"I know what you all want to ask—what became of Sunagakure afterward…"

Sasuke let his eyes sweep over the Third Kazekage and the others, feeling a subtle stir in his heart.

Comparing timelines like this, wasn't it rather entertaining? Especially for Rasa—Gaara's father. As someone who could be considered an acquaintance of Gaara's, Sasuke thought Rasa certainly deserved to be put through some torment.

"Rasa, afterward you didn't govern Sunagakure all that well. During my Chūnin Exams, you allied with Orochimaru—who had by then already defected—in a plot to destroy Konoha. But Orochimaru killed you halfway through, and Sunagakure ended up reduced to nothing more than his tool…"

"As for the Third Kazekage, you were actually the spark that ignited the Third Shinobi World War in our timeline. After Sasori defected, he poisoned you to death and turned you into a human puppet. With your body never found, Sunagakure seized the chance to stir up chaos, triggering a massive battle among the Five Great Villages."

Sasuke spoke slowly: "As for Sasori, he later joined an organization, and in the end was killed by Chiyo's own hands."

"Rasa, as a father, you were truly unworthy… To test Gaara's capacity, you had his uncle attempt to assassinate him, nearly driving your own son insane."

"But Gaara proved to be an exceptional man. In the end, he became the Fifth Kazekage, earning the recognition not only of Sunagakure but of the entire shinobi world."

"Even so, his life was marked by hardship. Deidara of Iwagakure, who had joined the same organization as Sasori—known as Akatsuki—killed Gaara and tore the One-Tail from his body."

"Chiyo-baasama then used a forbidden jutsu of Sunagakure, sacrificing herself to bring him back to life. As for Deidara, he eventually fell to me. I have to admit, his Explosion Release nearly cost me my life. He was a formidable opponent…"

Sasuke's words plunged both the Sunagakure and Iwagakure shinobi into deep silence.

Sunagakure's fate sounded far too tragic…

The Third Kazekage and the Fourth Kazekage, both assassinated in succession. Pakura, the village's pillar of strength, killed in internal strife. Even the Fifth Kazekage slain during an invasion…

At this moment—

The Third Kazekage, Rasa, Pakura, Chiyo, and the other Sunagakure shinobi all felt that, compared to a world without Kazuki, this timeline was far better…

At the very least, they were still alive. Most of the shinobi of Sunagakure were alive. Their village had not been consumed by civil strife, nor had kin been forced to slaughter one another.

True, with Kazuki present, Sunagakure would never rise to the pinnacle of the Five Great Villages. They would live out their days in stability under his rule.

But wasn't that good enough?

Off to the side, Ōnoki had also fallen into deep thought.

Deidara—of course he knew who that was. As just a boy, he had been taken as Ōnoki's disciple, singled out as a key talent to be trained. Ōnoki had even arranged for his own granddaughter Kurotsuchi to grow up alongside him.

That kind of investment meant the Fourth Tsuchikage's seat was practically guaranteed to him, even above Ōnoki's own son, Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi.

And yet this brat had defected?

Ōnoki's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted—You don't want to be Tsuchikage, you don't want Kurotsuchi… what the hell do you want?!

"Uh…" Sasuke glanced at Ōnoki, who looked like he wanted to speak but couldn't, and understood what he meant to ask.

"Deidara's reason for defecting was that he wanted to pursue what he called ultimate art—'art is an explosion,' or something like that…"

"In short, I don't really get it either. Maybe it was something he couldn't accomplish within Iwagakure?"

Ōnoki drew in a deep breath and gave Sasuke a grateful nod.

Thank heavens this idiot never became the Fourth Tsuchikage! At least that was a small blessing amid misfortune.

"As for Kirigakure… after the Fourth Mizukage fell under the control of Uchiha Obito, the increasingly harsh 'Bloody Mist' policies drove nearly all of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to defect…"

"The Bloodline shinobi suffered devastating losses. The Kaguya clan, who possessed the Shikotsumyaku, launched a rebellion in Kirigakure and were completely slaughtered. Only one child survived, taken in by Orochimaru, but in the end, he died at Gaara's hands…"

"Beyond the Five Great Villages, the only place with any notable strength—Amegakure—was occupied by Akatsuki after the Third Shinobi World War. Hanzō was killed…"

Uchiha Sasuke spoke evenly: "Akatsuki, so-called, was under Uchiha Obito's manipulation. On the surface, it was a rogue shinobi corps established by Nagato."

"Nagato possessed a pair of Rinnegan… and those eyes once belonged to Uchiha Madara."

Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes and said: "So it truly is the same… Before Kazuki appeared, my plan was to raise Obito as my proxy, and then have him, together with Nagato—the vessel in which I nurtured the Rinnegan—collect the Tailed Beasts."

The crowd fell into silence.

It was obvious that what Sasuke was saying was a hidden truth in Madara's heart.

Aside from Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, almost no one here even knew that name…

After all, in the world where Akatsuki never gained much fame, Nagato had already been sacrificed by Madara to resurrect Uchiha Izuna, while Konan and Yahiko vanished into the sea of humanity.

Two worlds that should have been parallel had crossed paths because of Kazuki…

"Uchiha Obito attacked Konoha, triggering the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina both died, and Sarutobi Hiruzen once more took the position of Hokage…"

"And because Obito controlled the Nine-Tails with Sharingan, the fox's eyes displaying that pattern, relations between Konoha and the Uchiha grew increasingly strained…"

"In the end, it spiraled completely out of control."

"In coordination with the village leadership, to prevent an armed Uchiha uprising that would result in mutual destruction and invite an invasion from the other hidden villages…"

"My brother, Uchiha Itachi—after Shisui, having trusted Shimura Danzō, was betrayed, had his eye stolen, and leapt to his death—chose to annihilate the Uchiha clan and infiltrated Akatsuki as a spy."

Even after decades, recalling those blood-soaked memories of youth still weighed heavily on Sasuke, now possessing the Rinnegan: "Obito was part of it as well… Aside from me, every Uchiha in Konoha was slaughtered—including my father, Uchiha Fugaku, and my mother, Uchiha Mikoto."

At those words, everyone fell silent.

The amount of information was staggering.

First of all, Uchiha Fugaku's face twisted into utter complexity. He was overjoyed that he had a son who awakened both the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Rinnegan, yet at the same time enraged that his eldest son—whom he had always believed could surpass Kazuki—would, in a world without Kazuki, slaughter the entire clan!

"I didn't resist? At that time, I should already have had the Mangekyō Sharingan…" Fugaku hesitated for a moment, then asked.

"About that..."

Uchiha Sasuke sighed. "According to what I later read in Konoha's classified intelligence records, when Naruto had become the Seventh Hokage, there was no trace of resistance from you at the scene of the massacre…"

Uchiha Fugaku was struck as if by lightning!

So, in a world without Kazuki, he would be the head of the Uchiha clan—only to sit and watch as his eldest son personally slaughtered him, his wife, and the entire clan?

How pathetic could it get!

In that moment, everyone's eyes turned to Uchiha Itachi.

All of them were filled with doubt.

This timid, chubby little boy—could he really be the one who, together with Obito, slaughtered the entire clan?

"Father, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but what this younger brother from the future said… is true."

Uchiha Itachi shut his eyes in pain, his voice still carrying a trace of childishness: "You always say you will lead the Uchiha clan back to greatness, that in our struggle against Konoha we will gain the upper hand, that prophecy itself has shown me surpassing Kazuki-sama…"

"But haven't you thought it through? Forget Kazuki-sama—even against the Third Hokage or Shimura Danzō, you couldn't win in a contest of strength… so how could you ever stand against Kazuki-sama?!"

Itachi's voice, heavy with anguish, suddenly sharpened into a piercing cry: "You've been consumed by obsession! Kazuki-sama has already shown great mercy to you, Father. Even knowing you harbored ill thoughts, he still gave you time, again and again, to come to your senses…"

"At the very least, compared to that other timeline… Mother, you, I, and all of the Uchiha are still alive, and we can hold our heads high in pride as Uchiha! What more could you want?"

At this moment, a flash of killing intent appeared in Itachi's eyes: "If you truly insist on clinging to your delusions, then go home and kill me instead!"

"Because I cannot allow this beautiful life to be destroyed. And on the day I have the strength, if I still see that your heart hides such dangerous thoughts in the shadows, I fear I will not be able to control myself!"

Combined with what Sasuke had said earlier about the Uchiha massacre…

The meaning of not being able to control himself was now all too clear.

Uchiha Fugaku slumped like a punctured ball, as though he had aged ten years in an instant. He collapsed onto his seat and covered his face, sobbing.

At the moment his son spoke those words…

He finally confronted his own heart! Deep down, Fugaku had long known that Kazuki was an outstanding leader—perhaps the greatest guide the Uchiha clan had ever had.

But the fear of being purged had driven him. Under the extreme emotions of the Mangekyō Sharingan, trapped in dread, he had grown stubborn, forcing himself down a narrow, twisted path.

"Itachi, enough… If I could be given another chance, I would stake my life to apologize to Kazuki-sama!"

Uchiha Fugaku let out a muffled roar: "Rest assured, from the very beginning, all I ever wanted was for our family to live in peace… It was my fault, all my fault!"

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