Kapitel 194: Chapter 194

Sasuke didn't pay any attention to Teuchi's confusion. After quickly finishing his ramen and revisiting childhood memories, he paid for the meal and stood up, ready to leave.

Suddenly, Sakura appeared in the shop.

"Sasuke!"

Throughout the whole time, Sakura had been keeping an eye on Sasuke. Noticing him head toward Ichiraku Ramen, she quietly broke away from the Konoha forces, coming here for a chance to meet him again.

Now, standing face-to-face with Sasuke, just a meter apart, Sakura's face was filled with both excitement and a hint of complexity.

To be fair, although they had met before, this was the first time they had been this close since Sasuke had left the village.

"Sasuke, I..." Sakura began, eager to say something.

But understanding what she wanted to say, Sasuke shook his head and interrupted, "Sakura, you've grown up."

Sakura was startled.

As she instinctively wondered what Sasuke meant by that—was it a compliment on her maturity?—Sasuke continued, "Now that you've grown up, Sakura, you should understand what the adult world is like."

"There are some things that Naruto, the simple fool, will never understand. But you, Sakura, you can. So I'll explain one last time. Afterward, you can pass the message to Naruto as well."

In the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Sasuke had made up his mind.

With a calm expression, he revealed his true thoughts to Sakura:

"Sakura, we can't go back to the way things were."

"Sasuke! You can still—" Sakura tried to say something, panic evident on her face.

But just as the words formed, she realized she didn't know how to continue.

She wasn't like Naruto, who had the unyielding spirit to keep fighting against all odds, no matter how faint the hope.

She was smart and realistic.

And precisely because of this, even though she was madly in love, she couldn't deny the truth deep down. After everything that had happened, both before and today, she knew it was almost impossible for Sasuke to return.

So when Sasuke said, "We can't go back," she instinctively wanted to refute it but found she couldn't come up with a reason.

In fact, she wasn't entirely sure why she had come here. It had been a reflex.

Perhaps, deep down, she simply wanted a clear and complete answer.

And so, Sasuke gave her the answer she sought.

"The bond of Team 7 still remains in my heart; I haven't cut it off. But, Sakura, I've found new bonds—more bonds that matter to me. I now understand why I live, and the hatred that once consumed me no longer weighs on my heart."

"In the adult world, choices must be made. The childish desire to hold onto everything, that's something for kids... and Naruto."

"I'm sorry, but I've chosen my new bonds."

With that, Sasuke nodded to Sakura, brushed past her, and left the shop.

Sakura wanted to reach out and stop him, but remembering what he had just said, she felt powerless and let her hand drop.

"Sasuke..."

In the end, she could only stand there alone, tears streaming down her face.

The news of the Uchiha Clan's reappearance spread through Konoha like wildfire, and no matter how much the village leadership tried to suppress it, they couldn't stop it.

More and more villagers, eager to catch a glimpse of the Uchiha, rushed to the streets.

The village was far livelier today than usual.

However, the excitement didn't last long.

As time passed, although the Uchiha occasionally stopped to buy things, they didn't linger, continuing their march toward the village gates.

The villagers, familiar with the layout of the village, soon noticed the Uchiha's trajectory.

As they neared the village gates, the villagers started whispering among themselves.

"Looks like they're heading out of the village."

"Are they going on a mission?"

"What kind of mission requires so many people, and all of them Uchiha?"

"Have you noticed how cold they seem? They're barely acknowledging anyone."

"Aren't they always like that?"

"No, this is different. Did you notice? None of the Uchiha are wearing Konoha headbands!"

"And look at that big group of Konoha shinobi following them. They don't look happy."

"What's going on?"

The initial excitement began to give way to suspicion as many villagers sensed something was off.

Soon enough, the Uchiha reached the village gates, and without answering any of the villagers' questions, they walked through without hesitation, not even sparing a glance back as they left.

The villagers who had followed them this far were stunned. The previously lively atmosphere fell into silence.

"Why did they leave without saying anything?"

"Wait... aren't the Uchiha part of Konoha? Why are they leaving? Even if they were going on a mission, they'd need to check in at the gate first."

Someone else scoffed, already piecing it together. "Is it possible... that they're no longer part of Konoha?"

Naturally, this remark sparked a flurry of responses, some in agreement, others in denial.

"But the Uchiha have always been part of Konoha!"

"They were, but after the massacre, maybe they aren't anymore."

"The massacre was Itachi Uchiha's doing! What does that have to do with Konoha?"

"Hmph."

"Now that I think about it, isn't it strange? Back then, they said only one Uchiha boy named Sasuke survived, and everyone else was dead. So where did all these Uchiha come from?"

"Are you saying the village lied to us? That they hid something?"

The discussion at the village gates grew louder.

Then, someone finally said it out loud:

"Stop deluding yourselves! These surviving Uchiha are no longer part of Konoha. In fact, they might even be Konoha's enemies now. If they weren't, why else would so many Konoha shinobi be following them? Are they escorting them? No! They're watching them!"

These words plunged the crowd into silence once again.

Before long, the mass of villagers slowly turned their heads to look at the Konoha shinobi who had followed the Uchiha.

The Konoha shinobi remained silent.

Seeing this, the villagers fell silent as well.

They didn't understand politics or grand strategies.

But they knew this: the Uchiha had lived in Konoha since its founding; they were one of its elder clans.

For the few remaining Uchiha to leave so decisively, without looking back, there had to be something terribly wrong.

And the problem wasn't with the Uchiha, who had left their home.

No.

The problem lay within the village itself, with those who held power in Konoha.

At that moment, the villagers looked at the Konoha shinobi.

The atmosphere had never felt colder.

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]

Kommentar Kommentar von 15

Abstimmen

Kapitel 195: Chapter 195

"Looks like the Will of Fire hasn't fully brainwashed everyone, huh?"

Perched atop Konoha's outer wall with one leg dangling, Gensou watched the shifting expressions of the Konoha villagers below and chuckled.

No one was going to take advantage of him so easily.

Next, he'd leave it to Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the rest to figure out how to explain the Uchiha situation to the villagers and calm the rare internal turmoil in the village.

Konoha, the proud village founded by the two great clans—now, only Tsunade remained from the Senju Clan, and the Uchiha were all but wiped out. The few remaining Uchiha had no attachment to Konoha and left without looking back.

If anyone believed the village wasn't at fault for this, they'd have to be fooling themselves.

"Also, now that Itachi's matter is resolved, it's time to tell Sasuke and the others the truth about the Uchiha massacre. We can't afford to let others with ill intentions exploit the situation and stir up unnecessary trouble."

With one last glance at the "lively" villagers below, Gensou's figure swayed like a feather in the wind before disappearing from sight.

A short while later, in a deserted alley of Konoha.

Obito and Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"I didn't expect someone as powerful as Itachi to die here," White Zetsu remarked, genuinely surprised.

Black Zetsu, now reattached to White Zetsu's body, said indifferently, "Itachi was suffering from a terminal illness, and his strength had already diminished. Facing Sasuke and the other Uchiha trained by Gensou, it's not surprising he couldn't hold his own."

"That makes sense. But..." White Zetsu turned to Obito, puzzled. "Madara-sama, wasn't Sasuke supposed to be the last Uchiha from Konoha? Where did all these others come from?"

Obito's face twitched slightly.

He was also confused by this development.

Looking back, he could only conclude that the old Uchiha survivors had been far more cunning than he'd given them credit for, hiding away and playing a long game.

Whoever said the Uchiha were only about brute force clearly underestimated their ability to scheme.

"Three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan... Madara, have you thought about how to deal with them?" Black Zetsu asked, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Obito.

Obito's spiraled face darkened.

First Itachi, and now three more Uchiha with Mangekyou Sharingan—and he didn't even know what unique abilities their eyes held.

Obito felt immense pressure.

The only consolation was that unlike him, they hadn't implanted Hashirama's cells, meaning they'd still be vulnerable to blindness from overusing their powers.

But if Sasuke were to combine his eyes with Itachi's to awaken the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, it would be a whole different story.

Fortunately, the people who knew the full truth about the Uchiha massacre—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Itachi Uchiha—were all dead. The remaining two Konoha elders only knew bits and pieces, so they wouldn't be able to explain anything to Sasuke.

Now, only Obito himself, who had been directly involved in the massacre, knew the entire story.

Obito was confident that by revealing part of the truth, he could persuade Sasuke to turn his anger toward Konoha.

And if he could provoke a full-blown conflict between Gensou's faction, Konoha, and the other Great Nations, sparking a major war, it would be even better.

With this in mind, Obito said calmly, "Whether it's the Uchiha or the Mangekyou Sharingan, we have no direct conflict with Gensou. The Akatsuki's mission remains the collection of the Tailed Beasts. Everything else is secondary.

Of course, if we can add fuel to the fire and escalate the current tensions in the shinobi world, making them too preoccupied to deal with the Akatsuki's actions, all the better."

Obito no longer intended to have Pain directly attack Konoha and start the Fourth Great Ninja War in such a high-profile manner.

Let Gensou attract the attention of the shinobi world while the Akatsuki quietly accelerated their plan to gather the Tailed Beasts—that would be far more advantageous.

Hearing Obito's reasoning, Black Zetsu silently approved.

Though there were some unexpected developments, Obito's response was reasonable. The focus was still on collecting the Tailed Beasts, which aligned with Black Zetsu's goals.

With that settled, Black Zetsu decided it didn't need to take any immediate action. Gensou would remain a potential trump card for later. For now, Obito could continue fulfilling his mission.

Black Zetsu fell quiet.

Obito then turned to White Zetsu and asked, "Where is Uzumaki Naruto?"

To the Akatsuki, capturing the other Tailed Beasts was relatively straightforward; they already had leads on most of them.

The only major challenges were the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails.

The Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails was formidable and highly valued within the Hidden Cloud Village, being the Raikage's brother.

Capturing him would likely require either Pain or Obito himself to act.

As for the Nine-Tails, the most powerful and unique of all the Tailed Beasts, Obito was puzzled by Naruto's absence during the recent major events in Konoha.

He turned to White Zetsu for an explanation.

"Apparently, he's gone off for secret training somewhere," White Zetsu relayed the intelligence they had gathered.

"Secret training?" Obito frowned.

White Zetsu nodded, then seemed to remember something and added with a mischievous grin, "But we did find a substitute for the Nine-Tails—a boy with a significant amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra sealed inside him."

"Nine-Tails' chakra? A boy?"

Obito's eyes gleamed with interest.

"If necessary, we could use this substitute for now..."

Meanwhile, after their successful revenge and departure from Konoha, the Uchiha moved swiftly through the forest, feeling the freedom of the wide world once again.

Gensou soon caught up to them.

When the Uchiha saw him, their expressions immediately turned serious, and they called out in unison, "Gensou-sama!"

Gensou nodded and gave his orders, "Head three kilometers to an old, abandoned Uchiha base and rest there for a while."

"Understood!" the Uchiha responded promptly, adjusting their course.

Although their visual prowess had improved after the battle, their physical strength and chakra reserves were depleted. They needed to rest before continuing their journey.

To avoid any unexpected complications, Gensou also planned to reveal the truth to them there.

It didn't take long before the group crossed through dense, pathless woodland and arrived at an old base covered in moss and vines, resembling a small pyramid.

At its peak, the Uchiha Clan had established several secret bases across the Land of Fire, and this was one of them.

It was also the location where Sasuke and Itachi had their final battle in the original story.

Gensou gestured for Sasuke to follow him. Confused, Sasuke complied, and they ascended to the rooftop of the base.

Standing before a crumbling wall bearing the Uchiha's fan emblem, Gensou gazed out at the vast forest below and said softly:

"Itachi is dead. It's time for you to know the truth about the night of the Uchiha massacre."

"The truth... of that night?" Sasuke murmured, momentarily stunned. But his expression quickly returned to normal as he asked, "Konoha was involved, wasn't it?"

It was clear that Sasuke had already suspected this.

Gensou looked at him and replied:

"Yes, but that's only part of it."

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]

Kommentar Kommentar von 13

Abstimmen