[At this time, although Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had not yet mastered it. And after losing the Curse Mark and Orochimaru's power, his new abilities were unfamiliar while his old ones were gone—it was essentially a stat reallocation. His strength at this point may not have been greater than when he had absorbed Orochimaru.]
[This led to Sasuke nearly being beaten to death in his fight against Killer Bee. If it weren't for the fact that Killer Bee wanted to sneak out to play, the mission to capture the Eight-Tails would have likely ended in failure right there.]
---
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
"Haha…" Bee let out two dry laughs and took a step back.
"Ha…"
"Big bro… the screen must be joking…"
A stared at him without saying a word.
Bee's voice grew quieter and quieter until he finally shrank into a corner, not daring to speak further.
Still, A breathed a sigh of relief internally.
He had been worried that Bee had been captured by Team Hebi! Luckily, it was a false alarm.
But Yugito's security would need to be tightened.
[Although the two did not meet at this time, looking at the enemies they faced and their overall performance, it could no longer be said that Sasuke was definitely stronger than Naruto. In fact, one could say Naruto had the edge.]
[After all, Naruto was facing Pain's Six Paths—the biggest boss of early Shippuden, whose power exceeded Kage-level.]
[By the time Sasuke fully mastered his Mangekyō Sharingan, learned Kagutsuchi and Susano'o, and encountered Naruto again, the two were roughly equal in strength.]
[However, because Sasuke had fought the Five Kage one after another and then soloed Danzō, by the time he faced Kakashi, his eyes were nearly blind. So although Naruto and Sasuke met again, and once again clashed with the familiar Chidori vs. Rasengan, Sasuke was extremely weakened while Naruto held back as much as he could have—making it impossible to determine who was stronger.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. A valley outside Konoha]
Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, his back straight, and laughed up at the sky.
"Hahaha! Did you hear that?! I was stronger than Sasuke!"
Sasuke sat where he was, looking up at him with an expressionless face. "The screen also said we quickly became equal again."
"And Pain was above Kage-level. Did you beat him?"
Naruto froze. His mouth opened, then closed again.
He hadn't beaten him, had he?
The Sky Screen had shown Pain attacking Konoha—the entire village leveled. Later, it had shown Hinata saving him, but after that, he had only gone berserk. He didn't know the actual outcome.
Sasuke saw the look on his face and the corner of his mouth curved upward. "Also, the screen said I soloed the Five Kage and Danzō. How many Kage have you beaten?"
Despite saying that, Sasuke was not calm inside.
He could only feel that Sage Mode was ridiculously overpowered. With that, Naruto—who had been far weaker than him—had directly surpassed him.
To catch up, Sasuke would have to fully master his Mangekyō Sharingan first.
Sasuke made a quiet decision.
No matter what, he had to learn this Jutsu from Jiraiya.
---
[Shimura Clan Grounds]
Danzō sat alone in his courtyard.
Leaves had piled up all over the ground, with no one to sweep them away.
Ever since his Mangekyō Sharingan from Shisui had been taken away by Hiruzen, he had not received a single visitor.
As he heard that he had been "soloed" by Sasuke, Danzō's expression did not waver in the slightest.
The Sky Screen had already shown clips of his battle with Sasuke, and later revealed that Sasuke's true strength would surpass even Uchiha Madara.
So the outcome of that battle could only be his own death.
'Hmph. Damn you, Hiruzen!'
He was currently weakened to the extreme. The Mangekyo had been handed over, the Sharingan arm had been handed over, and Root had been uprooted.
But as long as he was still alive, there would definitely be a chance.
As long as Konoha was in trouble, the position of Hokage would sooner or later be his.
The Akatsuki… would still deal with Konoha.
And even if there was no opportunity, Danzō secretly resolved to kill Sasuke ahead of time.
He, Shimura Danzō, would never allow himself to be humiliated by an Uchiha remnant!
Just as Danzō was deep in thought, the scene on the Sky Screen quietly shifted.
The screen showed a bridge, where an older Sasuke, sporting a new look, stood behind Sakura.
CRACKLE!
The familiar chirping sound echoed once more.
A mass of lightning chakra formed in Sasuke's left hand. And without warning, he thrust it viciously toward Sakura's back.
Just then, a figure appeared and intercepted Sasuke's attack.
Two hands collided in midair, sparks flying.
'He really meant to kill her.'
"How you've fallen, Sasuke."
The newcomer was none other than Kakashi. He shielded Sakura behind him, jumped to avoid a kick from Sasuke, and then kicked Sasuke back several meters. With a flick of his hand, he released chakra threads and bound Sasuke in place.
However, with a "poof," the bound Sasuke turned into a piece of wood.
He had used a Substitution Jutsu to evade Kakashi's attack.
"I've seen so many guys like you, I've lost count. Those who follow the path of revenge end up nowhere."
"Do not become possessed by vengeance!"
As Kakashi's words fell, the Sasuke before him, as if having heard some joke, burst into manic laughter.
"Hahaha…"
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Itachi… My father… My mother… My entire clan! Bring them all here! Do that and I'll quit right now!"
His face was full of mockery, but there was no humor in his eyes.
[It's often said that one should not preach kindness to others without having experienced their suffering. As it happens, Kakashi had also experienced no small amount of suffering. Yet even so, he never fell into darkness. So he was still qualified to lecture Sasuke.]
[But by this point, Sasuke had clearly become unhinged. He wouldn't listen to anyone—not even his teacher or his teammates. And he also contributed to one of the Four Great Uchiha Maniacal Laughter iconic scenes.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60]
Naruto and Sakura were stunned, looking at Kakashi with slight surprise.
It sounded like the past of their Jonin instructor was also far from simple.
Naruto only knew that Kakashi-sensei had also been a disciple of his father.
Unexpectedly, judging by what the Sky Screen said, Kakashi-sensei's past was equally tragic.
But this completely contradicted the mental state Kakashi usually displayed.
This was a man who never went anywhere without his Icha Icha Paradise.
And whenever the three of them encountered problems, Kakashi always did his best to help them solve them.
They truly hadn't expected this.
But seeing Kakashi looking back at them with a cheerful expression, they couldn't bring themselves to ask the questions.
Nearby, Sasuke fell into deep thought.
Why would he demand that Kakashi bring back Itachi for him?
Leaving aside his father and mother and the clan… Itachi was the one who had done all that.
It seemed his future self had indeed lost his mind.
Sasuke frowned as he stared at the laughing version of himself on the screen.
That laughter made him deeply uncomfortable.
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha Clan Grounds]
The Uchiha present exchanged uneasy glances.
"The Four Great Uchiha Maniacal Laughter…"
Who were these guys?
Judging by Sasuke's appearance on the screen, it didn't sound like a compliment.
But did it mean that an Uchiha had to laugh maniacally to become stronger?
Mikoto looked at young Sasuke in her arms, his face innocent, and furrowed her brows slightly.
How could this child end up like that in the future?
She stroked Sasuke's head.
Young Sasuke looked up. "Mom?"
"Nothing." Mikoto withdrew her hand. "Don't laugh like that in the future. It's ugly."
Young Sasuke looked bewildered. "…Oh."
*****
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