Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 438 The Third Dream

This is... oh, Konoha's shopping street. Is it because I revisited this place during the day that I dreamt about it at night?

He remembered the hustle and bustle of this place, and since that day, he had never walked this road alone again. The noisy crowds were always in twos and threes, and the innocent laughter of children was like a dull knife piercing his chest, only causing him continued pain. Moreover... the surrounding gazes never ceased. Wherever he went, the crowds would cast their gazes, whether direct or what they thought were insidious, upon him. They watched the sole survivor of his tribe, discussing death and curses in the shadows.

It was getting darker and darker, but the surrounding sights didn't disappear at all. He became more and more agitated as he walked, trying hard to suppress the urge to drive everyone around him away.

He can't do that because... Naruto doesn't want to see him like that.

By the way, where's Naruto? Didn't we agree that we'd always go shopping together?

The thought had barely formed in his mind when a bright light appeared before him. A little Naruto, wearing an orange vest, stood in front of a shop, his eyes fixed longingly on a certain direction. There, a wall displayed masks—the most common street toys.

He didn't understand why Naruto looked at him like that. He knew that if Naruto had just told him, Naruto would have gone to buy it, just like he had done countless times before.

I remember one rare night of their mischievous pranks, when they put on masks and went to scare their classmates who were sneaking into the cemetery. Those kids talked a good game, but they were incredibly cowardly; they ran away before they even got going, wasting all the props they'd prepared. Naruto's laughter startled a flock of birds resting near the cemetery, but despite the laughter, he still thoughtfully brought some incense and joss paper for offerings, dragging me to pay respects at the flame sculpture in the very center of the cemetery.

"Offering sacrifices at night?" He really wanted to complain. At that time, he hadn't completely emerged from the shadows; his dreams were filled only with pain and death. If ghosts truly existed, his parents must have been very disappointed in him, this weakling who couldn't avenge his clan. Otherwise, why hadn't they ever visited his dreams?

"Our ancestors protected this land with their lives. They would only be happy to see children playing at their feet," Naruto seemed to reply.

The blond boy clasped his hands together and bowed to the statue. As he bowed, the fox mask that was loosely hanging on Naruto's head fell off and hit the ground with a crisp sound.

"Kang Dang"

Yes, that's it... No! The fox mask did land, but it landed by being hit on Naruto's head by the shopkeeper before falling down!

"Get lost! Don't stand in front of my stall! It's bad luck."

His anger flared up instantly, and he immediately wanted to rush over and punch the bearded boss twice, but for some reason his body wouldn't move, only a slight pain came from his chest.

Damn it! Why can't I move? I can't even make a sound! I wish I could at least say one word!

But no matter how turbulent his emotions were, in the end he could only watch helplessly as Naruto bent down to pick up the mask, revealing a hurt expression, and then left without looking back, as if he had never existed.

With the only source of light gone, darkness enveloped him once more. He was finally able to move again and immediately ran in the direction Naruto had gone. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not find Naruto. In the end, he was swallowed up by the darkness.

Sasuke sat up with a swift movement, his disordered breathing a clear indication that his dream was far from pleasant.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Naruto's voice echoed in my mind. "Was it about me? Hug..."

"Shut up." Sasuke forcefully interrupted the apology process, first scanning his surroundings to make sure there was no danger, before he began to seriously consider the series of strange dreams.

The first dream... let's not talk about it. It was a pure nightmare derived from reality, a manifestation of his subconscious unwillingness to accept reality.

But the second and third were a bit strange. Those dreams seemed to come from his memories, yet they had completely different endings. Could it be... that those were his regrets? Regrets about meeting Naruto, regrets about having those beautiful memories, which is why he was in so much pain after losing them.

They brushed past each other like strangers by the river, and when they encountered Naruto in distress on the street, they felt heartbroken but didn't offer a helping hand...

Are these really the things he wants to do?

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. It's still early. Do you want to sleep a little longer or make some food?" Naruto's methods of diverting attention are always brilliant.

Sasuke quickly snapped out of his reverie and immediately pulled out a spatial scroll containing food from his pocket. Don't ask why; the whole insect feast he'd just eaten yesterday had deeply shocked him, and he'd rather starve than touch that stuff again!

This was the second day after Sasuke arrived at Mount Myōboku.

Upon arriving at Mount Myōboku, Sasuke didn't immediately reveal his disguise. Instead, he used the Flying Thunder God Seal to summon someone Jiraiya could trust. The two white-haired ninjas, as expected, fought first to confirm each other's identities before avoiding Sasuke and going elsewhere to discuss matters. Sasuke didn't know what they discussed, nor was he interested in finding out. The sage Fukasaku, who received him, mistook him for Naruto and eagerly wanted to examine Naruto's Sage Mode training. However, Sasuke hadn't learned Sage Mode. He originally had a low-level version of the Cursed Seal as a substitute, but that had disappeared after Orochimaru's departure.

So they fought, but Sasuke used his own system and his newly acquired eyes. Even though his whole body was in pain, he gritted his teeth and endured it, wanting to test his limits. The result, of course, was that a purple skeletal figure rose from the ground.

"You've only had the Mangekyou Sharingan for less than half a day, you can't be so reckless!" Tobirama flew back as soon as he saw the purple thing, and green light shone on his hand as he skillfully pressed it around Sasuke's eyes. "The chakra output of the Mangekyou Sharingan is completely different from that of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Your meridians can't withstand this kind of impact. If you use it so aggressively all at once, you'll go blind very quickly."

Ah, I almost forgot, the Uchiha's curse isn't just about killing relatives to gain their eyes. After awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, one gradually loses their sight with increased use. Only by obtaining the eyes of a blood relative can the curse be broken, granting them the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan that won't cause blindness. However, this isn't without hope. For example, Shisui's eyes were reshaped using Yang Release, effectively giving him the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.