Sasuke returned home with a strange, almost twisted satisfaction on his face. As he lay on his bed, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He turned his head and asked the shadow beside him,
"If a body is completely destroyed, can that really prevent Edo Tensei from being used? Can it stop the dead from spilling secrets?"
"The Fourth Hokage's soul was taken by the Shinigami, yet he still managed to leave behind a chakra imprint with its own awareness inside Naruto," the shadow replied. "It makes me question whether a soul is even truly singular."
"If you want answers, you should probably go ask the one who created the Shadow Clone Technique." The shadow shrugged. He was a demon, not some omniscient being. Based on his own experiences, he didn't know if souls were truly unique—but memory and identity definitely weren't. Mechanical life forms could split and replicate themselves through data copying, creating multiple versions of the same 'self.'
Sasuke fell silent, letting the topic drop. His eyes locked onto the shadow, burning with intensity.
"I killed someone again. Will you grant me more power?"
"Young man, don't bite off more than you can chew." The shadow rejected him coldly. "Master one technique first before asking for the next."
"Can a single jutsu beat Itachi?" Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"The same Fireball Technique—used by Uchiha Madara, it shook the heavens. When you use it, it's like… passing gas. Any idea why?" The shadow's comeback left Sasuke utterly speechless.
He didn't sleep at all that night.
...
The next day at the Ninja Academy, the teacher at the podium was going on and on—stuff about the founding of Konoha, the greatness of the Will of Fire, the warmth of the village, and so on.
Sasuke had zero interest in this sanitized nonsense. The history of Konoha, as taught in the classroom, glossed over the fact that it was founded jointly by the Senju and the Uchiha.
A strange smile curled on his lips.
"Uchiha Madara was one of the founders, and yet he's remembered as Konoha's first rogue ninja. What a joke. I bet when he was alive, no one dared call him that. Even when he left the village, it wasn't 'defection.' He abandoned Konoha, not the other way around."
"If Madara was really a rogue ninja, then what does that make the statues at the Valley of the End? A slap in Konoha's own face? It's only because the Uchiha have declined in recent years that anyone even dares brand Madara a traitor. Back when the clan was still powerful, they didn't even dare whisper his name."
The shadow nodded.
"That's the way of the world. When you're alive, your presence commands respect. Once you're dead, you're just a story for others to tell. If the Senju Clan were still around, do you think the Third Hokage would've ever been called 'the strongest Hokage'?"
"Yeah… staying alive really is the best." Sasuke said offhandedly, veering off topic. But then the shadow added,
"Naruto's watching you, you know~"
"So what? I'm used to being watched." Sasuke clearly didn't think much of Naruto—Indra's chakra had been completely suppressed by the demon, after all. Still, his circumstances were enough to draw Naruto's curiosity.
"If you gave it a real chance, you could still become Naruto's closest friend."
"Forget it. He's the kind of idiot who needs others' approval just to feel like he exists. I don't want that kind of stupidity rubbing off on me."
"Heh. Say what you will, but Naruto's the one who ended up winning at life. Not like some people—smart on the surface, but total failures underneath."
The mockery hit Sasuke like a slap, and he snapped back,
"Naruto's the son of the Fourth Hokage, has Uzumaki blood, a jinchūriki, the reincarnation of Ashura, the prophesied Child of Destiny… ."
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." The shadow brushed him off lazily.
Sasuke took a deep breath, forcing down his frustration. Then he noticed the shadow's gaze fixed on a pink-haired girl.
"Haruno Sakura? Why are you looking at her?"
The shadow looked away."I was just thinking… between you, Naruto, and her—it looks like that girl's the real winner in life. She's never lost anything. She's always gaining."
Sasuke nodded slightly.
"Well, at least her parents are still alive. But her personality's not really my type. Hard to believe the manga had Sasuke end up marrying her."
"On the surface, maybe he gave in after years of her chasing him… or maybe she forced him. But on a deeper level, after the Fourth Great War, Uchiha Sasuke—one of the two strongest beings in the world—needed to leave behind a bond in Konoha. Or a hostage, depending on how you look at it. That's what would really put the higher-ups at ease." The shadow didn't hesitate to put a dark spin on the story.
Sasuke could sense the malice in the shadow's words and didn't quite understand why he was so antagonistic toward Sakura. But the shadow didn't offer any explanation. Instead, he was reminded of another "Sakura"—Sakura Kinomoto.
Back then, the demon had just escaped the Abyss and was still weak. In that magical world, he had tried to devour a set of Cardcaptor Sakura grimoires—but the magic lamp gave him Cardcaptor Little Sakura and the Unspeakable Book of Clients instead. It nearly got him killed.
(T/N: Cardcaptor Sakura is the story centers on Sakura Kinomoto. Don't pay much attention to it)
Not exactly a fond memory.
...
"You're in a bad mood, huh? Thinking of starting something?" Sasuke asked, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"What's with that look? Why are you so fired up?" the shadow asked suspiciously.
"I just realized something. Why do they get to pull strings from the shadows while everyone else plays defense? Why can't I use the same methods against them? Even if I don't hit the mark, I can at least make them squirm."
He bit his lip, a storm of emotions swirling beneath the surface.
"I really hate this village. I hate its leadership. They sit on top of power and morality, but still play word games. I don't even like Naruto, but the way they've treated him disgusts me. That's why I want to start there."
The shadow stared deeply at Sasuke. There was still some shred of conscience in him. It had to be cleansed—with pure, unrelenting darkness.
"So? What do you think of my idea?" Sasuke looked hopeful.
The shadow paused, then said,
"When it comes to Uzumaki Naruto, there's more to it than you realize. Minato sealed half the Nine-Tails inside his own son. As Hokage, he had to know what kind of life a jinchūriki would face."
"All these years, Hiruzen let it happen. Jiraiya never looked at Naruto. Kakashi ignored him. All these 'big names' just turned a blind eye. And what about the others? Are you telling me Minato and Kushina had such bad reputations that no one wanted to help their kid? Or… did the ones who cared stay silent for some reason?"
Sasuke blinked, caught off guard.
"I didn't think that far ahead. I just wanted to expose Naruto's real identity, stir up public opinion, and aim it straight at the leadership. Just like they did to Hatake Sakumo."
The shadow shook his head.
"Public opinion only matters when it's backed by power. Look at Danzo—no matter how he twisted public sentiment, he could always claim it was for Konoha's sake."
"But if a regular villager tries to stir up trouble? They'll be labeled a threat and quietly erased by the Anbu or Root. Especially if it involves Naruto. The higher-ups won't hesitate to 'remove the risk,' even if it means memory wipes or worse. It's not hard for them."
The shadow paused, then added,
"And Naruto's so dense that if the Third says a few sentimental words, he'd probably forgive everything and hug him. If even the victim doesn't care, what good is public outcry?"
Sasuke looked shaken.
"Then what should I do?"
The shadow grinned.
"I have a plan to cut them off at the root. But it depends on whether you've got the guts. If you really want to use Naruto to strike at the top... then kill him. Kill the jinchūriki. That would shake them to their core."
"And if his death is directly linked to their own decisions—say, he starved to death because no one fed him, or was beaten so badly by villagers that he died from infection—that's not just killing someone. That's breaking their spirit."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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