Uchiha Sen first looked at Sasuke beside him, his tone carrying the teasing familiarity of an old acquaintance. "Yo, Sasuke. Long time no see."
Then his gaze shifted to the sunny yet composed Naruto beside Sasuke. He nodded slightly, a meaningful note entering his voice. "And the future Seventh Hokage, savior of the Shinobi World, Naruto Uzumaki."
Two simple greetings, neither servile nor overbearing, held no hostility, yet carried an air of looking down on them.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. His scarlet Sharingan spun quietly, and his presence instantly turned cold. He stared at Uchiha Sen, frost in his eyes, and spoke icily.
"Seeing you makes the wound on my arm ache again."
Back then, Uchiha Sen had ruthlessly severed one of Sasuke's arms. Sasuke still vividly remembered that wound and that humiliation. He had never forgotten.
At those words, Uchiha Sen threw back his head and laughed, wild and unrestrained, utterly unconcerned by Sasuke's hostility.
"Ha ha ha! Sasuke, that was ancient history! You're still holding a grudge?"
"All I did was cut off one of your arms back then. Now you've been reborn with both arms intact. I thought we'd long since moved past that."
As his words fell, the smile vanished from his face. His expression abruptly chilled, and his voice filled with biting mockery and resentment, every word stabbing deep.
"Besides-your brother, Uchiha Itachi, slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan with his own hands."
"I haven't even properly settled that blood debt with you two brothers!"
That single sentence struck Sasuke's deepest wound.
The destruction of the Uchiha Clan and the horrific deaths of his clansmen were an eternal source of hatred in his heart, the deepest darkness of his youth.
Sasuke's face instantly turned utterly cold. His chakra stirred restlessly, murderous intent surged in his