"For you, Naruto even—"
"That's enough, Sai." Shikamaru placed his hand on Sai's shoulder, stopping him from continuing.
He stared at Sasuke and said: "Whether it's Naruto, Sakura, or me—maybe you don't consider any of us your friends, or even think we're useless to you." He paused, then continued: "But at least Naruto truly considers you his most important friend."
Even if just a little, Shikamaru didn't want Sasuke to make a choice that would deeply hurt Naruto.
He knew that stepping forward to say these things went completely against his trouble-avoiding personality.
But watching Naruto constantly chase after Sasuke's shadow, he found himself speaking up without realizing it.
"Hmph," Sasuke scoffed coldly. "Who would expect a 'dead-last' to be useful?"
"You bastard, Sasuke!" Kiba shouted at him.
The other classmates and Konoha ninja didn't look too pleased either...
Sakura: "Sasuke-kun! We—"
Halfway through, Sakura choked up and couldn't continue. She didn't know how to talk to Sasuke now, especially when even she had wanted to give up on him back then...
Sakura remembered when she'd found Sasuke-kun with a poisoned kunai in hand.
If Naruto hadn't stopped her, she might have really...
["Ding!"]
["Fourth Great Ninja War 'Sasuke Uchiha' has made his choice."]
"Huh?!"
Hearing the notification from above, everyone was stunned!
"When the hell did you press it?!!" Kiba shrieked, questioning Sasuke Uchiha.
None of them had expected Sasuke to casually press the button like that, completely ignoring the Second Hokage's advice.
The Second Hokage huffed and turned his face away unhappily. Hashirama rubbed his brother's collar, quickly soothing him.
"What did you choose?"
"Why didn't you say anything before pressing it?!"
"What was your choice? Did you agree or disagree?"
Facing everyone's questions, Sasuke remained incredibly composed, not saying a single word.
Naruto couldn't stay calm, but he stubbornly refused to ask, even though internally he was dying to know the answer, practically climbing the walls with curiosity.
Nara Shikamaru: "Did nobody notice it said 'Fourth Great Ninja War Sasuke Uchiha'?" It felt like they were dividing the Sasuke before them into a specific time period!
Everyone froze. With Shikamaru's reminder, they also found it strange to tag Sasuke with the 'Fourth Great Ninja War' label.
Before they could figure out the reason—
That voice appeared once again!!
["Konoha Ninja Academy 'Sasuke Uchiha,' please await receipt of the selector."]
Before everyone could comprehend the meaning of those two sentences, the Barrage Wall split off a new mirror-like wall! This wall gave Naruto and the others a sense of déjà vu...
"The Land of Snow!" Sakura suddenly pointed at the thing and shouted: "It's like that huge mirror from the Land of Snow!"
With her reminder, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto all remembered that past mission.
After defeating Doto Kazahana, the multi-faceted mirrors received sunlight that melted the snow and ice, bringing a brief spring to the Land of Snow.
But the difference was...
They could actually hear someone speaking from inside?!
A childish voice came from within the mirror wall: "Iruka-sensei, what's that thing in front of Sasuke?"
Everyone stared in shock...
They saw the face of a Sasuke Uchiha who was probably only five or six years old?!!
Immediately after, a silly blonde head filled the entire view on the wall!! Then a face pressed against the glass, squished and deformed...
Pre-Uchiha Massacre timeline, 6-year-old Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura—
"Get off me, you dead-last!!"
"There are so many people inside, I'm telling you!"
Thinking Uzumaki Naruto was pulling another prank, Iruka Umino's forehead veins bulged with anger:
"NA—RU—TO—!"
Like a dinosaur stomping the ground, Iruka-sensei walked toward Uzumaki Naruto, who was standing on Sasuke Uchiha's desk with his hands on Sasuke's shoulders inside the classroom.
At the same time, the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Fourth Great Ninja War also saw through the mirror wall into the Konoha Ninja Academy classroom on the other side:
Little Shikamaru, little Chōji, little Sasuke, and little Naruto...
They stared wide-eyed in disbelief at what they were seeing!
On the other side of the mirror...
Was the Konoha Ninja Village from 11 years ago?!!!
Was this some kind of documentary from the past? Or...
But Nara Shikamaru definitely didn't remember encountering this situation at the Ninja Academy as a kid and being filmed by someone!
Pre-Uchiha Massacre, Konoha Ninja Academy timeline—
"Who are you people?! Why did you appear in our classroom?!"
6-year-old little Naruto was fearless like a newborn calf! Shouting loudly at the glass wall that suddenly appeared in the classroom!
"Hey! Come back, Naruto!" Little Shikamaru, the same age, grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him back.
Without Naruto blocking the view, everyone in the classroom could see that on the other side of the glass wall...
Was a massive army of combat-ready ninja in first-level battle preparedness!
Iruka was shocked!
"Everyone else, fall back! Stay quiet!"
He shouted to his students while shooting a kunai with an explosive tag attached out the window!
"BOOOOOM—!!"
The explosion rang out in the quiet afternoon campus!
The sound immediately attracted ninja teachers from other classes and alerted the Konoha ninja patrol squad!
"What's going on?! Iruka!" Ninja teachers from other classes pushed open Iruka's classroom door.
Chūnin rushed into the classroom one after another from the doorway. "Iruka-sensei! What happened?!"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Four or five figures used the Body Flicker Technique to jump through the open window, appearing inside the classroom.
Seeing who arrived, Sasuke Uchiha on the Fourth Great Ninja War battlefield's eyes widened in shock!
Father...
"Father!!" 6-year-old little Sasuke was at that age where he desperately sought recognition from his brother and father. With quite a bit of flair, he pulled out the practice shuriken from school and positioned himself in front of his other classmates, staring intently at the Allied Shinobi Forces on the other side of the glass wall.
Fugaku Uchiha looked past little Sasuke. Upon seeing the situation on the other side of the 'wall,' he immediately activated his Sharingan and secretly prepared for battle.
The other Uchiha Police Force members beside him did the same, activating their Sharingan one after another, drawing their kunai and ninja blades in combat-ready stances.
Little Sasuke looked a bit dejected at not receiving his father's attention.
Just then, two more figures flickered before him!
11-year-old Itachi Uchiha was breathing heavily, clearly having rushed over urgently. Beside him, Shisui Uchiha, a few years older than Itachi, appeared much more composed.
"Big brother! Shisui-nii!" Little Sasuke's voice carried excitement.
He took pride in his clan members protecting Konoha as the Police Force, especially his father as the Police Force Captain, and his promising brother and Shisui-nii—they made him feel proud and admiring.
Itachi Uchiha turned back, giving little Sasuke a reassuring smile.
Shisui Uchiha ruffled little Sasuke's hair, smiling as he asked: "Is little Sasuke scared?"
"I'm not scared!" Little Sasuke puffed out his cheeks indignantly. "I'm protecting everyone else! Just like big brother and father!"
Behind him, the one being protected by him was...
None other than Uzumaki Naruto...