Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 123

He then changed the subject, his eyes sharpening: "Please be sure to follow orders and do not act on your own, especially during the mission. In the event of any situation, you must strictly follow our orders; otherwise, for the safety of the mission objective, we have the right to take necessary measures."

This is the responsibility and warning of a Jonin leading a team.

"Understood." Emiya Shirou nodded calmly in response.

"Yes!" Boruto quickly replied, trying his best to look like a well-behaved apprentice.

Seeing this, Naruto quickly smoothed things over, putting on a bright smile: "Alright, alright! Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, don't worry! Uncle Shirou and Boruto are good people! They won't cause any trouble!"

He patted his chest and assured them, trying to dispel his companions' doubts with his usual "unexpected" personal charm.

Chapter 139 The Invitation of Young Sasuke

Naruto seemed to have just remembered the important matter and looked at the unconscious Fuyuki on the ground: "Our mission target... why did she faint?"

He remembered hearing her scream just now.

Sasuke stood with his arms crossed next to Kazeki, his dark eyes giving Naruto a cold glance, and said succinctly, "He was knocked unconscious by Kakashi's genjutsu. Too noisy, he's in the way."

He paused, but his gaze, like a searchlight, focused once again on "Emiya Shirou".

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a hint of instinctive doubt and scrutiny in his eyes: "Why do you feel... a sense of familiarity?"

Sasuke's intuition has always been frighteningly sharp.

Emiya Shirou met the boy's probing gaze. His dark eyes were calm and unwavering, and his tone carried a perfectly measured distance and bewilderment: "That's probably just my imagination. Many people have told me that."

He turned his head slightly to the side, as if trying to avoid that overly sharp gaze.

However, Sasuke did not let it go easily. His dark eyes locked onto the other person like a hawk's: "But I feel that you... don't seem like an entertainer."

That faint, yet powerful aura emanated from him.

The composure and sharpness that he exuded in every gesture were something that someone who traveled around performing for a living could not possess.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.

Emiya Shirou was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand.

There was no hand seal; the palms were simply facing upwards with the fingers slightly spread.

A faint, pale blue flame of chakra, like a candle flickering in the wind.

It trembled and coalesced above his palm, the flame so weak it seemed it might go out at any moment.

"I've also learned some basic ninjutsu,"

Emiya Shirou's voice remained calm, tinged with self-deprecation: "But my talent is limited; I haven't reached the point of mastery."

"Normally, I can only use it to make small flames or splashes of water to accompany my juggling performances, to make the children laugh, and to earn a little money through hard work."

The flame in his palm flickered erratically a few times as he spoke.

Then, with a "poof," it went out completely, leaving only a wisp of smoke.

The performance was "clumsy," perfectly embodying the image of a half-baked ninja entertainer.

"Hey! Sasuke! What are you doubting?!"

Naruto immediately jumped out and stood between Shirou Emiya and Sasuke, with a look that said, "You're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Pointing at the blue smoke in Shirou Emiya's palm: "Look, look! Uncle Shirou is just an ordinary person! He can't even hold a fireball steady! How could there be a problem!"

He tried to widen his "sincere" blue eyes, attempting to influence Sasuke with his unreserved "trust".

Sasuke looked at Naruto's self-righteous and guileless demeanor.

Then look at Shirou Emiya's composed yet slightly embarrassed expression, and the wisp of smoke dissipating from his palm.

A flicker of hesitation and wavering crossed his dark eyes.

Naruto may be an idiot, but his intuition sometimes...

Moreover, the opponent's chakra control was indeed... terrible.

"...Perhaps you are right."

Sasuke finally looked away and said in a low voice, "I was overthinking it."

He chose to believe Naruto's unreserved judgment, at least on the surface.

"Hehe! I knew it!"

Naruto's face instantly lit up with a smile, as if he had won some great victory. He lunged forward to hug Sasuke's neck: "Sasuke, you actually trust me a lot, don't you!"

"Let me go, you idiot!"

Sasuke's face darkened, and he nimbly dodged Naruto's bear hug with clean, decisive movements: "Don't touch me!"

"Don't be so cold! We're best friends!"

Naruto relentlessly chased after him, and the two of them instantly put on a childish chase and hide-and-seek game in a forest clearing.

Looking at the familiar scene of the two young best friends playing around.

Kakashi leaned against the tree trunk, his exposed eye curving into a crescent moon.

A slight smile seemed to be playing at the corners of his mouth beneath the mask.

He clapped his hands, his lazy voice interrupting the farce: "Alright, that's enough. We're officially departing for the Land of Snow at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Meet at the port east of the village. Don't be late."

He put away the "Intimate Paradise" app and glanced at everyone: "As for this Miss Feng Xuehui, I will take care of her and make sure she is in a safe place. Now, everyone, go back and get some rest and recharge your energy."

"Yes!" the three students from Class 7 answered in unison.

Kakashi nodded, and in a flash, he appeared beside the unconscious Fuyuki E as if by teleportation. He easily picked her up and disappeared into the dense forest in a few leaps.

After Kakashi left, Sasuke, who had been dodging Naruto, suddenly stopped moving.

He had his back to everyone, his head slightly lowered, his black, tousled hair partially obscuring his expression, revealing only his fair earlobes, which appeared to be tinged with a very faint blush.

His voice was lower than usual, with a hint of barely perceptible awkwardness:

"Perfect timing... It's rare for both Mom and Dad to be home resting today."

He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts, and spoke a little quickly: "My brother said... he's inviting you to his house for dinner."

After saying that, he seemed a little embarrassed, and without waiting for anyone else to respond, he immediately added, his tone feigning indifference, "If you don't want to come, then don't come!"

Then, without looking back, he strode away, but his pace was much faster than usual.

Naruto was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with a huge smile of surprise and mischief. He caught up with Sasuke in a few steps and circled around him: "Wow! Sasuke! Are you shy? Don't be shy! Just say you want to invite us to your house for dinner! I won't laugh at you! Hahaha!"

"Shut up! You're the worst student!"

Sasuke growled angrily and quickened his pace, trying to get rid of this annoying guy.

"Come on, come on! Of course we're coming! We're definitely coming!"

Naruto, watching Sasuke's hurried departure, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his might, his voice filled with sunny joy.

Looking at Sasuke's somewhat hurried back and Naruto's carefree shouting.

Boruto stood to the side, a warm smile appearing on his face as well.

But then, as if he had thought of something, he moved closer to the silent adult Sasuke beside him.

He lowered his voice, his tone tinged with a mixture of emotion and caution:

"Uncle Sasuke, it seems that in this world... Grandpa Fugaku, Grandma Mikoto... they are still alive. That's wonderful."

His voice was soft, carrying a sense of envy for the perfection of another time and space.

The adult Sasuke's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

His dark eyes, peering through layers of leaves, seemed to pierce the barriers of time and space, gazing in the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory.

That direction carries his warmest childhood memories, but also bears the coldest despair and bloodshed.

His lips pressed into a cold, hard line, his silence like a thick layer of ice, freezing all his emotions deep inside.

A long time passed, so long that Boruto thought Sasuke wouldn't answer.

A very low, deep monosyllable, as if squeezed from the deepest part of the chest, finally rang out:

"……Um."

The sound was as light as a feather falling to the ground, yet it contained immense weight and endless vicissitudes.

Boruto looked at Sasuke's cold, hard profile.

Those tightly pursed lips and the complex undercurrent that flashed deep in their eyes—a complex emotion that even the Rinnegan couldn't completely conceal—made them instantly understand something.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "So...should we go? Uncle Sasuke?"

The adult Sasuke slowly withdrew his gaze from the clan's territory.

His gaze returned to its deep, calm depths, like that of an ancient well.

All the ripples were forcibly suppressed.

He didn't look at Boruto, but spoke calmly and without any emotion, his voice returning to its usual cold and hard tone:

"Go ahead."

After saying this, he didn't stop.

The black figure turned and headed in the exact opposite direction from the Uchiha clan's territory, leaving alone without looking back.

The setting sun cast his lonely shadow long and thin, projecting it onto the scorched and desolate forest floor, making him appear exceptionally forlorn.

Like an old, unhealable scar, it severed two worlds from the lively, noisy laughter of the teenagers fading into the distance.

Boruto stood there, watching Sasuke's lonely figure disappear into the forest.

Looking again at Naruto and young Sasuke, who were walking arm in arm and playfully heading towards the Uchiha clan's territory, he felt a mix of emotions.

He took a deep breath, shook his head to suppress the heaviness, and quickly caught up with them.

"Hey! Old...wait a minute! Naruto! Wait for me!"

Another four updates today! (。?ω?。)ノ?

Chapter 140 The Family Returns Again