[Konoha, Year 60]
Akatsuki Hideout.
The group, who had been discussing heatedly just moments ago, all turned their gazes sharply toward Obito, scanning him from head to toe. The intense stares made his hair stand on end.
Deidara was the first to speak, his voice full of curiosity.
"Hey, hey, Tobi, what were you doing wandering around Konoha for no reason?"
The face beneath Obito's mask instantly stiffened, but he reacted quickly, speaking in an exaggerated tone.
"Oh my, like I said, how could that person possibly be me? I'm so cute—why would I be called such an ugly name like 'Mr. Simp'?"
Hidan looked at him suspiciously, his gaze as if trying to pierce through the mask: "Then what were you doing loitering around Konoha for no reason?"
"I wasn't!" Tobi waved his hands. "I've been with you guys the whole time. When would I have had time to go to Konoha?"
Kakuzu's eyes glinted sharply: "The Sky Screen is talking about the past. The past you might very well have gone there."
Tobi: "..."
Just then, Sasori, who rarely ever spoke, also chimed in. His voice was hoarse, like the grinding of puppet joints.
"Tobi, what are you hiding under that mask?"
Obito was silent for a moment, then continued in that exaggerated tone.
"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that! I'm really innocent!"
But this time, no one believed him. Though no one could see it, Obito's smile had frozen on his face.
The atmosphere in the hideout grew increasingly subtle.
Just then, the voice of Pain rang out.
"Enough."
Everyone looked toward him. Pain's Rinnegan swept across the group, finally settling on Tobi. In the end, he chose to help Tobi out of the situation.
"It doesn't matter who the members of the Akatsuki really are. As long as they are useful to the organization's goals, that's enough."
Obito was silent for a few seconds, then laughed.
"The leader is still the most sensible!"
But in his heart, a massive storm had already been stirred up.
This Sky Screen... just how much more of his secrets was it going to expose?
[Third choice: In light of the Uchiha clan's high degree of autonomy, this time you start with Uchiha Fugaku. After exhausting every possible method, you finally obtain permission to leave the village. This time, you are confident that everything will go smoothly—the sea is vast for the fish to leap, the sky is high for the birds to fly. You disguise yourself as an ordinary person and live happily for a while.]
[Unfortunately, the good times don't last long. The Uchiha clan massacre still occurs. And as the only survivor of the Uchiha clan, everyone remembers you, and you are hunted down by Root, Uchiha Itachi, and Mr. Simp. Soon, your whereabouts are discovered, and after your death, your Sharingan is plundered. Escape fails!]
Throughout the Shinobi World, a chorus of sighs rang out.
"That's just too tragic..."
"Die if you run, die if you don't–either way, it's death."
"No matter which escape method, the Uchiha clan just can't survive, right?"
"What kind of fate is this for the Uchiha!"
People discussed among themselves, their voices tinged with sympathy.
Meanwhile, the members of the Hyūga clan couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.
Why couldn't an Uchiha survive even after fleeing Konoha?
Clearly, the Sharingan was to blame!
"Fortunately…" remarked a Hyūga elder, looking at the curse marks on the foreheads of the branch family members. "We have the Caged Bird Seal, which ensures the Byakugan's safety."
Hiashi stood within the clan grounds, watching the Sky Screen with a complex expression in his eyes.
Although the Byakugan couldn't evolve through emotional stimuli like the Sharingan, nor did it possess those mystical abilities. It also attracted far fewer psychopaths and covetous gazes, keeping the clan internally stable.
"A blessing in disguise," Hiashi finally sighed.
[Of course, there is actually a way to survive on the path of fleeing Konoha: immediately after leaving, race non-stop to the Land of Lightning and seek the protection of Kumogakure. The Fourth Raikage would certainly choose to keep you, and since Kumogakure's strength means they wouldn't fear Konoha, they wouldn't hand you over–your life could be saved.]
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage, A, was sitting in his office chair. Hearing what the Sky Screen said, he was momentarily stunned.
Then—
"Hahahaha!"
He slapped his thigh and laughed uproariously, swaying back and forth.
"The Sky Screen is right, the Uchiha should have fled to me back then!"
---
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Ōnoki floated in mid-air, his expression instantly darkening.
"Why? Why not say come to us in Iwagakure? Do they think Iwagakure would fear Konoha?"
Kitsuchi said cautiously from the side: "Father, perhaps because Kumogakure is closer to Konoha…"
"Nonsense!" Ōnoki glared at him. "The Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire are separated by Yugakure. Where's the closeness?"
Kitsuchi shut his mouth.
---
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Mei was equally displeased: "Kumogakure? Hmph. Is Kirigakure not good enough?"
"They could come here and survive just the same!"
---
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Chiyo looked at the Sky Screen with an extremely complicated expression. She certainly wanted to say that coming to Sunagakure would work too.
But remembering that their own Kazekage was currently still imprisoned in Konoha, she simply couldn't bring herself to say it.
[Of course, there is also a problem with choosing this path. You would be treated by the Fourth Raikage as a breeding boar–forced to mate wildly to leave behind the Uchiha bloodline. Once your value is completely milked dry, you would be mercilessly discarded.]
A's smile instantly froze on his face.
"This Sky Screen is full of crap!"
He smashed his fist onto the desk, which shattered on impact.
"Am I that kind of person?!"
Dodai stood to the side and said cautiously.
"Raikage-sama, the Sky Screen is only talking about a possibility in the future…"
"Not even a possibility!" A glared at him. "Would I, the great Raikage, ever do something like that?!"
Bee huddled in the corner, muttered softly.
"Well… it's not entirely out of the question."
---
Across the Shinobi World, countless people buzzed with discussion.
"Breeding boar?" Someone blinked, "That doesn't sound very good…"
"But the result is good!" Another person said, "Leaving behind the Uchiha bloodline—those are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths' eldest son!"
"Exactly, exactly! If you could have a few kids with the Sharingan, how amazing would that be!"
"It's a bit tragic to be discarded after your value is squeezed dry… but at least you'd be alive."
"Being alive is always better than being dead, no?"
"And besides, you'd leave behind descendants, continuing the Uchiha bloodline…"
Amid the chatter, quite a few people actually thought it wasn't so bad. Of course, they only dared to say this privately—after all, if the Uchiha heard them, they'd probably be beaten to death.
---
[Konoha, Year one]
Madara stared at the words "breeding boar" on the Sky Screen, his face instantly turning ashen.
With a roar, his Perfect Susano'o rumbled to life. The hundreds-of-meters-tall blue giant rose from the ground, its wings spreading wide, blotting out the sun.
The Susano'o drew its massive chakra blade and slashed fiercely at the Sky Screen.
One slash!
Two slashes!
The blade light tore across the sky and plunged into that luminous screen—
And then… nothing happened.
The Sky Screen still hung there silently, as if those world-shaking attacks had been nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Hashirama quickly hurried over to stop him.
"Madara! Calm down! Calm down!"
Madara was panting heavily, the fire of anger in his eyes almost erupting.
"How can you expect me to be calm?! The Sky Screen is insulting us Uchiha!"
Hashirama smiled bitterly.
"It's talking about something that might happen in the future, not about you…"
"That still doesn't make it okay!" Madara glared at the Sky Screen, "The Uchiha would rather die than become some kind of breeding boar!"
Hashirama looked at Madara and sighed, knowing that Madara was truly angry.
But he also knew that the screen wouldn't change anything just because Madara was angry.
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha Clan Grounds]
The place had completely exploded.
"What is the Sky Screen even saying?!"
"We Uchiha would rather die than become some breeding boar!"
"This is the greatest insult to us!"
The Uchiha clan members' faces were red with rage, nearly losing control.
Fugaku stood at the front of the crowd, his face gloomier than ever. He was naturally furious as well, but as the clan head, he had to remain calm.
"Enough."
He said in a deep voice. It wasn't loud, but it made everyone fall silent.
They all looked at him, and Fugaku took a deep breath.
"The Sky Screen is only talking about a hypothetical scenario. Besides, didn't you notice? The Sky Screen is telling us that if we really need to flee, we now know which direction to run. As unpleasant as the Sky Screen's phrasing is, it's actually giving us a possible path to survival."
"If the future really reaches that point, at least we'd have some direction, wouldn't we?"
The crowd fell silent.
A path to survival…
Would they really need one?
Tetsuka clenched his fist: "I don't care about any path to survival! Even if I die, I'm not becoming some breeding boar!"
"Exactly!" Someone echoed, "The Uchiha have their own pride!"
*****
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