By the logic of the original, even after learning the truth of the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke shouldn't be in this state. He should fall into a period of confusion, since everything his most beloved elder brother Itachi Uchiha did in his childhood was for Konoha, and supposedly for him.
Heh, that depends on who's telling it.
Even describing the same thing, different people convey different meanings. All the more so for something as huge as clan extermination. And Sasuke's parents were indeed killed by Itachi's own hands. That's indisputable. Even if Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku, wasn't a qualified good father, can you claim Sasuke felt nothing for him? Maybe not as much as for Itachi, but what about Sasuke's mother? Mikoto was a good mother.
Think carefully—transpose this to a real-world scenario.
In a large village, your same-surname clan, dissatisfied with the oppression of the village chief and Party secretary, decides to elect a new chief, preferably someone from your own lineage.
But unexpectedly, your own clan produces a traitor who not only sells out the clan but kills your parents, and most importantly, that person is your older brother.
In the end he tells you it was for your own good, that everything he did was for peace, and hopes you'll love this village and protect it.
One wonders if Sasuke is thinking now: Konoha, with what am I supposed to protect you?
Tell me—if it were you, how would you react? If you didn't go dumb on the spot, your mental fortitude would be considered strong.
It sounds melodramatic and bizarre—like a third-rate novel's dog-blood plot.
Even more absurd than the "transmigrate in and immediately face a broken engagement" trope.
If Itachi had just flipped and wiped out the clan, Sasuke might have had an easier time; at least a single-minded quest for revenge has a target.
But what is this? Hate? Or love?
Damn—if this were real life, Itachi would be a heartless madman. If the Uchiha had oppressed you from childhood, abused you—drank your blood and dug your bones—or if you were the clan head's illegitimate child and your mother was abused by servants, or if a childhood betrothal was broken because you became a cripple—that would be something. You could barely argue your case.
But what did the Uchiha ever owe you, Itachi? Everything you ate, used, wore—wasn't it provided by the clan? Weren't you raised by the clan?
Put nicely, you, Itachi Uchiha, acted for peace and ideals. Put bluntly, you're a white-eyed wolf that can't be raised tame.
An ungrateful one at that. What did you do for the Uchiha clan? Yes, being Konoha's spy was hard work—especially when, as a spy, you also sold clan secrets to Konoha. Must have been tough.
Most importantly, if you didn't want to be a spy, why didn't you say so? That mouth is for speaking, not just breathing. You can breathe through your nose—you're not a dog.
As a genius of the Uchiha—one who unlocked the ultimate ocular jutsu, the Mangekyo—what clan would have the gall to send you out as a spy?
In the end, you didn't trust your clan.
But that was the original's account of Sasuke's psychological tangle after learning the truth. Now the one who told Sasuke is Uchiha Musashi. What does that mean? The facts Musashi gave Sasuke were presented from the Uchiha's standpoint. Even when the facts are the same, change the vantage point and the meaning conveyed is completely different.
Even if everything said is true.
Especially since Musashi told Sasuke the whole truth—remember, the whole truth.
Including the Mangekyo Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui that Itachi held, what that eye could do, and what Itachi planned to use it for.
If it were only Itachi's method of extermination paired with his Will of Fire and his compromise to protect Sasuke, then no matter how Musashi dressed it up, Sasuke would still be conflicted.
He was, after all, the elder brother Sasuke once loved and admired.
But what was the meaning of Shisui's eye?
If after learning the truth Sasuke wanted to act against Konoha, Itachi would use that Mangekyo ability—Kotoamatsukami—to change him.
So in your eyes, Itachi, the village still comes above all else, right?
Your own younger brother counts for nothing—if he's bad for Konoha, you'll change his will. How is that different from erasing him? Sure, there's a difference—one's dead, the other isn't.
You simply truly loved the village. So-called familial love was second place. It feels like Itachi was a zealot bewitched by the village.
Remember the story of God, Abraham, and Isaac? God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his faith. It's the same with Itachi, Konoha, and Sasuke: for Konoha, Itachi could destroy the clan; for Konoha, Itachi could kill his parents; for Konoha, he could even change or erase his brother's will.
Shisui's eye was like a thorn driven deep into Sasuke's heart. The rift between Sasuke and Itachi opened once again. If, because Itachi wasn't utterly inhuman, Sasuke had a sliver of understanding, the appearance of Shisui's eye crushed all hope in his heart.
Now, even if he hasn't "gone dark," Sasuke isn't far from it. Perhaps he ultimately won't personally kill his elder brother Itachi Uchiha.
But he will absolutely not endorse what Itachi did. Not deciding to destroy Konoha with his own hands is already doing Itachi a kindness.
Seeing Sasuke like this, Musashi smiled, because he knew Indra might ultimately not come under his control. But at least Sasuke wouldn't stand opposite him. Now that Musashi had taken Sasuke back into the clan and told him the truth, Sasuke absolutely wouldn't be as cold to him as he was to Orochimaru in the original. And Musashi wasn't out to get anything from Sasuke; they were clansmen—closest kin in this world.
Sasuke could accept Musashi and the others more easily. Given another three years of influence, while Sasuke wouldn't obey Musashi the way Naruto did the Golden Silkworm Gu, Musashi and the rest would certainly weigh heavily in Sasuke's heart. Thus Musashi's aim was achieved.
Aside from one of the Five Great Villages—Kirigakure—falling under the Chimera Ants' control, and some surrounding small island nations like the Land of Waves being occupied, the other four great nations and the minor nations had entered a stable, peaceful period.
Though the Chimera Ants aren't suited to traditional development, their population is growing by the day.
All told, they're already the number one power in the Naruto world.
Next are the remaining four great villages—strongest is the Cloud, then Konoha and the Rock, and last the Sand.
Honestly, the Sand has hit rock bottom. If not for old-guard powerhouses Chiyo and Ebizō, the Sand's Elder Advisors, they might not have held onto the Five Great Villages title.
They're worse off than Konoha. At least Konoha's Third Hokage died in battle; the Fourth Kazekage was assassinated. With the Kage gone and the younger generation not yet matured, the Sand's mid-generation strongest, Baki, had nothing like Kage-level strength. Their high-end combat force wasn't far off from a second-rate village like Takigakure.
Fortunately, as one of the Five Great Villages, their foundation remains. Their large base of rank-and-file and mid-tier ninjas is immense, not something second-rate villages can match anytime soon.
Beyond the Five Great Villages, the other super organization—Akatsuki—follows close. In fact, Obito's one hundred thousand White Zetsu should rank above the four villages and just below the Chimera Ants, but since their high-end combat force is essentially Obito alone, they're not counted yet.
Amegakure is Akatsuki's birthplace, controlled in reality by Nagato. Amegakure is a village just below the Five—a first-rate secondary village.
It's far stronger than three-rate villages like Hot Water, Stone, Grass, Frost, or even Orochimaru's Sound.
What? The Land of Snow and Hoshigakure? Those "Kage" are at best jonin level—worse than third-rate villages—not worth discussing.
Even old-line second-rate Takigakure can't compare to Amegakure now. Beyond having too few troops, with Akatsuki's pile of top-tier Kage-level members, they're not much inferior in top-end combat power to the Five. If Akatsuki could cooperate with Obito, they would be the number one organization in the Naruto world after the Chimera Ants, and the Five Great Villages would have to unite to oppose them.
But that's basically impossible—Obito's goals and those of many in Akatsuki are entirely different.
By the way, Takigakure isn't weak—otherwise, with Kakuzu's petty nature, he'd have taken revenge long ago.
Back in the First Hokage's time, Takigakure was given the Seven-Tails by Hashirama—much better treatment than the Sand, which had only the One-Tail.
At least the Mist and Rock each received two Tailed Beasts, and the Cloud got the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails.
Beyond these villages, two more places are worth mentioning. One is the Land of Demons, which preserves traditions from before the Sage of Six Paths—priestesses and onmyoji. Now only a priestess or two remain. They've declined; combat power aside, they bear the duty of sealing demons.
Lastly is the Land of Iron, the country of samurai—also a place of old traditions. In recent decades, its samurai have abandoned the old ways and fused chakra with bushido. In a sense, they've moved with the times. Their base and mid-tier combat power are slightly inferior to the Five, but they field a sizable samurai army.
Even the Five Great Villages can't look down on them—their leader, Mifune, has top-tier Kage-level combat power.
The above is the distribution of all forces in the Naruto world.
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PS: Forgive me for blackening Uchiha Itachi. I'm not an Itachi-hater; I just dislike this kind of person—waving the banner of peace while doing such heartless deeds.
Some may ask: what if Itachi had stood with his clan—wouldn't they still be wiped out? I only want to say—what does that have to do with Itachi killing his father, mother, and clan? What does that have to do with selling out the clan that birthed and raised him to the village? It's already generous not to call him a turncoat. If there were such a person in real life, I'd stay far away.
Moreover, later on a single Itachi could "deter" Konoha? I don't buy it. If Itachi had committed fully to the clan, Konoha might not have been able to "handle" the Uchiha. Even if they still would've been destroyed, at least some could have escaped Konoha. Without the Fourth, the Sannin, and the White Fang—down to just the Third and Danzo-era Konoha—don't overrate their strength.
(End of Chapter)
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