svetikya Chapter 410 Shisui and Young Sasuke
Chapter 410 Shisui and Young Sasuke
Chapter 410 Shisui and Young Sasuke
Shisui's gaze fell on the other person, scrutinizing him.
From the way the other party infiltrated the room, he sensed that the stealth style unique to the top ninjas of the Uchiha clan was familiar.
However, when the person's true appearance was fully revealed, a hint of doubt arose in Shisui's heart.
The contours of that face, the expression between its brows, even the slight pursing of its lips when silent, all gave him a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it on a page of a family tree or in a faded old photograph.
But no matter how he searched his memory bank, he couldn't match the face with any known living Uchiha clan member.
There were indeed disabled people in the clan, but he couldn't possibly not remember someone who had lost an arm at such a young age and possessed such a profound aura.
"It seems we've never met before, have we?" Shisui spoke first, her voice gentle yet probing.
His body appeared relaxed, but in reality, chakra was quietly circulating within him, and his Sharingan could be activated at any time.
This uninvited "clan member" gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, just like when he first met Master Guang.
Young Sasuke did not answer immediately.
He slowly took a few steps forward, his footsteps silent, but deliberately letting Zhishui see his movements, until he stopped about three steps away from the desk.
Then, he slightly raised his eyelids, and the pupil of his right eye instantly turned scarlet, with three black tomoe slowly appearing.
Sharingan.
Moreover, it is a very mature and stable three-tomoe Sharingan.
This serves as both proof of identity and an invisible pressure and opening act.
Young Sasuke's gaze swept past Shisui and landed on the two flags hanging on the wall behind him.
One side features the simple five-pointed star flag of the Land of Stars, while the other side displays the Uchiha clan's crest, a symbol of flames and a fan, passed down for millennia.
The two flags hung side by side, appearing so harmonious in this unfamiliar time and space that they even seemed somewhat jarring to the young Sasuke.
"Why—" Young Sasuke's throat was a little dry, and the question almost came out of his mouth.
"Only Sasuke remained in Konoha? Where are the other clansmen?"
Shisui frowned slightly.
The other party's question was direct, and the condescending tone of the questioning also revealed the arrogance unique to the Uchiha clan.
Moreover, this attitude doesn't seem like someone sent by Itachi.
Shisui could sense the complex pain in the other person's eyes.
"It seems you've come for Sasuke." Shisui's voice remained gentle as he lightly tapped his finger on the table.
"But you seem to be—not one of Itachi's people."
The young Sasuke remained silent, neither admitting nor denying.
His gaze remained fixed on the two flags, but fragments of his memories churned uncontrollably in his mind.
The blood and fire of the night of the massacre, the image of his older brother standing before their parents' corpses, the despair of running alone through the empty clan grounds, the resolute decision to defect from Konoha and join Orochimaru's side, the collapse after learning the truth during the final battle with Itachi, the obsessive desire for revenge against Konoha, and finally, the mutual understanding with Naruto at the Valley of the End—
All the pain, struggle, hatred, and redemption are built on the foundation of "the Uchiha are destroyed, and only I survive."
However, in this distorted time and space, the Uchiha clan not only survived, but seemed to be thriving.
These past few days, young Sasuke hasn't been idle in Konoha either. He's been secretly gathering information about this timeline. He's learned a lot about the Land of Stars from passing merchants and travelers, including rumors and newspapers brought by tourists who have been there. After summarizing and analyzing, he's obtained some useful information.
The survivors of the Uchiha clan migrated to the Land of Stars, not only avoiding the tragedy of their extermination but also becoming a powerful and influential clan there.
As the clan leader, Shisui is the Minister of Police of the Star Country, in charge of the armed forces responsible for maintaining domestic security; and there is a woman named "Uchiha Hikari" who is actually the Minister of Military Affairs of the Star Country.
Young Sasuke had never heard of this name before, but it was clear that the Uchiha clan held a much higher status in the Land of Stars than they had in Konoha.
An indescribable sense of sorrow and absurdity gripped him.
It turns out—there really is another possibility.
It turns out that the night of the massacre was not just a desperate option of "Itachi Uchiha slaughtering the entire clan to protect his younger brother".
It turns out that tragedy was not inevitable.
Then what about everything he experienced in that time and space?
Itachi's decision to exterminate his clan, his own hatred, the rivers of blood and tears, the torment that tormented him day and night—
What does it matter?
Seeing the intense emotional turmoil that surged in young Sasuke's eyes and was then forcibly suppressed, Shisui understood.
He sighed softly, a sigh filled with helplessness and heaviness.
"Since you've asked that question," Shisui's voice lowered.
"You must know quite a bit about what happened that night."
"It's not that we didn't want to take Sasuke with us, but the circumstances at the time didn't allow it."
He paused, his gaze turning deep, as if he had returned to that bloody night.
"Can you imagine what the surviving members of their tribe felt when, suppressing their grief and anger, they hastily evacuated that land soaked in the blood of their loved ones, and then saw the only younger brother of the executioner who had slaughtered countless relatives?"
Shisui spoke softly, yet every word carried immense weight, striking the heart of young Sasuke.
"Hatred will devour reason, and grief will distort judgment. Even if Lord Shura and I strictly forbid it, even if we promise to protect him and teach him, you cannot guarantee that on some night in the long future, at some moment when a clansman who has lost a loved one is awakened by a nightmare, that sword of revenge will not be pointed at Sasuke, who was just a child at the time and knew nothing."
Young Sasuke's body trembled slightly.
He closed his eyes, and the Sharingan in his right eye went out.
Yes, Itachi's act of massacring his clan is a sin that cannot be ignored no matter what.
No matter how "noble" or "helpless" his motives may be portrayed, it cannot change the fact that he personally slaughtered his parents and clansmen.
After that blood-stained night, in the eyes of the surviving clan members, Uchiha Sasuke's identity was forever bound to the mark of "the enemy's younger brother".
Taking him away would likely place him in an even more dangerous situation, from the uncontrollable vortex of hatred emanating from the survivors.
Staying in Konoha, under the watchful eyes of Danzo and the Third Hokage, meant being monitored and used, but at least—until Sasuke's Sharingan evolved to a sufficiently valuable level—his life was relatively safe.
Danzo's greed ironically became a shield for Sasuke during his childhood.
So that's how it is.
Young Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, the turmoil in them had subsided, leaving only silence.
He did not inquire further about the whereabouts of the other tribesmen; the answer was already self-evident.
He got the explanation he wanted, an explanation that was more cruel, but also more realistic, than Itachi's "testing equipment," "protecting Konoha," and "making you hate me to become stronger."
He said nothing more, turned around, and prepared to silently disappear into the darkness, just as he had come.
Just as he turned around, the night breeze outside the window blew by, ruffling his slightly messy bangs.
A glimpse of young Sasuke's left eye flashed through the gap in his bangs.
An eerie pale purple, displaying layers upon layers of wavy patterns!
The Rinnegan?!
A thunderclap exploded in Zhishui's mind.
"etc."
As if by some strange twist of fate, just as young Sasuke was about to completely disappear into the shadows, Shisui's voice rang out again.
Young Sasuke stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around.
"If you're going to find Sasuke," Shisui said slowly, "could you please pass on a message to him for me?"
"Tell him that Aunt Mikoto misses him very much in the Star Country."
"!!!"
Young Sasuke's body trembled slightly.
He suddenly turned around, and his Mangekyou Sharingan in his right eye instantly activated, with the six-pointed star pattern spinning wildly. His left eye's pale purple Rinnegan with ripples was also fully revealed, and its powerful eye power pressed down instantly!
Almost at the same time, the still water also moved!
A pair of scarlet Mangekyou Sharingan eyes also activated, and the blade-like patterns began to rotate.
Two pairs of eye powers, considered among the best in the world, silently collided and clashed within the narrow study!
The air seemed to freeze, the lights began to flicker, and the scroll on the table moved automatically without any wind, making a soft rustling sound.
There was no earth-shattering display of power; it was a silent contest, concerning spiritual will, the pure strength of eye power, and the secrets hidden deep within each other's eyes.
The exchange lasted less than a second.
A thin line of blood quietly slid down the corner of Zhi Shui's eye.
He groaned and swayed slightly, but a smile appeared on his lips.
"As expected—it's the Rinnegan—" he said in a low voice, his voice a little hoarse but full of certainty.
Young Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan slowly returned to normal, turning back into a deep black, and his left eye was covered by his bangs.
He glanced at Shisui with a complicated expression, his gaze lingering for a moment on Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan.
In the end, he said nothing and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.
Zhi Shui slowly sat back in the chair, raised her hand, and gently wiped away the bloodstains from the corner of her eye with her fingertips.
The bloodstains were particularly glaring.
"A holder of a single Rinnegan?" he muttered to himself.
"This matter—must be reported to Lord Shura as soon as possible."
After leaving the courtyard where the Star Country's diplomatic team was staying, the young Sasuke sped silently across the rooftops of Konoha like a night owl. The cold night wind brushed against his cheeks, but it could not cool the turbulent waves churning in his heart.
Mother — is still alive.
In this time and space, after that bloody night.
Fragments of memories about my mother kept surfacing in my mind: her gentle smile when I was a child, the sight of her busy in the kitchen every day after school, the doting way she gently stroked my face, and the last night, those two bodies lying in a pool of blood.
In his timeline, all of this had turned to ashes, becoming the fuel that sustained his pursuit of power and his revenge against that man.
的动力。
Here, at a crossroads in another time and space, the mother survives and, in a distant star kingdom, longs for the child she left behind.
"Heh—" A very soft chuckle escaped from the depths of his throat, whether mocking the absurdity of fate or satirizing his own stubbornness, it was hard to tell.
The meaning behind Shisui's last sentence couldn't be clearer.
He wanted to use his own words to convey this message to the young Sasuke in this timeline, to create ripples, and ultimately possibly guide the young Sasuke to break with Konoha and seek refuge in the Land of Stars.
Just like————
Back then, driven by the desire for power and revenge, I defected from Konoha without hesitation, incited by Orochimaru!
He stopped on the roof of a building, where he could clearly see the familiar apartment building across the street.
That's where Sasuke, the boy from this timeline, currently lives.
It was already late at night, and the cool moonlight shone on the streets and buildings, gilding everything with a silvery glow.
In the distance, the stone statues of the Hokage of each generation silently overlook the village in the night.
Konoha —
What is there for him to cherish in this place, besides the bonds he shares with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and others?
Once, this was a decaying place he vowed to destroy; later, it became the village he and Naruto protected together.
But that sense of belonging stemmed more from the bond with Naruto and Sakura than from a love for the village itself.
This Konoha in this time and space was even more unfamiliar to him.
With his Sharingan activated, his gaze swept over the dark corners surrounding Sasuke's apartment.
Sure enough, two ninjas with excellent concealment were lurking at several of the best surveillance points.
Their chakra fluctuations bear the mark of Root's unique tendency to obliterate personal emotions.
He is one of Danzo's men.
"Surveillance, huh? — As expected, they've never let their guard down." A cold glint flashed in the young Sasuke's eyes.
Danzo, that stinking rat from the gutter, is disgusting in his greed for the Sharingan, no matter the time or place.
There are some things that Zhishui simply cannot do.
As the Minister of Police of the Land of Stars and the leader of the Uchiha clan, he is too much of a target, and every move he makes affects all sides.
If he were to make direct contact with young Sasuke, it would be tantamount to dancing on the sensitive nerves of Konoha's higher-ups, potentially triggering an unpredictable backlash and even endangering Sasuke's safety.
But I am different.
An unidentified and mysterious "outsider," and a "clan member" who also possesses Uchiha blood.
Some things are better said by oneself.
More importantly————
The appearance of Shisui and the news that the Uchiha clan had not been wiped out were like sparks thrown into dry tinder.
Since young Sasuke already knew, his unusual "calmness"—not taking drastic action to question or pursue the matter—only aroused deeper suspicion from the Konoha leadership.
They wouldn't believe Sasuke was truly unmoved; they would only suspect that he was secretly plotting something or waiting for something.
He needs someone to give him a push, at least to make him understand that he is not alone in the fog, that he has the right to know the truth, and the right to choose his own path, even if that path is full of thorns.
The young Sasuke disappeared silently from the rooftop.
The next time he appeared, he had easily bypassed the tight surveillance network of the two Root ninjas and entered the familiar yet unfamiliar apartment room.
The lights were off inside; only the cool moonlight shone through the windows, providing some illumination.
There was a slightly chilly and lonely atmosphere in the air.
This place doesn't feel like a home; it feels more like a temporary hotel.
Young Sasuke stood in the shadows of the room, his gaze sweeping over the simple furnishings before finally settling on the sleeping boy on the bed.
Whether it was the fatigue from the exam or the shock of Gaara's words, the sleeping young Sasuke frowned and his body twitched restlessly from time to time.