It was not in the Uchiha compound, but in another apartment building. Ever since the night of the clan's massacre, Sasuke had been living here.
Compared to usual, something was different about him today... his mother had made him breakfast!
"Mom, I'm done eating!"
Sasuke felt a little too full—probably because of this long-lost feeling of a warm family atmosphere.
Thinking about it carefully, it had been far too long since he'd tasted this familiar flavor—his mother's cooking...
After finishing breakfast, he was about to head to school, but just as he was leaving, Mikoto called out to him.
"Sasuke, take some for Naruto too."
Sasuke turned his head and saw Mikoto closing the lid on a bento box before walking over and handing it to him.
"Why do I have to do something like that?" Sasuke muttered, turning his face away.
"Naruto lives alone, doesn't he? He might oversleep and not have time for breakfast," Mikoto said with a gentle smile, a trace of sympathy in her eyes.
"Hmph, that does sound like something that dead last would do." Sasuke snorted, but still obediently took the lunch box.
And honestly, it was pretty heavy.
"Get along with your classmates, okay?" Mikoto said softly, looking down at Sasuke as he put on his shoes at the entrance.
"I'm going." Sasuke replied casually before walking out quickly.
So it really turned out like this, huh.
Mikoto sighed helplessly. Back then, Sasuke's relationships with his classmates weren't great, and now they were probably even worse.
Sasuke had been heavily influenced by the clan's downfall. She couldn't imagine how he'd managed all these years—probably surviving purely on sheer will.
After being brought back to the village through the light curtain, Mikoto had met the Third Hokage.
That was only natural.
However, Mikoto knew nothing about the light curtain. For her, even being resurrected had happened so suddenly.
It was hard to describe what death was like—it could have been just a dream, or maybe one second she died, and the next she was alive again.
The Third Hokage didn't give Mikoto a hard time. After a few simple questions, he arranged for her to live in an apartment near Sasuke's current home.
That was fine with her. She didn't want to return to the Uchiha compound, nor to the heavy memories it carried.
After being separated from his mother for so long—separated by life and death—Sasuke couldn't hold it in anymore once he came home.
He was still just a fragile child. He wanted nothing more than to pour out his pain in his mother's embrace, crying his heart out as he said everything he'd bottled up for years.
Mikoto's heart ached for him, and though she felt guilty, there wasn't much she could do—only return that long-lost motherly love to him tenfold.
She knew what burdens Itachi carried, but she couldn't tell Sasuke—not yet.
That was yesterday.
...
Today, as usual, students gathered at the Ninja Academy from all directions, everyone excitedly chatting about the Ninja Mobile Game.
Of course, what else could they talk about?
Sasuke entered the classroom and immediately spotted Naruto dozing off at his desk.
Tap, tap, tap—
"Still alive, dead last?" Sasuke tapped the table. When Naruto didn't respond, he simply dropped the bento box on Naruto's face.
The box was still warm, and the sudden heat startled Naruto awake.
"Sasuke? What the hell are you doing!" Naruto shouted.
"Heh, coming to class with dark circles under your eyes? If you can't even sleep properly, no wonder your grades are trash," Sasuke said with a cold smirk.
Naruto was speechless. What was he supposed to say—that he'd spent all night thinking about Sasuke's mom, wondering what having a mother would feel like?
Seriously though, Mikoto-san was so kind... his own mom must've been a beautiful lady too, right?
Seeing Naruto suddenly zone out, Sasuke sighed, opened the lunch box, and shoved Naruto's face into it.
"Aaah! You bastard, Sasuke!" Naruto exploded, grabbing the box to throw it back at him.
"You sure you want to give it back without even looking?"
Naruto froze. When he saw the steaming, fragrant bento before him, his brain short-circuited.
"This... is for me? Mikoto-san made this, didn't she?" Naruto quickly guessed.
It wasn't hard to figure out. Who else could've made it? Sasuke? Yeah, right!
"Probably because my mom invited you over yesterday and you refused. Consider it compensation." Sasuke said offhandedly.
Naruto held the bento box, unsure what to say.
He loved being around people, but there was a reason he hadn't gone yesterday. He didn't want to intrude on Sasuke and his mother's time.
"Thanks," he muttered, head lowered.
"Wash it after you're done and give it back," Sasuke said, then found a seat and sat down.
Their entire interaction was watched by everyone in the classroom, their expressions a bit odd.
But looking at Sasuke—arms crossed, cold as ever—no one dared to comment.
Naruto didn't notice. He whispered "I'm digging in," and began to eat.
As expected, it was delicious. But more than that—it was something someone had specially made for him...
Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Naruto quietly crying while eating, and frowned in disgust.
That idiot!
Forget it, he could keep the lunch box!
Still, Sasuke couldn't help but remember what his mother had said yesterday.
"Why does Mom care so much about Naruto?" he had asked, unable to hold back when Mikoto had started asking him about Naruto.
"Because... his mother was a good friend of mine," Mikoto had said, gently patting his head. "And besides, he was the one who brought me back. We both owe Naruto a great debt."
A friend, huh...
Sasuke's eyes flickered, his expression deepening.
What he said and what he truly felt were two different things.
It was hard to describe—mostly just awkwardness.
He didn't want to owe anyone, but he'd ended up owing someone for something he truly needed the most.
He should've felt grateful and happy, but inside, it just made him frustrated.
Complicated—so complicated it gave him a headache.
The classroom gradually filled with students, and when class time arrived, Iruka entered right on schedule.
"Alright, everyone, get ready for class."
Naruto had already put away the bento box, replacing it in his hands with an orange-colored phone.
Not just him—Sasuke and the other students in the classroom all pulled out phones of different colors. Even Iruka had one.
Everyone looked at their screens, where a timer was counting down.
[Time until the official launch of the Ninja Mobile Game:]
[10 minutes remaining.]
Ten minutes—neither long nor short—but it gripped the hearts of everyone present... and the hearts of everyone across the Shinobi World.
It had been announced yesterday that the Ninja Mobile Game would officially launch this morning—a piece of news no one could ignore.
Different places, same action—everyone held their phones tightly, watching the seconds slip away.
Like drops of water through an hourglass, trickling down—and what emerged from that narrow opening was a roaring beast.
[ROAR!!!]
[Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tails suddenly appeared in Konohagakure, its roar shattering the very earth...]
Twelve years ago—the Nine-Tails' assault had begun.