Uchiha Fugaku: "Lord Izuna… it was my eldest son—Uchiha Itachi."
Uchiha Izuna: "An unfilial descendant! I'm the one who wronged you, onii-chan!"
Uchiha Fugaku didn't even know how to continue—awkward beyond words.
Uchiha Sasuke: "Dad, I swear I'll kill that beast and avenge you… avenge our clan!"
Uchiha Madara: "That's enough, Izuna. Let the past stay in the past. Uchiha like that aren't worth your anger."
In the Pure Land—
Kushina froze as well.
Uchiha Itachi had exterminated his entire clan—
even personally killing his own parents, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.
"It must have been those old bastards scheming behind the scenes!"
When she was alive, Kushina had been close friends with Mikoto.
She had even met the young Itachi several times.
From her impression, Kushina simply couldn't believe Itachi was capable of something so utterly inhuman.
No matter the reason—
it should never have come to this.
The footage continued.
["Moving from the core area to the outskirts—anyone would feel dissatisfied."]
["Let's suppress this matter for now."]
[Sarutobi Hiruzen continued smoking his pipe.]
[Utatane Koharu nodded. "In that case, we'll head back first."]
["Regarding the Uchiha, it would be best to focus on Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi," Mitokado Homura reminded them before leaving.]
["Mm." Hiruzen merely nodded, saying nothing more.]
[After the two left, Hiruzen exhaled smoke and looked out the window.]
["We must prepare in advance regarding the Uchiha."]
["Danzō is quite invested in this matter—let him do as he pleases, so he won't keep coming here."]
[At present, the most important thing to Hiruzen was, naturally, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.]
Ōnoki: "Tsk tsk tsk. I knew it—so hypocritical."
Rasa: "Heh. 'The Darkness of Konoha'? Just a blade in the Third Hokage's hand. Do you really think anything could escape his notice?"
Rasa: "Damn Orochimaru!"
How could Rasa not know how disgusting Konoha was?
If not for Konoha's so-called 'alliance' squeezing Sunagakure dry—
to the point where even his gold dust couldn't hold the village together—
He never would've cooperated with Orochimaru,
never would've used the joint Chūnin Exams as a chance to strike Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened.
He hadn't expected his past to be laid bare like this.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I have no recollection of this. It seems Danzō was right—The black-frame world may have diverged from ours in certain choices. Whatever that version of me did has nothing to do with me."
At this very moment—
Senju Tobirama felt like he was about to suffer internal injuries.
With just one sentence, he had been dragged into an endless passive position.
He truly wanted to go back in time.
Back to the moment Hiruzen volunteered to stay behind—
so he could immediately say, 'Fine, then you go.'
And when Shimura Danzō also volunteered—
he'd say, 'Good. Both of you stay behind.'
He hadn't seen Akimichi Torifu or Uchiha Kagami speak even once—
how could he not guess their fate?
If Koharu and Homura dared say it,
he would've dared agree.
But there's no medicine for regret.
All Tobirama could do was stew in anger in the Pure Land.
What else could he do?
The words were already spoken.
Even his own big brother no longer dared speak carelessly.
At that moment—
The black-framed screen shifted.
[Little Naruto stood before a mirror, looking at himself.]
[He raised a small hand and touched the six whisker marks on his cheeks.]
["Why am I different from everyone else?"]
[He couldn't understand.]
[But hunger interrupted his thoughts.]
[He took the money and went out.]
Here it comes again?
This time—
what would this world's Naruto do?
Everyone couldn't help but watch with anticipation.
But Konoha felt very different.
They vaguely sensed that this black-frame Naruto would react differently—
resentment? Retaliation?
Such thoughts flashed through many minds, filling them with fear.
The scene continued.
Largely similar to the gold-frame version—
[Little Naruto paid attention to the shops around him.]
[When he spotted a store selling fishing gear, he stopped.]
[But before entering, he noticed the prices.]
[Too expensive—far beyond what he could afford.]
[Fortunately, fishing line and hooks were cheap.]
[Spending one hundred ryō, he bought a small box of hooks and ten meters of line.]
[Even that price was barely justified.]
[The shopkeeper took pity on him—small, well-behaved—and threw in some low-value hooks.]
[Naruto carefully packed everything away, bowed politely, thanked the shopkeeper, and hurried off to find food.]
[The shopkeeper even smiled and waved at him.]
This scene was completely different from the gold-frame version.
Just as everyone wondered whether the entire world was different—
A familiar scene appeared.
[A man who didn't look like an ordinary civilian said, "Hey—look! That's him, right?!"]
[Another suspicious 'civilian' echoed, "Yeah, it's him. Look at the whiskers on his face!"]
[...]
It appeared.
Everyone relaxed—
and then immediately tensed again.
Uzumaki Kushina: "You damn monkey!!!!!"
Kushina's roar suddenly echoed.
It carried such dense hatred it felt tangible.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's spine went cold.
Then—
her voice was muted again.
Probably censored. The insults were too vicious.
Senju Tobirama: "Monkey! Look at what you've done!"
Tobirama seized the chance and spoke up.
Finally—his opportunity.
He had to draw a clear line between himself and Hiruzen,
or he'd be stuck in 'silent mode' forever.
Senju Hashirama: "Huh? Tobirama, what's wrong?"
Tobirama: "Big brother, look at what this monkey is doing!"
Tobirama: "Again and again, he schemes against a child! These are Konoha's tender green shoots! When did I ever teach him this kind of Will of Fire?!"
Hashirama: "Mm… you're right. Monkey, you've gone too far."
Uchiha Madara: "Hmph. A clumsy performance."
Uchiha Izuna: "Onii-chan, isn't Tobirama always this shameless? No wonder he taught such disciples."
Tobirama: "That's enough! I've tolerated you for a long time!"
In an instant, Tobirama chose to muddle the waters—
argue loudly so everyone would forget he'd defended Hiruzen earlier.
Izuna: "Think I'm afraid of you? Come out and fight me!"
Tobirama: "Come on! A defeated foe dares bark like a dog?!"
Madara: "Hm?!"
Hashirama: "Hahaha~ give me some face, everyone stop arguing. Oh, right—Monkey, come out and explain yourself."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Lord Hashirama, it's not like that. I never ordered anyone to do such a thing. It must've been Danzō acting out of spite after leaving the office!"
Shimura Danzō: "Bullshit!!!"
Ōnoki: "Living long sure is nice—you get to watch Konoha dogs bite each other~"
The chat got too noisy.
So it was muted.
Everyone could finally focus on the footage again.
[The two men's conversation quickly drew attention.]
Almost identical to the gold-frame version—
[Soon, little Naruto felt thick malice surround him.]
[His steps slowed. Curses and murmurs filled his ears.]
["That's him!"]
["Damn it! That cursed fox!"]
["So shameless—how is he still alive?"]
["I'll kill him and avenge my big brother!"]
[Malice became tangible.]
[The smile vanished from Naruto's face.]
[He soon noticed the shopkeeper who sold him hooks and line rushing over.]
[Shock filled the man's face.]
[That polite, well-behaved child… was the demon fox?]
[After hesitating, the shopkeeper's eyes reddened—but he didn't join the crowd in cursing Naruto.]
["Damn fox!"]
[Whoosh—]
[A stone suddenly whistled past Naruto's ear.]
[Naruto froze and immediately looked toward where it came from.]
[He sensed something different there.]
[Not like ordinary civilians.]
['A shinobi?']
The camera focused again on the first 'civilian.'
Hearing black-frame Naruto's thoughts—
(PS: Black frame and gold frame distinguish the two Narutos.)
Many people's eyes widened.
In the Pure Land, Kushina wiped away her tears.
Uzumaki Kushina: "Well done, Naruto!"
Uzumaki Kushina: "Remember their faces! You must remember every single one of them!"
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