Sasuke's brain was momentarily in chaos.
Upon hearing Rengoku's question, the images of Fugaku and Mikoto flashed through his mind, finally settling on Itachi.
"It's Nii-san."
Rengoku's pace began to slow, not continuing with that question, but instead switched to another, "Do you know the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha Village?"
Sasuke was just seven years old now, and his understanding of such matters was still unclear.
He answered, "Our Uchiha clan is one of the founders of Konoha Village."
"Then, is our Uchiha clan strong?"
Sasuke's eyes sparkled with spirit, "Of course, our Uchiha clan is the strongest in the ninja world!"
Rengoku heard the pride in Sasuke's voice and his sense of belonging to the clan, and let out a relaxed laugh.
"Then do you know who the strongest in the Uchiha clan is?"
Hearing this question, Sasuke looked a bit troubled.
There were too many strong people in the clan, and he didn't have a clear concept. He didn't even know Itachi had the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Is it Father?", Sasuke asked hesitantly.
Because Fugaku usually kept a low profile, and Sasuke had never seen his father fight.
He thought his father was strong purely due to the inherent notion that the clan leader must be the strongest.
Rengoku shook his head, not keeping Sasuke in suspense, but directly said, "It's Itachi."
"He is the strongest in the entire Uchiha clan, and the legendary wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Even the clan leader is no match for Itachi."
"It's Nii-san! Nii-san is that strong?"
Sasuke's voice was full of shock and pride.
For the brother-loving Sasuke, nothing stirred his emotions more than praise for his brother.
Rengoku reached out and lifted Sasuke up.
Then continued asking Sasuke, "If your brother wants to become Hokage, do you think he could?"
Rengoku changed to a way Sasuke could better understand.
Sasuke answered without hesitation, "Since my brother is the strongest of the Uchiha clan, of course he can become Hokage."
"Which clan does the current Hokage belong to?"
Sasuke already vaguely sensed the answer, "The Sarutobi clan."
Rengoku then stared into Sasuke's eyes and slowly guided, "If the Sarutobi clan doesn't want to hand over the position of Hokage—"
"And they can't defeat your brother, what will they do?"
Sasuke widened his eyes, already starting to brainstorm.
Rengoku reminded, "Do you still remember who loves you most in this world?"
Sasuke reacted, his face flushing red, "I... I became the hostage?"
He suddenly understood why Rengoku had picked him up from school that day.
Rengoku spoke in a cold tone, "The people of Konoha kidnapped you and demanded your brother kill the entire Uchiha clan."
"That includes your father, your mother, your sister Izumi, me, Ryuri, everyone in the clan."
Sasuke was hit with a massive psychological blow, his blood visibly boiling, and his eyes filled with bloodshot lines.
Rengoku judged the time was right and delivered the final blow:
"In order to save your life, Itachi decided to follow Konoha's orders and massacre the clan in exchange for your survival."
"Even if he bears the sin of patricide, matricide, and clan slaughter, he will still save you, his most beloved younger brother."
"I... ah! NII-SAN!"
Sasuke let out a scream of agony upon learning what Itachi had sacrificed for him.
In the surge of emotions, his eyes turned blood-red, and a single tomoe silently appeared.
Sasuke, opened his eyes.
"Huff... huff...", Sasuke panted heavily, his body extremely exhausted.
His vision gradually darkened, and he collapsed forward stiffly.
Rengoku reached out and caught him, directly slinging Sasuke over his shoulder.
'This brat is truly gifted. Just by how attached Sasuke is to Itachi, stimulating him to awaken his Sharingan was nothing short of effortless.'
He carried Sasuke back toward the clan compound.
Meanwhile, he shifted his consciousness, arriving in Naruto's shadow.
Earlier, when his own shadow overlapped with Naruto's, his clone had already snuck over.
Although Jiraiya also knew shadow hiding techniques, this kind of shadow stealth was still very rare, so he didn't notice.
Rengoku had been gone for about twenty minutes with Sasuke.
————
Back at the gate, Naruto was still there.
He sat alone on the swing, watching enviously as other children were picked up by their parents.
Naruto didn't want to go home because if he left during this time, there were too many parents on the streets.
Getting scolded or bullied was very likely to happen, and he might even get hit or have stones thrown at him.
So he could only sit here on the swing and wait for everyone to leave.
Once the other kids had gone home and the streets were emptier, he could return to that cold, lifeless house.
Jiraiya was a bit puzzled, and asked the nearby Anbu, "What's Naruto doing here?"
The nearby Anbu had clearly been monitoring Naruto for a long time and knew his routine.
The Anbu replied, "Naruto usually waits here for the Hokage. Recently, the Third Hokage has been busy with Uchiha-related matters and hasn't come to see Naruto."
"Naruto probably misses the Hokage. Lord Jiraiya, you don't need to worry, he'll go home soon."
Jiraiya suddenly understood, 'Seems the old man really does care about Naruto.'
He considered for a moment and decided not to meet Naruto for now.
After all, Naruto was still young, and he couldn't reveal his identity yet, it'd be better to wait for the old man to arrange something in the future.
Seeing that Rengoku had already left and that Naruto was fine, Jiraiya instructed, "Continue your work."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."
Jiraiya's figure flickered, already heading toward the Hokage's office.
Rengoku estimated that Naruto would still stay there a while longer.
So he shifted his consciousness back.
When Rengoku transferred his consciousness, his real body would remain like a shadow clone.
It wouldn't turn stupid, so his real body had already brought Sasuke back to the clan compound and arrived at Fugaku's place.
When Rengoku carried Sasuke in, Fugaku was first startled, thinking Sasuke was injured.
Later, seeing Rengoku looking calm, he relaxed, "What happened to Sasuke?"
Rengoku said blandly, "Nothing much. Sasuke awakened his Sharingan."
"Awakened... he awakened?", Fugaku froze for a moment, then suddenly realized.
'Sasuke is only seven years old. He awakened at seven?'
Fugaku let out a breath, suppressing the joy that almost overflowed.
He returned to his poker face.
"Mm, can't let him get too arrogant," Fugaku said seriously.
But Rengoku frowned at him, and Fugaku's expression stiffened, "What is it, Rengoku?"
Ever since Rengoku awakened the Mangekyo, he had changed drastically.
Not only had he saved the Uchiha clan, but he also showed astounding political skill and wisdom.
So when Rengoku showed discontent, Fugaku couldn't pretend not to see it.
Rengoku snorted coldly, "You still don't get it. You walking around with that damn stiff face and strict attitude all the time is exactly what almost led the Uchiha to destruction."
"If you had just praised Itachi a few more times with 'You are my pride,' do you think he would've betrayed the clan?"
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