The smile had not yet faded from Naruto's face when he suddenly let out a soft sigh.
"You know…" he said, almost wistfully, "you two are still too young."
Too young?
Sasuke and Neji both froze, a strange absurdity rising in their chests.
They were roughly the same age. What did he mean—too young?
And in that brief instant—when their guard lowered ever so slightly, shaken by that fleeting glimpse of the "old Naruto" and the absurd comment—
It happened.
Slash—!!!
The sickening sound of flesh being cut split the air without warning.
Sasuke didn't even understand what had happened. His body moved on instinct—but he was too late.
An unprecedented cold pain exploded through his left shoulder.
His pupils contracted violently as he leapt backward at full speed.
Neji reacted half a beat slower, but his Tenseigan flared as he retreated as well.
The two figures shot back like startled animals.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Sasuke's left arm—along with part of his shoulder—had been severed cleanly at the root.
The dismembered limb fell to the ground, fingers twitching faintly.
Naruto still stood where he was, hand resting on his stomach from moments ago.
The bright smile was gone.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at Sasuke—pale-faced, clutching the stump of his shoulder, eyes filled with fury, disbelief, and glacial killing intent.
Then he glanced at Neji, who stood in front of Sasuke, chakra surging violently, shock and exhaustion evident beneath his rage.
As if the sudden, brutal ambush meant nothing at all.
"Naruto! Have you lost your mind?!" Neji roared, his voice trembling with fury.
Sasuke said nothing. He simply stared, breathing heavily, violence boiling in his Rinnegan.
Naruto looked genuinely puzzled.
"Is it really that hard to understand?" he asked calmly.
His gaze swept over Sasuke's severed arm, over Neji's livid face, and returned to Sasuke's eyes.
"I'm just…" Naruto paused, the corner of his mouth curling upward again into a cold, cruel arc.
"…doing what I've always been doing."
"Didn't I say it already?"
"I'm going to destroy the world."
"So why do you still trust me?"
"I don't get it."
The projection froze on that moment—
Naruto's calm, merciless profile.
Sasuke and Neji's faces twisted with shock, fury, and pain.
Across the shinobi world—
Silence.
Konoha Training Grounds
Sasuke's fist slammed into Naruto's face, sending him staggering backward.
"You idiot!" Sasuke shouted, chest heaving. "I saved you! I fought that invader with you! And you ambush me? Cut off my arm?!"
"I wouldn't!" Naruto clutched his swelling cheek, wincing. His blue eyes were filled with stubborn denial. "I'd never do that! That has to be fake! The projection's lying!"
Sasuke only sneered in response, eyes filled with open contempt.
Beside them, Sakura clenched her fists, equally furious at the betrayal displayed on the projection.
But something else had caught her attention.
"Wait…" she said slowly. "Don't you think something was off from the start?"
Naruto blinked.
Sasuke turned his gaze toward her.
Sakura took a breath.
"That Naruto… it felt like he deliberately drew you and Neji out. Made you expend chakra. Had you three join forces and defeat Shu with minimal cost…"
Naruto and Sasuke both blinked again, identical thoughtful looks crossing their faces.
Frankly speaking, their combined intellect might barely match Sakura's growing analytical instincts.
Inside the Projection
"But we just fought an invader together!" Neji demanded. "You didn't feel anything at all?!"
"Feel something?"
Naruto laughed softly—as if hearing the most ridiculous joke imaginable.
The laughter grew louder. His shoulders shook.
Then it stopped.
He looked up, traces of exaggerated amusement still on his face.
His eyes were utterly cold.
"That's why I said—you're too young."
This time, the words dripped with open mockery.
"I'm destroying the world. I've killed countless people. Slaughtered shinobi. My hands carry more blood than the rivers carry water."
"And yet…"
"You still believe what I say?"
Sasuke and Neji felt as if struck by lightning.
Of course.
How had they forgotten?
This was the man who ignited the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The one who killed the Five Kage.
The architect of mass slaughter.
A complete madman. A demon.
How had they let a moment of shared purpose lower their guard?
How had they allowed even a flicker of hope that he might still be saved?
Shame and fury burned through them.
The pain in Sasuke's severed shoulder intensified.
Neji's exhaustion deepened into helpless rage.
Naruto watched their faces—shock, realization, humiliation—and smiled in satisfaction.
Like a child sharing a delightful secret, he continued lightly:
"Tell me…"
He paused deliberately, savoring the tension.
"…what if Shu wasn't really here to 'invade' at all?"
"What if his real target…"
"…was me?"
"What if he could've been your ally?"
The words hung in the air like poison.
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