Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

It seems that the manifestation of that power just now placed an extremely heavy burden on Sasuke himself, who was the vessel for it.

Don't stay here for long.

You carried the unconscious Sasuke on your back, chose the most secluded and deserted path, and safely delivered him home, settling him on the tatami mat.

You covered him with a light blanket and were about to leave quietly when your wrist was grabbed again.

You looked down and met a pair of eyes that were filled with weariness but were unusually clear-headed.

Sasuke woke up, or rather, he never completely lost consciousness.

You didn't say anything, just watched him quietly, wanting to see what he would do or say next.

"I did it on purpose..." Sasuke's voice was extremely weak, yet it carried a desperate honesty. "I know that only when your emotions are in a state of extreme turmoil can He be drawn out..."

He needed to catch his breath after every few words he spoke; the feeling of running out of chakra was not pleasant.

He strained, trying to get you closer to him, as if what he was about to say couldn't be overheard by any potential possibility.

Because it concerned each other's deepest secrets, you silently complied and leaned slightly closer to him.

“I have indeed been influenced by that consciousness,” Sasuke said, gazing deeply into your dark eyes, “but because it’s you… I gave up resisting.”

Sasuke clearly expressed a choice; he could have chosen to struggle, he could have chosen to suppress it, but he didn't.

He allowed that being to manifest, just to prove to you that he hadn't lied to you.

"What do you want to do?" you asked, getting straight to the point.

The situation has been laid bare; what's needed is a solution.

Sasuke's lips curled into a triumphant smile. "Since our secrets share the same origin, you should... let me get closer to you."

He was panting, trying to find the right words, "After all, the strength of two people is always stronger than you facing it alone."

He admitted that he said this with ulterior motives; he was gambling that your curiosity about his background and power would outweigh your rejection of him.

You fell silent. Sasuke's words had truly struck a chord with you: the title "Hannya," the terrifying divine power, the ancient consciousness within Sasuke...

It's all like a giant net, and you're right in the middle of it, completely helpless.

Sasuke was also involved, and the vessel that might be able to perceive some of the truth is indeed the only one who could possibly share information with you or even stand shoulder to shoulder with you.

When weighing the pros and cons, personal likes and dislikes seem insignificant in the face of potential danger.

"...I understand." After a long silence, you finally spoke, but those four words represented a change in attitude, a dangerous consensus reached.

The two, who were always in opposition and conflict for various reasons, finally put aside their emotional entanglements and formed an alliance based on interests and survival on this night because of a shared secret and a potential threat.

At the very least, before you unveil the mystery surrounding each other, you need to try to trust each other.

Regarding Hyuga Neji's birthday, everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning it further. The heavy feeling brought by the deeply ingrained family rules was incompatible with the youthful vigor that should be present, and recalling it always made people feel somewhat breathless.

Unlike usual, the invisible antagonism between you and Uchiha Sasuke sitting in front of you seems to have faded considerably.

Sakura Haruno returned to the classroom with a slightly worried look on her face. She quickly walked to your desk and lowered her voice, "Nagi, Iruka-sensei wants you and Shikamaru to go to his office now."

Her gaze shifted between you and Shikamaru, who had just been woken up, with a hint of unease.

Shikamaru and you both paused for a moment, then exchanged a glance.

You've all been behaving yourselves well lately, and it seems you haven't done anything that would warrant being called into the office alone.

Shikamaru rubbed his hair, which was sticking up a bit from sleeping, and a thought vaguely flashed through his mind: it was probably those two weekly journals that caused the trouble.

But he didn't say it aloud, because he saw the same guess clearly reflected in your eyes.

The two of them, one after the other, silently stepped into Iruka-sensei's office once again.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dust particles floating in the air and also the somewhat darkened face of Teacher Iruka.

Two weekly journals are spread out side by side on the desk.

The identical, slightly sloppy handwriting above is as clear as irrefutable evidence.

Iruka pointed to the two journal entries, heartbroken, "You two are such a headache! Tell me, who wrote it for whom?"

His gaze swept back and forth between you and Shikamaru, trying to find the culprit.

Shikamaru sighed heavily in his heart, feeling that trouble had indeed arrived as expected. He rubbed his temples, and was about to habitually take the blame upon himself when he felt his sleeve being gently tugged.

He turned his head and saw you shaking your head at him.

"Iruka-sensei, it's normal for Shikamaru and I to learn from each other and make progress together as deskmates." You even used a very official reason.

"Learning from each other?" Iruka almost laughed in exasperation, pointing at the two assignments with identical handwriting. "Learning from each other to the point where the handwriting is exactly the same?! Uchiha Nagi, do you think the teacher is stupid?"

You did not back down in the face of Iruka's questions.

You calmly scanned the tabletop, then picked up a pen and a blank sheet of paper from Iruka's desk. Under the watchful eyes of Iruka and Shikamaru, you subtly flicked your wrist and fluently wrote a few words.

When you placed that hastily written piece of paper side by side with Shikamaru's weekly journal, Iruka's eyes widened instantly.

The handwriting on the paper, from the beginning strokes to the turns and the endings, was a near 100% replica of Shikamaru's handwriting!

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought it was written by Shikamaru himself.

This...how is this possible?! Iruka was completely stunned by this amazing skill, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word for a moment.

His intuition told him there was definitely something wrong. Shikamaru doing his homework was the most likely explanation, but the evidence before him left him speechless. It felt like punching cotton, frustrating and powerless.

Just then, a figure appeared at the office door.

Uchiha Sasuke seemed to have come to ask Iruka-sensei something, but his gaze stopped when he saw you and Shikamaru inside the room. He didn't expect to see you here.

Iruka, as if seeing a savior, quickly called out, "Sasuke, you've come at the right time! Think back to when you collected Nagi Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara's journals last time, what was the situation?"

In his memory, Sasuke was arrogant and disdained to lie, so he might be able to provide some truthful information.

Sasuke's gaze quickly swept over the two identical journals on the table, then he looked at Shikamaru, who had a troubled expression, and you, who remained calm. He immediately understood the gist of it.

He sensed the warning look you gave him.

You weren't really sure how Sasuke would answer, so you prepared for the worst. If you couldn't explain it away, you could just write a self-criticism. You were used to this kind of punishment, and you could even say you were very familiar with it.

Under Iruka's expectant gaze and your watchful eye, Sasuke began to recall without changing his expression, "Their homework... was submitted separately. Uchiha Nagi arrived later, so I remember it very clearly."

He even added a detail to increase credibility, although it was completely fabricated.

Iruka looked at the three people in front of him: one who could perfectly imitate other people's handwriting and spoke with righteous indignation; one Shikamaru whose face clearly showed trouble but who wouldn't say anything; and one Sasuke who seemed aloof and fair but was actually blatantly lying...

He felt a throbbing pain in his temples. Why was he so skeptical that you would do your homework willingly? Even Sasuke said so... Could it really be that he harbors prejudice against students?

After a moment of internal struggle, Iruka ultimately chose to believe this flawed story.

He rubbed his temples wearily and said apologetically to you and Shikamaru, "I'm so sorry, it was my fault, I misunderstood you."

Instead of backing down gracefully, you made a request that stunned everyone: "It's alright, Iruka-sensei, then just write a self-criticism for me and Shikamaru each."

Iruka: "...???"

A thousand question marks seemed to instantly appear above his head. A teacher making a student write a self-criticism? This was utterly unheard of!

In all his years of teaching, this was the first time he had ever heard such an outrageous request!

An eerie silence fell over the office. Shikamaru stared at you, dumbfounded, his lips twitching slightly.

Sasuke was also visibly taken aback for a moment, then turned his face away with a hint of helplessness, as if he didn't want to admit that he knew this audacious person.

Seeing your serious expression, and Shikamaru's troublesome yet somewhat interesting look beside him, Iruka, after experiencing shock, speechlessness, and a slight sense of absurdity, inexplicably felt... that it might not be entirely impossible?

After all, it was indeed his misunderstanding that started it...

“...Okay, fine.” Iruka practically spat out those two words through gritted teeth.

The three of them left the office together.

Walking down the corridor back to the classroom, Shikamaru finally couldn't help but speak in a tone that was a mixture of admiration and helplessness, "Making Iruka-sensei write a self-criticism... Only you would dare to make such a request."

You didn't react much, as if you had just done something very ordinary.

Sasuke, walking on your other side, frowned slightly and asked in bewilderment, "What are you two doing? Why aren't you doing your homework properly? And what if Iruka-sensei finds out later?"

"We'll see when the time comes." Your attitude is exceptionally good.

Sasuke could only click his tongue and give up trying to persuade him.

Chapter 332 Summer Festival Dance (6)

Nara Shikamaru was still somewhat surprised when he recalled the scene in the office earlier where Sasuke lied without batting an eye.

Uchiha Sasuke, who always strictly adheres to the rules, would so readily overturn his image as a good student for your sake.

However, this seemed to make sense. He glanced at you, who was still expressionless beside him, and Sasuke, who seemed indifferent but whose eyes were always following him, and thought that this love triangle was really troublesome.

As soon as I returned to the classroom, Ino Yamanaka rushed over with several forms, her face beaming with her usual bright smile and a hint of salesperson enthusiasm.

"Hey everyone! On the day of the summer festival, in addition to the fireworks display at night, there will also be a festival parade and performances during the day! Registration is now open!"

She waved the form in her hand, "It's said that the person with the most popularity at the festival can choose a mystery grand prize!"

"A grand prize?" You, who have never been interested in these kinds of events, surprisingly looked up when you heard this word.

Seeing that Ino had caught her attention, she immediately pressed her advantage, lowering her voice and saying with the excitement of sharing a secret, "That's right! The grand prize! Although the complete list hasn't been released yet, I've heard that it includes the latest version of a romance manga series, and it's even an autographed copy from the author!"

Her intention was to use this bombshell announcement to attract more people to sign up, since the influence of romance comics among certain groups should not be underestimated.

No sooner had she finished speaking than you said in a clear and firm voice, "I want to sign up."

"Huh?" Ino was stunned, blinked, and didn't quite understand.

She looked at you, then at the form in her hand, her face filled with disbelief.

Uchiha Nagi... signed up for the festival? And she's even competing for the popularity award? This is even more shocking than hearing that Naruto got first place in his grade!

But she quickly recovered, as if afraid you'd change your mind, and immediately shoved a blank registration form and pen into your hand. "Great! Welcome to register! Which activity would you like to participate in? Festival parade, booth games, or talent show?"

You take the form and are about to fill it out when your gaze inadvertently sweeps over the rest of the form, which is completely blank.

This means that, as of now, no one has signed up at all.

A faint hint of doubt crossed your mind: with such a great prize, how come no one has signed up?

Before you could think about it more deeply, your gaze paused briefly on the festival procession.

A parade...it sounds like it doesn't require any special talent, just following the crowd? It should be the simplest thing.

So you picked up a pen and neatly wrote your name at the back of the festival procession.

The moment Ino saw you put down your pen, her smile froze for a second, then a mixture of guilt and realization that she had really messed up.

She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately, with a hint of guilt, she cautiously began to dissuade her, "Um... Uchiha-kun, how about you consider something else for the festival parade? Like... booth games or something?"

"Is there a problem?" You looked directly at Ino, realizing you didn't really understand the ins and outs of these activities.

Shikamaru leaned back lazily in his chair and said in a tone of anticipation, "Looks like someone's going to be treated like a rare animal when the time comes."

He deliberately emphasized the word "watching".

Even Sasuke Uchiha, who had been silently observing, looked at you with obvious surprise after hearing that you had chosen to participate in the festival parade.

Then the unexpected turned into a glimmer of anticipation.

The summer festival parade... Imagine yourself, always keeping to yourself, wearing a yukata that you might not be used to, walking in the bustling parade, being stared at by countless eyes...

No matter how out of place or indifferent you appear, that scene is destined to be very interesting.

For him, seeing a side of you that is different from your usual self is an extremely attractive reward in itself.

Their reaction finally made you realize why the registration form was empty.

Festival processions are probably not as simple as walking in a line as you might imagine; they are activities designed to attract attention, which, for someone who is used to hiding in the shadows, is tantamount to public execution.

The image of Sakura sitting cross-legged on the bed, flipping through comics, sometimes blushing and screaming, sometimes bursting into laughter, clearly appeared in my mind.

Do you also remember when you accompanied Sakura to the bookstore, and Sakura's longing yet restrained gaze as she looked at the latest magazine poster, because she didn't have enough pocket money?

If you can win the most popular award, you'll get the latest edition, autographed comic book...

Sakura will be very, very happy when she receives the gift, right?

Compared to making Sakura happy, these trivial troubles and discomforts are nothing.

So, under Ino's apologetic gaze, Shikamaru's teasing remarks, and Sasuke's complicated look, you steadily handed the application form with your name filled in back to Ino's hands.

"This is it." Your tone left no room for change.