Chapter 22: Chapter 22: You Want to Walk Around Konoha with Me?
Meanwhile...
The young boy and girl by the river had finished eating all three grilled fish.
"Where are we going now?" Sasuke asked as he stored his shuriken and kunai in his ninja tool pouch.
"Follow me," Naruto replied, already ready to go. Since the recipe was fine, it was time to confront Aunt Iruka at the ramen shop.
The two walked side by side, quickly passing through the eerie, dark Uchiha Clan grounds and approaching the lively streets nearby.
Just as Naruto was about to lead Sasuke directly to the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Sasuke stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"What's up?" Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion.
"How's your Transformation Jutsu?" Sasuke asked, a smirk forming on his face as he quickly formed a series of hand seals. "Transformation!"
Boom!
With a puff of white smoke, another Naruto, carrying a canvas bag, appeared.
Naruto initially thought Sasuke was just messing with him and laughed, forming his own hand seals. "Transformation!"
Boom!
A girl with twin ponytails, whose feet were barely visible, appeared.
"You want to compare Transformation Jutsus? Don't you know I'm best at the Transformation Jutsu?" Naruto said, about to dispel his transformation, but Sasuke stopped him.
"Don't dispel it. I just want to walk around Konoha in your form. Don't misunderstand, I want to know what you've been through these years. How did you become so strong?"
Seeing Sasuke's determined look, Naruto couldn't help but snap, "Are you sure? No regrets?"
"Hmph, once a decision is made by the Uchiha clan, we never regret it."
"Alright, since you want to pretend to be me, how about you help me buy an ANBU dog mask? I've wanted one for a long time," Naruto said with a sunny smile, looking at Sasuke who had transformed into him.
"That's a small thing. Got the money?" Sasuke stretched his hand out.
"Don't worry about the money for now. I'll give it to you after we settle the price," Naruto said with a grin.
"Hmph, don't think I'm paying. I've got not a single coin left."
"Hey, the talented Uchiha clan's young lady, going to the mask shop, you think the owner will let you pay, huh?" Naruto teased.
Sasuke liked hearing that. "Fine, let's go."
Naruto then gave Sasuke directions to a specific shop. Sasuke nodded and began walking toward the street.
Noticing Naruto hadn't followed, Sasuke frowned and turned back, "What are you doing? Hurry up!"
"It's nothing. I just got some fish on my shoes. You go ahead, I'll catch up."
"Hmph, annoying," Sasuke muttered, not caring to argue further, and continued toward the shop according to Naruto's directions.
However, as Sasuke neared the bustling street, whispers and cold glares began to weigh heavily on her heart.
"Look, it's that kid…"
"Hmph, I heard he ripped up his classmate's textbook and even beat them up. What a tumor of Konoha."
"What unlucky family is in his class? Truly, we should report this to Lord Hokage and expel this tumor!"
At first, Sasuke, walking in Naruto's form, was confident. She thought Naruto's experiences couldn't possibly be more brutal than her own. At first, she ignored a couple of people pointing and whispering, but as she walked further…
One, two, three, five, ten, twenty...
Everyone looked at her with cold, disdainful eyes, and didn't hesitate to say cruel things. Her confidence began to crumble.
The alienation and intense malice—Sasuke could almost see it with her own eyes.
"Naruto, is this what you face every day?" Sasuke's mood began to plummet as she continued walking, her heart filled with shock and disbelief.
She wanted to scream and beat up those cold, rude people, but how could this be? This was Naruto's reality?
But Sasuke suppressed her anger.
She was no longer Sasuke; she was Naruto now, and she had to act as Naruto would.
Soon, Sasuke, in Naruto's form, entered a small shop.
Inside the shop, various finely crafted ANBU masks were neatly displayed. The shop owner was busy serving other customers and didn't notice Sasuke entering.
But when Sasuke turned and saw Konoha's "tumor," it was already too late. Naruto's hand had already reached a dog mask.
Just as Sasuke touched the mask, the owner, who had seen Naruto, immediately shouted, "It's him! It's that kid!"
The customer, upon seeing Naruto, immediately fled in fear, "I don't want it, I won't buy it!"
The business that had been concluded was now ruined, thanks to Naruto's sudden appearance.
The middle-aged shopkeeper's face turned cold as he stomped over, glaring viciously, and without a word, he shoved Sasuke. "Disaster! Who let you in here? Who told you to touch my masks?!"
Once, the Uchiha clan was Konoha's elite, and with the police department under their control, the common folk dared not offend them. So Sasuke had always been treated with respect while walking the streets.
The shopkeeper's push caught her off guard, and when she was shoved out of the shop, the stairs at the entrance caused her to fall onto the street.
As the shopkeeper yelled, the people around her only watched coldly as Sasuke, now in Naruto's form, lay on the ground.
Yet no one intervened; in fact, some seemed eager to see her suffer.
"What are you doing?! I'll pay you!"
Sasuke, filled with frustration, looked up at the shopkeeper, tears welling in her eyes as she shouted.
"Money… Even if I had money, I wouldn't sell to someone like you!" the shopkeeper snarled, furious that the "demon fox's child" dared to talk back. He yanked the ANBU mask that Sasuke had touched earlier and hurled it at her.
Clang!
The mask struck Sasuke's forehead.
Sasuke was furious, but as Naruto, she had to act according to Naruto's character. She covered her forehead, staring at the mask that had fallen next to her, before sniffling and picking it up, running towards the end of the street.
As she ran out, she brushed past Naruto, now in Sasuke's form.
But Sasuke, still feeling utterly wronged, didn't notice the change.
"Freak," Naruto mumbled, turning to look at her.
Then he realized his mistake, rushing after her.
"Oh no… I got too deep into character, I really thought I was Sasuke just now and even ended up saying one of Sasuke's lines from the original!"
Naruto, now in Sasuke's form, hurried to catch up with Sasuke, who was crying and running in the opposite direction.
Soon, Naruto found Sasuke, who was chopping down innocent trees with her kunai in a secluded grove.
"Release!"
Naruto shrugged as he dispelled the Transformation Jutsu. "Well, this was your idea. You said you wouldn't regret it."
As soon as Naruto spoke, Sasuke, choked with emotion, stabbed the tree again with fierce anger. "This is so unfair! Why are they doing this to me?!"
Suddenly, Sasuke seemed to remember something. She wiped her tears, turned around, and threw the ANBU mask at Naruto.
"Thanks."
Naruto caught the mask and smiled brightly.
"You… you're still smiling! After all that, you didn't help me when I got beat up, and you still called me a freak?!" Sasuke yelled, her face flushed with anger.
Naruto thought Sasuke hadn't heard him, but apparently, her ears were sharper than he thought.
Looking at Sasuke storming toward him, Naruto could only awkwardly apologize with a smile.
But Sasuke didn't stop.
Naruto braced for a storm of punches, but the next moment, his mind went blank as something unexpected happened.
---
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