boyutpedia Chapter 51 The Aftermath of the Village
Chapter 51 The Aftermath of the Village
Upon hearing Mavis's refusal, Sasuke gritted his teeth and lowered his head slightly to conceal the look in his eyes.
A moment later, Sasuke raised his head again, his expression returning to calm, though his aura had become even colder.
"I understand," Sasuke said calmly, then turned and left.
As Mavis watched Sasuke's retreating figure, a sense of foreboding suddenly crept into her heart.
With his back to the mourning Konoha people, Sasuke seemed to be moving further and further away, and it was not just his footsteps that were moving away.
Mavis thought to herself, frowning. "I should find some time to talk to Kakashi about Sasuke."
Meanwhile, Sasuke, having walked further and further away, gradually reached a deserted place.
He slowly stopped walking, his whole body enveloped in the continuous drizzle.
Rainwater soaked his black hair, then flowed down his fair face, finally dripping from his pointed chin to the ground.
"boom!"
Suddenly, Sasuke slammed his fist heavily into the tree next to him, his teeth grinding together.
Having experienced the Konoha Crush and witnessed the true strength of others, Sasuke became even more anxious about his own abilities.
As for the magic taught by Zeref, without Zeref's guidance, the more anxious Sasuke is to master it as soon as possible, the less progress he makes, which is why he thought of asking Mavis for help.
Although Sasuke had been mentally prepared for Mavis's rejection, he was still deeply disappointed when it actually happened.
At that moment, Orochimaru and Zeref appeared before Sasuke's eyes once again.
******
The Hokage's sacrifice caused some unease throughout Konoha, but life in Konoha Village had to go on as usual.
Although Sunagakure also participated in Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha, considering that Sunagakure was also deceived by Orochimaru, and that the Kazekage also died at Orochimaru's hands.
Furthermore, Konoha's most important task now is to recover from this attack as quickly as possible to prevent other ninja villages from taking advantage of the situation.
Ultimately, Konoha and Sunagakure reached a peace agreement. The world of ninjas is often filled with both self-interest and helplessness.
……
Outside Konoha Village, Naruto and Mavis, Sakura and Gaara from Sunagakure, and Temari are saying goodbye.
Sakura looked at the Sand Ninja group with some surprise, mainly at Gaara.
Noticing Sakura's scrutiny, Gaara turned his gaze slightly, meeting Sakura's eyes directly.
The moment Sakura met Gaara's gaze, she instinctively wanted to look away, after all, Gaara's performance during the Chunin Exams had left her with some psychological trauma.
But Sakura was even more surprised, because she found that Gaara's eyes were completely different from those during the Chunin Exams, and he seemed much more peaceful.
Gaara's change was so drastic that even the oblivious Naruto noticed it. He blinked his big blue eyes and said to Gaara, "You've become much more pleasing to the eye."
Hearing Naruto's words, Gaara wasn't angry. He even showed a smile, though it wasn't very smooth, but it was genuine. He said, "Some things happened, I met some special people, said some things, and had some new insights. I even want to thank the guy who summoned the dead."
Yashamaru's image reappeared before Gaara's eyes.
……
On the day of the Konoha Crush plan, Yashamaru and Gaara were talking alone.
"Now that this miracle has occurred, I have some things I'd like to say to Lord Gaara..."
……
"...So, my sister doesn't actually resent Lord Gaara. She loves you. Perhaps it's just that I have some lingering resentment in my heart. You are the child my sister gave her life to keep, yet you are also the cause of her death..."
As Yashamaru spoke, a faint light appeared on his body.
In his final moments before disappearing, Yashamaru gave Gaara a gentle smile that Gaara remembered all too well.
It should be said that this smile was even gentler and warmer than Gaara remembered.
The faint melancholy that had always lingered between Yashamaru's brows had vanished without a trace, as if he had completely reconciled with the pain and resentment in his heart.
Yashamaru, enveloped in a soft light, smiled and said to Gaara, "Whether you continue to resent me or not, I hope you will stop resenting yourself. I'm sorry, young master Gaara..."
Gaara stared blankly at Yashamaru, who had turned into light and completely vanished. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his face as the breeze blew by. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his cheek, and was startled again. He realized that he had been crying all along.
……
Pulled from his memories, Gaara looked into Naruto's bright eyes and suddenly smiled: "Naruto, your dream is to become Hokage, right?"
Naruto was taken aback, not understanding why Gaara's topic had suddenly shifted to becoming Hokage, but Naruto still shouted, "That's right! I will definitely become Hokage!"
Upon hearing this, Gaara smiled and said, "Then let's wait and see."
After Gaara finished speaking, he turned around with Temari and Kankuro and began their journey back to Sunagakure.
Naruto's eyes narrowed into slits in confusion, somewhat bewildered: "What does he mean by that?"
Mavis couldn't help but laugh out loud, and gently patted Naruto's shoulder, saying, "This is your friend believing in and supporting your dream. It's enough to express your gratitude at times like this."
Naruto was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood. His eyes suddenly brightened, and he put his hands to his mouth, shouting loudly at Gaara, who had already walked away, "Hey! Gaara, just you wait! I'll definitely become Hokage someday!!"
Naruto's voice reached the ears of the three Sand Ninja who were walking further and further away.
Temari pouted and said to Gaara, "Gaara, how could you believe that blond kid's nonsense about becoming Hokage? Does he think he can become Hokage just because he wants to?"
Gaara, who also heard Naruto's shout, paused briefly before continuing forward, a fleeting smile playing on his lips.
Upon hearing Temari's opinion, he said softly, "If it's Naruto, then I believe him."
Temari had only said it casually, and after Gaara said it, she didn't say anything more.
Looking at Gaara ahead, she suddenly felt a bittersweet joy welling up inside her.
She naturally noticed Gaara's changes and knew in her heart that it was probably because of Yashamaru.
Regardless of what Yashamaru and Gaara said, Gaara's change was a positive one.
Thinking of the "I'm sorry" she heard when Kankuro and she were carrying Gaara, Temari suddenly felt much better.
She suddenly stretched out her arms, stepped forward, and put one arm around each of her two younger brothers. Seeing the horrified look in Kankuro's eyes—a look that seemed to say, "How dare you do this to Gaara?"—she flashed a big smile and said, "When we get back to Sunagakure, I'll personally cook you a delicious meal!"
"Is what you made even edible...?" Kankuro said, somewhat speechless, but then Gaara calmly replied, "Okay."
Kankuro:? ? ?
After giving Kankuro a hard flick on the forehead, Temari walked toward Sunagakure in high spirits.
*****
At the entrance of Konoha Village, Naruto gave a big smile after shouting his message.
Then, as if he had just thought of something, his expression fell again: "Recently, I don't know what's wrong with Sasuke. He's been disappearing every day, and he's been acting really strange. Sakura, have you seen Sasuke today?"
Sakura looked somewhat saddened upon hearing this, and forced a smile, saying, "I haven't seen Sasuke today either."
The carefree Naruto didn't notice Sakura's strained expression and exclaimed in alarm, "Sasuke didn't go to Kakashi-sensei for special training again, did he?! No way! I have to go find him!!" Before he finished speaking, he had already disappeared.
Seeing Naruto's energetic demeanor, Mavis couldn't help but smile, and then she noticed Sakura's somewhat dazed expression.
"Sakura, are you alright, Sakura?" Mavis called out several times before Sakura, who was lost in thought, finally heard her.
Sakura's thoughts were pulled back by Mavis's call. Seeing Mavis's worried expression, she forced a smile and replied, "I'm fine, Mavis. I just spaced out. Let's go back."
Seeing Sakura's unnatural smile and the fact that her emerald green eyes seemed to have dimmed, Mavis's expression gradually became serious.
Seeing that her explanation not only failed to work, but seemed to have the opposite effect, Sakura tried hard to make her performance more natural, but in the end she gave up and slumped her shoulders, her whole being shrouded in a gloomy cloud.
Seeing that Sakura had stopped forcing a smile and instead revealed a melancholy look, Mavis's expression softened slightly.
She reached out and took Sakura's hand, flashing a big smile, and said, "Come on, Sakura, I'll treat you to cake, strawberry flavor!"
"Huh? Huh!" Sakura was a little confused when she heard this. Why did they suddenly bring up strawberry cake? Before she could even hesitate, Melas had already pulled her along and started running.
"Wait a minute, Mavis, there's no need to rush," Sakura called out to Mavis, who was running ahead and holding her hand, with a hint of exasperation.
Running barefoot through the streets of Konoha, Mavis's long golden hair shimmered in the sunlight.
Hearing Sakura's words, Mavis didn't stop at all. She turned back and smiled as she ran, saying, "Because the strawberry cake is so delicious!"
Sakura stared at Mavis in a daze. Mavis was smiling brightly. In Sakura's eyes, it wasn't just her golden hair; Mavis seemed to be shining, as if all dark and negative emotions were absent from her.
Sakura's thoughts seemed to drift away along with the sunlight dancing on Mavis.
Mavis really is from another world, Sakura realized this clearly once again.
Inside the dessert shop, there were no other customers. Mavis and Sakura sat by the window, with two delicious-looking strawberry cakes on the table.
Mavis picked up the fork next to the plate, scooped out a small piece of strawberry cake and put it in her mouth. Her eyes immediately narrowed, and she was filled with satisfaction and joy.
Seeing Mavis's exaggerated reaction, even though she was still a little annoyed, Sakura couldn't help but pick up her fork, fork a piece, and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up immediately, "So delicious!"
“Right, right! This is a new flavor that this store has come up with!” Mavis said with bright eyes.
Perhaps it was because the strawberry cake was too delicious, perhaps it was because the sunlight falling on the table was too bright, or perhaps it was because Mavis's smile was too gentle, but Sakura's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
Seeing that Sakura's mood had improved, Mavis secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She put her fork back on the plate, looked directly at Sakura, and said, "Feeling better, Sakura? Has something been bothering you lately?"
Upon hearing Mavis's question, Sakura suddenly felt a urge to confide in someone. Lately, she had been feeling uneasy, but she didn't know who to talk to.
Faced with Mavis's question, Sakura remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Mavis, have you ever had someone you liked?"
"Huh?!" Mavis, who was originally planning to comfort Sakura, was caught off guard by Sakura's question, and her eyes instantly turned into beady eyes.
While Kakashi, Jiraiya, and the others in Konoha had basically guessed the relationship between Mavis and Zeref, Sakura and the others, who were not involved in the details, did not know as much.
Faced with Sakura's words, Mavis, who had never discussed love so directly and boldly with a young girl in all these years, felt a little embarrassed for the first time in a long time.
Mavis's fingers unconsciously wrapped around a strand of her long golden hair, suppressing the sudden awkwardness she had just felt, and she replied, "Yes."
“I knew you wouldn’t understand this feeling, Mavis…” Sakura paused, suddenly looked up, and stared intently at Mavis.
Although Sakura had only raised the question and intended to lead into a follow-up topic, she never expected Mavis to give such a positive answer.
Sakura's gossipy nature ignited instantly, and her sparkling eyes made Mavis, sitting opposite her, break out in a cold sweat.
"Mavis, what kind of person do you like? What does he look like? Does he like you too...?" A series of questions kept coming out of Sakura's mouth.
Mavis looked at Sakura, whose attention had completely drifted away from her romance, and was both speechless and amused.
Well, this should help ease my mind, right? Mavis thought uncertainly.
Faced with Sakura's barrage of questions, Mavis felt there was nothing she couldn't say; on the contrary, she found it quite amusing.
She tilted her head slightly, twirled her hair with her fingers again, and replied with a smile, "You can probably guess who I like, right? Although she seems a bit aloof, she actually has a gentler side than anyone else. Unfortunately, because of the pain she went through, she eventually became the person she is now..."