Should I continue being a villain in the ninja world after transmigrating?

Chapter 101 The Calm Before the Storm

Tsunade had snapped out of her reverie. She glanced at Kakashi and commanded, "Kakashi! For now, suspend all your missions and be responsible for keeping an eye on Sasuke Uchiha. Record all information from Orochimaru's side!"

Kakashi's brow relaxed, and he replied without hesitation, "Yes, Hokage-sama!"

This is already the best possible outcome; having his former teacher take charge of looking after Sasuke is the best possible result.

Kakashi gave Sasuke a complicated look, then left the Hokage's office with him.

Only Tsunade and Shizune remained in the office.

Shizune looked at Tsunade, hesitating for a moment, but finally couldn't help but ask, "Lady Tsunade, should we inform Naruto about Sasuke's return?"

Tsunade's expression remained serious. Upon hearing Shizune's question, her eyes flickered slightly, and she made a decision, saying, "Notify Naruto to return to Konoha for a while. At the same time, make sure Jiraiya returns to Konoha to await orders!"

Shizune was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, "Eh? Even Jiraiya-sama is coming back to stand by?"

Tsunade turned around and looked through the window behind her at Kakashi and Sasuke, who were walking out of the Hokage's office building.

As if sensing Tsunade's gaze, Sasuke paused slightly, but without turning around, a faint smile appeared on his lips when no one was watching.

As Tsunade caught a glimpse of Kakashi and Sasuke's departing figures, her gaze deepened. She calmly explained to Shizune, "Shizune, your understanding of the Uchiha clan isn't deep enough."

"Those guys are all stubborn and inflexible; they're not the type to change their minds easily..."

……

Kakashi naturally noticed Tsunade's scrutinizing gaze from behind.

At the same time, Kakashi noticed Sasuke's slight pause and sighed inwardly. He said, "It's normal for the Hokage to have reservations about your previous defection from the village."

Sasuke said with a somewhat ambiguous tone, "I know."

After he finished speaking, the two fell silent.

In the past, Sasuke kept everything to himself, and Kakashi wasn't good with words either. Now, with the matter of Sasuke's defection from Konoha between them, Kakashi suddenly didn't know what to talk about.

As for Eri, he had little interest in paying attention to Kakashi's complicated psychology. At this moment, he was subtly observing the environment of Konoha, and the emotion in his eyes changed from interest to disappointment.

When Eri was created, Zeref implanted common sense and knowledge of the Asland world into Eri, so he was very disappointed with Konoha Village, which seemed ordinary and far inferior to Asland.

He felt a little disdainful. If it weren't for completing Lord Zeref's mission, he wouldn't have been interested in playing the role of a good Sasuke in Konoha.

(Sasuke, far away in the Sound Village, suddenly sneezed.)

For various reasons, the two walked in silence until a familiar figure appeared ahead, at which point they stopped.

Looking at the girl with cherry blossom hair and blue eyes in front of him, who was in a daze, Eri, who already had a lot of information about Sasuke, calmly said, "It's been a long time, Sakura!"

Hearing Sasuke's familiar voice and tone, calling her name, and having rushed over in disbelief upon hearing the news of Sasuke's return to the village, Sakura burst into tears...

……

Inside the Sound Village, the real Sasuke, his face dark with displeasure, stared at Zeref, who was leisurely sipping tea across from him, and asked, "That imposter is using my face to go to Konoha. I hope he won't do anything outrageous!"

Zeref raised an eyebrow, looked at Sasuke, and said, "What, does Sasuke have something to do with Konoha...?"

"How could that be!" Sasuke vehemently denied. "After learning about Itachi and Konoha, all I felt for Konoha was hatred!"

"My hatred is none of the business of imposters interfering!"

Thinking of Eli's terrible personality, Sasuke gritted his teeth inwardly.

Seeing Sasuke's reaction, Zeref laughed and said, "Don't worry, I just want to teach Itachi Uchiha a lesson. I have no interest in doing anything to Konoha."

"But I really look forward to it. When Itachi Uchiha hears the news of his younger brother's death in Konoha, will he still firmly believe that his past actions were right?"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke, who had been somewhat angry, suddenly fell silent. He was actually curious about the answer to this question, but at the same time, he felt a sense of rejection, just like his feelings for Itachi Uchiha, which he himself couldn't quite understand...

……

Sasuke's return caused a huge uproar in Konoha, especially among the Chunin and Genin who were in the same cohort as him.

It should be noted that while the existence of rogue ninjas is not uncommon in the entire ninja world, Konoha is considered to have a relatively small number of rogue ninjas.

(Although the quality is very high.)

Having been known as a genius since childhood, and being a member of the renowned Uchiha clan in the ninja world, Sasuke has always been the center of attention among his peers.

Therefore, Sasuke Uchiha's defection shocked his fellow ninjas at the time.

And now, Sasuke Uchiha, who defected from Konoha and went to Orochimaru, the Third Hokage, has actually returned to the village!

On a lawn, Choji Akimichi tore open a bag of potato chips, taking big bites as he turned to Shikamaru Nara and said, "Hey, Shikamaru, did you hear? Sasuke actually went back to Konoha! Naruto and Sakura must be so happy."

Nara Shikamaru frowned, but he wasn't as optimistic as Choji.

Sasuke was, after all, someone who defected to Orochimaru's side, and his sudden return to the village has made many ninjas suspicious. In short, it's bound to be a very troublesome matter...

Nara Shikamaru sighed inwardly, shifted his gaze, and turned to ask, "Why hasn't Ino arrived yet?"

As soon as he asked the question, Shikamaru realized something and couldn't help but reach up and cover his forehead with a headache.

Sure enough, Choji ate the last of the potato chips in the bag and said, "Ino just said she went to find Sasuke."

I knew it...

Does Ino even know what's going on...?

Since Sasuke returned, although not many, some of his former classmates have tried to visit him. However, due to their current surveillance situation and Sasuke's own wishes, apart from Sakura, no one has been able to see Sasuke.

"Ugh, damn it! Only Sakura got to see Sasuke! I really wanted to see Sasuke too!" Ino, who arrived late, puffed out her cheeks and complained angrily to her teammates.

"Sasuke is still so popular," Choji said casually.

Looking at his two oblivious companions, Nara Shikamaru, after a moment of headache, still spoke up to warn them: "You two, especially Ino, don't go looking for Sasuke for a while."

Choji and Ino looked over together upon hearing this.

Ino said with dissatisfaction, "Why, Shikamaru?"

Although the truth is somewhat harsh, if I don't speak up, my two teammates probably won't realize it for a long time.

With a sigh, Shikamaru finally uttered some rather cold words: "It may sound a bit heartless, but from the moment he defected from Konoha, Sasuke became different from us."

Ino frowned, unable to resist retorting, "But hasn't Sasuke already returned to Konoha?"

Shikamaru said calmly, "None of the ninjas who have defected from the village ever return. Putting aside whether Sasuke truly wanted to return to Konoha, the fact that he joined Orochimaru is enough to keep Konoha suspicious for a long time."

“But…” Ino wanted to say something more, but when she met Shikamaru’s eyes, she finally fell silent, feeling somewhat saddened.

It wasn't that she couldn't understand Shikamaru's meaning, it's just...

……

Eric naturally noticed the strange attitude towards Sasuke within Konoha, but he didn't care at all.

Sniffing the scent of suspicion and blood emanating from the person monitoring him, Eric tapped his fingers on the table with amusement, his black eyes faintly glowing with a red light distinct from his Sharingan.

Ah... I have to be patient...

After all, there's still one very important audience member who hasn't all arrived yet...

The drama surrounding Sasuke's death must be grand, of course, to showcase his ability as the demon most valued by Lord Zeref in the ninja world, right...?