Meanwhile in Konoha...
Sasuke's encounter with the strange green-eyed girl, left him dumbfounded. Why did she touch his forehead the same way Itachi used to? How was she able to get away? Where did she come from?
Questions over questions...He knew that he needed to inform his best friend, Naruto.
The only person he could count on these days, he thought, a sigh escaping his lips.
Ever since the end of the fourth shinobi war, people were slacking off, refusing to work. Instead they would rather meet up with friends and gossip.
"Why go through hellish training to become strong if we have Naruto- and Sasuke-kun to protect us!" Things like this were said on a daily basis. Stupid naïve villagers! Che...! The war is over, yes, but you never know when the next will rise. That's why Sasuke took every opportunity thrown at him to get away from Konoha, even though he had a wife and a daughter waiting for him.

The Uchiha didn't bother to stop at home first when he set foot in the village. Instead he rushed straight to the Hokage. Just as he was about to barge in, a blonde teen with black/pink clothing stormed out of the room, whilst uttering profanities.
Sasuke failed to understand how Naruto put up with the ungrateful brat.

"What was that about?", he asked half-concerned, as he entered the simple office. A large black table stacked with documents sat in the middle of the room, two comfortable looking chairs were tucked neatly behind the desk. Other than that Naruto's working space was empty, void of any personal belongings. Even his family picture was missing. Sasuke wondered what had happened since he'd last been back.

Naruto positioned himself with his back to the door, pretending to watch the green scenery outside. Something felt off about him; Sasuke didn't have to look him in the eye to know. The way his friend stood there stiffly, fists clenched...

When Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke took a few steps forward, suddenly standing besides him.
"Your KI* is beyond the roof. Care to explain?" He asked once more.

Naruto knew that Sasuke wouldn't back down until he received an honest answer. Sighing, he decided to explain: "Hinata and Hima, they were attacked. I wasn't there to protect them, they were dead before I got there, Sasuke."

There was a long pause. The Uchiha was shocked. He didn't know what to say.

"Boruto blames me...I guess it was my fault.
I'm the Hokage for fuck's sake! It's my job to protect the people I love! And I failed them, I failed my-fucking-self," Naruto continued, he was on the verge of a breakdown. Sasuke felt helpless, he wasn't used to these type of things. He trusted his gut feeling and hugged his now crying comrade. The death of his wife and daughter had been haunting him ever since he got the call that they had been attacked. Being Hokage and all meant that he had to keep his shit together, pushing his feelings to the back, for the village. This was the first time he had spoken to someone about the incident, apart from Kurama.

Sasuke felt anger towards the person who dared to hurt Naruto. "Sh. Listen to me," Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulders, to get his attention, "it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known, heck I didn't even sense any danger. You can't be everywhere at the same time. Even if we try our hardest, we can't protect everyone, Naruto."

Deep down Naruto knew that Sasuke was right. He wasn't even in the village when it happened. But it was too early for him to let go. This day marked four months since the incident. The feeling of loss will weigh on him for the rest of his life, Naruto knew. But he also knew that Hinata wouldn't have wanted him to waste his days moaping around about something he couldn't change.
Hinata would've wanted him to be there for his son, Boruto. Be the guidance he so desperately needed...
"I guess you're right, but still..."

"It'll be hard. Just don't let your pain eat you from the inside out. I'm free to talk whenever, besides it's time I take some time off," Sasuke admitted, making a small smile appear on Naruto's face.

Sasuke's words seemed to somehow lighten the mood. Naruto was no longer frowning.
"But I'm guessing that isn't the reason why you came back?" Knowing Sasuke, something must've happened. He wouldn't have come back unless he had to.

"No, you're right. I was in Suna attending some business, when I felt a portal being opened not too far from Konoha.
I decided to go check if it's anything out of the ordinary. At first I didn't even realize that a girl was hiding in the bushes. Her chakra control was quite impressive. That was until she sneezed. A girl, not older than 16 with short, white hair and these crazy green eyes suddenly jumped out and attacked me. Something felt off about her. I couldn't quite make out what, she was gone before I could even take a good look at her."

"Do you think, she could be a threat?" Naruto asked concerned after listening carefully to what his friend had to say.

"I don't know. To open a portal she must possess the Rinnegan. No doubt that she also has the Sharingan because of how she dodged all of my kunais without any difficulties," he said, a frown present. Now that he said it out loud, everything sounded quite crazy and frankly unbelievable.

"Is your aim getting rusty Sasuke?" His friend joked while walking back to his table to note everything down. He didn't say this for no reason...They were both nearing their forties and it scared the shit out of both of them. Naruto turned out to be an exact replica of his father, Minato, his spiky, yellow hair, his build, his posture, even his attitude. He was more reserved and always thought before opening his mouth; his silly behavior was no more.

The only thing that differentiated Sasuke from his past self to now were the dark circles under his eyes and the tiny wrinkles that were slowly forming on his forehead and around his eyes.
Sasuke didn't get rid of his mysterious nature.
He still always wore black and avoided Konoha like the pest, but with every passing year his grumpiness seemed to slightly fade.

"Ha Ha. One more thing, she casted a genjutsu on me, one that I couldn't break out of myself. I didn't even realize it was one until she released me..."

"She released you?" Naruto seemed shocked. His blue eyes were open wide.

"Weird right? And the way she did it...Naruto, she poked my forehead the same way Itachi used to," Sasuke further explained, his brows furrowed in frustration.

"I'm guessing you were too overwhelmed, so she got away?" Naruto knew him too well.

"Hn."

"Have you checked the bingo book yet?"
Sasuke nodded. Both shinobis knew that there was no point in wasting time searching for someone of her caliber. She will show herself when she sees fit. None of them wanted to say it aloud. They were both impatient when it came to the land's safety. So, instead of further chatter they decided to call it a day and head out to Ichiraku's.

It would be a long night. After all, there was a lot to catch up on.

—
*KI: Killer Intent