Chapter 306: I Can Predict the Future
While Sasuke and Naruto were fighting, Shiromo and Orochimaru arrived at the monitoring room.
"Sasuke-kun's foundation is already solid. He has also mastered the three-tomoe Sharingan. It's time to give him some stimulation and let the Sharingan evolve."
Orochimaru flipped through a record book titled "Uchiha Sasuke Data Details" and spoke to Shiromo.
"So what's the problem now?"
Shiromo knew that Orochimaru wouldn't bring this up for no reason.
If there were no issues, Orochimaru would have simply moved on to suggesting what to do next.
"The problem is… Danzō is already dead. If we use the original method of stimulation, Sasuke might still end up seeking revenge on Konoha."
"The good news is that Itachi isn't dead yet. There's still a chance to persuade Sasuke to change his mind."
"The bad news is that you already enlightened Itachi. Now he has chosen to believe in Sasuke's strength and decisions. He might not try to persuade him at all."
Orochimaru calmly analyzed the situation.
While he was speaking, Senju Tobirama also arrived.
He cared deeply about matters related to the Uchiha clan.
As the Second Hokage, he felt it was both necessary and his responsibility to train… uh, educate the last remaining bloodline of the Uchiha clan properly and guide him onto the right path.
"Orochimaru is right. Letting Uchiha Sasuke obtain the power of the Mangekyō is necessary, but we also have to ensure his psychological health."
"This child is one of the few Uchiha I've seen whose mentality is actually relatively normal."
"According to the future story Shiromo described, the reason this child went insane was entirely because of his older brother Uchiha Itachi, and Uzumaki Naruto."
Senju Tobirama wasn't interested in the fight currently happening on the monitor. Instead, he directly began replaying the earlier footage.
When the playback reached a certain scene, Tobirama pressed pause.
"Look, right here. Uchiha Sasuke's emotions were originally very stable, but he was repeatedly provoked by Uzumaki Naruto. That drew out Indra's chakra and pushed him back onto the classic confrontation scene between my elder brother and Madara."
"Uchiha Sasuke… What a good child. First his brother slaughtered the entire family and forced him into becoming mentally unstable. Then Uzumaki Naruto pushed him into becoming a pervert. In the end he became a mentally unstable pervert."
Senju Tobirama sighed.
Thinking about how much he targeted Uchiha Madara, even he had never used Shadow Clones plus the Transformation Technique to repeatedly reenact the scene of using Flying Thunder God Slash to instantly kill Izuna in front of Madara.
Yet Uchiha Itachi had used Tsukuyomi to make Sasuke relive it over and over again.
And then there was Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto's repeated "talk-no-jutsu" was comparable to the whispers of an ancient god, its power not the slightest bit inferior to Itachi's repeated Tsukuyomi.
Pitiful.
"Orochimaru is right. Using Itachi to stimulate Sasuke at this point would have poor results and greater side effects. We need to switch to something else."
Shiromo had no intention of rigidly copying the original method.
In fact, he even suspected that Sasuke's Mangekyō abilities might change this time.
After all, the Sharingan is the eye that reflects the heart.
Once what the heart desires changes, the Mangekyō's abilities might not necessarily still be Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, those two "low-level" abilities.
"So you already have a plan?"
Orochimaru asked in surprise.
"Yeah, something like this…"
Shiromo began explaining his method.
"…"
—
Otogakure Village.
Sasuke and Naruto were currently fighting.
In terms of strength, Sasuke right now was roughly equivalent to the white-clothed Sasuke who didn't yet have Kirin, while Naruto was Sage Mode Naruto without the Rasenshuriken.
Sasuke's strength was inferior to Sage Mode Naruto.
But fortunately, Sasuke's battle instincts were indeed sharper than Naruto's.
The curse mark on his body had long been removed, but since he had been training in the Otogakure Village, he had studied the curse marks used by others.
Sasuke knew that curse marks also involved natural energy, and he also understood the mechanics of Sage Mode.
During the fight, he discovered that Naruto's Sage Mode required him to remain calm, free of distractions, and maintain a stable balance of senjutsu chakra.
So as long as Naruto's emotions were disturbed, he would drop out of Sage Mode.
And once Naruto exited Sage Mode, he was no match for him.
So Sasuke gritted his teeth and made a decision.
He didn't want to be dragged back to Konoha by this lunatic Naruto with his legs broken. He still wanted to continue training here.
So…
Sasuke didn't know any other way to provoke Naruto emotionally. In the end, he chose the most primitive method.
He started taking his clothes off.
Sure enough.
The moment Naruto saw Sasuke suddenly begin stripping, he was so shocked that he instantly dropped out of Sage Mode.
Seeing Naruto exit Sage Mode, Sasuke immediately launched a counterattack.
Naruto hurriedly dodged, using shadow clones to block Sasuke's assault while seizing the opportunity to start "take off" again, trying to re-enter Sage Mode.
And so the two of them exchanged attacks back and forth, completely absorbed in the fight.
Suddenly.
The battlefield was enveloped in pitch-black darkness. One couldn't see their own fingers, and even Sasuke's Lightning Release couldn't illuminate it.
The next second, a figure appeared beside Sasuke. A syringe stabbed into Sasuke's neck, and he instantly lost consciousness and collapsed.
The one who had completed all this was Senju Tobirama.
Although he had said verbally that Uchiha Sasuke was a good child, that didn't stop him from having already left a Flying Thunder God mark on Sasuke earlier. In case this Uchiha child ever strayed down the wrong path, he would be able to kill him immediately.
The darkness faded.
Naruto looked around in confusion. Sasuke had already disappeared.
Standing in front of him were Orochimaru and Shiromo.
When Naruto saw Orochimaru, he ground his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Naruto, calm down. Sasuke needs your help right now."
Shiromo spoke before Naruto could make a move, stopping him.
"Brother Shiromo, why are you here too? Don't tell me you're also coveting Sasuke's body?"
Naruto looked at Shiromo with grief and indignation written all over his face.
"I'm after your mother."
Shiromo slapped himself in the face.
He was truly speechless.
Why did Naruto now think that everyone he met was coveting Sasuke's body?
Orochimaru was one thing. After all, Orochimaru was always speaking in that ambiguous tone, and no one could even clearly define his gender.
But how did Shiromo look like someone who would covet Sasuke's body?
"Naruto, actually I'm someone from the future. I clearly know how to help Sasuke obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan and increase his strength. But I need your help."
"Sasuke, your closest friend, needs your help right now. Are you willing?"
Shiromo took a deep breath, ignored Naruto's nonsense, and returned to the main topic.
"Huh? F-from the future? What does that mean?"
Naruto looked confused.
"It means Shiromo-kun knows everything that will happen in the future."
Orochimaru added an explanation.
"What? Really? I don't believe it, unless you can guess what I'm about to do next."
Naruto said skeptically.
"Uh…"
Orochimaru wanted to say something more, but Shiromo stopped him.
Shiromo had the 'Epitaph' ability. Short-term future prediction like this was something he could easily do.
"You're about to take a dump."
Shiromo said calmly.
"Haha, wrong! I just wanted to fart!"
The nervous Naruto instantly showed a triumphant smile.
Pfft.
Five minutes later.
A completely naked Naruto stood by the river, gloomily washing his pants.
(End of this chapter)