Cheat Mode

"You’ve heard of the Nine-Tails’ Rampage, right?" Yota said to Sasuke with a smile. "I remember there should’ve been a record of it in the history textbooks."

Shinobi these days weren’t like they used to be. Information sharing was what mattered now. Many so-called classified documents had long since made their way into history textbooks.

"Of course I know about the Nine-Tails’ Rampage." Sasuke frowned. After all, his father had lost a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan in that battle. Of course, Sasuke did not say that aloud.

"During that battle, the Nine-Tails that broke free from its seal had the Sharingan’s pattern in its eyes," Yota continued smoothly. "That was why Konoha was highly suspicious of the Uchiha clan at the time."

"And the Uchiha clan was extremely stubborn and arrogant by nature, so the two sides developed deep conflicts."

"If the Genjutsu Space hadn’t descended afterward, the conflict between them would have erupted into something irreconcilable sooner or later. So the Uchiha clan being completely finished wasn’t something I imagined out of thin air."

"What?!" Sasuke’s face filled with disbelief. "My father lost his eyes because of the Nine-Tails’ Rampage! Were Konoha’s higher-ups all fucking idiots back then? How could they possibly have thought that?"

The middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke, standing nearby, coughed. "During the Nine-Tails’ Rampage, because the Sharingan was discovered in the Nine-Tails’ eyes, Konoha’s Anbu and Root kept watching our Uchiha clan and prevented us from going to the battlefield."

"That might be the difference between our two worlds."

Yota nodded. "Perhaps that was part of it. But the original leaders of the shinobi villages—or rather, shinobi as a profession in the past—really had no ability to communicate with one another. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many Ninja World Wars."

"So, Sasuke, when you say they were all fucking idiots… it isn’t entirely correct, but you’ve definitely hit the nail on the head."

"Because both sides distrusted each other, it was perfectly normal for the Uchiha, whose relationship with Konoha had never been particularly harmonious, to develop other ideas."

Sasuke swallowed, then suddenly turned to look at the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke. He saw the older man’s eyes shift away.

"No way!! So the Uchiha clan in your world was wiped out by Konoha! Then why are you still staying in Konoha Ninja Village?"

In the new era, the major shinobi villages had long since lost much of their hold over shinobi. With the Genjutsu Space’s unified propaganda, shinobi of the new era no longer viewed their villages with absolute loyalty. Instead, they regarded them as workplaces, much like modern people regarded companies. Perhaps the relationship was somewhat closer and more harmonious, but there was no compulsory personal bond between them.

Meanwhile, clan ties born from blood relations had not been greatly affected. After all, no matter how the world changed, you couldn’t just refuse to acknowledge your parents, relatives, aunts, and uncles.

Therefore, in Sasuke’s mind, the Uchiha clan was obviously more important than Konoha Ninja Village. If Konoha really dared to wipe out the Uchiha clan, Sasuke would definitely fight them to the bitter end. That was why he looked down on the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke’s actions even more.

"That’s because… there were very complicated reasons…" The middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke did not know what to say. If he claimed he had no resentment toward Konoha Ninja Village at all, that would definitely be a lie.

To put it bluntly, eighty or ninety percent of his feelings for Konoha Ninja Village rested on his companion, Uzumaki Naruto… Perhaps another portion belonged to Sakura Haruno and his daughter. As for everyone else in Konoha Ninja Village, even companions like the Konoha 12, he merely maintained the bare minimum of politeness.

Another reason he had not sought revenge against Konoha Ninja Village was that it had been Itachi Uchiha’s choice… Just as most of his feelings for Konoha Ninja Village were placed on Uzumaki Naruto, most of his feelings for the Uchiha clan were placed on his parents and older brother.

After all, he had only been a seven-year-old child when the Uchiha clan was exterminated. To say he had deep feelings for the other Uchiha would have been nonsense.

To him, the destruction of the Uchiha clan had not been such a devastating blow. His parents’ deaths were the unbearable weight of his life.

It was precisely because Itachi Uchiha had destroyed the Uchiha clan that, amid those tangled emotions, Uchiha Sasuke had been able to persuade himself not to completely sever ties with Konoha Ninja Village using reasons such as "the bigger picture" and "the Uchiha clan had intended to rebel anyway."

Of course, the middle-aged Sasuke would never say such things to Sasuke. The fact that his own older brother had killed the entire Uchiha clan was simply too cruel.

But Sasuke did not know any of that. He only looked at the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke with contempt. "You won’t even acknowledge the grudge over your own clan and parents? Don’t tell me you’re another guy brainwashed by that so-called Will of Fire from the old days?"

As soon as those words fell, before the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke could say anything, Uzumaki Boruto beside him could no longer sit still. "What the hell are you talking about?! Do you even care about Konoha Ninja Village at all?"

"Hah, just as expected of a shinobi from the old era, still spouting that same brainwashing nonsense!" Sasuke refused to back down as he stared at Uzumaki Boruto. "Your sights are limited to that tiny little shinobi village. You’re practically a frog at the bottom of a well."

"Are you looking for a fight?!"

"Like I’m afraid of you! You antique from that so-called future world!"

"Damn it, I’ll teach you a lesson!"

After a round of pointless bickering, Uzumaki Boruto got angry. Uzumaki Boruto charged forward. Uzumaki Boruto was instantly defeated by one hand. Uzumaki Boruto hit the deck.

Despite Uchiha Sasuke’s young age, with the Genjutsu Space assisting his training, his current strength was no weaker than Kakashi when he first appeared in the original story!

Although Uzumaki Boruto could even exchange a few moves with the Ōtsutsuki clan in Boruto, his actual strength was only a little above that of a Chunin. Without protagonist plot armor or a sudden power-up, being instantly defeated in one move was the most natural outcome.

Looking at Uzumaki Boruto, who had been knocked unconscious with one blow, Yota only felt the urge to cover his face.

Even if he had never watched Boruto, he at least knew some of the details. With that kind of strength, Boruto could trade moves with the Ōtsutsuki clan… He truly did not know what to say.

At the very least, Uzumaki Naruto had gone through quite a lot and worked hard to level up before he could fight Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Even if his most important power had come from the Sage of Six Paths descending like a deus ex machina, he had at least been a Kage-level shinobi beforehand!

What did Uzumaki Boruto even count as?