Why follow him?
Of course it was because he looked just as lonely as he was.
And just like him, he was being pushed away by others, met with those looks of rejection, driven off, pointed at and whispered about behind his back…
It made little Naruto Uzumaki feel like he had finally found someone like himself.
So there was no way he was going to miss this chance. He chased after him, wanting to ask who he was, why they were both being isolated, and why no one acknowledged their existence at all.
At this point in time, Naruto Uzumaki hadn't yet decided that saying whatever was on his mind would be his ninja way. Facing this man who looked a bit like Sasuke Uchiha and was being ostracized just like him, the child Naruto hesitated and stammered.
"I'm not following you! We just happen to be going the same way!"
"Oh." Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke couldn't be bothered to expose him. "Then what are you doing here?"
"Obviously I'm hungry, so I came to find something to eat!"
"You came all the way here for that?"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke clearly didn't believe him.
But then he watched as the child Naruto Uzumaki pulled a fishing rod and a bamboo basket out from several hidden spots, then smoothly went through the motions of fishing, gathering mushrooms, and cooking soup in one go.
"You…"
"If you want some, I can share."
"That mushroom you're holding is poisonous."
"It's fine. I've eaten it before."
"..."
Sasuke Uchiha watched the child Naruto, his small backside sticking up as he crouched on the ground tending the fire and cooking. Suddenly, memories surfaced of when he was that age, eating meals made by his mother or his older brother. He even remembered one time when he ate too much of his brother's seafood feast and had to walk around the courtyard, belly swollen, just to digest it.
…
—"When you get over there, tell Mom I'll definitely live on properly!"
—"I won't be picky, I'll sleep well, I'll have a bunch of good friends. Even if the one I want most is still someone I can't quite understand right now, I'll definitely bring him back…"
…
The scene of Naruto Uzumaki saying goodbye to the Fourth Hokage after the Fourth Shinobi World War, before their second battle at the Valley of the End, flashed through his mind.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke thought about his own childhood, then looked at the Naruto Uzumaki in front of him now—probably only about six years old, having just started at the Ninja Academy.
Memories of the first battle at the Valley of the End—
…
"How could you understand how I feel, when you've been alone without parents since you were little?!"
"I really was always alone. But ever since I was with you, I've started to think that having a brother must feel something like this."
Memories of the second battle at the Valley of the End—
…
"Why?! Why do you keep stopping me again and again?! Why won't you just give up on me?!"
"Because you're my one and only friend."
...
"Hey." Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had only managed to say a single word.
A skewer of grilled fish was suddenly shoved into his hand.
"I usually only give grilled fish to that old man who can't even afford to eat. Today, I'm letting you have it." The child Naruto snorted and lifted his chin, wearing an expression that practically said, "You should be grateful." It made the seventeen-year-old Sasuke Uchiha want to pinch him and flick his forehead.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke asked, "Do you have any friends?"
"..." After a brief silence, the child Naruto only answered once he had almost finished his grilled fish. "No."
"Oh. Then if you ever make your first friend, what would he be to you?"
He didn't know whether the still-young Naruto in front of him would say the word "only."
But at this moment, Sasuke Uchiha truly wanted to hear that idiot say those words to him one more time.
Six-year-old Naruto was clearly startled.
"Big brother, do you want to be my friend?"
"Answer my question first."
"My first friend… what would he be to me…" Naruto thought hard for a moment. "Probably the first proof that I'm alive in this world."
The first proof of existing in this world…
Was that redemption?
Such a pitiful, humble answer, coming from the mouth of a child who was only six years old.
Sasuke Uchiha suddenly felt his throat tighten for no reason. He turned his head away, hiding his momentary loss of composure.
He wanted to go back…
Back to his own world.
Even though he knew it wouldn't happen, he still couldn't help worrying that the idiot's "only one" might become someone else. Shikamaru would do. Or that Kazekage Gaara…
For a brief instant, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke even forgot that the person he was thinking about was still hanging from a tree, trapped in a dream.
"You really plan to live here?"
The child Naruto asked awkwardly, a tone that didn't quite match Sasuke's impression of this idiot.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
Naruto said, "I live alone. You can come live with me too."
"Alright."
"Really?!" Naruto looked even happier than Sasuke himself. After dealing with the pot of poisonous mushroom soup, he grabbed Sasuke and tried to pull him along.
"Oh, right. I still don't know your name, big brother."
Big brother…
"You… just keep calling me that."
Indra was Ashura's older brother anyway. There was nothing wrong with it. Right.
"But it's weird not knowing your friend's name. Oh, I'm—"
"Naruto Uzumaki. I know."
"Huh? You really know my name? Don't tell me you've been secretly watching me all this time?" Naruto stared at him in disbelief, then suddenly lit up. "Hey, big brother, you kinda look like that stuck-up idiot Sasuke from my class!"
"..."
"I'm telling you, that guy's like some kind of flower. He can turn all the girls into bees and butterflies in an instant. They buzz around him nonstop! And the worst part is, he always looks down on me, just like the adults in the village do!!"
"..."
"But one day, I'll show him how amazing I am and make him acknowledge me!"
"Mhm. You will."
"Huh?!" Naruto's eyes went wide. "Big brother, how do you know that? No, no, no, you definitely don't know Sasuke. That guy's super arrogant and really strong. Sometimes I seriously wonder if his eyes are actually growing on the sky!"
"..." No. My eyes are on my face.
Seventeen-year-old Sasuke followed six-year-old Naruto as they were about to head back, only for Konoha ANBU to block their path, stating that any contact between a Uchiha and a Jinchūriki required reporting to the Hokage.
Naruto watched as the "big brother's" black eyes turned crimson. The two ANBU, who occasionally delivered supplies to him, immediately went on full alert.
"I'll go see the Fourth myself later."
One of the ANBU tried to say something, but the other stopped him.
With the power possessed by this Sasuke Uchiha from the future, let alone the two of them, even the Hokage might not truly be able to go against his will.
"Please refrain from any inappropriate actions toward the Jinchūriki," the ANBU said, giving Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke a respectful nod before disappearing with his partner.
At only six years old, Naruto couldn't understand what they were talking about, nor did he know what a Jinchūriki was. He was still immersed in the joy of bringing someone home for the first time, of finally having someone by his side who felt like family.
Perhaps because he was too sensitive to human emotions, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke chose not to tell Naruto his name. The young Naruto Uzumaki didn't ask again either, continuing to call him "big brother" the whole time.
Helping lay out the bedding, taking out cup noodles he had saved and couldn't bear to eat, and chattering nonstop, Naruto made it painfully obvious how much he longed for someone to live with him.
But Sasuke would have to return eventually.
Because in another parallel world, there was probably another idiot jumping around in frustration, unable to break the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
After expressing his intentions to the Fourth Hokage, Sasuke was met with a deeply troubled expression…
"The journey through each mission scroll, traveling across worlds, is never something we can control. All we can do is roughly infer that there must be some kind of 'regret.' Only by erasing that regret can the world resume functioning normally, and only then can we return to the parallel world we came from."
"Regret…"
At that moment, Minato was also at the Uchiha clan head's residence. As for the matter of Itachi Uchiha massacring his own clan, the young Sasuke had never spoken about it. Among those who had once participated in the Hokage Tower meeting with them, Shisui was perhaps the only person in this world who knew the truth behind that incident.
Because of that, Itachi of the Akatsuki was currently staying with Shisui Uchiha. Under the pretense that neither Konoha nor the Uchiha clan trusted him and required Shisui to keep watch over him, the arrangement gave him a chance to be together once more with a close friend who had already died.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke did a quick calculation in his head.
"So this is about stopping the Uchiha clan massacre that happens later?"
Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, and the young Itachi Uchiha all went pale at his words. Even though they had already anticipated such a future, their emotions still couldn't remain calm.
"Was it Konoha that made the move?"
Fugaku Uchiha's question caused the young Sasuke to stare intently at his future self.
Even now, he still didn't know who had truly wiped out the Uchiha clan back then. Was it Konoha? The masked man? Or was it really Itachi?
"Using my childhood self as leverage, and wrapping it all in the righteous excuse of peace for Konoha and the entire ninja world…"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't think there was any reason to hide it.
"Konoha's upper leadership ordered Itachi to personally kill his own parents and every member of his clan."
"!!!!"