Chapter 128: Ōtsutsuki Hunter
After a brief moment of confusion, Adult Sasuke's expression suddenly tightened.
What was happening before his eyes was something he simply couldn't accept.
Was this genjutsu?
He possessed the Rinnegan. Even in his current, extremely weakened state, he shouldn't be falling into an illusion so easily.
Unless… the fact that he had the Rinnegan at all was itself something imagined within an illusion?
Right now, Adult Sasuke was so weak that he was in the stage where he could only use the "Uchiha Suplex." He had no way to even try activating the Rinnegan to confirm his condition.
"My foolish little brother… so deep down in your heart, you were still fantasizing that I had my reasons, still fantasizing about reconciling with that friend of yours, fantasizing about protecting Konoha?"
As Itachi spoke, he stood up from the stone seat and walked toward Adult Sasuke.
Adult Sasuke, who was struggling internally, was completely stunned by these words.
Those things… were they all Tsukuyomi illusions?
Indeed, Tsukuyomi could dominate time and space. Even making him live out an entire lifetime inside the illusion wouldn't be a problem.
Wait!
The information he knew about Tsukuyomi, was that real, or was that fake too?
I can't tell. I really can't tell anymore.
Sasuke's mind instantly returned to that moment in his youth, when he had faced Itachi in their decisive battle.
Just as Sasuke was about to brace himself against the ground and struggle to his feet, he suddenly realized.
Where was his hand?
"Sasuke."
At the very moment Adult Sasuke noticed the flaw, Itachi had already arrived in front of him, a finger poking gently against his forehead.
With his head lowered, countless thoughts raced through Adult Sasuke's mind, eventually turning into a single sigh.
"Nii-san… all of this was told to you by that person, right?"
Having calmed down, Sasuke quickly analyzed the situation.
It had to be the same person who, like him and Boruto, had come to this era from the future, someone who told his brother about his past.
That was why the earlier scene had happened.
"So where is that person? Don't tell me he's like Yakushi Kabuto used to be, hiding in the shadows and too scared to show himself?"
Adult Sasuke took a deep breath and looked around.
"Uchiha Sasuke, didn't Kabuto already become your companion in the future, protecting Konoha alongside you? Why do you still have such a strong prejudice against him?"
Shiromo's voice came from outside the cave.
As Shiromo stepped inside, the internal structure of the cave rapidly changed, reverting back to the appearance of an ordinary cave.
"Inorganic Reincarnation?"
Seeing this change, Sasuke couldn't help but think of Yakushi Kabuto's Ryūchi Cave senjutsu.
No wonder he couldn't sense even the slightest trace of genjutsu in the environment, it had always been real, physical change.
Compared to Kabuto's Inorganic Reincarnation, this transformation was even more precise and subtle.
"Sasuke, Urashiki have already gone after Naruto. We'll keep this short. We're here to help you eliminate the Ōtsutsuki."
Shiromo went straight to the point.
"…Do you know you've changed the future? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Adult Sasuke hadn't expected Shiromo to be this direct.
Based on all the intelligence Adult Sasuke had gathered before, Shiromo should have been a schemer-type figure. Yet he was nothing like Yakushi Kabuto, who thrived on conspiracies.
"For the sake of that shattered world where the Ōtsutsuki will destroy the shinobi world? Why? Don't tell me you've already sworn loyalty to the Ōtsutsuki clan?
"I returned to this era by transcending time itself, preparing to reverse the future. So tell me, Uchiha Sasuke, what are 'you' planning to do?"
"..."
Sasuke fell silent.
Rather than confusion, this was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Before coming here, he had already made his decision.
Asking Shiromo now was only to further confirm whether Shiromo was truly the kind of person he believed him to be.
And Shiromo?
Shiromo had already guessed Adult Sasuke's thoughts.
He deliberately had Itachi cooperate in putting on that earlier act, all to make Adult Sasuke briefly recall his past self, the version of himself who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
In the eyes of others, that mindset might seem extreme, even unhinged. But when it came to matters of survival and extinction, it was essential.
Seek peace through struggle, and peace survives. Seek peace through compromise, and peace perishes.
"You and Naruto sank into a false peace, muddling along and wasting more than ten years."
"Peace is the most noble ideal, but to achieve an ideal, you must first fight for it."
"Without sufficient strength, peace is nothing more than empty words."
"When you gave up transplanting an arm because of so-called 'atonement,' did you ever think about this: if you lost because you were missing that bit of combat power, and the world was destroyed, where would you go to atone then?"
"Besides, that arm contained the all-purpose Hashirama Cells. If you had transplanted it, would you still collapse from exhaustion at the slightest provocation like you do now?"
"And furthermore, Naruto might not understand, but do 'you' really not understand Orochimaru?"
"Enemy organizations are constantly researching in this area, yet you're still busy guarding against Orochimaru, monitoring and restricting his research, afraid he'll develop hostile intentions toward Konoha again?"
"Do you know this? Your generation, aside from achieving reconciliation, is completely inferior to the generation of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara."
"They at least ended the Warring States era and established a new shinobi village system. They were reformers who changed an era."
"Even if the changes they made now seem outdated, it doesn't change the fact that they truly made changes."
"And what about you?"
"Sasuke, you were persuaded by Naruto and gave up on reform. And so, together, you became guardians of the old era."
"Clinging to outdated ways, papering over the cracks."
"When the Ōtsutsuki descend, all you can do is run, flee, and then say something that sounds cool, like 'We entrust the future of the shinobi world to the next generation.'
"But what if the next generation fails?"
"Why?"
"Why must we always be 'avengers' instead of 'preventers'?"
"Why must we wait until things are completely beyond saving before scrambling to respond, instead of developing in advance?"
Shiromo's series of soul-piercing questions slammed into Adult Sasuke's heart like artillery shells.
These words didn't feel like Shiromo speaking to him.
They felt like his past self questioning him.
Uchiha Sasuke took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and looked at Shiromo.
"Then how are you any different from us? And what is your objective?"
"Aren't you people placing all your hopes on the next generation? To distinguish it, I call the post–shinobi world era you established the 'Boruto era.'"
"And we…"
Shiromo glanced at Itachi. At that moment, Itachi was quietly feeling relieved at the change in Adult Sasuke's eyes.
"We will not, like those useless fools of the 'Boruto era,' willingly become prey for the Ōtsutsuki clan! We will take the flames of war into the Ōtsutsuki's own world, and hunt them down!"
(End of this chapter)