Konoha.
Naruto had a bright smile on his face, chatting and laughing with those around him.
The villagers' attitude toward him had become visibly warmer, and people would come over to greet him from time to time.
Just then, an extremely subtle Chakra appeared, and Naruto locked onto it instantly.
Naruto froze for ten-odd seconds; the feeling this Chakra gave him... why was it so like... Just as he was dazed, several black shadows shot out from different directions—it was the Anbu.
However, their speed seemed quite slow compared to the figure that suddenly descended.
A figure dressed in dark, high-collared clothing with a kusanagi sword hanging at his waist landed lightly on a piece of ruins dozens of meters away from Naruto.
Black messy hair, a cold and fair face.
The entire street went silent instantly. Villagers backed away in terror while the Anbu acted as if facing a great enemy, pointing several Kunai and shuriken at the newcomer. The atmosphere was fraught with tension.
"Sasuke?!" Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open, his face filled with unbelievable shock, wild joy, and subconscious worry.
"You... how did you come back?!"
Uchiha Sasuke's gaze indifferently swept over the surrounding Anbu who were on high alert. Those Mangekyo Sharingan spun slightly, and the invisible pressure caused the movements of the Anbu in the front to involuntarily stiffen.
Finally, his gaze fixed on Naruto.
The moment he saw Naruto, Sasuke noticed it.
He wasn't the only one who was different; Naruto was different too.
That dead last who was always loud and boisterous, with loneliness and stubbornness hidden deep in his eyes, stood there now. Although he seemed a bit dazed due to shock, his entire temperament was completely different.
That cheerfulness no longer seemed like a forced disguise, but a warmth and confidence naturally radiating from the inside out.
His figure also seemed more upright and solid, faintly exuding a sense of tempered, restrained power.
"Naruto," Sasuke spoke, his voice low and calm, devoid of much emotion.
"Find a quiet place to talk." He didn't even pay attention to the Anbu who could attack at any moment, as if they were merely background scenery.
"Naruto! Don't go over there! He's a Rogue Ninja!" an ANBU Captain shouted sternly.
Naruto acted as if he hadn't heard. He stared fixedly at Sasuke, his heart in a state of upheaval.
It's Sasuke, it really is Sasuke! He's back! But why now? In this way? And those eyes—is that the Mangekyo Sharingan? It feels so strong... "Okay!" Naruto nodded heavily without any hesitation.
"Naruto! You can't go, this is the Hokage's order!" The ANBU Captain was both anxious and angry.
Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, Minato's gentle but serious voice rang out in Naruto's mind.
(Naruto, be careful. His Chakra is very strong, and those eyes contain terrifying power.)
Kushina also said worriedly, (Don't be impulsive!)
"Dad, Mom, I trust him," Naruto quickly responded in his heart.
"He is Sasuke."
After saying that, Naruto ignored the Anbu's obstruction and shouted to Sasuke.
"Follow me!"
His figure moved, sprinting toward the sparsely populated Training Forest on the outskirts of the Village.
Sasuke didn't say a word. His body turned into a black afterimage, easily keeping up and instantly shaking off the Anbu who still wanted to pursue.
The two of them, one after the other, streaked through the woods that were regaining their vitality, finally stopping at a secluded cliffside. Below was a gurgling stream, far from the clamor of the Village and potential surveillance.
Naruto stopped, turned around, and looked at Sasuke as he slowly landed.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on Sasuke, yet it could hardly dispel the aura of solitary coldness around him.
"Sasuke, your eyes..." Naruto couldn't help but ask.
"Mangekyo Sharingan," Sasuke answered indifferently, his gaze scrutinizing Naruto.
"You've changed a lot, Naruto. It seems you've experienced quite a bit during the time I was away."
"Ah, I guess so." Naruto scratched his head, not knowing where to start.
"Um, Sasuke, why did you kill that person from Konoha... Eh? What was their name again?"
Sasuke:...Sasuke interrupted him and got straight to the point.
"That's not important, Naruto. You've seen the decay and fragility of Konoha. The endless fighting between great nations, the filth of the higher-ups who only care about their own interests—this system built on hypocrisy and oppression has no future at all."
Naruto was stunned; he hadn't expected Sasuke to say such things the moment he opened his mouth.
"But Konoha is being rebuilt, everyone is changing, and Grandpa Third is working hard too..."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is already old. What will happen to Konoha after he dies?" Sasuke's voice was flat, yet it carried a decisive coldness.
"What remains will just be the same old thing in a new guise. The chains of hatred haven't been broken, only temporarily covered up. True peace cannot be obtained through compromise and patching."
He took a step forward and looked directly at Naruto.
"Naruto, you've also experienced being ostracized and utilized. Let's join forces and completely change all of this. Destroy the old, rotten order and build a brand-new, truly fair Ninja World. Through absolute power and new rules, we will reshape everything."
Naruto was shocked by the determination and massive ambition in his words, rendered momentarily speechless.
Destroy? Reshape? This sounds... (Don't listen to him, Naruto! His ideas are too extreme!)
Kushina frowned.
Minato also spoke in a heavy voice.
(Naruto, power needs to be used for protection. His method might make Konoha even worse.)
Naruto remained silent, looking into Sasuke's eyes. Besides coldness, there seemed to be a heavy pain and stubbornness that he found difficult to understand.
He thought of the once proud and lonely Genius boy, and remembered Sasuke's resolute back when they parted at the Valley of the End.
He knew Sasuke had experienced unimaginable darkness to become like this.
"Sasuke..." Naruto slowly began to ask.
"What do you want to do? Why did you come to find me?"
"Because you are the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, possessing power as great as mine, and because you are my..."
Sasuke paused for a moment, looked away toward the silhouette of Konoha in the distance, and didn't finish his sentence, but immediately followed up with his thoughts.
"Naruto, to establish a new order in this false world, I need trustworthy companions and sufficient power. You are the only candidate I've considered."
"Join me." Sasuke looked back at Naruto.
"Together we will sweep away the decay and establish new rules, so that tragedies like that of the Uchiha Clan never happen again. I will vindicate the Uchiha name, and I will ensure that children like you and me, who were forced to bear hatred, can have a truly free future."
Naruto's heart began to race; these words touched him deeply.
Especially Sasuke's attitude and the fact that he thought of finding him first. Sasuke acknowledged the bond between them—he needed him!
"And what about you?" Naruto asked the most crucial question.
"If I agree, will you come back? Back to Konoha?"
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "If you walk with me, then Konoha will be the starting point of our new order. I will return, but no longer as Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha, but as... a Reformer."
Return! Sasuke is willing to return!
This promise alone was enough to make the scales in Naruto's heart tilt violently.
Hasn't his wish all along been to bring back Sasuke? Now Sasuke was proactively offering to return, even if the conditions sounded startling.
"Okay! I promise you!"
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