125. The Leaf Village Boy Training Plan

"Guardian?"

Sasuke was slightly taken aback by the word.

He had only just awakened from the self-protective state of hibernation his body had entered following the trauma caused by the Tsukuyomi. He had not yet had the chance to calm down and consider what his life would become from this point forward. Although he was still a child and did not have a clear understanding of the policies Konoha held regarding orphans, Sasuke was acutely aware that, from now on... he would likely have to live alone.

The village would not go out of its way to send someone to take care of him just because he was young. Sasuke understood this clearly from observing the "dead last" of his class, Naruto Uzumaki—an orphan who grew up alone and was, for reasons unknown to him, shunned and loathed by the others in Konoha. Even though, in truth, he had never really wanted to know anything about that dead last.

In short, Sasuke had assumed he would end up like Naruto, having to rely on himself to survive despite being just a child. Yet now, this strange, red-haired boy was smiling at him and claiming to be his guardian.

For a split second, Sasuke did not feel a sense of relief, but rather deep suspicion and wariness.

Heh. He really should thank Itachi, shouldn't he?

Itachi had thoroughly murdered the naive, foolish Sasuke on that crimson, blood-soaked night under the moonlight.

The boy curled his lips in self-mockery, his gaze toward Kurama filled with undisguised rejection and caution: "I don't need a guardian."

However, to Sasuke's surprise, despite his clear refusal, the other boy did not show a shred of surprise or embarrassment.

"No, you do."

The red-haired boy, who looked incredibly gentle and elegant, smiled as he leaned over. Ignoring Sasuke’s threateningly half-raised arm, he reached out and gently pressed his hands onto the boy's shoulders.

"Because you will learn the entire truth and reality from me."

"Regarding the cause and effect of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, and... your older brother."

"Uchiha Itachi."

"The true motive behind why he would choose to do such a cruel thing to you, and to the Uchiha clan that raised him."

"!!!!!"

Sasuke’s pupils contracted violently.

The boy looked up in astonishment, his wide, black eyes reflecting the handsome face of the red-haired boy before him, who still wore that gentle, kind smile.

For some reason, Sasuke’s heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment.

***

Led by the hand by Kurama, walking slowly toward the Uchiha district, Sasuke watched the man beside him. With a gentle, refined smile on his lips, Kurama greeted the merchants along the way as if he were a local resident who had lived in Konoha for many years. Sasuke bit his lip; the words he wanted to say turned over and over on his tongue, but he could not bring himself to ask.

It was not until they turned away from the bustling main thoroughfare of Konoha and reached the Uchiha district—a place that used to be as lively as the main street but now stood empty, desolate, and cold—that Sasuke’s eyes reddened. He bit his lip hard, finally unable to hold back:

"What exactly do you mean by the truth? Was Itachi framed? Or was he coerced? Did he not kill our parents and our clansmen? If that’s the case, why did he lie to me? Why..."

Why hurt me? Why make me... hate him?

His large, black eyes were wide, stubbornly refusing to let the swirling tears break free. Sasuke looked up, staring fixedly at Kurama, as if he would refuse to continue trusting him unless he received an answer right now.

The fox demon let out a soft laugh at this.

"Little one, why are you so impatient?"

Stopping in response to Sasuke’s movement, he turned to face the stubborn brat of the Uchiha clan.

"Do you know that there are at least two ANBU members from different factions tracking and monitoring you?"

Kurama leaned down slightly, meeting those bright, black eyes.

Seeing the boy’s expression shift instantly from shock to rage, the fox demon stroked his chin, adding another line as if he feared the fire wasn't hot enough: "And as for strength... I believe you people call their level 'Jonin'?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Sasuke had already grabbed his sleeve.

"You have a way, don't you?"

The boy’s face was panicked, but he forced himself to remain calm as he whispered. "If what you say is true, they must have been monitoring me since I was still in the hospital. Even if you lowered your voice to speak to me back then, the content of what you said should be something the people behind them would never allow me to know in any way, right?"

"But you said it anyway. And you said it without the slightest hesitation."

"That proves you actually have the confidence and ability to bypass their surveillance. What is it? Genjutsu?"

As Sasuke spoke, his tone and expression became increasingly composed. By the end, the initial panic had almost entirely vanished.

This earned a look of appreciation from Kurama.

"That's correct."

He reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair, despite Sasuke’s disgruntled glare. "I have ways to render their surveillance useless. Even if we discuss topics that the people who sent them to watch you would never allow you to know, they won't be able to perceive a thing."

"But are you sure this is a good place for a conversation?"

"Any questions you have, let’s save them until we get home, shall we?"

The fox demon's gentle tone caused Sasuke’s face to flush uncontrollably.

He lowered his head and stopped speaking, but the hand that was tightly clutching Kurama’s sleeve did not loosen its grip. Kurama smiled, not pointing it out. He simply led the small Uchiha boy, head bowed, step by step deeper into the Uchiha district.

***

Sasuke stood before the familiar gate, looking dazed.

The last time he had pushed these doors open, he had seen his parents lying in a pool of blood, and his brother standing coldly beside their corpses, watching him with eyes as cruel as if he were looking at the dead.

Pressing his small hands against the doors, Sasuke’s body trembled uncontrollably. He paused for a long time before finally giving a violent shove...

With a creak, the doors were slowly pushed open. The scene that met his eyes was so familiar that Sasuke’s nose stung, and he nearly burst into tears.

He stood numbly as the man beside him draped an arm over his shoulders, leading him into the courtyard. Once they closed the gate behind them, the man guided him forward again.

Through the familiar yard, into the foyer, changing shoes, moving forward, sliding open the door to the living room...

Sasuke’s movements came to a sudden halt.

Because he saw a strange man with black hair sitting in the living room, which should have been empty!

The man wore a magnificent black robe of a style Sasuke had never seen before, his profile exquisite and impossibly beautiful. The moment Sasuke was brought into the room by Kurama, the man glanced at them, his deep, jade-green eyes indifferent, as if Sasuke’s existence meant absolutely nothing to him.

The boy was instantly filled with wariness once again.

"Who is he?"

He turned to look at Kurama. The other man had shown no surprise at the appearance of this stranger, which meant the man must be someone Kurama knew.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the man offered Sasuke a reassuring, faint smile: "Don't be afraid, he's one of us."

Sasuke turned his head away silently—who was afraid?

Awkwardly letting go of the sleeve he had been gripping tightly, Sasuke sat in the spot furthest from Hades, his burning gaze fixed on Kurama, who had chosen a seat near the mysterious man: "Can you tell me now? The so-called... truth?"

The fox demon nodded with a smile.

"What an impatient child." He sighed casually, then, under Sasuke’s indignant glare, blinked his eyes playfully and continued: "Since I didn't see the beginning, I can only rely on deduction. However, I can clearly relay everything I saw from the point I started until the final result."

"So, Sasuke, are you ready? Ready to face the truth... behind what you think is the 'truth'?"

The boy set his face in a firm expression and nodded heavily: "As long as it really is the truth."

Kurama nodded in understanding. "I see. Then... let's begin!"

With his words, Sasuke’s vision suddenly turned pitch black!

Before the boy could panic, his attention was seized by a scene that suddenly unfolded before him—

It was Itachi!

On that night that Sasuke would never be able to forget for the rest of his life, Itachi was crouched on top of a utility pole!

The perspective was entirely third-person, so Sasuke felt as if he were floating in mid-air, looking down at the scene below.

He saw the pain and struggle on Itachi’s face, which slowly subsided as the version of himself in the scene—completely unaware of what was about to happen—approached. It eventually settled into a look of determination and resolve that made his heart tighten.

The moment the Sasuke in the vision looked up at the pole, Itachi’s eyes suddenly transformed into a swirling, pinwheel-like pattern. As they rotated slowly, the Sasuke in the vision froze in place, clearly trapped in a powerful genjutsu cast by the Uchiha clan’s most famous bloodline limit, the "Sharingan."

From behind that version of Sasuke, numerous ninjas dressed in Konoha ANBU uniforms infiltrated the area under the cover of darkness. Soon, the sounds of clashing blades and clashing ninjutsu erupted throughout the district.

Yet, Itachi remained completely unaffected.

He simply watched the Sasuke on the ground, his expression gentle yet filled with bitterness.

Sasuke suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.

He watched blankly as the ANBU Jonin of Konoha slaughtered his clansmen almost unilaterally—both those who were ninjas and those who were civilians. Besides the intense pain rising from Itachi’s expression, his chest filled with boundless rage and hatred—Why?! Why treat them like this?

What exactly... did the Uchiha do wrong?!

His question was soon answered.

A black-haired man he had never seen before suddenly appeared beside Itachi.

"As a condition of the exchange, your little brother can be spared."

The man spoke to Itachi in a cold, superior tone, "However... as for what you 'should' do next, we made that very clear before, right?"

"The 'missing-nin of Konoha,' Uchiha... Itachi?"

Sasuke saw Itachi’s hands, hanging at his sides, clench tightly.

"...Yes."

He watched blankly as the Sasuke on the ground collapsed softly after his own genjutsu was interrupted. Itachi closed his eyes, a barely audible sigh escaping his throat.

The stranger cast a cold glance at Itachi and flew away. Sasuke’s vision followed the man for a moment, only to find, with chilling horror, that the man... was gouging out the eyes of the fallen clansmen...

At this moment, Sasuke’s perspective suddenly shifted. On the other side of the scene, in a place the previous stranger seemed not to notice, a mysterious figure wearing a strange mask and a wide, dark robe patterned with red clouds was doing the exact same thing as the stranger!

A bone-chilling cold rose from the depths of Sasuke’s heart—

Just how far... had Itachi been pushed?!

To watch and do nothing, no! Or rather, to stand by and assist in the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, and then... to become a missing-nin for the sake of his "enemy" after watching his clansmen have their eyes gouged out?

What twisted secret was hidden behind this that allowed everything to develop to this point of no return?

Sasuke bit his lip hard.

"It is not beyond repair, you know?"

At that moment, a soft voice echoed in his ear.

Sasuke looked up abruptly and found that the scene had disappeared, and in its place was Kurama’s gentle, warm smile: "At least... for Hades and me, this situation is not beyond repair."

"So... how about it? Have you come to a conclusion?"

"Regarding whether you need me to be your guardian?"

Sasuke pressed his lips together, silently locking eyes with Kurama for a moment...

Suddenly, he stood up and bowed deeply toward Kurama and Hades.

"From now on... please take care of me!"

The fox demon saw this and exchanged a glance with the black-haired Lord of the Underworld beside him...

"Interested in raising a brat?"

His lips moved as he asked silently with a smile.

The Lord of the Underworld looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"...As you wish."

Amidst a soft ripple of cosmos, his answer came faintly.

Kurama narrowed his eyes slightly, curling his lips into a smile like a satisfied fox.