"Get lost."
The bratty children, stared down by those blood-red eyes, were so scared they could barely stand.
One of them even wet his pants.
This scene made Yuzu and Satsuki, standing behind him, scratch their heads in confusion, not understanding why Sasuke was so angry.
Once they regained their senses, the brats scrambled and crawled toward the other end of the alley, crying for their mothers as they ran.
As they passed by Naruko, the little girl, despite her pain, stubbornly stuck out her foot and tripped a few of them, sending them tumbling like rolling gourds.
"Ha! Serves you right! How dare you bully someone in front of me!"
The golden-haired girl stood in the middle of the path like a hero, watching the brats flee, as if she couldn't feel her injuries at all.
This sight made even Sasuke pause for a moment.
The anger in his heart subsided considerably.
He crouched down and extended his hands to perform Medical Ninjutsu on Naruko and Hikaru.
This was thanks to Naruto previously teaching him the three forbidden techniques obtained from Shinno, which allowed him to learn basic Medical Ninjutsu early.
"How is it? Does it still hurt?"
The green light on Hikaru lasted only a moment, as his injuries weren't severe.
But the green light on Naruko persisted for dozens of seconds.
The little girl didn't even frown during the treatment. Instead, she seemed ticklish and couldn't help but want to laugh.
While treating Naruko, Sasuke could clearly feel another stream of Chakra silently healing her.
'It must be the Nine-Tails.'
"Wow! It's all better now. You're really amazing… Onii-chan!"
As soon as Sasuke withdrew his hand, Naruko immediately became lively again. Then, without any shyness, she tugged at Sasuke's clothes, revealing a bright smile as she spoke.
After saying that, she elbowed the still-dazed Hikaru behind her, reminding him in a whisper everyone could hear.
"Hey, thank him already!"
"Oh, oh! Thank you, Onii-san!"
Hikaru belatedly reacted and thanked Sasuke blankly.
Sasuke knew Naruto had a tough childhood, but he never expected that even in such a miserable state, he still wouldn't stand by when someone needed help.
'As expected of you, Naruto. You're the same in every world.'
He also remembered Naruto's completely selfless help toward him.
'Really...'
"Next time you encounter a situation you can't win, don't force it, understand?"
Not sure what prompted him, Sasuke found himself lecturing little Naruko.
But upon hearing this, Naruko still wore a cheerful expression.
"That won't do-"
"I'm going to become Hokage! If I pretend not to see such things, it wouldn't fit my Ninja Way at all!"
As she said this, a sun-like smile bloomed on the girl's face.
This sight made both Sasuke and Hikaru pause slightly. Yuzu's gaze toward Naruko also held a bit of kindness.
Satsuki, looking at the girl who, despite being knocked down countless times, still foolishly shielded others, unconsciously saw a few bright spots flash in her small black eyes.
Sasuke helplessly reached out and tapped Naruko's forehead… this was the move Naruto liked to use when scolding him.
"I'm telling you to be smarter... If a direct confrontation doesn't work, use strategy..."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and directly pulled out a somewhat worn notebook from his travel bag.
'This really was… could this also be part of fate's plan?'
Sighing at the coincidence of fate, Sasuke stuffed the notebook into Naruko's hands.
"To protect others, you need sufficient strength at the very least."
"This [Guide to Getting Stronger] was given to me by a... a very powerful guy. I've already learned the techniques inside, so now I'm passing it to you."
Naruko listened in a daze, instinctively opening the notebook.
Inside, besides somewhat messy black handwritten notes, there were detailed explanations in neat, tiny characters, along with some rough sketches of moves.
It was indeed the training notes handwritten by Naruto. Through a twist of fate, they had ended up in the hands of his alternate self.
"Then, work hard to get stronger."
Sasuke gently patted Naruko's head, then decisively left the area with Yuzu and Satsuki.
Left behind, Naruko and Hikaru seriously examined the notebook carrying this bond.
Both children had only just started the Ninja Academy, so they couldn't recognize many characters yet. They put it down after looking for a while.
"That Onii-chan is so cool!!"
Naruko said with admiration, looking in the direction Sasuke had left.
At that moment, Hikaru walked up to her and looked at her seriously.
"Na... Naruko-san, I'll get stronger too! Next time, I'll protect you!"
Unlike Naruto and Hinata in the original timeline, these two had met earlier.
At least they knew each other's names.
Seeing Hikaru's red-faced, determined shout, Naruko laughed heartily and slapped the young boy's back, making him stumble.
"Haha! You still have a long way to go!"
"I'm going to become the Hokage! You'll have to work hard to catch up."
"I'm heading off now. You can come find me anytime to practice with this notebook!"
Looking at Naruko's warm, sunny smile, a surge of courage and motivation filled Hikaru's chest.
'I will definitely gain the power to protect you, Naruko-san.'
'When you become Hokage, I will become the head of the Hyuga Clan and assist you.'
...
The future of the two children is a story for later… Sasuke wasn't particularly concerned about it.
He knew that the key now lay with his own side.
After returning to the compound, Shizuka came to find him again.
"I was summoned by Danzo alone."
Her first sentence immediately put everyone on alert.
"He's already starting to pressure me, using the frequent gatherings of the Uchiha Clan and questioning whether we have rebellious intentions."
"You didn't reveal the [Kotoamatsukami's] ability, did you?"
Yuzu asked nervously upon hearing this.
She remembered the tragic fate of the Ninja named 'Shisui' in the memories.
Shizuka shook her head.
"Of course not. After all, I already know in advance that Danzo he..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone present had seen the memories and naturally understood that if Danzo knew about [Kotoamatsukami], he would not hesitate to kill Shizuka.
Neither Shizuka nor Yuzu were truly foolish.
It was just that their alternate selves were blinded by the immediate pressure, their inner stubbornness combined with misjudgments of human nature, leading them step by step into a hellish situation.
But this time, knowing there was a tiger on the mountain, they wouldn't go up the mountain.
"Danzo..."
Sasuke gritted his teeth, chewing on the name.
'This is great. You're not dead yet in this world.'
In Sasuke's own world, Danzo had already been killed by Naruto before he learned the truth about the Uchiha Clan's massacre.
So he always felt some regret about that.
But now it's good-
'Don't worry. Since you've actively delivered yourself to me, I'll definitely make you die again!'
Sasuke had made up his mind. Regardless of whether the Uchiha Clan ultimately stayed in Konoha Village, he would find an opportunity to kill this world's Danzo.
He wasn't worried that Konoha would launch an all-out war against him because of this guy's death.
Hadn't they seen how, when Naruto killed Danzo in front of so many people, everyone else didn't even dare to utter a word?
-Of course, one could argue the circumstances were different.
Before Danzo died, Naruto had listed the reasons for his execution and stood on the moral high ground as the 'son of a hero'.
But the fundamental premise of all that was overwhelming power.
If Naruto had killed Danzo through schemes and tricks without possessing the strength himself-
Even if he wasn't ultimately killed, he would likely have been placed under stricter surveillance by Konoha Village's other elders and representatives of major clans.
In a way, Konoha's higher-level decisions really were about 'bullying the weak and fearing the strong'.
'Last time you people compromised when facing Naruto. I wonder if you'll stand firm this time when facing a [Calamity]?'