"Your observation is truly sharp..."
Uchiha Sasuke let out a cold snort, somewhat displeased that Orochimaru had discerned the truth: "Before I tell you the truth, first tell me everything about this world!"
"There's no other way..."
"Sasuke-kun's power is truly unexpected..."
Orochimaru smirked, piercing through Uchiha Sasuke's facade with a single word: "On top of that, the superiority and arrogance of Sasuke-kun, who sees us as mere bugs accidentally crawling at his feet, is not a pleasant feeling..."
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke's eyelid twitched.
Suspecting me over such a trivial matter?
Everything clearly followed Akihara Kagura's behavior, so why did it still arouse Orochimaru's suspicion? Why was Akihara Kagura never questioned?
What went wrong?
Fire Release Ninjutsu, he could explain as learned from the Uchiha Clan; Lightning Release Ninjutsu, he could claim to have developed himself; his attitude, not particularly arrogant...
Why was Akihara Kagura never detected?
No matter how much power Akihara Kagura displayed, everyone took it for granted. Even before he fully revealed his true intentions and spoke of his schemes, despite having committed many misdeeds, no one suspected him of being evil...
Moreover, compared to that man Akihara Kagura, Uchiha Sasuke considered himself quite amicable. He did not toy with everyone, nor did he start manipulating others' fates...
"Kabuto."
Orochimaru glanced at Uchiha Sasuke's displeased expression and softly shifted the topic: "Introduce yourself to Sasuke-kun and let him know a bit about you and Ms. Yakushi Nonou's story..."
"...Yes."
Yao Shidou put on his glasses again.
Actually...
There's nothing particularly special to introduce.
For Yao Shidou's life, it's a tragedy, a tragedy manipulated by Shimura Danzo between Yao Shidou and Yakushi Nonou, a mother and son.
Both Yakushi Nonou and Yao Shidou wanted to sacrifice for the other but did not expect their plans to be exploited by Shimura Danzo, forcing them into dangerous espionage and manipulating the two, who cherished each other, into deadly combat.
This story...
Uchiha Sasuke had once heard about it.
The only difference was, in the real world, Yao Shidou and Yakushi Nonou met Akihara Kagura, and they did not suffer misfortune.
"I went through a different world..."
After listening to Yao Shidou's account, Uchiha Sasuke also shared the same story with Yao Shidou, even revealing to him that his brother Uchiha Itachi had been ordered by Shimura Danzo to handle eliminating Yao Shidou and Yakushi Nonou.
"In the end..."
"Akihara Kagura rescued you, entrusted you to Orochimaru, and found a way to return you to the orphanage. Dean Nonou continued to look after the orphans, and Senior Kabuto also became a doctor at Konoha's medical department..."
"And my brother Uchiha Itachi, in executing Danzo's orders, turned against Akihara Kagura, and became a thorn in his side ever since..."
It was due to this...
The tragedy of the Uchiha Clan began.
Many in the real world analyzed that if Uchiha Itachi were willing to 'collude' with Akihara Kagura, the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan might not have happened.
"It sounds like Lord Kagura from Sasuke-kun's words is a good person..."
Yao Shidou lowered his head, revealing a slight smile, yet this smile bore traces of bitterness and pain: "But our world has no Akihara Kagura..."
Yao Shidou's palm suddenly clenched into a fist, his eyes hidden beneath his glasses, his voice heavy and calm: "Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke-kun, why didn't our world have someone like Akihara Kagura?"
Why!
Why didn't their world have Akihara Kagura?
Why did he and Dean Nonou have to kill each other in this cruel reality, why wasn't there someone to warn him, to beware of Shimura Danzo's plot?
"Senior Kabuto..."
Uchiha Sasuke seemed to understand what Yao Shidou meant, casually continuing: "That guy Akihara Kagura is no saint, either. He toys with the fates of everyone in the Ninja World, altering their destinies at will..."
"Is that so?"
Yao Shidou glanced at Uchiha Sasuke and lowered his head again: "Sounds like a god... but having a tragic fate altered by a god... shouldn't that be a good thing?"
How lucky...
Someone willing to notice someone as ordinary as him...
Neither he nor Dean Yakushi Nonou were particularly strong or gifted ninjas, yet the deity in Uchiha Sasuke's story, seemingly omnipotent, was willing to cast a compassionate gaze upon them...
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke took a deep breath.
Yes...
What Yao Shidou said made sense.
Having a tragic destiny changed...
For those trapped in harsh realities, it wasn't a bad thing...
Even he himself, wasn't he someone whose destiny was altered?
Especially someone like Yao Shidou, whose experiences in this world were like hell, while in the real world, Yao Shidou lived in heaven...
Obviously the same person...
Just because someone named Akihara Kagura appeared, their fates changed drastically, leading to completely different futures.