Sasuke's expression turned sharp.
"Tailor-made? You mean… the contents of the stone tablet are part of a conspiracy?"
Naruto looked at his face with a flicker of surprise.
"Didn't think you were that perceptive. But yes, you're right—it is a conspiracy."
"Can you tell me… what led you to that conclusion?"
At that, Sasuke lowered his head. After a long pause, he clenched his fists tightly and muttered:
"I remembered something."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What did you remember?"
Sasuke looked up, his Sharingan now fully active, the crimson irises glowing—but within them, only confusion.
"That man… after doing all that, why did he cry?"
"Why did he look at me with eyes like that…?"
Naruto responded calmly.
"Are you asking me, or asking yourself?"
Sasuke's eyes grew more conflicted.
"I… I don't know. Can you…"
Naruto raised a hand and cut him off.
"You don't need anyone else to answer those questions. Deep down, you already know the truth—you just don't want to accept it."
"And that's understandable. After all, you've been lost in your fear of losing for a long time now."
Sasuke's face contorted in pain.
"What… are you saying?"
Naruto met his gaze directly.
"You've been avoiding the truth. You remember more than you're willing to admit, but you're too afraid to face what's behind that loss. The real reason why it all happened."
Sasuke's expression shifted rapidly as inner conflict surged. Eventually, he closed his eyes and asked:
"Naruto… do you know who altered the contents of the Uchiha stone tablet?"
A thought flashed through Naruto's mind.
"Not yet," he replied in an even tone.
Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, the Sharingan fading back into regular black pupils.
"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"
A faint smirk tugged at Naruto's lips.
"It means I'll need to see the stone tablet myself to be sure."
Sasuke frowned.
"But I thought you already knew what was on the tablet?"
Naruto waved his hand dismissively.
"I don't care what's written on it now. What matters is using my own ability to verify it. No one's watching the clan grounds at the moment, right? Let's head to the Naka Shrine and examine the tablet. Once I've seen it, I'll give you the answer you're looking for."
"Don't forget—I've already proven my ability to you more than once."
Sasuke felt a shiver.
He was always uneasy about Naruto's strange power. In front of him, it felt like he had no secrets at all.
After thinking it over, he said:
"The shrine's near my home. I still have the kunai you gave me."
Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then let's go."
Swish!
In an instant, the two appeared in the courtyard where Naruto had previously triggered Sasuke's emotional breakdown.
The kunai Naruto had given him was still in a bamboo basket on the ground.
Sasuke instinctively moved to take the lead, but then hesitated—realizing Naruto didn't need a guide.
And he was right.
Naruto walked ahead confidently.
Soon, they arrived at the hidden basement beneath the Naka Shrine.
The Uchiha Stone Tablet stood tall beneath the family banner reading "Uchiha."
Torches on either side flickered with flame.
Naruto walked straight up to the tablet. The moment he touched it, a notification from the Mirror World echoed in his mind.
Under Sasuke's shocked gaze, Naruto placed his hand on the tablet.
"Collecting data…"
"What are you doing?!"
Sasuke stepped forward, Sharingan spinning, glaring at him.
This tablet was a sacred relic passed down by the Uchiha. Even if its content had been falsified, he wouldn't allow it to be desecrated.
Naruto remained calm.
"The answer you're looking for will be revealed shortly."
"Data collection complete! Content updated."
"Current data integrity: 25%. Please continue gathering more data."
In reality, the entire process had completed the instant Naruto touched the stone.
"So much for a thousand-year-old relic… only gave me a 5% data increase. Not even as good as the Third Hokage's crystal ball," Naruto muttered inwardly.
He calmly pulled his hand back from the stone and entered the Mirror World, leaving the two Tailed Beasts behind in the seal space.
He navigated to the Naka Shrine replica, accessed the tablet, and opened the visual log.
"Aside from the weird eyeball thing… Black Zetsu really should've gone to the Detective Conan universe."
After watching the recorded memory, Naruto raised a fist inside the seal space and extended it toward Kurama.
Kurama bumped fists with him, but his pupils shrank sharply.
"That… thing—what is it?! It tampered with the Sage of Six Paths' tablet a thousand years ago?!"
Naruto nodded.
"That's all the data I could extract from the tablet for now."
After leaving the seal, Naruto saw Sasuke still glaring at him with his Sharingan active.
He spoke calmly:
"Relax. I know who tampered with the tablet."
Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
"Who was it?"
Naruto replied coolly:
"Someone named Zetsu. He altered the tablet's content over a thousand years ago, before your clan ever got their hands on it."
Sasuke's eye twitched.
"…Do you take me for a fool?"
Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy…
Class had just ended.
Shikamaru leaned against the windowsill, sighing deeply.
"Naruto, my old man's planning to assign me a personal tutor… someone who might even be my jonin squad leader later."
Naruto's eyes flickered.
"Oh? Congratulations, I guess."
Shikamaru let out another heavy sigh.
"Don't tease me. It's a pain. You don't understand—he said the guy is the Hokage's son. And that I'll be teamed up with Chōji and…"
Naruto's expression shifted subtly in understanding.
No wonder the Third Hokage was so focused on purging Danzō's influence lately. He's laying the groundwork for his own son—Asuma.
Shikamaru noticed Naruto's silence and smiled helplessly.
"Hey, Naruto… aren't you curious who you'll be teamed with after graduation?"
"Aren't you wondering who your jonin instructor will be?"
Naruto's gaze shifted slightly.
"The Hokage said graduation's still a ways off. He promised he'd make arrangements for me."
"Honestly, I envy you. You already know your future team and instructor—and you've only been in school for three years. Perks of being from a prominent clan, huh?"
Shikamaru's expression turned serious.
Then, almost casually, he asked:
"Are you… really planning to graduate?"
Naruto chuckled.
"Of course. But if my instructor thinks I'm not ready, I could always 'return for further training.'"
Shikamaru clicked his tongue.
"Knew it…"
Naruto's grin didn't fade.
"That's why a good teacher is important. You'd better appreciate yours."
That Night…
Naruto returned home.
As for Sasuke—he refused to believe Naruto's story.
He was convinced Naruto was hiding something.
But at least… he was willing to believe the contents of the tablet were fake.
Naruto couldn't understand that logic, but decided to leave it be.
After washing up, he brought Kurama and Kokuō into the Mirror World.
After they reviewed the stone tablet's visuals, both Tailed Beasts fell silent in contemplation.
Just then, a Mirror World notification appeared:
"Data sync complete."
Naruto opened the update panel.
Everyone's data had finished syncing—except his father, Minato Namikaze, whose data was still updating.
Glancing at the two pensive Tailed Beasts, Naruto tapped open the newest update from Itachi Uchiha.
"Kurama, look—isn't this guy familiar?"
The two Tailed Beasts turned toward the screen.
And when they saw a man with a pitch-black Venus flytrap mask and a face split into black and white…
They both exclaimed in shock:
"That guy is still alive?!"
PS : I've been consistently releasing chapters for many days now, and If you want to support my work and read the complete fic (all chapters), you can check out
my P@treon. -> patreon.com/FinalArcHero789
◇ 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