Sasuke's Choice

On the way to the Land of Rain, the Masked Man looked at Itachi walking ahead and asked, "Itachi, aren't you curious about that child? Could he be one of Danzo's men?"

Itachi replied without turning his head, "I am a little curious. That child being able to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains means he is of the Uzumaki Clan, and his strength is quite formidable. However, I have never seen this child in Konoha."

The Masked Man asked curiously, "Oh, could it be Naruto Uzumaki? I've heard that Naruto Uzumaki's strength is also immense; he was able to injure the Raikage at such a young age."

Itachi replied, "Impossible. Naruto was caught in my Tsukuyomi; he could not have woken up so quickly. Furthermore, Naruto has yellow hair, while that child has red hair. Besides, Naruto's space-time ninjutsu is the Flying Thunder God, but that child did not use the Flying Thunder God; he used a dōjutsu just like ours."

The Masked Man said in surprise, "A dōjutsu? But I didn't see any changes in his eyes."

Itachi said indifferently, "His eyes did not change. He used space-time displacement twice in front of me. The first time, I noticed that his use of space-time displacement was accompanied by a powerful fluctuation of ocular power. The second time, I realized that the fluctuation of his dōjutsu activation did not come from his eyes, but from his forehead. Therefore, there should be another eye on his forehead."

The Masked Man asked curiously, "His forehead? Indeed, I also sensed some power fluctuating on his forehead. I thought it was just the fluctuation of his technique, but I never imagined it was a dōjutsu. However, that fluctuation doesn't seem the same as that of the Sharingan. If it is a dōjutsu, besides the Sharingan, what other eyes could possess the power of space? Even for the Sharingan, it is rare to possess space-time abilities."

Itachi recalled, "I remember there is another type of eye that possesses the power of space. I heard my father mention it: it is the power of the White Eye."

The Masked Man exclaimed in surprise, "The White Eye? Impossible. If the White Eye truly had such power, why have we never seen a ninja from the Hyuga Clan who can manipulate space? They mostly specialize in taijutsu."

Itachi replied indifferently, "That is because the Hyuga Clan has yet to truly develop the true power of the White Eye. Moreover, I feel that to unleash the true power of the White Eye, one requires a massive amount of chakra. Just like the Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan, without powerful chakra as a backing, it cannot exert great power. It is just that the chakra required to unleash the power of the White Eye is clearly much greater than that of the Sharingan."

The Masked Man said, "I didn't expect you to know so much about the White Eye. I am curious how you came to know this."

Itachi replied, "It is nothing, I have just read many books. There are records in the Uchiha Clan's shrine, but few people are willing to read them. I imagine the Hyuga Clan is the same; apart from the clan head, very few people pay attention to these things."

Itachi paused and continued, "In our Uchiha Clan's records, there is a bloodline connection between the Uchiha and the Hyuga. The ancestor of the Uchiha was Indra, the son of the Sage of Six Paths, while the ancestor of the Hyuga was the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths. However, there are very few records regarding the Sage's younger brother; we only know that he possessed the White Eye, and nothing else. But since he was the brother of the Sage of Six Paths, he certainly was not a simple person."

The Masked Man suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. But why would that child have the White Eye? He is clearly of the Uzumaki Clan."

Itachi replied, "I do not know that, but what I do know is that the child is very dangerous. I am not clear on his abilities, but I feel he is not beneath me, so I do not wish to provoke him. He is likely someone sent by Danzo."

After hearing Itachi's words, the Masked Man did not ask further, and the two walked silently toward the Land of Rain.

At this moment, deep underground in Konoha, the Ghost-Masked Child appeared behind Danzo. Danzo did not seem surprised, as if he knew he would come.

He only asked indifferently, "Has the matter been resolved?"

The child replied, "Yes, all the rebels are dead, and Itachi Uchiha has already left with the members of the Akatsuki. This is what you wanted."

The child took a bottle from a storage scroll and placed it on the table. The bottle was filled with an unknown liquid and several three-tomoe Sharingan eyes.

After glancing at the bottle, Danzo took out a scroll and tossed it to the child, saying, "This is the Spirit Transformation Technique you wanted."

The child took the scroll, looked at it, and said, "Thank you. If there is nothing else, I will be going. I hope we can cooperate again next time." Having said that, the child vanished.

Danzo did not mind; he just stared at the bottle for a while before calling an Anbu member and saying, "Deliver this to Orochimaru."

The Anbu replied, "Yes," and left with the bottle.

The child appeared in the Forest of Death in Konoha. He opened the scroll and began to read, burning it once he finished.

He muttered to himself, "It's still not working. I should head back first; perhaps that guy will have a way." After saying this, the child dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated.

The next morning, all of Konoha was shaken. The Uchiha Clan had suffered a devastating blow; the entire Police Force had been wiped out by the rogue ninja Itachi Uchiha.

The Third Hokage issued an S-rank arrest warrant for Itachi Uchiha. This was the biggest event in Konoha since the sacrifice of the Fourth, and the entire village was gripped by panic.

Funerals were being held throughout Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke both went to the Memorial Stone to pay their respects to the departed souls.

At the funeral, Naruto saw the grief and pain of the families, which hit him hard. He had clearly made so many efforts to prevent this tragedy from happening, yet he had greatly underestimated the darkness of this world. Itachi had still carried out the orders.

Konoha had still struck against the entire Uchiha Clan. Itachi had still become a rogue ninja and joined the Akatsuki. For the first time, Naruto doubted whether he could truly change this sorrowful world. The only thing that brought Naruto any comfort was that the Uchiha Clan had not been completely exterminated.

At noon, everyone had left, but Naruto and Sasuke saw Shizuka Uchiha still standing before the Memorial Stone, silently shedding tears.

Sasuke wanted to go up and comfort her, but Naruto stopped him, saying, "Let Sister Shizuka stay a while longer. After all, everything was done by the person she loved most. I think Sister Shizuka must be in great pain, so it is better to let her stay for a bit. Besides, you aren't doing much better yourself."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a firm gaze and said, "Tell me what this is all about. Why would my brother do such a thing? Why do Mom and Dad seem so indifferent to what my brother did? You have to know that Dad is the head of the Uchiha Clan; now that such a thing has happened to the clan, he doesn't seem to care at all. Why? Tell me why. I know you must know."

Looking at Sasuke's determined eyes, Naruto knew that if he didn't tell him the truth, something terrible might happen given Sasuke's temperament.

Moreover, Naruto didn't want to hide it from Sasuke, because Sasuke was also a very wise and persistent person. Telling him some things wasn't necessarily a bad thing; perhaps there might be other choices.

Thus, Naruto looked at Sasuke and said, "Do you really want to know? You should know that once you learn the truth, you might find it impossible to accept."

Sasuke said firmly, "Whether I can accept it or not, I want to know. I want to know the whole truth. I want to know why my brother did this, and why Mom and Dad were so cold in the face of the clan's catastrophe."

Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes and said, "Fine, I will tell you why, but you must also tell me your choice after you know the truth."

Sasuke replied readily, "Fine."

"Then let's go. We'll talk on the Hokage Rock." After saying this, Naruto walked toward the Hokage Rock, and Sasuke followed behind him.

After arriving at the Hokage Rock, Naruto explained to Sasuke why Itachi had slaughtered the clan and joined the Akatsuki, and why Fugaku and Mikoto had been so indifferent.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was struggling to accept the truth, and said, "Brother Itachi, Uncle Fugaku, and Aunt Mikoto were afraid that telling you this would be too much for you to bear, which is why they kept it from you. After all, to them, you are the most precious younger brother and son. They didn't want you to accept this dark reality; they only wanted you to live happily."

Sasuke said emotionally, "Did they think that by doing this I could live happily? Taking everything upon themselves—am I really that useless?"

Naruto said, "You can't blame them; they just didn't want you to get hurt. I know you can't accept this all at once. Don't rush. I will wait for you here tomorrow, and you can tell me your choice then."

Naruto left after saying this, letting Sasuke stay quietly for a while. After all, not everyone could bear such things, especially since Sasuke was only seven years old; even an adult couldn't accept it.

Therefore, Naruto let Sasuke calm down, but he believed that Sasuke would not let him down.

The next morning, Naruto arrived at the Hokage Rock and saw Sasuke waiting for him from afar. Naruto walked up to Sasuke and said, "I didn't expect you to be here so early. Tell me, let me know your thoughts and what you plan to do next."

Sasuke looked at the entire village of Konoha and said, "I hope this world can be at peace, without darkness or sorrow. I have thought about it for a long time, and I suddenly thought of you. You said you wanted to become Hokage and change this world, and you hoped I would help you. Now, this is also my dream. I think you and I can change this world."

Naruto also looked at the entire village of Konoha, his heart filled with joy. Sasuke had not failed his expectations, nor had he let him down. He smiled and said, "Yes, we will change this world."

At this moment, Naruto thought of Hashirama and Madara. History had taken a strikingly similar turn, but Naruto believed that his and Sasuke's ending would not be the same as Hashirama and Madara's, because Sasuke was different from Madara, and he was different from Hashirama. Naruto believed that he and Sasuke could bring true peace to this world.