Encounter

Sasuke Uchiha was still young, so naturally he did not know about such matters. Besides, it was merely an unspoken understanding among the other shinobi; no one had truly displayed it or voiced it aloud.

But as Fugaku Uchiha’s son, no matter how insensitive Sasuke Uchiha was, he could still sense the faint exclusion the other shinobi held toward the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, both his father and his brother’s friend, Shisui Uchiha, had lost their Sharingan because of Yota. Even though the Naruto World’s technological level had advanced enough to regenerate eyes, their regenerated eyes could only reach the Three Tomoe stage and could not become Mangekyo.

It seemed that after losing their original Mangekyo Sharingan, they had lost something most important. They could no longer obtain the Uchiha’s ultimate power.

Even though Yota’s reputation had soared with the spread of the Genjutsu Space and he had nearly become a myth, fewer and fewer people mentioned how he had once attacked bloodline-limit shinobi to increase his own strength. Many even believed that it had been a necessary growing pain before the Genjutsu Space was created and the Shinobi World entered a new era, desperately whitewashing Yota.

However, as Fugaku Uchiha’s son, although Sasuke Uchiha was young, not much time had passed since those events. He knew the truth rather well, so he still harbored some resentment toward Yota.

That was only because Fugaku Uchiha had always acted unconcerned about the matter afterward, without the slightest hint of resentment. Even Shisui Uchiha had frankly admitted his past mistakes in the face of the peace brought by the Genjutsu Space. Otherwise, what Sasuke Uchiha felt would not have been resentment, but hatred.

Thinking of this, Sasuke Uchiha looked at the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke, his face carrying a trace of anticipation as he asked, "In your world, the Uchiha clan must have been the strongest great clan too, right? Father and Shisui Uchiha both awakened Mangekyo before the Genjutsu Space appeared. And with my brother Itachi’s talent, I think that even without the Genjutsu Space, there would have been a high chance of him awakening Mangekyo. At the very least, he could have become a Kage-level shinobi."

"By that count, the Uchiha would have had three Kage-level shinobi! Although Kage-level shinobi aren’t worth much in this era, before the Genjutsu Space, even a major shinobi village would have found it difficult to gather three Kage-level shinobi!"

"Doesn’t that mean our Uchiha clan would definitely have become the strongest shinobi clan in the Shinobi World? Did Father become Hokage?"

Hearing young Sasuke’s question, the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke wore an awkward expression. How was he supposed to answer that?

Should he tell him that the Uchiha clan had not become Hokage, but had instead nearly all died out through mutual slaughter?

That because they had fallen under suspicion after Nine-Tails Night, the entire Uchiha clan had been suppressed and had eventually prepared to rebel?

That two of the three Mangekyo wielders had been Konoha spies, while Fugaku Uchiha, the remaining one, had also been half a Konoha ally?

While Uchiha Sasuke was still thinking about how to answer, Uzumaki Boruto beside him spoke up. "The Uchiha clan? I’ve never heard of them in Konoha! Other than Uncle Uchiha Sasuke and Sarada Uchiha, there shouldn’t be any other Uchiha in the village, right?"

"Huh?!" Young Sasuke’s face showed surprise as he looked at the middle-aged Uchiha Sasuke. "What happened? Where are the Uchiha in your world?"

"They probably completely perished," a calm voice sounded from behind them as Yota slowly walked out.

"What do you mean by that?" Anger appeared on young Sasuke’s face as he turned to look at Yota.

Then young Sasuke’s expression changed when he saw the black ring in Yota’s hand.

It was the symbol of an Akatsuki member’s identity. In the past, one only needed Kage-level strength to possess one. Later, as the Genjutsu Space developed and Kage-level powerhouses in the Naruto World grew increasingly numerous, the value of this thing rose accordingly. Kage-level strength had become a threshold rather than a sufficient requirement; one also had to look at one’s contribution points.

In any case, young Sasuke knew that even in the entire Uchiha clan, only his father, Fugaku Uchiha, was an Akatsuki member. No one else—not even someone as outstanding as his brother Itachi Uchiha—had yet joined Akatsuki and was still applying to do so.

Of course, that was also because he did not know what Yota looked like and had not recognized him as the founder of the Genjutsu Space. If it had been the former higher-ups of the shinobi villages, they would have long since come over to grovel before him.

Over nearly ten years, the Genjutsu Space had become an indispensable part of the entire Shinobi World. Especially after it had turned illusion into reality and falsehood into truth, it could be said to have completely dominated the Shinobi World.

And during this time, it had been enough for the remnants of the old era to change their way of thinking. After all, the era of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had only lasted fifty years. The ten years since then had already been enough for the Genjutsu Space to erase the memories of the previous era.

Most importantly, the Genjutsu Space had truly improved the entire Shinobi World. Whether it was the former nobles, who had now become upright, honest, and reasonable under the genjutsu, the explosive increase in productivity, or the fair distribution of all kinds of benefits, all of it had stripped these shinobi of any desire to resist.

After all, no matter how well you spoke of the Will of Fire in the past, it could not compare to the tangible wealth and world peace of the present. Hashirama Senju’s one-country, one-village policy had merely relied on strength to forcibly suppress conflicts. Once he died and his policies ended, another world war immediately broke out.

But now, even without considering the Genjutsu Space’s combat power and deterrence, no one wanted to start a war anymore. Even if an ambitious figure occasionally dared to call for one, the other shinobi would not follow him—they would directly seize him.

As a result, Yota’s reputation had risen steadily without even his realizing it. Especially among young shinobi who had experienced war but whose values had not fully taken on the form of the old era, Yota was essentially their guiding light and spiritual leader.

And this period was precisely when those young shinobi were most active. One could easily imagine just how high Yota’s reputation was.

Young Sasuke had not expected Yota to be an Akatsuki member. He froze for a moment, but quickly came back to his senses and asked in confusion, "Why do you say the Uchiha clan completely perished? Do you know something?"

From anger at the beginning to confusion now, young Sasuke’s changing emotions toward Yota made Yota keenly realize the status Akatsuki members now held throughout the shinobi world.