"Hahahaha... Hahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Sasuke burst into a frenzied laughter, sounding like a man possessed. After laughing for a while, he looked at Lexon and said in a low, heavy voice, "You slaughtered my entire clan, left me alone, and then became my teacher as I grew up, increasing my strength... For what? So I wouldn't be too weak when I sought revenge? To watch me like I'm some kind of joke?"
As he spoke, Sasuke's voice became increasingly agitated.
"For what?! What exactly are you trying to do, Uchiha Lexon! Because it's fun? Is it amusing to you? Why would you do this?!"
"That is indeed part of the reason," Lexon replied after a brief moment of thought.
He didn't deny Sasuke's accusations. He had indeed become Sasuke's teacher primarily because he thought it would be interesting.
"Uchiha Lexon! I will definitely kill you!!!" Sasuke roared. The three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes began to undergo a strange transformation, the patterns gradually shifting toward a different shape.
'Is he about to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan...?'
Lexon was quite surprised. He hadn't expected the combination of these psychological triggers to create such a chemical reaction in Sasuke. It was a literal triple jump in progression. Just a moment ago, it was only a two-tomoe Sharingan, and now it was already on the verge of becoming a Mangekyo.
This rate of change was nothing short of terrifying.
Watching from the side, Itachi was also shocked to see his younger brother's eyes showing signs of evolving into the Mangekyo. He shifted his gaze toward Lexon.
'Uchiha Lexon... just what have you done...?'
"Chidori!" Sasuke surged with lightning-natured chakra once more, sparks crackling and dancing in his palm as he charged at Lexon yet again.
Naruto intended to stop him, but his speed was far slower than Sasuke's, who was on the verge of opening the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Sasuke, have you really forgotten everything I taught you?" Lexon asked as he watched the boy charge.
"Shut up! I don't need anything you've taught me!" Sasuke's eyes gleamed with the light of pure hatred as he continued forward.
"You really are a difficult child." Lexon shook his head helplessly. Then, in a flash, he appeared instantly at Sasuke's side and delivered a whip-like kick.
Bang! That was the sound of Sasuke smashing into a boulder, causing it to shatter.
Cough! That was the sound of Sasuke spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Compared to Lexon, Sasuke was simply too weak. In Lexon's presence, he had absolutely no power to resist.
"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura ran over in concern to check on his condition.
"I told you before," Lexon said, walking over to Sasuke's side. "Before you do anything, you must first clearly understand the difference in strength between yourself and your enemy. I told you this months ago."
"Don't think that just because your strength has improved slightly over these few months, you're capable of defeating me. To me, you are still far too weak... come back after you've trained for another few hundred years."
"Cough... cough..." Sasuke coughed continuously, spitting out congested blood.
His body had lost the ability to move after that single kick from Lexon, and his mind had calmed down slightly because of it.
"Teacher... why did you do it..." Sasuke changed his way of addressing Lexon, his voice weak and low.
He hung his head, making it impossible for anyone to see his expression. However, both Naruto and Sakura could feel his profound sadness.
"Just like you said, most of it was because it was interesting," Lexon spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Sasuke remained silent and did not respond. However, if one listened closely, they could hear the faint, violent grinding of Sasuke's teeth from behind his lowered head.
"Lexon..." Naruto murmured, looking at him.
"But, I have a secret to tell you," Lexon continued, addressing Sasuke.
No one responded. Sasuke seemed to no longer care about his words. He was completely uninterested.
"Actually, there is a hidden truth behind the night the Uchiha clan was massacred."
"What hidden truth?" Sasuke snapped his head up instantly.
"So you are interested after all..." Lexon smiled.
Seeing Lexon's expression, Sasuke couldn't help but lower his head again. He thought Lexon was lying to him again just to satisfy some twisted sense of humor.
"Teacher... Lexon..." Naruto started, unsure of what to call him for a moment.
"Just call me what you usually do," Lexon said amiably.
"Right... Lexon." Naruto nodded and asked seriously, "Did you really kill Sasuke's clansmen?"
"No," Lexon replied with a gentle smile.
"Is there really a hidden truth behind the massacre of the Uchiha clan?" Naruto asked again.
"Yes," Lexon confirmed.
"What kind of nonse—"
"Lexon, I believe you!"
Sasuke looked up to argue, but he was interrupted by Naruto's declaration. Naruto looked at Lexon with complete sincerity.
Then, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "Lexon has been my dear friend for many years. When I was a child, he was the one who pulled me out of my world of loneliness. Only because of him do I have friends like you all now... Sasuke, I know this is important to you, and it's hard to accept what Lexon is saying. But... can you believe in me first? Let's verify if what he says is true based on his words before you make a decision... I will help you, Sasuke!"
It was the first time since Sasuke had known Naruto that he saw such a dead-serious, almost pleading expression on his face. After all, the two of them had always been incompatible rivals who bickered constantly.
"Sasuke... believe in Naruto... I don't think Teacher is that kind of person either," Sakura added, making a judgment based on her own intuition.
"..." Sasuke remained silent with his head down.
After a long time, a defiant sound escaped Sasuke's lips as he spoke to Naruto, "Who needs your help! You wouldn't be able to help with anything anyway!"
"Heh, don't underestimate me," Naruto rubbed his nose confidently.
"And me! I'll help too," Sakura chimed in.
"Heh..." The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly. Affected by his two teammates' emotions, a sliver of hope couldn't help but rise in his heart.
'Maybe... there really was some hidden truth to that night? Maybe my brother is innocent? And maybe Brother Lexon is the same?'
"Come on..." Naruto flashed a brilliant smile and reached his hand out to Sasuke.
Sasuke, whose body had recovered slightly, slapped his hand into Naruto's palm with a smack, letting Naruto pull him up.
After standing, Sasuke and Naruto locked eyes...
But at that moment, Lexon seemed to suddenly remember something. He spoke up abruptly, "I'm sorry to interrupt your little game of friendship, kids. But I have some bad news to tell you: everyone in Konoha really is dead."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]