Itachi Uchiha's idea was a good one. At the very least, he didn't want his younger brother to fall in with such a dangerous crowd.
However, the one thing he got wrong was that this war represented the end of all conflict in the ninja world. Many people and things had taken some unexpected turns during the fighting.
For example… his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.
Inside Konoha village, a group of former classmates was having a gathering.
The twelve most outstanding members of Konoha's new generation were sitting in a barbecue restaurant. This included Sasuke Uchiha, who had been forcibly dragged back to the village by Naruto Uzumaki after they returned. It was their first get-together in many years.
Sasuke sat reservedly next to Naruto, but his classmates held no prejudice against him. They were all listening intently as Naruto recounted the final battle between Kaguya Otsutsuki and Emiya Shirou.
At the time of the battle, everyone else had been trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Among those present, only Naruto and Sasuke had witnessed it firsthand, so naturally, they were bombarded with questions.
However, Sasuke seemed withdrawn and apathetic. He, like Naruto, was a loser in this war. Neither of them had been able to save the world as the Sage of Six Paths had hoped.
"How unexpected..."
Shikamaru Nara listened to Naruto describe the outcome of the fight between the two Ten-Tails and sighed softly. "Emiya Shirou's power is actually that strong..."
This kind of thing… it was truly beyond their imagination.
"It seems we're truly powerless," Shikamaru added, shaking his head gently.
He glanced at the drinks on the table, wishing he could swap them for alcohol, but since they weren't adults, the restaurant obviously wouldn't sell them any. He decided he didn't care anymore.
"The Daimyo has already announced his abdication," Shikamaru said, looking out the window at the bustling street. "The countries of the ninja world will begin to merge... I don't know how much longer our village will even exist."
"It will definitely continue to exist, right?" one of the others chimed in. "Emiya Shirou has no intention of attacking Konoha."
These young shinobi didn't understand why their classmate was sighing like this. They all knew about the agreement the Five Kage had signed with Emiya Shirou. The five great ninja villages were all to be preserved.
Their strength might even be enhanced to some extent, as ninjas from the smaller, abolished villages would migrate to the larger ones. Konoha had already managed to absorb quite a few.
Shikamaru didn't argue with his friends. He and his father, Shikaku, had carefully analyzed the agreement in front of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. They knew the truth: the signing of that agreement was a countdown to the end of the five great ninja villages.
But… this was already a kindness. At least Shirou hadn't slaughtered tens of thousands of ninjas after the war ended.
The gathering eventually broke up on a listless note. After hearing about Emiya Shirou's terrifying power from Naruto and Sasuke, they really didn't know how to imagine a better future as the defeated.
After the gathering, Naruto walked through the village with Sasuke, clutching his head.
Since only the two of them possessed the power to offer even slight resistance to Emiya Shirou, and since they carried the weight of the so-called 'hope' from the Sage of Six Paths, they had a lot to discuss in private.
"It seems..." Naruto began, bringing up what they had seen and heard since returning. "Sasuke, nobody wants to resist Emiya anymore."
"They don't have the power to resist, either," Sasuke reminded his friend in a deep voice. "It's not just them. Even if we wanted to do something now, we'd just be causing that guy a little trouble..."
"This is fine, too," Sasuke continued, almost to himself. "All systems are inherently dominated by the strong..."
"But..." Naruto still had objections in his heart, though he couldn't quite articulate them. He didn't think what Emiya Shirou was doing was right, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
"Naruto, don't think so much about it right now," Sasuke said, offering some heartfelt advice to his friend. "If there's another conflict between Konoha and Emiya Shirou in the future... even if you want to protect Konoha, we need to quickly absorb the power the Sage of Six Paths gave us. Only by becoming stronger will we have the power to challenge him."
"Sasuke..." Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up. "You'll be with me, right?"
"Hmph," Sasuke snorted, but his gaze shifted to the land on both sides of the road. That was the former Uchiha clan compound, where he had grown up. The Naka River… the Naka Shrine…
In truth, he didn't know where to go. But Naruto had brought him back, and he planned to stay here for a while to tidy up his family's old grounds. The Konoha higher-ups had no objections, and his teacher, Kakashi, had also told him some stories about Itachi's past.
That older brother who protected him...
Sasuke thought it wasn't so bad to stay here like this. He had no intention of returning to Emiya Shirou's dangerous Akatsuki. Compared to Shirou and Madara, he was more willing to spend time with Naruto and his former classmates.
However… something unexpected happened.
While Sasuke was tidying up the Naka Shrine, he saw a strange black crow.
The sight stirred something in him. It was a ninja crow, the same type of summoning animal used by the late Shisui and Itachi Uchiha, often for casting high-level genjutsu. He didn't expect any to still be around.
Sasuke considered signing a summoning contract with it. But when he saw the crow's true face, his expression changed to one of shock.
This ninja crow… had a Sharingan.
How could a ninja crow have an Uchiha's Sharingan? Sasuke immediately moved to investigate its secret. But what he didn't expect was that when the crow's Sharingan met his gaze, it instantly transformed into a Mangekyo Sharingan.
"How is that possible!" Sasuke was stunned. A Mangekyo Sharingan was incredibly precious, as was the dōjutsu it contained. What secret could lie behind transplanting one into a crow?
The next moment, his expression changed again. He could clearly feel the effect of the Mangekyo's dōjutsu. Someone had used a Transcription Seal to plant a jutsu within it, designed to alter his will.
The jutsu's effect was... to make him protect Konoha.
If he hadn't obtained Yin Power and the Rinnegan, he might not have been able to resist it.
"Protect Konoha..." Sasuke's gaze turned exceptionally cold. The Rinnegan appeared in his eyes as he stared at the ninja crow.
In truth, he didn't mind protecting Konoha. He had friends here. And anyway, he didn't know what else he should be doing.
However, there is a world of difference between choosing to do something yourself and being forced to do it. Using genjutsu to rewrite the thoughts in his brain was something else entirely.
No one could accept their will being modified by someone else. No one could accept having another's thoughts implanted in their mind.
Besides the genjutsu, it also contained Itachi's memories.
With an ugly expression, Sasuke accepted all the memories stored inside, watching with a gloomy gaze as the ninja crow turned to ash, its mission complete.
"Brother..." Sasuke clenched his fist and punched the Naka Shrine's stone monument. His heart twitched with a sharp pain.
"I almost really believed..." Sasuke slowly turned around.
His figure was shrouded in darkness, but his eyes fell on the brightly lit village. "That you truly had no other choice... that everything you did back then was to save me."