At this moment, the Uchiha clan members existing within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness were so shocked they couldn't speak.
They had never had much direct contact with the Sannin, yet after experiencing Naruto Uzumaki's life firsthand, they understood just how irreplaceable Jiraiya was to him.
Hearing this news now felt unreal.
'Is this information really reliable?!'
'What the hell is going on?! We just failed the mission to retrieve Sasuke not long ago! The S-rank ninjutsu we worked so hard to develop got banned! And now this kind of terrible news on top of that?!'
It was disaster upon disaster, catching both them and Naruto Uzumaki completely unprepared.
'No matter how you look at it, this many blows coming one after another is just too cruel!'
—You were born alone. How could you possibly understand how I feel?!
—What if I killed everyone important to you? Then you'd understand my pain, Kakashi.
Feeling the sharp, intermittent pain pulsing from Naruto Uzumaki's heart, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke recalled the words he himself had once said to Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi.
The pain wasn't intense, yet it made one feel hollow, as if the soul itself had been torn away.
Like a walking corpse, Naruto Uzumaki wandered through the streets of Konoha.
Every corner brought back memories of meeting the "Pervy Sage."
"I wanted him to keep watching me… to watch me become Hokage, to see me at my coolest. I wanted…"
That numb emptiness made Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke think of himself right after the Uchiha Clan was wiped out.
Whether Naruto Uzumaki truly understood his pain, Sasuke didn't know.
But at this moment, they understood Naruto Uzumaki's pain all too well.
It wasn't sharp or overwhelming.
It was a quiet, steady ache, like a trickling stream seeping into every limb and bone.
The pain of losing someone precious, of being left utterly alone in the world.
A suffocating emptiness, a sense of helplessness…
The exhaustion ran so deep that even breathing felt like a chore.
Suddenly, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke thought of the difference between them. Compared to his own pain of having something and then losing it, Naruto Uzumaki's suffering was different. From having nothing at all, to finally gaining something through sheer effort, only to have it torn away brutally and without mercy.
Whose pain was more hopeless?
Why was that guy still able to pull himself together and save others again and again?
Even Obito Uchiha had once tried to drive Naruto Uzumaki into despair.
Yet no matter who tried to crush him, those who watched Naruto Uzumaki give everything he had could never bring themselves to stand by and do nothing. They always ended up wanting to help him.
Iruka Umino. Shikamaru Nara.
To decode Jiraiya's cipher, the young Obito Uchiha within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness had no choice but to listen once again to Kakashi reading that damned Icha Icha book.
Only this time, it wasn't Icha Icha Paradise, but the second volume of the series, Icha Icha Tactics.
In short…
Just as filthy.
The young Itachi Uchiha inside Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness, serving under ANBU Kakashi, listened as his senpai openly read erotic material aloud. The extremely shy boy wanted nothing more than to plug his ears.
Sneaking a glance at his senpai's face, so embarrassed it looked ready to bleed, he silently observed a three-minute moment of mourning.
The rebellious Obito and the adult Obito, whose "character setting" was lifelong singlehood, nearly got sent straight out upon hearing such explicit content for the first time.
For a while, they were roaring inside Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness, cursing Kakashi for having no shame at all, reading dirty books and reciting dirty lines every single day.
Training in Sage Mode…
Watching hot-blooded ninja dramas during breaks…
When they finally returned to Konoha, the Uchiha clan had expected Naruto Uzumaki's cool, heroic entrance to shock the village.
But their expectations fell flat.
There were no gasps of surprise.
No crowd rushing over.
Only ruins, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Where is this place, dattebayo?"
"This… is Konoha…"
!!!!
Using Naruto Uzumaki's sensory perception, the Uchiha within his consciousness could detect only a handful of lifeforms. Even those that were still alive felt frighteningly faint.
"It's Pain…"
"With the power of a single person, he destroyed the entire Konoha Village."
Rebellious Obito couldn't sense even the slightest trace of Kakashi's chakra. The feeling mirrored the moment when the adult version of himself had suddenly crossed into a parallel world where Pain attacked Konoha. Confusion, shock, and a violent madness churned together.
"Even though this really isn't the time to ask, but…"
"Did Kakashi-sensei go out on a mission?"
"…I see."
Naruto said nothing more. His expression barely changed.
Yet every Uchiha within his consciousness felt the boy's sorrow clearly.
After Jiraiya, Kakashi had also fallen.
They had followed Naruto Uzumaki for fifteen years, watching him overcome one hardship after another. But at this moment, Shisui Uchiha, the young Itachi Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, Rebellious Obito, and the rest of the Uchiha Clan truly didn't know anymore…
Faced with something like this, could Naruto Uzumaki really keep going?
What they didn't know was that inside Naruto's consciousness, one man was already drowning in uncontrollable self-blame and near-hysterical fury.
That man was Rebellious Obito…
'If he's mastered Sage Mode, he should be able to deal with that Pain, right?'
'The Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths… He destroyed all of Konoha by himself.'
'I once thought the Uchiha eyes were unmatched in this ninja world. But against that Pain… even Fugaku wouldn't stand a chance.'
Facing such an enemy, many Uchiha finally realized how naive it had been to think they could rely on the clan's strength alone, launch a coup, and make the Uchiha Clan flourish.
How many terrifyingly powerful enemies still existed in this world, ones they couldn't even imagine?
They, who had once upheld the village's order, had truly been blind.
"Granny, don't let anyone else interfere. Leave Pain to me alone."
Naruto used Sage Mode to defeat the other Paths of Pain, but when he faced the Deva Path, he was completely helpless. One black chakra rod after another pierced his body, and the pain was something every Uchiha was forced to endure alongside him.
Unwilling. Powerless.
If only there were a Sharingan…
No, even the Mangekyō Sharingan. Would it really work against the legendary Sage Eyes of the Six Paths?
Whatever those black rods were made of, they completely disrupted chakra.
They watched Fukasaku die a brutal death and heard Shima's grief-stricken cries.
They watched the Byakugan girl rush forward, smiling as she said she didn't fear death if it meant saving Naruto.
They watched her get blown away, and heard the heavy, thunder-like pounding of Naruto's heart.
Shisui Uchiha: Naruto…
Young Itachi Uchiha: There's no one left who can stop him now.
Child Sasuke: Naruto!!!
Countless Uchiha, who had experienced the loss of everything precious to them piece by piece, understood at last…
The final straw had finally fallen.
Naruto Uzumaki was on the verge of collapse.
And with him, many young Uchiha who had begun to see themselves as Naruto, and many older Uchiha who saw themselves as his guardians, were crushed as well.
The battle itself was earth-shaking, yet their hearts were submerged in grief.
Utter despair…
Everything Naruto Uzumaki had fought so hard to obtain was disappearing from his life, one piece at a time.
Three times, he failed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha.
Three mentors fell in battle within a short span.
Three years of desperate training, yet nothing changed.
…
Inabi Uchiha and two other young members of the Uchiha Clan, having completely immersed themselves as Naruto Uzumaki, actually awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan in their real bodies outside the illusion!!
Bloody tears streamed down from their eyes. This era was likely the one in which the Uchiha Clan awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan most frequently.
Sasuke, whose real body was only seven years old, couldn't clearly explain what he was angry about or what hurt so much. Still, outside the illusion where he shared a body with Naruto, he awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan.
Veterans like Fugaku Uchiha, who already possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and ample experience, tried to suppress the Nine-Tails using the power of the Sharingan within their own consciousness.
But just as expected, it had no effect at all.
Four tails.
Five tails…
Six tails...
Seven tails......
…
Was it already…too late?
Only sorrow remained in the world.
Most of the Uchiha could no longer think. Completely overwhelmed by Naruto Uzumaki's emotions, that extreme despair left them passively accepting fate. Like Naruto, they reached out toward the Nine-Tails' seal.
Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito were the only two who remained barely conscious in this situation, clinging to the pain they remembered from Rin's death.
'Put your hand… down…'
'Lower it… don't undo the seal…'
They struggled to send their voices to Naruto Uzumaki.
But…
Naruto's fingers had already touched the sealing tag.
'Someone… stop him…'
"Snap!"
A hand suddenly grabbed Naruto Uzumaki's wrist from the side.
Seeing who it was, both the muddled Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito froze.
'Minato-sensei?!'
Right!!
Adult Obito suddenly remembered. When he had crossed into the era of Pain's attack on Konoha before, the safeguard Minato-sensei had placed activated at this exact moment!!
After experiencing fifteen years inside Naruto's body, he had almost forgotten about it.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke was the first to fully regain clarity. Looking at the Fourth Hokage, he remembered that this man was Naruto Uzumaki's father. Father and son had only truly met for a brief moment during the Fourth Shinobi War.
"Why would the Fourth Hokage appear in a place like this…"
"Looks like the Third didn't tell you. Naruto, you're my son."
"Bang!"
A solid punch landed, snapping several Uchiha out of their daze.
'He… he punched the Fourth Hokage?'
'Damn, that's impressive.'
'As a Uchiha, landing a punch on the Hokage? That's an experience worth bragging about.'
'That Naruto guy… but honestly, if it were me, I'd punch him too!'
Existing within Naruto Uzumaki's senses, the Uchiha actually felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Fugaku Uchiha: …
The Nine-Tails' seal was reinforced once again.
After sixteen years, Naruto finally learned that he had a father. That father was the Fourth Hokage he had always admired, the village's great hero.
With that bond restored, he faced Pain once more.
"As long as we live in this cursed ninja world, peaceful lives are impossible."
"Then I'll be the one to break that curse! If peace truly exists in this world, I'll hold onto it tightly and never let go!!"
"!!!"
"Because I am—Naruto!"
The Child of Prophecy who inherited the name of the protagonist from Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi!!
In a confrontation even more gripping than battle itself, Naruto Uzumaki finally seized the opportunity and guided his enemy, Nagato, onto his own path.
The Uchiha Clan was left speechless.
They could only watch as the man named Nagato poured everything he had into that one technique:
"Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth."