Sasuke asked in confusion, "My right hand? What do you mean?"
"Whew." Naruto took a deep breath and held out his left hand. "Remember what happened at the Ninja Academy back then? What Iruka-sensei made us do afterward?"
"..." Sasuke lowered his eyes, thinking back.
The two of them had quarreled on the training grounds and had eventually been ordered to make the Seal of Reconciliation.
Sasuke had used his left hand then.
"So this time, you want me to use my right hand. Is that what you mean..."
Sasuke mulled it over. "You're saying that if I destroy Konoha, not only will you refuse to help me, you'll break my left hand so I can never form hand seals again?"
"Pfft..."
Naruto couldn't help laughing.
Sasuke refused to let it go. "Answer me!"
Naruto's mischievous streak surfaced. Whether he was being petulant himself or deliberately trying to see Sasuke sulk, he said, "Yeah, that's right! You got it! I'll break your hand!"
Sasuke snapped, "I knew it! You arrogant bastard! Since you're bringing up the past, have you forgotten who lost at the Valley of the End? If I'd wanted to, forget your left hand-you would've been dead!!"
It was true that Naruto had lost at the Valley of the End. Sasuke had had every opportunity to kill him.
But... many people overlooked one crucial detail.
At the instant they clashed, Naruto's Rasengan had angled upward, toward Sasuke's Forehead Protector. The scratch across its center had been left by Naruto's sharp nails during his Tailed Beast Transformation.
Sasuke's Chidori, meanwhile, had angled downward, striking Naruto squarely in the heart.
Otherwise, Naruto might not have been the one who fell that day.
"..." Memories flickered across Naruto's face before his expression softened. "Don't take it so seriously. Couldn't you tell I was joking?"
"..." Sasuke's expression eased slightly, only for him to shout coldly, "I'm not joking! You're the one who keeps claiming I'm your friend, then toys with me! Stop looking down on me! You think I don't know anything? You're Konoha's hero now, the darling of its ignorant people. If I'm going to destroy Konoha, you're my greatest enemy!"
Naruto said thoughtfully, "I've already betrayed Konoha..."
"What!?" Sasuke froze. Only then did he notice that Naruto was wearing the Forehead Protector he had left behind-the mark of a rogue ninja!
Sasuke turned to look at Obito. During their earlier encounter in the woods outside Konoha, Obito had told him about the Five Kage Summit and Danzo becoming Hokage. He had mentioned Naruto defeating Pain only in passing, but had said nothing about Naruto deserting the village!
"..." Obito's mask concealed his expression.
Sasuke turned back and asked Naruto, "What exactly is going on?"
Naruto said, "My goals will run counter to the village's ideals. I had to free myself from its constraints before I could act..."
Sasuke's gaze flickered, and a strange hint of disappointment entered his voice. "So you went after Danzo for your own purposes, not to clear an obstacle out of my way?"
People were complicated creatures. If someone did something for them, they considered it meddling. Once they learned it wasn't for them, they resented that instead.
Naruto said wistfully, "That's not entirely true. It was half and half. I thought killing Danzo might ease the hatred in your heart, and perhaps you wouldn't turn that hatred on the village afterward. But you let Danzo escape just to spite me.
"I still underestimated how badly you want revenge right now. There's bound to be more trouble down the road..."
"..." Sasuke clenched his fists, and the Susanoo chakra around him began to waver.
Naruto's eyes lost all trace of humor. "Sasuke, I still won't stop you from taking revenge on Danzo. But I don't want you hurting anyone else...!"
Sasuke's gaze turned cold. "And if I insist?"
Naruto answered firmly, "Then I'll do everything in my power to stop you!"
Sasuke's voice grew colder. "You mean you still have power to spare right now?"
Naruto stood his ground. "At the very least, I haven't gone all out!"
"Heh, heh, heh..." Sasuke chuckled. He was arrogant, not stupid. He knew Naruto was telling the truth, but his voice turned cold again.
"Yes, you've gotten stronger. But what do you understand about me? Do you know the real reason I want revenge on Konoha?"
Naruto dropped a bombshell. "Yeah, I know... the truth about Itachi."
"What!?" Sasuke stared in shock. "That's a top-secret matter! How could you know? Don't tell me..."
He turned to look at Obito again.
"..." Obito shook his head, indicating that he hadn't told Naruto.
In truth, Naruto had learned it from Obito-the Obito of the previous timeline...
Obito thought, This kid Naruto... I really underestimated him before...
Sasuke said coldly, "You know what Itachi went through, and you still want to stop me from taking revenge?"
Naruto said, "If Itachi were still alive, he wouldn't want you doing this either..."
"..." Sasuke's shoulders shook. Itachi was his sorest spot; touch it, and his fury was inevitable. Even Naruto's special place in his heart didn't give him the right to pass judgment on Itachi, whether good or bad!
He had no idea Naruto wasn't making things up. Naruto really had dealt with Itachi, and more than once.
"Stop talking like you know Itachi!! And don't use his name to interfere with my revenge, Naruto!!!!"
Boom!!!
Answering Sasuke's rage, purple chakra surged outward, forming a majestic suit of armor over his existing Susanoo!
It was the ultimate form of the half-body Susanoo: Crow-Tengu Form!!!
Boom!!!
The powerful, icy chakra shook Taka to their core and made even the experts present react...
Karin couldn't stop trembling. "He's nothing like the Sasuke he used to be..."
Obito's gaze darkened. Oh? He brought his Susanoo this far in one go. Just as I thought, the best catalyst for Sasuke isn't the Five Kage. It's you, Naruto...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Heavenly Ama-no-Makaguyumi Bow was drawn taut once more. This time, however, it held a Blaze Release arrow shaped by Kagutsuchi. Its size and power were on an entirely different level!!!
Genuine killing intent now shone in Sasuke's eyes. "Naruto, I'm done listening to your endless nagging!! You're in my way! I'll wipe you out here, then obliterate Danzo and raze Konoha...!!!"
Naruto's expression grew grave. This form of Susanoo is a qualitative leap. And that arrow is no longer something ordinary methods can handle...
Whoosh!!!
The massive black-flame arrow tore through the air...
"So be it..."
Naruto closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the radiance of his ocular power swirled within them!
Shinra Tensei!
Boom!!!
A repulsive field erupted. The solid arrow of black flame instantly broke apart, falling to the ground as scattered flames...
Obito's gaze grew somber. "Finally willing to use the Rinnegan's ocular power..."
Sage Mode alerted Naruto to something.
"The fighting here has drawn attention. A lot of chakra signatures are heading this way, one after another. Time to finish this quickly...!"
Naruto formed hand seals, gathering an unprecedented amount of chakra.
Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof...!!!
Hundreds upon hundreds of Shadow Clones appeared amid white smoke. Each formed an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan and attacked Sasuke's Susanoo together...!
Sage Art: Multiple Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Barrage!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...!!!
Rasengan piled upon Rasengan, completely engulfing the Susanoo. Waves of explosions rose and fell, battering its sturdy armor to the brink of collapse beneath the relentless Sage Art bombardment!
Sasuke raged, "Where did he get this power...!!"
Swish! Naruto dipped his hand in the blood from the wound Amaterasu had burned into him earlier and formed hand seals.
Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!!
The great toad Gamahiro, with two swords on his back and a sash around his waist, descended from the sky, delivering the final blow that overwhelmed the Susanoo...!!!
"Urgh...!!"
Before the Susanoo collapsed, Sasuke mustered all his strength and leaped out...
Naruto extended his palm.
Banshō Ten'in!
Whoosh! A powerful gravitational pull dragged Sasuke toward him.
Sasuke reacted swiftly. As he hurtled closer, he formed hand seals, turning that pull to his advantage...
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
"..." Naruto stood unmoving. Maintaining Banshō Ten'in, he activated the Rinnegan's protective barrier to block the flames while closing his hand around Sasuke's throat!
Preta Path!
Whoosh!!
Sasuke's chakra flowed into Naruto through his palm...
Sasuke said, "Heh, so this is your left eye's ability..."
Naruto said, "Sorry. This is the only way to quiet you down. If you keep overusing your ocular power, you'll lose your sight far too soon..."
Hiss! As his chakra drained away, Sasuke's Mangekyō reverted to three tomoe. Then the tomoe faded, leaving dull, ordinary eyes...
Before losing consciousness, Sasuke murmured cryptically, "Heh, that sort of thing... doesn't matter anymore."
Once Sasuke passed out, Naruto gently laid him on the snow, sighed softly, and stepped back.
"Sasuke!!!" Karin ran forward.
Whoosh!!
But the masked Obito appeared beside Sasuke first. He hoisted him onto his shoulder, and a vortex burst from his right eye, drawing Karin in along with him.
"Go restore Sasuke's chakra!!"
"Eek...!!"
Swish! Swish!
Konan and Orochimaru came to stand on either side of Naruto.
Konan asked with concern, "How are you? Are you all right...?"
Naruto smiled. "Sorry, I used a little too much chakra. What comes next will probably be troublesome. I'll have to rely on you two..."
Konan smiled faintly. "Of course..."
"Heh, heh." Orochimaru's lips curled upward. "So you still couldn't bring yourself to drain Sasuke's chakra completely."
Naruto neither confirmed nor denied it.
From the south, the Land of Iron's samurai, led by Mifune, arrived one after another, along with the Five Kage apart from Danzo...
To the north, figures could just be seen running through the wind and snow. They were all young, and they wore Konoha Forehead Protectors...
At the sight, Obito's expression shifted subtly beneath his mask. "Fine. I'll stay out of this entirely this time. Think carefully about how you're going to wrap things up. Remember to protect the Rinnegan. It's my treasure, Naruto..."
Whoosh!!
The vortex spun, and he and White Zetsu vanished within its strange spirals...!
Crackle!!
Moving like lightning, Raikage A and his two guards arrived first.
They looked at the lingering Amaterasu flames on the snow...
C, a Kumogakure Jōnin, said, "Amaterasu's inextinguishable flames were Itachi's unique ocular power. But Itachi is dead, so there's no doubt only one person could be using them..."
Darui said, "So the one who was here just now was Sasuke Uchiha..."
The Raikage roared furiously at Naruto, "Where's Sasuke? Where did Sasuke go!!!!!!"
"..." Naruto ignored him completely. Every ounce of his attention was drawn to the anxious figure at the head of the other approaching group...
"Hinata..."
Before you continue