From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 490 Spying from the Stars

Although the Konoha members who had completed their mission to reclaim the Kazekage failed, they were still warmly welcomed and received by the people of the Sand Village.

After all, everyone saw what the Konoha ninjas did to reclaim the Kazekage, no matter what. Even though the mission failed in the end, no one blamed them.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to Gaara."

Sasuke felt the most guilty; she didn't dare look Kankuro and Temari in the eye.

Temari, however, stepped forward and hugged Sasuke, saying softly, "No matter what, we are very grateful to you. If it weren't for the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, we would have had a very difficult time rebuilding the village. Please thank the Fifth Hokage for me. Don't blame yourself; it's not your fault."

This time, the damage to Sunagakure was quite severe, and with the current Sunagakure Village finances, it would be difficult to support the entire reconstruction work.

Fortunately, Konoha Village was there. Upon learning of this, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, immediately dispatched three teams to transport the houses that Sunagakure desperately needed.

"Please convey this message to the Fifth Hokage when you return."

Kankuro looked at them solemnly and said, word by word, "No matter what Konoha Village plans to do, Sunagakure Village will definitely support you."

This time, the Aurora Society's act of kidnapping Gaara, the Kazekage, has completely enraged everyone in Sunagakure.

They even put aside their hatred for Amegakure and planned to devote all their efforts to taking revenge on the Aurora Society and Iwagakure!

The key to successfully avenging the enemy is that Konoha must support and take the lead!

"We will relay this truthfully to Lord Godai."

Kakashi picked up the conversation, knowing full well what he was about to face; this was a war that no single ninja village could withstand.

Victory is only possible if all the ninja villages unite!

So, the people of Konoha quickly bid farewell to Sunagakure and embarked on their return journey.

Hyuga Neji, Might Guy, Tenten, and the original Might Guy support team set off ahead of time to report the mission details to the Fifth Hokage.

As for Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke Uchiha, Team 7, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, they were told to go back later.

Essentially, it was because Might Guy's support team was too slow this time, which prevented them from playing a role at all. As a result, they had more stamina left and naturally went back first.

Upon arriving in the land of rivers, Sakura saw a hot spring inn and suddenly felt a little tempted: "Um, how about we take a bath and rest for a day?"

Kakashi initially wanted to refuse, but then he suddenly remembered that Sasuke had just finished a major battle and needed to rest, so he nodded and said, "Alright, it's already late anyway, let's rest for a day."

So the three of them checked into the hot spring inn.

After removing his clothes, Sakura was surprised to find that Sasuke's body was covered in scars.

It's hard to imagine that such a beautiful girl would have so many scars after taking off her clothes; it's truly shocking.

"Sasuke, your injury..." Sakura was somewhat shocked and hesitated before asking, "Should I treat it for you?"

It's strange, really. Medical ninjutsu can heal scars, so it's not hard to understand why the characters in Naruto rarely have scars.

"Huh? You mean all this?" Sasuke didn't seem to care at all. He smiled and soaked in the hot spring, saying softly, "It's nothing. It's all from the training over the past two years. But thank you anyway. I don't need treatment for now. I want these scars to remind me that I must always strive to train hard!"

Are you still thinking about Naruto?

Sakura asked tentatively.

Sasuke remained silent for a long time, a look of reminiscence in his eyes: "Yes, because he is one of my few friends, someone who understands me."

Only Naruto, who grew up alone, could understand her pain.

"I'll help you, Sasuke!" Sakura clenched her fist and swung it hard in the air. "Once we find Naruto, I'm going to give him a good beating!"

"Hahaha~"

Sasuke was so amused that he doubled over with laughter.

The gloom of Fengying's abduction finally dissipated considerably at this moment.

Before long, the two emerged from the hot spring, changed into bathrobes, and went into the living room, where Kakashi had already prepared a sumptuous dinner.

"Wow, this is such a feast! Kakashi-sensei, have you struck it rich?" Sakura stared at Kakashi with a suspicious look: "When did you become so generous?"

Hearing this, Kakashi awkwardly touched his nose: "I'm not actually that stingy, am I?"

"Who said that? You promised to treat me to dinner last time, but when I got there, all I got was a bowl of ramen!" Sakura mercilessly exposed his lie, and tugged at Sasuke's sleeve, complaining to him, "If you hadn't come back, Kakashi-sensei wouldn't have been willing to spend so much money!"

"Ahem, let's eat quickly!"

Kakashi quickly interrupted Sakura, for who knows what shocking news she might reveal if she continued talking.

Regardless, he was, after all, their teacher, so he should have some self-respect.

Sakura and Sasuke chatted as they sat down. Looking at Kakashi across from them, the three of them felt as if they had returned to the time when they had just graduated.

The long-awaited reunion of Class 7 improved the mood of all three members considerably.

The only missing one was Sasuke, who looked at the empty seat with a complicated expression. He wondered just how strong Naruto had become two years later.

She didn't include the mission briefing in the last encounter with Naruto, nor did she tell anyone.

For some reason, she always felt that Naruto must have some unspeakable secret, and that he hadn't really betrayed Konoha!
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Sakura suddenly suggested, "I heard there's a fireworks show tonight~ Shall we go check it out?"

"Uh, we still have to travel tomorrow, right?" Sasuke wanted to see, but he was still a little hesitant.

Kakashi, seeing through her thoughts, said, "It's alright. If you get a good rest tonight, you'll have the energy to travel tomorrow. Just do as Sakura said and go sightseeing."

Thank you.

Sasuke could tell that both Sakura and Kakashi were trying to make her happier.

The two of them, wearing bathrobes, walked out onto the street.

There were many people attending the fireworks display tonight, and the streets were packed with people. Sakura dragged Sasuke around the booths.

The joyful atmosphere of summer made Sasuke unconsciously immerse himself in it, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

"Please wait a moment, both of you."

Just then, an older man stopped them.

Sakura and Sasuke were taken aback for a moment, but still politely stopped and looked at the middle-aged man who had stopped them.

The man looked to be around fifty years old, with white beards on his sideburns and chin, and his hair was casually draped down. His pupils, however, were a rare golden color.

"Excuse me, what is your name?" The man looked at Uchiha Sasuke, his eyes seeming somewhat anxious.

"What do you want?"

His gaze made Sasuke feel very uncomfortable, as if he were looking at a prop.

"I'm sorry, I was impulsive."

The middle-aged man seemed to realize that his actions were somewhat frightening, so he solemnly said, "You can call me Shennong. I run a clinic in the mountains, and many people here know me. You can ask other people if you don't believe me. I have no ill intentions."

Shennong? A doctor?
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance, wondering why the doctor wanted to see them.
"It's like this, I can tell that you two have studied medical ninjutsu." Shennong smiled kindly. "Because the friction between the two great powers has been quite frequent recently, there are many wounded in the village. I can't handle it all by myself, so I would like to ask for your help. Is that alright?"

Sasuke frowned slightly, remaining silent.

Sakura, standing next to her, didn't hesitate: "Sure, I'm a medical ninja, but the person next to me doesn't know medical ninjutsu."

"Wait a minute." Sasuke suddenly spoke, interrupting Xiaoying, and stared at Shennong with some wariness: "We just arrived in the Land of Rivers. We're not wearing headbands or showing any special signs. How did you know that we two have studied medical ninjutsu?"

"Although I, Shennong, am not as good as Tsunade, I still have good eyesight."

Unexpectedly, Shennong chuckled and pointed to his brow: "I have seen the mark on your brow on Tsunade. As for the girl next to me, it is a little more difficult. But fortunately, I am good at sensory ninjutsu, so I can sense that her chakra control is very precise. Apart from medical ninjas, very few people can do this."

Having said that, he looked at the two of them and slowly smiled, "Now, can I dispel your doubts?"

Sasuke's guard relaxed slightly, but he still harbored some apprehension in his heart.

Just now, there was a strange, inexplicable look in Shennong's eyes when he looked at her; it was definitely not as simple as he said!
"What should we do? Should we go?" After Sasuke's questioning, Sakura hesitated.

"Go and have a look."

Sasuke stared at Shennong, knowing that if he didn't figure things out, this guy probably wouldn't give up easily.

Of course, when she said this, she deliberately avoided Shennong's attention and quietly scratched Xiaoying's palm to signal her to be careful.

Sakura paused slightly, then immediately understood her meaning and nodded subtly.

"Thank you both so much."

Shennong smiled modestly, then turned and led the two towards his clinic.

As night deepened, the two women followed Shennong to the back mountain of the town, where they could see a solitary house nestled in the forest.

"Master Shennong, why open a clinic in a place like this?" Sakura asked. "Since it's a clinic, wouldn't it be more convenient to open it in town?"

"The rent in town is too expensive; I can't afford it."

Shennong smiled and shook his head, explaining, "Although it's quite far, this place is close to the forest, which makes it convenient for me to gather herbs. Besides, I don't really like interacting with strangers."

During our casual conversation, we finally arrived at the courtyard.

Shennong stepped forward, pushed open the door, and found the room inside brightly lit, with the faint sounds of many people groaning.

Sakura breathed a slight sigh of relief; it seemed that, as Shennong had said, there were indeed many injured people.

Sasuke was still somewhat suspicious. For some reason, she always felt that there was something strange about this courtyard.

"Please come in, thank you both." Shennong wiped the sweat from his face and invited them with a sincere expression.

Unable to find any flaws, Sasuke and Sakura had no choice but to enter the courtyard. Fortunately, on their way there, Sasuke had secretly used a summoning jutsu to inform Kakashi of the situation.

In this way, even if something goes wrong, there's no need to worry too much.

"The patient is inside, please come in."

Shennong gestured for him to enter, a bright smile spreading across his face.

Sakura didn't think too much about it and went straight to open the door. But the scene that came into view made her and Sasuke's expressions change drastically!
There were indeed many patients lying in the room; Shennong was not lying about that.

The problem is that all of those so-called 'patients' were actually 'pregnant'.

Sasuke glanced around and noticed that among the pregnant women, there were even quite a few men!
What on earth is going on?!
How can a man get pregnant?
At the same moment.

On a drifting island in the ocean of his subconscious mind, Uchiha Muneki, who was fishing, had a cold glint in the depths of his eyes.

"Did you feel it?"

A phantom image of Adam suddenly appeared beside them, his expression extremely serious.

Uchiha Muneki, fishing, had an expressionless face. His pale golden vertical pupils gazed at the deep, turbulent ocean, where a blurry figure seemed to be reflected in its depths.

"Strange, this isn't a power belonging to this planet. Is it... from outer space?" He seemed somewhat puzzled, his brows furrowed slightly, and his tone became somewhat heavy.

The starry sky?

In the realm of mystery, this word doesn't carry a positive connotation!

Adam's pupils contracted slightly, his voice containing a hint of shock: "You didn't even notice? When did it intrude?"

Uchiha Muneki remained in his fishing pose, saying calmly, "I'm not Sequence Zero, just an ordinary Sequence One. How could I possibly detect their intrusion?"

"An ordinary angel king?" Adam twitched his lips, speechless.

Do we have to put on an act even with our own people now?

Uchiha Munetsuki glanced at him and said helplessly, "What I said is true. Even the King of Angels is nothing more than an ant with the ability to protect itself in front of those beings."

"So what do you plan to do? Just let it go?"

Adam frowned and said in a deep voice, "We've poured so much effort into Sasuke, are we really going to give up?"

"Who said we were giving up?"

Uchiha Muneki held his fishing rod and said calmly, "If the real body came, I would turn around and leave without saying a word, but a mere spirit summoning technique is not enough to scare us away."

"So, you're going to make a move?"

Adam was somewhat expectant, since his true form had never personally taken action since ascending to the 'King of Angels'.

"I'd say that's a fair assessment."

Uchiha Munetsu put away his fishing rod and stepped into the turbulent ocean of his mind: "I hope this newcomer will back down when faced with difficulties, otherwise it will be troublesome."

(End of this chapter)