"Hey! Naruto, why are you helping that Uchiha brat?"
"Precisely because he's an Uchiha."
The moment Naruto returned home and went upstairs, Kurama's voice rang out in the seal space, thick with disapproval.
Naruto's consciousness entered the seal, where he saw Kurama glaring at him in visible frustration.
"Huh?" Kurama narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Minato Namikaze, standing nearby, also frowned subtly. His gaze swept up to Kurama's towering form before turning serious.
"Naruto... are you trying to help Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan so he can forcefully break the seal and extract the Nine-Tails from your body?"
"That's right, Father." Naruto met Minato's heavy gaze.
"That mysterious man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara—he used the Mangekyō's ocular powers to rip the Nine-Tails out of Mom. That's where I got the idea."
"Absolutely not!"
"I won't allow it!"
Kurama and Minato both shouted at the same time.
"Father, I'll get to your reason in a moment… But Kurama, isn't this also a way to set you free? Why are you against it too?"
Naruto stared at Kurama curiously.
The fox propped himself up with his claws and growled.
"The Uchiha are a cursed clan! Let me be clear, Naruto—they inherited a power born from evil."
Naruto's expression turned serious. That… sounded familiar.
He recalled that in the original timeline, Tobirama Senju had said something similar about the Uchiha Clan.
"Kurama, what do you mean they inherited evil power?"
Instead of answering, Kurama lowered his gaze and stared silently at Naruto. Then, after a long pause, it raised a claw and held out a fist.
Naruto touched it.
The moment they connected, visions flooded his mind—glimpses of the Sage of Six Paths and his two sons, events from over a thousand years ago. The images played on and on, ending only when Kurama was controlled by Madara and forced to fight Hashirama.
Naruto exhaled slowly.
It was a lot of information, but most of it matched what he already knew.
After a moment of silence, he propped his chin up and asked:
"So, Kurama… what you're worried about is Sasuke ending up like Madara and trying to control you with the Mangekyō?"
Hearing the name "Uchiha Madara," Kurama's pupils flared.
"That's part of it. But the core issue is that the Sharingan itself isn't even human in origin. Their clan inherited a power that doesn't belong to this world."
"The Sharingan traces back to the Ten Tails—you saw it earlier. Even the Sage of Six Paths believed his elder son Indra inherited a dangerous force, one that led him down a dark path."
Naruto's eyes glinted with insight.
He knew the truth wasn't so simple. Kaguya's will, Black Zetsu's manipulation, and the Sage's own bias against his firstborn—those were the real seeds of tragedy.
"What about you, Father? Why are you against it?"
Naruto turned to Minato. He'd thought his father had a decent relationship with Fugaku Uchiha. Naruto's motives might not be entirely pure, but Minato's disapproval seemed overly strong.
Minato's tone was grave.
"I once had an Uchiha teammate. That's why I studied Lord Tobirama's research on the Sharingan. He concluded that the Uchiha were dangerously prone to losing control."
"You've seen Itachi and Shisui's memories in the Mirror World. Their Mangekyō awakened only after intense emotional trauma—both had lived through war and lost their closest friends."
"And you know how it ended. Look at Itachi. Even if you help Sasuke awaken his Mangekyō, you can't guarantee he won't spiral out of control."
Naruto looked surprised.
"Father… you've changed. You used to have more faith in people. I thought you'd support me trying to reach Sasuke."
Minato's expression dimmed.
"When I was alive, I always tried to see the best in people. But what you've shown me in the Mirror World… it turned everything I believed upside down."
"The truth is... I'm dead now. No matter how much I know, I can't do anything with it."
Naruto nodded, then said calmly:
"Sasuke is just one of my contingency plans. I actually have a better option—but it requires more time."
Minato's eyes widened.
"Naruto, can't you just wait until Jiraiya-sensei returns? We can figure something out with the key then."
Naruto shook his head.
"Father, you've seen the Third Hokage's memories. He already sent Jiraiya to the Land of Rain to investigate the Akatsuki."
"And you've seen what the Akatsuki is: that space-time user claiming to be Madara, Orochimaru—his former comrade—Uchiha Itachi, now with the Mangekyō, and above all, Pain, the one with the Rinnegan."
"Do you think Jiraiya is coming back?"
Minato's face turned grim.
Every one of those enemies was beyond dangerous. If Jiraiya really went to the Land of Rain alone… he might not survive.
Kurama had been watching Naruto quietly.
After a long silence, he finally asked:
"Naruto, do you have a backup plan for Sasuke?"
Naruto smiled.
"I do. You're smarter than my father."
Minato blinked.
"What backup plan?"
Naruto said nothing. Instead, he raised a fist toward Kurama.
The beast hesitated—then tapped it.
In the next moment, Kurama's eyes flew wide.
"Heh… well, that might actually work. But I'll ask you again—what will you do if you don't survive?"
"That's part of a separate plan," Naruto said with a smile. "Honestly, I still hope Jiraiya will come back to Konoha before heading to the Land of Rain."
He looked to his father.
"Isn't there any way for me to contact him?"
Minato looked awkward.
"I'm already dead, remember? I can't help you there."
The next afternoon – Final class period
Sasuke hadn't paid attention in class all day.
His eyes were fixed on Naruto, sitting in the back corner.
Ding—ding—ding.
School was over. Naruto didn't move. Sasuke didn't either.
When the classroom finally emptied, Naruto stood and walked out slowly.
Sasuke got up and followed.
The two of them walked through the village in silence, Naruto in front, Sasuke trailing him at a steady distance of five meters.
It wasn't until they had long left the village center that Sasuke couldn't hold back anymore. He rushed ahead and blocked Naruto's path.
"I've learned the jutsu from the scroll! What the hell do you want from me!?"
Naruto glanced at him, expression blank.
"If you've already mastered it… then why are you still acting like an idiot?"
"What did you say!?"
Poof!
Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.
"A shadow clone!?"
Sasuke froze.
He suddenly did feel like an idiot.
"See, Father? I told you—he's not nearly as sharp as his brother."
Inside the Seal Space, Naruto was recounting the scene to Minato.
"Even after learning Shadow Clone, he still goes to class in person instead of sending a clone."
Minato gave an awkward laugh.
"To be honest… even I never thought of using Shadow Clones like that."
So far, only Naruto and Itachi had taken that approach seriously.
Naruto was sitting atop a stone platform—the same training ground where he'd first met the Uchiha brothers.
He had just teleported here using Flying Thunder God. Before that, he'd visited a special location—one he'd set up to "warm Sasuke up."
Now sensing Sasuke approaching quickly, Naruto pulled out four kunai.
Thud thud thud—
Moments later, Sasuke appeared, panting, eyes locked on Naruto.
He didn't say a word.
"Take these," Naruto said, handing him the kunai. "We're going somewhere else. Try to recover your stamina on the way."
Sasuke accepted the weapons and followed silently.
There was something mysterious about Naruto—something that kept drawing him in.
Before long, the two stood at the edge of a cliff.
Naruto turned and asked calmly:
"Do you want revenge?"
Sasuke's face instantly twisted into a crazed snarl.
"YES!"
Naruto nodded.
"Then jump."
Sasuke's pupils shrank.
"What...?"
"If you can survive the fall, I'll give you power."
Naruto met his gaze without blinking.
"What's wrong? You scared?"
Sasuke's face darkened. He didn't answer—but his feet started to retreat.
Naruto chuckled.
"Why so hesitant? At your age, Itachi already jumped off this very cliff."
"He survived. Otherwise, how else could he go on to murder your clan?"
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"You expect me to believe that?"
He wanted to deny it, but the image of Itachi flashed through his mind. He could believe it. And yet… how could Naruto possibly know?
"Because I know a lot of things that others want to keep hidden," Naruto replied flatly. "Including yours."
He entered the Mirror World for a moment and tapped into Sasuke's data clone.
When he returned, he said:
"Last year, you sat at your family's tea table one night and asked your father about the Sharingan—because you'd seen Itachi's Mangekyō for the first time during a confrontation with three other clansmen."
Sasuke flinched, stunned.
"How do you know that!?"
"I already told you. And I also know the truth behind the Uchiha massacre."
Sasuke tensed.
"What truth!?"
"You haven't even awakened your Sharingan. You're not qualified to know."
"You're not even willing to try what Itachi once did. So what good would the truth do you?"
Sasuke opened his mouth—but no words came. His emotions were spiraling.
Naruto watched him.
Then, without another word, he pulled out two more kunai.
"What a shame."
"I thought someone who had nothing would also fear nothing."
"But I was wrong."
"You're afraid to die."
(End of Chapter)
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789