Some Answers

The night is beautiful.

Because of the afternoon rain, the night sky was as if it had been washed clean, a deep purple, like the finest goose down; starlight was inlaid within, like jewels shining in the purple night sky.

A crescent moon hung high in the sky, shyly sprinkling its moonlight on the ground, illuminating it in a hazy, just-right light.

The Konoha of Konoha at night are bathed in a soft, silvery moonlight; the streetlights are dim and yellow, and there are few pedestrians, making it quite desolate.

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke walked one after the other on the empty street, their steps strangely synchronized.

Tap, tap.

Sakura, who was walking ahead, suddenly slowed down. She waited for Sasuke to catch up before turning to ask, "What do you want to ask?"

"Let's just treat this as a casual chat," Sakura thought.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment.

"Actually, I've been thinking about Sai." He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "He's from Root, so why did he gain the approval of Naruto in that world?"

Sakura Haruno glanced at him, not realizing that this was the question Sasuke really wanted to ask.

She turned her head, gazing at the dark street ahead, lost in thought, recalling the stories Naruto had recounted about their experiences in that world.

"Sai is the new member who replaced you in Team 7. As Root ninja, how he gained Team 7's approval is something Naruto and the others haven't figured out in detail..." Sakura Haruno said slowly, "But I think they didn't need to do anything special. The simplest and most effective way to gain someone's trust is simply to treat them with sincerity."

"Naruto is always best at this. He... is the most charismatic guy among us." The girl raised her head and looked up at the vast and boundless starry sea, her voice becoming ethereal.

"If it's him, even if Sai is Root ninja with a heart of stone, it wouldn't be surprising if he were gradually moved!"

She recalled Naruto's infectious smile.

A smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

Sasuke didn't reply, but instead looked up at the starry sky in the same way she did, his black pupils reflecting the countless stars, and he also thought of that perpetually energetic, clueless loser.

For a moment, the street fell silent.

Silence, but not an awkward stillness; rather, a reassuring tranquility echoed with rhythmic footsteps and soft breathing.

There are two levels of friendship: at the beginning, you can talk; later, you can remain silent.

These two were clearly the latter, thinking of the same person, their silence filled with tacit understanding.

We walked for a while.

"To be honest... that's not what you really want to ask!" Sakura Haruno suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

Sasuke glanced at her silently.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly spoke, "Actually, it's nothing... You already guessed it."

Once the words were out, he felt much lighter. The boy let out a sigh of relief and continued, "It's still about the Uchiha and the village. I still can't understand why I ended up like that in that world..."

The boy stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing calmly at the cool moonlight overhead.

The autumn night breeze carried a touch of coolness as it passed through the alley, brushing against the wisps of hair on the boy's forehead.

It brought with it a desolate atmosphere.

"I can understand his defection. He was misled and influenced by Orochimaru, and being young, he got stuck in a dead end... so he went down the wrong path."

Sasuke had similar thoughts a few years ago, but this time he wasn't influenced by Orochimaru, and his mindset was more grounded and he could endure loneliness better, so he ultimately chose the path of Lightning Release training.

"But then he claimed he wanted to slaughter Konoha to avenge his family, which I just couldn't understand."

He turned to look at the girl listening silently beside him and said, "I simply cannot imagine... what could have happened to make me so angry that I would draw my sword against you, Naruto, Kakashi, and the others."

"On the contrary, I suspect that the Uchiha who only showed one eye is suspicious..." He paused, then said, "I just went home and checked the clan genealogy and records of those who awakened the Mangekyō, but I couldn't find this person."

"Very suspicious."

Sasuke repeated it.

"And what he said was also very strange, wasn't it?" the girl said solemnly.

"Yes," Sasuke nodded, "I also checked the village records. The Nine-Tails has always been controlled only by Jinchūriki and those with the Mangekyō Sharingan. Moreover, the Nine-Tails' eyes did change back then, and even briefly showed Mitsudomoe..." (Chapter 50, page 5 of the manga)

"It's obvious that Nine-Tails is controlled by the Sharingan."

"That person is a disaster; he can only fool the person in that world who can't access Konoha's records."

"Although I hate to admit it... this matter is indeed directly related to the Sharingan. But the problem is, back then, none of our clan members awakened the Mangekyō, meaning the Uchiha didn't have the ability to control the Nine-Tails -Tails!"

After finishing this long passage, Sasuke turned his head and looked at Sakura Haruno with a solemn expression.

Sakura Haruno continued walking in silence, her light steps becoming somewhat heavy.

Sasuke paused for a moment, then continued with his thoughts.

"So... this raises a possibility, perhaps the only possibility."

That is--

At this point, Sasuke's expression turned somber and terrifyingly sinister.

"The Nine-Tails Incident was caused by this mysterious clansman outside the Uchiha records!"

Sakura Haruno lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long time.

She had the same idea, but lacked some conclusive evidence. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't expect that Sasuke would come to this conclusion after only traveling through time with her once.

Sasuke remained silent, patiently following her as they strolled quietly through the streets of Konoha.

"I originally intended to take you back to the night of the massacre to see the truth behind it, but I never expected that we would end up traveling to the future..." After a while, the girl finally spoke, saying softly, "And we obtained a lot of new information."

"It now seems that the enigmatic Masked Man may have been orchestrating many things behind the scenes."

It wasn't just Konoha; he also interfered in the Land of Water, massacring Kekkei Genkai clans, forcing the Ninja Blade to rebel, and carrying out reforms in the Bloody Mist Village... The Masked Man's shadow was behind all of these.

What exactly is he planning? Akatsuki, the Masked Man, the Tailed Beast, the Uchiha... all intertwined, and as clues are uncovered, the events gradually become clearer.

Sakura Haruno felt she was getting close to the truth.

"Next time, let's return from the Rōran Ruins to the Night of the Nine-Tails and see what the truth of the matter really is, shall we?"

The girl suggested.

"There will be a next time?"

"Once the earth's ley line energy in the Rōran Ruins is depleted, it will slowly recover on its own. Once it's fully recovered, we can proceed with the next crossing," Sakura Haruno said with a faint smile. "However, this will take some time."

"Perfect timing. Since we're going back to the Night of the Nine-Tails, we can wait for Naruto to return before making our move, and then go with him." Thinking about Naruto's background, Sakura added.

"Bring Naruto?" Sasuke was taken aback.

"Oh, okay then."

Here we come to a crossroads.

Sakura Haruno's house is to the left, Sasuke's house is to the right.

"That..."

Then it's time to say goodbye.

The girl stopped at the intersection.

Looking up at the sky, the thin veil of clouds partially obscured the crescent moon, and the moonlight, even more shyly, spilled onto the road in front of me, casting shadows on everything under the night sky.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well..." Sakura Haruno subconsciously tapped the ground with her toes as she slowly said, "Sasuke, is there anything else you want to ask?"

"There's one more thing... about Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and brought up a question that had been buried deep in his heart. "Sasuke once said something that really bothered me. But I couldn't bring myself to ask it during the battle."

"At that time, I forgot Itachi's love and care for me..."

Sasuke a deep breath.

This was clearly an illogical statement, yet it was uttered by the Sasuke as if it were perfectly normal.

Clearly, in Sasuke's mind, his brother Itachi was on par with his parents, and he did not see Itachi as a target for revenge against him.

Why did Itachi's place in his heart undergo such a dramatic change?

What exactly happened? What are the details that caused such a drastic change in Sasuke's mentality?!

"You should know much more about Itachi than I do..." the boy said slowly.

His eyes were fixed on the girl's face, yearning for an answer, yet also afraid of receiving one.

Sakura Haruno calmly looked back at the past.

"I do know some things," she sighed, "but—"

"Because it involves the village's confidentiality regulations, and agreements I made with others..."

Under the pale Amaterasu, Sasuke's eyes were somewhat dim, and the disappointment on his face was unmistakable.

"Yeah?"

Sakura Haruno nodded.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I can't tell you."

"Hmm..." the girl murmured, turning around.

"Well..." she tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "If this is your last question..."

"I have to go now."

Sasuke stood there, watching the girl's retreating figure. His lips moved, but he said nothing.

Sakura Haruno took two steps forward, then suddenly turned around and smiled slightly, "Oh... right by the way."

Goodnight, Sasuke.

The boy was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and chuckled softly.

"Mmm... Goodnight, Sakura."

Sweet dreams.

[First Update]

[Regarding the Nine-Tails Fox's eyes, many people may not have noticed the details in the manga, so I've highlighted them here.]