Den of the snake -

１２：Adrenaline

"Go rest now, Hyuga, you must be tired. And be prepared early in the morning tomorrow for your training, I don't like waiting" Sasuke says in a cold and rough tone as he closes his eyes and turns around, with his back facing her. Hinata eyes slowly lowered towards the ground after hearing him speak so roughly to her, but still she couldn't ignore the fact that he had treated her with respect and kindness the whole night, he had spent the entire night just talking to her, and listening to her problems and worries and he never once judged her or said anything bad about her. Slowly a sad smile forms on her as she looks up at the back of the fleeting Uchiha.

"T-Thank you for m-making me f-feel I-important, Sasuke-kun.......a-and, I-I'll be ready tomorrow".

Sasuke hears her soft and gentle voice filled with determination as he walks ahead, he chooses to stay quiet and keep walking. But a small smirk unintentionally creeps up on his face, just thinking about her. Hinata also turns around and heads inside the house, retiring to her room, after a long and tiring night. Whereas Sasuke walks ahead towards the Hokage's office.

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"Now then, what is it that you need to tell me, Gintoki" Sasuke says sighing a little as he takes off his cloak, hanging it on the wall before taking his seat in the Hokage's office. Gintoki stays quiet for a few seconds, his disdain and concern clearly showing on his face. Sasuke also notices how his assistant was much more nervous today. Gintoki slowly stares up and into Sasuke's calm eyes.

"My Lord, we have managed to identify the Sand ninjas. It is like you said, they are hiding in the sound village, with Orochimaru helping them" Gintoki says in a grim tone. Sasuke doesn't show any reaction to his news, he already had a hint that this was coming. Orochimaru had always been a pain in his side, and he was proving that once again. But the thing he was curious about the most was again, how the heck did they all manage to escape. None of them could be fast enough to evacuate the entire village in the time, Sasuke left and the meteor to hit.

"Orochimaru. It doesn't come as a shock to me, that he has a hand in this. But there is no point in worrying, it is none of my concern if they are seeking refuge in the Sound. My only purpose for attacking the Sand was, Hinata. But just for security, deploy more guards around the village boundaries and for patrol...........anything else you need to tell me" Sasuke asks in a monotone voice, devoid of any human emotion. But that's when Gintoki delivers the real news, that he wanted Sasuke to know.

"Yes, there is........some of our best sensory ninjas have pointed out massive chakra levels coming from Orochimaru's hideouts in the Sound Village. And not just a few.......based off the chakra levels, we have deduced that the number of shinobi in that one spot could be ranging from thousand to ten thousand powerful ninjas" At this point Sasuke's eyes grew a little wide, even for someone like Sasuke, this news was surprising and a little worrying. Judging by Gintoki's tone, Sasuke realized that the danger was real and not something to just discard. But what intrigued Sasuke the most was probably the identity of these ninjas. And how did Orochimaru gather them all?

"Uchiha-Sama, it seems as if they are preparing for a battle" Gintoki speaks up after noticing his master sit and think in silence for a long period of time. Sasuke felt a bit worried about this predicament, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before the five nations banded together to attack him. But now things were different, Sasuke didn't also bear the burden of an entire village, he was also responsible for the soon-to-be Uchiha leader alongside him.

"Uchiha-Sama, forgive me for saying this but..........if the five great nations really are planning to again join forces and attack our village...we need to start taking the necessary steps in order to protect ourselves" Gintoki again spoke up, but Sasuke never said a word. He was lost in thought, all of the words Gintoki said, he ignored them.