What do you think about the new cover of the fanfic, guys?
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[— Manga Scene —]
"Hehe… So the Nine-Tails brat is still alive."
The terrifying shinobi gripped Naruto, lifting his jacket to reveal the Nine-Tails seal.
"When your emotions are heightened, the power of the Nine-Tails overflows… very interesting… Oh my… The seal is visible…"
('Five Part Seal!!') The terrifying shinobi performed another hand seal and struck the seal on Naruto's stomach, who lost consciousness instantly.
'12 years since the seal… Naruto-kun and the Nine-Tails chakra are beginning to fuse…' he thought.
'But right now, you are in the way…' He tossed him aside.
'He's going to fall!!' Sakura threw a kunai, pinning Naruto's clothes to a tree to save him.
"Sasuke-kun!!! It's true that, unlike you, Naruto is clumsy and can get in the way, but… at least he's not a coward!! Right!!!"
Sakura's words seemed to awaken unwanted memories for Sasuke in that moment.
("Foolish brother… If you want to kill me… Then hate, spite!! And survive pathetically!!")
("Run and run…")
("And cling desperately to life…") Sasuke closed his eyes as he heard that voice in his head, a three-tomoe Sharingan staring at him coldly.
('No!!!') Sasuke snapped his eyes open, revealing a two-tomoe Sharingan in each eye.
'Hehe… The blood of the clan is beginning to boil… I'll take my time and test your ability,' thought the terrifying shinobi.
As for Sasuke, he drew his weapons. 'I must survive in order to kill my brother… That's what I believed. But I was the one who was afraid…'
[— End Scene —]
Inside the Konoha Art Store, a heavy silence continued to loom as the tension of the events accelerated toward the ceiling.
After the discovery of the faceless corpses of the real Kusagakure shinobi earlier in the chapter, it seemed Anko had realized the attacker's true identity, as had several others in the art store already.
While most readers remained in the dark, feeling only that a normal Genin from the Grass Village couldn't possibly push Sasuke to such terror, nor toy with the trio so easily when even Zabuza couldn't, that silence was soon broken by the rapid flipping of pages.
Everyone watched "Orochimaru" in the manga coldly tamper with Naruto's seal, but in reality, some eyes were burning with rage.
Kushina clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, feeling the heat of the Nine-Tails' chakra move instinctively through her veins. It appeared the Kyuubi was sharing her reaction.
"The Five Part Seal... is he planning to suppress the fusion of the Kyuubi's chakra with Naruto?" she whispered, her voice trembling with indignation.
As for Minato, his usual smile had vanished completely. As a master of sealing arts, he immediately recognized the gravity of what the Kusa-disguised Orochimaru had done.
"He has completely disrupted Naruto's chakra flow, leaving him vulnerable in the Forest of Death." Minato looked toward Orochimaru; this time, his gaze was not that of a reader, but of a potential enemy.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, welcomed that gaze.
'Hehe~ it seems Jiraiya's student is angry…'
'Oh, observing closely, he looks exactly like Naruto… Don't tell me…'
Orochimaru looked deeply between Minato and Kushina. 'Minato Namikaze… Kushina Uzumaki… Naruto Uzumaki… Ah, no wonder.' With a bit of deduction, Orochimaru had pieced together the truth.
"And even more interesting… Sasuke Uchiha… and the Itachi mentioned by my counterpart… Is he the brother Sasuke wants to kill? And for what reason…?"
Orochimaru stared intently at the dark image of Itachi within Sasuke's memories.
'A fully awakened Sharingan… what great sin did Itachi commit to make his younger brother want to kill him…?'
At that moment, Orochimaru looked toward two specific members of the Uchiha clan.
'Fugaku Uchiha… a seasoned Chunin on the verge of promotion to Jonin, looks a bit like Sasuke. And that is Mikoto Uchiha… a sharp Chunin… Hmm, I can't link them to Sasuke yet; I need more observation.'
Suddenly, Orochimaru's eyes widened, and his breath hitched as he continued reading.
'The Curse Mark?'
Orochimaru touched his chest, staring at the manga page in disbelief.
In that moment, he felt someone's gaze. It was Rob, staring at Orochimaru with a smile, leaning his face on one hand and resting the other on the counter.
'Seeing someone as intelligent as Orochimaru experience the shock of his life like this, isn't it incredibly refreshing? Haha! Orochimaru, believe me, you haven't seen anything yet…'
...
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku was staring at Sasuke's final words in the manga: 'I must survive to kill my brother...'
Fugaku felt a pang in his heart.
For some reason, he had been dreaming lately that he had a son. And that son was Sasuke.
It was true; in the dream, Sasuke was his son with Mikoto after they married. But Sasuke was the younger son.
Yesterday, the elder son appeared carrying a kunai; the last thing Fugaku heard before waking from the nightmare was Sasuke's scream.
"Don't do it! Don't kill my father and mother!! Itachi!!!"
Fugaku broke into a sweat at that moment as he looked at a specific name on the manga pages.
"Itachi..."
He heard the name from the mouth of Mikoto, who was sitting beside him. He looked over to see Mikoto wiping away tears; she was crying for some reason.
"My dear... why are you crying?"
Lately, the relationship between Mikoto and Fugaku had become much closer than before, thanks to the time they spent together reading the manga.
Mikoto wiped more tears as she said, "I don't know. I have a bitter, bad feeling seeing Sasuke wanting to kill his brother… I don't know why, but it seems the bond between brothers is shattered beyond repair."
"I feel pity for the mother who will face this, seeing her two sons wanting to kill each other… isn't that too cruel for her, Fugaku-kun?" Mikoto gripped Fugaku's shoulder as she spoke.
Fugaku wiped her tears and kissed her forehead, saying, "There must be a misunderstanding. As a Uchiha, I've had conflicts with my brothers to the point where one wanted to kill me too… this sort of thing happens in the clan."
"But here, it's different. It seems what drives Sasuke to move forward and lose his fear even against a monster like this is a burning desire for revenge against his brother… apparently named Itachi…"
"Sigh~"
Not far from them, the leader of the Uchiha clan, Hugaku, sighed after finishing the chapter.
"It seems things really don't bode well for my clan in the manga…"
Hugaku Uchiha looked deeply at Orochimaru.
"What's even stranger is what Orochimaru wants from Sasuke… and why he's doing all this."
"I suspect even he doesn't know..." Hugaku pointed at Orochimaru, who was frozen in place after seeing his counterpart bite Sasuke and place the Curse Mark on him.
"That's for sure… he can't possibly have an explanation for what he'll do in the future, right, Father?" Fugaku replied.
"But he is truly in an unenviable position… it seems what he does in the manga is much bigger than just targeting Sasuke."
"Is that so?"
"Well, at least we know there's another Uchiha, Itachi, alive somewhere based on his words…"
"Itachi… I feel a great desire to see him," Hugaku Uchiha said with a sad expression.
...
Seeing Sasuke carry this deep hatred for Itachi in the future was painful, but seeing him complete the awakening of the two-tomoe Sharingan under pressure made the Uchiha clan's blood boil with pride mixed with anxiety.
"It looks like Sasuke finally let go of his fear!"
"Awesome! Now we'll see a real fight!"
"Ooh! Sasuke has become stronger!"
"This is the Sharingan Windmill, Triple Blade!!"
"Sasuke has become more skilled in using the Sharingan and fighting with weapons!"
"Who is this scoundrel! Oh, his fake face has been burned!"
"Why doesn't he want to show his real face? It must be ugly like a snake!"
"We have someone like that in Konoha, don't we?"
Only now did most of the Uchiha clan begin to realize Orochimaru's true identity.
...
[— Manga Scene —]
The terrifying shinobi inhumanely extended his neck, bypassing all of Sasuke's defenses.
"You… possess wonderful eyes… I shall give you a parting gift…"
With lightning speed, he sank his fangs into Sasuke's neck.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Sasuke's scream filled the page as a strange black mark with three tomoe appeared on his neck.
"This is the Curse Mark… If you survive, we shall meet again when you seek power."
Orochimaru's body faded into a tree, leaving Sasuke collapsing in pain and Sakura screaming his name.
[— End Scene —]
The store exploded with noise. Fugaku stood up, his Sharingan already activated.
"The Curse Mark?! What is this filth you've placed on Sasuke's neck?!"
Fugaku's angry voice snapped Orochimaru out of his shock. Even the real Orochimaru appeared stunned.
"The Curse Mark…? Hehe~ no one is supposed to know about this, and I haven't even begun developing it. It seems that in the future, I've developed my Senjutsu research quite remarkably. Thank you, Rob-kun, you've given me a great idea."
The atmosphere was on the verge of exploding, but a calm voice came from the corner.
"Uzumaki Rubiro… is this future of yours reliable?"
"Why are you using Orochimaru, one of the shinobi we are proud of in our village, as a shinobi from an outside village? Isn't the headband he revealed on his forehead from the recently established Otogakure? And he described the people of that village as his subordinates… isn't this just deception?"
"It's impossible for Orochimaru to establish another village! Doesn't that mean he will turn against Konoha in the future?"
"Give us an explanation! I know your manga is already spreading like wildfire all over the world."
"Everyone in the five villages and even the small shinobi villages now knows that Orochimaru is a traitor to Konoha in the future… Tell me, are you forcing one of the Legendary Sannin into betraying Konoha against his will?"
The Third Hokage stood up, airing all his grievances and feelings, pointing his finger at Rob, who was calmly mixing drinks with his usual smile.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 136: The Terrified Orochimaru!
Chapter 137: The Beautiful Green Beast of Konohagakure!
Chapter 138: Reactions of the Konoha Clans… One Against Three.
Chapter 139: The Moment a True Ninja is Born.
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