He might have had a happy ending. He thought he could convince Sasuke to join forces with him against Itachi and force him to surrender.
What he hadn't realized was that Sasuke would allow no one but himself to kill Itachi—and that Itachi would never accept mercy from anyone.
At first, he held back against Sasuke.
The more he tried to bypass Sasuke and strike directly at Itachi, the angrier Sasuke became—his attacks growing fiercer with every move. When Sasuke finally unleashed Heavenly Lightning!, Naruto hit his limit.
And when Orochimaru's strength surged back through Sasuke's body, Naruto's resolve hardened even further—this time, Sasuke had to die.
But he still hesitated. He focused all his attention on Itachi, giving Sasuke too many chances—just as Jiraiya once did with Orochimaru.
And now, he would pay the price. By the time he sealed away Heavenly Lightning!, it was already too late.
He had a chance to kill Sasuke—but he missed it.
Deep down, he knew that even bringing Sasuke back alive wouldn't change the fact that he was still a threat.
Sasuke nearly resurrected Orochimaru and came close to handing his Sharingan over to him.
By the time Naruto decided he had to kill Sasuke, it was already too late. Cursed "Will of Fire"...
Sometimes, hesitation—trying to understand your enemy's perspective—is not a good thing.
Naruto realized something then: there are times when some people must be killed before they slip away.
For the sake of the ninja world, certain individuals must be eliminated, whether you know them or not. Sasuke had long since crossed the line from which there's no return.
That day, neither of the brothers died. He killed neither Sasuke nor Itachi, because he hadn't struck the weaker one first.
In the past, he learned how to protect others—but now, he had to learn how to kill.
Madara Uchiha wouldn't give him a second chance. Without hesitation, he'd tear the Nine-Tails from within him—as he had done to his mentors Minato, Kushina, and B.
No—next time, he'd make sure none of it happened again.
The door to the room creaked open, and the sound of a cane tapping against the floor drew Naruto's attention.
He looked up and saw Danzo, wrapped in bandages, walking in slowly.
The old man arched the only eyebrow he could lift, casting a glance at the bandages wrapped around Naruto's head.
"It seems you're imitating me now."
"I didn't have a choice, Lord Danzō," Naruto said with a helpless shrug. "What are you doing here?"
Danzo sat down on a nearby chair at his usual slow pace and said calmly,
"Naruto, I am a vital figure in Konoha, holding a rank equal to the Hokage and Homura Mitokado. Tsunade sent me here to verify the message you delivered. Diplomatic travel is part of my duties too."
He pulled out a small box from beneath his robes and tossed it to Naruto.
"By the way, this was given to Tsunade by your seal master—it's for you."
"Tamako?" Naruto caught the box, already guessing what it held. He pressed his hand to the summoning tattoo on his arm and reached out for Tamako.
"Tamako, did you send this? What's inside?"
"You told me earlier that you were injured and still had to fight against someone from the Uchiha clan, so I rushed to make something for you," Tamako's voice rang clearly in his mind. "I don't know when you'll receive this, so I did it in a hurry. I hope you like it."
Naruto stared at the box, trying to open it, only to find it sealed shut.
Danzo shouldn't have been able to see inside either, but now watched with great interest.
Frowning, Naruto bit his thumb and lightly dragged it across the box, releasing the seal.
Inside the box lay several rows of small, transparent concave discs.
"Contact lenses?" he asked in confusion.
"They're special contact lenses, Naruto-sama," Tamako replied excitedly. "Just put them on and you'll understand."
Shrugging, Naruto untied the bandages around his eyes and carefully placed the lens into his eyes. He felt Danzo draw in a sharp breath but ignored it, blinking a few times.
The sight before him shocked him—his activated Sharingan had completely vanished.
"What's going on, Tamako?"
"Think of them as eye masks, like the one Kakashi uses. I designed the pattern and color to match your eyes—they can be used for normal concealment. I've also embedded sealing formulas into them. When you channel chakra into your eyes, the patterns become transparent, allowing direct use of the Sharingan."
Naruto walked into the bathroom and looked at the familiar blue eyes in the mirror, unable to help but smile.
"Wow, Tamako, I love you." He eagerly expressed his joy to her.
"I'd do anything for you, Naruto-sama. Will we meet soon?"
"Not sure yet. I'll tell you once I decide," Naruto replied.
Returning to the room, he found Danzo still staring at him. Deciding to cut to the chase, he said bluntly, "You're right—it's exactly what you suspected—but I don't want to hear a lecture from you about it."
Danzo ignored Naruto and carried on speaking.
"Why didn't Sai and Maki inform me about your new ability? They spoke to you before."
"Probably because they understand 'secrecy' better than someone who just goes around spilling everything about me. Besides them two, only Tamako knows how severe my injuries were during this mission..."
Naruto paused momentarily, seemingly organizing his words. "You once cooperated with Orochimaru, implanting the Sharingan into yourself. What did you give him in return—I've heard rumors, at least. And clearly, this is what was left. You sent me there specifically to find or destroy it, right?"
"I cannot allow uncontrolled power to exist unchecked. Who knows what they might do with it? What if its strength increases further?" Danzo folded his hands over his cane. "How did you learn all this? And that eye… its chakra feels oddly familiar."
"It was Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's subordinate. He gave me this eye in exchange for helping him defeat Sasuke."
Naruto shot back without hesitation, "Now we're even. I don't care how you got that eye, but I know where it was taken from. Back then, at that time and place, there was only one person who could have possessed it. But one thing's been bothering me—if you've known about this eye for so long and wanted it, you must've known about the massacre too."
"What exactly are you getting at, kid?" Danzo narrowed his lone visible eye, his voice laced with menace.
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