The words sounded like he was belittling himself, but Sasuke instantly understood the hidden meaning. His mind rapidly analyzed the information concealed in Naruto's words.
The Uchiha Clan is known as the "Clan of Love" precisely because the core of their power is entirely built upon emotions; sensibility always overrides rationality. More critically, once an Uchiha clansman recognizes someone, the emotions poured into that person will reach a terrifying degree.
"..."
Sasuke sighed helplessly in his heart. It seemed that the "self" of this world had long since recognized Naruto as the most important person. If she were to know that what belonged to her had been touched by others, it would likely lead to unpredictable consequences.
Sasuke was all too familiar with this feeling—didn't he make the extreme decision to destroy Konoha for similar reasons back then?
...As he pondered deeply, Sasuke suddenly realized a very embarrassing discovery: the "self" of this world recognized Naruto, but what about himself? Besides the difference in gender, his relationship with Naruto... Sasuke shook his head abruptly, trying to shake off these superfluous thoughts. It seemed Naruto meant that since the other "self" liked Naruto, if she knew Boruto was Naruto's child with another woman, something truly terrible might happen.
So, how should all this be explained?
For some reason, after calmly accepting the current situation, or perhaps because he was truly at his wit's end, the intense shame he felt earlier actually dissipated. As he formulated an explanation, a slight smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Sasuke's mouth, a smile that even revealed a rare hint of cheerfulness.
"Boruto," Sasuke turned to Boruto, "I'm going to explain some things now. Don't interrupt me yet."
"Ah? I understand." Boruto, though a bit confused, nodded obediently. It was the first time he had heard Sasuke make such a request. Although he didn't understand why, he believed that Mr. Sasuke must have his reasons for doing so.
"Naruto, why did you tell him such things?" On the other side, Satsuki was questioning Naruto, clearly puzzled by the previous conversation.
"It's nothing," Naruto scratched his cheek, "just wanted to show off. Satsuki directly activated her Three-Tomoe Sharingan, which is really amazing."
"...I don't want to talk about that anymore," Satsuki's eyes darkened, "You know the cost, right? If you had really died that day..."
Her tone carried a chilling hint of danger, and Naruto quickly tried to smooth things over. "Sorry! It's my fault! I'll never do it again!" He then pointed in Sasuke's direction, "Um... you should listen to his explanation first. After he's done, you'll know why I showed off to him."
Satsuki refocused her gaze on Sasuke. This was the very question she had been pursuing from the beginning, and now she awaited the explanation that had been so long in coming.
"...Do you like dinosaurs?"
"What?" Satsuki was startled by this sudden, irrelevant question, completely failing to grasp its meaning.
"In your childhood," Sasuke continued in a steady voice, "if we were to talk about your favorite type of toy, you would probably be the one who liked dinosaur toys the most."
"How... how do you know that...?" Satsuki's voice unconsciously dropped. Although she didn't understand why this was being brought up now, a chill quietly crept up her spine. This subtle, almost forgotten childhood preference, perhaps even her parents didn't know about it.
"When you have free time, do you observe various birds? For example... hawks." Sasuke paused, noticing Satsuki's suddenly constricted pupils. "It seems I was right. Because I am the same way."
"This is something only 'we' would know."
"You..." Satsuki involuntarily took half a step back. She felt both shocked and a surge of inexplicable panic—the other party had clearly hit the mark. Naruto, standing by, was also engrossed. So Satsuki had these unknown little hobbies? He secretly noted these details.
To make Satsuki believe the even stranger truths that would follow, Sasuke first revealed some secret personal matters that only "he" would know. Watching Satsuki's expression gradually turn blank as she listened, Sasuke knew the time was ripe. He began to explain in detail that he was the "she" from another parallel Universe, why he had transmigrated here, what their true purpose was, and who the mysterious person who had suddenly attacked Naruto that day was.
——————
After a lengthy explanation, Sasuke finally displayed his powerful Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to Satsuki. When Satsuki truly felt that Ocular Power, which was of the same origin as hers yet far surpassed it, despite still finding it incredible, the mountain of evidence forced her to accept this absurd reality.
"Naruto... is everything he said true?" Satsuki turned to Naruto, her voice trembling with a final plea for confirmation.
"Mmm..." Naruto nodded softly, "It's unbelievable, but... it's really true."
She was male in another world? This realization left Satsuki speechless for a moment, an indescribable, subtle emotion welling up within her. But more than that, what concerned her even more was—someone was actually trying to harm Naruto, even going so far as to cross time and space?!
Sasuke saw the chilling Killing Intent in Satsuki's eyes and naturally understood what she was thinking. "Regarding Urashiki's attack," he spoke in time, "you don't need to worry. I will protect Naruto here."
"However, compared to the 'me' of the future, you are still too weak. Do not intervene in the next battle." Noticing the fleeting disappointment in Satsuki's eyes, Sasuke added, "But you don't need to be too eager. Because I am you—in your future, you will possess the same power as me."
"...Wait a minute." Satsuki first felt an uncontrollable trace of disappointment, but then she remembered that there were other questions waiting to be answered, such as: did she succeed in her revenge? Did she kill Uchiha Itachi?
But a more urgent thought suddenly struck her—if "I" am a man... then what about Naruto?!
Wait a minute... this person... could it be!
Satsuki abruptly turned her gaze to Boruto, who had been standing quietly by her side. The coincidences she had previously overlooked began to overlap wildly in her mind: similar feelings, similar appearance, and he was closely following the "future self"! This person... could he be!
Naruto unconsciously swallowed, feeling his throat dry and his heart rate involuntarily quicken. He nervously prayed in his heart, 'Sasuke must have understood my hint just now, right?'
"That's right," Sasuke's voice calmly broke the tense silence, "It's just as you think. Boruto is the son of the future Naruto."
"What?!"
Satsuki and Naruto exclaimed almost simultaneously. Satsuki was shocked that her terrible guess had come true, while Naruto was surprised that Sasuke had directly revealed the truth?!
"Naruto's son..." Satsuki murmured, repeating the words, slowly shifting her gaze back to Sasuke's face, waiting for his next explanation. But her eyes had changed—the light in them had completely vanished; it wasn't cold anger, but a bottomless stillness, chillingly calm.
Sasuke silently apologized to his family in another world, deciding he must compensate them well upon his return. But for now, this was a necessary evil—lying was an essential skill for a Ninja on a covert mission.
"...In my world," Sasuke continued to weave his lie without changing his expression, his voice steady without a ripple.
"Uzumaki Naruto is female, and her name has been changed accordingly to Uzumaki Naruko. If you wish to see, I can describe her appearance in detail."
Sasuke turned to Naruto, "After I describe her, Naruto can use the Transformation Technique to transform into the appearance of 'Naruko' from that world."
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