Naruto's question lingered in the air like an unexpected blade, cutting through the conversation and leaving even Jiraiya momentarily speechless.
Orochimaru turned his gaze toward the blond boy, a thin, amused smile curling at his lips. "Uchiha Sasuke… hm?" he murmured. "You really do care about him."
"He's my goal," Naruto replied without hesitation, his voice firm and unwavering. "I'll defeat him, fair and square." His fists clenched at his sides. "But I won't let you turn him into one of your experiments."
Around them, the adults wore polite smiles layered with calculation, their words cloaked in diplomacy and hidden agendas. Naruto suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, as if the ground beneath him had grown unsteady. The world of adults felt suffocating—too many lies, too many compromises.
Jiraiya noticed at once. He placed a hand gently on Naruto's head and let out a quiet sigh, saying nothing, yet understanding far more than he showed.
Elsewhere, Chiba walked alongside Uchiha Sasuke and his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, guiding them toward the former Uchiha district.
What awaited them was silence—and ruin.
Charred foundations marked where homes once stood. Streets had collapsed into themselves, cracked stone swallowed by weeds that pushed stubbornly through layers of ash. The air carried no warmth, no life, only the lingering echo of annihilation.
Every Uchiha who stood there felt it. Grief weighed heavily in their chests, while hatred burned quietly behind their eyes. Mikoto and the others wept without sound, tears carrying years of suppressed sorrow. Even the elderly Yahiro stood trembling, his face wet with helpless grief.
Sasuke stopped walking.
His gaze trembled as it traced the familiar outlines of a place that had once been his entire world. In that instant, pain and fury surged together, and his Sharingan ignited—crimson light spinning violently within his eyes.
Chiba watched him closely. He could feel it: the subtle distortion in Sasuke's chakra, the way extreme emotion was beginning to reshape his ocular power. If this path continued, the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan was no longer a distant possibility, but an approaching certainty.
Some fates were heavier than others.
And Sasuke's was one of them.
"Let's go," Chiba said calmly.
With that, he led them deeper into the wreckage of what used to be home.
Sasuke soon saw his own house—once warm and familiar, now nothing more than shattered remains. Nearby, the old pancake shop run by an elderly Uchiha couple had long since collapsed, burned beyond recognition. The clan continued forward in silence, and with every step, their hatred toward Konoha grew heavier.
At last, Chiba brought them to the most sacred place of the Uchiha clan: Naka Shrine.
Unfortunately, whoever ordered the flames had shown no regard for what was sacred and what was not. The shrine had been damaged so severely that its former appearance was almost impossible to recognize. Cries of grief rose among the Uchiha.
Without a word, Chiba moved through the ruins, found the hidden entrance, and descended alone into the underground chamber.
This place… was where everything had begun.
The room was empty and desolate, save for the Uchiha crest carved into the wall. Beneath it stood a solitary stone tablet—silent, immovable, yet burdened with history.
A relic left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
A source of countless misinterpretations.
A starting point for tragedies that shaped the shinobi world.
Its inscriptions had been altered long ago, guiding Madara toward the Eye of the Moon Plan. Not only Madara—Shisui and Itachi had also once read the words engraved upon it. What the tablet revealed depended on the power of one's eyes; the truth shown to the Mangekyō was not the same as what an ordinary Sharingan perceived.
Chiba activated his own Mangekyō Sharingan and read in silence. Even then, what he saw was still wrapped in abstract ideals—vague philosophies about abandoning small love for great love, ethereal enough to mislead the desperate.
Only after Madara awakened the Eternal Mangekyō had the tablet revealed a sharper sentence—one that pushed him onto the path of uniting Uchiha and Senju power, awakening the Rinnegan, and pursuing his impossible dream.
As Chiba stood before the tablet, footsteps echoed behind him.
Mikoto and Sasuke descended into the chamber.
"Mizukage-sama," Mikoto said quietly.
Sasuke stepped forward, the tear stains on his face already wiped away—he refused to let anyone see weakness.
"Mizukage-sama… what is this?"
Chiba turned slightly, his expression calm, almost detached. "A legacy left behind by the Sage of Six Paths," he said evenly. "And an inheritance passed down through the Uchiha clan."
He glanced back at the tablet. "Its meaning does not reveal itself all at once. What you can see depends on the power of your eyes."
Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, but the secrets remained hidden. His jaw tightened.
"Then what does it say?"
"The tablet reveals different inscriptions depending on the strength of one's eyes," Chiba replied. "When you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan… return here, and read it yourself."
Sasuke nodded slowly. "I understand."
Chiba then spoke of a wager he had made with Jiraiya.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" Sasuke frowned. "The one I defeated during the Chūnin Exams?"
"That's right."
Sasuke's voice stayed controlled, but pride still threaded through it. "His chakra reserves are enormous, and his stamina is terrifying. But beyond that, I don't see what makes him special. I've already beaten him once—can he really surpass me?"
Chiba chuckled softly. "Don't underestimate Naruto. He may become your lifelong rival."
"…Really?" Sasuke hesitated—then steadied himself. In this world, he trusted Chiba implicitly.
"If that's the case," Sasuke said firmly, "then I'll train even harder."
"Good."
Mikoto sighed and gently stroked her son's hair. "Mizukage-sama… thank you. If not for your strength, the Uchiha clan would have been wiped out. We wouldn't even have the chance to return here—ruins or not."
Chiba smiled. "There's no need to thank me. You are now the Uchiha clan of Kirigakure. As Mizukage, it's only right that I protect you."
Warmth rose in Mikoto's chest—fragile, but real.
Sasuke stared at the tablet once more, and his voice dropped into something colder than grief.
"One day, I will bring the Uchiha back to this land," he said. "And on that day… Konoha will fall. After that, I will restore the glory of the Uchiha clan."
Chiba held his gaze, neither praising nor condemning.
"I believe you."
The Uchiha lingered in their homeland for a long time. Chiba did not disturb them. Instead, he quietly dispatched Kisame and others to watch over them, then left on his own.
He wandered through Konoha until he stopped paying attention to where his feet were taking him.
Before he realized it, he had arrived at the Hyuga compound.
White-eyed clan members moved through the grounds, and they regarded the Mizukage with a mixture of curiosity and reverence. As a distinguished guest of Konoha, he was treated with respect wherever he went.
Then Chiba spotted a familiar figure: Hyuga Neji.
Neji stood at the entrance to the clan head's residence, pacing as if weighing whether to step inside. Moments later, the clan head appeared.
"Neji… is that you?"
Neji's hatred toward the main family had not faded.
"Clan Head," he said coldly.
What should have been uncle and nephew now faced each other like enemies.
Hiashi sighed deeply. "It seems you're still unable to let go of your father's death…"
"Shouldn't I be?" Neji shot back.
Hiashi didn't flinch. "You believe Hizashi was forced to take my place because of the Caged Bird Seal… and because I stood as the head of the main family."
"Isn't that exactly what happened?!"
"No," Hiashi said without hesitation. "Before Hizashi left, he spoke to me clearly. He did not go to his death because of the rules. He went… because he chose to die for his older brother."
The words struck Neji like a physical blow. His breath faltered.
"What difference does that make?" he demanded. "My father is still dead!"
"There is a difference," Hiashi replied, voice low with sorrow. "One path is coercion. The other is a choice. One is oppression. The other… is love between brothers."
He paused, shoulders sinking. "Still, no matter how it's explained, Hizashi's death happened because of my failure as clan head. I lacked the strength to protect both my brother and my clan. If you hate me for that… you are right to do so."
Silence fell.
Neji's fists clenched so tightly his nails bit into his palms. The anger that had fueled him for years suddenly felt directionless.
"Then tell me," he said, quieter now. "What really happened back then?"
Hiashi exhaled, as if loosening an old knot, and recounted everything: Kumogakure's attempted abduction for the Byakugan, the political pressure that followed, and the impossible choice forced upon Konoha and the Hyuga under the guise of "peace."
When Neji finished listening, his hands trembled before clenching again.
"You're right," he said coldly. "This was your failure as clan head."
Hiashi lowered his head, accepting it in silence.
Then a presence stepped forward.
Both Hiashi and Neji stiffened in shock. As elite Byakugan users, the fact that someone had been nearby without their noticing was unthinkable.
When they recognized the man, disbelief sharpened their expressions.
"M-Mizukage-sama?!"
Chiba raised a hand lightly, his tone composed. "I merely passed by. I had no intention of eavesdropping."
Neither of them replied. Whether he intended to or not, they had no power to stop him.
Chiba's gaze shifted between them—sharp, clear.
"However," he said calmly, "I disagree with the conclusion you've reached."
"This was not the clan head's incompetence."
His words fell like a hammer.
"This," he continued, voice cold and precise, "was the Hokage's failure."
In that instant, both Hiashi and Neji felt their expressions change completely.
And with that shift came a realization neither of them spoke aloud: with the Uchiha saved rather than erased, a quiet butterfly effect had begun to ripple through Konoha's power structure. The Hyuga could see more clearly than ever what kind of village this truly was—who still held control, what systems remained intact, and what sacrifices had been made to preserve a peace built on someone else's bones.
The tragedy of the past was not an accident.
And the danger… had never truly passed.
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