When Sasuke woke up to the pitying faces of Naruto Uzumaki and Kabuto Yakushi, his own expression immediately soured.
"You two... are you dead too?"
"..."
Naruto Uzumaki simply shook his head.
Sasuke slowly raised a hand, his fingers slightly bent, and touched his own eyes in disbelief. "Naruto, I saw you die right in front of me. Because of that, I even awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
"It was a creature that had taken my form," Naruto explained with a serious face. "It's a species called White Zetsu that can transform into anyone... It was probably after something from you, but Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki happened to run into it while they were hunting you."
"A creature like that exists?" Sasuke gasped and quickly looked up. "The last thing I remember... I think Itachi captured me. Naruto, did you save me again?"
"Uh, something like that," Naruto responded vaguely. "Itachi thinks you're not strong enough yet and couldn't be bothered to kill you... so he gave you back to us."
Coming up with a good reason was a little difficult for Naruto. Rather than invent a complicated lie, it was easier to just stick to Itachi's established persona. He couldn't think of any other excuse. It wasn't like he could just say, "Your brother is actually a spy I planted," could he?
Sasuke would probably lose his mind.
"That bastard!" Sasuke Uchiha couldn't help but grit his teeth.
Beside them, Kabuto Yakushi glanced back and forth, a huge question mark in his eyes. Lord Hokage, is it really appropriate to treat such a loyal subordinate that way?
Naruto glanced at Kabuto, and the future orphanage director quickly lowered his head. As a former spy, he knew some things were best kept buried deep inside.
But still! Just a moment ago, Kabuto had personally transplanted two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, one of which was still fresh and warm! He had even obtained intelligence on the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the Rinnegan.
Honestly, he really wanted to share it with Lord Orochimaru. Not to show off, but to persuade him. By returning to Konoha and siding with the Fifth Hokage, one could not only find the true meaning of life but also keep their hobbies.
Thinking about it, neither he nor Orochimaru had a strong desire for power or a need to prove they were the strongest. Returning to their hometown sounded pretty good.
The cherry blossoms of home have bloomed; if you can go back, go back soon.
Kabuto had already made up his mind. He would send a scroll via a small white snake every few days to try and persuade Orochimaru. Besides, from what Kabuto understood, Orochimaru probably couldn't even beat Sasuke Uchiha now. And even if he got lucky and defeated Sasuke, Itachi was still watching like a hawk. Why draw so much attention in the ninja world?
-----
After the Konoha ninjas regrouped, they rushed to the daimyo's residence in the Land of Rice Fields. They arrived to find a scene of utter chaos and the tragic death of the daimyo.
Word was that three people wearing black cloaks with red clouds had brazenly attacked the residence and killed the daimyo on the spot. The case hardly needed an investigation; it could be closed right away.
The Fifth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, promised everyone that he would track down the culprit who assassinated the daimyo. At the same time, he dispatched Konoha ninjas from the border to move north, taking control of the Land of Rice Fields' border and providing protection to the small country.
This was almost a direct annexation of the Land of Rice, but the small surrounding countries could do nothing about it, nor did they dare to challenge Konoha.
The Waterfall Village had it even worse.
Before the young Hokage had even left the daimyo's residence, rumors had spread across the ninja world that the leader of the Waterfall Village, fearing an alliance between Konoha and the Land of Rice Fields, had hired the Akatsuki to murder the daimyo.
No one knew where this rumor came from.
More versions soon emerged: the Stone Village hired the Akatsuki, the Cloud Village hired the Akatsuki, and so on. There was even one that claimed the Mist Village hired the Akatsuki to frame the Stone and Cloud villages and incite another great ninja war.
The death of a minor country's daimyo had somehow thrown the entire ninja world into turmoil. If Konoha's new Hokage hadn't happened to be visiting the Land of Rice Fields at the time, probably not so many people would have paid attention. In less than a week, countless conspiracy theories had sprung up.
The Fifth Hokage had vowed to find the culprit. With so many mysterious suspects, one of them had to be chosen, right? Who actually hired the Akatsuki was no longer important.
Countless people were waiting in anticipation, hoping the Waterfall Village would win the lottery. This even included Konoha's two elderly advisors. The new Hokage's authority could not be undermined, so a ninja village had to be chosen. If the Stone, Cloud, or Mist villages were blamed, it would very likely trigger a war.
Compared to them, the Waterfall Village was the perfect sacrifice.
As if to strengthen this possibility, Suien, the teacher of the Waterfall Village leader Shibuki, had coincidentally been seen traveling to the Rain Village frequently. It was said that someone had personally seen him meeting with members of the Akatsuki.
Everyone in the ninja world was calling for Konoha to punish the Waterfall Village severely. Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire sent a letter on the matter.
News also came from within Konoha Village. Not only was Shibuki, the Waterfall leader who had come to post a mission, expelled, but a large number of ANBU were also sent to the Waterfall Village.
Naruto's face was a bit grim. "I don't think Shibuki is that kind of person... It must have been his teacher, Suien, who wanted to do this."
After all, he knew Shibuki from the future. The Waterfall Village leader was actually a rather timid person who loved his village and its people dearly.
Judging by the timeline, his teacher Suien must have betrayed the Waterfall Village by now, joining forces with Rain ninjas to seize the Hero Water. Coincidentally, Pain, the secret leader of the Rain Village, wanted to investigate the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki in the Waterfall Village, so he joined forces with Suien to invade.
In the original timeline, Shibuki was supposed to post a mission, and Team 7 would assist him in defeating Suien and defending the village. Precisely because of this, Shibuki had always been very respectful towards Konoha, and the Waterfall Village had remained a loyal ally.
But later, Shibuki died of illness. The largest great ninja war broke out. When Konoha was in peril, the Waterfall Village not only refused to provide support but also took the opportunity to demand Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear technique, claiming that since a Konoha ninja killed him, the jutsu must have fallen into Konoha's hands.
"Are there any other choices now?" Sasuke sat before him, his scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan revealed. "Naruto, let me go," he said coldly. "I will help you take care of the Waterfall Village, and while I'm there, I'll make them hand over their intel on the Akatsuki!"
It would also be a good opportunity to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki and Itachi. Even if he couldn't defeat Itachi now, he had to find a way to get some information. Once he was strong enough, he would go and kill that man.
"Let's go together," Naruto nodded. He turned to look at Team 3 and ordered, "Might Guy, you go back to Konoha and convey my orders. Have the village protect Shibuki. Everything that happened in the Waterfall Village has nothing to do with him."
No matter what happened now, or in the future.
He also happened to want to go to the Waterfall Village. Besides dealing with the situation, the most important thing was to get to the Seven-Tails in advance and absorb its chakra. Thinking about it, he figured that as he unified the ninja world, Konoha might become home to many of his future friends. Right now, there was already Gaara and Shibuki.
In the future, there would be Killer B, Fū, Shion, Kurotsuchi, and so on...
-----
Bonus:
Sasuke: Tell me, did you really destroy their villages just so you could be friends with them?
Naruto: No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous.
Sasuke: Do you even know what people are saying about you?
Naruto: What reputation?
Sasuke: The rumor is that the Fifth Hokage wanted to be friends with the Fifth Kazekage. But because the Kazekage had to manage the Sand Village and couldn't always be with him, the Hokage destroyed the village and abducted the Kazekage... They say it's the same for all the others.
Naruto: ...You've got the order wrong. I wanted to be friends with them, so I kept them alive.
Sasuke: You really want more friends? Am I not enough for you? Is Hinata not enough?
Naruto: What are you even thinking, comparing yourself to Hinata?
Sasuke: ...