Fugaku Uchiha was clearly numb by now.
After that massive genjutsu last time, the whole world had turned its eyes on the Uchiha Clan… not exactly out of malice, but more like the kind of wary attention you'd give someone you thought might be unstable.
And now Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had brought it up again, insisting on letting the entire ninja world watch his memories of the Fourth Shinobi War. Fugaku Uchiha wasn't just uneasy—the entire Uchiha Clan looked ready to break into a full-blown war chant aimed straight at him.
The philosophical youth Shisui Uchiha, caught between tact and pure discomfort, addressed Itachi Uchiha's little brother as gently as he could.
"Sasuke… um… could you maybe give us a premiere screening first?"
"…"
A premiere? What was this, a movie release? Want a special early showing while you're at it?!
This was the Rinne Sharingan's super genjutsu!
What kind of "premiere" even was that? Did he think Sasuke was inviting his brother to watch a film?!
Holding down the irritation bubbling in his chest, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke said evenly, "Relax. It's nothing that can't be shown. It's related to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju."
"Oh! If it's about the First Hokage-sama, then I can relax!" Shisui Uchiha really did live up to his reputation as the Hokage-aligned type. His trust in the Hokage line was unwavering.
...
The actual Hokages—
Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, the future potential Hokage Kannabi Bridge Minato, and Adult Kakashi—were all thinking the same thing.
Naive.
Kid, you're seriously naive.
They'd met the First Hokage in another world, after he'd been brought back through the Edo Tensei Reincarnation Jutsu. That man was the kind of existence who never opened his mouth without dropping something shocking, and he could rile his younger brother up to the point of choking on rage without even trying.
"Is this really going to be fine?" Even the young Sasuke Uchiha couldn't help voicing his doubt.
The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was a reincarnation of Ashura—same as the idiot standing next to him.
It felt disrespectful to put it that way about the First Hokage, but… he really was unbelievably naive.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't so much as blink. "Just keep doing what you should be doing. When the full moon comes, I'll make that memory public to the world."
Over the next three weeks, everything went smoothly at the start.
Not only did the dual SS-rank missions progress at breakneck speed, even the tasks assigned to Young Obito and Adult Obito produced decent results.
[Mission Rank: C-rank]
[Mission Content: Assist 5,596 elderly women in crossing the street.]
…
[Mission Rank: SS-rank]
[Mission Content: Consume 599,999,983,279 Anko cakes.]
Young Kakashi sighed. "I really want to praise you, but…"
He shot a sideways look at the three Uchiha. "You three better not actually turn into Obito Akimichi."
Each of them imagined it for a second, picturing themselves with an Akimichi Clan build. The three Obito Uchiha immediately shook their heads hard, like they were swatting the image right out of their skulls.
"Don't worry, we're training! We're not turning into those fatsoes!!" Adult Obito bared his teeth as he spoke.
Naruto scratched his head. "Now that you say it, I kinda miss Shikamaru and Chōji. I haven't gone back in almost a month, and with all the earlier time travel, I almost forgot the Chūnin Exams are even a thing."
Sakura stretched. "Rin and I haven't done Sensei's training in ages. It feels… weird."
Just hearing it brought a different worry to Naruto and Obito: young Sasuke and Young Kakashi training under future Orochimaru.
They imagined Snake-Sasuke and Snake-Kakashi…
No. Absolutely not.
Their brains refused to accept that reality.
Young Kakashi frowned.
"Quit thinking about pointless stuff. Focus on your SS-rank mission, and on the Uchiha Clan's situation right now."
Maybe because his own father had died under the crushing weight of public opinion, he didn't want Obito and Sasuke to end up the same way.
When it came to the Uchiha Clan's relationship with Konoha, Young Kakashi and Adult Kakashi never really offered their opinions during discussions. But when it was time to act, they worked just as hard as Naruto and Obito did.
They stared at the two mission scrolls—
[Mission Rank: SS-rank]
[Mission Content: Eliminate mutual prejudice between the Uchiha and Konoha (79/99).]
"Looks like this is as far as we can push it," young Sasuke said.
Young Naruto looked visibly on edge.
Young Itachi's expression dimmed. "The last two days… I haven't convinced a single person."
Shisui smoothed down his little ponytail and tried to comfort him. "It's already way better than when it was just the two of us."
Back then, they'd talked to nearly everyone in the Uchiha Clan who might have become an ally, someone willing to help improve relations between Konoha and the Uchiha. But after a long stretch of trying, they'd gotten nowhere.
Young Itachi Uchiha forced himself to face what went wrong and reconsidered the way he and Shisui had been doing things.
"After we tried persuading Uchiha clan members together with Naruto and the others… I realized our earlier approach was wrong."
Shisui nodded. "After going with Obito and the others to persuade the people in Konoha, I also realized we were kind of…" He gave an awkward smile, unable to finish.
Naruto and the others could only stare, speechless.
At the beginning, watching Itachi and Shisui try to "persuade" people…
Well… how do you even describe it?
It felt less like convincing someone and more like pinning their intelligence to the ground and grinding it into the dirt. They'd jump straight into philosophical discussions right out of the gate. Who was supposed to handle that?
Young Obito Uchiha leaned in to talk it through with Naruto.
"I don't think the people left are completely impossible," he said. "It's just… if we only talk, they still won't believe us."
Naruto sulked, frustration written all over him. "We're from the same village! If they'd just drop their prejudice, they'd see there's no real hatred between us. It's just everyone worrying too much!"
"You're not wrong." Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke rose to his feet. "Today is the full moon. It's time they saw what a village is, what a clan is, and what a ninja is."
Everyone froze.
What a village is? What a clan is? What a ninja is?!
"This one's taking a bit longer than expected. I already found this world's Naruto, but to be safe… I'm taking some from you again."
"What?"
Naruto and young Sasuke still hadn't caught up to what he meant.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had already used his Sharingan to slip into Naruto Uzumaki's deepest inner world.
["Uchiha brat! You've already drained an enormous amount of chakra from this world's version of me, and you still dare to show your face?!"]
"Oh?" Sasuke's voice stayed calm. "Even though you're not inside the same Naruto, you can still sense me?"
["I'm a being made of chakra!"]
"Then taking a little from you is basically helping you lose weight," Sasuke said flatly. "Give it some time and you'll grow it back."
He didn't waste any more words. He reached straight for the Nine-Tails and started extracting chakra.
"Hey! That's too much, isn't it?!" The Nine-Tails howled. "I'm getting skinny!"
Naruto watched, heart clenched, and instinctively wanted to stop Sasuke.
But Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had already taken what he needed. He pulled out of Naruto's deep psyche in one clean motion, leaving the Nine-Tails behind, still cursing up a storm.
Naruto hurried to comfort him, promising that later he'd help Obito eat Anko cakes with him so he could put his little padding back on.
Adult Obito, who'd already guessed this was coming, broke into a cold sweat. If people said Uchiha chakra was evil… on some level, maybe it really was. Otherwise, how was Sasuke not affected at all by that chunk of the Nine-Tails' malice?
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't bother responding. He jumped up onto the roof and formed the "Snake" hand seal with one hand.
"Shine upon the land… Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Even though this move did nothing more than drag everyone into an illusion, he still used the name Infinite Tsukuyomi.
To be fair, the moment people realized it was a full moon that day, plenty of them started getting nervous, worried the Uchiha were about to pull some new stunt again. But most believed a lethal technique like "throw the whole world into a genjutsu" wouldn't happen twice in a row.
And yet, the Uchiha were exactly that unpredictable.
Surprised? Shocked?
Under the moonlight, everyone's eyes turned into concentric Rinnegan rings. As for whether they felt "surprised" or "shocked"… only they could say.
Because in the blink of an eye, their vision had already been replaced by scenes from Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's memories.
Uchiha Clan ninja: "This is… wait, a shrine?!!"
Jiraiya, out in some distant hot spring town gathering inspiration… is Orochimaru?
Fourth Hokage Minato: "The Shinigami from the Reaper Death Seal?!"
What exactly did future Sasuke go through in the Fourth Shinobi War?
"The scroll of the Uzumaki Clan's Reaper Death Seal Technique says that first you need the Shinigami Mask. Then you let the Shinigami bound by the Reaper Death Seal contract possess you. As long as you cut open the Shinigami's belly, the seal can be undone."
"And the soul trapped inside can be released."
From Sasuke Uchiha's point of view, everyone trapped in the Rinnegan genjutsu watched Orochimaru finish speaking and immediately offer himself up, even as he controlled the Shinigami to tear open his own abdomen.
The next second, four strange streams of chakra burst out from the Shinigami's body.
Having gone to the future and knowing about the Third Hokage's death, Fourth Shinobi War Minato recognized those four signatures instantly.
Could it be…
Orochimaru: "Even the hands sealed by the Third Hokage have been restored. Next, as long as we choose the sacrifices, we can perform the Edo Tensei Reincarnation on those four…"
Suigetsu: "You're not planning to use us as sacrifices for the Edo Tensei Reincarnation, are you?!!!"
"Relax. There are better options than you."
The people caught in Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's Rinnegan genjutsu then saw an orange-haired man lift a monster's claw and press it against his own body. A strangely profound force seemed to pour into his body.
That first-person viewpoint, that you-are-there sensation, was unsettling. It filled them with unease and fear, but also… a tiny flicker of excitement.
Especially the ordinary civilians who couldn't use chakra at all. It was like they'd suddenly gotten to experience what it felt like to be a ninja.