"So you came to persuade me to let go of my hatred? I can't even beat a loser, so I should just forget about those things?" There was a hint of sarcasm in Sasuke's voice.
Naruto shook his head. "Hatred can give people motivation and allow them to grow with a goal. Itachi gave you a very clear goal, making you strive desperately to become stronger ever since you graduated from the Ninja Academy."
"From this perspective, this hatred is one of the sources of all your strength thus far. I am in no position to persuade you to give it up."
Then he changed the subject, "But what I want to tell you is that in front of this vast Universe, your hatred is very insignificant. Your hatred is your goal, but it cannot be your everything."
"Do not throw your whole life into the furnace of hatred to burn. In the end, you will find that you are left with nothing but ash."
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then asked Naruto, "That Universe you just mentioned, those stars—what does this have to do with me? You wouldn't tell me these things for no reason."
"And when you talk about the stars, your eyes are different from when you talk about other things."
Naruto was slightly stunned, then sighed in his heart.
Sasuke's intuition was indeed the sharpest among everyone he knew.
Naruto spoke, "That's right. What I am about to say next is that in the Universe, there exists a race whose purpose is to devour the life of planets."
"Unfortunately, our Ninja World has already been targeted by them. Perhaps in a decade or so, they will descend upon this land."
"When that time comes, if there is no powerful force to resist, our Ninja World will be devoured by them as nourishment."
"Sasuke, you asked me why just now—even though you activated your Three-Tomoe Sharingan, you could still not see my movements clearly?"
"Because I have known from the very beginning what kind of enemies we will face in the future."
"It is precisely because I am clear about the existence of those enemies that I am measuring my progress by this standard every moment, while you are still measuring yourself by defeating Itachi."
"So, our scales have not been in the same dimension from the very beginning."
"Naruto, what do you mean by that?" Sasuke's voice involuntarily lowered a little.
"Telling you too much now is of no use to you." Naruto shook his head.
"Why? You made me sit down, told me a whole bunch of things about the Universe and races, and then told me I can't know? Why exactly?" Sasuke stood up, his voice rising a few notches due to emotional agitation.
Then he thought of something, his body freezing.
He looked down at Naruto's calm profile, his pupils slightly contracting.
He asked in disbelief, "Could it be... you intend to carry it alone?"
Naruto looked at the starry sky and said, "Sasuke, I told you these things because I don't want you to remain trapped in hatred and unable to get out."
"I am not telling you everything because your current strength is not enough, knowing too much would actually be a burden to you."
"When you obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, I will tell you the whole truth. Because only then will you truly have the ability to stand by my side and fight against that race together."
"Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan? You even know about this?" Sasuke stepped back two steps.
The Mangekyo Sharingan is the ultimate secret passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan. And the Eternal Mangekyo is something that only Madara has ever reached. Even he himself only had a vague knowledge of its existence.
How could Naruto know about it in such detail?
Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, I am giving you two paths."
"The first is to stay in Konoha, and I will guide your training. I will tell you the next steps of your training. With your talent, your growth rate will not be slower than it is now."
"The second path is to leave Konoha and go to a certain man. He will devote everything to make you stronger. Although the process is dangerous, when it comes to understanding you and developing the Uchiha Bloodline, he is more professional than I am."
"You guide me? Leave Konoha?"
Sasuke didn't react for a moment, frowning, and grasped the main point of Naruto's words.
"Who is the person you just mentioned?"
Naruto pointed to the back of Sasuke's neck.
Sasuke raised his hand to cover the back of his neck. The cursed seal hidden beneath his collar pulsed faintly.
Sasuke's expression darkened. "Orochimaru, that S-rank missing-nin who killed the Third Hokage. You want me to defect to him?"
Naruto explained, "Orochimaru covets your Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and wants your body as a vessel. But precisely because of that, he will devote everything to training you."
"In the entire Ninja World, apart from Itachi himself, no one understands the potential and development direction of the Sharingan better than Orochimaru."
Sasuke asked, "Naruto, why would you suggest I leave Konoha?"
Naruto smiled and put his hands into his pockets. "Maybe I'm afraid that a certain someone will see me improving rapidly every day and feel increasingly inferior."
"You almost fell into self-doubt and couldn't climb out just after losing to me earlier. If you had to see that every day, I'm afraid you would just give up the idea of being a ninja."
"Get lost, loser!"
Sasuke was stunned, and immediately, the cold expression on his face collapsed.