"Naruto! How can you carry so much weight? Can you guide my training?"
"Naruto! This weight is too heavy! I'm so tired!! I want to give up…"
"Naruto!! I successfully completed the training!"
"Naruto! Let's train together! Hurry, hurry!"
"Naruto!! I won't lose this time! I'm going to defeat you!"
Words from a more innocent time suddenly surfaced in Sasuke's mind.
As a genius of the Uchiha clan, he had spent his entire life chasing Naruto's back. He was never discouraged; instead, he made it his goal.
From the bottom of his heart, he was filled with gratitude for Naruto.
Because it was Naruto who had given him a new life.
If not for Naruto, he would now be a machine of vengeance, abandoned by all. He wouldn't know how to think, only how to kill that man.
Because of Naruto, he understood the value of bonds. He understood his own mission: to protect.
To protect everyone, to protect Konoha!
But…
Why tear off your mask now, and plunge me back into that bottomless abyss?
If it was all a lie, why couldn't you have kept lying forever?
The cold, indifferent Naruto before him was so unfamiliar… so terrifyingly strange. If even the gentle Naruto was gone, then his life, his beliefs… they would surely collapse.
Sasuke's charred hand trembled as he grabbed Naruto's ankle, his voice weak.
It was a plea, a lament.
In that moment, he cast aside his Uchiha pride, all to win back the friend he trusted most.
How he wished Naruto would turn back.
But.
Naruto coldly shook off Sasuke's hand and walked away without a backward glance.
"Naruto…" Sasuke watched his retreating back, his vision blurring, his heart wracked with pain. It was the heart-wrenching feeling of losing the most important thing in the world.
First, it was Itachi…
And now, Naruto too…
Those he considered family were all leaving him.
And he was powerless to stop it!
Did I do something wrong?
"Naruto!" His lips moved, his hands clawing at the ground, his nails digging deep into the dirt.
A fire of determination ignited in his once-vacant pupils.
How can a ninja who can't even save his comrades become Hokage!
Naruto, if you intend to leave as a missing-nin, then I will stop you, even if it costs me my life.
Voom! As the emotion in his heart reached its peak, Sasuke felt a sudden, cool sensation in his eyes. It was as if a power within his body had been unleashed. An endless stream of power flowed from his Sharingan.
It was astonishingly strong!
Even his battered body seemed to recover slightly.
He staggered to his feet, looking at Naruto.
"Naruto!!!" The distant Naruto heard Sasuke's roar. He paused and turned around.
He was met with a pair of different Sharingan.
Crimson irises, with a black pinwheel slowly spinning within.
"Mangekyo Sharingan," Naruto said slowly, unable to hide his surprise.
The Mangekyo Sharingan could only be awakened by evolving the three-tomoe Sharingan through the pain of losing someone as close as family. It seemed his place in Sasuke's heart was quite high. He now possessed the same eyes as Itachi. His talent was even greater than he had thought.
"Do you really think that having the same eyes as Itachi will be enough to stop me? Don't be so naive," Naruto said, his tone cold and dismissive of Sasuke's transformation.
Sasuke's body swayed; it took a great deal of effort just to stand.
"Naruto, have you forgotten everything? You once told me that you get stronger to protect your comrades, to protect Konoha. Have you forgotten all of that?" Sasuke panted, his eyes locked on Naruto, hoping to see a different emotion in his gaze.
But he was destined for disappointment.
Naruto's eyes were like a pool of stagnant water.
Terrifyingly calm.
"To me," Naruto began, his eyes cold, "those are things only the weak pursue."
"The Uzumaki Naruto you knew never existed in the first place."
"Then what did you see me as? What did you see everyone as?! Everyone grew because of you! In your heart, what were we?!" Sasuke roared, his eyes filled with fury.
Naruto tilted his head slightly, a playful expression on his face.
"Do you think I care about the feelings of an ant?"
"Naruto!" Sasuke's anger reached its peak, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly.
"I don't know what happened to you!"
"I don't know what burdens you're carrying…"
"But!!"
"The memories between us are real! And they can't be thrown away!"
"Don't you dare try to deny it all just like that!"
"I won't give up! You saved me once, and now, it's my turn to pull you out of the darkness!"
"I'll beat some sense into you!"
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames instantly engulfed Naruto. The searing black fire ignited the entire area where he stood, turning the grass below to ash in the blink of an eye. Even the sand kicked up by the wind turned to dust in an instant.
"A fine resolve. But I'm curious. You know you can't win, so why do you still stand in my way? Are you not afraid of death?" The Amaterasu burned on Naruto's body, but his expression remained unchanged. He even asked a question.
Sasuke knew that a single Amaterasu wouldn't be enough to do any real damage to Naruto. He took a deep breath, and in the next moment, a giant purple phantom appeared behind him.
His expression became strained, his body swaying as if he could collapse at any moment. But his resolve was firmer than ever before.
"I won't die before I become Hokage! And this time, I'm fighting for my comrades! For our friendship!"
"Wake up! Naruto!" Sasuke roared, dragging his battered body as he ran toward Naruto.
In that moment, he was no longer the aloof Uchiha the villagers saw. A powerful emotion that many people never experience erupted from his heart.
So strong… that even Naruto was slightly moved.
I see… From this moment on, it is bonds that will be the source of your strength… not hatred.
You've already walked a path completely different from Itachi's.
As Naruto mused, a terrifying Reiatsu far exceeding the Kage level erupted from his body.
"In that case, let me show you… a despair so profound you can't even glimpse my shadow."
The Amaterasu, said to burn until its target is incinerated, was instantly extinguished as if doused with cold water. The sky above turned dark and heavy, as if an invisible hand was pressing down on it.
Naruto's right hand came up to his face, and a bone-white mask materialized on one side of it.
An unstoppable, terrifying Reiatsu crashed down. The Susanoo behind Sasuke raised its sword to the sky, as if trying to resist the irresistible force.
Creek. Crack. The joints of the seemingly ferocious Susanoo groaned loudly. It slowly bent its knees, almost unable to support itself under the impact of Naruto's Reiatsu.
"This… is the power you possess?" Sasuke stared at Naruto in shock.
He had only just awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and was not yet skilled in its use. The Susanoo had only been summoned in a state of extreme emotional agitation. To Naruto, a jutsu like this was child's play.
Just as Naruto had said.
The gap between them was an unreachable… despair.
"Now, do you still wish to save me?" Naruto asked softly, a smile playing on his lips.
Sasuke's lips moved, but he couldn't say a word.
Save him?
What could I possibly save him with?
With this insignificant conviction?
Even with these eyes… he still couldn't see the true gap between them.
Sasuke felt his body go rigid. Under the pressure of the Reiatsu, even moving his eyeballs was extremely difficult.
He didn't want to give up.
His body was still trembling, still trying to break free from the restriction of the Reiatsu.
Move, body!! Move for me!! he roared in his mind. Finally, his finger twitched. Gradually, the feeling of being blocked lessened.
Naruto was satisfied with Sasuke's willpower.
A Sasuke like this was worthy of his investment.
"Uchiha Sasuke, well done," he said, his tone full of praise. "Let me give you a small gift."
As he spoke, Naruto used Shunpo to appear in front of Sasuke, his right hand plunging directly into Sasuke's chest.
Crack. Sasuke's eyes widened, his Mangekyo Sharingan freezing for an instant.
The Susanoo behind him shattered into pieces.
He felt as if a power within him was leaving him.
Then he saw a ball of light in Naruto's right hand.
Naruto crushed the ball of light. In a daze, Sasuke thought he heard the piercing, painful scream of a man.
When Sasuke came to his senses, Naruto was gone, leaving only a faint, lingering sentence in the air:
"Grow stronger carrying the conviction of protection. I look forward to your future!"
"Perhaps you, too, can earn the right to wield Reiatsu."
Naruto took one last deep look at Sasuke.
Sasuke possessed a power similar to his own. It was just that his Reiatsu had suppressed that power, while Sasuke had been influenced by it. Without this power, Sasuke would be reborn.
"Reiatsu?" Sasuke's consciousness grew increasingly hazy, and he finally collapsed to the ground.
Just as Naruto turned to leave, Tsunade and Jiraiya, drawn by the surge of chakra, arrived.
"Naruto?!" Jiraiya recognized him at a glance, his voice trembling.
His inner speculation had become reality.
So…
Naruto really did intend to betray the village!
But why would he do this?