*Chapter 112: Sasuke is Still Sasuke*

Shino continued, "Back when we were in the Ninja Academy, when I first enrolled, I heard that some senior students graduated early. Out of curiosity, I checked them out."

"Maybe it was because this person was so unique. I always felt like he didn’t quite fit in with everything around him, as if he was seeing the world with a different set of eyes. So, I couldn’t help but pay a little more attention to him."

"For the next year, I frequently saw Fujiwara Aizen picking up a girl from the Uchiha clan after school. I even saw Fujiwara Aizen going on missions outside the village with Kurenai-sensei."

"Then, news spread in the village about Fujiwara Aizen being promoted to Jōnin, and after that, it was like he disappeared completely, without a trace."

"It wasn’t until I became a ninja and got my hands on this Rogue Ninja Handbook that I realized he had become a rogue ninja."

Kakashi took the ninja handbook from Kiba’s hands, flipping through it, and couldn’t help but praise, "You have impressive observation and analytical skills. It seems like you're quite a careful person in daily life."

"Noticing things that others might overlook... If I had noticed something was off about Aizen back then, maybe… a lot of tragedies could have been avoided."

At the end, Kakashi recalled the time he was with Obito and Rin, competing for the bells. Back then, due to his father’s death, he had no sense of teamwork at all, not even caring about his comrades’ lives.

If only Minato-sensei had seen this earlier and snapped him out of it, perhaps Obito wouldn’t have…

Thinking of this, Kakashi gave a bitter smile behind his mask, stood up, and said, "Team 8 is the best among all the squads when it comes to tracking and reconnaissance. Kurenai, it looks like you’ve raised a good student. Let’s talk more another time."

After speaking, Kakashi placed the Rogue Ninja Handbook back on the table, picked up the groceries he had bought earlier, and disappeared from the dango shop.

Kurenai Yūhi remained silent the whole time, gently touching the pure gold ring on her chest, lost in memories of Aizen.

"Kurenai-sensei, was this Fujiwara Aizen really that strong? I get that Uchiha Itachi is, considering he’s from that clan, but Fujiwara Aizen…"

Kiba grabbed the handbook from the table, still unwilling to believe that he had lost to a commoner without any kekkei genkai or secret techniques.

"He was indeed strong," Kurenai answered calmly, her face showing no emotional fluctuation.

Only Hinata could relate, because she saw in Kurenai’s eyes the same look she had in her own heart. Silently, she thought, "Kurenai-sensei, you probably don’t believe Aizen-niisan is a bad person either, right?"

Just then, Naruto, who had just finished his dog-walking task, spotted Kiba and the others. "Kiba! Hinata, Shino! What are you all looking at?"

Sasuke and Sakura were leisurely following behind.

But they didn’t seem as interested in greeting Team 8 as Naruto did.

Sasuke, still recovering from his recent mission in the Land of Waves, where he narrowly escaped death, was eager to get stronger.

Meanwhile, Sakura, the lovestruck one, just wanted to be alone with Sasuke, wishing Naruto would disappear already.

"What we’re looking at has nothing to do with you, loser."

Kiba clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes as if something just occurred to him.

Crossing his arms, he said smugly, "It’s the Rogue Ninja Handbook. It lists all the top-tier S-ranked rogue ninjas in the shinobi world. One of them used to be a member of Team 8, Kurenai-sensei’s student. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"That is impressive, but no matter how strong they are, they’re definitely no match for my Aizen-niisan," Naruto nodded, and while Kiba wasn’t paying attention, he snatched the handbook from his hands.

"Hey! Give that back!" Kiba and Naruto began to tussle over the book.

As they fought, the handbook flew out of Kiba’s hands and landed near Sasuke, who was just passing by.

"Careful, Sasuke!" Sakura’s eyes lit up, eager to have her moment of "saving the hero."

But who was Sasuke? He was one of the four laughing Uchiha prodigies, the cool guy of the Hidden Leaf. Without even looking, he casually caught the book with a smirk.

"Sasuke, you’re so cool!" Sakura’s eyes sparkled, with two big red hearts practically floating in them.

Even Team 8 couldn’t help but feel awkward, their faces all showing various levels of speechlessness.

Sasuke, as cold as ever, ignored Sakura and opened the Rogue Ninja Handbook.

As soon as he saw the wanted posters for Aizen and Uchiha Itachi, his expression darkened, and an icy aura seemed to surround him, making even Sakura, who was standing right next to him, shiver.

At this moment, Kiba walked over, "Sasuke, speaking of which, there’s another Uchiha listed here. Do you know him?"

"He’s my brother," Sasuke replied coldly.

Sakura, still not grasping the gravity of the situation, tried to flatter him, "Wow, Sasuke’s brother must be really strong to be listed in the book!"

"Shut up. One day, I’ll kill him," Sasuke shot Sakura a fierce look and walked directly over to Kurenai Yūhi, pointing at Aizen in the handbook. His voice turned cold as he asked, "Was this guy your student?"

"So what if he was?" Kurenai responded with a question of her own, her tone frosty. She didn’t feel the need to continue talking with this kid, so she stood up, about to leave.

"Wait…" Sasuke tried to chase after her, but Kurenai quickly performed a hand seal, trapping him in a genjutsu.

In Sasuke’s mind, he was trapped in a large tree, unable to move except for his head.

"What’s the point of asking these things now? Do you plan to hunt him down like those bounty ninjas?" Kurenai turned back, her cold killing intent directed at him, and sneered.

"No, I just want to know how strong he is. How does he compare to Uchiha Itachi?" Sasuke, sweating from fear under her gaze, softened his tone into a question.

In his mind, Aizen and his brother were both responsible for their respective clan massacres.

Even though they targeted different clans, the fact that they acted on the same day meant there must be some connection.

Aizen must know something.

If he couldn’t even defeat Aizen, how would he ever challenge Uchiha Itachi?

"I never fought Uchiha Itachi, so I can’t give you a direct answer. But I can tell you this: Aizen was very strong. Back when he was still a genin, he had already mastered all my ninjutsu and genjutsu, and surpassed me as his teacher."

Hearing that Sasuke didn’t want to kill Aizen, Kurenai’s expression softened a little, and she released the genjutsu on him.

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