Chapter 1: I, Sasuke, Have Always Relied Solely on Myself
Year 55 of Konoha.
The Forest of Death.
Sasuke Uchiha stood quietly by the campfire and waited. A massive pig leg was sizzling and dripping oil over the flames, while right beside him, a blondie hugged a knuckle bone and gnawed on it head-down.
The breeze blew, fallen leaves stirred on the ground, and Sasuke raised his chin slightly.
"They're finally here."
"What's here?" Naruto's muffled voice came from beside that big knuckle bone. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored him.
This guy truly lived up to the stereotypical impression he had of Naruto in his past life.
Ever since he was sent to the ninja world by the Big Rig over six years ago, it wasn't until a chance contact with Naruto that he awoke to the accumulated wisdom of his past life like a jolt of electricity.
At first, Sasuke was in denial. It was a hellish opening scenario, and it was anyone's guess whether he could survive the Night of the Uchiha Massacre. Who knew if those two neurological patients might go crazy and slaughter him along the way?
When Naruto latched onto him over a skewer of roasted meat, he wanted to refuse as well. Alas, the piece of adhesive plaster refused to peel off, so he simply became Naruto's only friend until they started school.
They had endured beatings together, skipped classes together, and beaten people up together.
Before his memories fully recovered, influenced by memory fragments, he had already blended in with Naruto and those brats, becoming a thorough king of the children.
To Sasuke's surprise, his fooling around with Naruto was never stopped by Hiruzen Sarutobi. It seemed the Third merely sent ANBU to monitor and protect them, a judgment confirmed not long ago when his Sharingan awakened.
"Hey, so what exactly is here?" Seeing Sasuke raise his chin in a daze and ignore him, Naruto hurried to finish gnawing the knuckle bone, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said with dissatisfaction.
"People who shouldn't be here." Pouting, Sasuke had purple light flashing in his eyes as he gazed deep into the dense forest to the front left.
There were six ANBU masks in total, but five of them were slightly different from ordinary people, especially around the tongue area.
Wearing ANBU masks in Konoha with anomalies on their tongues-even if you used Naruto's brain, you could figure out what kind of trash that was. What else could it be besides Old Thief Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal? Did you think it was the Heavenly Mouth?
The breeze continued to blow. The trees wished to stop, but the wind would not quit. It could blow away the fallen leaves on the ground, yet it could not blow away the loneliness between heaven and earth.
Sasuke felt that right now he was like Li Xunhuan who had accidentally learned Bixie Swordplay, or Lin Pingzhi who had learned the Flying Daggers of Li. Aside from loneliness, his balls hurt like hell.
And yet that old fellow Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to work for another twenty years? Take your crystal ball and go eat the large portions in the women's bathhouse!
Damn it, why the hell are you doing your job like this? How did Danzo mix in five people out of six?
Was this supposed to let him, Sasuke, fight five at once?
Thinking of this, Sasuke subconsciously glanced sideways at Naruto.
Oh right, there was also this Jinchūriki cub who insisted on tagging along.
A few days ago, Sasuke noticed that Shisui's state was off. Lately, he had been seeking out Uchiha Itachi for long talks every day, and then today, as if having made up some kind of decision, he claimed he was leaving the village to go on a mission.
That trick might fool others, but it couldn't fool Sasuke. He knew damn well what Shisui wanted to do.
The moment Shisui left, following his previously optimal setup, he swaggered away and skipped the Ninja Academy. Without concealing a thing, he headed in Shisui's direction straight into the Forest of Death.
Just as Sasuke had prepared in Plan A, Shisui behaved in a very conflicted manner inside the Forest of Death, taking a huge detour. Meanwhile, Danzo seemed somewhat unable to endure all the trouble Sasuke had been stirring up lately, and sent people to make trouble.
Although there were slightly more people now than he had expected, Sasuke didn't care at all.
If it were him from a year ago, today he definitely wouldn't dare to come and act as bait with his own body. Coming here would basically be a fatal situation unless Naruto blocked bullets for him.
However, nowadays...
Feeling the statue formed of gray mist deep within his mind, along with physical fitness that was completely unbefitting his age, Sasuke curled the corner of his mouth.
"Hehehehe-"
It was time to collect some interest from Danzo.
"...How come I feel like your smile is so weird?" Subconsciously leaning back and looking sideways at the weirdly smiling Sasuke, Naruto couldn't help scratching his head, seemingly thinking of something as he pouted.
"Is it because of those five people over there with such strong malice?"
"Huh?" The laughter came to an abrupt halt. Sasuke turned his head in a daze. Not gonna lie, bro, I can see them because I have an extra cheat on top of the Sharingan, but how the hell did you see them?
"Hehe, Sasuke, do you remember you said before that your eyes harbored a monster?" Seeming quite satisfied with Sasuke's expression, Naruto smiled just as happily. This seemed to be the one area where he had finally surpassed Sasuke.
"Could it be?" His mouth twitching slightly, Sasuke remembered what he had said when he first awakened his memories-covering one eye to tease Naruto on a whim.
Could this fellow have awakened some Mind's Eye of the Kagura or communicated with the Nine-Tails in advance under his butterfly effect?
However, before the proud-looking Naruto could reply, accompanied by several sharp sounds of breaking air, dozens of shuriken and kunai took the lead in attacking, accompanied by a roar filled with shock and fury.
"Gou San, Tu Wu... What on earth are you doing?!! Are you trying to destroy the village?!"
Yet the only true ANBU member was met with shuriken that covered Sasuke in an overwhelming wave.
Sasuke's importance was beyond doubt. If he were to die, the hard-won tendency toward peace between the Uchiha and the village would definitely be instantly detonated, which filled Niu Er's heart with despair.
He was just a commoner ninja, and hadn't even noticed beforehand that his companions of skin and dawn had tacitly pulled a distance away from him. At this moment, even if he wanted to risk his life to block it, he couldn't.
Yet he saw that Sasuke was still standing in the same spot, his smile instead growing increasingly brilliant, laughing without stop.
"A fellow like me who isn't even a Genin actually managed to have five Root masters team up to ambush me. I truly feel deeply honored."
Sasuke's laughter was bright and hearty, yet it made the listeners feel an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
"Shinra Tensei!" With a light shout full of overpowering aura, Sasuke didn't budge an inch. With hands spread out, his chakra circulated force and surged out from his palms. Amidst the flying pressure waves, it merely altered the flight trajectory of the ninja tools, causing them to brush past his body and land behind him.
"?!!" ×6.5
What kind of ninjutsu is this?! × 6
Enjoying the shocked expressions of those Root operatives to the full, Sasuke curled the corner of his lip. Even though this move of his was a bootleg, it was enough for the present moment.
"Hmph!" Gou San, the Root ninja leading the group, let out a cold snort to snap his companions out of their stupor, then flickered his figure and vanished from the spot.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
The two released ninjutsu simultaneously. The wind lent strength to the fire and the fire bolstered the might of the wind as wind blades and a fireball came roaring in. Disregarding Niu Er who was tangling with them entirely, the other two Root ninjas risked injury to charge at Sasuke from two different directions under the lock of the ninjutsu.
Heh, quite desperate, aren't you? Do you want to perish together with me, the second young master of the Uchiha, in the capacity of ANBU, so as to ignite the conflict between the village and the Uchiha? Old dog Danzo certainly hatched a fine plot.
A scorching wave of heat rushed toward his face, and Sasuke could even feel the back of his head turning cold, as if targeted by a sharp edge.
I have to admit, your plan really is quite good. Though simple, it's virtually inescapable. It seems, however, that you miscalculated one point.
Only after the blade behind him sliced through the air, the two on left and right converged, and five attacks completely sealed off his position did Sasuke speak unhurriedly.
The next moment, the gray statue deep within his mind emitted a brilliant radiance, and boundless power poured into Sasuke's body.
Mere Root elites still want to contend for brilliance with me, a first-year student who hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy? Ridiculous!
All your power was cultivated through training, and it is superficial and unsteady.
As for me, I obtained mine directly, step by step, entirely on my own.
[Even if it was myself from another world.]
The moment before he was submerged by the fire and wind, Sasuke's gaze blazed as he pointed one finger toward the sky.
"The difference in our standings is instantly clear!"
BOOM!!!!
Before you continue