Young Naruto was nearly driven mad by the awkward, stilted communication style of these two tight-lipped brothers.
"Sasuke! Can't you and your brother just be like the First Hokage and the Second Hokage? Why can't you just say what's on your mind? Why all the hiding and guessing each other's thoughts? Are you two trying to drive me crazy?!"
Honestly, they were practically turning him into Shikamaru.
"You call me troublesome?!" The boy beside him, Sasuke, was already getting worked up again.
Naruto buried his face in his hands on the table. "Sasuke, sometimes I just can't wrap my head around your way of thinking. I was clearly talking about your brother being troublesome!"
Itachi shot him a cold glance...
"Ah, no! I meant the way you two brothers interact," Naruto said, feeling speechless. "The older brother tries to take everything on himself, always saying his younger brother is like a blank slate, easy to manipulate. And the younger one sulks and throws tantrums when his older brother doesn't react."
He lectured the teenager beside him, Sasuke, "Can't you be like me? If you insist on leaving! Insist on leaving Konoha! Then I'll beat you until you cry! I'll break your limbs to keep you here!"
Sasuke glanced at Itachi.
The gap in their strength was too vast. He knew exactly how much he weighed right now.
"Super idiot! You make it sound so easy! If you had a brother like Itachi, you'd know how hard it is!"
"I don't have a brother like Itachi! But don't I have you, Sasuke?!"
"....."
The others were at a loss for words, feeling utterly unable to relate to the two. But then again, it made sense—weren't Indra and Ashura brothers themselves?
Hmm.
Brothers.
Watching the younger versions of Sasuke and Naruto argue, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow.
He couldn't pinpoint whether this ache stemmed from the agonizing choices Itachi had forced upon him, or from Naruto Uzumaki's relentless refusal to give up on him. But right now, all he wanted was to hurry back and see if that guy was still alive.
Or maybe get a prosthetic limb fitted first? Then remove it later?
But these two substances seemed to have seeped into every cell of his body. They didn't appear to be something easily expelled.
"Obsessing over the past only drags you deeper into despair. You must look forward, Sasuke," Itachi Uchiha suddenly addressed his brother from another parallel world.
"You must already know you are the reincarnation of Indra and Madara Uchiha, correct?"
Itachi's question drew the others' gazes toward Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke nodded. "I know." He also knew that because of the connection between Indra and Ashura, he and Naruto had a pure battle where all other factors must be set aside.
"Then you must also know about that matter..."
"I know everything about my brother."
Young Sasuke frowned. His future self and Itachi were speaking in riddles, as if deliberately keeping him in the dark.
Itachi: "Then you should know death is my atonement for the clan."
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke understood Itachi's meaning—for him, living was the greater punishment.
"So you orchestrated this elaborate plan, arranging for Sasuke to kill you and return home in glory? Like Shisui Uchiha entrusting his legacy to you?"
To everyone's surprise, the speaker was none other than the silent Kakashi Hatake?!
Itachi fixed his gaze on Kakashi, his Sharingan eyes rapidly spinning into the Mangekyō Sharingan. Kakashi possessed formidable logical reasoning skills. Itachi sensed Kakashi might uncover something he wasn't yet ready for Sasuke to know.
Tsukuyomi could drag Kakashi into his fabricated world in a single second.
But...
So what if it's Mangekyō Sharingan?!
Who the hell doesn't have one?!
The adult Obito Uchiha, still in his basic Sharingan state, had already darted in front of Kakashi. Activating his own Mangekyō Sharingan, he shattered Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
The crowd seemed to hear two faint cries. The aura of one Mangekyō Sharingan suppressing another Mangekyō Sharingan was truly terrifying. Even the young Obito, who also possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan, couldn't achieve this, startled by such a dōjutsu clash.
The Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke wouldn't let Itachi get the upper hand. He stood up and fixed his gaze on the adult Obito Uchiha, revealing his own unique Rinnegan!
"It's different from Nagato's Rinnegan."
The Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, he silently stared, his gaze carrying both threat and warning.
"Hey, you two, calm down!" Naruto jumped onto the table, trying to prevent them from actually fighting here.
"Since the future Sasuke already knows the truth, it proves Sasuke will find out sooner or later. Isn't it better to prepare him mentally now, rather than have him caught off guard when he learns?"
He turned to Itachi Uchiha. "I truly don't understand what you're running from! If avoidance worked, wouldn't this Sasuke here still be wearing the Konoha forehead protector by now?"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke hadn't expected this young Naruto to care so deeply about this matter.
It also reminded him of that time near the Tenchi Bridge when Naruto had pulled out his own forehead protector—scarred by a Rasengan into the mark of a Missing-nin.
All these years, he'd kept that thing hidden, waiting for me to return. Persistently chasing after me, no matter what I did, no matter how many mistakes I made, he always believed I was Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha...
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke suddenly called out to the boy, who was barely thirteen.
Young Sasuke eyed him warily.
Compared to the Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke, his three-tomoe Sharingan clearly paled in comparison.
"What do you want?" Naruto huffed, showing no fear toward this Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke who claimed to have fought to the death against another world's Naruto—and might even have killed him.
"If I'd stayed in Konoha after the Chūnin Exams back then, instead of following Orochimaru..." Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's voice was muffled. "What would you have done? Do you think you or Team 7 would have helped me seek revenge?"
This question made Young Sasuke look at Naruto with curiosity.
Naruto thought for a moment. "I've said it before—I wouldn't stop you from seeking revenge. If you could have stayed in Konoha, then as your comrade, I think I would have helped you see the path beneath your feet."
See the path beneath your feet?
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't fully grasp Naruto's meaning, staring at him for an explanation.
"Hate blinds you to what you truly want. That's why I always say what I mean and do what I say—to avoid bottling things up, overthinking, and stumbling because I can't see where I'm going."
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke was momentarily speechless.
His question had sprung from a sudden thought during that deep, open-hearted meeting with another legendary figure.
He had altered Pain's thoughts, changed Obito Uchiha's perspective, and Itachi had even entrusted himself to him. So was there a possibility—if he remained in Konoha—that this legendary figure could help him alter Itachi Uchiha's thoughts?
Guessing through Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's thoughts, Young Sasuke replied, "We were once time-traveled to the Valley of the End by a mission scroll, and I was forcibly left behind in Konoha in that world. Though I don't know if it was right or wrong, it's better than you discovering the truth only after killing Itachi."
...
After a long silence, the urge within Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke to return and see Naruto Uzumaki in his world grew stronger.
He finally agreed to have the prosthetic limb installed.
As if worried that Sasuke might change his mind, Adult Obito immediately used his Intangibility to teleport to Orochimaru's lair, bringing the future Orochimaru along with him.
Few knew that Orochimaru had a tendency to be grumpy in the mornings. When Obito Uchiha brought him to the Missing-nin guesthouse, his face remained as sour as ever.
Seeing Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke, Orochimaru merely raised an eyebrow.
"This scroll truly intends to mess up the future. In the timeline I experienced, even at age 32, Sasuke never chose to wear a prosthetic like the Seventh Hokage."
Huh?
His words inadvertently revealed a crucial detail.
"Naruto's hand..."
"The arm injury was nearly identical to yours," the future Orochimaru explained. "After all, it was the final battle against you. Without paying an equal price and possessing enough resolve, how could Naruto Uzumaki possibly have survived?"
The same injury.
How could he have survived without paying an equal price?
This reminded Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke of something Naruto had once said: If they ever had a fierce battle, they'd probably both die. But even so, even if it meant abandoning his dream, Naruto would never let his friend continue down the wrong path.
--"If it must be so, then let us die together."
Was that what Naruto had said back then?
Cultivating prosthetics using Hashirama's cells and White Zetsu components didn't take long.
Days later, Sasuke from the Fourth Shinobi World War underwent the fitting and surgery for the prosthetic.
The successful operation also meant the completion of Itachi Uchiha's A-rank mission. Another journey through time was about to begin!
"Who's there?!!"
Whoosh – – – –
A kunai flew past Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's face!
It buried itself deep into the tree trunk behind him.