Whether in the original story or in the world Naruto lives in now—
Sasuke's life has never truly been his own choice.
In the original story, Sasuke's path was arranged by Itachi for the sake of revenge.
After taking revenge, he was manipulated by Obito. Only after meeting the four Hokage did Sasuke finally start thinking about what he wanted.
In this world—
Sasuke's life was once again arranged for revenge by Itachi. He still seemed to have no freedom of choice.
So Sasuke's true intention wasn't revenge.
It was the desire to control his own life.
And…
To take control of his life from the very beginning.
That way, his brother wouldn't kill their clan.
He wouldn't have to chase power by any means necessary.
And he could simply live happily.
This answer surprised not only Naruto—but even Sasuke himself.
After his manifested "heart" disappeared, Sasuke stared at the ground in confusion.
Naruto said, "This might be something your subconscious can't accept, so your true heart ended up like this."
Right now, Sasuke wanted to control the Nine-Tails' chakra.
He needed to live according to his true heart and break free from the path arranged for him.
Or—he could obey his fate and follow the path others planned.
Sasuke stood there, wrestling with these two choices, growing more conflicted by the second.
"In short…" Naruto said solemnly, "either change your heart, or obey it."
"Before you sort that out, don't try to control the Nine-Tails' chakra. If you force it, something bad will happen—and it might even cost you your life."
"I understand, Naruto." Sasuke's clenched fists slowly relaxed, and his expression grew firm.
Naruto nodded.
He had given Sasuke the method. The rest depended on Sasuke's own effort.
Sasuke left the training ground without attempting to use the Nine-Tails' chakra right away.
He knew he wasn't ready.
And Naruto wasn't exaggerating—obtaining such tremendous power required a price.
In fact, when it came to the Nine-Tails' chakra—
The simpler the person, the easier it was to obtain.
Naruto lived freely and did whatever he wanted. As a transmigrator, he had his own perspective, so controlling the chakra came naturally.
Haruno Sakura was also simple.
She was just a huge nympho—so she got it easily.
Karin was more complicated. She wanted revenge but lacked strength, but eventually succeeded with Naruto's help.
Sasuke, however, was much more complex.
Whether he could master this power depended entirely on himself.
Naruto could only help so much.
A person who couldn't conquer their own true nature… could never control the Nine-Tails' chakra.
After Sasuke left the training ground, Naruto began thinking about his next move.
There were still hidden threats in the ninja world—
Obito and Black Zetsu.
Naruto definitely wanted to kill them if possible.
But before that, he needed to stop Obito—a man with zero bottom line—from threatening the people around him.
So Naruto planned to develop the Land of Snow first.
At the moment, the Snow Country was relatively safe.
Even if Obito attacked, Naruto could return instantly.
So Naruto explained everything about the Akatsuki and Obito to Haruno Sakura, who now carried the Nine-Tails' chakra.
After hearing it, Sakura's eyes widened. "So… that creepy masked guy might target me?"
"That's right." Naruto nodded. "He's extremely insidious and will do anything to reach his goals."
Naruto was absolutely right.
Obito was like that.
He was born that way.
So Naruto invited her. "I've built a safe zone in the Land of Snow. I can rush back anytime, so… do you want to go?"
Normally—
With Sakura's nympho personality, she would agree instantly.
But—
Something unexpected happened.
After thinking for a moment, Sakura said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Naruto…"
"Tsunade-sama is training me, and she just took office. I can't leave all her work to her alone."
"And not only me—Sasuke still has the Nine-Tails with him."
"I see…" Naruto thought for a moment and understood her reasoning.
Even though Sakura had paid heavily to become Tsunade's student—
Tsunade hadn't held back after seeing her potential. She'd taught her sincerely.
Running away now would be unreasonable.
Secondly, unlike Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura's parents were still alive.
If she wanted to leave the village, she needed to consider their feelings.
But there was one thing Sakura got wrong.
Naruto corrected her, "With Jiraiya by Sasuke's side, I'm not too worried."
Jiraiya had his flaws.
But his strength was unquestionable.
At his peak, he was close to the Kage level.
Obito trying to steal Sasuke's Nine-Tails chakra from right under Jiraiya's nose was unrealistic.
And Jiraiya's job wasn't to defeat Obito—it was to contact Naruto immediately if Obito appeared.
And Naruto could teleport anywhere in the ninja world at any time.
"Besides, Naruto-kun, I have Tsunade-sama." Sakura said confidently. "Even though she only took me in for money at first, I know she won't abandon me if danger comes."
"But… since it's Naruto-kun inviting me, of course I want to say yes!"
"If I don't… I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
"But Tsunade-sama can't handle all the workload alone right now."
"Give me three years, Naruto. I'll convince Tsunade-sama and my parents—and then I'll come find you!"
Seeing Sakura's serious expression, Naruto nodded. "Alright. I hope you'll be a grown woman by then."
"Huh?" Sakura froze and instinctively looked down at her toes.
Then she quickly covered her chest. The slight softness there was her biggest insecurity.
She asked gloomily, "Naruto-kun… do you think they'll grow?"
Naruto grinned. "Don't worry. I have a secret that can make them grow."
Sakura instantly became excited and asked what it was.
But Naruto dodged the question, saying it was too early…
Sakura left feeling disappointed but still filled with a spark of hope.
As for Naruto—
He prepared to carry out his next plan.
First, he wanted to see if he could obtain the Strength of a Hundred Seal from Tsunade.
The best way was to trade.
If not, then forget it.
Naruto still had a system to obtain it anyway.
Once he got it, he would return to the Land of Snow.
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