The Uchiha clan, long excluded by Konoha, had never imagined that one day they would be welcomed by the village like this, celebrated as heroes.
They had never imagined that this honor would come through someone whose fate was even more tragic than theirs, someone who had been rejected even more harshly—a so-called "sacrificial power."
—I will become Hokage one day and make the entire village acknowledge me!
That was the vow Naruto Uzumaki made as a child.
No one thought he would succeed.
No one believed he could.
Just like the Uchiha themselves. Afraid that effort would lead to nothing, they chose not to try at all. They deceived themselves into believing that as long as they obtained power, everything else would naturally follow.
More than ten years of shared life experience showed a different path. From having nothing to slowly gaining something, no matter how many times he failed, Naruto Uzumaki always stood back up. Even when regrets remained, the people he had once helped, or those who watched him struggle and wanted to support him, would step forward and help him keep moving ahead.
Until now, when the entire village was cheering for his return.
...
The Uchiha clan had likely already realized that their state of mind had quietly changed through the life of this boy named Naruto Uzumaki.
Recently, Naruto had been surrounded by the honor of being a hero, drawing attention wherever he went. Yet he showed no sign of relaxing, because Sasuke still had not been brought back to Konoha.
"You mentioned Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? Tell us about him as well."
A red-haired woman pointed the tip of her blade directly at Naruto and the others.
Shisui: That forehead protector… they're from the Kumogakure!!
Fugaku: How can Kumo ninja appear so openly in Konoha?!
—Unless…
—Someone let them in!!
Seeing ninja from another village appear, Naruto Uzumaki and the Uchiha, who knew nothing about the situation, immediately rushed forward!!
"Why are ninjas from Kumogakure here in Konoha?!"
"Your village's missing-nin, Sasuke Uchiha, attacked our village! He captured my master!! Tell us everything you know about Sasuke Uchiha! We're already negotiating with the Hokage!!"
!!!!
The pain of losing a master was something Naruto understood all too well, having just learned of the Pervy Sage's death. Hearing that Sasuke had tried to kill the master of the two Kumo ninja before him, the panic in Naruto's heart was felt clearly by Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke.
Young Itachi Uchiha: The Hokage?!
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, had exhausted all her chakra saving the village from Pain and was still unconscious.
Yashiro Uchiha: It's Danzō, that bastard!! The Hokage they're talking about is Danzō Shimura!!
The moment that thought surfaced, every Uchiha felt their heart sink.
"It's because you let your village's missing-nin run free! That's why the Raikage-sama sent us to negotiate!! Konoha must give us an explanation!!"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's expression turned grave.
He didn't care whether he himself was labeled a missing-nin.
But…
—Then I, the future Hokage, will act as his guarantor!
—No matter what happens, I'll take full responsibility for Sasuke! I won't let him do anything that harms the village!
That idiot had stubbornly made himself Sasuke's guarantor.
That was why, even now, Konoha had never listed the name Sasuke Uchiha in the bingo book.
And now the Hokage was Danzō. He would never pass up such a perfect chance to suppress the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. He would absolutely use this incident to drag Konoha back onto a path of isolating and targeting the Jinchūriki.
Even though he knew Naruto remained safe all the way until the Fourth Shinobi War, this would still become a stain on Naruto's life.
For someone like him… it wasn't worth it.
'That guy…'
'Such a hopeless idiot.'
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke didn't know what he was thinking himself. All he knew was that his chest felt tight, deeply unsettled, unbearably uncomfortable.
And at that moment, he had no idea that something even worse was about to come.
Sai said, "Since people from your side are already negotiating with the Hokage, can you stop pushing us?"
Omoi snapped back, "Our master's life is hanging by a thread! How could you Konoha people possibly understand how we feel?! How could we just sit around and wait?!"
Karui added, "That's right! The two of us are gathering more intel in our own way, and then we'll deal with Sasuke Uchiha…"
"…with revenge!!"
Naruto openly admitted that he was also a Jinchūriki and told Omoi and Karui that the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki was probably still alive.
"Let's put Sasuke aside for now. As fellow Jinchūriki, I'll help you save your master."
"Huh. Blondie, you're surprisingly reasonable," Karui said. "You. You're coming with us."
Taken by the two Kumo ninja to a quiet, deserted place, Naruto Uzumaki's mind filled with memories of Team 7 and his time with Sasuke.
—When I'm with Sasuke, I feel happy. Like I'm not alone in this world anymore. Like I finally have a brother.
"Tell us everything you know about Sasuke!"
"I… can't."
"What?!"
"I can't betray Sasuke."
"You bastard, are you screwing with us?!"
Bang!
The Kumo kunoichi Karui slammed Naruto by the neck into the wall behind him.
The crushing pressure on his chest and throat was unbearable, especially with how aggressive and humiliating the posture was.
If only…
The young members of the Uchiha clan thought that if they were still the Uchihas of the past, they would never endure such humiliation. They would have fought back without caring about the consequences.
Yes.
Without caring about the consequences at all.
"I understand your anger," Naruto said, "but if you kill Sasuke out of hatred, my companions and I won't stand by and watch! That kind of hatred will only keep spreading!"
"Do you think spouting lofty ideals like that will make us stop? Then how are we supposed to vent our hatred?! Your village's Sasuke Uchiha struck first! We almost lost our master! Do you even understand what that feels like?!"
From having nothing, to training under Jiraiya for three years, to hearing the news of Jiraiya's death, no one understood that pain better than the Uchihas inside Naruto's consciousness at this very moment.
Naruto understood it far too well.
And so, as they felt his emotions and endured all of his pain with him, the Uchihas were also curious how Naruto would resolve the burden the Fourth Hokage had entrusted to him.
Something not even the First Hokage, the so-called God of Shinobi, had managed to accomplish.
How had this sixteen-year-old boy gone on to rally countless people during the Fourth Shinobi War?
"I don't know either…" they heard Naruto Uzumaki say. "Until I find a solution, you can vent your anger on me. You can even beat me up. But I absolutely, absolutely won't betray Sasuke."
Bang!
The Kumo woman showed no restraint, punching Naruto straight to the ground.
Then, just as he had said, she turned her rage into fists, striking Naruto Uzumaki again and again.
Naruto didn't resist at all. Every bit of pain was transmitted directly to Child Sasuke and Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke.
Young Itachi Uchiha never imagined someone could go this far for Sasuke.
Child Sasuke hadn't experienced the clan massacre and didn't see himself as the rebellious Sasuke of that world. Watching the woman throw punch after punch, the pain he felt became the pain of Naruto Uzumaki from another parallel world.
At that moment, Child Sasuke was furious beyond measure. Through Naruto's eyes, he glared at the red-haired Cloud kunoichi, his stare brimming with hatred.
Even the far more mature Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke had never imagined that, beyond desperately trying to bring him back, Naruto Uzumaki had endured all of this as well.
The hero who saved all of Konoha.
He should have stood at the center of glory, become the village's symbol of faith, and inherited the name of the future Hokage.
Yet, for the sake of a single rogue ninja like me, he gave everything.
None of this ever appeared in Naruto's memories. Probably because that idiot never thought any of it mattered.
'What does this have anything to do with you...?'
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke clenched his fists deep within his mind.
'Did I ever ask you to do this?!'
'Get up and fight back! Can't you even beat a woman from Kumogakure?!'
Punch after punch landed. The dark-skinned Kumo ninja treated Naruto like a human punching bag, venting her rage without restraint. Even exhaustion failed to stop her, and it was impossible to tell how long the beating had gone on.
'That's enough...'
'Stop it...'
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke could no longer feel his own pain, because every ounce of it was something Naruto Uzumaki had truly endured before.
They weren't just witnessing his life through an illusion.
'Stop...'
'Don't hit that idiot anymore...'
'This has nothing to do with him.'
Blood seeped into his vision, blurring everything. Sasuke knew that idiot had already been beaten to the point where he couldn't even open his eyes.
But before that, the Uchiha within his consciousness had already seen it. Blood stained the woman's fist. Naruto's blood.
'What is the Nine-Tails doing at a time like this?! Get out here and knock that Kumo ninja away!'
The Uchiha clan members were on the verge of exploding with rage. They burned with resentment as Naruto was beaten down by a single Kumo kunoichi.
They wanted to force the Sharingan open, to make that Kumo ninja stop, to tell her that none of this had anything to do with Naruto.
But the voices of Sasuke Uchiha, along with the other Uchiha, could not reach Naruto's ears.
Nor could they reach the Kumo ninja standing before him.
Until—
"Snap—"
A hand caught the woman's fist in midair.
"Stop."
It was the smiling Sai who had been sent to replace him as the newest member of Team 7.
The man who was always questioning the size of Naruto's junk.