The Uchiha didn't answer without permission, but thought seriously for a moment before speaking slowly...

"Actually, whether you can go back or not depends on your personal thoughts, Sasuke. However, since you are hesitating about this matter, Sasuke, does it also mean that... although you are resisting returning to the village now, you have not thought about never going back.

.Of course, I don’t mean to stay there permanently, I mean to go back and visit occasionally.”

Because if you didn't want to go back at all, there wouldn't be such hesitation at all.

Uchiha Sasuke was stunned for a moment, and then he thought about it seriously. In the end, he had to admit that her judgment was indeed sharp and accurate. He considered the answer and said: "In the future... Since Naruto and the others still stay in the village, there are

Maybe I’ll go back and take a look when I have time.”

and……

The abandoned Uchiha clan land where his family once lived is still there. There are traces of their existence everywhere in the clan land. Maybe one day or some time in the future, he will want to go there to pursue some memories.

After all, that is where "home" once was, even though his home had long since fallen apart on that red moon night.

"So..." Uchiha held his arm, raised his head and asked in a low voice, "Want to give it a try?"

"……What?"

"Try to see if you want to stand in Konoha Village now." Uchiha showed a slightly sly smile, "You don't have to be arrogant to enter the village, right? We can approach Konoha quietly~ If

Sasuke, if you are standing near the village or at the entrance of the village and you still don't want to turn around and leave, let's go in quietly. If you don't feel extremely disgusted after walking in the village for a while and can hold on until we finish doing things before leaving, then we will completely reveal our whereabouts.

, just treat it as a surprise for Naruto-kun~ On the contrary," she blinked, "let's turn around and leave without stopping for a moment, as if we've never gone back."

"...Hiding his head and showing his tail, he's so sneaky." Sasuke Uchiha commented.

"I call this flexibility!!!" Uchiha Oichi protested.

Although Uchiha Sasuke dislikes this kind of behavior very much, he has to admit that this is a method. However, it is impossible to agree immediately, so...

"I'll think about it."

"Yeah, think about it~" Uchiha nodded with a smile, then yawned slightly and said in a slightly vague tone, "But don't think about it now, it's too late, it's time to sleep."

Uchiha Sasuke suddenly asked: "...will you go back with me?"

"Huh?" Uchiha blinked, thinking, "What's the problem?", and then she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "Of course~ I've said it many times, I'll be where you are, Sasuke."

No matter where, I will never leave your side."

Uchiha Sasuke: "..." How many times have I said, don't make such unrealizable promises, but he is too lazy to correct her. By the way, he secretly laughs at himself for asking a stupid question, so he won't ask

Next sentence——

Will you still leave with me then?

Probably not.

After all, that was the place she truly loved, and she never liked wandering around the world. She was like a dragon hiding endless wealth, waiting by her dragon's nest all day long, threatening everyone with evil intentions.

Generations, taking care of every treasure in it.

She will understand when she gets to Konoha. She would rather stay there than be with him.

In other words, are we finally separated?

It's good. After being in trouble for so long, I finally got rid of this burden.

"Sasuke?"

"...I'm sleepy, go to sleep."

"……oh."

She then obediently closed her eyes, lowered her head slightly, and placed her forehead on his shoulder.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't speak or move anymore, he just stared silently at the ceiling of the hotel in the night with his eyes open.

The next day.

Uchiha Sasuke told the rest of the Eagle Squad his decision, and the latter didn't have any objections to it - anyway, Sasuke could go wherever he wanted, and they would always follow.

So the group of people set out on their way home.

Of course, I didn't tell Uzumaki Naruto, so Naruto-sensei wrote letters to Uzumaki-sensei every day during the trip——

Zuo...suke...come back...I miss you...everyone misses you...

In this regard, Sasuke-sensei commented——

"Very annoying."

Although they did not deliberately rush, the ninjas moved very fast, so a few days later, they appeared near the entrance of Konoha Village.

One, two, three, four, five...

Five suspicious people wearing black cloaks with their heads lowered.

If Uchiha Sasuke hadn't used the powerful illusion of the Mangekyou Sharingan to reduce the sense of abnormality that the others felt from them, then the person who "greeted" them at this moment might not be two village entrance guards, but a group of ninjas or ANBU

.

"How? How?" Uchiha asked the people around him in a low voice, a little nervously, "Sasuke, do you want to go in, or do you want to turn around and leave? You have to think carefully and don't deceive yourself."

"You are very noisy."

"..." The Uchiha who was "reprimanded" curled his lips. Then, with his hands behind his back and his head slightly tilted, he stared curiously at the entrance of Konoha Village not far away. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that it was very strange.

It looked familiar... as if she had crossed it countless times before. And, compared to Sasuke, who was the "protagonist"... she seemed to want to enter that village, very, very much, very much...

but.

Dama!

Just as she promised, she had to stay with Sasuke well, so she was waiting for his decision. If his choice was to turn around and leave, then she would follow him without hesitation.

No matter what, she couldn't leave him behind.

After Uchiha Sasuke hesitated for a moment while being watched by the people around him, he finally took steps and walked towards the entrance of the village.

The others looked at each other and followed suit.

Although the guards of Konoha did not relax too much after the war because of the current peaceful situation in the ninja world, under the illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan, they almost did not exist.

During the Akatsuki period, Itachi Uchiha once used his Mangekyo Sharingan to wander around Konoha and return home without triggering the barrier of the village itself; as a younger brother, even Uchiha Sasuke, who has stronger eyes now, can certainly do this.

, and "protected" the other four people around him with enough room.

"Huh?" Uchiha looked around curiously, "Is this Konoha? It is indeed the largest ninja village. The streets near the village entrance are also so lively. Isn't this a bustling area?"

Uchiha Sasuke: "..." For some reason, hearing this emotion, he felt a little bit unbearable.

"Of course." Xianglin snorted, with an expression on her face that said, "Why are you so ignorant? I really can't help it, so I'll just tell you a little bit~" and replied, "If you don't mention anything else,

The prosperity of Konoha is one of the best in the entire ninja world, and there are only a handful of villages that can compare with this place. Even the capitals and prosperous cities of many countries cannot compare with this place."

"Yeah." Zhongwu nodded, "The Kingdom of Iron is much worse than here."

"That's right." Gui Deng Shuiyue nodded in agreement.

"Hey? When have you been to the Land of Iron?" Uchiha asked curiously. She knew Sasuke's general experience, but it was impossible to be accurate in every detail. Therefore, she was a little curious about the past of this group of people.

"Before the Fourth World War, we were imprisoned there." Kiden Shuiyue replied, "We managed to escape with great difficulty, right, Chonggo."

"Um."

Uchiha tape: "..." Hey, she didn't know what to say for a moment, so she could only say, "Um, thank you for your hard work." By the way, she asked the black-haired boy next to her with her eyes——

Are you just going to watch them being imprisoned in the Kingdom of Thunder?

Didn't you even go to rescue anyone?

Or they escaped on their own...

Uchiha Sasuke pretended not to see this look at all. Don't ask, he just didn't have time to ask. After all, he... didn't really care about it at that time. But he didn't expect that after they escaped, they would take Orochimaru with them right away.

Find him with the information that came down.

Maybe it's because of this feeling...

When Onito Suigetsu asked with a smile, "Sasuke, even if you decide to leave, can I go to Konoha's favorite store to buy some cheese jelly before leaving?", he said "hmm" and chose to agree.

Xianglin immediately raised his hand to "compete for favor": "Then I also want to go to my favorite restaurant to eat pork chop rice!"

"Okay." After Uchiha Sasuke finished speaking, he looked at Jugo and proactively asked, "Do you have a favorite dairy store?"

"Yeah." Zhongwu smiled and nodded, "I'll buy some when the time comes."

Uchiha looked at these people with some envy, because... it is quite happy to come to a place and buy something you like, right? This is really good... and she has no intention of buying it at all.

of things.

Uchiha Sasuke, who noticed her gaze, was silent for a moment and said, "Let's go to Ciganurigan later."

"Huh?" Uchiha tilted his head in confusion, and secretly thought to himself - this name is so familiar... what does it do?

Uchiha Sasuke did not explain, but just walked forward.

Xianglin puffed up her face slightly and explained helpfully: "It's a very famous dessert shop in Konoha. It's particularly good at making old-fashioned desserts like 'red bean cake'." Humph! What's so amazing! She wants to pack away the entire store's pork chops.

!And then I didn’t give her even a piece of it!
To be continued...