The Truth You Unearth Yourself Is the Most Believable

Sasuke stopped attacking and looked up, preparing to gaze at the ruins of the Uchiha Clan.

Bang~

Uchiha Feng knocked Sasuke to the ground with a palm strike, leaving a bright red mark on his face.

"Idiot, someone's watching us. Didn't you know?" Uchiha Feng's voice still echoed in Sasuke's mind.

Sasuke tried to open his mouth.

"Urgh~"

The moment he opened his mouth, Uchiha Feng punched him in the stomach, forcing back the words he had been about to say.

Uchiha Feng was venting his dissatisfaction, knocking Sasuke down whenever he showed an opening.

The Anbu hidden in the shadows watched the fight in the training ground. Seeing nothing unusual between them, they merely assumed Feng was crushing a weak opponent and did not intervene.

"You can picture what you want to say to me in your mind. Understood?" Through Dumpling's superpower, Uchiha Feng established a telepathic channel.

"Who exactly are you?" Sasuke asked inwardly. What did he want?

"I'm a friend of the Uchiha Clan. Someone asked me to deliver a message to you." Uchiha Feng's Crane Hermit School techniques grew increasingly proficient as he pounded Sasuke.

"You're that man's friend!" Sasuke's anger surged. The Two-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes fully solidified under the force of his rage.

Bang~

With another White Crane Spreads Its Wings, Uchiha Feng stomped Sasuke beneath his foot, pinning him down so he could not move at all.

"Idiot, there are other survivors of the Uchiha Clan. You should have met them too." Uchiha Feng's words brought unpleasant memories flooding back to Uchiha Sasuke.

With a leap, the two returned to their original stances. The only difference was that Sasuke was now covered in injuries.

"That demon is from the Uchiha Clan? Why? Why would he attack me when he's also from the Uchiha Clan? Why would my brother..." Uchiha Sasuke had countless questions in his heart, yet he still retained a measure of resentment.

Step, step, step~

Uchiha Feng ran across the training ground and closed in on Uchiha Sasuke with a charging punch.

Boom~

He blasted Uchiha Sasuke away.

"You need to find the answers yourself. The story circulating outside is that Shisui Uchiha used his Mangekyō Sharingan ability, Kotoamatsukami, to alter your brother's will, causing him to slaughter the entire clan. But I can tell you this: the Great Elder had prepared for this long ago. A small number of people escaped! Now tell me, do you think you're worthy of knowing the Uchiha Clan's secrets?"

Uchiha Feng's words echoed in Sasuke's mind, plunging him completely into thought.

Sasuke's body had been battered throughout the fight. He could no longer stand and lay on the ground gasping, every part of him burning with pain, though none of his bones had been injured.

"Tell me the truth, or I'll report you to the Hokage!"

Two fresh bruises had appeared on Sasuke's face. He raised his head and glared at Uchiha Feng in threat.

"If you still believe the Hokage's words, then there's no need for us to continue this conversation!

You need to seek out the truth yourself. The best way is to go to where it happened—if it still exists!"

Uchiha Feng dusted himself off. The battle just now had been nothing but him beating Uchiha Sasuke down, venting the resentment and dissatisfaction in his heart.

After saying those final words, he severed the telepathic connection and turned to leave.

"Wait~" Uchiha Sasuke called out to Uchiha Feng.

Uchiha Feng turned back, his eyes icy. Any unusual action from Uchiha Sasuke before him could expose his identity.

If Uchiha Sasuke did anything foolish, Uchiha Feng would kill him immediately and prepare to flee.

"I'll get revenge on you!" The instant Uchiha Sasuke saw that look, he froze in place. That gaze was so similar to the one he wore when he wanted to kill Itachi.

Boom~

His strength gave out, and he collapsed flat onto the ground, his limbs spread wide.

He stared at the clouds in the sky.

Yet his mind replayed everything he had experienced during this time, and tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

In Uchiha Sasuke's memories, his brother had spent even more time with him than his father had.

His brother.

The first time he learned to walk.

The first time he taught him how to throw shuriken.

The first time he accompanied him to the Ninja Academy, picking him up and dropping him off after school.

The first time he taught him ninjutsu, patiently keeping him company.

The first time...

So many of his happiest memories had happened with his brother. Back then, he had been the happiest person in the world.

So when had that once-warm brother changed?

After entering the Konoha ANBU, he was always carrying out missions.

After partnering with Shisui Uchiha, he forgot many of the promises he had made to him.

That once-warm brother had slowly become a demon.

In the Tsukuyomi space, he experienced agony again and again.

As Uchiha Sasuke recalled the events of the night the clan was massacred,

resentment, hatred, helplessness—all those emotions converged.

His eye power began to fluctuate violently.

His pupils grew even redder, bloody tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, and tomoe emerged, spinning without cease.

Buzz~

Both eyes completely transformed into Two-Tomoe Sharingan, but it lasted only a brief moment before returning to their unawakened state.

Uchiha Sasuke recalled what Uchiha Feng had said. He had to search for it himself?

He no longer had anyone to rely on. He had to find it himself.

He struggled to get up, supporting his body with both hands. Most of the pain had faded, but it was still difficult to endure.

Driven by the questions in his heart, he forced himself upright.

He headed toward what had once been the Uchiha Clan's compound.

Every step tore at his injuries, making him feel as though his heart were being ripped apart.

But none of that compared to the pain in his heart.

Rumble rumble~~

Construction crews were at work along the way.

Signs had already been put up in some places.

Dragging his injured body along, he soon arrived at the former clan compound.

"Private property. No entry!" A ninja stopped the staggering Uchiha Sasuke.

"This is my home." Uchiha Sasuke's voice was somewhat hoarse, but it carried unwavering resolve.

This was where the night of the clan massacre had taken place. He had always avoided it before, but now he wanted to see it.

"Kid, this place has been sealed off. Without an order from Lord Hokage, no one is allowed inside! You should go back!" The ninja seemed to recognize Uchiha Sasuke's identity and tried to persuade him.

"Thank you." Uchiha Sasuke looked past the ninja at the clan compound, which had already been emptied out. He withdrew the foot he had stepped forward with and turned away.

"What a strange kid." After saying that, the ninja continued standing guard, refusing to let anyone enter.

Uchiha Sasuke looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. This had once been the place where he had played since childhood, yet it had now completely changed?

He recalled his father's teachings.

The Uchiha Clan had once been a renowned "great clan."

A great clan was a landowning family with its own private armed force!

Now that the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out, its private force was gone, and its land had been occupied by others.

And it had happened in such a short time. Was that normal?

Buildings had been erected around the clan compound, bearing the crests of Konoha's other ninja clans.

The most numerous among them were the crests of the Sarutobi Clan, and the Third Hokage was the head of the Sarutobi Clan.

"If you still believe the Hokage's words, then there's no need for us to continue this conversation!"

That sentence continued to echo in Uchiha Sasuke's mind.