"Ah, sorry."
The boy in the front row felt his elbow bump into something behind him.
As he apologized and turned around…
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Their eyes were wide, locked onto each other, staring straight into the fear and rejection reflected in the other's gaze.
The sensation on their lips could only be described as solid.
They had collided perfectly, without the slightest deviation, straight onto each other's mouths.
The lips of a boy…
Yes…
A boy's lips…
At this moment, every single member of the Uchiha Clan was experiencing things as Naruto Uzumaki himself, and standing directly opposite "him" was Sasuke Uchiha.
Time seemed to freeze.
Every Uchiha existing within Naruto Uzumaki's body exploded on the spot!!!
Young Itachi Uchiha had never imagined that one day he would experience the softness of his younger brother Sasuke's lips on any part of his face other than his cheek or forehead.
Alongside the panic and unease in his heart, there was also a trace of helpless amusement.
Another adorable expression from his little brother successfully collected. File name: Terrified.
Shisui Uchiha froze completely, his mind blank. For more than ten years, he had been hailed as one of Konoha's outstanding ninja. He had never imagined that one day he would do something like this to his best friend's younger brother.
Adult Obito nearly collapsed.
"My first kiss ahhhhhhh!!!"
Rebellious Obito stared ahead with lifeless eyes.
"Why am I being made to experience this? Is this Minato-sensei and Kushina's punishment for me?"
Young Obito felt this punishment was simply too cruel. He had a strong feeling that for a long time to come, he wouldn't be able to look Sasuke or Naruto Uzumaki in the eye.
He truly couldn't imagine how those two could act so calm afterward. If it were him and that idiot Kakashi, then it would definitely—
Definitely—
Ahhhhhhh!! Stop it, brain!! Don't think about Kakashi at a time like this! And absolutely don't think about Rin!! That's a sin!! A sin!!!
As Young Obito teetered on the brink of collapse…
The child Sasuke inside Naruto Uzumaki's body let out the same kind of hysterical, groundhog-like scream.
Naruto Uzumaki's face had already turned tomato red.
He absolutely could not accept the fact that his future self would actually kiss, kiss, kiss that idiot Naruto Uzumaki…
Aaaaaah!!! Kill Naruto Uzumaki! The moment I get out of this illusion, I'll kill that dead last immediately!!
What made it even worse was that he wasn't just forced to think about kissing Naruto Uzumaki in the future. He could clearly feel the sensation of "Sasuke Uchiha's" lips—his own lips—making contact.
This was seriously…
Double the damage!!!
The Uchiha Clan's combat elites were all here. They were outstanding officers of the Uchiha Police Force, with every crime etched into their memories.
Did this count as kissing the clan head's youngest son?!
Minimum three years? Maximum death penalty?!!!
Would the clan head personally carry out the punishment?!
No, wait…
If they existed inside this illusion, didn't that mean…
The clan head…
Was here too?
No, no, don't think about it. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke are the same age. It's fine. It doesn't count as a crime. It doesn't.
En… mmm…
How does it not count?
Fugaku Uchiha had already turned to stone. No, he'd weathered away entirely.
Mikoto, on the other hand, had the mental fortitude of a mother.
'Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke are both boys, which is a bit of a shame. Otherwise, I'd definitely arrange some kind of childhood betrothal with Kushina.'
At this moment, if Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke knew what his mother was thinking, he would definitely…
Sigh… it's hard to put into words.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke, who had completely forgotten that something like this had happened during the original class assignments, was now being forced to face that passionate kiss with Naruto Uzumaki for the second time.
As for how it felt…
He really should just kill that idiot Naruto.
"M-Me? Is it my fault?"
The young genin sitting in front of Sasuke Uchiha was completely dumbfounded, but he still underestimated just how much damage that one collision had caused. It nearly wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan on the spot.
"I'm going to kill you, Naruto! Ugh…"
"Ugh, shouldn't that be my line?! Stupid Sasuke!"
Watching the reactions of the two kids, Mikoto was still able to smile.
'Well, their reactions are both so adorable. If only I had the chance to tell Kushina about this someday.'
"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha. Team Seven. Instructor—Kakashi Hatake."
Ever since that last outburst of chakra, when he split into over a thousand shadow clones, Naruto Uzumaki never again displayed such a dramatic breakthrough.
Failed to grab the bells. Got fed by Sasuke.
Team Seven's routine D-rank missions passed in a blur, until they reached the escort mission to the Land of Waves. Sasuke fell while protecting Naruto. Enraged, Naruto drew on the Nine-Tails' chakra and defeated Haku.
The deaths of Haku and Zabuza made the newly graduated Konoha genin truly understand what it meant to be a ninja in this world.
Establishing one's ninja way. The Chūnin Exams.
From having nothing at all, to slowly earning applause and recognition step by step.
They repelled Orochimaru, stopped the jinchūriki of Sunagakure, and shattered Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha.
"Then just keep crying about your fate! Don't bother doing anything at all! When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyūga Clan for you!"
If they had heard such grand words in the past, they would have scoffed without hesitation. But after residing within Naruto Uzumaki for nearly thirteen years, how could they still mock this child's so-called foolish dreams?
"Naruto, run! I won't ever let someone important to me die right in front of my eyes again!"
Sasuke's words directly unlocked all of Naruto's hidden potential, allowing him to defeat Gaara of Sunagakure.
"I understand how you feel better than anyone, because I've always been just like you. Before, I thought it was amazing that you could fight for yourself. But without Sasuke, without Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, without Sakura… I don't even know what I would've become. So even if I have to kill you, I still have to protect my comrades!"
His body was completely drained of strength. The pain from his battered, wounded body transmitted directly into every Uchiha's senses. Yet Naruto Uzumaki still dragged himself forward, scraping along the ground with his shoulders, as if he had already resolved to protect Sasuke and Sakura behind him—even if it meant lunging forward to bite Gaara to death.
"That's enough, Naruto. You've already won."
They could all see it clearly.
This was the inspirational life of a boy abandoned by his entire village, who poured everything he had into his ideals and gradually earned the recognition of more and more people.
Some of them, such as Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, even realized something more.
No matter who had pulled them into this illusion, the purpose was clear: to make them experience Naruto Uzumaki's life and discover another possibility.
A life not spent blaming fate or resenting the world, but one where a person continuously takes action to change others' views and overturn deeply rooted prejudice.
…
The Third Hokage died in battle, and Naruto Uzumaki followed Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin, to search for Tsunade-sama.
The Uchiha ninja only knew that Princess Tsunade, who had earned immense merit during the Second Shinobi World War, had vanished without a trace during the Third Shinobi World War. They had never known the reason why.
It wasn't until they saw that beautiful woman—someone who could shatter an entire street with a single kick—collapse and tremble uncontrollably at the sight of just a few drops of blood that they finally learned the truth. Through Naruto Uzumaki's perspective, and from Shizune's words, everything became clear.
"I don't care if you're a woman or whatever! If you dare insult the Hokage, I'll never forgive you!!"
"Before I become Hokage, I absolutely won't die!"
"Because becoming Hokage is my dream."
When Tsunade's body finally stopped trembling and she released the power sealed within the Yin Seal, the Uchiha youths felt their blood boil once again.
All of a sudden, because of Naruto Uzumaki, the thought of "I'm proud to be a member of the Uchiha Clan" was quietly replaced by a different feeling.
"I am a Konoha ninja."
For the first time, their sense of clan identity wavered.
After curing Tsunade's fear of blood, the legendary Sannin willingly accepted the position of Fifth Hokage…
…
Once again, Naruto Uzumaki's contribution was indispensable.
'Lately… haven't people been calling him the "Nine-Tails kid" less and less?'
'I don't know why, but seeing Konoha finally acknowledge Naruto makes me feel excited too.'
'Honestly! I clearly hate these Konoha people! But without them, it feels like something's missing…'
'It's only because of their recognition that life feels complete. Otherwise, how is that any different from being completely alone?'
Like Kurama, existing within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness, the Uchiha experienced his life alongside him. They watched as more and more people came to acknowledge him, and as old prejudices gradually faded away.
But in stark contrast to Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke's situation moved in the opposite direction.
Mikoto Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, and the entire family watched as Sasuke grew more and more impatient after awakening the Sharingan, worry they couldn't suppress settling in their hearts.
Especially after Orochimaru placed the cursed seal on him, and after Sasuke's performance in the third stage of the Chūnin Exams, his family could already sense something was wrong.
Sure enough, not long after the Chūnin Exams ended in haste, Sasuke began to show clear signs of restlessness.
"Naruto! Wake up! Sasuke has left Konoha! If nothing unexpected happens…"
A defection.
The hastily assembled retrieval squad consisted entirely of genin, with the sole exception of Shikamaru Nara, who had just been promoted to chūnin.
Naruto Uzumaki, accompanied by the Uchiha residing within him, set out together with Neji Hyūga of the Hyūga Clan, Chōji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan, and Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Clan.
To ensure Sasuke could be retrieved, teammates stayed behind one after another to hold off powerful enemies.
'Is this really going to be okay? That guy looks at least chūnin-level. His explosive strength might even reach jōnin-level!'
'Sending a bunch of genin on this mission… do they really want to bring Sasuke back?'
'Tch! Konoha just went through Orochimaru and the Sand's Konoha Crush plan. Where would they find spare manpower? That bastard Orochimaru really planned this well!'
"Sasuke—!!"
"Naruto, this place is quite suitable for a fight between you and me."
Sasuke Uchiha from the Fourth Shinobi World War looked at the familiar scene unfolding before him.
What was different this time was that, for the first time, he was viewing the entire battle from Naruto's perspective.
A dull pain spread through his chest. He couldn't tell whether it belonged to him—or to Naruto.
"You, who've been alone since the moment you were born!! How could you possibly understand my pain?!"
The ache in his heart was so intense that Fourth Shinobi World War Sasuke almost doubled over.
So the words he had once said…
Had they hurt that guy this deeply?
'Naruto…'
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