Land of Water · Hidden Mist Village
"Lord Yagura was placed under genjutsu?"
"Then those incomprehensible policies of his were…"
Thinking of the title Bloody Mist, thinking of the blood of comrades that had stained their own hands over the years, the Mist ninja felt their chests tighten until they could barely breathe.
"What… what have we done?"
For years, they had numbed themselves with excuses—the Mizukage has his reasons, following orders is never wrong, a ninja must obey. But in the dead of night, the faces of the comrades they had killed rose up like vengeful ghosts, their smiles haunting, entangling, devouring their souls.
"Ahhh—aaaahhh!"
A Mist ninja clawed at his hair and collapsed to the ground, letting out a hoarse, broken wail.
They surged toward the Mizukage Tower.
They would kill the controlled Mizukage and free his tormented soul!
"Stop!"
A beautiful kunoichi with long hair blocked their path. Behind her, several highly respected Mist ninja stepped forward as well.
"Lady Mei Terumi… Lord Ao…"
"Now is not the time," Mei said firmly. "Finish watching the footage first. Gathering intelligence to figure out how much Konoha knows takes priority."
"R-right… it makes sense. But what if this is a Konoha plot?"
"Exactly. Collect everything we have on Konoha—the Uchiha—and the Sharingan. Immediately!"
…
[A bleak melody plays, perfectly matching hearts that have yet to crawl out of pain.]
[Gaara speaks once more: "At this moment, there are no enemies here! No Sand, Stone, Leaf, Mist, or Cloud! No Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, or Lightning Countries!!"]["There are only those who have been harmed by the Akatsuki—"]["Shinobi!"]
[The members of the Allied Shinobi Forces snap back to reality, their eyes fixing on Gaara, the commander-in-chief. Endless pain and hatred condense into fighting spirit.]
["If you still cannot forgive the Sand after this, then after the war is over—come and take my head!"]
Ibiki Morino muttered, "That line… so it really was said by that Sand ninja. That kid—Gaara—is truly the future commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces?"
Kotetsu Hagane said in disbelief, "Hard to imagine. The commander-in-chief in the question was actually that Sand brat."
Izumo Kamizuki frowned. "Something's off. In his memories, the blond kid is always there—but he said that because he wanted revenge on the Akatsuki, right? That's why he said, 'After the war, come and take my head.'"
Kotetsu scratched his head. "Yeah… then Naruto talked for so long—what's the actual answer supposed to be?"
[In the footage, Gaara's words shock all eighty thousand shinobi of the alliance. No one has ever heard a Kage say something like this. What kind of suffering shaped such breadth of heart? What pain allowed him to understand the world's pain? And who guided someone like this onto the right path?]
[Kakashi: Everyone's expressions changed.]
[Gaara: "Now! The enemy is trying to take away the one who saved me—my friend!"]
Izumo and Kotetsu shouted together, "Ah! Just like we thought!!"
Naruto tilted his head blankly. "Huh?"
Sasuke instinctively grabbed Naruto's arm, staring hard at the image. Facing the enemy's overwhelming strength, he felt his own weakness more deeply than ever.
How was he supposed to protect anyone like this?!
Naruto beside him. His mother behind him. He needed power—power to protect them.
Remembering how he couldn't even beat that thick-browed guy named Lee, darkness swallowed Sasuke's heart. Every obsession condensed into a single word:
Power.
He was afraid.
Terrified—deeply so.
He feared Itachi finding out that Naruto had revived his mother. He feared that cruel man appearing before him again and taking her life once more.
He feared the Akatsuki member who could destroy the Leaf in a single strike coming for Naruto.
Why was he so weak?
At this rate, forget revenge—he would only keep losing more.
Such a dark future. Such a cruel future!!
Wait—where was his future self? Why hadn't Uchiha Sasuke appeared in the footage at all?!
Was it because he was with Naruto, acting as the final line of defense before the Akatsuki captured him?
As the thought took hold, Sasuke's obsession with growing stronger and his sense of responsibility twisted together, plunging his mind into chaos.
Even his pitch-black eyes filled with hatred—hatred for his own insignificance and weakness, and a mad, burning hunger for power.