"Even the streetlamp?"
"It seems you'd planned everything so thoroughly."
Sasuke stared at the deep pit. Originally, he'd thought that if Itachi hadn't taken the lamp, he could dig it up and hide it—denying his brother that small memento would be one tiny revenge.
Or perhaps when taking revenge in the future, he could bring a streetlamp to the battle. Maybe seeing it would make Itachi instinctively stand on top of it, giving Sasuke the opening for a surprise attack.
Forget it, Itachi. I'll defeat you with real strength.
Naruto didn't know Sasuke's mind had raced through all these thoughts. What he saw was Sasuke suddenly stopping mid-stride, staring blankly at a deep hole in the ground. Curious, Naruto looked too.
Nothing there.
"Sasuke, what are you looking at?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke shook his head. He pointed at the pit, voice carefully controlled. "Here. There used to be a streetlamp."
"Oh!" Naruto looked surprised. "So... someone stole it? That's technically your property now. Do you want to—"
Naruto almost suggested reporting it to the Police Force, but caught himself. Sasuke's family had controlled the Police Force. Bringing it up would just cause more pain. He fell silent.
I wonder whose hands the Police Force will fall into now that the Uchiha are gone.
"Stolen? No, not stolen." Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto, do you know? I've walked this road thousands of times. Whenever I reached this spot, I would stop. Habitually. Then look up..."
"Because I knew there would always be someone standing on that streetlamp, waiting for me."
"He'd fold his arms and stare into the distance. Quietly. Just waiting for me to get out of school. Then I'd call to him, and he'd look down. Softly say, 'My dear brother, welcome home.' Then jump down..."
"Sometimes when I came home late, he'd been standing on that lamp for so long his feet would go numb. He couldn't land steadily when he jumped off..."
Talking about this, Sasuke couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Naruto understood this was a defense mechanism—denying the beauty of the past through self-deprecating humor. Though Sasuke spoke about that man—his brother Itachi—so calmly, beneath the surface, a storm was already brewing.
The calmer now, the more violent the eruption later.
Sasuke walked and talked. Naruto followed quietly, simply listening without speaking. They passed through the dandelion field...
Obviously, this place had once held happy memories.
Too bad that man, with a heart as hard as stone, had personally destroyed Sasuke's happiness.
Eventually, they reached the Uchiha clan cemetery.
"Father, Mother—Sasuke has come to see you." Sasuke knelt before the graves of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Tears streamed down his face instantly.
"Uncle Fugaku, Aunt Mikoto—I've come to see you too." Naruto stood beside Sasuke, bowing as he placed memorial flowers before their tomb.
"Naruto, my mother once said she wanted to invite you to our house for dinner. I'd been planning to ask you over soon. But now... Mother will never get to meet my friend."
From Sasuke's words, Naruto could picture Aunt Mikoto. She must have been a beautiful, virtuous woman. Someone who loved her husband and children deeply. A wonderful mother.
Perhaps when she saw her beloved eldest son raising his blade against her and her husband, the pain in her heart must have been unimaginable.
Or maybe in that final moment before death, she'd been thinking of her younger son just getting out of school. She must have hoped he'd gone to a friend's house to play, or been delayed on the way home—anything to escape this catastrophe.
"Father, Mother—I will bring Itachi back with my own hands. Bring him to you. Make him answer for what he's done."
Finally, Sasuke swore his oath before Fugaku and Mikoto's grave. After paying respects to the other fallen clan members, he left the Uchiha compound—a place once filled with laughter, now haunted by death.
With heavy hearts, both boys returned to the back mountain farm.
As soon as they arrived at the wooden cabin, Nine-Tails came bounding out. He leaped into Naruto's arms, putting on his usual cute act.
However, this time Naruto didn't pick him up. Instead, he set Nine-Tails on the stone table. Then he pointed to Sasuke and spoke solemnly to the fox.
"Nine-Tails, this is Uchiha Sasuke. From now on, he's a new member of our family. We have three family members now."
"This is Nine-Tails." Naruto turned to Sasuke, speaking with equal gravity. "Sasuke, I think you know my background. When I was young, villagers often cursed me, called me a fox brat or demon. That's because of what's sealed inside my body."
Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke's pupils contracted. He'd never imagined this cute-looking little fox was actually the Nine-Tails demon fox—that small body containing enough power to destroy all of Konoha.
So that explained it. He'd clearly heard Nine-Tails speak that one time.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then fixed his gaze on Nine-Tails. He extended one hand seriously. "My name is Sasuke. I'll be counting on you to take care of me, Nine-Tails."
Nine-Tails stood with proud posture. He looked at Naruto, not understanding why the brat would tell Sasuke his identity. Why he wanted to make Sasuke family.
Hmph. He hated the Uchiha clan most of all. Or rather, he hated those Uchiha eyes.
When he thought of those eyes, an image inevitably surfaced—a man with long black hair, a round fan logo embroidered on his clothes.
"Become my strength, Nine-Tails."
The man named Uchiha Madara had said it like some high and mighty god. After speaking, his eyes had turned from pitch black to blood red. Then Nine-Tails had been controlled.
Ugh. He really hated remembering that.
However, seeing what Naruto had said just now—"three members in our family"—he supposed he could accept this Sasuke brat temporarily.
Thinking this way, Nine-Tails extended his foreleg and shook hands with Sasuke. "Don't worry, kid. This old fox Nine-Tails is the most important member of this family. I'll take care of you."
Ignoring Nine-Tails' emphasis on being 'the most important member,' Naruto felt happy seeing the fox willing to accept Sasuke.
Actually, when deciding to move Sasuke in, Naruto had seriously considered whether to tell him about Nine-Tails' identity.
After thinking for a long time, he'd decided yes.
After all, Nine-Tails would still be doing laundry and cooking. If Sasuke kept treating him like an ordinary pet fox, wouldn't Naruto have to it for himself? Can't have that!
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