Kabuto. Karin. And three iterations of Naruto? All people Sasuke didn't want to face, for so many reasons. How Karin would react to him, seeing him like this -- powerless, nearly helpless, a failure in everything he'd tried. He didn't want her attention, didn't want either her pity or her contempt, and couldn't imagine any other reaction from her. Kabuto -- slimy Kabuto, Orochimaru's treacherous second. He'd be even worse.

And Naruto... gods, Naruto. Hard enough to deal with when they were near-equals, when rivalry shaped their struggle -- what would Naruto do with him now, finding him permanently crippled, no longer able to even compete with him?

No, he didn't want to confront any of them.

"A very large house," he agreed in a thin, strangled tone, unable to find more words than that.