Konoha: Naruto, trained by Aizen

He looked at Naruto with burning eyes, like a drowning man grasping at a straw. His eyes, which had been filled with despair, were now brimming with light, and he stammered:

"Naruto, Itachi, Itachi isn't that kind of person, don't you think?"

Sasuke loves his older brother the most, and even now, he still holds onto a last glimmer of hope for Itachi.

Hopefully, he will remain the same person he always was.

But Naruto shook his head:

"I don't know, neither you nor I do, none of us know the truth. Perhaps some people do know, but I believe what they want to do is bury the truth."

"But like you, I don't believe that someone as gentle as him would do something so heinous."

"Do you remember what I told you? Don't be deceived by your eyes."

"If he really did it, how did he do it? Why did he exterminate your entire clan, and why did he spare your life?"

"If it wasn't him, then who did it? What was his purpose? What role did Itachi play in the massacre?"

"These are things you need to think about."

Naruto looked at the sunset outside the window with a pained expression, his voice low as if he was recalling something.

"Sasuke, I've had countless questions too. Why does everyone hate me? Why am I called the Nine-Tailed Fox? Who are my parents?"

Do I have parents? Who am I?

"At first, all these problems were very difficult and affected me constantly."

"But then I realized it."

"In this life, we will take many wrong turns, suffer many betrayals, fall into a miserable state, and also experience happiness. None of that matters, as long as we are alive, there is hope."

"Only by living can one seek the truth."

"The darkest thing in this world is when eyes are blinded by hatred, losing the courage to seek the truth. Only in the end do we realize that we hated the wrong person."

At this point, Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and said softly:

"Remember, you still have us, you still have everyone. We will always be with you on your journey to find the truth."

"Become stronger, Sasuke. No matter what the truth is, the only thing that is certain is that Itachi wants you to become stronger, and you have no choice but to become stronger."

"Don't let hatred blind you. You are a proud Uchiha."

After hearing what Naruto said, Sasuke fell silent, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

The Tsukuyomi reading had a significant impact on him; the immersive pain he experienced still affected his judgment.

But as Naruto said, there are too many suspicious points in the entire clan massacre incident.

Looking back calmly, I realized that I had indeed been blinded by hatred.

Even if it's hatred, you can't hate the wrong person.

He raised his head, his eyes hardening.

"Naruto, I know what you mean."

"No matter what the truth is, I must become stronger now, because only by becoming stronger can I uncover the truth."

"Therefore, I now bear the honor of the Uchiha clan. I must become stronger and stronger. I want to revive the Uchiha clan. I want to find the truth."

"Looking forward to working with you from now on." Sasuke extended his hand to Naruto.

"And Xiao Li too."

"Sasuke!!!! Don't worry, I will definitely help you find the truth!!!" Rock Lee was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

"This is the Sasuke I know." Naruto smiled with relief.

That smile was radiant, just like the gentle Itachi of the past.

Sasuke was momentarily stunned.

......

Inside Ichiraku Ramen.

Uncle Ichiraku closed his shop early, shutting the doors, leaving only three customers inside: Naruto, Rock Lee, and Sasuke.

The aroma of ramen filled the entire space.

Sasuke remembered that the last time he came to Ichiraku Ramen was with Itachi.

Back then, Itachi was very gentle and would affectionately wipe the soup from the corners of his mouth.

The weasel back then...

And myself back then...

In just a few days, everything has changed.

Everything has changed.

Sasuke buried his head in his food, seemingly using all his strength to eat, almost burying his head in the bowl, with only the continuous slurping sound of noodles filling the air.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Naruto reminded him from the side. Through Sasuke's slightly trembling body, he could feel the latter's sadness at this moment.

No matter how strong he pretends to be, he is still just a seven-year-old child.

"I must eat my fill, I must eat a lot, I must replenish my body with nutrients so that I have the strength to train seriously and become stronger! Then I can stand in front of him and ask him for the truth." Sasuke kept muttering to himself, his mouth stuffed full.

His favorite ramen flavor tasted bland at that moment, and he repeated the action of stuffing it into his mouth and chewing it forcefully, just like a robot.

Before I knew it, two lines of tears slid down my face.

Sasuke sniffed awkwardly, picked up the bowl, and covered his face, but tears kept dripping onto his clothes.

hateful.

I can't let anyone see this embarrassing side of me.

I am the one who carries the pride of the Uchiha clan; I cannot disgrace the clan.

He roared inwardly, but tears streamed down his face like a flood.

It dripped into the bowl, mixed with the soup, and was drunk.

It's salty.

Naruto watched this scene quietly, deeply moved.

A teenager who grows up prematurely because of despair.

He already has considerable talent; if he can overcome this hurdle, he might become his rival in the future.

Naruto thought to himself.

"Eat more, I want to eat more too." To avoid embarrassing Sasuke, Naruto pretended not to know anything, picked up his bowl, and started eating heartily as well.

"Yosh, I'm getting fired up too! I'm going to eat a lot too!! That way I'll have the energy for training!" Rock Lee suddenly got excited and started eating voraciously, even shouting, in front of Naruto's bewildered gaze:

"Naruto, let's each eat three servings of ramen today! Tomorrow, we'll triple the training intensity. Only by constantly working hard can we become stronger! Let's go!"

"As expected of the hardest-working Lee," Naruto said with a gentle smile.

Chapter 46 Nine-Tails and Minato

"The Uchiha clan was wiped out." Inside the sealed space, the Fourth Hokage sighed with regret.

Even during his lifetime, the Uchiha clan was not in a good position.

Danzo, the Second Hokage's apprentice, and the Third Hokage always harbored great suspicion towards the Uchiha clan and constantly employed various methods to suppress them.

The four generations witnessed this, but felt deeply troubled.

He had a very good relationship with Fugaku and Mikoto; they could be called close friends.

He has also been working to ease tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha.

He knew perfectly well that while the Uchiha clan was indeed proud and stubborn, they were not inherently bad.

Sometimes they're even adorably silly.

However, the Konoha leadership, who were heavily influenced by the Second Hokage, did not think so.

They viewed the Uchiha as wolves and tigers, never considering them as part of Konoha.

Little did they know that it was their actions that forced the Uchiha to rebel.

"The Uchiha are gone, but there's still the Hyuga. Konoha's clans are really dwindling." Kurama gloated from the side, "If we wipe out a few more clans, Konoha won't be able to stop me."

Minato's eyes were filled with exhaustion.

Because he had tried his best, he could better understand that sense of loss.

“Mikoto Fugaku is dead too,” he murmured.

"Konoha really can't tolerate the Uchiha clan." He sighed.

"Don't even think about it. You're going to be dead anyway, so you might as well think about how to get on Naruto's good side. Right now, he doesn't see you as a father at all! You're just a tool," Kurama sneered.

"I tried my best." Minato looked dejected when he talked about Naruto.

“I really want to give him the warmth of a home, but he doesn’t seem to care about that at all.”

"If he hates me, that's fine; at least it means he still cares about me."

"But the way he looked at me was like I was a stranger. Everything from the past seemed like a distant memory to him. You know that state, Nine-Tails? It's true indifference, as if everything that happened has been completely erased." The Fourth Hokage covered his head, somewhat incoherently.

"He doesn't care how Konoha treated him in the past, nor does he care about me or anyone else. He looks refined and gentle, but he is more ruthless than anyone else in his heart."

"That's not pretending, it's genuine indifference."

Minato slapped his head in self-reproach.

"It's all because of me that Naruto is like this now."

Minato was even somewhat outraged by Naruto's nonchalant attitude.

Just as Naruto said.

He only seeks power and transcends this world, but if anyone stands in his way, he will crush them without mercy.

Whether it's Konoha, friends, or even... himself.