"Help me up. Let's go."
After repeated prompts from the system, Sasuke finally woke up. Without opening his eyes, he urged Naruto to leave the crowd of onlookers behind.
These people around were really annoying, but it had to be said—they were somewhat successful. At least during this short time, Naruto's resentment value had already risen to 50%.
It was good that the resentment value was rising, but the problem was he still didn't have enough strength!
If it really erupted, the final outcome for both him and Naruto would be being devoured by the Tailed Beast's backlash.
"Hmm."
Naruto clenched his fingers and helped Sasuke lean on him as he slowly stood up.
Two small figures gradually walked away amidst the villagers' curses and accusations in Konoha.
But they hadn't gone far before stopping on a quiet little path to rest.
Sasuke's body hadn't recovered, and Naruto's emotional fluctuations caused chakra instability and exhaustion, making it hard for him to carry Sasuke's weight.
"Sasuke, do you have any money?"
Leaning against a wall and pausing for a moment, Naruto suddenly asked Sasuke.
"A little, but not enough to go to the hospital."
Turning his head, Sasuke looked at Naruto's awkward expression and immediately caught on to what he meant.
"Oh."
Naruto knew his question was awkward, but before he could explain, he saw Sasuke understood what he was trying to say.
This feeling of being understood and trusted warmed Naruto's heart again.
Naturally, the resentment value began to slowly decrease.
But since this wasn't the first time, Sasuke simply gave up struggling.
If Naruto's resentment decreased because of him, that wasn't a bad thing.
If he could reduce it for Naruto, then in the future he would erupt on his behalf. For now, he just needed to think about how to prepare some directions for growth in the coming days.
With chakra, he could now go back and practice ninjutsu. Back then, his older brother had taught him two or three secret Uchiha clan techniques.
But just a simple Great Fireball and then a Phoenix Flower Fire...
Too few!
"Sasuke, shall I take you home?"
As dusk gradually fell, Naruto's stomach growled twice.
But he still couldn't go home to eat. Instead, he looked at Sasuke.
Just back from the hospital, recently beaten, and unconscious—
To Naruto, Sasuke was like a fragile porcelain doll who could break at any moment.
"Mm."
He wanted to say thank you, but after thinking for a moment, Sasuke felt that didn't quite fit his original character.
Under the watchful eyes of the Anbu lurking nearby, Sasuke was helped by Naruto as they walked out of the alley, slowly disappearing into the night's embrace.
At the edge of the village, the Uchiha clan's territory lay desolate. As Naruto reached the gate, he suddenly shivered.
"What are you afraid of?"
Sasuke looked at Naruto, whose jaw was trembling, and for a moment didn't understand what caused his fear.
He himself had lived here and never felt anything wrong—could it be that Naruto saw something else?
"Sasuke, you live here alone. Aren't you scared?"
Naruto was afraid of ghosts, even though he had never actually seen one.
But he just was afraid—afraid that ghosts or monsters would appear, afraid of being hurt.
"If you're scared, then go back. I'm already used to it."
Sasuke removed his arm from Naruto's shoulder, shook it off, steadied himself, and lifted his foot to walk home.
Now he remembered—Naruto was that idiot who was afraid of ghosts.
But in this world, it's not ghosts that hurt people.