"Sasuke... may I call you that?"
Whether it was due to feeling ashamed of her counterpart's actions in another world, Yuzu's tone towards Sasuke was somewhat subdued.
"Suit yourself."
To be honest, Sasuke wouldn't feel uneasy just because a girl was looking at him.
-Provided that person wasn't the alternate version of his brother.
"I've asked Satsuki to fetch Father and Mother, but the method you mentioned seems a bit too..."
"Hmph!"
Looking at that face, which appeared more delicate than in his memories, an inexplicable anger rose in Sasuke's heart again.
"Someone once told me-"
"Peace obtained through compromise is merely an illusion that shatters at the slightest touch."
That was something Naruto had said to him during a rest while traveling.
At that time, Naruto seemed to have thought of someone else, his face showing a frustrated expression.
"The more you fear disrupting peace, the more you become a target for those with ulterior motives."
"If this continues, your outcome, their outcome, won't be much better than over there."
Hearing Sasuke's emotionally charged words, Yuzu fell silent.
The current head of the Uchiha Clan arrived faster than expected, accompanied by another Uchiha prodigy… Uchiha Shizuka.
Of course, in this world, she was also known as [Body Flicker Shizuka].
That's right, this seemingly ordinary-looking girl was the gender-swapped version of Shisui, who mastered the overpowered Dojutsu, [Kotoamatsukami].
When she entered, her brows were tightly furrowed.
In fact, the Third Hokage and other village elders had recently grown suspicious of the Uchiha Clan's movements, and she was hesitating whether to reveal her ability to use Kotoamatsukami to alter her clansmen's wills.
At this very moment, she received word from Yuzu's sister that Yuzu wanted to see her.
Actually, they often met privately.
The clan had assigned her to keep an eye on Yuzu, but in reality, Shizuka and Yuzu's relationship was far closer than others imagined.
Entering with her were Fugaku and his wife.
To be honest, when Sasuke saw his parents with their normal genders, his first reaction was relief.
'Thank goodness, in this strange world, only a few people's genders seemed to have changed.'
Then, when his gaze met the stern Fugaku and the gentle Mikoto, his nose involuntarily tingled.
These two still looked exactly as he remembered, just like on the day he lost them.
After all, despite Sasuke's current capable appearance, he was actually only a little over thirteen years old.
If he hadn't been born in the Ninja World, born into the Uchiha Clan, he should still be a child loved by his parents at this age.
Fortunately, his strong mental control seemed to grant Sasuke the ability to restrain his emotions, and he quickly adjusted his state.
The three who entered the room together showed different reactions upon seeing Sasuke's unfamiliar figure.
Fugaku and Shizuka displayed wariness. With the Uchiha Clan in a tense state, a stranger suddenly appearing within the clan compound would naturally draw immediate attention.
But Mikoto didn't seem to share her husband's suspicion.
She just stared blankly at the black-haired young man before her.
'So strange.'
'I clearly don't know him.'
'Why do I feel like crying?'
Unfortunately, no one noticed Mikoto's unusual state at that moment.
Fugaku, upon seeing Sasuke, immediately turned his gaze to Yuzu, who was kneeling nearby.
"Yuzu, who is he?"
As he spoke, a kunai had already appeared within Fugaku's wide sleeve.
"Father, this person... is..."
At the critical moment, Yuzu didn't know how to explain Sasuke's identity.
After all, matters of time travel were too hard to believe unless witnessed firsthand.
Sasuke, noticing her dilemma, simply stepped forward and addressed his alternate world relatives himself.
"Let me tell them."
The next moment, Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan bloomed, intending to replicate his earlier action and pull Fugaku and the others into the Genjutsu Space.
But he seemed to have underestimated his father, and even more so the person his brother had regarded as a mentor in some ways… Shisui.
Fugaku and Shizuka's eyes instantly revealed Mangekyo Sharingan with different patterns.
This sight stunned Yuzu beside them.
She knew Shizuka had awakened the Mangekyo, but this was the first time she learned that her father had also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
'This was truly... had Father been hiding this so deeply?'
Yuzu couldn't help but recall the scene in the 'memories' where her father offered no resistance and allowed 'herself' to kill him.
'If he had wanted to, he could have resisted, right?'
Thus, Yuzu's sense of 'denial' towards her alternate self grew stronger.
Three pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan faced each other in the room, a situation even Sasuke hadn't anticipated.
But fortunately, the Genjutsu he activated wasn't offensive. Once they entered the Genjutsu Space, he simply replayed the events that had happened to him, just as he had done with Yuzu.
He didn't take any aggressive actions beyond that.
This prevented Fugaku and Shizuka from counterattacking immediately.
And when they began watching those memories, their minds became fully immersed.
About ten seconds later, they, like Yuzu, broke free from the Genjutsu.
In truth, they could have broken free at any time, and even Uchiha Mikoto could have done so.
Sasuke hadn't used any forceful means to restrain their consciousness.
After viewing those lengthy memories, all three fell silent.
Fugaku was skeptical about the memories' authenticity. As clan head, his suspicion was natural.
Shizuka felt a sense of despair over what she might experience next.
'After all I had done, could we still not avoid the Uchiha Clan's destruction?'
And Mikoto was already in tears.
Her gaze towards Sasuke held only heartache.
At this moment, Mikoto was no longer just the wife of Uchiha Clan's head, but a mother.
While Fugaku and Shizuka stood frozen, lost in thought, Mikoto was the first to walk towards Sasuke.
Seeing his wife's movement, Fugaku instinctively moved to stop her.
But his action was preempted by his eldest daughter.
Yuzu gently shook her head at her father.
Meanwhile, Mikoto quietly approached Sasuke.
It was almost laughable… the same Sasuke who dared to face a fully-powered Jinchuriki head-on unconsciously retreated from this woman's approach.
Sasuke's foot unconsciously took half a step back.
The next moment, a pair of warm hands gently covered Sasuke's cheeks.
"...I'm sorry."
It wasn't her fault. Strictly speaking, they weren't even related by blood, and they weren't even from the same world.
But Sasuke instantly understood what Mikoto hadn't put into words.
'I'm sorry, my child.'
'I'm sorry I wasn't there for you as you grew up.'
'I'm sorry you had to face everything alone.'
Mikoto's fingers suddenly felt a warmth… the heat of tears from someone who had finally let his guard down.