The History of the Uchiha Clan

"What?!"

At the name, Sasuke jolted so violently he nearly stumbled backward. His breathing grew uneven.

He never imagined he'd hear that name from Naruto.

And he certainly never imagined that any of this had something to do with him.

"Calm down."

Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He didn't press hard, but it was enough to steady Sasuke's fraying emotions.

Mentioning Itachi Uchiha meant bringing up the truth about Itachi, along with other matters.

Naruto had lived through countless cycles. He already knew exactly how to talk to Sasuke at this point.

For now, Naruto didn't need to tell Sasuke directly what lay behind the Uchiha Clan's massacre or what roles Itachi and the Konoha High Command had played.

He needed to tell Sasuke about the Uchiha Clan's history first.

And about the conflicts between the Uchiha and Konoha.

That way, Sasuke could consider Itachi's actions from a more reasonable perspective.

If Naruto simply told him outright what Itachi or Konoha had done, it would feel like he was deliberately steering Sasuke toward a conclusion.

Right now, Sasuke was like a blank sheet of paper. Anyone could leave a mark on him, and Naruto didn't want to manipulate his thoughts.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Sasuke struggled to contain his churning emotions. His voice was low, every word forced out through clenched teeth.

At Sasuke's question, Naruto walked over to a nearby tree and sat down cross-legged.

He patted the ground beside him, inviting Sasuke to sit, too.

Sasuke frowned, his reluctance plain on his face.

But after a moment's hesitation, he sat across from Naruto. His posture was stiff, and he was clearly still unsettled.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's furrowed brow and tense expression.

He knew what he was about to say might touch the deepest wound in Sasuke's heart, but some things had to be made clear.

Naruto gathered his thoughts, then began in as steady a voice as he could manage. "It all began a long time ago... During the Warring States period, the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan were bitter enemies. They fought constantly, and both sides suffered heavy losses. That continued until the First, Hashirama Senju, met Madara Uchiha. They shared the same dream... After many hardships, they joined forces and founded Konoha."

Naruto noticed Sasuke's eyes flicker. The little-known history seemed to have caught his attention, but he remained silent.

Naruto continued. "Unfortunately, it didn't last. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha came into conflict over their differing ideals... and Madara eventually left Konoha."

"After Hashirama Senju died, his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, became the Second Hokage. Tobirama created Konoha's Military Police Force and assigned the Uchiha Clan to oversee it..."

Naruto paused there, watching Sasuke's reaction.

As expected, Sasuke's frown deepened. The curiosity on his face gave way to confusion and impatience.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked, his voice heavy with restrained emotion. "What do these ancient events have to do with me?"

"I think they have a lot to do with you, Sasuke."

Naruto's voice was gentle but firm. "We both know what it's like to be deeply lonely..."

As he spoke, Naruto gently placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder again.

Sasuke stiffened slightly at the gesture, but didn't push him away.

Looking at the boy before him, so young yet burdened by such a terrible hatred, Naruto felt a tangle of emotions.

And that was setting aside the weight of Sasuke's past.

Back in his first life, at this point, Sasuke had risked his life to protect Naruto from Haku's Senbon.

That bond made Naruto certain that he had already become an important friend to Sasuke.

"Lonely... So what?"

There was a faint, almost imperceptible wavering in Sasuke's retort. Naruto's words had stirred something inside him.

Naruto knew that if he told Sasuke the whole truth at once, Sasuke would react strongly and might not believe him.

So he had to take it one step at a time.

"I knew you were carrying something heavy ever since the graduation exam, so... I went and looked into it on my own."

Naruto spoke slowly, choosing his words with care. "The history I just told you is what I uncovered. I think there may be more to the truth behind the Uchiha Clan's massacre. That's why I've been helping you train and get stronger. You need to be strong enough to learn what really happened. I don't want you to be kept in the dark anymore."

"There could be more to it?"

Sasuke shuddered, his eyes widening slightly. The possibility had clearly struck a chord.

For years, he'd had only one goal in life: kill that man.

He'd never had a second goal.

If... if there was another truth behind all this...

Sasuke hardly dared to follow the thought.

"I think that's very likely."

Naruto looked at Sasuke intently as he answered.

There was one thing Naruto knew for certain.

As Sasuke gradually learned the history of the Uchiha Clan, the truth behind its massacre, the Konoha High Command's role, and everything about Obito and his Moon Eye Plan, Sasuke would change completely.

He would become the Sasuke who had advocated revolutionizing the world during the second Battle of the Valley of the End in his first life.

That aligned with Naruto's goal in this cycle.

But for now, Naruto had to reveal the truth little by little, rather than tell Sasuke everything at once. Otherwise, things could spiral out of control.

Confusion crossed Sasuke's face as he listened. "Now that you've said that, I don't know what I should do... At first, I was focused on getting stronger so I could kill Itachi Uchiha. But if there's more to it, then..."

Naruto hadn't said anything that would shatter Sasuke's worldview, nor had he revealed the truth itself.

So Sasuke's first instinct was to believe him.

After all, Naruto had guided him through training, and during the survival exercise, he'd completely outclassed Kakashi in both strength and ideas.

Sasuke's opinion of Naruto had changed greatly. He trusted Naruto's ability to gather information more than ever.

"Your first priority now is to get stronger. Then we'll search for the truth together."

Naruto cut off Sasuke's thoughts. "Don't overthink it. When the time comes, you'll be able to learn the whole truth for yourself."

"I understand..." Sasuke replied quietly.

Images of the night of the massacre surfaced in his mind.

In the end, he pulled himself together and threw himself back into training.

As for Naruto, he slipped away unnoticed while Sasuke was distracted.

All he left behind was a Shadow Clone.

Naruto's real body was already racing through the woods. After a few swift bounds, he was far from the area where Sasuke was training.

Telling Sasuke all this had been part of Naruto's plan from the start, and leaving now had been calculated, too.

This was the perfect opportunity.

It gave him a chance to slip away for a while and meet Zabuza.

Naruto's figure flashed through the dense woods.

He knew this route so well that he could find the way to Zabuza's hideout with his eyes closed.

The ultimate goal of this cycle was extremely difficult, so he had to accelerate the plan accordingly.