Chapter 161: Sasuke! No Need to Explain! I Understand!
"Mikoto!"
Fugaku interrupted his wife's questioning.
He could understand Mikoto's feelings, but he was more afraid that pressing the issue would trigger Sasuke's painful memories and rip open unhealed wounds. In Fugaku's eyes, Sasuke's current appearance was, in itself, another atrocity committed by Konoha against the Uchiha clan.
He loosened his embrace slightly, his gaze sorrowful as he swept over the somewhat childishly ridiculous outfit Sasuke was wearing. Heartbreaking images instantly flooded his mind:
After the massacre, what was the village's attitude toward the last Uchiha? Those people high above, accustomed to masking their true faces with cold rules and hypocritical morality—how would they treat a child with Uchiha blood?
How else would a bunch of genocidal adults solve the problem?!
On the night of the massacre, did the other clans in Konoha, those so-called allies, really know nothing? No. They must have sensed the thick, undeniable strangeness and bloodlust in the Uchiha clan's destruction. Yet, that night, the entire village fell into an eerie silence. Everyone tacitly saw nothing, heard nothing, and said nothing. They knew perfectly well, and they acquiesced, even approved, of the high command's purge of the Uchiha.
Cute little Sasuke must have endured endless suspicion, surveillance, and… undisguised exclusion from a young age. How did Sasuke struggle to survive alone in such an environment? How would those villagers look at him with contempt and fear now that we are gone? How would his peers, "educated" by their families, distance themselves from him, or even bully him?
Fugaku could almost picture young Sasuke, having lost all his family and forced into women's clothing, facing the malice of the entire village alone.
"Clothes?"
Sasuke looked down, finally noticing the completely out-of-place "Magical Girl" battle outfit he was wearing. His cheeks, already flushed with excitement, instantly turned a deeper shade of burning red.
What… what the hell is this?!
Sasuke's brain short-circuited. He vaguely recalled that after agreeing to the "contract" with the small white creature, his body had been enveloped in this strange light.
Is this… the "price" Kyubey mentioned? Making me dress like this?
As soon as the thought appeared, Sasuke quickly dismissed it.
No! That's way too… trivial compared to the wish I made! How could the price for such a huge wish be just wearing weird clothes? It said the price would be collected after the wish was fulfilled. This outfit is probably just… some kind of side effect?
Sasuke's little brain spun rapidly, trying to comprehend the situation. He felt helpless and instinctively wanted to explain the origin of his getup—at the very least, he couldn't let his parents misunderstand that he had some strange hobby.
"Um— Father, Mother, these clothes are—"
Sasuke's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, his face red enough to bleed, his eyes darting away.
However, before he could finish, Fugaku interrupted him again.
"Enough!"
Fugaku cut him off sharply! He reached out, gently grasped Sasuke's shoulders, and turned him slightly so they were facing each other directly.
"Sasuke."
Fugaku's gaze was incredibly serious, even carrying a hint of unquestionable authority.
"Sasuke! No need to explain!"
"I understand!"
"Don't think about that, look at me!"
He deliberately ignored the unsightly outfit, trying to pull Sasuke's attention away from things that would reopen his wounds. The urgent task was to understand the current situation. As for these clothes… the Uchiha clan would settle the score with Konoha's conspiracy later!
Sasuke was bewildered. Father understands? I don't even understand!
Then he heard his father's questions. "Don't think about extraneous things. Just look at me. From now on, answer exactly what I ask. Understood?"
Sasuke was taken aback by his father's sudden seriousness. He blinked, looking at his father in confusion. Father's expression… is so serious. Like we're not out of danger yet. Didn't we just come back to life? Aren't we in Konoha?
He also wanted to understand what was going on, so he replied, "Yes, Father."
Seeing this, Fugaku finally breathed a small sigh of relief. He temporarily suppressed the myriad questions churning in his mind, and the sky-high rage already rising against Konoha. He patted Sasuke's back in comfort, but his eyes warily scanned the restless, resurrected clansmen around them, and the dangerous Konoha Village in the distance.
In just a few breaths, Fugaku had made a cold, cruel decision. He had to understand the situation immediately! How much of Konoha's strength remained? How much fighting power did the Uchiha have left? Should they launch a bloody revolution? Or lead the survivors to carve a bloody path out and build a new home that truly belonged to the Uchiha?!
"Sasuke. Tell us, how did we come back to life? Why are we here?"
Fugaku's question gradually quieted the chaotic clansmen in the plaza. Countless eyes turned to Sasuke, who was protected between his parents.
Resurrection from death. The tragic state of their home. They desperately needed an explanation, something to help them understand this absurd reality.
Shisui Uchiha stood on the edge of the crowd. His eyes, which had reflected countless despairs and hopes, were now filled with shock and disbelief.
"I'm… alive? This is… the compound?"
He could clearly sense the chaotic fluctuations of chakra around him. And the familiar, mixed auras of numerous clansmen. Even his own eyes were back. As the Uchiha's once-top ninja, his instincts kicked in, and he rapidly entered a state of high alert.
He saw Sasuke, his best friend's little brother, clearly grown much older. But wearing an outfit that was… quite jarring. Several young clansmen who had just picked themselves up from the ground were also eyeing Sasuke's bizarre attire with suspicion.
He also saw Clan Head Fugaku and Lady Mikoto, grief and vigilance warring on their faces.
When he heard the venomous curses of other clansmen clearly mixing with the name "Itachi," Shisui's heart sank.
"Itachi? Did he… fail to stop all this with his Mangekyo Sharingan?"