"What?!"
Sasuke never expected Naruto to offer to go with him.
Just a moment ago he'd been sneering at Naruto, and now he was so stunned that the shift in his expression was almost comical.
"You're not staying to take care of…" Sasuke glanced at the red-haired woman on the bed, still looking worn out.
Kushina brightened. "That's perfect, isn't it!"
Her sudden comment made Sasuke freeze.
Holding the baby in her arms, Kushina smiled. "A few days ago, when I saw Mikoto holding you—only two months old at the time—I thought that you and Naruto would end up in the same Ninja Academy class. I wished for you two to get along. Looks like that wish came true after all!"
Sasuke and Naruto instinctively exchanged a look.
Then Naruto yanked his hand free, and the two turned away from each other, snapping in unison:
"We're not close at all!! Hmph!"
"Hahahaha!" Obito nearly doubled over laughing. "You two are so full of it!"
Young Kakashi nodded, reluctant but honest. "I hate to admit it, but… for once, I agree."
Rin's expression tightened slightly as she glanced between Sasuke and Naruto, then Obito and Kakashi, clearly unsure what to say.
Sakura rolled her eyes internally. You two aren't much better, okay?! Especially you, Kakashi-sensei! How can you be so different from your younger self?! Seriously!!!
Caught by Rin and Sakura's silent judgment, Obito and Young Kakashi both looked awkward.
Before heading out, Naruto patted Obito on the shoulder. "I'm counting on you to protect my mom. Even though the Fourth is my dad, and he and Kakashi-sensei are holding off the masked guy, that bastard's abilities are insanely tricky!"
Obito nodded firmly. "Don't worry. I won't let the masked man harm Kushina-san or anyone here!"
Unlike the prickly pair Sasuke and Young Kakashi…
Naruto and Obito had actually gotten along pretty well; their personalities and dreams were surprisingly alike.
The two boys bumped fists. Then Sasuke and Naruto pushed the door open.
Because the masked man had summoned the Nine-Tails into the village, all of Konoha was on its highest alert. Jōnin, Chūnin, even ANBU—every one of them was fighting the enormous beast.
But the Nine-Tails' chakra was practically endless. Its size alone was overwhelming.
To it, the ninjas' attacks felt like nothing more than drizzle.
Meanwhile, a single swipe of its paw could flatten a whole squad of Konoha shinobi.
Villagers ran in terrified chaos.
The great clans and elite ninja members all stepped in—some to battle the Nine-Tails, others to shield the civilians.
The roar of the beast shook the air even from several kilometers away, and for the first time, Sasuke—and even Naruto—saw the Nine-Tails truly unbound from its cage.
"So that's the Nine-Tails?!"
Sasuke stared at the massive, oppressive orange fox. Its nine tails lashed wildly through the sky, and even from afar their hearts pounded uncontrollably.
That monstrous thing…was sealed inside Naruto and his mother?!
Everywhere they looked, the Konoha they knew had become a sprawling field of ruin.
Terrified screams, the agonized cries of the wounded, the grief of losing family and comrades, the explosions of paper bombs, and the clashes of countless jutsu all crashed into Naruto and Sasuke's senses.
It felt as if the barrier-shielded house—protected by the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki—was the last safe haven left, and beyond its doors...was hell on earth.
"Hey, Sasuke…" Naruto's eyes wandered uncertainly. He turned to Sasuke and asked, "Is this really our village?"
Sasuke paused for several seconds before finally saying, "Come on."
He grabbed Naruto and sprinted toward where he believed the Uchiha district should be.
But after wasting precious time searching, he realized—in this era—the Uchiha clan grounds weren't where he remembered them at all.
"This area's too far off. Let's get closer to the Nine-Tails and find a ninja to ask!" Naruto suggested.
Sasuke grunted in agreement, and the two turned back, racing in the direction of the rampaging beast.
"Hey! You two!"
They heard someone shouting. Both stopped mid-leap and turned around.
"What is it?" Sasuke and Naruto answered together.
The man yelled, "Kids, don't run around! Get to the evacuation shelter!!"
Naruto replied, "We're busy! Oh—right, big bro, do you know where the Uchiha clan grounds are?"
The man froze.
Sasuke, however, noticed the emblem on the man's shoulder—a shuriken framing an Uchiha fan.
"The Uchiha Police Force?!"
He bounded forward in one step and landed right in front of the man. "You're from the Uchiha Police Force?!"
The man scratched his head. "Yeah."
Judging by their appearance, he assumed these two were fresh genin scared half to death by the Nine-Tails and unable to locate the shelter. The fan crest on Sasuke's back was what made him call out earlier.
"Alright, follow me. I'll take you to the shelter."
He turned to leave, but Sasuke grabbed him by the arm.
The man flinched as crimson Sharingan suddenly snapped open.
To outsiders, an Uchiha activating the Sharingan was practically a declaration of hostility.
Within the clan, it meant: I'm showing my strength.
"Sharingan?!"
The patrol officer opened his own, revealing three tomoe in each eye. "You two want to join the fight? No way! You're still kids!"
Sasuke shook his head. "No. I need to find my father… I need to find Fugaku Uchiha. Where is he? Take me to him!"
At that moment, the Nine-Tails was shoved out of Konoha by an enormous extended staff.
"What is that?!" Naruto yelled. "Why can that giant stick pushing the Nine-Tails stretch so far?!"
The massive fox was hurled beyond the village borders, crushing countless buildings along the way.
"That's the Third Hokage's Adamantine Staff," the Uchiha youth muttered, his tone laced with bitterness.
He clearly hadn't planned to bring them to the clan head, but his next words shifted:
"Fine. I'll take you to see Clan Head Fugaku."
After five long years, the thought of meeting his father alive again sent a storm of emotion through Sasuke's chest.
Naruto glanced at the Uchiha youth. "Big bro, what happened?"
He asked because he sensed the man's resentment toward the Hokage—maybe even toward the Uchiha clan head. And since being Hokage was his dream, Naruto, being Naruto, asked directly.
The young man immediately launched into a rant.
"Hmph! All because the Third and those advisors are scared the Uchiha will use Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and attack the village! So they banned us from joining the frontline! We're stuck inside the village protecting noncombatants!"
He grew angrier as he spoke. "We're the elite Uchiha clan! Watching other shinobi rush into battle while we're forced to sit back—damn it!!"