Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

The moment that name was spoken...

It struck Sasuke like a bolt of lightning.

"Sasuke."

Izumi's voice was no longer as gentle as before.

Instead, it had become cool and solemn.

"Are you willing to kill Uchiha Itachi..."

"...and avenge our clansmen?"

Although Izumi couldn't clearly see Sasuke's face...

Sasuke could clearly see the determination in her eyes.

There wasn't the slightest trace of hesitation.

She was completely serious.

Before Sasuke could answer...

A mocking laugh interrupted them.

"Hmph."

"He's the younger brother of that monster, Uchiha Itachi."

"How could he possibly kill his own brother?"

Several figures suddenly appeared in a blur, surrounding Sasuke from every direction.

What caught Sasuke's attention wasn't the kunai and explosive tags they held.

Nor the obvious hostility.

It was...

Their age.

And those crimson eyes.

Sharingan.

Every one of them was an Uchiha shinobi with either a one-tomoe or two-tomoe Sharingan.

Judging by their appearance, they were only slightly older than Izumi.

Roughly the same generation as the parents of the children he'd met earlier.

These...

Were the young Uchiha Sasuke hadn't seen inside the settlement.

"Chief..."

One of the men with a two-tomoe Sharingan looked apologetically at Izumi.

"I'm sorry."

"We disobeyed your orders and secretly came back."

"But..."

He smiled bitterly.

"We couldn't keep waiting outside for your answer."

"The blood debt Uchiha Itachi owes us..."

"We'll collect part of it from his little brother today."

"You..."

Izumi was about to speak.

But Sasuke interrupted her.

"I understand..."

He calmly looked at them.

"I understand why you want revenge."

"But why target me?"

There wasn't the slightest anger in his voice.

Nor any killing intent from being ambushed.

He simply asked the question quietly.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

One of the men sneered.

"You're the only family member that monster deliberately spared."

"A cold-blooded demon who could even murder his own parents..."

"...yet he left you alive."

"What do you think that means?"

"You don't expect us to believe it's meaningless, do you?"

"I've wondered about that myself."

Sasuke answered honestly.

"I never understood why I alone was spared."

"Why?"

The man laughed coldly.

"There doesn't need to be a reason."

"Whatever the reason..."

"It only proves one thing."

"You're important to him."

"And if you die..."

"...Uchiha Itachi will definitely suffer."

"We've already abandoned everything for revenge."

"We're avengers now."

"As long as we can hurt Uchiha Itachi..."

"We'll do anything."

"...Is that so?"

Sasuke looked directly at the man who had spoken.

One tomoe.

His grip on the kunai was clumsy.

Far too basic.

Even though they'd surrounded him...

They hadn't realized the distance between them still gave Sasuke more than enough time to form hand seals and unleash a ninjutsu.

"You..."

"And all of you..."

Sasuke suddenly spoke.

"Your hands are far too clean."

"...What?"

The man froze.

Sasuke didn't bother explaining.

Instead...

His gaze turned icy.

"Isn't the real reason..."

"...that Uchiha Itachi is simply too strong?"

"You've never dared seek him out."

"So because I'm his younger brother..."

"...you've decided to vent your hatred on me instead."

"You—!"

Their furious expressions immediately revealed that he'd hit the mark.

Sasuke didn't know whether their Sharingan had awakened the same way his had...

On that bloody night.

But...

At that moment...

He suddenly understood something.

Throughout this journey...

He had gradually come to understand these surviving Uchiha.

He understood their hatred.

He understood their suffering.

He understood the hardships they endured.

And yet...

No matter what...

He simply couldn't empathize with people this weak.

"I..."

"...am the ghost of the Uchiha Clan."

"A revenger bearing the Uchiha name."

"And you..."

"You call yourselves avengers."

"But you're so weak..."

"You don't even possess the most basic resolve..."

"What did you say?!"

"If you're truly seeking revenge..."

"You must be prepared to die if that's what it takes to accomplish it."

"People as weak as you..."

"Who can't even distinguish who your true enemy is..."

"...have no right to call yourselves avengers."

The Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes suddenly changed.

Three tomoe spun within his crimson pupils.

An overwhelming pressure...

Accompanied by terrifying killing intent...

Exploded outward, engulfing every Uchiha surrounding him.

This wasn't a bluff.

Facing these self-proclaimed "avengers"...

Sasuke was genuinely furious.

Not because they wanted revenge against him.

But because...

They claimed to seek revenge...

While remaining so utterly weak.

People like them...

Could only drown in fantasies of vengeance.

Other than staining the pride of the Uchiha...

They would accomplish nothing.

The instant Sasuke released his killing intent...

Every surrounding Uchiha felt an overwhelming pressure crash down upon them.

Their bodies began trembling uncontrollably.

Looking at Sasuke now...

It was as though they had seen a ghost.

None of them could even meet his eyes.

Several could no longer keep hold of the weapons in their hands.

"D-Don't joke with me!"

One man roared through his fear.

"What do you know?!"

His terror dragged him back to that very night.

His wife...

His parents...

Murdered before his eyes.

All he could do was cover his little daughter's eyes...

As that devil suddenly lowered his blade and disappeared.

The memory shattered what remained of his composure.

With a desperate scream...

His hands flew through a series of seals.

"Fire Release!"

"Great Fireball Technique!"

A blazing fireball shot straight toward Sasuke.

Sasuke watched it silently.

His eyes held only disappointment.

Its power...

Wasn't even comparable to the Great Fireball he had secretly practiced by the riverside as a child...

Simply to earn a word of praise from his father.

Lightning chakra surged across Sasuke's palm.

Like a blade...

He split the incoming fireball cleanly in half.

"T-That's impossible..."

Disbelief filled everyone's faces.

Everyone...

Except Izumi.

Sasuke didn't stop moving.

With one hand...

He formed seals.

Then placed his hand before his mouth.

"Fire Release..."

"Great Fireball Technique!"

"W-What?!"

"It's enormous!"

"How can a Fire Release technique be that powerful?!"

"Shinji!"

"Dodge!"

"Shinji!!"

His companions shouted desperately.

But...

Their voices no longer reached Uchiha Shinji's ears.

Compared to the fireball he had just launched...

Sasuke's was more than three times larger.

The blazing inferno rushed directly toward him.

Scorching heat slammed into his face.

The enormous flames completely filled his vision.

His body...

Forgot how to move.

Facing the gigantic fireball that was almost upon him...

Only then did regret flood Shinji's heart.

He regretted ignoring the Chief's orders.

He regretted secretly returning.

And most of all...

If he died here...

Who would take care of his daughter?

Whoosh—

At the very last moment...

The fireball stopped.

It halted directly before him.

As though Sasuke had known from the beginning...

That he would neither retreat...

Nor advance.

The intense heat washed across Shinji's face.

Then...

The flames gradually vanished.

Only then did Shinji collapse onto the ground.

Covered in cold sweat.

Panting heavily.

His eyes remained fixed on Sasuke.

As someone who also knew the Great Fireball Technique...

He understood exactly what had happened.

The fireball hadn't disappeared on its own.

Its caster had deliberately dispelled it.

And...

Stopping it with such perfect precision...

Could only mean one thing.

Sasuke had mastered the Uchiha Clan's signature technique to absolute perfection.

"...Monster..."

Just that single display...

Had completely shattered every remaining ounce of courage among the surrounding Uchiha.

Their own Sharingan had witnessed every detail.

That one Great Fireball alone...

Had proven the absolute gap between them.

If Sasuke truly wanted them dead...

They would've been killed in an instant.

One by one...

The Uchiha lowered their weapons.

Their expressions became complicated as they silently awaited Sasuke's judgment.

Seeing that...

The final hesitation in Sasuke's heart disappeared.

He had reached his decision.

"Sister Izumi..."

"I'm sorry."

He looked toward the silent Izumi, who hadn't spoken since the confrontation began.

Then calmly gave her his answer.

"My belief..."

"The Uchiha name I carry..."

"...doesn't belong here."

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