Sasuke had a very long dream.
In the dream, both his parents were alive. The Uchiha wasn't an ancient, thousand-year-old clan but just an ordinary bloodline family. It was just them.
They lived happily together as a family, including Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi was a proper older brother who wholeheartedly taught his little brother. After graduating, the two of them went on missions together.
During one mission, they were ambushed. Itachi blocked all the enemies alone, then turned back and said to him:
"Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time."
The dream ended abruptly.
Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes. The glaring sunlight forced him to squint instinctively.
After a long while, he recalled what Shisui had told him the previous night. He sat on the bed in a daze for a while, then walked out like a zombie.
Outside the village, in an open field, over a dozen Uchiha were training.
"You're awake."
Shisui appeared behind Sasuke. "Yami-sama is here. He wants to see you."
Upon hearing that, Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but still followed Shisui into the neighboring courtyard and entered the house.
Inside, Yami was sipping tea leisurely. As Sasuke stepped in, a system notification rang out.
[Host and Uchiha Sasuke's "complex" bond has reached the third stage. Reward obtained: 'Indra Chakra'.]
The corners of the boy's mouth curled slightly.
That's right.
It's extremely difficult to reach the third stage with purely positive or negative emotions. Only in these complex, entangled situations, where love and hate coexist—does the emotional resonance form more easily.
He discovered this when telling Naruto about the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto's love and hate toward the Fourth stemmed from him. So the system credited that emotional bond to Yami.
Otherwise, getting Ashura Chakra would've taken far more effort.
Once inside the room, Sasuke said nothing.
Shisui exited, leaving the space to the two of them.
Yami finished his cup of tea and gestured to the seat across from him. "Shisui should've told you everything yesterday. If there's anything unclear, feel free to ask."
Today's conversation would determine Sasuke's future.
If he lost himself in hatred like in the original timeline and wanted only revenge on Konoha, Yami would have to deal with him personally.
But Yami thought that scenario was unlikely.
Sasuke seemed impulsive, but he'd always been clear about what he wanted. He was very different from Naruto, who often acted on emotion.
There was a long silence.
Sasuke stood still and asked hoarsely, "Shim... Yami-sensei, what is your purpose in saving these Uchiha, becoming my teacher, and helping me grow stronger without holding anything back?"
He originally wanted to call him by name directly, but when he saw Yami squint, Sasuke corrected himself.
Yami set down his teacup and replied calmly, "Purpose? Isn't it obvious?"
"Of the forty-two Uchiha I saved, eight have already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Shisui is now working for me wholeheartedly."
"Where do you think all those elites in my Anbu came from? That's my reward."
"As for why I trained you, it's simple. Your potential surpasses theirs. Like Naruto, you can become my right-hand man."
"Oh, and I get to witness a nice scene of brothers killing each other."
At those words, Sasuke's suppressed rage exploded. He roared, "Danzō killed my parents! Killed so many of my clan! You think I'll work for you? Dream on!"
"Even if you kill me, I won't do anything for you!"
"Don't be so absolute."
Yami shook his head slightly. He stood and patted Sasuke's shoulder, then pointed out the window. From there, one could see the Uchiha training diligently.
"Look at the people living here. Who among them doesn't have more hatred than you? Without me and Shisui, they'd have died under the same sword that killed your parents."
"But Yuichi and the others are now the sharpest blades under my command, and none of them harbor hatred toward me."
"Why don't they hate me? Why don't they hate my grandfather?"
"Because they understand that the reasons behind everything are too complex. There are historical causes, decisions from the higher-ups, and even fault within the clan itself."
"Only by following me can the Uchiha clan rise from the ashes and grow stronger in the shinobi world."
"As for my grandfather… he merely became the scapegoat for the Third Hokage."
"The Third Hokage always claimed he'd resolve the Uchiha problem peacefully. But in truth, he never took any action, because he knew the old man would act faster than him."
"And what about Itachi? Even if my grandfather didn't approach him, do you think he wouldn't have taken the initiative to seek him or the Third?"
"The outcome was predetermined. Call it fate, or the flow of events. Either the Uchiha initiated a rebellion and were annihilated after causing massive damage to Konoha, or Itachi sacrificed everyone to save you."
"That's why I became Hokage—to correct this twisted shinobi system and prevent these tragedies from happening again."
As Yami finished, Sasuke kept his head lowered. His expression was unreadable.
"You should stay here and think carefully over the next few days. Once you've made up your mind, come find me in the Land of Fire."
With that, Yami pushed open the door and walked out.
Now that he had obtained Indra Chakra, there was no need to wrestle further with Sasuke. Whether Sasuke lived or died, the choice was his.
After returning to the Snow Country's capital, he first had lunch with Koyuki. Then Yami headed to a secret room to extract the reward.
The pure Indra Chakra merged into his body and completely assimilated the Ashura Chakra. Yami's own chakra, now wholly his, began to stir restlessly.
It was like a woman, hungry and unsatisfied for years, suddenly finding a perfect partner. It was eager to fuse with the Indra Chakra.
And Indra Chakra didn't resist in the slightest, fully opening up and cooperating with Yami's chakra to fuse.
They meshed perfectly, resonating instantly, as if falling in love at first sight.
Yami felt a swelling pain in his eyes. A new pupil power was being birthed.
This was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan.
The only connection between the Rinnegan and the Sharingan was that they both originated from the same lineage.
But aside from that, they were completely different. In power and function, they were two entirely separate eye techniques.
It's not accurate to say that the Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan.
There's only one way to awaken the Rinnegan—obtaining both Indra and Ashura's Chakra and merging them to gain a glimpse of the Sage's power.
However, like a newly planted seed, it wouldn't grow into a towering tree immediately. It would take time to sprout.
To speed up that process, it must be nourished with large amounts of chakra containing life force.
Fortunately, Yami lacked neither chakra nor vitality, so the eye-awakening process would be greatly shortened.
Uchiha Madara spent decades cultivating the Rinnegan. Many factors contributed to the delay.
After fighting Hashirama, he was seriously injured and obtained only a small portion of Hashirama cells. In the end, he had to gamble with his life to awaken it.
But Yami's goal wasn't just the standard Rinnegan, but the Magatama Rinnegan from the God Tree—perfectly combining both eye powers and eliminating the need to switch back and forth during use.
After ensuring everything was stable over the course of a day, Yami exited the secret room, only to be called by Naruto.
Yami told Naruto everything about the Uchiha and Sasuke, leaving Naruto stunned.
"Sasuke's brother… actually did all that to protect him…"
"But… but those were his parents."
Even though he understood the reasoning, Naruto said he couldn't accept it.
Little brother or not, parents were still parents.
At the same time, his understanding of the darkness at Konoha's highest level deepened.
"Yami-nii, what exactly is a village?" Naruto asked in confusion.
His father sacrificed his life to protect the village and turned his own son into a Jinchūriki hated by all. Uchiha Itachi killed even his parents to protect the village.
"I don't have the answer either."
Yami shook his head. "My life's been smooth sailing. I've never had to make a difficult choice to protect one side over another."
Naruto's mouth twitched.
What a narcissistic thing to say. Damn, he was jealous.
"So, you have to work hard to become stronger. The stronger you are, the more crises you'll be able to resolve."
Yami rubbed Naruto's head. "Go check on Sasuke. He's facing the most important decision of his life right now."
Naruto understood. If things went sideways, Sasuke might betray the village. No—more likely, he'd be beaten down by their teacher. So Naruto immediately asked for the location of Snow Ninja Village and rushed off.
Sasuke's normally level-headed nature, paired with Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu," was second only to Kotoamatsukami.
Yami felt he'd done all he could, so he let it go and enjoyed his honeymoon with Koyuki Kazahana.
On the other hand, Sasuke had visited every household in the Snow Village.
Some cursed him. Others gave him cold looks. A few sympathized and offered comforting words.
But none of them expressed any dissatisfaction with Yami.
The eldest, Grandma Sumi, looked at Sasuke and said sincerely, "Sasuke… the grievances of the past are too complicated to explain. There are too many reasons the Uchiha ended up like this."
"You can't dwell on the past. You must look to the future. Where will the Uchiha go from here? If you sever ties with Yami-sama, what will happen to us survivors?"
"As the son of the clan head, you will one day become the Uchiha's leader. You can't let hatred cloud your judgment. I believe you're not as indecisive as Fugaku. You'll give us a good future, right?"
To live to seventy years old, Grandma Sumi was indeed sharp and experienced.
She could tell Yami valued Sasuke. These words, though half sincere, were also meant to help Yami achieve his goal.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Sasuke felt a weight on his shoulders, and the hatred in his heart slightly eased.
"Sasuke! Sasuke!"
Just then, Naruto's voice came from outside.
As soon as Sasuke stepped out, Naruto spotted him and ran over.
"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked coldly.
Naruto opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat. Just as Sasuke was about to turn and leave impatiently, he finally spoke.
"Sasuke, the Fourth Hokage… is my father."
Sasuke turned back, shocked.
(To be continued.)
***
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