It's better to be a rebel ninja than to be a Hokage

Chapter 70 Avengers

……

"It seems that you choose to believe what Itachi told you. But…."

Naruto fell silent as he listened to Sasuke's explanation.

It took Naruto a while to break the silence he had created.

"Sasuke, I've already warned you—"

Naruto said:

"——'The Impure World Reincarnation cannot distort the will of the dead.'"

This is what Naruto said when he left a private space for Sasuke and Itachi to talk.

He didn't say much at the time, and even avoided saying anything related to the truth about the Uchiha clan.

It just reminded Sasuke of the "disadvantages" of the Impure World Reincarnation Technique.

Even Kabuto Yakushi, who improved Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation in the original work, was unable to influence the will of the dead. He could only use a similar method of erasing will as Orochimaru to drive the Impure World Reincarnation ninjas and the ninjas of the Allied Shinobi Forces to kill each other.

But for Naruto, the problem of the uncontrollable will of the Impure World Reincarnated has long been solved.

The Impure World Reincarnation used by Naruto after he was initially improved by the prisoners in the Ghost Lantern City...

Naruto performed the Impure World Reincarnation in a way that mixed in "impurities".

It is a special kind of Impure World Reincarnation that is different from the development and improvement paths of Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi.

Therefore, the truth that Itachi told Sasuke had actually already been known by Naruto.

Sasuke couldn't possibly know this.

After all, apart from Naruto, it is a consensus that the Impure World Reincarnation can erase but not distort the will of the returning dead.

Naruto brought Itachi to Sasuke and then left on his own initiative, giving Sasuke and Itachi enough "freedom" to talk to each other, which was also a deliberate act on his part.

Freedom means being uncontrollable.

Uncontrollable situations require subjective judgment.

The result after subjective judgment is what Sasuke himself determines to be the truth that is real enough.

Now, in order to confirm the truth that Sasuke constructed after his subjective judgment.

Naruto reminded Sasuke of this once again.

"Originally, my purpose in resurrecting Itachi was to ask him directly what you didn't ask, which is why the top leaders of Konoha have the Mangekyō Sharingan... I didn't expect that the truth involved in the matter would be such a huge conspiracy..."

Naruto's tone was filled with emotion at how unexpected this turn of events was.

"Itachi does have Uchiha Shisui's left eye, and the Konoha high-ranking officials did use the Mangekyō Sharingan eye technique called Kotoamatsukami on me in the past... Itachi used the Mangekyō Sharingan entrusted to him by Uchiha Shisui to prove the truth in his words."

"But are all Itachi's words true? After his reincarnation, he cannot attack you. As a caster, I restrict him from using the Sharingan. But Itachi's will is free. Even as a caster, I cannot be sure whether he is lying - especially when lies are mixed in with the truth, they are even harder to detect."

"As for Uchiha Itachi, is he a person who is good at making up lies with the truth? Sasuke... you should know better than me."

Naruto looked at Sasuke and expressed his surprise.

Sasuke certainly understood Naruto's surprise.

Itachi tried every means to take away his eyes during his lifetime.

But after being resurrected by Naruto, he told Sasuke that what he did was just to hope that Sasuke could become stronger and survive...

Uchiha Itachi is simply a psychopath with a split mind.

But Sasuke already knew the reason why Itachi did this.

"..."

After a long while, Sasuke finally responded to Naruto's reminder:

"I am clear."

Impure World Reincarnation cannot affect the will of the dead.

This was the truth for Sasuke.

He had followed Orochimaru for such a long time that he naturally knew the drawbacks of the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

But Sasuke, who knew nothing about the past, after Itachi told him the truth about the past.

Sasuke decided to trust Itachi.

Believe in the gentle brother in his own heart.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan, which now had hexagram patterns on it.

There was no sign of confusion in Sasuke's beautifully patterned red eyes.

Sasuke, who knew the truth of the past, had a determined look in his eyes, indicating that he had already made a decision in his heart.

"So, Sasuke, what are you going to do next?"

Naruto said, "The stage Itachi carefully prepared for you has been perfectly concluded by you. You can put aside everything in the past and return to Konoha. Now you have become a hero of Konoha who has successfully avenged the Uchiha clan and killed the traitor Uchiha Itachi."

When Itachi Uchiha died, he took away the darkness that was entangled with Sasuke.

When Sasuke returns to Konoha, he will be greeted with flowers and praises from everyone.

The rest of his life was a bright and righteous life supported by everyone.

But Sasuke...

"I won't go back to Konoha."

This was Sasuke's decision.

"Itachi had already planned everything. After he sealed Orochimaru, he should have used Kotoamatsukami on me. Kotoamatsukami's powerful illusion power would ensure that I would return to Konoha safely and become a hero of Konoha."

"But Itachi regretted it at the last moment of the battle with me. He gave up using Kotoamatsukami on me and gave the choice of the future back to me. This is also the reason why Itachi told me the truth that he had concealed during his lifetime after his Impure World Reincarnation."

"…It's better this way. Compared to the beautiful illusion of ignorance, the cruel reality is what I need right now."

Sasuke recognized the truth about Itachi and accepted Itachi's twisted and heavy love for him that was difficult for the world to understand.

But he denied the ninja way that Itachi practiced.

"… Itachi is an evil guy. He will ruthlessly kill all his clan members - even though many of the Uchiha clan members he killed were not ninjas at all, but weak and harmless old people and children. For the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan that he was obsessed with, he betrayed Konoha and joined the Akatsuki organization. He even planned to kill me without mercy."

"Killing such a weasel is my revenge and the justice in my heart."

Naruto listened in silence. He knew Sasuke had a lot to say, and this was just the beginning.

"But the truth is, Itachi killed the Uchiha clan at the instigation of Konoha's high-ranking officials, and he joined Akatsuki to monitor it."

"The truth is that Itachi suffers from an incurable disease and uses drugs to forcibly prolong his life, just to let himself die in my hands and forge my name as a hero."

"The truth is that he had already seen through Orochimaru's plan, and the ruthlessness he showed to me was all to force me to use up my chakra, so that Orochimaru hidden in my body would appear and seal him away."

"The truth is—"

Sasuke's speech became faster and faster, and his tone changed from calm at the beginning to trembling.

Sasuke's words suddenly stopped until the overflowing emotions once again hit Sasuke's emotional threshold.

The emotional Uchiha always lets his emotions take over his rationality when he is thinking.

"——Naruto."

Sasuke suddenly called out to Naruto, hoping to get a response from Naruto.

"I am here."

So Naruto gave Sasuke a response.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's eyes which had shrunk due to his emotions.

Even when Sasuke was seeking revenge against Itachi, there was more anger in his eyes.

But now tears were flowing in Sasuke's bright red Mangekyō Sharingans, and resentment appeared in the gentle boy's eyes for the first time.

He resented Itachi for not asking for his opinion and self-righteously choosing the future for him.

He resented that there could have been a better way to resolve the crisis between Konoha and the Uchiha clan, but for his own benefit, he chose to wipe out the Konoha high-level officials of the Uchiha clan.

He also resented this unreal ninja world.

Sasuke firmly believed in justice and became an avenger.

But after knowing the truth, he understood what Naruto had said to him.

Behind all the high-sounding reasons, there is nothing but ugly selfishness.

The selfish desires of the powerful will lead to the birth of people like Naruto and Itachi again and again.

Pain and sorrow will repeat over and over again like a cycle.

"This ninja world is wrong."

Sasuke came to his own conclusion.

Itachi's death did not end Sasuke's hatred.

Instead, it amplified Sasuke's hatred.

His revenge continues.

"Konoha... and this wrong world."