"Sai, move aside."
"I won't. Why should you get hurt for Sasuke's sake? I don't understand. That man didn't hesitate to try to kill you and Sakura. What makes him worth doing all this for?"
"Shut up. This is my choice."
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke listened to Naruto's exchange with that guy called Sai.
That replacement was irritating beyond words, yet it was also thanks to him that the Kumo woman had been stopped.
Conflicting emotions crashed together inside him. In short, he was furious.
It was nothing more than his own intelligence. Even if a few hundred Kumogakure brutes showed up, it wouldn't change a thing. They wouldn't even be worth a glance.
"Sasuke only ever hurts you! Why are you willing to go this far for him? I don't understand! What exactly makes him worth this?!"
Sai, shaped by Root's training and ignorant of normal human emotions, finally lost control.
Everyone could tell that what he was showing might not truly be anger.
It was more like—
Envy.
Or perhaps—
Jealousy.
...
Naruto didn't answer him.
Later, after meeting Kakashi and Captain Yamato, he stubbornly told them,
"I'm going to the Five Kage Summit to find the Raikage. I'll ask him to forgive Sasuke."
...
Kakashi said, "Alright. Since your father, the Fourth Hokage, trusted you so completely, then your sensei and Yamato will go with you."
'Hey! Kakashi, is it really okay to let him do something this reckless?!'
Adult Obito understood better than anyone how extreme a Uchiha could become once they fell into darkness, because he himself had gone through it. That was why he was certain that during this period—
After killing Itachi and learning the truth—
Sasuke would, in all likelihood, awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan right around this time.
Thinking back to how he himself had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and to his mental state back then, Adult Obito couldn't help but blame Kakashi, his former teammate, for letting Naruto go off to find the Raikage.
What's more, Obito had once been someone like Danzō—a "half-generation" Mizukage and the mastermind operating behind the scenes of Akatsuki…
Adult Obito didn't believe for a second that Naruto's words—
'I'm going to the Five Kage Summit to find the Raikage and ask him to forgive Sasuke.'
—could actually come true. To him, it all sounded far too childish.
"I ask you to withdraw the order to execute Sasuke Uchiha!"
Uh…
Wasn't that a bit too straightforward?!
The Obito Uchiha existing within Naruto's consciousness pressed a hand to his forehead.
That Raikage was obviously not someone easy to talk to.
"..."
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke remained silent. Having once forced the Raikage to sever his own arm with Amaterasu, he understood all too well just how stubborn and hot-tempered that man was.
"I know this is selfish! But this is the only way I can do it!!"
The injuries Naruto had taken from Kumogakure hadn't even healed yet.
"Sasuke is my friend. I won't just stand by and watch you kill him!!"
Always charging forward like this. Reckless, unguarded, without any plan at all.
"And I don't want Sasuke's situation to cause a conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure…"
Then why not just give up on me? You absolute idiot.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke watched as the Raikage moved past 'him', while 'he' stubbornly stepped in front of him again and again.
Naruto's unwavering resolve and the delicate pride of the Uchiha pressed down on Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's soul at the same time.
The fact that the Raikage didn't beat Naruto to death was probably the greatest mercy a Kage could show a child.
Thud.
Naruto suddenly dropped to his knees, his head plunging straight into the snow.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke: !!!
Child Sasuke: !!
Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha: !
Shisui Uchiha, Young Itachi Uchiha: !
Young Obito, Rebellious Obito, Adult Obito: !
The Uchiha clan: !
'Naruto!'
'Naruto!!' 'Naruto!!'
They cried out his name in shock within their shared consciousness.
At this point, they actually…
As members of the Uchiha, they actually felt that Sasuke Uchiha wasn't worth Naruto going this far?!
'Enough! Naruto!! Get up!!'
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke Uchiha's roar could be heard by no one but himself.
The Uchiha clan's delicate emotions and fragile pride were being subjected to the cruelest torment.
"I never want to see another chain reaction born from revenge! Sasuke only ever wanted revenge! Bound by hatred, driven by revenge, used by revenge, that's how he ended up like this! The Sasuke from before was never like this!!"
The Fourth Raikage said, "You want to stop the chain reaction of hatred? Then after we kill Sasuke, you just don't come after us. That solves it."
With those words, the Fourth Raikage stepped straight past Naruto Uzumaki, who was lying on the ground, begging.
"Time is tight. Let's go."
"Idiot."
"This is completely unreasonable."
The Raikage and the Kumogakure ninja walked past Naruto without sparing him another glance.
Within Naruto's consciousness, the Uchiha felt his stubbornness and helplessness clearly. Even though they understood that the Fourth Raikage had already shown restraint out of consideration for Konoha, they were still furious.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke Uchiha felt wronged for Naruto, felt that it wasn't worth it for him.
Because the one Naruto had humbled himself for like this was none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself.
At this moment, countless voices within Naruto's consciousness asked the same question as Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke.
—For a single Sasuke Uchiha, was it really worth this?
The sensitive Uchiha watched the snow slowly melt and couldn't help but reflect. For six years, Naruto had never cried for himself, yet he had wailed for Gaara and shed tears for Sasuke time and time again.
Feeling Naruto Uzumaki's humility and pain, it wasn't just Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke who wanted to return to his own world.
Even Child Sasuke Uchiha now desperately wanted to see that idiot back at the Ninja Academy.
And then…
—From now on, anyone who dares bully that idiot will learn that the power of the Uchiha clan is absolutely not a joke!!
Say it and mean it!!
As they sensed Naruto Uzumaki's confusion, three versions of Obito Uchiha from different periods heard a familiar voice at the same time.
"Yo~ let's have a talk, Naruto Uzumaki."
It's…!!
Madara Uchiha's voice!!
Naruto Uzumaki turned his head sharply.
A black cloak patterned with red clouds. An orange spiral mask.
Great. Why hasn't Earth Release: Bury Myself Alive no Jutsu been invented yet?!
"Boom!!!"
Naruto Uzumaki's Rasengan, Yamato's Wood Release, and Kakashi Hatake's Chidori struck at the same time.
The masked man didn't panic at all.
The only ones panicking were the Obito Uchihas inside Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness: the Kannabi Bridge youth Obito, the rebellious Obito from before the Uchiha massacre, and the mission-scroll-world Adult Obito.
"Don't be so tense, Kakashi. I really did come here this time just to have a talk with Naruto."
'I believe you, my ass! You Uchiha bastard, rotten to the core!'
Recently, because he had been running S-rank missions together with Young Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha had ended up interacting with Obito Uchiha quite a lot.
As far as this man was concerned, he was simply…
To borrow Obito's own words—Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake were like fire and water!
And as for Shisui Uchiha and Obito Uchiha?
That was more like water and soil. Completely incompatible!!
…
"Why did Pain betray us? I'm becoming more and more interested in you, Naruto."
"What did you do to Sasuke?! Did you threaten him into joining Akatsuki?!"
"Threaten him? No. Joining Akatsuki was Sasuke's own choice."
"!!!!"
"To take revenge on Konohagakure, the village that drove his beloved older brother, Itachi Uchiha, to the brink."
"Drove Itachi Uchiha to the brink?! What actually happened?!"
"To protect his most precious younger brother, and to delay the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Itachi accepted a mission from Konoha's higher-ups. He personally wiped out his entire clan, using his own life to pave the way for Sasuke, all the way until his death..."
Hearing the masked man's account, Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, and the others were so shocked that their scalps tingled.
By now, almost every Uchiha was overwhelmed with complicated emotions.
The first time they heard this truth, they had wanted to storm into the clan head's house and kill Itachi Uchiha.
They hated him for choosing Konoha's side as a Uchiha.
They hated him for slaughtering their loved ones with his own hands, all for the sake of one younger brother.
They hated him for not standing with them, as a Uchiha, against Konoha.
But now, they were no longer just some members of the Uchiha clan.
They were Naruto Uzumaki.
A hero who would fight for Konoha and for his companions with everything he had, even if it left him battered and broken. A hero who could abandon pride and dignity, kneel before an enemy, and beg for mercy.
Sixteen years were more than enough for them to reflect on their own childish beliefs in the past.
There had once been countless chances to make peace with Konoha.
But illness ignored only grows worse.
When it's in the flesh, it can be treated.
When it reaches the organs, it can still be treated.
Once it seeps into the marrow, no medicine can cure it.
Faced with the villagers' doubts, they suppressed and mistreated them under the banner of the Uchiha Police Force. Faced with complaints, the only method they used was abusing their authority, fabricating minor charges, and enforcing the law through violence.
Compared to the life they were experiencing now, the life of someone called Naruto Uzumaki, everything they had done before fell painfully short.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke felt both his own pain and Naruto Uzumaki's pain at the same time. Searching through his memories, he knew it wouldn't be long before they met again after the Five Kage Summit.
He had once said he wanted to die together with him.
Yet during this period, they were surprised to discover that Naruto had also met Gaara.
"Naruto, the masked man has declared war on the entire ninja world. From now on, we will all fight for you, and for the entire ninja world."
Gaara said, "Whether as the Kazekage or as Gaara, I am willing to stake my life to protect you."
"If Sasuke, as a member of Akatsuki, tries to harm you, I will not hold back."
"Naruto, you're the one who taught me what 'friends' and 'what matters most' truly mean. Sasuke may be special to you, but to us, you are just as important."
...
Within Naruto's body, the thought patterns of the female Uchiha and the male Uchiha showed subtle differences—
'Oh my god, that's the Kazekage! Why is my heart suddenly racing a little?!'
'Hmph! That Kazekage brat didn't learn much else, but he learned Naruto's straightforward, head-on way of talking perfectly!'
'Is our Sasuke out already? No, no, no, impossible! The Fourth Shinobi World War still has that iconic scene where Susanoo wraps around the Nine-Tails!'
'Ahhh, even though he's the Kazekage, but...'
Young Obito: Ah... this...
Rebellious Obito, Adult Obito: There's no comparison anymore.
Young Itachi, with a firm and serious expression: "I believe my brother can still be saved!!"
Shisui Uchiha... sorry, Sasuke. I'm voting for the Kazekage.
Thankfully, none of the Uchiha could hear each other's thoughts. Otherwise, this pair of philosophically minded best friends might have fallen apart on the spot.
Child Sasuke: Damn it! Another day of being furious with myself!!!
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke: I want to go home...
I want to ask that idiot what 'friends' really mean.
Does this damned scroll intend to make everyone experience Naruto's entire life before letting me leave?!
—Wait!
The air... why does it suddenly feel like...