"I'm... the protagonist?"
Sakura touched the tip of her nose with a finger, her jade-like eyes widening slightly.
Hearing this, even Naruto, who had been stunned senseless by the truth of his origins, turned around with the same curious look on his face.
"That's right. The protagonist."
Wang Yan spoke with great solemnity. "You know about prophecy, right?"
Naruto and Sakura both shook their heads.
It was only natural that the former didn't understand. Though the latter did well in theory classes at school, the Ninja Academy would never teach them such "irrelevant" things.
Sasuke gave a slight nod, indicating that he had heard of it before. "I saw something in the clan's secret scroll collection. They said that the great-grandfather of the Mount Myōboku toads and the Sage of the Toads both possessed the ability to foresee the future. I don't know whether it's true."
The Sage of the Toads' real name was Gamamaru, not Jiraiya. More than a century ago, he had foretold the existence of Jiraiya and the Child of Prophecy.
However, the Uchiha Clan's records were not detailed. Sasuke only knew the general outline and could not be considered truly knowledgeable.
"Mm, prophecy is real. Many beings possess the ability to observe timelines—for example, foreseeing the future or understanding the past."
Wang Yan smiled faintly. "Have you heard of the multiverse and the Infinite Planes?"
This time, even Sasuke looked utterly baffled.
The three little ninjas of Team Seven suddenly felt like uncultured country bumpkins before Wang Yan, unable to answer a single question.
Fortunately, they were still young and did not consider ignorance shameful, so they all spoke up to seek advice.
"Perhaps you once believed that the Five Great Shinobi Nations encompassed every power under heaven and earth. But in truth, that is not the case. In the boundless cosmos, there are many vibrant and diverse worlds."
"For example, the Hero Academia World, Marvel World, Pirate World, Bleach World... In many worlds, there are Great Prophets known as 'Timeline Observers.' They understand the past and predict the future."
At this point, Wang Yan paused for a while to give them time to process it before continuing. "And aside from their own worlds, many Timeline Observers occasionally foresee events that will happen in other worlds."
"Could it be..." Sasuke's restored black pupils instantly contracted into needle-like slits, like a startled Scottish Fold cat with its fur standing on end.
If everything in the future had already been decided and foretold, what meaning was there in anything he did? Were his struggles, his striving, and his efforts all completely unnecessary?
"You caught on pretty quickly. I'll give you a small reward."
Tilting his head, Wang Yan gave Sasuke an approving look.
After thinking for a moment, he began speaking on his own. "Itachi was indeed the one who carried out the Uchiha Clan's massacre, but he had his own difficulties."
"Difficulties?!"
Sasuke was covered in a dark, violent aura. "What difficulty could make him kill his own parents with his own hands?"
His strict father, who always expected too much from him yet protected him all the same!
His gentle and kind mother!
Both had been killed by that bastard of an older brother!
Sinking into pain, Sasuke made up his mind. No matter what difficulties the other party had faced, he would never forgive him!
"Having witnessed the horrors of the Ninja World War, Itachi had always despised war. But after enduring until the war finally ended and the age of peace arrived, the conflict between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha Clan began to intensify once more."
At this point, Wang Yan's tone carried a hint of mockery. "Heh. Without an external war to relieve pressure and redirect conflict, all that remained was internal strife."
"Because they had been suppressed too severely, Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan's leader, refused to endure it any longer and devised a plan to rebel against Konoha."
Hearing his father's name, Sasuke's eyes reddened slightly. The muscles in his forearms twitched as he clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms.
Drip... drip...
Drops of vivid red blood fell to the ground and seeped into the earth, leaving only dark stains behind.
"Actually, at that point, Clan Head Fugaku's plan was not wrong at all. Its chances of success were extremely high. If nothing unexpected had happened, perhaps he would be sitting in the Hokage's seat now."
Wang Yan spoke calmly. "However, the genius Uchiha Shisui, who possessed the strongest Genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, decided to stop this coup d'état. Because of his intervention, most of the Uchiha Clan's combat power was temporarily crippled that day."
Shisui wanted less bloodshed, but the outcome became Uchiha Clan Downfall Night.
"Under those circumstances, peace-loving Itachi believed that once the severely weakened Uchiha Clan rebelled, they would inevitably fail. The entire clan would be slaughtered, with no one left alive."
"To protect his beloved little brother, he accepted Danzo's proposal and decided to join forces with someone calling himself 'Uchiha Madara' to kill everyone else in the clan, including his own parents."
By this point, Sasuke had completely gone dark.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse and grating. "Enough! You liar, spewing nothing but lies. If you want to make excuses for that man, at least put some effort into finding a better reason! You just said that because of that traitor Shisui, more than half of the Uchiha Clan's combat power was only temporarily disabled! Mere Genjutsu would take, at most, a single day for everyone to recover to their peak condition!"
Even so, Sasuke still harbored a sliver of hope deep down.
If he had truly made up his mind, he would not have continued listening to Wang Yan.
"A summer insect cannot be told of ice. Your knowledge is far too shallow."
(When I tell the truth, no one believes it...)
Wang Yan wore a strange expression as he gave Sasuke a half-smiling glance. "Perhaps in your eyes, Genjutsu is merely a minor path, perhaps even inferior to some powerful Fire Release ninjutsu?"
"My thinking is wrong?" Sasuke raised his chin, unwilling to accept Wang Yan's words.
"Your Sharingan has already reached Two Tomoe, yet you still haven't realized it? From the moment you passed the test yesterday until now, you have been under the control of my Genjutsu."
With that, Wang Yan clapped his hands.
Sasuke woke as though from a great dream, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He remembered!
He remembered those memories he had deliberately ignored!
After returning home yesterday, he had found a stack of paper and repeatedly written the same sentence until dawn.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I have a brother who is obsessed with his little brother. I speak for chuunibyou."
Simple-minded Sasuke did not know what a little-brother obsessive was, nor did he understand what chuunibyou meant.
Yet this extremely bizarre thing had truly happened...
Before Wang Yan actively released the Genjutsu, he had not even felt that anything was wrong!
A chill shot from his tailbone straight to the top of his head. Looking at the utterly composed Wang Yan beside him, Sasuke immediately broke out in goosebumps.
How could such an ability belong to an ordinary jonin?
What conspiracy did the other party have, still remaining in Konoha?
He also discovered that Naruto and Sakura seemed not to have heard his conversation with Wang Yan. Instead, they had been repeatedly asking about the "protagonist."
"Fine."
Sasuke's mindset shifted quickly. He swiftly returned to his blank, expressionless face, his tone somewhat solemn. "Whatever schemes or conspiracies you have are none of my concern. Also... thank you for telling me the truth about that year."
Wang Yan did not need Sasuke's gratitude.
After all, everything he did was guided by his heart.
To alter the paths of others' fates toward the direction he preferred...
That was interesting, wasn't it?
"Everything that was originally going to happen in the future of the Ninja World is recorded in these books."
A mischievous smile showed on Wang Yan's lips. Dozens of manga flew out of the Coiled Dragon Ring, landing beside Sakura and piling into a small mountain.
"This is the gift I'm giving you."
Before you continue