After hearing Makoto's words, Sasuke's body trembled slightly.
He grasped the meaning behind Makoto's words and understood that Makoto had perfectly answered his question.
But Sasuke's "tremble" wasn't because of fear.
Sasuke had already been startled by the earlier "Tsukuyomi Deception."
Now, Makoto's aggressive speech suddenly made Sasuke recall his former self.
That version of himself who acted on impulse, who burned with purpose.
The difference was that Makoto was wiser than his own hot-headed younger self.
Makoto had managed to make even the Akatsuki and his brother his allies.
Moreover, while gathering intelligence, Sasuke had learned about his current (younger) self's whereabouts in this timeline.
Perhaps in this world changed by Makoto, he and his brother wouldn't need to go through life-and-death struggles, relying on the Impure World Reincarnation to reconcile.
"I understand. You said you transcend time, meaning you've changed the future without affecting yourself. Can you preserve other objects or people?"
Sasuke directly began discussing mechanics with Makoto, tacitly accepting Makoto's philosophy.
"Preserve? Are you asking me to keep Boruto from disappearing? I'm not sure."
"If it's objects, that should be possible. After all, inanimate objects have less impact on the timeline than living beings."
Makoto shrugged slightly. "Those things I brought back from the future—photos, recordings, even the clothes and pants I was wearing—show no signs of disappearing."
(Note: Makoto naturally wasn't referring to what he was currently wearing; even he wouldn't go this long without changing his underwear.)
"Anyway, no time to waste. Let's set off to save Naruto."
Hearing Makoto's response, Sasuke merely nodded calmly and walked toward the cave entrance.
This reaction left Makoto confused, making him frown.
Itachi also noticed the anomaly.
First, Sasuke asking Makoto this question definitely wasn't out of personal fear of disappearing.
That's why Makoto asked if Sasuke wanted to preserve Boruto's life.
But after getting Makoto's response—that objects are fine but people are risky—Sasuke completely disregarded the part about people and just walked away.
So what exactly was he trying to preserve?
"Never mind, stop thinking about it." Makoto patted Itachi and followed Sasuke's steps out of the cave.
Outside, Sasuke stood awkwardly by the riverbank, looking at the water with a defeated expression.
Without Chakra, he couldn't even walk on water, and the nearby cliff was too steep to free-climb with one arm.
He was stuck!
"Haha, 'Supporting Kage,' don't worry. I'll restore your Chakra."
Makoto was amused by Sasuke's pitiful state.
It was hard to imagine that the wielder of the Rinnegan, one of the two strongest beings in the future Shinobi World, capable of destroying the world, was currently being defeated by terrain.
It just goes to show that sometimes "redemption weakens you by 30%."
If it were the younger Sasuke from before, he'd simply pierce through his teammate Karin's heart with a Chidori to drain her chakra.
If that Sasuke had obtained the Rinnegan, a mere lack of Chakra wouldn't be an issue—even if he didn't target Naruto, he'd have drained Jiraiya dry.
Hell, even if he didn't target Jiraiya, he'd have casually absorbed a few random villagers to fill up his tank.
But Adult Sasuke, bound by moral restraints and guilt, had been weakened for so many days without "eating."
His Preta Path ability had truly become a "starving ghost."
"Restore?" Sasuke was somewhat surprised.
"This is an ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan belonging to a clansman of yours who was sealed during the Warring States Period."
Makoto placed his hand on the back of Sasuke's hand.
What Makoto referred to was Hikari's Eight Thousand Spears.
Hikari had mentioned before that the Eight Thousand Spears mark, unlike the Flying Thunder God, could be removed.
However, the mark had one advantage: it could be "indirectly imprinted."
It was essentially Wi-Fi chakra transfer.
Makoto had asked Hikari to place a mark on him. Now, he was acting as a router, imprinting that mark onto Sasuke.
Makoto believed Hikari had sensed it.
Even if she hadn't, she'd have seen it through the live stream the Hokages were watching.
Whoosh.
"Thank you. Let's go."
Sasuke, astonished by the Chakra surging within him, expressed his gratitude before leaping up and scaling the cliff in a single bound.
Makoto and Itachi followed.
"By the way, how much Chakra did you recover?"
On the way, Makoto suddenly thought of something and asked Sasuke.
"At least enough to use Amenotejikara five times."
"Ah... good."
Hearing Sasuke's reply, Makoto nodded, suppressing a laugh.
No wonder Sasuke didn't just summon his Perfect Susanoo to fly over and rescue his dear friend, instead choosing to run and jump like a ninja.
The Chakra stored in the Dragon Vein within the Gedo Statue was immense.
Yet Uchiha Hikari had become such a "miser," giving Sasuke only enough gas for five teleportations.
...
On the other side (The Watch Party).
"Ehehe."
Hikari chuckled softly and transferred a tiny portion of the Chakra from the Gedo Statue, replenishing Sasuke's Chakra just enough to keep him functional, but not powerful.
This was the pettiness of the Uchiha ancestor!
At this moment, everyone watching the footage heard Makoto ask Sasuke how much Chakra he had recovered.
They all sensed something amiss and turned their gazes toward Uchiha Hikari, who was snickering like a gremlin.
"I knew it—you're being wary of Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you?"
Tobirama crossed his arms, wearing an "I've figured it all out" expression.
"Wary of Sasuke?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked puzzled.
"Exactly. Who knows if this Uchiha Sasuke is sincere or not? What if he gets too much Chakra and drops the act, betraying Makoto?"
Uchiha Hikari snorted and lifted her chin defiantly.
She believed she hadn't done anything wrong.
Better safe than sorry.
"But have you considered what would happen if Sasuke truly intends to help Makoto wholeheartedly, yet ends up in danger because you gave him too little Chakra?"
Hiruzen furrowed his brow deeply, countering Hikari's reasoning. "What if he dies because he ran out of chakra?"
"No problem. This Uchiha Sasuke also has the Rinnegan. If needed, we can just use Rinne Rebirth on him directly."
Hikari wore a "plan accomplished" grin and chuckled lightly.
"..."
The others were utterly speechless.
Why was this Uchiha 'elder' constantly thinking of using the Rinnegan as a disposable "Resurrection Coin" for Makoto?
It was the same with Nagato, and now with Sasuke.
Good grief.
Was it possible that Uchiha Hikari had agreed so readily to transfer Chakra to Sasuke specifically to turn him into a battery that could be sacrificed to revive Makoto if things went south?
The Eight Thousand Spears could almost be called the "Uchiha version of Hashirama Cells."
Its controlling power was so terrifying that even Sasuke at his peak—excluding Six Paths power—would struggle to resist the erosion of the imprint.
This implied that Hikari wasn't just giving him chakra; she was putting a leash on him!
"You Uchiha are truly terrifying," Tobirama muttered, taking notes on his personal Uchihapedia.