"For your safety, Itachi Uchiha teamed up with Danzo Shimura and Obito Uchiha to carry out an indiscriminate massacre against the entire Uchiha clan."
"The elderly, children, pregnant women, infants—no one was spared."
"All of this could have been avoided..."
Sakura's words echoed sentence by sentence in Sasuke's mind.
With lifeless eyes, the black-haired youth walked step by step down the stairs leading from the Hokage Rock to the mountain base.
The Uchiha was not a clan of glory.
But rather a clan branded with the crime of treason.
Sasuke didn't know what he was feeling right now, but...
The colorful world before his eyes seemed to suddenly turn into a bleak shade of gray and white.
"Sasuke!"
A familiar voice rang out beside him, but Sasuke walked forward mechanically, step by step, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Hey, Sasuke, did something happen?"
The owner of the voice caught up from behind.
A flash of gold burst into this gray and white world.
"It's... Naruto..."
Glancing at his close friend, the bewildered youth continued to walk forward.
"Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"
"Did Sakura say something to you?"
Naruto, who had been dragged away by Jiraiya, hadn't left at all; instead, he had been waiting for the two of them at the foot of the mountain all this time.
"Naruto..."
Looking at his friend before him, Sasuke subconsciously covered his face.
"If, one day..."
"The person who loves you the most did something terrible just to protect you, what should you do?"
Sasuke's muffled voice sounded, causing Naruto to scratch his head in confusion.
"Hmm..."
"That depends on what kind of mistake it is! If it's just a normal mistake, there's nothing a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen can't fix!"
"If there is, then make it two bowls!"
Looking at the hyperactive blond before him, Sasuke pursed his lips.
He was truly out of his mind to actually ask Naruto such a question.
Though he held no hope that Naruto could give him an answer, Sasuke still spoke softly:
"A very severe mistake. Someone killed over a thousand people just to protect Naruto..."
"The elderly, the weak, women, children, and defenseless civilians... including Naruto's... mom and dad."
Hearing this, Naruto's face instantly froze. Looking at Sasuke, who was completely enveloped in an aura of sheer bewilderment, he stammered, unable to find any words.
Sasuke looked at Naruto frozen in place and sighed softly in his heart.
Something like this shouldn't be shared with Naruto.
After all, Naruto and these kinds of matters belonged to two entirely different worlds.
"Hey."
Sasuke was drifting further away, but Naruto suddenly spoke up to stop him.
"Is there something else, Naruto?"
"Sorry, I'm in a pretty bad mood right now. Can you just let me be alone for a while?"
An indescribable sorrow hung from the corners of Sasuke's eyes, forcing the words Naruto wanted to say right back down his throat.
But even so, Naruto stiffened his neck and spoke up anyway.
"Sasuke."
"I've been an orphan since I was a kid."
"I don't know what it's like to have a mom and dad, but..."
"I've imagined it. If I had a mom and dad, it would definitely be a super happy thing."
"I don't know why you're asking this kind of question, Sasuke."
"But if someone wanted to kill my mom and dad..."
"Then they would have to step over my dead body first!"
"If my mom and dad died, even if all my limbs were snapped, I'd still drag my body forward with my chin and bite them to death with my teeth!"
"No matter who that person is!"
'So... must Itachi Uchiha die...?'
The gaze Sasuke directed at Naruto trembled slightly as he couldn't help but think of that man.
The happier their time spent together used to be, the more agonizing it was for Sasuke now.
"Hey, Naruto..."
Sasuke spoke, looking at the blond youth.
"Yeah, I'm here!"
"I'm always here!"
"No matter who hurts you, Sasuke, I will definitely stand by your side!"
"And Sakura too!"
"Uh... and Ino..."
"Hmm... and Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Tenten..."
Naruto shouted forcefully as if swearing his oath of reassurance to Sasuke, before unintentionally thinking of a long string of names, wanting to list every single one of their childhood friends.
"That enough, Naruto."
Looking at Naruto, Sasuke didn't even realize that the indescribable sorrow in his heart had faded considerably under Naruto's words.
"It's been three years. We haven't sparred yet, right?"
Sasuke originally wanted to use a battle to numb himself, but looking at the goofy guy in front of him, he silently changed "battle" to a "spar."
Though it didn't seem to make a difference on the surface, the underlying meaning was completely different.
"Of course!"
"I've been looking forward to testing my skills against yours too!"
"Let me tell you, I'm super strong now!"
Seeing that Sasuke wanted to spar with him, Naruto instantly got fired up and stepped forward to throw his arm around Sasuke's shoulder.
"Idiot, you're too close."
Glancing at the hand resting on his shoulder, Sasuke ultimately didn't push it away.
After three long years, the friends who were once inseparable yet constantly competed for first place had once again arrived at the familiar Training Ground Three.
"Before we start, give me five minutes!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion.
However, Naruto didn't offer much explanation. He ran over to a tree by himself, created two Shadow Clones, and sat down cross-legged along with them.
Sage chakra could only be stored in a maximum of two Shadow Clones.
When Naruto first returned to Konoha and met Sasuke, he had already released one Sage clone, and later released another while teaming up with Sasuke to fight Danzo Shimura.
During this entire time, Naruto hadn't gone back to Mount Myoboku to replenish his Sage clones.
And in his base form, it would be quite difficult for Naruto to beat Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't say much as he watched Naruto's actions; he just waited silently.
Five minutes quickly passed, and Naruto's main body along with both Shadow Clones entered Sage Mode.
"OK!"
"Alright! We're good to go!"
With orange pigment appearing around his eyes, Naruto immediately stood up and grinned at Sasuke.
"What an idiot. If there were a real enemy, who would wait around for you to take your sweet time transforming?"
Sasuke smiled helplessly as he looked at the guy.
"Eh?"
"But I have you, Sasuke! You'd definitely buy me five minutes!"
Naruto didn't take Sasuke's remark to heart at all, speaking with an expression that took it completely for granted.
"I give up on you..."
"Come on, Naruto. Let me see the results of your three years of training."
The Sarutobi Residence
"So, Danzo..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi lay in bed, looking at the two people before him with a complex expression.
Homura Mitokado and Sakura.
One was his old friend and colleague of decades, and the other was the disciple he had poured his final life's blood into cultivating.
"He has already been imprisoned in the death row cells, with a chakra-sealing formula carved onto his body."
Homura Mitokado spoke softly.
"I see..."
"Homura, could you step out for a moment?"
"I have some things I want to talk about with Sakura alone."
For the now emaciated old man, even speaking loudly was an incredibly difficult task.
Homura Mitokado looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, let out a sigh, and quietly left the room.
At this moment, only the master and disciple, Sakura and Hiruzen Sarutobi, were left in the room.
Sakura remained silent and did not speak.
In just the two days that Sakura had been away, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already deteriorated to the point where even stepping out of bed was exceptionally difficult.
"Come, take a seat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted the edge of the bed, and Sakura sat down silently.
The terminally ill old man closely scrutinized the young girl before him.
This was his final life's blood, his final masterpiece.