Sakura was completely immersed in the romantic fantasy she had spun for herself. Watching the Sky Screen, seeing that version of herself standing in Sasuke's way, she felt nothing but admiration—so cool, so brave.
However, the scene that followed shattered all of her daydreams in the cruelest possible way.
Faced with Sakura, who stood before him having gathered every ounce of courage she had, Sasuke's expression didn't change in the slightest. There was no hesitation—only an icy detachment that could not be melted.
His voice was as cold as the night wind, devoid of warmth.
"Sakura. Don't stop me."
Sakura pleaded urgently, "Sasuke! Please, I'm begging you—can't you stay in the village? If you do this… you'll become a rogue ninja!"
Those two words—rogue ninja—were like heavy shackles.
They meant being hunted by the village.
They meant complete isolation.
They meant stepping onto a dark road with no way back.
Sakura tried to use that consequence to hold him back.
But Sasuke gave no response to her plea.
He only stared at her with those pitch-black eyes, eyes that seemed to contain endless cold.
That gaze was like a blade, slicing apart all of Sakura's hope and courage.
In the end, under Sasuke's silent yet overwhelming resolve, Sakura lost.
She lowered her head. Tears fell like broken pearls as she sobbed softly, forcing herself—step by step—to move aside and clear the path.
Sasuke walked past her without expression.
Just as Sakura thought he would leave without another glance, her heart shattering—
The Sasuke who had already passed her vanished like a ghost.
In the next instant, he appeared behind her, catching her completely off guard.
In an extremely soft voice—one tinged with emotions too complex to name—he whispered by her ear:
"…Thank you, Sakura."
The moment the words fell—
Thump!
A clean, precise chop struck the back of her neck.
The surprise had yet to fade from her eyes when her body went limp, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
Sasuke caught her falling body, silently carrying her to a public bench by the roadside. He laid her down gently, adjusting her into a relatively comfortable position.
After finishing all this, he stood up and turned back for one last look at the unconscious Sakura.
Moonlight illuminated half his face. His eyes were unreadable—there was resolve, perhaps a trace of reluctance even he hadn't noticed, but above all else, unwavering determination.
Then he turned sharply away, never looking back again.
His figure merged into the night as he sprinted toward the outskirts of Konoha, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
According to shinobi law, leaving the village without the Hokage's permission constituted desertion.
Desertion.
Sasuke Uchiha… defected from Konoha in Year 60?
The entire classroom fell silent. Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned exceptionally grim.
Sasuke Uchiha had defected as well?
Was this because of the Uchiha clan massacre?
Had he, as Hokage, truly left behind so many unresolved tragedies?
Jiraiya scratched his head and let out a long sigh.
Tsunade folded her arms, her gaze sharp, lost in thought.
Ninja Academy – Classroom
"Bang!"
With a loud slam, Naruto Uzumaki shot to his feet, his small face flushed red with anger. He pointed at Sasuke beside him and shouted,
"Sasuke! You actually knocked Sakura out?! That's messed up!"
Sasuke's face was already dark, his mind in chaos.
Naruto's shout only made him more irritated. Without thinking, he snapped back,
"Shut up, dead last! This has nothing to do with you!"
Yet after shouting, he didn't continue arguing as he usually would.
Instead, he clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly pierced his palms, his eyes locked onto the Sky Screen—onto the back of his future self walking away without hesitation.
Desertion…
In Year 60 of Konoha… I defected?
But—
In the future shown on the Sky Screen, in Year 66, wasn't he standing beside the Five Kage, fighting to save the shinobi world?
Hadn't he even rescued the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki from that so-called world-destroying Naruto?
What was going on?
What happened during those six years?
The massive contradiction and information gap left Sasuke more confused than ever. He couldn't even comprehend the logic behind his own future actions.
And Sasuke wasn't the only one struggling.
Across the entire shinobi world, everyone watching the Sky Screen felt their minds short-circuiting.
"Wait… let me get this straight. Sasuke Uchiha becomes one of the heroes who saves the shinobi world in the future, right?"
"Right. He fought alongside the Five Kage against the world-ending Naruto Uzumaki."
"But now the Sky Screen is telling us that in Year 60… he defected from Konoha?"
"So that means the two strongest figures of the future—Naruto becomes the destroyer of the world, and Sasuke was once a rogue ninja???"
"Good grief…"
Someone in some village muttered those words aloud, voicing everyone's thoughts.
This was utterly absurd.
For a moment, strange, mocking, even schadenfreude-filled gazes once again focused on Konoha.
"What kind of cursed place is Konoha, anyway? A factory for 'problem children' and 'rogue ninja prodigies'?"
"First Itachi Uchiha Clan Massacres his entire clan, now his brother Sasuke defects, and on top of that, Naruto becomes a future world destroyer… what exactly are Konoha's higher-ups doing?"
"I'm seriously getting more and more curious—just how messed up is Konoha internally, to push so many geniuses into either killing, defecting, or wanting to destroy the world?"
Doubt and ridicule spread through the shinobi world like a plague.
At this moment, Konoha's image wasn't just overshadowed by fear of a future crisis—it was now stained with accusations of mismanagement, driving away talent, and breeding disaster.
Utterly ridiculous.
The Sky Screen shifted.
From Konoha's silent streets, it transitioned to a perilous canyon under torrential rain and crashing thunder—
The Valley of the End.
Roaring waterfalls thundered endlessly. Beneath the lightning, the colossal statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha loomed in and out of view, as though silently watching the two tiny figures below—figures burdened with destiny.
Everyone watching the Sky Screen held their breath.
They recognized the pair facing each other.
They were Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, still in their youth.
Naruto's face was filled with urgency and resolve never before seen.
He shouted at Sasuke across from him, his voice nearly drowning out the roar of the waterfall:
"Sasuke—! Come back with me! I won't let you leave the village—no matter what!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789