Sasuke Uchiha, just what are you?

Shing!

The black fireball burned away the incoming blades along with the ocular power markings on them. Sasuke wreathed Shinbone in lightning, boosting his Body Flicker Technique, and closed in at astonishing speed!

"What!?"

Shin's eyes registered the attack, but his body could not keep up. Sasuke's knee slammed squarely into his chest!!

Thud...!!!

"Aaaargh!!!"

He screamed as he crashed into the mountainside!

"Damn it... how is this possible? He's just a brat!!!"

Uchiha Shin reached out and marked the entire rock face, shattered it with brute force, then sent the pieces flying at Sasuke!!

Shing! Unhurried, Sasuke drew the Kusanagi Sword and slashed through the incoming rocks in a flurry of cuts!

Even after being sliced apart, the marked rocks could still be guided. Uchiha Shin pulled his hand back with a savage grin, and the shattered pieces wheeled around.

Sasuke was fully aware of every sound behind him. He formed hand seals with his right hand as he sheathed his sword, then thrust his left palm backward!

Wind Release: Gale Palm!

Wham...!

The fierce wind pulverized the scattered rocks!

Sasuke changed his hand seals.

Earth Release: Lodging Rock Collapse!

Boom...!

The rock face Uchiha Shin clung to broke away from the mountain, and Shin lost his footing and fell!

Sasuke switched to forming hand seals with his left hand, swinging his sword through the air with his right. Water bubbled along the blade before he slashed!

Water Release: Water Dragon Slash!

Whoosh!

A flat, razor-sharp water dragon soared into the air along the path of his blade!

"!!" Driven by a desperate will to survive, Shin dodged in midair just in time to avoid being cut in two!

Slash...!!!

The water dragon sliced into the mountainside and burst apart, leaving a waterfall cascading from the fissure!

After the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, both he and Naruto had recognized the gaps in their foundations and spent years comprehensively honing their skills as shinobi!

The techniques he excelled at were no longer limited to Fire Release and Lightning Release. He could effortlessly wield conventional ninjutsu of all six natures: Yin Release, Water Release, Earth Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, and Fire Release!

"Hah, hah, hah..."

Shin hit the ground in a heap. Still gasping in shock, he watched Sasuke approach and hastily signaled the clones around him with his eyes!!

Whoosh...!

Twelve of Shin's clones gathered in front of him, each holding a giant shuriken. Sasuke stopped.

Kabuto Yakushi demanded, "Shin, what is the meaning of this?"

Shin rose and declared shamelessly, "They're my children. Naturally, they count as part of me, don't they?"

"..." Already familiar with Shin's methods, Sasuke's gaze remained calm.

Whoosh!

Shin's twelve clones charged without fear of death.

Sasuke merely formed hand seals, utterly composed.

Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!

Whoosh!

Everything before the clones' eyes turned pitch-black, leaving them bewildered and at a loss!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Sasuke struck from the darkness.

"Aaargh..." Clang, clang!

Screams mingled with the clatter of shuriken hitting the ground. Within moments, all twelve lay defeated, unable to fight.

Though Shin had not fallen under the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique himself, he witnessed Sasuke cut through them!

"No, no, I refuse to accept this!!!"

Retreating, he pulled out a scroll and released blade after blade, trying to launch another attack with his ocular power!

Sasuke stood unmoving. After forming hand seals, he extended his left arm, covered in the white Cursed Seal!

Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!

Stout, powerful trunks and roots extended from his palm and coiled around Uchiha Shin's body!!!

Kabuto Yakushi exclaimed in shock, "That's...!!"

Orochimaru smiled. "Oh? You can already use Wood Release..."

Uchiha Shin tried to break free, but the wood's toughness and binding strength were beyond anything he had imagined!!

"Sasuke Uchiha, just... what are you!!!!!!"

Sasuke swung his arm, hurling the great tree in the opposite direction!!

Uchiha Shoulder Throw!

Boom...!!

Wrapped in the tree, Shin was swung through the air and slammed into the ground, spraying a mouthful of blood!!

Boom!! Boom! Boom!!

After several more slams, Uchiha Shin felt as though his entire body had come apart. His Akatsuki Robe was in tatters, but he glanced toward the mountaintop out of the corner of his eye.

"Hee-hee..."

Up there, the miniature being with Blade Reversal was already in position. It gave a roguish chuckle, and a black vortex emerged from its single eye, ready to teleport Uchiha Shin away!

But how could that escape Sasuke's perception?

A mass of purple chakra ignited in his right hand, transforming into a tiny Perfect Susanoo, which he hurled toward the peak overhead!

Miniature Susanoo!

Whoosh...!!!!

The Miniature Susanoo arrived in an instant. Before the space-time teleportation could finish, its miniature greatsword swept through its target!

The strike was precisely measured. Though the miniature being was killed, its eye remained completely unharmed.

The Miniature Susanoo flew into Orochimaru's hand, deposited the little being's corpse, then dissipated.

All the fight had gone out of Uchiha Shin. "You... how did you gain such tremendous power?"

Crack!

Sasuke retracted the wood extending from his left arm.

"You once said peace makes humanity stop evolving. Broadly speaking, that isn't wrong. But your beliefs have no actual experience to support them, which is why they're so shallow. Those who have truly lived through war understand the value of peace better than anyone..."

He recalled the end of his battle with Shin in his previous life, when the children influenced by Shin's beliefs had turned their weapons against him.

Sasuke offered him a warning. "Shin, stop calling yourself an Uchiha, and stop claiming to be an admirer of Itachi. Before your children turn their weapons on you, go back to being yourself..."

Leaving him with those words, Sasuke turned and walked away.

Beneath the cold moonlight, Shin lay on his back, Sasuke's parting words echoing through his mind.

His "children" had already awakened and gathered around him. Their innocent eyes reminded him of who he had once been.

"Go back to being... myself?"

On the way back.

Orochimaru smiled. "I never imagined Sasuke-kun would do something like this..."

Sasuke gave a self-deprecating smile. "I just wanted to try bringing back those who aren't beyond saving, the way 'he' once did. But I know my limits. This is probably as much as I can manage..."

After their boat docked again, the three of them went to their old hideout in the Land of Rice Fields.

Orochimaru took out the miniature being's remains and handed them to Kabuto, saying solemnly, "Kabuto, implant this Mangekyo, which harbors Blade Reversal, into your right eye. Implant these Hashirama cells as well. Once you're finished, we'll head to Blue Moon Island."

Kabuto said as though it were obvious, "Wouldn't it be better for you to use this eye yourself, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru explained, "When I release the Shinigami's seal, I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique of the Second Hokage and Fourth Hokage within its body. This eye would be of little use to me now, so you're better suited to using it. Besides, in the near future, you'll be traveling all over the shinobi world. A space-time ability will make that considerably easier..."

Kabuto looked hesitant. "But... I'm not confident I can control this power, especially the Hashirama cells."

Orochimaru smiled. "Trust me, you can. Don't doubt your potential. Have you forgotten the former self you saw through Sasuke's eyes? To achieve our goal, we need the strength of all three of us!"

Kabuto's wry smile held a trace of uncertainty. "Honestly, I still don't have any real sense of just how powerful I was in my previous life..."

Orochimaru smiled. "Then this is the perfect chance to find out. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke teased him. "No objections here. But let me warn you now, Kabuto: you probably won't get to become the orphanage director. This time, you're bound to accomplish something greater. Like... creating a world without orphans?"

Realizing there was no escaping this, Kabuto said, "I really don't know what to do with you two. All right. If I should die, please bury me in front of the Konoha Orphanage. Let me become a blade of grass and watch over the place the director once cherished!"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Don't worry. I'll use Impure World Reincarnation on you so you can keep serving me..."

Kabuto shook his head with a wry smile. "It seems I'm destined for a life of toil..."

Despite his words, the warmth of being needed and valued nourished Kabuto's heart. Once again, he reaffirmed his resolve: in this life, he would stand alongside the Lord Orochimaru he respected and become Sasuke-kun's strongest support!