Yang Tao once again stood on the grassy field where he studied plant magic, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin. It was relaxing, but for some reason, the moment he pulled out the plant manual, he felt a faint pain in his liver.
"An illusion? But I've already turned my body into data—how could I possibly feel pain?" Yang Tao patted himself down but didn't find anything unusual.
He opened the plant manual and checked what he could craft next.
The Fire Red Lotus was the most basic energy-producing flower in plant magic, also the most commonly used one. It could generate magic power by burning objects, but the most efficient fuel it could handle was just coal blocks.
"This dumb flower eats up way too many materials!" Even though he had an unlimited supply of common resources, he couldn't help but complain about its low energy output.
He crafted the Fire Red Lotus and a mana emitter. After linking them with the Forest Wand, he connected the emitter to the mana pool.
Watching as the emitter sent out pulses of magic, he saw the mana in the pool slowly rise.
"Too slow! But I guess this will have to do for now."
If this were in a game, Yang Tao would've already placed down some speed-up torches.
…
In the world of Naruto, inside Ichiraku Ramen.
Uchiha Sasuke was sitting with Naruto, eating ramen.
He had finally stepped out of his deep despair. The look of hatred and revenge was gone from his face, and once in a while, he would even smile.
But Naruto noticed that sometimes, when Sasuke looked at him, there was something strange in his eyes. However, when Naruto asked about it, Sasuke's face would change dramatically, but he refused to say anything.
Naruto thought about the timing. By now, Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi, and Kisame should be arriving in Konohagakure.
"Sasuke, your brother is coming back soon. Let's go meet him together!"
Sasuke, who had been eating his ramen, suddenly started coughing. "Cough, cough! Naruto, I can go by myself. I've already awakened the Mangekyou. I'm not that much weaker than Itachi anymore!"
Naruto: ???
Kid, it's not that I want to crush your dreams, but you're seriously overestimating yourself.
Naruto said, "I'll go with you! It'll be safer that way."
Sasuke didn't respond this time. He just kept eating his ramen, though his brows were furrowed.
After they finished eating, Naruto led Sasuke to the path where, in the original story, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame had entered Konohagakure.
Since the events had already changed quite a bit, Asuma and Kurenai weren't here this time.
Suddenly, the sound of bells rang in the distance. Two figures in black cloaks with red clouds, wearing straw hats, walked toward them.
Naruto: "They're here!"
Naruto couldn't help but complain, "Dressed like that, it's like they *want* people to know they're up to something!"
As Uchiha Itachi and Kisame approached, Sasuke and Naruto stepped forward.
Naruto stood in front of them and said, "You two look unfamiliar. You're not from the village, are you? Take off your hats!"
Naruto just wanted to mess with them a little. At this point, he had completely picked up Yang Tao's bad habits.
Kisame looked at the two kids blocking their way and reached for his sword, Samehada, ready to take them out on the spot.
But before he could, Uchiha Itachi raised a hand to stop him, his gaze locking onto Sasuke.
"You foolish little brother. You dare to stand before me? Are you asking me to kill you?"
Sasuke's expression grew complicated. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Kisame grinned, his bloodlust showing. "So this kid is Itachi's little brother? What do you think, Itachi? Should we just get rid of him?"
Itachi's face remained completely unreadable. "Right now, he's not even worth killing. Let him grow stronger first."
Kisame chuckled twice but didn't say anything else.
Naruto suddenly shouted, "Hey, shark-face! What's so funny? I'm gonna teach you a lesson today!"
Naruto deliberately picked a fight with Kisame, wanting to give Sasuke and Itachi some space to talk.
Kisame's expression darkened.
What the hell? This was straight-up personal insult!
"You're dead, kid!"
This time, Kisame didn't even ask for Itachi's permission. He swung Samehada straight at Naruto, who immediately took off running.
Kisame chased after him, and once they were far enough from Sasuke and Itachi, Naruto suddenly stopped.
As Kisame's blade came down again, Naruto blocked it with a kunai.
Then, he channeled raw natural energy into Samehada's body. The sword's scales began to turn to stone.
Samehada broke free from Kisame's grip and jumped aside. It took a while before the stone effect faded from its body.
Meanwhile, Itachi and Sasuke stood face to face.
"You foolish little brother! Hate me! Despise me!" Itachi activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, about to trap Sasuke in a genjutsu.
But Sasuke's eyes also turned into the Three Tomoe Sharingan as he stared at Itachi. "Seven against one. Just leave. Don't come back."
For the first time since the beginning of *Naruto* all the way to his death, Itachi's expression actually changed.
What the hell?
Since when did Sasuke become like this?
And when did his Sharingan reach Three Tomoe?
Itachi kept up his act as the cold older brother and said, "Once you grow strong enough, I will come back for you! I will take your eyes and show you the true power of the Uchiha clan!"
He activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and stared into Sasuke's eyes.
Damn! (A type of plant!) Seeing Sasuke's Mangekyou, Itachi suddenly wasn't sure if he should keep up the act or not.
"You have no idea what I went through to get these eyes, but now, just leave! I don't want to see you again!" Sasuke said painfully to Itachi.
But in his heart, he was thinking, *I'll come find you again after Naruto gets married.* Right now, Sasuke had no idea about Itachi's illness.
At that moment, Itachi suddenly smiled gently, just like when he used to be by Sasuke's side as a child. He walked toward Sasuke, and Sasuke didn't react at all.
Itachi stepped right up to Sasuke and used his ultimate move on him.
He placed two fingers on Sasuke's forehead and said, "Sasuke, I didn't expect you to grow this much. I have a gift for you."
Hearing Itachi's words, Sasuke, who had been lost in memories from the touch of those two fingers, suddenly snapped back to reality.
"No, I don't want your eyes. Just promise me you'll leave Konohagakure. When the time is right, I'll bring you back."
Itachi looked at Sasuke's serious expression and asked, "Why?"
Hearing the question, Sasuke fell into painful memories again.
That man was looking at the exhausted Sasuke lying on the bed with a serious expression. "A normal approach won't work. We need something stronger! Time for the big guns!"
By now, Sasuke had gone through countless Genjutsu. He had relived the night of the massacre, learned the truth about Itachi, seen Itachi die, and even witnessed Itachi killing Naruto right in front of him.
He had already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, but for some reason, even after all this suffering, he still hadn't unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Then, that man walked in with a blushing Yakumo Kurama. For some reason, Sasuke suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
Sasuke was quickly pulled into an illusion.
In this dream world, Itachi had never defected, and the Uchiha clan still existed.
He happily went to the ninja academy, graduated, and was assigned to a team with Naruto and Sakura. With Naruto's help, his strength improved rapidly.
And his gentle older brother was always by his side.
He really wanted to stay in Konohagakure and live this happy life forever.
Until one day!
His brother brought a woman to him and said, "Sasuke, this is my future wife—your sister-in-law!"
Sasuke was completely stunned. His brother had a lover?!
But that wasn't the real shock. The real shock came from what Itachi said next.
"Her name is Uzumaki Naruko."
——
---
Read 10 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---