I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Lightning Release: Kirin

The perpetually rainy weather in Amegakure made it an ideal location for unleashing Lightning Release ninjutsu. In an instant, a ferocious Kirin appeared in the sky and descended from above.

Amidst the deafening roar, Naruto and the others, seeing what was happening, hurriedly ran towards the location where the ninjutsu had been released.

This is an S-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu. The fact that it forced Sasuke Uchiha to use such a technique demonstrates Asuma Sarutobi's strength.

Swoosh~

The group quickly traversed through the forest, and when their view opened up, Naruto Uzumaki revealed a look of shock.

A huge crater appeared in the open space, with faint lightning flashing on the scorched earth. At the same time, the earth's surface was covered with a layer of crystals due to the high temperature of the lightning strike.

"Asuma!"

In the center of the deep pit, Sarutobi Asuma's body appeared, but he was already lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

Strangely, Sarutobi Asuma's left arm was connected to a huge broken tree trunk, clearly indicating that in the final moments he frantically activated the Wood Release cells in his body to create a huge tree stump for defense.

As a result, the Lightning Release: Kirin's attack power was too strong. It not only destroyed the tree, but also severely injured himself.

"this!"

Under the terrifying ninjutsu, Sasuke Uchiha in the distance was slightly out of breath, and his six-pointed star Mangekyou Sharingan was stinging a little, but an excited smile appeared on his face.

"Haha, this is all a debt owed by your Sarutobi clan."

Sasuke Uchiha showed no mercy for his actions; on the contrary, he felt a sense of excitement and exhilaration.

"Sasuke!"

However, at this moment, Sasuke, who was laughing excitedly, was met with a punch from Naruto. Although he reacted and dodged, the punch still grazed his cheek because he had just exhausted too much stamina and chakra.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke was filled with anger as he looked at Naruto, who had attacked him, and his voice was accusatory.

Naruto, as if seeing Sasuke for the first time, shouted angrily, "Sasuke, how could you do this? No matter what Asuma-sensei did wrong, we're comrades, aren't we! Just take him back to the village and let them deal with him. How could you be so cruel?"

It was obvious that Sarutobi Asuma below was already beyond saving. Such severe injuries angered Naruto. How could a fellow Konoha ninja do this?

"Damn Naruto!"

Sasuke Uchiha responded angrily with a punch, and the two glared at each other.

"Sasuke, how could you do this!"

"Idiot Naruto, Asuma is a rogue ninja! A rogue ninja who slaughtered his entire clan!"

"You shouldn't have done that! Asuma-sensei has already gone through all that, I think Asuma-sensei had his reasons back then."

"Difficulties?" Sasuke laughed angrily at Naruto's overflowing maternal instincts. "What do you know, you idiot? The Third Hokage devised the plan to exterminate the Uchiha clan. If it weren't for Yoru-sensei, the Third Hokage would still be sitting in the position of Hokage of Konoha, and the Uchiha would probably have disappeared from the village long ago."

Naruto, without thinking, angrily retorted, "Even the Third Hokage was better than you Uchiha!"

In an instant! Sasuke Uchiha's expression changed, his anger gradually turning into icy coldness, his eyes fixed on Naruto with a cold light.

"Sasuke!" Naruto seemed to realize he had said the wrong thing, but he didn't think he was wrong. Instead, he looked serious.

"Sasuke! I still remember Konoha when the Third Hokage was still alive. Back then, although everyone in the village hated me and called me the Demon Fox, the village was peaceful, and the smiles on the villagers' faces were genuine!"

"But what about now? It's true that your Uchiha clan is powerful, but it's precisely because you're too powerful that you're not satisfied with the status quo. Look, the Fourth Shinobi World War is about to break out, and what have you brought with you!"

Naruto's superficial and saintly views immediately made Sasuke grin with a sarcastic smile.

"Peace? It seems you, this so-called son of a hero, are truly ironic. You only see the surface. Have you ever seen the border wars beneath the surface of peace during the Third Hokage's reign? Do you know how many ninjas died every year?"

"You don't know! To save face and embellish their achievements, the Third Hokage and his superiors downplayed the impact of all border wars, creating an illusion of peace within the village, while remaining unaware of the countless ninja casualties on the border!"

"And you!" As he said this, Sasuke Uchiha couldn't help but think of the burden on his shoulders. He thought about how he would have to take on the role of Hokage in the future, and he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and suppress his anger.

"Although you are the son of the Fourth Hokage, I have to admit one thing: you really are an idiot who was born of parents but not raised by them!"

"What?! Sasuke, you!" Such hurtful words immediately filled Naruto with disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that his comrade Sasuke could say such a thing.

Faced with Naruto's gaze, Sasuke gradually calmed down and couldn't help but reveal a self-deprecating smile.

"Sure enough, I should have known long ago that I couldn't have any illusions about you. You're just someone who only sees the surface of things, living in a false fairy tale given to you by three generations of old men, and every day you're just like an idiot, shouting about the idea of ​​mutual understanding and peace."

In the original timeline, Sasuke was a relatively normal person compared to Naruto.

As the reincarnation of Indra, he only awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan when his clan was wiped out, while Obito awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan in a fit of rage because of Rin's death.

But you have to understand that there were so many Uchiha ninjas on the night of the massacre, including quite a few elite Jonin with three tomoe, so why didn't they awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan? They were facing both the massacre of their clan and death.

If the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan were so easy to awaken and evolve, the Uchiha clan would have already unified the ninja world.

Therefore, Sasuke is a normal person, while Naruto's mental state is somewhat abnormal, or rather, too good; he's practically a character from a fairy tale.

After Sasuke's clan was wiped out, he lived on carrying the hatred of his entire clan. This can be considered the thinking of a normal person.

If Naruto had experienced such a night of clan annihilation, I wonder what he would have done.

While Naruto and Sasuke were arguing, Kankuro and Temari slowly approached Sarutobi Asuma's direction to investigate.

"Asuma! Haha."

When Sarutobi Konohamaru saw Asuma's corpse, he felt an emptiness in his heart for a moment, and then burst into maniacal laughter.

Seeing this, Naruto roared angrily, "Konohamaru is already like this, what more do you want?!"

Temari and Kankuro exchanged uneasy glances after being reprimanded by Naruto, while Naruto continued to shout angrily, "Konohamaru is just a child! Even in this state, do you think he can run away?"

"Let him go! I'll take full responsibility for the consequences. I'll personally bring Konohamaru back to the village!"

"Damn yellow hair!" Kankuro glared at Naruto angrily. If he couldn't beat him, he really wanted to beat this Naruto now.

Temari, on the other hand, was more composed. She thought, "If the Sarutobi clan is in such a state, how much better can things be? Besides, Gaara is already being groomed to be the future Sixth Kazekage."

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gaara is undoubtedly the future Sixth Kazekage, while Naruto Uzumaki is not only powerful but also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the son of a hero, so it's best to avoid conflict as much as possible.

"Kankuro, let go!"

With a calm rebuke, Temari snapped, and Kankuro, somewhat frustrated, pointed at Naruto, "Temari, look at this brat!"

"open!"

Facing her older sister, Temari lowered her voice and said in a deep voice, "Kankuro, consider the bigger picture and don't cause unnecessary trouble for Gaara."

Upon hearing Gaara's name, Kankuro's anger instantly subsided by a third. Gaara was their hope, and also his younger brother. He couldn't risk making an enemy for his brother's sake.

"Hmph! You damned brat, go see your useless uncle now."

With a flick of his finger, the puppet released Konohamaru with a series of cracking sounds.

Konohamaru landed with a thud, laughing maniacally as he stumbled and ran toward Sarutobi Asuma, a kunai still clutched in his left hand.

"Haha, Asma, you beast! You slaughtered your entire clan, you deserve to die!"

Tears streamed down his face as Konohamaru broke down and stood before Sarutobi Asuma.

At this moment, Asuma was so weak that he could only barely open his eyelids. Looking at Konohamaru, who was crying, hating, and laughing madly at him, he gave a forced smile.

"Konohamaru, you've grown up."

He desperately wanted to reach out and stroke Konohamaru's head, but he didn't even have the strength to lift his arm.

"You deserve to die!"

Pfft~ Pfft~

Konohamaru, waving a kunai in his left hand, laughed maniacally as he repeatedly swung it around, splattering Asuma's blood all over his face.

Seeing Konohamaru venting his anger, Sarutobi Asuma showed no sadness, but instead revealed a look of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Konohamaru, I didn't know I would hurt you so much..."

As Sarutobi Asuma muttered to himself, he felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and he couldn't control them from closing. Suddenly, a surge of green chakra welled up in his body. At that moment, he didn't know where the strength came from, but he suddenly opened his mouth and shouted, accompanied by blood.

"Run!"

With a splatter of blood, Konohamaru's eyes widened in disbelief, while Naruto Uzumaki, watching from afar, was filled with rage.

"Konohamaru!"

Asuma Sarutobi's Wood Release cells went berserk, and a wooden spike suddenly shot out from his chest. Because it was so sudden, Konohamaru went into a frenzy again, and the wooden spike pierced his chest.

However, that wasn't all. The moment the wooden spike pierced Konohamaru's chest, it absorbed his chakra and immediately began to grow, sprouting even more branching spikes.

In an instant, Konohamaru's body was riddled with countless sharp, tiny wooden spikes, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Asuma! You are a sinner of the Sarutobi clan..."

Konohamaru's last words were spoken with a venomous and hateful gaze at Asuma. His finger trembled as he uttered these words, then his head lolled to the side and he breathed his last.

His pupils dilated and lost their liveliness; Konohamaru had completely lost his life. At this moment, Sarutobi Asuma's pupils contracted when he saw this scene, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Konohamaru!"

Weakness mingled with a desperate, hoarse voice, and Sarutobi Asuma's eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted with rage; everything was over for him.

The Sarutobi clan is utterly finished!

He never imagined that the Wood Release cells Obito implanted in his body, the power that made him so strong, would go out of control at the last moment and take away his only family member.

"Uchiha Yoru!"

Sarutobi Asuma roared a name in a ferocious manner, blaming everything on Uchiha Yoru in his mentally twisted and broken state.

Why?! I promised him he would treat me well, that he would slaughter the Sarutobi clan so Konohamaru could live, and why did this happen?!

Despite his deep resentment, after spitting out his last bit of blood, Asuma followed Konohamaru, his head lolling to the side as he breathed his last, his round eyes staring out as proof that he died with his eyes wide open.

"Konohamaru!"

Naruto, who had rushed over in a panic, was devastated. He looked at the scene before him in disbelief.

Kankuro, who was closest to the scene, was dumbfounded and frantically waved his hands when he saw this.

"No! It wasn't me! You all saw it! Naruto made me release Konohamaru! It was Naruto!"

Kankuro was completely dumbfounded. He felt no relief, only bewilderment, since Konohamaru had been released from his grasp.

"Sasuke, you have to testify for me. It was Naruto who glared at me and told me to let go of Konohamaru, and he even said with a resolute look that he vouched for me and that it had nothing to do with me..."

Kankuro was nowhere near his usual arrogant self; he looked completely flustered. Temari, standing beside him, helplessly covered her forehead, wondering what was going on.

"I saw it, don't worry, Kankuro."

When Sasuke Uchiha saw this, a smile appeared on his lips, and he told Kankuro frankly that he had seen everything.

"Thank you, Sasuke. This really has nothing to do with me."

At this moment, Kankuro was as cowardly as could be. Sasuke, whom he used to dislike, was now as pleasing to the eye as could be.

Sasuke looked relaxed, even exhilarated, and gave Kankuro a look that suggested he shouldn't worry.

But Kankuro is innocent! It seems that he was responsible for Konohamaru's death, but the problem really wasn't him.

Despite Konohamaru being from the Sarutobi clan and having offended many people during the Third Hokage's reign, it's important to know that the current Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and Jiraiya are both disciples of the Third Hokage.

Even if they were dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's regime at the time, death is inevitable, and the Sarutobi clan is in such dire straits now, with only this one surviving member.

Jiraiya and Tsunade certainly didn't want their teacher's grandson to die without an heir, but now that this has happened, he doesn't want to take the blame.

"Naruto, you damn blondie! It's all your fault! You patted your chest and said you'd take responsibility for everything, but Konohamaru was killed because of you!"

Enraged, Kankuro launched into a tirade against Naruto in an attempt to clear his name, while Sasuke watched with a mocking smile.

Temari's forehead veins bulged as she glared at Kankuro, "Yellow-haired guy! Who are you talking about? I'm a yellow-haired guy too!" (End of Chapter)