Chapter 73: Sasuke Thinks He’s Got It Again!

"Not bad, Naruto. You just met that girl, and you’re already having her take your surname."

Back at home, the Ninja Academy had already dismissed for the day.

After releasing his Shadow Clone and receiving its memories, Naruto confirmed that there were no problems.

Sitting on the sofa, Uchiha Izumi finally couldn’t resist teasing him.

Naruto was speechless.

When she put it that way, it really did sound like a joke.

"She was already a member of the Uzumaki Clan, okay?"

Uchiha Izumi smiled without saying anything.

Of course she knew that Karin was also a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

There was also the fact that Naruto always seemed to have so many girls around him.

And all of those girls happened to be around the same age as Naruto...

Izumi couldn’t help feeling like an old woman.

She didn’t know where she had gotten the confidence to call herself an old woman when she wasn’t even fifteen yet.

Seeing her expression, Naruto smiled.

"Then you can take my surname too, Izumi-chan. Become Uzumaki Izumi."

Uchiha Izumi’s cheeks immediately flushed.

If she took Naruto’s surname and became an Uzumaki, the meaning would be completely different.

Although the way the two of them interacted had changed recently, Uchiha Izumi always felt that something was still missing between her and Naruto.

Perhaps it was their age.

Although twelve-year-old Naruto was extremely mature mentally, he was still ultimately a child who hadn’t even reached ten years old.

It always made her feel like she was doing something wrong.

That was also why she didn’t particularly care about the little girls around Naruto.

People needed friends, after all.

Naruto didn’t have many friends to begin with. So what if he played house with a few little girls?

Uchiha Izumi had always been able to look at things openly.

Whether it was Hinata or Ino, one belonged to the Yamanaka Clan and the other to the Hyuga Clan.

Both clans were already firmly tied to Konoha.

They weren’t on the same path as Naruto.

If they could truly abandon everything for Naruto in the future, Uchiha Izumi would accept them.

Otherwise, if they were destined to eventually become strangers, what was there to care about?

Calling what they were doing "playing house" wasn’t really wrong.

But Karin was different.

Karin was completely alone, and she was even a member of Naruto’s own clan.

That was why Uchiha Izumi couldn’t resist teasing Naruto.

Only to be defeated by his casual remark about taking his surname.

Too soon!

Naruto was still too young.

Seeing Uchiha Izumi staring off into space, Naruto couldn’t help reaching out and pinching her cheek.

Just like he used to when they were children.

But the feeling was completely different now.

Back then, it had simply been affection.

There hadn’t been any other meaning behind it.

He had just enjoyed playing around and pinching her cheeks.

Now, however, there was an almost electric sensation.

The two silently stared at each other, as though there were only the two of them in the world.

Suddenly—

A knock came from behind them.

Uchiha Izumi blushed and slapped Naruto’s hand away.

She rubbed her cheek, and her expression quickly returned to normal.

Only a faint flush remained on her cheeks.

"Naruto, go answer the door. I’ll make dinner."

With that, Uchiha Izumi walked into the kitchen.

Naruto’s expression darkened.

He already knew who it was.

In all of Konoha, there were only two kinds of people who would knock on his door.

The first kind would knock and announce themselves.

For example, the ANBU, the Third Hokage, Ino, Hinata, and others.

Ever since Uchiha Izumi had moved in, the Third Hokage had been coming less and less frequently.

By now, he had visited fewer than five times in an entire year.

As for Ino and Hinata, they would only occasionally come over to play with him during Ninja Academy holidays.

The second kind was someone who knocked without saying a word.

Naruto opened the door and stared unhappily at Sasuke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to return the bento box."

Sasuke held out a bento box with both hands.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Oh?

He actually hadn’t talked back.

That left Naruto unable to get angry even if he wanted to.

He took the bento box.

Seeing that Sasuke had no intention of leaving, Naruto said,

"Come in."

As if he had been waiting for those words for a long time, Sasuke immediately responded to the invitation.

"Then I’ll be troubling you."

His words were polite, but his actions were anything but.

He walked straight into Naruto’s house.

In the living room, Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other, falling into a brief silence.

As the host, Naruto had no choice but to speak first.

"Is there something you wanted?"

Sasuke hesitated slightly before glancing toward the kitchen.

It was obvious that he wasn’t worried about the person in the kitchen.

Rather, there was something he wanted to discuss with Uchiha Izumi.

Naruto said,

"Whatever you wanted to say to her, you can say it to me."

Sasuke thought about it and realized Naruto was right.

Recently, he had already figured out that whenever something happened, Naruto was the one who made the decisions.

If Naruto didn’t agree, Uchiha Izumi would simply refuse.

Usually with excuses like:

"I’m not."

"I didn’t."

"I don’t know."

And variations of those same few words.

After hesitating for a while, Sasuke finally spoke.

"Naruto, I want to ask how to awaken the Sharingan."

Naruto immediately grinned.

Putting on an air of mystery, he said,

"The Sharingan can be awakened through intense emotional stimulation. So the simplest way is..."

Sasuke hurriedly asked,

"Is what?"

Naruto glanced meaningfully at Sasuke’s eyes.

"Just let someone most important to you die."

Sasuke froze.

Then his face turned deathly pale, and his body began trembling slightly.

What did he mean?!

The people most important to him were his family!

But the Uchiha Clan had already been massacred, and he still hadn’t awakened the Sharingan.

Who else could possibly be important to him?

Was Naruto mocking him for lacking the talent to awaken the Sharingan?

Damn it!

Remembering that Uchiha Itachi had spared him because he considered Sasuke too weak, Sasuke couldn’t help falling into self-doubt.

Was he really that pathetic?

Suddenly, as though he had thought of something, Sasuke’s pupils contracted.

He excitedly asked,

"Naruto, are you saying I’ve already awakened the Sharingan?"

He’s getting smarter.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with an amused smile.

Sasuke had indeed awakened a single-tomoe Sharingan in the aftermath of the clan massacre.

"Then why can’t I activate my Sharingan?"

Seeing Naruto’s expression, Sasuke became even more certain that he had already awakened it.

Having spent so much time observing Naruto, Sasuke knew him well.

If Sasuke had guessed incorrectly, Naruto would definitely look down on him.

When she heard them talking about the Sharingan, Uchiha Izumi couldn’t help sticking her head out from the kitchen.

She looked at Naruto questioningly.

Seeing this, Naruto smiled.

"Izumi, help Young Master Sasuke awaken his Sharingan."

Sasuke immediately turned toward Uchiha Izumi, his face filled with anticipation.

Although he didn’t know how Uchiha Izumi was supposed to help him, he knew Naruto wouldn’t make empty claims.

If Naruto said it could be done, then it could be done.

After observing Naruto for such a long time, Sasuke had discovered that Naruto never said anything unless he was confident.

Uchiha Izumi rolled her eyes at Naruto.

Sasuke grew increasingly anxious.

If you’re going to flirt, can’t you wait until later?

Then—

Uchiha Izumi opened her eyes, revealing her Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke suddenly realized that he was under her control.

He didn’t resist.

He couldn’t resist.

He could only feel the chakra within his body continuously surging toward his eyes.

Then his eyes suddenly hurt, and his vision instantly became much clearer.

In modern terms, it was like going from a three-megapixel camera to a thirty-megapixel camera in an instant!

At the same time, Sasuke felt the control over his body disappear.

"Naruto, did I awaken the Sharingan?"

Sasuke turned around and stared blankly at Naruto.

He felt like he had.

But he couldn’t believe that the problem which had troubled him for years had been solved so easily!

Naruto pulled a mirror out of nowhere.

Looking at the reflection—

Those scarlet eyes.

And the single tomoe within his pupils...

Sasuke felt like he was back on top again!

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