Chapter 596 A Man Who Wants to Actively Pursue Happiness
Hidden Village.
Within a community where Uchiha clans gather.
Thanks to their shared surname with the Shadow Mansion and the favor the clan had done for Ryuun years ago, many members of the Uchiha clan were able to successfully enter Tenkaku Village and become ninjas there.
They originally wanted to rebuild the Uchiha clan's territory within Ame-no-Kage Village, but Orochimaru ruthlessly rejected this proposal back then, which led to the current Uchiha community...
"Sasuke, all these years have passed, how are things going between you and Nanami? Have you officially started a relationship with her?"
Compared to all the fighting and killing, Mikoto Uchiha, as a mother, was more concerned about her son's marriage...
After all, Sasuke is already in his early thirties, while Naruto, who is the same age as him, already has children who are eleven or twelve years old...
In the ninja world, a man who is still unmarried at thirty is definitely considered an extremely old bachelor...
Sasuke was visibly taken aback when he heard his mother's question.
"What relationship are you talking about... We're going to war, not a date..." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Mikoto helplessly.
"I know you're going to fight a war, but the problem is that you'll have so much time and opportunities to travel together... more importantly, has your relationship with her progressed any further?"
Sasuke's expression clearly showed that he had forgotten what she had told him before, which made Mikoto Uchiha even more anxious.
"Um... it's still the same... my relationship with her has always been fine..." Sasuke answered subconsciously.
"What do you mean 'still the same'? What do you mean 'okay'? Are you trying to drive your mother crazy? Have you two even officially started dating yet...?"
Mikoto spoke up rather irritably, finding it quite tiring to discuss matters of love and relationships with her clueless son...
"A romantic relationship... Nanami and I... we haven't..." Sasuke said, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"What! Not yet?? Are you made of wood???" Mikoto's voice was noticeably louder.
"It's not easy to bring this up... Nanami didn't mention it either, she might not want to..." Sasuke said, blushing.
During his year-long trip to Shinjuku, he did have opportunities to be alone with Nanami. Although they had a great time, they didn't establish any romantic relationship. In fact, Sasuke was terrified of being rejected. If he were rejected, he probably wouldn't even have the courage to appear in front of Nanami...
"What! You can't bring it up? She didn't mention it??? Are you even a man? You expect a girl to bring this up???" The usually gentle Mikoto was uncharacteristically angry...
"what……"
Sasuke was clearly startled by his mother's anger.
"Hey, answer me now! Did you mention her as your...girlfriend or not?!" Mikoto demanded angrily.
“This…” Sasuke thought for a moment.
"What 'this' and 'that'! If you have it, say you have it; if you don't, say you don't!!!" Mikoto's voice rose again; she was almost driven mad by this blockhead...
"No...no..."
"You... how could I have given birth to such a useless bastard like you!" Uchiha Mikoto was furious. The next second, she reached out and pinched Sasuke's ear, making the usually aloof Sasuke wince in pain...
"You don't take the initiative to ask me out? What good girl would date you? Do you really think that just because you're handsome, other girls will chase after you???"
What kind of girl is Nanami? If she wanted to find a handsome guy, there would be a line of handsome men stretching from Amagi Village all the way to Konoha Village...
"What did your mother teach you before? To pursue an outstanding girl, you need to be proactive; to pursue a goddess like Nanami, you need to be even more persistent and shameless. Did you ignore my words?"
Mikoto's exasperated scolding made her chest heave violently with anger.
"!!!"
Sasuke actually wanted to take the initiative, but because of Sakura's example, he subconsciously felt that Nanami might also take the initiative, so he didn't dare to. In the end, he was still somewhat insecure and always felt that he was not good enough for Nanami...
"Speak up!" Mikoto stood with her hands on her hips, glaring down at her good-for-nothing son.
"Ah...I...I..."
Sasuke's face turned red, and he stammered for a long time but couldn't manage to fart... Seeing this, Mikoto was completely disappointed in him...
This arrogant yet insecure guy can't be relied on, so Misaka will have to implement another plan:
"Tomorrow you'll come with me to the Shadow Mansion. I'll talk to your Aunt Kushina about your marriage and try to finalize it!"
Upon hearing his mother's words, Sasuke's eyes widened suddenly, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
"Mom... wait... wait a minute..." Sasuke couldn't quite keep up with his mother's fast pace.
"Wait for what? Nanami is already in her mid-twenties, do you expect her to wait for you? Let me tell you, either you go to the Shadow Mansion right now and talk to Nanami yourself, or you come with me tomorrow morning to talk..."
Mikoto's attitude was particularly firm; she was no longer giving Sasuke time to waste, because it simply couldn't be delayed any longer...
Nana might not have met many boys while she was away on expeditions, so Mikoto thought Sasuke had a great chance... But unexpectedly, so many years have passed, and Sasuke still hasn't established a relationship with her...
Now that Nanami is back, she'll have countless opportunities to meet high-quality men. Mikoto feels that her older single man is no longer an advantage, especially since they've never really dated and haven't even held hands more than a few times...
In Mikoto's view, this relationship was anything but stable!
The reason Mikoto dared to propose an engagement was because she had tested Kushina's words many times over the years, and her best friend was very willing to become in-laws with her!
"Ah... now? It's already night... how about you give me a few more days..." Sasuke quickly said, trying to smooth things over.
Seeing Sasuke's flustered expression, Mikoto's gaze towards him grew even more disappointed. She was certain that even if she gave him more time, this useless guy still wouldn't dare to take the initiative.
"Your good friend Naruto actively pursued Sakura back then, and now he has a happy family with a son and a daughter..."
"According to your Aunt Kushina, even someone as outstanding as Ryuun-kun back then was the one who first pursued Kushina..."
"You know... happiness is something you have to fight for, and those who don't even dare to fight for happiness don't deserve to have it..."
Mikoto's words shook Sasuke to his core. After a long while, Sasuke finally made up his mind and spoke seriously:
"I understand, Mom. Give me one more day, and I will fight for my own happiness!"
Seeing her son's resolute expression, Mikoto, as a mother, finally smiled.
"Okay! Mom believes you will succeed!"
The next morning, Sasuke, who hadn't slept all night, arrived at the gates of the Shadow Mansion with a heavy heart.
He didn't ring Nanami's doorbell immediately, but instead paced outside the house for a long time...
"Lord Sasuke, is there... anything I can help you with?"
A female Jonin who had been guarding the Shadow Palace for many years couldn't suppress her curiosity and went up to ask Sasuke about his strange behavior.
"N-nothing... I came to see Nanami..." Sasuke replied with an awkward laugh.
"Oh...you can ring the doorbell, or I can come inside to let you know..."
The female jonin spoke with great respect. If it were anyone else loitering outside the manor, she would have chased them away long ago. But Sasuke was a hero who had returned from an expedition, so the female jonin naturally recognized him and would never drive him away.
"No need, thank you. I'll just wait until Nana gives birth..."
"Um... okay then!"
The female Jonin guessed a bit about the reason from Sasuke's strange behavior. She smiled politely and disappeared again, but her senses remained focused on Sasuke. She had the duty to protect the Shadow Palace, and she was also curious about what interesting things would happen next...
Not long after, Nanami, who had gotten up early, pushed open the door of the villa, intending to do some morning exercise in the garden. But the next second, she sensed that someone was perceiving her.
"Nanasheng..."
Sasuke's voice rang out at the opportune moment. He was too lazy to wait for Nanami to open the gates, and instead jumped directly onto the walls of the Shadow Mansion...
"what???"
Nanami was a little confused when she saw this scene. She actually saw Sasuke on her own wall early in the morning?
"Brother Sasuke, you're here so early in the morning... did you just happen to be passing by?" Nanami thought he was just passing by the Shadow Mansion and had sensed her, so he climbed the wall to say hello.
"No...no...I came here specifically to find you..." Sasuke jumped off the wall and walked nervously to Nanami.
"Looking for me? Is something important?"
Nanami instinctively asked, noticing that her brother Sasuke seemed a little nervous, thinking something serious had happened. But then she thought, shouldn't something serious involve ringing the doorbell or knocking?
"that……"
Sasuke's eyes darted around, his voice stammered, and his face was unusually red, with fine beads of sweat visible on his forehead.
"Sasuke-nii-san, you..."
Before Nanami could even ask, Sasuke pulled a flower from his pocket and, with trembling hands, presented it to her.
"Nanasheng..."
"Please...go with me!!!"
The voice, uttered with all her courage, was rather loud; Nanami was clearly shocked by this sudden and awkward confession!
"???"
She stared in astonishment, her mouth agape, unable to utter a sound for a long time. The man before her was such a complete stranger, as if she were meeting him for the first time...
"puff……"
The female ninja who was spying nearby almost burst out laughing after a brief moment of stunned silence, but thankfully she managed to cover her mouth at the last second.
