There were two things Itachi had always cared deeply about: one was Konoha, the other was his younger brother.
Allowing Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi to return to Konoha wasn't Future Sasuke imposing his will on them. It was Itachi's own inherent wish. It was just that Itachi's own thinking was too forward-looking; he had constantly suppressed his own desires, willing to be the one to bear all the darkness.
Especially since he carried the crime of slaughtering the Uchiha clan, Shimura Danzo was an unavoidable obstacle if he were to return to Konoha legitimately.
A scapegoat was a scapegoat; it didn't matter who carried the burden. Besides, Shimura Danzo himself was indeed one of the Konoha higher-ups who had ordered the policy to exterminate the Uchiha clan.
It wasn't that Future Sasuke didn't want to deal with others involved. But everything had its limits. If he crossed that line, it would make things difficult for the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and it would also make things difficult for Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi in Konoha in the future.
After hearing Future Sasuke's reasons for wanting to kill Shimura Danzo, Naruto had a moment of realization. He'd always felt something was off about the Uchiha clan's destruction. Although Uchiha Itachi's strength was considerable, he definitely hadn't reached the level of single-handedly wiping out an entire clan. So, it turned out Konoha had been backing him.
"With your strength, couldn't you just do it yourself?" Naruto expressed his confusion. This guy was a formidable individual capable of using a Perfect Susanoo; dealing with a schemer renowned in the ninja world for his underhanded tactics shouldn't take much effort, right?
Future Sasuke fell silent. "Yesterday… using the Susanoo for an extended period… my eye power hasn't recovered yet."
"Then do it later," Naruto said simply.
Killing a Konoha elder without a proper reason—setting aside whether it conflicted with his own principles—if other ninja villages found out that the leader of Dragon Heritage had unjustifiably killed a village elder, could Dragon Heritage even continue to exist in the ninja world? One had to remember, Dragon Heritage's very existence already harmed the interests of the various ninja villages. As the local powers of the ninja world, when had they ever suffered the indignity of having to consider someone else's opinion even when going to war?
The statements Dragon Heritage had forced them to issue had already greatly damaged their prestige. If those higher-ups were then led to believe that whether their heads remained on their necks depended on Dragon Heritage's mood… there was no doubt Dragon Heritage would become the target of a crusade by the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The thought of himself becoming the villain who instigated the Fourth Great Ninja War… Tsk, the mere image felt rather… stimulating.
"My words and actions don't just represent me personally. Although I really want to help you… I apologize."
Naruto turned his head towards Young Sasuke, who was standing by the window, and suggested, "Why not consider Little Sasuke? His Yin Release seems to be on the verge of a qualitative change."
"If I'm not mistaken, he should be about to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan." He directed his questioning gaze towards the man beside him.
Future Sasuke nodded slightly. He too had sensed Young Sasuke's current state, but the Sharingan was unlike other things; its advancement couldn't be achieved through mere effort. The emergence of every Mangekyo Sharingan was an unrepeatable process. It was a tragedy, an accident, a past one couldn't bear to look back upon.
If he could choose, he would willingly give up his current eyes in exchange for Itachi's life in his original world.
"The price for opening the Mangekyo is too heavy," Future Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Moreover, Shimura Danzo's abilities are very peculiar. Without an Eternal Mangekyo, a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan might be utterly ruined." He wasn't exaggerating the enemy's strength; this was from his own firsthand experience.
"He's that strong?" Naruto was taken aback. Indeed, one couldn't underestimate anyone, especially those who had made a name for themselves in the ninja world. "In that case, just wait until your eye power recovers before you make a move. There's no rush anyway."
He had heard about the conditions for an Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he scoffed at the supposed requirement of personally killing one's closest relative. One should never underestimate the depths of human morality—or lack thereof. Once humans were pushed to a certain limit, they were capable of anything. He refused to believe that every Mangekyo Sharingan among the Uchiha was awakened by slaughtering their own kin. If that were truly the case, Konoha wouldn't have had the chance to massacre the Uchiha clan, because they would have dealt with themselves internally long before.
Therefore, that so-called awakening method was, in all likelihood, false information deliberately spread by the Uchiha clan to mislead others—like passing off fish eyes as pearls. After all, no matter how many talents the Uchiha clan produced, they couldn't possibly outnumber the talents of the entire ninja world. If they truly allowed others to get the mistaken impression that Mangekyo could be awakened at will and that the Uchiha clan could dominate the ninja world at any time, the Uchiha would have been extinguished in the river of history long ago.
"I need to conserve my eye power. Urashiki could descend upon this era at any moment," Future Sasuke said, looking at him earnestly.
"It doesn't affect anything; his target is me." Naruto still refused. "I'll handle it myself. If I really can't beat him, I'll take my own life before he captures me! I won't bring any trouble upon you all."
A bottom line was a bottom line. No reason, no excuse, should ever become a justification for trampling it.
Gazing at Naruto's resolute eyes, Future Sasuke was stunned. After a long moment, he sighed. "…I understand."
"You go handle your own affairs. I'll take good care of Boruto," Naruto finished, then vanished from the spot.
"Future… me, who is Shimura Danzo? Why do you want to kill him?" Uchiha Sasuke asked.
Future Sasuke walked to his side and told him the entirety of the feud between the Uchiha clan and Shimura Danzo.
"Is it because of him… that Itachi ended up like this?" A murderous glint flashed in Uchiha Sasuke's eyes.
"Not just that…" Remembering that arm densely packed with Sharingan, a murderous glint also flashed in Future Sasuke's eyes. He could forgive everyone else in Konoha, but Shimura Danzo—this man who spoke of the Uchiha as pests while secretly feasting on their very marrow—he absolutely had to die!
Hokage Tower.
Knock, knock!
"Enter!"
Kakashi walked into the room. Tsunade looked up at him. "Have Iwagakure and Sunagakure both been notified?"
"Iwagakure and Sunagakure have both indicated they will attend the Five Kage Summit," Kakashi nodded. "Did something happen in the village?" When he received the village's urgent summons, he was still wrangling with a group of Suna elders. Fortunately, he had left Flying Thunder God markers along the way beforehand, allowing him to rush back to the village in such a short time.
Tsunade told him what had happened the previous night.
"Do you agree to let Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi return to Konoha?" Kakashi asked.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her perfectly white teeth lightly nibbling a pink fingernail. "Personally, I'd be very willing for them to return to Konoha, but the attitude of those old fossils can't be ignored," she said, vexed.
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at Kakashi before her, how could she have forgotten about this guy? Apart from being a bit lazy, having a few too many excuses for being late, and his condition being a bit off sometimes… in all other aspects, be it combat prowess or intellect, he was top-tier.
"Kakashi, tell me your thoughts."
"Eh?!" Kakashi scratched his head. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate? They are the honorable Advisors, after all."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him speechlessly. "Do you think I stand with those old geezers?"
"Speak boldly! Don't hold anything back!"
"Well, if you insist…"