UGB Chapter 561 Sasuke's Heart
Chapter 561 Sasuke's Heart
"...Are those people all Uchiha clan members?"
In the underground base of the [Jin] organization, Sasuke was wearing a disguise. His gaze swept across the crowd, and his emotions of excitement and bewilderment were clearly written on his face.
The people were dressed in different ways—some wore masks of the secret service and hurried along, some wore ordinary clothes and walked slowly down the corridor, and some gathered in twos and threes and talked in hushed tones.
Regardless of what they were wearing or what they were doing, they all exuded a faint Yin Release chakra aura. He was all too familiar with that chakra aura; it was the unique chakra fluctuation of the Uchiha clan, an aura he had sensed countless times in the clan's territory since childhood, an aura belonging to one of their own kind.
"That's... Uncle Hand-Burned... is he... already that old...?"
Sasuke's gaze was fixed on two figures taking a slow walk in the distance—an elderly couple. The man's hair was already gray, his back was slightly hunched, and he walked very slowly. The woman was holding his arm, with a peaceful smile on her face. The two of them walked slowly like this.
Sasuke immediately pictured that familiar face in his mind—Uchiha Tessho, the shop owner who used to make pancakes for him when he was a child, and his wife, Uchiha Jun.
That night, those two people died. They were killed by Itachi Uchiha.
But now, in this world, these two people are still alive.
They've retired, no longer run their pancake stalls, and their hair is turning gray, but they're still alive.
They strolled slowly down the corridor arm in arm, seemingly living a good life, or at least a comfortable and peaceful one.
Their appearance did not remain that of a middle-aged man in his forties, but rather they aged naturally over time, becoming two ordinary white-haired old people.
Sasuke really wanted to go up and say something to them—even just a greeting, or even just calling them "Uncle Tesshoku."
He wanted to tell them that in that world, he had eaten their pancakes many times, and they were delicious; he always remembered the taste.
He wanted to tell them that in that world, they died young, suddenly, and without explanation. He wanted to tell them that he missed them dearly.
However, a thought burned him.
In that world, these two people died because Itachi was protecting them.
Itachi killed his entire clan, including everyone he knew and didn't know, everyone who was kind to him and everyone he had little interaction with—all of them. And the reason was "for Sasuke," and "to protect his younger brother."
The thought scalded his mind, freezing him in place.
He could only stop and watch the elderly couple's figures gradually disappear at the end of the corridor.
"Let's go, I'll take you to find Itachi Uchiha. You'd better be mentally prepared."
Naruto's voice came from the side, pulling Sasuke out of his daze.
Sasuke turned around and saw that Naruto had changed his appearance—he was wearing an Anbu uniform and a mask, and he looked no different from the people around him.
Is he lying in wait? Or is this how he usually dresses in this base?
Sasuke suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked in as calm a voice as possible.
"Who... did this? In this world, was there anyone who stopped Itachi that day?"
"...Let's answer your question first."
Naruto's voice came from behind the mask, sounding somewhat muffled, "Come with me. The people here don't know my true identity, so don't do anything that might attract attention."
After saying that, Naruto turned around and walked in another direction down the corridor.
Seeing this, young Sasuke could only nod, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and then followed in Naruto's footsteps.
But he was still thinking about many things.
In this world, on that night, his parents didn't die either... Not only did his parents survive, but so many people from the tribe—Uncle Hand-burning, Aunt Jing, those people living in the tribe's territory, those faces he thought he would never see again, they are all still alive.
They live ordinary lives here, taking walks, chatting, slowly growing old, doing everything that people living in this world do.
Sasuke felt a lump in his throat, and an overwhelming sense of grievance welled up inside him.
That feeling of grievance is like walking a very long road, finally seeing a place where you can rest, only to find that the place doesn't belong to you.
Young Sasuke envies himself in this world.
The days after his clan was wiped out were the time Sasuke least wanted to recall in his life.
People he knew, people he was close to, people he cared about, people who cared about him—everyone who had appeared in his life suddenly left.
One night, overnight, everyone disappeared.
The houses on the main road of the clan's territory are still there, but every door is closed, every window is dark, and every lamp will never be lit again.
He left nothing behind. No last words, no farewell, not even someone to hold and cry with for a while.
Suddenly, he was all alone.
It was a deathly, solitude.
At that time, little Sasuke could only sit in the empty room, tears falling one by one.
As the tears fell, they stopped; I couldn't cry anymore. My eyes were so dry that I couldn't squeeze out anything more.
He just sat there, until it got dark, until it got light, until he himself didn't even know what he was thinking anymore.
That state lasted for a long time, so long that he could no longer make the genuinely happy expression on his face.
At this moment, young Sasuke followed Naruto down the corridor of the [Jin] organization's underground base, his steps heavy and weak, unable to muster any strength.
His mind was racing, trying to figure out what to say, how to say it, and where to begin when he met Itachi Uchiha.
He had so much to say, so much that he didn't even know where to begin.
Why?! Why am I the only one who survived?!
Why is he the only one left? Why am I the only one who survived?!
Uchiha Sasuke didn't know he should say it that way, but he just didn't understand.
Was Itachi's only condition that he survive? Why sacrifice so many lives for his alone? Why not leave his mother behind...?
My mother is innocent, isn't she? She has never participated in clan gatherings. She abandoned her identity as a ninja long ago and devoted all of herself—all her time, all her thoughts, and all her love—to her family.
She was just an ordinary mother, an ordinary woman who loved her husband and her son. Why wouldn't Itachi keep his mother? Why did he even kill his own mother?
Could it be... that he just wants to awaken his Sharingan?
If the death of a loved one is the only way to obtain these eyes, then what exactly are these eyes?
For the first time, Sasuke felt resistance towards the Sharingan, which was revered, desired, and regarded as a symbol of power by countless people in the ninja world.
He didn't want the power that came at the cost of his loved ones' lives, nor did he want something that made him all alone.
If he could have his mother back, he would rather he had never opened his eyes.
"...Hmm? You are...Lord Menma?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the side, interrupting the jumbled thoughts in Sasuke's mind.
The voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere not long ago, but there was a relaxed quality in its tone that he was not familiar with.
"What are you doing? Why are you pretending like this?"
Sasuke Uchiha looked up, followed the direction of the voice, and recognized the person who was greeting Naruto.
He recognized that face. That face covered in blue lines, like fish gills, those eyes that looked different from normal people's, that tall figure carrying a large sword wrapped in bandages—it was Itachi Uchiha's companion.
He remembered that when this person stood there, he exuded an aura that made people afraid to approach him.
But now, things are completely different.
Kisame Hoshigaki's voice sounded noticeably more relaxed, lacking the tense defensiveness and oppressive air of someone ready to attack at any moment.
He didn't exude any dangerous aura; his shoulders were relaxed, his posture was casual, and his expression—though his face was still terrifying—surprisingly gave off a somewhat benevolent feeling.
It's not the kind of feigned kindness, but a feeling that comes naturally from within, a feeling that comes naturally when a person has achieved a good life.