Second Pillar

"Before you ask how to obtain this power..."

Big Naruto finally released Little Sasuke's fist, took a half step back, and glanced at the two boys in front of him.

"Let me tell you who I am first. But you two are really stubborn; you haven't guessed who I am at all."

Even with such obvious evidence—the same chakra aura, the same face, the same way of speaking, the same Rasengan, and even the same "debayo" verbal tic—it's all undeniable.

Neither of them considered that possibility.

However, it's not like Big Naruto couldn't understand it.

At this point in time, Little Sasuke had nothing on his mind but revenge. As for Little Naruto, his only thought was to grab the person in front of him and not let him leave.

Little Naruto's mind was filled with "I can't let Sasuke leave," Little Sasuke's mind was filled with "revenge and power."

They had no time to ponder the origins of a suddenly appearing adult man.

Little Sasuke was stunned when he heard the question.

He finally started to think.

The person before me possessed the same chakra as Naruto, only far greater; their face was almost identical to Naruto's, only more mature.

Those Ninjutsu, the Rasengan, and that terrifying black sphere from earlier—if it was just a fake, why go to all that trouble?

Why imitate it so closely?

Why would you appear before me in this way?

A possibility surfaced in his mind.

That might be too absurd, so absurd that he couldn't believe it, but the evidence was right before his eyes, and it was the only possible truth.

Little Sasuke's face turned very ugly.

"... You are..." His voice was a little hoarse, "The future... this Dead Last?"

Big Naruto paused for a moment. "Dead Last" —this was the first time anyone had called him that... it actually felt quite endearing.

"What?!"

Little Naruto's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting his musings.

"Your identity?!"

Little Naruto stared wide-eyed, his mind completely occupied with thoughts like, "This person is using my face," "This person has grabbed Sasuke," and "What does this person want to do?"

"If you have any status, then don't use my face, okay?!"

He shouted.

"And another thing! Even if you use that kind of Ninjutsu! If you try to take Sasuke away, I will stop you!"

His mind was clearly still full of Sasuke, and he hadn't considered that possibility at all.

Big Naruto looked at him, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

This is another version of myself.

Silly, stubborn, once he's made up his mind, he won't look back, but that's a good thing.

Little Sasuke stood to the side, his face still grim.

He thought far more than Little Naruto. If the person in front of him really was the future Naruto, then it meant that Naruto would become this strong in the future.

So powerful that it can destroy an entire landmass with a flick of its wrist.

So strong that he could never catch up.

And what about him?

He relentlessly pursued power, betraying his village, abandoning his comrades, and embracing darkness—yet he was still surpassed by Naruto?

What was the point of all that he did?

"Yes, but not exactly."

Big Naruto's voice rang out, interrupting Little Sasuke's thoughts.

"I am indeed Uzumaki Naruto."

He paused.

"But I'm not the Uzumaki Naruto you know." His gaze fell on Little Sasuke.

"Besides, you're not someone I know... Uchiha Sasuke."

Little Sasuke and Little Naruto were both stunned.

"Well then," Big Naruto began to explain slowly. "Do you know about parallel universes?"

Big Naruto explained everything that needed to be explained.

He explained the concept of parallel universes, the fact that he came from another world, and why he was here—all things that sounded unbelievable—in the simplest terms.

Little Sasuke and Little Naruto listened, their expressions shifted from shock to bewilderment, from bewilderment to confusion, and from confusion to... barely accepting it.

To be honest, this reason is utterly absurd.

If Big Naruto hadn't just displayed a power that surpassed Kage Level and beyond human comprehension, they would never have believed it so quickly.

After all, what strong person would have the time to make up a story to fool two Genin?

Moreover, there is simply too much evidence on the body that identifies Naruto "Big Naruto.

After realizing that the adult man in front of him was not the Dead Last he was with, Little Sasuke secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If this person is the future Naruto, it means he'll be forever overshadowed by this Dead Last. Just thinking about it makes him feel suffocated.

Now it's all right.

If we're not from the same world, then there's still a chance.

He had many questions to ask.

How strong was my other self in that world? Did I succeed in taking revenge? Did I kill that man? Did I revive the Uchiha Clan?

But these questions swirled in his mind before being overshadowed by another question.

A more pressing issue.

"How do I...?" Little Sasuke looked up, his eyes fixed on Big Naruto, "So that I can become as strong as you... no, I just need the power to kill Itachi!"

Big Naruto looked at him. "Kill Itachi?" he countered.

"If that's all, you don't need to do anything."

Little Sasuke was stunned for a moment.

"Actually, Itachi... of course, the same goes for Itachi Uchiha in my world. In fact, at this time, he was already suffering from a terminal illness."

"What?!"

Little Sasuke's expression instantly changed.

His eyes widened, his pupils trembling violently. His usually cold face was now filled with disbelief.

Suffering from a terminal illness? The man so powerful he drove him to despair?

"You can wait a few years, do nothing, and he will die," Big Naruto continued.

"No!"

Little Sasuke's voice suddenly rose, filled with an uncontrollable urgency.

Only one thought was swirling in his mind—did Itachi not live for more than a few years?

What about his revenge?

He relentlessly pursued power, abandoning everything, just to kill that man with his own hands. He wanted that man to die by his own hand, to tell that man he was wrong and that he would pay the price.

If Itachi dies in his sickbed, dies with the passage of time, dies where he cannot reach—then what is the point of his revenge?

What did those pains matter? He couldn't let Itachi die like that, absolutely not.

Only he himself...

Only by killing that man with his own hands could he avenge his parents, avenge his people, and give himself an explanation for all the years he had lived.

"I can't let that guy die like this!"

Little Sasuke's voice echoed in the Valley of the End, carrying all the boy's anger and resentment.

"Only with my own hands!"

He clenched his fists. "I have to kill that man with my own hands!"

He suddenly turned to Big Naruto, "Please!"

"Give me power! I'll give you anything you want! Just so I can get my revenge..."

Little Naruto stood quietly to the side, without saying a word.

He knew he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

But he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If what Big Naruto said is true, then Sasuke won't go to Orochimaru's Sasuke, and he will stay.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Little Naruto felt a great sense of relief. The tension in his nerves and the anxiety in his heart finally eased a little.

He really wanted to ask Big Naruto what his future held.

Did I become Hokage? Did I achieve my dream? Did everyone accept me?

But seeing Little Sasuke's anxious expression, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Let's ask later. Right now, let's deal with Sasuke's matter first.

Big Naruto looked at the Little Sasuke before him, at his eyes burning with the flames of revenge, and at his distraught reaction upon learning that Itachi was nearing his end.

Kill the weasel?

He remembered Satsuki from his world, Satsuki, before learning the truth, had also considered killing Itachi.

"Kill the weasel?"

"My Saku..." He paused, realizing he'd used the wrong title. "My Satsuki, I've had that thought too."

"But let me tell you something first."

Big Naruto decides to tell the truth.

The truth that has been hidden for far too long.

However, a story becomes a different story when told by different people.

In the original work, when Obito recounted the truth about the massacre of his clan, he first erased his identity as the culprit and described the Nine-Tails Rebellion as a natural disaster.

Then, the deaths of all the Uchiha civilians, including women and children, Mikoto Uchiha, were glorified as "necessary sacrifices."

That was a story told with a purpose.

It's misleading, causing people to continue down the wrong path.

Naruto wouldn't say that.

He will tell you everything.

All the good, all the bad, all the unavoidable, all the unforgivable.

At the same time, he had to say it— Itachi Uchiha's decision, and the path he chose... was terrible.