division, 'A' might be the strongest Uchiha in the Akatsuki, even surpassing Uchiha Itachi.
This was why the Intelligence Division suspected that 'A' was the leader of the Akatsuki's mysterious trio.
The Third Hokage looked at Tsunade, "You're here just in time. It seems we'll need you to personally lead this mission."
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