Naruto Uzumaki was feeling a bit frustrated.
The other teams had been tearing through missions like crazy lately. Since everyone was so strong, those run-of-the-mill tasks—like finding lost cats or catching fish—were a piece of cake!
But his team? They hadn't even done a single proper mission because Sasuke was stuck in a coma...
"Not doing missions isn't so bad, right? Didn't you hear Shikamaru and the others complaining? They're stuck with boring stuff like finding cats, walking dogs, pulling weeds, or fishing. What's the fun in that?
Shikamaru and Kiba are practically losing their minds!
And don't worry—Sasuke's about to wake up!"
Hirofumi Ito, who also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, could easily sense the chakra in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes.
The chakra in Sasuke's eyes had finally stabilized, so barring any surprises, he should wake up today!
Hirofumi hadn't been idle these past few days either. After Sasuke awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, Hirofumi had studied the two abilities it granted: Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
And it wasn't just Sasuke's powers. Hirofumi had also analyzed Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami and Fugaku Uchiha's ability to foresee the future.
Now, Hirofumi's own Mangekyo Sharingan held four abilities: Amaterasu, Kagutsuchi, Kotoamatsukami, and future prediction!
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki was bored out of his mind, poking at Sasuke's face with his finger.
As he poked, Naruto muttered to himself, "Come on, idiot Sasuke... wake up already!
If you don't, I swear I'll grab your little thing!"
Right at that moment, Sakura Haruno noticed something—Sasuke's finger twitched!
"It moved! It moved!"
Naruto, clueless as ever, blinked. "What moved?!"
"Sasuke moved! His finger moved!"
Hirofumi froze for a second. He'd seen it too—right after Naruto said he'd grab Sasuke's "little thing," Sasuke's finger twitched...
Well, damn!
Was this the bond between these two?!
Even in a coma, it could trigger a reaction?!
"Naruto!"
"Huh? What's up, Hirofumi?!"
"Quick! Grab Sasuke's little thing!"
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"Hirofumi... what did you just say?!"
"I said grab Sasuke's little thing! You said that, and he reacted! If you want him to wake up faster, do it!"
Naruto's face twisted in embarrassment. He'd only been joking—actually doing it? That was way too awkward!
"Hirofumi, seriously? What if Sasuke wakes up and kills me?!"
"If you want him to wake up, just do it!"
Naruto steeled himself, clenching his jaw.
"Fine! It's just grabbing his little thing, right? I'll do it! I just hope Sasuke doesn't murder me when he wakes up..."
With that, Naruto stood up, reached out, and started tugging at Sasuke's pants...
Hirofumi watched the scene with amused curiosity.
Sakura, standing nearby, quickly covered her eyes with her hands—but the gaps between her fingers were wide enough to see everything, her eyes locked on Sasuke lying on the bed...
And then—
"You idiot, Naruto Uzumaki! Go to hell!"
BOOM!
Sasuke Uchiha snapped awake, landing a solid kick square on Naruto's chest, sending him flying several meters across the room!
"Ow! Idiot Sasuke! Why'd you kick me?! I was just trying to help you wake up!"
"You damn idiot Naruto! You were gonna grab my what?! I'll kill you!"
"You stupid Sasuke!"
"Damn you, Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!"
...
CRASH!
The hospital room door was kicked open, and a medical ninja in a white coat stormed in.
"You annoying brats, keep it down! This is a hospital, not your playground!"
"Yes, we get it!" Naruto and Sasuke said in unison.
The two finally quieted down, but Sasuke still shot Naruto a cold glare...
He'd figured out what happened. It was a genjutsu!
When he first woke up from the genjutsu space, he couldn't fully distinguish illusion from reality.
On top of that, the chakra surge from awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan had hit his mind hard...
Even while comatose, Sasuke had been vaguely aware of the outside world.
Especially Naruto, that idiot! He'd been sitting by Sasuke's bed almost every day, muttering to himself nonstop!
It was driving him nuts!
Sasuke's expression grew complicated as he turned to Hirofumi.
"Hirofumi... seriously, man! How'd you come up with a genjutsu like that?! It was so ridiculous! Naruko Uzumaki? Come on..."
Sasuke already knew about Hirofumi's abilities and that he had the Mangekyo Sharingan. He just hadn't expected Hirofumi to use it on him first!
And back then, Sasuke only had the three-tomoe Sharingan—no wonder he didn't notice a thing...
Hirofumi's Sharingan was clearly far more developed than his own!
But in the end, Hirofumi had done it for his sake.
At least now, Sasuke had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan...
Though the process was, frankly, pretty humiliating!
In the genjutsu, he genuinely thought Naruto was about to... do something to him.
The despair he felt in that moment? Unimaginable!
That damn idiot Naruto!
Now fully awake and with no health issues, Sasuke was discharged from the hospital immediately.
The four-man team went out for a big meal to celebrate...
"Hirofumi Ito! Can we talk for a sec?!"
Orochimaru's voice called out to Hirofumi from within the summoning space.
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