It's better to be a rebel ninja than to be a Hokage

"Sakura..."

The shouting sounded unreal to Sakura's ears.

However, Sakura did not respond to the shouts. She just mechanically gathered chakra in her hands and used the Palm Fairy Technique to heal the injured.

"Sakura!"

The shouting voice that received no response had to raise its pitch again and called Sakura's name again at a more urgent pace.

"Yes!"

Sakura came to her senses and immediately responded, "Sorry, Senior Sister Shizune..."

For medical ninjas, being distracted while treating the wounded is the biggest taboo.

What's more, the information held by the injured they are treating is extremely important to Konoha. If they are not careful, all their efforts will be wasted.

Fortunately, Sakura, as Tsunade's disciple, has developed quite powerful medical skills. Even when using the Palm Magic Technique mechanically, she can still accurately control the most subtle changes in chakra.

"Go and rest first. Her injuries have stabilized. Leave the rest of the treatment to me... Please notify Mr. Haiyi and ask him to bring the intelligence department over to take over."

Noticing Sakura's depressed mood, Shizune made a decision.

The rescue operation lasted for several days, and Sakura was always in a state of fatigue, and her mind would become more easily distracted at this time.

Anyway, the vital signs of the injured have now stabilized.

The rest of the operation can be handled by Jingyin alone.

Therefore, Shizune decided to let Sakura go back and rest first.

Sakura opened her mouth slightly, wanting to show that she was fine, but her eyes inadvertently glanced at the woman with short blue hair who was sleeping on the operating table.

In the end, he nodded hesitantly and accepted Shizune's kindness.

After a while, Sakura walked out of the operating room, but stopped again when she met an unexpected person on the bench against the wall outside the operating room.

Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas of Konoha, was sitting on a chair.

"Jiraiya-sama..."

Sakura took the initiative to greet him, "Are you waiting for the results of the surgery?"

The woman named Konan lying in the operating room is a member of "Akatsuki" and a former disciple of Jiraiya.

Sakura had already learned this information from Shizune when she was participating in the rescue operation.

Therefore, Jiraiya appeared here, and Sakura naturally thought that Jiraiya was worried about Konan's safety.

But Jiraiya denied Sakura's guess.

"No, I'm here to see you, Sakura."

"I?"

Sakura looked at Jiraiya in confusion, only for Jiraiya to nod affirmatively.

In an instant, a bad premonition came over Sakura.

"This is the decision I convinced Tsunade to make, so I think it's most appropriate for me to relay it to you."

After returning from the Hidden Rain Village, there was only one reason why Jiraiya, who was busy with his affairs, would take the time to wait for Sakura.

Jiraiya didn't want any misunderstanding to arise between Sakura and Tsunade, which would create a rift between the master and disciple.

Sakura was waiting for what Jiraiya called a "decision".

Jiraiya was recalling his fight with Naruto in the Hidden Rain Village.

Not long ago, Jiraiya was summoned to Myoboku Mountain by the toads through the reverse summoning technique. The great toad sage made a prophecy again after a long absence - "The future direction of the ninja world will start from the Hidden Rain Village."

This is the same as the prediction made by the Great Toad Sage to Jiraiya in the past: "Jiraiya will also write a book" and "will travel around the Ninja World."

This time, the Great Toad Sage's prophecy still clearly predicted how Jiraiya should act.

But as usual, the outcome of the prophecy was blurred - "Jiraiya, your choices in the Hidden Rain Village will affect the future."

These words lingered in Jiraiya's mind.

Save Xiaonan.

Or he could use the reverse summoning technique to let the toads summon him to Mount Myoboku and escape from the fight with Naruto.

Does his choice lay the foundation for a hopeful future as prophesied?

But after a brief confrontation with Naruto, Jiraiya was certain that Naruto's current strength should not be underestimated.

Originally, the reason why Konoha had an extremely ambiguous attitude towards Naruto after he became a traitor was not only because Konoha was unable to organize the forces to capture Naruto at that time, but also because of the lobbying of Sakura and Kakashi among Konoha's high-level officials.

Konoha obviously missed the best opportunity to capture Naruto.

Allowing Naruto to continue growing would be extremely dangerous for Konoha.

"I have suggested to Tsunade that even if we give up the Nine-Tails, we should prioritize getting rid of Naruto."

In the past, Konoha's assessment of the danger to Naruto was mostly the Nine-Tails within Naruto's body.

But after personally meeting Naruto in the Hidden Rain Village, Jiraiya realized that this idea was completely wrong.

The one in danger now is definitely not the Nine-Tailed Fox.

But Naruto himself.

For Naruto, even if he forcibly killed Naruto, who was the Jinchūriki, and let the Nine-Tails be reborn in the wild after an unknown period of time, it would definitely be easier than letting the Nine-Tails continue to be controlled by Naruto.

The decision to kill Naruto was something Sakura had been trying to stop.

Jiraiya has always expressed his support for this, but now that Naruto has threatened Konoha's interests, Jiraiya can no longer support Sakura's ideas.

"In the past, Orochimaru and I had a quarrel because of the difference in ninja philosophy... Orochimaru believed that a ninja was someone who mastered all ninjutsu in the world, while I believed that a ninja was someone who endured everything."

Jiraiya looked at Sakura who had become silent, and told her the reason why he would change his attitude towards Naruto:

"Naruto undoubtedly has extremely strong endurance - but he doesn't just know how to tolerate it blindly. He also knows when to take the initiative."

"The ending of Akatsuki is the best example. As a Jinchūriki, Naruto is the target that Akatsuki will find sooner or later. It is not surprising that Naruto, who has the power, will take the initiative to attack Akatsuki who has captured the tailed beast."

Ultimately, Naruto's experiences in Konoha made him an insecure person.

What happened between Danzo and Naruto shaped the Naruto that he is today.

The malice around him caused him to misunderstand the world and eventually he went to extremes.

In order to eliminate the uneasiness in his heart, Naruto will definitely return to Konoha to cut off the source of the uneasiness.

Jiraiya still has a deep memory of the tragic situation that happened in Konoha three years ago.

Jiraiya would never allow Konoha to collapse again.

……

……

"You should rest in your room now..."

Naruto's eyes fell on Sasuke who was bathed in the moonlight of the winter night.

The biting cold wind that cuts the skin like a knife is extremely unbearable for a healthy person, let alone Sasuke who has just recovered from his injuries.

He continued, "Even as a ninja, you are at a weak point."

However, Sasuke did not care about his physical condition, but was immersed in a special emotion.

"The moon in the Snow Country is brighter than anywhere else."

He responded to Naruto's words, but it was a nonsensical sentence that had nothing to do with Naruto's words.

Naruto didn't care and also looked up at the bright white full moon in the dark night.

"It's probably because the water vapor in the air decreases in winter, and the trees in the forest are all coniferous trees with leaves as small as needles, which makes the moonlight more penetrable." Naruto explained.

There are not many thoughts that come to mind when looking at the moon, and Naruto probably guessed Sasuke's emotions at the moment.

"The moon is the same now as it was that night."

Sasuke's eyes were still on the moon: "Looking at this moon, the forgotten details in my memory emerge more and more clearly..."

That night, Itachi did shed tears.

But hatred made Sasuke ignore this point... Perhaps before learning the truth, Sasuke thought that Itachi's tears at that time were just Itachi's illusion.

"I now truly feel Itachi's love for me. But correspondingly, I find it increasingly difficult to agree with the ninja way Itachi follows for me."

The elderly, children, and pregnant women in the Uchiha clan who have no power to resist.

Even his own parents were strangled to death by Itachi that night.

The only surviving victim was Sasuke himself, Itachi's younger brother.

Uchiha Itachi is a brother who deeply loves his younger brother, but he is also a hideous murderer who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan.

The two extreme sides appear in the same person, and these two completely opposite extremes are inextricably linked to Sasuke.

After learning the truth about the Uchiha clan from Itachi, Sasuke calmed down and thought, but found that the anger and hatred in his heart were growing deeper and deeper.

For the sake of peace, Itachi chose to become an extremely evil being that could not be understood by the world.

But Konoha had the chance to prevent all this from happening.

But the reason they condoned - or rather, caused the current situation themselves - was simply because of the Konoha high-level officials' hateful selfish interests.

Itachi suppressed his inner grief and anger and chose the way of the ninja. The sacrifice he made was so natural in the eyes of the Konoha high-ups.

Sasuke closed his eyes, Itachi's smile of relief before his death was so profound.

"Naruto, you don't have to worry too much about my health. I know my physical condition very well, and I don't need to spend more time resting."

The longer you stay in the Snow Country, the more you will crave the tranquility this country offers.

But Sasuke knew very well that he did not have time to enjoy this peace.

His revenge is not over yet.

"We have no time to waste, let's head to Konoha."

Sasuke left the moonlight and immersed himself in darkness again.

In the darkness, Uchiha's scarlet Sharingan was so vivid.