Walking down the street on her way home, Sakura rubbed her shoulders, feeling a bit tired.
"Sakura!"
Turning her head, she saw Ino suddenly flinging her arms open and lunging towards her for a hug.
"You're hurting me," Sakura's voice sounded somewhat muffled, obstructed by Ino's "mountain peaks."
"How could I be? I'm not you, after all," Ino said with a mischievous grin, hugging her even tighter. "How about it? Comfortable, right?"
"…Oof!"
Sakura's hands formed pincers and pinched Ino's waist. Taking advantage of Ino's yelp of pain, she broke free.
"So what if yours are a bit bigger than mine? What's there to be so proud of? If you've got the guts, go compare with Lady Tsunade…" Sakura muttered resentfully, looking down at her own toes.
Screee!
The cry of a hawk echoed through the sky!
The two looked up, their expressions changing.
"Level One Alert?! What happened?"
Having participated in the Chunin Exams, they were no longer as clueless about some of the coded signals as they once were.
Less than a minute had passed since the signal sounded, and they had already seen two ANBU squads and five jonin leap past overhead.
"Might Guy-sensei, what happened?" Just then, a jonin they recognized leaped out from nearby. The two girls quickly asked.
"Don't ask. Hurry and take shelter in the evacuation bunkers," Guy said, shaking his head, his expression grave. After a few simple instructions, he continued towards his destination.
By the time he arrived, many Konoha ninja were already waiting there. Villagers living nearby had also been completely evacuated to the shelters.
He walked to the very front of the formation, and the surrounding Konoha ninja had no objections.
"Do we know the an identity of the intruder?" Guy asked.
"The enemy is using Susanoo. The Intelligence Division speculates it might be a hidden survivor of the Uchiha clan," Asuma said.
"Furthermore, the enemy is using a Perfect Susanoo. We cannot rule out the possibility that the newcomer is Madara Uchiha."
"Madara Uchiha? Didn't he die in the battle against the First Hokage?" Guy asked, looking doubtfully at the colossal figure approaching in the distance.
"That is indeed the case, but the last known user of a Perfect Susanoo was Madara Uchiha, and besides, there are no Uchiha left now…" Asuma said in a low voice.
"Fifth Hokage!" "Lady Tsunade!" "…"
A commotion came from the rear. The two turned to see the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, also arriving at the front lines with several ANBU members.
"Everyone, please prepare yourselves!" Tsunade shouted encouragingly.
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison.
BOOM!
Half a minute later, a violent tremor ran through the earth.
A colossal being, comparable to a mountain and resembling a god or demon, suddenly appeared before their eyes.
Everyone held their hands up in front of them, bracing against the fierce wind blowing towards them.
"We mean no harm." A voice cut through the swirling dust and reached everyone's ears.
They looked up to see the mountain-like behemoth slowly dissipating.
A man, accompanied by the drifting dust, slowly walked towards them. Two unconscious men floated bizarrely behind him.
"Lady Fifth Hokage, I wish to request that you heal them."
The man slowly stopped, bowed, and made his request.
Tsunade was stunned. The Konoha ninja behind her were also stunned.
"…Follow me." Tsunade looked deeply at Future Sasuke and said in a grave voice.
A user of the Perfect Susanoo…
Although the newcomer's specific identity was still unclear, that he was a powerful individual was beyond doubt.
If a direct conflict with a powerhouse of this caliber could be avoided, it would always be beneficial for Konoha.
Especially when it was right on their doorstep.
The Senju clan, having been entangled with the Uchiha clan for millennia, knew better than anyone the terror of a Perfect Susanoo.
This kind of power, comparable to that of a god, was something that even the Uchiha clan, prolific with its geniuses, had rarely seen.
Back then, if Madara Uchiha's grandfather—the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—hadn't mastered Wood Style and been able to suppress him, the shinobi world today might very well bear the Uchiha name.
The surrounding Konoha ninja listened to the conversation between the two without uttering a word.
The Hokage was the focal point of this village's interests, their leader. Her words, actions, and choices would represent them entirely.
Several ANBU members rushed ahead, clearing all obstacles for them.
At Konoha Hospital, staff who had received orders earlier quickly led them into a brightly lit operating room.
"Everyone out. This is a hospital; it needs to be quiet," Tsunade said, turning her head to the Konoha ninja who had followed them.
The jonin exchanged glances, nodded slightly, and instantly vanished from the hospital.
Outside the hospital, in every dark corner, several figures appeared.
"The one opposite is an Uchiha. Is it really alright for the Fifth Hokage to do this?" Kurenai looked at the brightly lit hospital building in the distance, her expression grave.
"Trust Lady Tsunade," Guy said in a deep voice.
"Have Kakashi and Lord Jiraiya been contacted?"
"Their summoning animals have been informed. They should have received the message by now," Asuma said.
Guy nodded slightly upon hearing this.
Honestly, if the Two Great Advisors and Danzo Shimura hadn't been unwilling to step forward, how could the current situation have fallen to him to manage?
His strategic abilities really didn't rank high in all of Konoha.
"Shikaku is here!"
Seeing the newcomer, Guy's grave expression relaxed slightly. Finally, someone capable of commanding had arrived.
"What's the current situation?" Nara Shikaku asked.
"Lady Tsunade is currently conversing with that ninja. The situation is temporarily stable," a jonin from the Hyuga clan said.
"You should know that both Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha are S-rank missing-nin wanted by Konoha."
Looking at the two lying on the operating beds, a trace of surprise flashed in Tsunade's eyes.
"As Hokage, you should know better than I who gave Itachi the order to slaughter the Uchiha clan," Sasuke Uchiha's voice was laced with suppressed fury.
Tsunade's expression changed slightly. She questioned in a low, stern voice, "Who exactly are you?"
Even she had only learned of this sealed secret after becoming Hokage.
That order, from the moment it was given, was destined to be obliterated from history.
Because Konoha would not, and could not, allow outsiders to know that the Uchiha clan, one of the two great ninja families that founded Konoha, was annihilated under their manipulation.
Itachi Uchiha, who had slaughtered his own kin, was merely one of the executioners.
Those who truly made a move were far from just him alone.
"Who I am is not important." Future Sasuke shook his head.
"As long as Lady Tsunade is willing to treat Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha, I can remain silent about this matter."
"Furthermore, I can also persuade both of them to return to Konoha."
"A pair of Mangekyo Sharingan and a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan. Lady Tsunade, please consider carefully."
Tsunade looked at him, secretly clenching her teeth.
As he said, if Konoha possessed a pair of Mangekyo, many situations would significantly improve.
But the problem was, the owner of this Mangekyo Sharingan was Itachi Uchiha.
That was the crux of the issue.
The Uchiha clan's contributions to Konoha were too great. Whether it was the village's founding, or the victories in the First, Second, and even Third Great Shinobi Wars, none could have been achieved without the sacrifices of Uchiha clan ninja.
If Konoha were to re-accept Itachi Uchiha, the one who annihilated the Uchiha clan, how would other hidden villages view Konoha?
At that time, a reputation for being profit-driven and taking in trash would definitely be pinned on Konoha.
The true culprit behind the Uchiha clan's destruction was indeed Konoha, but the problem was, could such a thing be made known?
"Itachi doesn't have to use his original name," Future Sasuke said.
From the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War until now, he had also navigated Konoha's circles for over twenty years. He couldn't say he knew all the ins and outs, but he had a good grasp of them.
"Alright." Tsunade agreed immediately upon hearing this.
How could the vast Uchiha clan have been killed by Itachi Uchiha down to just one Sasuke Uchiha?
It was perfectly reasonable for one or two Uchiha, say an "Uchiha Alpha" and an "Uchiha Beta," to have fortunately survived.
What?
You say he has the Mangekyo Sharingan, so he must be Itachi Uchiha?
Who said only Itachi Uchiha could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?
If one was willing, there were always more solutions than difficulties!
"You can leave. I need to begin the treatment," Tsunade said, turning towards the operating table.
Future Sasuke inwardly breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Being able to resolve the problem without resorting to force was definitely for the best.