"Sasuke... what's happened to you?" Sakura Haruno pulled back her fist and stood atop the ruins, looking up at the familiar yet strange face within the Susanoo, her voice carrying worry and a trace of imperceptible heartache.
Naruto also took the opportunity to rush to the Third Hokage's side, shielding him firmly behind his back, and shouted a question at Sasuke: "Sasuke! Why on earth are you attacking the Village? Aren't we all comrades?"
Sasuke's gaze didn't even flicker toward Naruto; he just stared fixedly at the pink-haired girl below who had knocked his attack off course with a single punch.
Within those cold Sharingan eyes, a clear fluctuation appeared for the first time—it was surprise, and... a hint of scrutiny, as if encountering one of his own kind.
"Sakura," Sasuke's voice remained low, but it had lost some of its previous boiling killing intent, replaced by a touch of inquiry. "You've grown stronger too."
Sakura Haruno nodded, her gaze looking up at him incredibly complex, filled with the throbbing emotion of a long-awaited reunion, anxiety over the current situation, and a goal that had never changed.
She took a deep breath and said seriously, "Yes, I've been working hard. My goal has always been to catch up to your and Naruto's footsteps, so that our Team Seven... can be together again."
She had shouted these words in her heart countless times; now, she finally had the qualifications to stand before him and say them personally.
"Leave, I don't want to kill you." Sasuke's voice was cold as the Susanoo dissipated, yet it still carried a sense of detachment.
However, Sakura Haruno did not back down.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the emotions surging in her heart, and her eyes became determined: "Sasuke, I'm going to make you stay. What is it... that can't be explained clearly?"
"Explained clearly?" These words were like lighting a powder keg; the anger and grief Sasuke had been suppressing instantly exploded!
The Susanoo reappeared, a massive sense of oppression bearing down.
Sasuke roared, his voice like that of a wounded lone wolf, filled with accusations of blood and tears: "My entire clan! From the elderly on their deathbeds to the infants in swaddling clothes! They were all sanctioned, even planned to be slaughtered by the Konoha Leadership!"
"How do you want me to explain? What's the use of talking? Can words bring the dead back to life? Can they wash away the Uchiha's grievances?"
This earth-shattering roar was like a bolt from the blue, exploding in the ears of everyone who heard it.
The Konoha Ninja and ordinary citizens who were originally ignorant of the truth were all stunned, looking at the Third Hokage in disbelief.
In the official narrative, the Uchiha Clan Massacre had always been the work of Uchiha Itachi alone.
But now, from the mouth of an Uchiha Orphan, such appalling inside information had actually broken out!
Sakura Haruno and Naruto were also completely shocked; they whipped their heads around to look at the ashen-faced, silent Hiruzen Sarutobi behind them.
Naruto even blurted out, "Grandpa Third... is what Sasuke said true?"
Amidst countless questioning, shocked, and angry gazes, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a heavy sigh, the wrinkles on his face appearing even deeper.
He tried to stabilize the situation, saying in as gentle a tone as possible, "Sasuke, there is definitely a misunderstanding here. There are many complex internal details that are not as you imagine. Before any worse impact is caused, we can sit down and have a good talk. I will tell you everything I know..."
"Hahaha... Talk? No worse impact?"
Sasuke seemed to have heard the most ridiculous joke in the world and let out a laugh full of sarcasm.
"How hypocritical, Hiruzen Sarutobi! I attacked the Village, killed Anbu, and split Konoha in two!"
"And all of this, in your mouth, actually doesn't count as a 'worse impact'?"
"Does it only count as 'bad' if I wait until I've killed everyone you think deserves to die?"
"To maintain your ridiculous stability and the facade of the will of fire, you can so lightly erase the blood of the Uchiha? Truly... what an utterly hideous face!"
Sasuke's reprimand was like the sharpest blade. He no longer placed any hope in words; the Susanoo once again condensed even more terrifying Chakra. Clearly, he was determined to use power to execute the 'justice' he believed in.
Sasuke ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose expression had become extremely unsightly, and turned his gaze back to the two blocking his path, his tone carrying one last bit of patience perhaps reserved for the past: "Sakura, dead last, for the sake of our old Team Seven bond, my target is only the Konoha Leadership. Don't... force me."
Sasuke's voice was still cold, but this declaration of 'opening a side of the net' was already the greatest concession he could make.
However, Naruto firmly took a step forward, shielding the area further ahead, his eyes more serious than ever as he shouted, "Sasuke! I won't let you do it! Whether it's the leadership or anyone else, they are all comrades of Konoha! I'm going to stop you!"
"Stop me?" Sasuke reacted as if he had heard a massive joke.
The corner of Sasuke's mouth curled into an extremely mocking sneer as the ten-meter-tall Susanoo radiated an even more terrifying pressure. "With what will you stop me? Uzumaki Naruto, tell me, when exactly did you get the... delusion that you could beat me?"
Before the absolute power of the Susanoo, and under the gaze of Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan filled with hatred and power, Naruto's current declaration seemed so pale and powerless.
Sasuke's patience had run out.
Seeing Naruto still stubbornly blocking the way, the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanished.
"Since you're looking for death, I'll grant it to you!"
The massive arm of the Susanoo swung violently, and the Chakra odachi, condensed with destructive energy, slashed down once more. Its speed was startlingly fast, aimed directly at Naruto!
Naruto grit his teeth, a massive Rasengan over ten meters in size appeared, and he shoved his hands forward with all his might.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion!
Although he barely managed to block the strike, the terrifying counter-shock made Naruto's throat feel sweet as he spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.
The gap in strength was still vast!
Sasuke's eyes were cold as the Susanoo raised its hand again, lethal Chakra arrows condensing at its fingertips, aimed at the fallen Naruto.
This time, he no longer held back, his killing intent chilling!
"Naruto!"
In that critical moment, Sakura Haruno moved!
Her figure leapt into mid-air like a pink flash of lightning, her fist clenched tight, carrying an indomitable momentum as she smashed toward the massive head of the Susanoo!
"Hmph, overestimating yourself." Sasuke didn't even turn his head, controlling another arm of the Susanoo to casually sweep toward Sakura. In his view, this strike was enough to swat this meddlesome woman away.
However, the next moment—
BAM!!!
A dull roar, far exceeding all previous collisions, exploded as if space itself were being shaken!
The scene Sasuke expected—of Sakura being swatted away—did not occur.