As Sasuke and Naruto began their battle, Makoto and Orochimaru stepped into the monitoring room.
"Sasuke-kun's fundamentals are solid, and he's mastered the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. It's time to give him the stimulus he needs to evolve his eyes," Orochimaru said to Makoto, flipping through a file titled 'Uchiha Sasuke Data Details'.
"What's the problem?" Makoto asked, knowing the snake wouldn't bring this up without a catch.
If there were no issues, Orochimaru would've just stated his plan.
"The problem is... Danzo is dead. If we use the original trauma method, Sasuke might still seek revenge against Konoha. The good news is Itachi's still alive, so there's a chance he could persuade his brother. The bad news is you've already enlightened Itachi. He now trusts Sasuke's choices, so he might not even intervene."
Orochimaru analyzed the situation with cold detachment.
As he spoke, Senju Tobirama walked in.
The Second Hokage was highly invested in matters concerning the Uchiha Clan.
He felt it was his responsibility to properly train... ahem, educate the last remaining Uchiha, guiding him onto the right path.
"Orochimaru's right," Tobirama began. "It's essential for Sasuke to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan, but we must ensure his mental stability. This kid is one of the most mentally sound Uchiha I've ever seen. According to the future Makoto described, his descent into madness was due to Itachi and Uzumaki Naruto."
Tobirama showed zero interest in the live battle on the monitor, instead rewinding to an earlier point.
He paused the playback. "Look, right here. Sasuke's emotions were stable until Naruto provoked him, drawing out Indra's chakra and recreating the classic confrontational dialogue between my brother and Madara."
"Uchiha Sasuke... such a promising kid. First, his brother massacred their clan, driving him to the brink of insanity. Then, Naruto pushed him into becoming a public flasher. In the end, he became a psychopath."
Tobirama sighed.
'Even though I targeted Madara relentlessly,' he thought, 'I never used Shadow Clones and Transformation Jutsu to repeatedly reenact the scene of me killing Izuna with the Flying Thunder God Slash in front of him.'
But Itachi used Tsukuyomi to force Sasuke to experience his parents' death on a loop.
And then there was Naruto.
Naruto's relentless Talk-no-Jutsu was comparable to the cursed whispers of an Ancient God, its brainwashing power no less potent than Itachi's Tsukuyomi!
Pathetic.
"Orochimaru's right," Makoto said. "Using Itachi to traumatize Sasuke now would be ineffective and have terrible side effects. We need a different approach."
Makoto had no intention of sticking to the original script.
He suspected Sasuke's Mangekyō abilities might even change.
After all, the Sharingan is the "Eye that Reflects the Heart." If his innermost desires changed, his Mangekyō dōjutsu might no longer be Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
"So, you already have a plan?" Orochimaru asked.
"Yeah. Here's what we'll do..."
Makoto began to explain his method.
...
Meanwhile, back in Otogakure.
Sasuke and Naruto were locked in combat.
Currently, Sasuke's strength was roughly equivalent to his "White-Robed" era but without the Kirin technique. (Shippuden.)
Naruto, on the other hand, was in Sage Mode but lacked the Rasenshuriken.
In terms of raw power, Sasuke was no match for Sage Mode Naruto.
Fortunately, Sasuke's combat IQ was sharper than Naruto's.
His own Cursed Seal was long gone, but having trained in Otogakure, he understood how the seals worked.
He knew they utilized natural energy and had studied the principles of Sage Mode.
During the fight, he deduced that Naruto's Sage Mode required him to remain calm and clear-minded to balance the natural energy.
Therefore, if he could disrupt Naruto's emotional state, he could force him out of Sage Mode.
Without it, Naruto would be no match for him.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke made a decision. He refused to let this psycho break his legs and drag him back to Konoha.
He needed to stay here and train!
So... unable to think of any other way to emotionally disturb Naruto, Sasuke resorted to the most primitive method imaginable—stripping.
And it worked perfectly!
The moment Naruto saw his rival unbuttoning his shirt, he was so shocked he instantly dropped out of Sage Mode.
Seeing the toad pigmentation fade, Sasuke immediately launched a counterattack.
Naruto scrambled to dodge, using Shadow Clones to block the assault.
He seized the opening to quickly gather natural energy, desperately trying to re-enter Sage Mode.
The two continued their frantic back-and-forth, neither gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly.
The battlefield plunged into a darkness so thick not even Sasuke's Lightning Release could pierce it.
The next second, a figure appeared beside Sasuke.
A syringe pierced his neck, and he instantly lost consciousness, collapsing to the dirt.
The culprit was Senju Tobirama.
Though he'd called Sasuke a "good kid," that hadn't stopped the Second Hokage from slapping a Flying Thunder God mark on him beforehand.
If this Uchiha brat ever strayed onto the wrong path, Tobirama was ready to snap his neck on the spot!
The darkness receded.
Naruto looked around in confusion.
Sasuke was gone.
And standing before him were Orochimaru and Makoto.
At the sight of Orochimaru, Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Naruto, calm down. Sasuke needs your help right now," Makoto spoke quickly, stopping Naruto before he could attack.
"MAKOTO-NII, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! ARE YOU AFTER SASUKE'S BODY TOO?!" Naruto glared at Makoto, his face was full of indignation.
"I'm after your mom to be fair." Makoto facepalmed.
'I'm so done with this idiot. Why did Naruto assume every male he met was after Sasuke's ass? Orochimaru, sure.'
'That snake was so creepy you could never tell what he was thinking.'
'But me? Did i look like a creep who'd covet a teenager's body?'
"Naruto," Makoto said, taking a deep breath and ignoring the bullshit.
He forced himself back on topic. "I'm from the future. I know exactly how to help Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and increase his power. But I need your help to do it."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "Sasuke, your best friend, needs you right now. Are you willing to help?"
"HUH?! F-FROM THE FUTURE?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" Naruto asked, bewildered.
"It means, Makoto knows everything that will happen from now on," Orochimaru explained smoothly.
"WHAT?! SERIOUSLY?! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU—UNLESS YOU CAN GUESS WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO RIGHT NOW!" Naruto's skepticism was plain on his face.
"Uh..." Orochimaru started to speak, but Makoto stopped him.
Makoto had his Epitaph ability. Predicting the immediate future was easy.
"You're about to take a shit," Makoto said flatly.
"HAHA, WRONG! I WAS JUST GONNA FART!" Naruto's tense expression melted into a triumphant grin.
Pfft.
...
Five minutes later.
A naked Naruto stood by the river, miserably scrubbing his ass.