"Oh, right, Sasuke. Be careful lately. Those people from over two years ago have started moving again. They probably still don't know about my sensory ability. I've found quite a few hiding around both our homes."
After his attempt to land a Thousand Years of Death on Sasuke failed, Naruto suddenly remembered the important matter. Ever since he and Sasuke had begun regularly exchanging chakra to train, his Mind's Eye of the Kagura had grown increasingly adept at sensing malice.
After Sasuke had beaten up that group from Root over two years ago, only a few scattered operatives had occasionally followed them, and even those would quickly disappear.
Yet perhaps because enough time had passed, traces of Root had become noticeably more frequent over the past month.
"Heh. That old dog Danzo talks like a human but never acts like one, eats human food but doesn't even shit like a human. It's been two years since the Third Hokage last reined him in. He must want to test the waters again."
Sasuke curled his lip, looking utterly unconcerned.
Over those two years, he had moved from childhood into his growth phase. His chakra reserves had increased exponentially, his physical capabilities had improved by leaps and bounds, and even his Sharingan had recently evolved into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The only one still ahead of him was Itachi, who had awakened his Mangekyo at twelve or thirteen.
And through his cooperation with several of the Uchiha's senior figures, the clan's reputation in Konoha had recovered considerably.
But the contrast still wasn't stark enough. In the Shinobi World, where the strong devoured the weak, friendliness from the weak was seen as cheap ingratiation. Only friendliness from the strong could win genuine respect.
Too much time had passed since the war, and people had long since forgotten the Uchiha's power. Even the Third Hokage and Danzo lacked any profound understanding of it. They knew the Uchiha were strong, but not how strong.
If the Third Hokage from the original story had really been given a cheat that let him see the future, he would absolutely have regretted his decisions bitterly.
With a faint smile, Sasuke casually took out a scroll and tossed it to Naruto, then explained as Naruto stood there looking puzzled.
"Let's call it a day. Our Clan Meeting is in a few days. This is the program. Take a look."
Naruto tilted his head dubiously and unrolled the scroll. The contents at the top left him momentarily blank. After staring for a while, he gave the expectant Sasuke a complicated look.
"Well? Want to add an act?"
"Uh, I can more or less guess what you're trying to do, but honestly, I have no idea what the hell you've written.
"Sasuke, not to be rude, but your handwriting is damn awful. I recognize every character on its own, but put them together and I seriously can't read a thing..."
"..." A dark line appeared on Sasuke's forehead, and the corner of his mouth twitched unnaturally.
Wasn't Naruto supposed to be a hot-blooded idiot? How had he started picking up the habits of the people around him too?
"Forget it. Just tell me what you're thinking."
How am I supposed to say it? Spell out my rebellion plan in plain language? Wouldn't that be looking down a little too much on the ANBU watching and protecting us from a distance?
Sasuke was just about to roll his eyes when Naruto solemnly held out a fist.
After a moment's surprise, Sasuke seemed to recall something. He blinked in astonishment, then tentatively held out his own fist.
Naruto: [Well? Sending information through chakra like this is pretty handy, dattebayo!]
Sasuke: [It is, but how do you know this technique? And why do you still need your catchphrase when we're communicating mentally through chakra?]
Naruto: [Kura... ahem, the Sage of Six Paths taught me in a dream. I'm the Child of Fortune, or Destiny, or whatever. Give me five hundred thousand ryo for fried chicken now, and in ten years, I'll appoint you Executive Deputy Hokage.]
Sasuke: "..."
What the hell was any of that supposed to mean?!
Ever since he'd started blaming everything on the Sage of Six Paths, had Naruto learned to do it too? Now he was constantly saying he'd dreamed of the Sage of Six Paths teaching him something new.
He'd sooner believe there was another Mangekyo wielder besides Obito outside Konoha who would show up in a few days to stir up trouble.
After shooting the breeze for a while, Sasuke packaged up his Night of the Uchiha Massacre plan for the upcoming Clan Meeting and sent it over. Most of the arrangements within the clan were already in place. It was also time to purge certain stubborn elements who wanted to force Fugaku out.
And teach those blind fools a lesson while he was at it.
Like Danzo, or Danzo, and Danzo.
That bastard had undoubtedly been stirring up plenty of trouble lately. Sasuke could figure it out without even using his brain. He was surely going on again about suspicions that the Uchiha were hiding some secret weapon capable of controlling a tailed beast, or some immensely destructive forbidden technique.
How did that saying go? When someone suspects you have a nuclear bomb, you'd better actually have one.
Unfortunately, on that front, he'd have to give Danzo exactly what he wanted. Not only did he have a massively destructive weapon, he could also call in the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to beat Danzo up with a single word. This was practically the Battle of the Valley of the End lineup.
That was the bond between the Sharingan and the Nine-Tails!
Kurama: Fuck you! One freak controls me with a glare, and another freak plays with wood while calling me a freak! Screw you!
"Heh heh, no problem, dattebayo!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up, flashing eight gleaming white teeth in approval. He was definitely joining in on this fun.
Given their bond, if Sasuke undertook something this big without inviting him, Naruto would absolutely get mad at him. Besides, they were dealing with someone like Danzo, whose malice appeared pitch-black as the bottom of a pot to his Malice Perception.
"Keh heh heh heh, good! Go to Teuchi's and order first. My treat, so eat all you want. I'll go grab Kakashi-sensei, and we'll have a meal together. I happen to need to borrow something from him."
"Keh heh heh heh, then I won't hold back, dattebayo."
The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted slightly. After having Naruto point him in the right direction, he used the Body Flicker Technique to find Kakashi.
Danzo was cooking up a scheme? He'd held it in for three years and was getting ready to dump something huge?
You cross the river, I cross it too! Why should I back down from you?
With a piece of shit like Danzo, forget three years-even if he gave him ten, what could he possibly squeeze out?
Yamanaka Fū and Aburame Ma Long, whom he'd forcibly abducted? Wood Release Yamato, that one-of-a-kind potted plant the Third Hokage had already taken away? Or the Sharingan he'd stolen from who knew where? At most, he could get in touch with Obito and Orochimaru.
Even if he put a knife right in his hand, what could he do? Danzo could play dirty, sure, but did he have the strength for a head-on fight? No, he didn't!
Whatever gibberish he had to spout, he could tell it to Sasuke's Gundams.
Having completed his daily trash-talking of Danzo, Sasuke spotted Kakashi's tuft of white hair at a stall selling pornographic books, and his smile grew brighter.
Not far away, Kakashi suddenly felt a chill in his left eye, as though something foul had set its sights on him.
He turned his head and found a certain brat standing behind him.
"Kakashi-sensei, to thank you for all the effort you've put into teaching us lately, Naruto and I would like to treat you to a meal."
"Mm." Kakashi discreetly tucked the latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise into his bag and nodded slightly. This brat never offered favors without a reason. Something was definitely up.
"I ran into Grandma Mikoto a couple of days ago. She was asking how you've been lately."
Kakashi's gaze immediately softened. Obito's grandmother... For years, he hadn't had the face to visit her. Fortunately, Naruto and Sasuke's indirect help over the past two years had allowed him to emerge somewhat from the shadows of his past.
"I'll walk you home afterward, then. I'll visit her on the way."
"Sure. Also, my brother seems to have made a new discovery in the ANBU recently. Just like you said before, someone has been deliberately spreading rumors against the Uchiha."
"Mm." Inwardly, Kakashi curled his lip in mild displeasure at Itachi, though his expression remained as dead-eyed as ever.
It wasn't as if he'd been dead these past two years. How could he possibly have missed every sign? That fucking Danzo had been secretly stoking hostility all along.
"He also looked through the files and found that this seems to have happened several times. Once around Year 42 of Konoha, and several waves around Year 48 of Konoha and Year 49..."
"!!!"
Kakashi stopped dead, his pupils contracting sharply. He could roughly guess that the incidents in Years 48 and 49 concerned Orochimaru's defection and Naruto's identity as the Demon Fox, respectively. But Year 42...
He would never forget that year. It was the year his father had killed himself.
While his mind was in turmoil, he suddenly felt someone take his hand. Turning, he found Sasuke looking at him earnestly. Then a stream of information flowed into his body along with warm chakra.
"This!!! How is this possible?!"
Before you continue