"Konoha's sinking lower and lower. One man wipes out the entire Uchiha clan. Danzo commits countless crimes and no one dares to question him."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, the problem isn't just you — it's all of Konoha's shinobi. You're weak, like chickens — completely vulnerable."
"Without strength, you have no right to speak."
"When the day comes that a true powerhouse rises and sweeps Konoha into the dirt, you'll regret everything. But by then, it'll be too late."
Naruto scanned the scene before him — the ruins of what was once the proud Uchiha compound — and quietly shook his head.
He was disappointed.
This was not the Konoha he had imagined.
It was weak. Pathetic, even.
"Let's go."
Naruto turned and left first.
Shisui and the others followed silently behind him.
"Lord Hokage…" an ANBU member murmured, watching Naruto's back disappear into the distance.
Hiruzen said nothing at first. Then he sighed deeply and raised a trembling hand, signaling the ninja to stay silent.
"Without strength, there is no right to speak," he muttered under his breath.
The words hit him hard. They were true.
Naruto hadn't needed to threaten him. Just by revealing a glimpse of his power, he had forced the Third Hokage to bow his head in submission.
Hiruzen thought back to the night of the Nine Tails' attack.
Even then, the beast's strength hadn't been as terrifying as what he'd just witnessed from Naruto — or rather, Kira of the Red Sun Society.
If not for Kira's goodwill toward Konoha, a single move from him could have wiped the entire village off the map.
Just like the First Hokage once did — a godlike force that swept across nations singlehandedly.
"Have I really been wrong all along…?"
For the first time in years, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to doubt his own ideals.
The other ninja around him were silent, weighed down by shame.
Naruto's words cut deep — sharper than any kunai.
"Weak as chickens? Vulnerable?"
They were ANBU, Jōnin, elite shinobi — the best of Konoha.
They'd always walked through the village with pride, feeling above the rest.
But now… that pride felt hollow.
If anyone else had insulted them, they'd have exploded in anger.
But against Kira(Naruto) — a being whose very presence made them tremble — they couldn't even open their mouths.
They couldn't refute the truth.
"…Are we really that weak?" someone whispered.
Naruto opened the portal, sending Shisui and the others back to Red Sun Town.
He himself appeared atop a tall building under the pale moonlight.
Kneeling beneath the tower's shadow was Uchiha Itachi — eyes hollow, expression blank.
Sensing Naruto's arrival, a faint light returned to his gaze.
"President…" he said quietly.
Naruto sighed.
"I thought you were strong enough to see through illusions — to know what's real and what's not. That you could stay detached. I was wrong."
"I shouldn't have made you bear this burden. The Uchiha massacre… that blame's on Danzo now. You don't need to carry it any longer. Take some time to rest. Forget Konoha for now."
He exhaled slowly, guilt flickering in his eyes.
Maybe he'd made a mistake.
Because of his youth, he had wanted Konoha to follow the same path he'd seen in his fragmented dreams — to let fate unfold as it should, step by step.
That's why, even knowing Danzo would attack Shisui, he had only warned him quietly.
Afterward, he'd helped Shisui fake his death, but he hadn't intervened further.
He did the same with the Uchiha massacre — rescuing the clan, but allowing the event to "happen" in history, to preserve the flow of fate.
But now, seeing Itachi — broken, numb, spirit nearly shattered — Naruto couldn't help but question himself.
Had he gone too far?
"It's fine, President. I'm fine. I don't need to rest," Itachi said, forcing himself to stand. "I just…"
His voice trailed off.
The usual calm in his expression returned, but his eyes burned red — the tomoe spinning wildly until they formed a new pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
When Shisui hadn't truly died, Itachi's emotions had never reached the threshold to awaken it.
But tonight… that limit was broken.
Whether it was fortune or tragedy, he didn't know.
"Come," Naruto said softly. "Let's go see your parents. It might help you find some peace."
"You can't run from this forever. Face it."
He opened a door and led Itachi through.
At the Uchiha compound's entrance, the entire clan was gathered — waiting.
Whispers filled the air, anxious and uncertain.
When Naruto appeared with Itachi beside him, the crowd fell silent.
All eyes turned toward the young man they had once envied, resented, or admired — the Uchiha prodigy himself.
"Itachi…"
Uchiha Mikoto rushed forward, tears streaming down her face.
She pulled her son into her arms, checking him over as though she couldn't believe he was real.
"Itachi, don't blame yourself," she cried. "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't blame you — I never will."
"As long as you're alive, that's all that matters. I'd give my life for that."
Her words tumbled out in broken sobs, full of pain and relief.
Fugaku stood silently to the side, his eyes fixed on the night sky.
His lips trembled, but he said nothing.
That silence — proud, stubborn, and heavy — was the last strength of a father who refused to cry.
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