[Sasuke: great, this time I really am the grandson]
[I've been saying for a while now that Sasuke has huge grandson potential—didn't expect him to actually become one]
[Lmaooo, the big grandson]
[Hikari's actual age is younger than Sasuke, right? With this outfit she looks even younger]
[Is a grandmother younger than you such a bad deal?]
[But Hikari is way stronger than Sasuke and can even use black flames]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), when you put it that way it's even more brutal for Sasuke]
[Everyone's got cheat codes except our boy, and his cheat code is the weakest of the bunch—and on top of that he's getting bodied by his own clansperson]
[Worst-treated second male lead in history]
[Wait wait wait—those murals on the wall, isn't that a tengu?]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), it really is?!]
[Holy crap, the prediction master was right!]
[So it really is Shuten-doji, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Daitengu???]
Indeed—inside this secret chamber housing the Uchiha Stone Tablet, the walls bore Uchiha paintings, and among them, a tengu could clearly be seen.
In the audience's eyes, this had just confirmed the trio of "Shuten-doji," "Tamamo-no-Mae," and "Daitengu."
The danmaku erupted, skyrocketing upward.
Apparently the danmaku discussion wasn't enough—posts on the forums were multiplying just as fast.
Hanabi's Popularity Points and follower count surged.
So revealing setting lore like this can also boost viewer retention. I see.
Hanabi had learned something new.
"Konoha…"
Sasuke was still deep in thought.
"So—Sasuke-kun, tell me your answer. The conclusion you've been thinking through." Hanabi said.
"…The enemy is within the village walls. Even Itachi couldn't have silently killed everyone on his own." Sasuke really had been thinking—truly reflecting.
As the character in the entire series most inclined toward careful reasoning, even when facing Danzo, Sasuke had questioned him first before raising a hand. And under Orochimaru's tutelage, he'd only knocked his opponents out—never killed them.
By every measure, he was a good kid. Aside from the occasional bout of chuunibyou.
That was the real quality of someone they called the Pressure King.
"The Uchiha clan served as Konoha's Military Police Force, and members also took missions outside the village. But on that night, not a single Uchiha was outside the compound—everyone had returned to the clan grounds. That alone is a massive problem. There's no way Itachi alone could have recalled every last member, which means someone had to be coordinating from the inside."
Sasuke's voice was low.
Every time he thought of his family, his heart ached.
"So Itachi's operation must have had someone cooperating within Konoha. And yet I'm still alive—which means it wasn't the Third Hokage's plan. On the contrary, it may be precisely because of the Third that the person behind this couldn't touch me."
Even Hanabi was a little surprised by this: "Ara, ara—Sasuke, I didn't expect you could reason this far."
"Ah—after spending this long around you, not learning to think isn't an option." Sasuke was confident about this much, at least. "But the Third is old now. And as my power grows, can whoever's pulling the strings really afford to keep ignoring me?"
At this thought, Sasuke clenched his fist.
He smiled coldly: "I don't know the story behind Kakashi's Sharingan, but the other Sharingan out there—I don't believe the person behind all this would just leave them alone!"
[Huh? No way—is this really the Kurapika script?]
[Wait, wait, hold on—I just realized something huge]
[Naruto's chains were taken from Kurapika's chains; Hanabi's Cursed Binding was taken from Kurapika's oath; and Sasuke's clanspeople's eyes are taken from the persecution of Kurapika's clanspeople]
[How can the resemblance be this close?]
[It's uncanny! Truly uncanny!]
[Still referencing! Still referencing!]
[This round is Kurapika's One Qi Transforms into the Three Pure Ones, right?]
[Haven't watched Hunter × Hunter so I'm just quietly watching you all chat—sounds very impressive]
Huh?
There was even that angle for a tribute?
The audience's sharp-eyed connections left Hanabi herself exclaiming at the sheer creativity.
But when you thought about it, it really was like that.
The audience's creative leaps appeared to be perfectly logical.
—Whatever, as long as the Popularity Points keep climbing, there's no problem.
"Your advantage is the Sharingan, Sasuke." Hanabi continued. "Unlike Kakashi-sensei, your Sharingan still has room to evolve."
If only Sasuke hadn't been so psychologically resilient, he'd have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan ages ago.
As things stood, the best they could do was have Hikari train him.
"So when?" Sasuke had zero attachment to the Chūnin Exams.
Couldn't win anyway.
"Not that soon." Hanabi said. "But before that, Hikari will teach you how to use the Sharingan properly. The goal is to help you unlock the Three-Tomoe Sharingan as soon as possible."
Mangekyo was too much to hope for, but Three-Tomoe might still be within reach.
"If that's the case… wouldn't Naruto be in danger staying in Konoha too?"
Sasuke had suddenly thought of Naruto.
[Touching—even now he doesn't forget his best bro]
[Lmao, Team 7 should just all defect together]
[Learning from Prince Chong'er]
[The Warring States are over, people!]
[Konoha seemed pretty nice before—why does the mood suddenly feel so different?]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), with how Naruto's been treated, you're telling me Konoha's vibe was fine?]
[Didn't you see Naruto's mom is about to go dark side?]
[Naruto's mom was also sealed with the Nine-Tails back then, but it didn't seem like as big a deal? Otherwise she'd probably have known about how Naruto was being treated]
[Hard to say]
The audience pictured the scene of the two best friends leaving together—but unfortunately, that was impossible.
"I'm sorry, but Naruto is different from you—he's a Jinchūriki. The Tailed Beast sealed inside a Jinchūriki is an enormously powerful force. You could say the balance between nations depends in large part on Jinchūriki serving as deterrents. If Konoha lost the Nine-Tails, it would likely become the spark for a new war."
Hanabi's words plunged Sasuke into silence.
"The power of the Uchiha… the power of love, huh…"
Sasuke thought of the words "Madara Uchiha" had once spoken.
"Yes. So—from here on, I will show you the true power of the Uchiha clan…"
After Hikari said this, the audience's view gradually dimmed.
Then the perspective switched over to Naruto's side.
Clearly, the Stage had decided it was still too early for the audience to learn about the "Mangekyo Sharingan" through Sasuke's storyline right now.
Hanabi figured this teaching session with Hikari would likely become part of a "flashback sequence" in the future.
"That is—the Mangekyo Sharingan—"
Hikari closed her eyes, then opened them again.
Now her eyes had transformed into a pair of Sharingan bearing a fan-blade pattern.
These otherworldly Sharingan were truly staggering.
"Starting today, Hikari will periodically cast Genjutsu—Tsukuyomi—on you, Sasuke, to apply mental stimulus. The goal is to help you awaken the Three-Tomoe as soon as possible. After that, she'll share more detailed intelligence about the Mangekyo Sharingan…"
"The Mangekyo Sharingan…!"
If he could master the Mangekyo Sharingan, then he'd be able to track down Itachi and get the full truth—wouldn't he?
Sasuke clenched his fist once more.
"Please teach me! Hikari-san!"
"No, no, no."
"Eh?"
"Grandma—you have to call me Grandma!"
"Ugh… Hikari… Grandma?"