Sasuke's mindset had changed a lot. Once the most prestigious clan in Konohagakure, the Uchiha had now fallen to such a state.
He was once the prodigy among his peers, but as the times changed, ninjutsu was no longer as dominant, and his own talent had gradually become less remarkable.
And with Naruto by his side, Sasuke's former arrogance had completely disappeared.
The thing was, he had never actually fallen out of the top tier.
Even Sasuke himself hadn't realized it, because from the very beginning, they had been in contact only with top-tier fighters.
Naruto even more so.
As for the things Sasuke was thinking about, it wasn't that his own abilities or background were weak. The real reason was that Naruto's background was simply too strong.
Under normal circumstances, even if Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, had his identity revealed, Sasuke wouldn't have felt this much pressure.
Others wouldn't normally care about this identity.
But now, Naruto's identity was—one of the only four surviving members of the Uzumaki clan in the world, a fellow disciple of the Revolutionary Army's leader, and someone who even directly calls Shanks "big brother."
Otherwise, do you think just anyone who goes out to sea gets targeted by every pirate out there?
It's not just pirates— even the World Government is very wary of Naruto's identity.
Whether Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son doesn't matter. Whether he's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki doesn't matter either. What matters is that he's an Uzumaki, carrying the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan, and right now, he's the only Uzumaki working for the World Government.
Tell me, what can Sasuke possibly compare to next to someone like that?
Not to mention, after learning so much information and witnessing the strongest powers of this era, Sasuke's spirit was almost completely crushed.
Sitting on the warship's mast, Sasuke looked out at the sea, his whole demeanor heavy and downcast.
A figure appeared beside him—Kakashi, carrying a short blade on his back, sat down.
These days, Kakashi had gotten used to showing both eyes, though his Sharingan was now gone.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
"Tell me…"
"Do I still have a chance?"
Sasuke looked down from the mast at the deck below, which was filled with wounded Marines.
"You're still young, Sasuke."
Kakashi spoke.
"But… you've now seen the landscape of this era. From here on, whichever path you choose to walk, it's up to you."
Sasuke was clearly surprised at Kakashi's words.
Before this, Kakashi would never have allowed him to act so recklessly.
"At least for now, whether it's the path of a ninja or the path of a pirate, both are valid."
Kakashi explained that in the past, he didn't want Naruto and Sasuke to rush into using Devil Fruit powers because they didn't know the risks.
But now, most of the testing was complete.
The validity of the Devil Fruit system, the ninja path, and even the Sage system had all been confirmed.
Under these three major systems, the power structure of the ninja world was becoming clearer and clearer.
In the pirate system, the focus is on the peak of individual strength—this extreme personal power is what defines pirates the most.
The ninja, on the other hand, follow the "bonds" system that Naruto has developed through his ninja path—using these bonds to gather everyone's strength, reflecting the power of teamwork.
The Sage system is the most balanced—it combines both individual and team strength, but without pushing either to the extreme.
As for the current ninja world, its power is also divided into three branches, based on the three types of Haki.
Under Conqueror's Haki is the Will attribute—the stronger your will and conviction, the stronger your power. Will determines how much of your strength you can bring out.
Under Armament Haki is the Chakra attribute—Chakra at the Six Paths level forms Armament Haki, which is also a key factor in distinguishing strength.
The Armament Haki attribute also includes physical abilities and other factors, making it the most important one.
The last is Observation Haki.
Under Observation Haki, perception determines how fast you can grow in strength. Perception is tied to how you absorb this world's power, synchronize your will, and control your body.
In other words, strength is measured by Conqueror's, Armament, and Observation.
In the current situation, no matter what Sasuke does, nothing unexpected will happen.
More importantly, there was Sasuke's state of mind. Kakashi had long noticed the change in him, and right now, Sasuke was already on the verge of breaking down.
After hearing Kakashi's explanation, Sasuke stayed silent for a long time.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you tell me… about your eye?"
"My eye?"
Kakashi hesitated for a moment. He thought for a while. Those painful memories from the past, when recalled now, felt much lighter.
"It's just a gift from a dear friend. Maybe he hoped I could see this new era for him."
"Sounds like you've already let go, Kakashi-sensei."
"How could you really let go of something like that? It's just… I carry them with me as I keep moving forward."
Kakashi rubbed Sasuke's head.
At that moment, Sasuke made up his mind.
"Kakashi-sensei, turn the power of my Sharingan into a Devil Fruit. That man has already become the founder of the Uchiha clan. No matter how strong I get, as long as I'm still using the Uchiha's power, I'll always be under his control."
Sasuke spoke firmly. At this moment, he had completely let it go.
The so-called pride of the Uchiha clan didn't matter. What he wanted was to lead all the Uchiha forward.
Because that man didn't deserve it.
At least for Sasuke, he could never forgive Itachi in his lifetime.
"Alright, then… let's go!"
Kakashi nodded.
Taking Sasuke with him, the two disappeared from where they stood.
Of course, Kakashi couldn't directly help Sasuke, but he knew where Orochimaru was. And knowing Orochimaru's personality, he would definitely put in his full effort to help Sasuke.
Yes, full effort.
At the very least, Kakashi knew how to make Orochimaru go all out to create a fruit just for Sasuke.
Early the next morning, Orochimaru groggily noticed a white distortion appear, and then Kakashi appeared with Sasuke.
In that instant, Orochimaru became fully alert.
"Kakashi?"
Everyone else nearby was still sleeping like a rock, but not far away, Haku and the others were already awake.
Clearly, Kakashi had been let through by Bai's group, and Sasuke had been staying by Bai's side instead of coming over.
"You're not afraid to show up here?"
Orochimaru looked at Kakashi with interest.
"I'm here to make a deal, Orochimaru."
Kakashi said.
"It's about Sasuke, right? I'm not interested in that kind of deal."
Orochimaru didn't even take a proper look at Sasuke.
There was a time when he had his eye on Sasuke, since Sasuke had an Uchiha body, and Orochimaru had once been beaten badly by Itachi.
But after Shanks appeared, all his plans changed, and Orochimaru completely gave up on Sasuke.
Right now, Sasuke had nothing that could interest Orochimaru anymore.
"Go back."
Orochimaru waved his hand.
Kakashi ignored him and simply sat down.
"Sasuke wants to completely turn his Kekkei Genkai into a Devil Fruit. You're the only one who can do it."
"And then?"
Orochimaru asked again, curious to see how Kakashi planned to convince him.
"The Marines were attacked. Nagato and Itachi made their move, and the sages have already confirmed their identities.
They are the sons of the Sage of Six Paths—Ashura—and the reincarnation of Indra."
"Ashura and Indra are Nagato and Itachi?"
Orochimaru nodded. He trusted the sages' judgment, which meant he had been wrong before.
Thinking about it now, losing to Itachi actually seemed reasonable.
After all, he was one of the Three Legendary Ninjas, but being defeated by Indra's reincarnation wasn't strange.
"This information isn't that valuable."
"Of course, but you also know, Orochimaru, that Itachi's identity is far from simple.
He already got Sasuke the qualification to enter one of the Three Great Holy Lands and paved a path for him."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's interest was piqued.
Based on what he knew about Itachi, this was exactly the sort of thing he would do. And for Sasuke, there were only two possible arrangements.
One was Sage Mode from the Three Holy Lands… the other was a Devil Fruit.
Whichever it was didn't matter to Orochimaru. What mattered was that if he acted now, Itachi's entire plan would go to waste.
Messing up someone's plans was something Orochimaru enjoyed.
"Interesting… Sasuke is actually willing to give up the Uchiha clan's power completely?"
"In that case, let me see what kind of fruit he can form."
For once, Orochimaru was being serious.
Losing to Itachi was the most humiliating thing in his life. He was Orochimaru, second only to Shanks in strength now.
He brought out a set of chakra armor from the ship and put it on. That familiar feeling returned to him once again.
Even though he couldn't use this power as freely as before, with the help of this chakra, he could at least assist Sasuke.
Standing before the tall and fierce-looking Orochimaru, Sasuke felt the pressure.
"Sasuke, let's begin!"
Orochimaru sat down, placing one hand on Sasuke, while Sasuke put one hand on the Divine Tree's structure and slowly formed hand seals with the other.
Sasuke's movements were slow—painfully slow.
As the reversal jutsu began, his Sharingan appeared, the scarlet eyes with three tomoe spinning rapidly.
But as Sasuke's chakra fluctuations grew stranger, Orochimaru's expression became less calm.
Through the chakra armor, Orochimaru sensed another source of chakra inside Sasuke's body—almost identical to Sasuke's own.
"How fascinating… so this is the Uchiha clan's chakra? Another chakra hidden in the body—different, but able to merge perfectly."
"This must be why the Uchiha clan can use Susano'o," Orochimaru guessed. At this point, all he could do was guess. With the help of the chakra armor, this was the limit of what he could manage.
But as time passed, Orochimaru noticed that this chakra was resisting being merged into the God Tree.
It even began to show a faint trace of will…
This was Indra's chakra, after all. Ashura and Indra themselves had been arranged by the Sage of Six Paths to seal the rules and the Ten-Tails.
Now, with Sasuke forcefully channeling Indra's chakra into the God Tree's system, Indra's will directly manifested.
At that moment, Orochimaru grew angry. What are you? Just a lump of chakra, and you dare resist?
His overwhelming Conqueror's Haki locked directly onto Indra's will. Inside Sasuke's body, all of the will imprinted on Indra's chakra was awakened.
A phantom appeared in Sasuke's spiritual world. From that phantom, a Three Tomoe Sharingan emerged. With the chakra from the armor, Orochimaru was also present in Sasuke's spiritual world.
The moment he saw this phantom, Orochimaru felt something was off. But then, he understood.
"So this is Susano'o? In that case, let's just merge it in too."
"Break for me!!"
Orochimaru's terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted, crushing Indra's will on the spot.
That will was only meant as guidance and wasn't strong, so it was instantly shattered by the Haki.
After that, Indra's chakra was directly reversed by Sasuke and integrated into the God Tree's system.
Still not fully clear-headed, Orochimaru felt that thing seemed to carry something similar to himself—
To be precise, divinity… the divinity of Indra.
But at this moment, Orochimaru hadn't yet noticed anything wrong.
Seeing that it was done, he immediately withdrew.
In Sasuke's hand now appeared an unripe Devil Fruit.
Sasuke's whole body trembled, his chakra nearly drained, and in his hand the Devil Fruit sparked with lightning. On its surface were four circles, each marked with three clear tomoe.
"What a fascinating fruit… looks like it's really strong."
Orochimaru praised it. As expected of his work—an essence-packed fruit containing all Kekkei Genkai—it was powerful.
"This is a Grail Stone infused with the power of the Dragon Vein. It can speed up the ripening. Take it."
With that, Orochimaru tossed a Grail Stone to Kakashi, then turned back to his original spot, lay down, and went right back to sleep.
Of course, he was smiling as he did so.
Now, let's see how that Itachi guy handles this.
As for Kakashi—he took Sasuke and left the place, the two disappearing into the stormy sea.
With the Grail Stone's power absorbed, the Devil Fruit ripened in a short time.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared over the dark sea, but the raging storm drew no one's attention.
When Kakashi brought Sasuke back to the Marine base, Sasuke's Sharingan had vanished. In its place, four small drums appeared behind him, each drum face bearing three tomoe.
"Human-Human Fruit, Raijin Form… so this is the power of a new era?"
Seeing Naruto running over, Sasuke no longer felt that sense of threat from him.
He had grown stronger!!
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu