NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: To Me, You Are My Closest Friend
The entire ninja world was abuzz as they watched the events unfold on the celestial screen.
"Who do you think has the upper hand? I feel like Sasuke is stronger."
"No way, it's Naruto. He can summon Gamabunta! A toad boss that can fight tailed beasts would crush Sasuke."
"But don't you think Naruto might hold back? He doesn't seem like the type to go all out against a friend."
"What's with Konoha's security? How did they let a Genin defect?!"
"Pfft, 'greatest village'? Sounds overrated compared to our Kumogakure!"
"Oh, shut up, Lightning Village meatheads. Your boasting is annoying."
"You wanna fight, huh? Come to the Land of Lightning, and we'll see who's the strongest!"
"Bring it on! Just say when and where!"
"The Land of Lightning? You'll never make it back alive."
"Why don't you come to the Land of Fire instead? Scared?"
As tension flared across the ninja nations, others chose to stay silent, quietly observing the screen with bated breath.
"Choji, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Bushy Brows… everyone risked their lives to bring you back!"
Naruto's voice was filled with pain and anger as he confronted Sasuke.
"That must've been tough for them," Sasuke replied flatly, his face emotionless.
Hearing this, Shikamaru and the others, watching from outside the video, felt a sting in their hearts.
They had gone to such lengths, risking everything for their teammate. But Sasuke's indifference was like a slap in the face.
"Let me remind you all again," Shikamaru had said before they set out. "Even if our relationship with Sasuke isn't great, we're all Konoha shinobi. We're comrades!"
"So no matter what, we must bring him back. That's what it means to be a ninja of the Leaf!"
Naruto charged at Sasuke, leaping nearly a hundred meters to close the gap.
"Bam!"
Naruto pinned Sasuke to the ground, punching him repeatedly. Blood trickled from Sasuke's mouth.
"Yes, Naruto! Punch him! Teach that guy a lesson!" Kiba cheered angrily.
"Exactly! What does Sasuke think we are?!"
Even Shikamaru, usually calm and collected, nodded grimly.
"As a ninja of the Leaf, as his comrade, we can't let this slide," he said firmly.
Naruto, in the video, grabbed Sasuke by his collar and yelled.
"What do you take your comrades from Konoha for?!"
Sasuke coughed up more blood but remained emotionless.
"Can staying with you all make me stronger?" he asked coldly.
Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief as Sasuke continued.
"I'm going to Orochimaru."
Naruto's words about Orochimaru sent shockwaves across the nations.
"What?! The Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru?! Impossible!"
"How did that happen? And when? Naruto doesn't look much older than he is now."
"Orochimaru... That snake. What could he have done to take down the Third Hokage?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened.
"So that's how I die? At the hands of Orochimaru?!"
Jiraiya clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes.
"Orochimaru... You've gone too far," he growled.
In the Rain Country, Itachi Uchiha sat silently under the pouring rain, his expression unreadable as he watched his younger brother on the celestial screen.
Kisame, standing nearby, chuckled.
"You're going to catch a cold, Itachi-san," he teased, watching his partner with amusement.
Itachi didn't respond, his gaze fixed on Sasuke.
"That's your little brother, huh? Already so full of hatred, even willing to give his body to Orochimaru for power."
Itachi's face remained impassive, but internally, guilt and sadness welled up.
"This is all my fault," he thought.
Sasuke's cold words echoed:
"I don't care. As long as I can gain power, nothing else matters."
He laughed darkly, lifting Naruto by his collar and punching him hard in the chest.
"Thud!"
Naruto gasped, blood spurting from his mouth as he fell into the lake below.
On the surface, Sasuke looked at his hands, a twisted smile on his face.
"This power… It's incredible. I can feel it coursing through me," he said, unable to hide his joy.
Naruto emerged from the water, summoning shadow clones to continue the fight. But no matter how many clones he created, Sasuke overpowered him, sending him back into the water.
As he stood on the edge, looking down at Naruto struggling in the water, memories flickered in Sasuke's mind.
"If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me..."
"I'm an avenger. I'll embrace the darkness if it gives me the power to destroy him..."
Naruto climbed out of the lake, his body battered but his spirit unbroken.
"To you... am I no longer a comrade? Am I nothing to you now?"
His voice cracked, heavy with sadness.
"Did everything we did in Team Seven mean nothing to you?!"
Sasuke's gaze softened slightly as he responded.
"No... It wasn't meaningless. To me, you are my closest friend."
Naruto's eyes widened at those words.
"Your closest friend… Then why...?"
Sasuke interrupted, his voice filled with quiet menace.
"Precisely because you're my closest friend... you're the one I must kill."