Naruto: If I ask you to kill Sasuke, you will become a succubus?

When I came out of the shower, Sasuke had already finished eating.

He even cleared the table, stacking the dishes on top of each other.

That reminds me of when I went to Sasuke's house to work part-time. I cooked, and after we finished eating together, he took the initiative to clear the dishes and wash them.

Actually, I am here part-time, and washing dishes is not the employer's responsibility, but when I cook, he often finishes his exercise early and comes to help me.

I suspected at the time that it was because the food I cooked for him was too bad the first time, which is why he became worried and kept looking at me to make sure I put in the normal amount of seasoning.

Even though that may be the case, thinking about it now, I realize somewhat belatedly that Sasuke was really good to me.

Because he could just stop employing me because I cook bad food.

The part-time job I do in his house is the easiest and best paying of all my part-time jobs.

When I was a kid, I wondered what would happen to Sasuke if Naruto survived—he might be killed, imprisoned, spend the rest of his life as a felon, or escape and lie dormant like Uchiha Madara, waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback...

So I don't want to get too close to him.

And now I finally know what Naruto's real fate was after he survived - one arm was broken off and he wandered outside Konoha.

Compared to what I had imagined as a child, the ending seemed pretty good since he wasn't dead, imprisoned, or hiding underground like a shadowy rat.

It’s just that I now understand him, am more familiar with him, and like him better than when I was a child…so even if this is a good enough ending, I still don’t think it’s enough.

He said Orochimaru is in my body. If he could see through my eyes and see everything I’ve been through, I wonder what he would think?

I was so excited just now that I didn't even think about this. As I calmed down in the shower, I suddenly felt a little uneasy about summoning him.

What if he thinks I'm a mess because I've strayed from the path they've set for me?

When I was applying shower gel, it suddenly occurred to me that if he could see everything through my eyes, then he wouldn't be able to see it when I was taking a shower too, right?

But... there is no way I can change this kind of thing. It's useless to think too much about it. I still believe that he will avoid my private moments on his own.

After all, if he peeked, he should be the one to feel ashamed.

I believe that although he is not a good person, he is not a vulgar or disgusting guy either.

So I took a shower as if he didn't exist, and decided to continue acting as if he didn't exist.

I saw Sasuke standing in front of the window, looking at the scenery outside -

It’s called scenery, but actually there’s nothing outside.

In this place, the light outside never changes, always fixed at dusk. And everywhere you look, it's all foggy, like living in a sandstorm.

Although I think Sasuke should have heard the sound of me coming out, I still said habitually: "I'm done."

Sasuke said, "I discovered today that this artificial sun is not the only building in the castle, but most of the other places have become ruins. I speculate that this may have been the place where Princess Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed. The main family lived here and guarded the Outer Path Demon Statue for generations. The uninhabited villages in the lower world are the residences of the branch families."

Although his answer was irrelevant, information exchange was an important matter that had to be done, so I immediately continued, "You mean, the branch family defeated the main family, wiped them all out, and moved into the main family? Are we now in the artificial sun? The sun that we saw hanging in the sky when we looked up from the ground before?"

"Yes. You were unconscious when you were abducted, so you probably don't know this."

"…The interior of this space seems quite large. If we search like this, will it be like looking for a needle in a haystack?"

"Even so, it's much smaller than the entire moon." Sasuke's tone was very calm, as if the world collapsed in front of him and his eyebrows would not move at all. That kind of calmness and ease can give people a great sense of security.

When I was a kid, I used to feel bad that Sasuke couldn't always be on "our side" because he was so strong.

Of course, at that time, what I thought of as "we" was actually that I felt it was a pity that Sasuke could not stand on the same side as Shikamaru and fight side by side. But now... I don't think that Shikamaru and I are opposites, but I am a little hesitant to take it for granted that Shikamaru and I are "we" like when I was a child.

Sasuke didn't know what I was thinking, he continued: "When the Outer Path Demon Statue was summoned to Earth by Uchiha Madara, its sudden disappearance may have had a great impact on the main family. For example, they may have built a place like a temple outside the Outer Path Demon Statue, which suddenly lost its internal support and led to collapse... Those ruined buildings may be the result of that time..."

"I can ask Sheren tomorrow to confirm our guess."

Sasuke turned and looked at me, as if he wanted to say something, but I waited for a moment and he only said, "I will continue searching in a different direction tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." I said, "I have determined the location of Toneri's room and the approximate terrain layout of several floors. I'm not sure if the adaptation period of the Samsara Eye causes chills, there is a fireplace in his living room that is always lit. If so, perhaps using ice escape will have a suppressive effect when dealing with him? It took about five minutes for his eyes to go from pain to inability to move to the pain subsiding, but it is not certain how long the interval between pains will be. It is also unclear how long it will take him to fully master the Samsara Eye... If he is no longer in pain, we will have one less weakness to target, and it is the easiest weakness to break."

Sasuke nodded.

He hesitated, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh, oh, yes. Please."

Although the road to the bathroom was wide, I still quickly made way.

"By the way, the clothes I'm wearing were just changed for me by the puppets today. I haven't been outside and haven't sweated much, so they're still clean... Since they only sent one piece of clothing and you didn't have any change of clothes, I left the new clothes they just sent for you in the bathroom."

Sasuke was originally planning to walk right past me, but when he heard me speak, he stopped in front of me and waited for me to finish: "...Okay."

"Although it's a women's yukata, it's quite loose and it's pure white, so you should be able to wear it without looking weird."

"Ah."

...Actually, I'd really like to see Sasuke wearing clothes with cute patterns.

Ah, this kind of bad taste is not good.

I quickly put this thought aside: "Then... go ahead."

Seeing that I had nothing more to say, Sasuke nodded slightly and walked into the bathroom.

I slowly walked to where he had just stood and looked out the window like him.

What was he looking at and what was he thinking about just now?

Maybe it’s because I just healed him and he told me about Orochimaru, I feel like the distance between us seems to have shortened a lot.

The Naruto in this world doesn't look much different from my Naruto, but the Sasuke in this world is very different from my Sasuke.

Somehow this always reminds me of my childhood.

During a combat exercise in an icy and snowy environment, we once encountered an avalanche, and Iruka-sensei asked Sasuke to carry me out.

That was the first time I had such close contact with him for such a long time.

When I lay on his back, we were moving in the same direction and looking in the same direction. I wondered if we saw the same thing, and even if it was the same thing, would our feelings and thoughts be the same?

At that time, I tried hard to understand Sasuke's feelings, and finally I understood his thoughts.

As a result, when I came to this new world, my understanding of Sasuke suddenly seemed to be completely overturned.

But he was extremely reserved, like a tightly closed clam that required some effort to pry open - and even then, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pry it open.

I want to understand what he is thinking...

I will never feel at ease until I figure out what Sasuke is thinking.

Why… ?

I reflected on myself. Was it subconscious or did I feel that he was very dangerous, like a landmine that could explode at any time if I couldn't control him?

But the Sasuke in this world has already been defeated by Naruto, and there are people who can suppress him. Why do I still care about him so much?

Do I really want to understand him in order to be on guard against him?

I remember that year when he stood under the street light in the Uchiha residence. There was no one around. He looked up and silently watched the street light go out.

If I didn't call him, he would be swallowed by the darkness in this deserted place and no one would know.

...How lonely that is.