Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

I prefer to call Chapter 447 'Home'

Rumble…

After an unknown amount of time, the heart-pounding roar gradually faded away, turning into a low, lingering echo on the horizon, and finally disappeared completely.

The wind rustled softly across the surface of the fresh snow, and the thin rays of dawn shone down, illuminating an endless expanse of white.

All traces of the ravines, pits, and scorched earth left behind, including the ruins known as "Kaguya's Castle," have vanished.

As far as the eye could see, there was only a gently undulating expanse of white snow stretching to the horizon, as if it had been repainted with white paint by a hand.

Clean, empty, deathly silent, chilling to the bone.

*Plop!* *Splash!*

On the smooth snow surface, a hand suddenly burst out from under the snow layer, frantically rummaging around and widening the hole.

"Cough cough! Ptooey!"

Uchiha Yakumi was the first to struggle out of the snow cave, coughing and spitting out the snow he had inhaled.

Immediately afterward, Uchiha Izumi and the others emerged, their bodies covered in ice and snow, their hair and eyebrows covered in frost.

His face was deathly pale, his teeth chattered, and he trembled uncontrollably, clutching his arms.

The group stared blankly at the white expanse of sky and earth, their eyes still glazed over, clearly not yet fully recovered.
The suffocating cold and despair I felt while facing an avalanche and being buried alive are still vividly imprinted on my senses.

Having survived the ordeal, he was in a terrible state, still shaken.

"Don't just stand there, count the number of people and check the injuries."

Uchiha Yakumi suppressed his discomfort and gave the order in a hoarse voice, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to another snow cave that had just been breached not far away.

There, Naruto Uzumaki crawled out of the snow, his bone armor almost completely gone, his face pale, and his breathing heavy.

After climbing out, he turned around, reached out, and forcefully dug through the snow, as if he had grabbed something, and pulled hard.

"Cough cough!"

Sasuke Uchiha was pulled out of the snow by him. After being pulled out by Naruto, he spat out a mouthful of icy water and fell backward.

Naruto also leaned back and lay down on the cold snow, right next to Sasuke.

Huff... huff...

The two lay side by side on their backs, panting heavily, their chests heaving violently.

White breaths escaped their mouths, quickly dissipating in the cold wind and snow.

For a moment, only the sound of the wind and the heavy breathing of the two echoed in this silent world reshaped by ice and snow.

The sunlight shone on the two of them, but it didn't bring much warmth.

"why?"

Naruto spoke first, looking up at the sky that seemed so close, and asked, "Why do I have to go back?"

"You should know very well that what you are doing now is no different in essence from what Itachi Uchiha did to you back then."

As mentioned before, many people and many things have been changed.

But many things have remained unchanged from beginning to end.

For example, Naruto is different now compared to that hot-blooded boy who talked about bonds and mutual understanding and shouted that he wanted to become Hokage.

He became silent, distant, and even somewhat indifferent.

But he was not bloodthirsty or belligerent; his stubbornness and kindness remained unchanged, and he still held goodwill toward the world.

It's just that he now realizes that kindness is not simple. Kindness without teeth is weakness, and kindness with weapons is malice.

Thus, the goodwill in one's heart is enveloped by grand goals and cold reality.

He defected simply because he could no longer find the answers he sought in Konoha and the Land of Fire.

So he left the Land of Fire, went to the Jashin Cult, to a corner of the ninja world, to search for any trace of the Otsutsuki clan.

For example, Sasuke learned to hide his inherent pride and became gentle and sociable on the surface.

But beneath this gentle exterior lies the inherent arrogance and indifference of the Uchiha clan, and their unwavering adherence to their beliefs.

His reason for staying in Konoha was less about identification with the village and more about the clansmen who followed and trusted him.

Compared to Sasuke in the original work, who was immersed in hatred and ignored the truth.

Sasuke now understands better than anyone that Itachi Uchiha's massacre was not just for the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Part of the reason was for the so-called stability of Konoha, and another part was to "protect" themselves.

Whether he was willing to accept this self-righteous kindness or not, he always felt indebted to his people who were willing to forgive him.

For the sake of his clan, he must revive the Uchiha clan and become Hokage.

Therefore, he had to distance himself from Naruto, who was a rogue ninja, and even hunt him down. This was the root of their disagreement.

But Sasuke didn't want to do that. The reason he stopped Naruto from leaving was that he didn't want to completely sever his relationship with Naruto.

Just like Naruto in the original work, who was determined to bring Sasuke back to Konoha.

Naruto was unable and unwilling to make a cruel choice between the village and his best friend, so he stubbornly and greedily tried to hold onto both.

They keep saying they understand each other, but they've never actually done it.

He doesn't care what Sasuke wants.

He naively, or rather selfishly, believed that as long as Sasuke could return and Sasuke's "mistakes" could be corrected, everything would be perfect.

To this end, he did not hesitate to impose his will on Sasuke, in the name of so-called friendship.

Sasuke, who is now preventing Naruto from leaving, is also unwilling and unable to abandon his clan and his best friend.

He was also imposing his own will on Naruto.

This is essentially a form of "selfishness".

In order to evade the choices they should have made, they forcibly impose their own will on the other person under the guise of "I'm doing this for your own good."

That's why Naruto said that Sasuke is a brat who only knows how to cry, a greedy brat who wants everything.

"I know."

Sasuke's voice rang out, somewhat hoarse, yet unusually calm.

To Naruto's surprise, he neither argued vehemently nor fell silent, but calmly admitted his selfishness.

“You’re right,” Sasuke said, also looking up at the sky. “You have your own path to walk.”

"I will not impose my will on you like Itachi Uchiha did, and I will no longer insist on forcing you to return to Konoha."

Sasuke's voice was calm, even carrying a hint of relief.

The Sasuke of today is perhaps calmer and smarter than the Naruto in the original story who stubbornly tried to win back his friends.

The moment he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, he saw not only power reflected in the pool of blood, but also his own ugliness.

A face as ugly and ferocious as Itachi Uchiha's.

That arrogance and selfishness disguised as protection and friendship.

His obstruction of Naruto, and his words "Come back with me," were essentially no different from what Itachi Uchiha had done to him back then.

They all use "I'm doing this for your own good" as an excuse to force their own will onto the other person, but never really ask the other person: What do you want?
So, in the castle, when Naruto told the two versions of the legend to the broken statue, he asked that seemingly insignificant question.

Even though Sasuke was impatient and confused, he chose to be patient and listen.

Because he wanted to know what Naruto had seen, what he had thought, and what he planned to do.

"..."

Naruto turned his head in surprise, looked at Sasuke's calm profile, and smiled, "Then why do you look like you're ready to fight me to the death..."

"Because I am utterly disgusted by your self-important attitude."

Sasuke Uchiha interrupted him, his voice still calm but cold and hard.

“I know you didn’t tell me because you didn’t want to implicate me, but have you ever considered that you didn’t even ask for my opinion, so…” He turned his head to look at Naruto lying next to him, and looked into his eyes: “How is what you did any different from Itachi Uchiha?”

Upon hearing this, Naruto paused for a moment, and Sasuke continued, "After I realized my own ugliness, I made a vow."

"I will no longer impose my will on others, nor will I let others make choices for me."

"No one can stop me from doing what I decide to do."

Even if that person is you.

"The reason I want to beat you up is just to wake you up and make you realize that I'm not the burden I used to be."

"I'm no longer that little brat who only lives in his own world, selfishly expects everything to go his way, and shamelessly pretends to be innocent."

"so……"

Sasuke turned back to the sky and slowly said, "You can tell me what you want to do."

"Perhaps I can help you now."

"I will walk my own path in my own way."

Naruto now fully understood Sasuke's thoughts.

He narrowed his eyes, a complex emotion flashing within them.

"You want to help me?" he asked, "even if what I want to do won't be understood by anyone, and might even make me an enemy of the entire ninja world?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded calmly.

"Even if what I want to do will most likely result in death, or even nothing at all, it will all be in vain?"

"I don't care." Sasuke calmly shook his head.

"Even if what I want to do might conflict with, or even contradict, your ideal of becoming Hokage and revitalizing the Uchiha clan?"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke remained silent for a moment, but did not answer directly.

"When did you become so talkative?" he said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Naruto remained silent for a moment, then turned back to look at the exceptionally clear sky.

"Heh... Hahaha..."

A soft laugh broke the silence.

Then, the chuckle seemed to open a floodgate, turning into a low laugh that echoed across the vast snowfield.

Then, the laughter grew louder and louder, becoming increasingly difficult to suppress, and finally turned into a relieved and relaxed laugh, as if some burden had been lifted.

"Hahahahaha!"

Naruto laughed so hard his body trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He hadn't laughed like that in a long time. It seemed that ever since he embarked on this path, such pure, emotionally cathartic laughter had become a thing of the past for him.

Sasuke didn't laugh or look at him. He just lay there quietly, listening to the unrestrained laughter beside him, and muttered, "Idiot."

The laughter paused slightly.

Naruto turned his head and suddenly asked, "Who are you calling an idiot?"

Sasuke almost instinctively retorted, "I'm talking about you."

He was stunned for a moment as soon as he finished speaking, and Naruto's laughter rang out again, even more exaggerated than before: "Hahahaha!"

Sasuke's cold and hard expression finally crumbled, and the corners of his mouth first turned up uncontrollably, followed by a short, sharp breath.

"laugh……"

He simply gave up his awkwardness and laughed along with Naruto, the laughter gradually growing louder.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The two boys, who had just been fighting to the death, now lay side by side in the snow, laughing like the most childish fools.

Laughter echoed across the desolate, snowy field, causing the gloomy Uchiha Yakumi and his companions in the distance to look over in astonishment.

The laughter lasted for quite a while before slowly dissipating in the cold wind.

Their chests continued to rise and fall with laughter, their breaths turning into puffs of white mist that rose and then dissipated in the wind.

"I understand."

Naruto exhaled, his smile fading, and said, "Then I'll tell you..."

"What exactly do I want to do?"

After saying that, under Sasuke's slightly puzzled gaze, Naruto raised his hand, made a fist, and stretched it out in the air between the two of them.

Sasuke was a little confused, but seeing Naruto's outstretched fist, he raised his left arm, clenched it into a fist as well, and gently touched it to his left.

hum!
The moment their fists touched, Sasuke Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

Feeling the pull of that consciousness, he did not resist. The world before him blurred and rippled, and then completely changed.

Wow…

The first sound to reach your ears is the clear, soothing sound of the waves, quite different from the howling of the wind and snow, carrying a tranquility that can soothe the soul.

A slightly salty and moist sea breeze gently caressed my face, bringing with it the unique scent of the ocean.

Sasuke was astonished to find himself standing on a golden beach.

Beneath my feet was warm, soft sand, and before me stretched an endless, clear blue sea, where the horizon and sky met in the far distance, their boundaries blurred.

The deep night sky is dotted with stars and a bright moon. The starlight and moonlight fall and reflect on the gently undulating sea, making it sparkle.

Right by the sea, a wooden house stands, emitting a warm, orange-yellow light.

Through the window, you can see a table filled with books and scrolls, and bookshelves that are almost touching the ceiling and crammed full.

However, what caught Sasuke's attention the most was a huge, orange-red fox on the beach not far away.

It was curled up there lazily, seemingly asleep, with its nine fluffy tails wrapped around it.

“Where is this…” Sasuke was stunned and subconsciously looked around.

It all feels so real.

The scent of the sea breeze, the feel of the sand, the sound of the waves, and even the peaceful and serene atmosphere in the air.

“This is the sealed space within me,” Naruto’s voice came, “but I prefer to call it ‘home’.”

Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto standing behind him, no longer wearing his tattered clothes, but a simple and clean set of clothes.

Naruto's tiredness disappeared, replaced by a sense of comfort, as he naturally walked towards a deck chair placed on the beach.

"Phew..." He lay down comfortably, exhaled, put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the starry sky.

"A sealed space?" Sasuke looked at the fox in the distance, realizing, "So, that's......"

"Kurama!" Naruto called out to Kurama in the distance, "Hey, didn't you see we have a guest? Why aren't you getting up to say hello?"

"roll!"

Kurama didn't even open its eyes, only letting out an impatient snort from its nose, and grumbled irritably, "I get annoyed just seeing the Uchiha!"

"You're already being generous by being allowed to bring your people in. Don't push your luck, you brat!"

Naruto was already used to Kurama's terrible attitude and didn't care. He turned to look at Sasuke, who was still a little dazed, and snapped his fingers.

Snapped!
Next to Sasuke, a beach chair just like the one Naruto had appeared out of thin air, along with a small wooden table.

On the wooden table, there were even two glasses of juice with thin straws inserted, the liquid inside looking very appealing, one of them a bright red.

Sasuke subconsciously sniffed the air and immediately recognized it as his favorite tomato juice.

Naruto lay back in his chair, took a sip of the juice with the straw in his hand, squinted his eyes contentedly, and beckoned to Sasuke, "Sit down."

“It’s safer and more private to talk here than outside. We don’t have to worry about being overheard. Even the Six Paths… well, they can’t interfere here for now.”

(End of this chapter)