Chapter 271: Rivals, Through and Through

Double Chapter Drop Today, thank you all for supporting this novel. 

Please do send in your power stones I might be doing more of these ;)

......

"When did you awaken your Mangekyō Sharingan?" Natsuro glanced at Sasuke, who looked a little worse for wear.

His Uchiha clan robe, bearing the clan emblem on his back, was now covered in dust and dirt, though not torn.

This meant that, even against Itachi, Sasuke hadn't been pushed to his absolute limit. And it made sense. Natsuro had been monitoring the battle using his sensory abilities.

At no point had he felt Sage Mode, meaning Sasuke never needed to use it to win.

Still, Sasuke's face and chest were stained with blood, not from external wounds, but from his own eyes bleeding due to the strain of using his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"The day I received Itachi's letter." Sasuke didn't hide anything.

"I see. Then congratulations on taking a different path from the rest of the Uchiha." Natsuro smiled, a trace of admiration in his voice.

Sasuke smiled as well. Then, his expression grew serious. "Natsuro, Itachi told me some things you should know as well."

Natsuro nodded. "There's no rush. You need rest first. Tell me when you're ready."

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

He turned his gaze toward Itachi's body and said "Natsuro, can you seal Itachi's body for me?"

Natsuro raised an eyebrow. "Not laying him to rest?"

"His body… might still be useful." Sasuke's voice faltered slightly.

Deep inside, he was struggling with the thought of using Itachi's eyes.

What Itachi had said was true, power itself is neither good nor evil.

And Sasuke wasn't wrong for killing Itachi. Using his brother's eyes to gain greater strength wasn't wrong either.

Yet, right now, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Alright." Natsuro nodded, pulling out sealing materials and sealing Itachi's body inside a scroll before handing it to Sasuke.

"I don't know what you plan to do with it. But as long as you don't betray yourself, that's all that matters." In truth, Natsuro wasn't too concerned about Sasuke obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

If necessary, he could always implant Hashirama's cells around Sasuke's eyes.

Did an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan really surpass a normal Mangekyō that much?

Obito never even unlocked an Eternal Mangekyō, yet he still became extremely powerful, even achieving a Full-Body Susanoo without one.

Of course, that could be attributed to his Six Paths power, but… Sasuke wasn't far off either. As Indra's reincarnation, he already had a great chance of unlocking Full-Body Susanoo.

A normal Mangekyō could be strengthened through constant training if it weren't for the risk of blindness, its power might not even fall behind an Eternal Mangekyō.

And that blindness? Hashirama's cells could fix that.

So in the end, an Eternal Mangekyō only provided permanent power.

Whereas a regular Mangekyō was like a high-powered, time-limited experience card.

"Mm." Sasuke took the scroll and, at that moment, finally allowed himself to relax.

With Natsuro here, he no longer had to stay on guard.

The next second, his vision blurred. Then he collapsed.

Sasuke had known this would happen.

Even though he had seen Itachi use Susanoo before, that was just observing from the outside.

Actually unlocking and figuring out his own Susanoo in just a few days was incredibly difficult.

What he had used in battle wasn't just the skeletal Susanoo, he had forced himself to push further, bringing out a much more advanced form.

That had drained his chakra and ocular power immensely.

So passing out wasn't surprising.

Natsuro caught Sasuke's unconscious body, momentarily startled.

After checking him over he realized Sasuke wasn't seriously injured.

This was simply an extreme case of overusing his Sharingan.

Thinking back to Sasuke's Susanoo, Natsuro nodded in understanding.

Looking around, he saw that the masked man and Black Zetsu had already left.

There was no reason to stay here anymore. Activating Flying Thunder God, Natsuro teleported back to Konoha, carrying Sasuke with him.

...

Konoha Hospital

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.

The moment his vision returned, he noticed a brief blurriness before it cleared up again.

"This… is the blindness Itachi warned me about."

Even though he had only used the Mangekyō once, it had been an extreme case of overuse.

His ocular power had been heavily drained.

Looking around, he immediately recognized his surroundings.

Konoha's hospital.

He had been here before.

But then, why was Naruto here?

Sitting right beside him. Eating from a fruit basket. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"Mm! Sasuke, you're finally awake!" Naruto's voice was cheerful, but because he had been mid-bite, he accidentally swallowed a whole chunk of apple and immediately began choking. Clutching his throat, his face turned red as he struggled to breathe.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. Why is this idiot still like this? Isn't he supposed to be a grown-up by now?

Eventually, Sasuke gave in, patting Naruto on the back until he finally coughed out the apple piece.

"Hah… that was close. Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto grinned. "You're the best!"

Sasuke's eye twitched harder.

"I'm the one who's hospitalized here." His voice was strained. "Why does it feel like I'm taking care of you instead?"

"Well, yeah, isn't that obvious?" Naruto scratched his head, not understanding why Sasuke had asked such an unnecessary question.

Then, without dwelling on it, he leaned forward, his tone filled with concern. "Sasuke, why are you in the hospital again? Was it a tough mission? Do you need my help?"

"No need. It's already been taken care of." Sasuke replied with a smile.

At that moment, he suddenly felt incredibly light. Looking out the window, the sky seemed clearer than ever, a brilliant shade of blue. Even the once-noisy wind now felt gentle and refreshing.

Naruto, still scratching his head, stared at Sasuke's smile. He couldn't quite put it into words, but something about that smile felt… different.

"You… What's up with you now?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto's troubled expression.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before voicing his thoughts. "I dunno… It's just… your smile feels kinda different. Like, not as..." Naruto folded his arms, struggling to find the right words.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. His smile… changed?

After a brief pause, Sasuke smiled again.

Maybe… Maybe it really had changed.

It was real.

His revenge against Itachi was complete. Of course, he still hadn't finished his true revenge, the masked man was still alive.

But unlike Itachi, Sasuke had no emotional conflict about killing him. If he had the strength, he would have torn that man apart on the spot without a second thought.

In that regard, the masked man could never compare to Itachi.

"Brooding and bitter." Sasuke suddenly spoke, providing Naruto with the missing description.

"That's it! That's exactly what it was!" Naruto snapped his fingers in realization.

Then, Sasuke suddenly asked, "Naruto, do you remember the time Kakashi asked us about our goals?"

"Of course." Naruto nodded.

He still remembered how, back then, he had misunderstood Sasuke's words and thought that he wanted to kill him. It had scared the hell out of him at the time.

"I've already completed part of mine."

Naruto froze for a moment.

He knew that the revival of the Uchiha Clan wasn't happening anytime soon.

Which meant, Sasuke had completed his revenge.

And judging by his hospitalization, this was the cost of that revenge.

After a long silence, Naruto finally smiled."Congratulations."

"Mm." Sasuke nodded.

Then, his gaze turned to Naruto. "And what about your goal?"

Naruto grinned confidently.

"I'm definitely gonna make it happen!" His voice was filled with unwavering determination.

Sasuke smirked. "That's not guaranteed. Maybe I'll become Hokage first."

Naruto's eyes lit up with fire.

"Then we'll just have to compete!" He clenched his fists.

"I won't lose to you, Sasuke!"

Sasuke scoffed lightly. "Hmph."

But he didn't deny it.

One More Chapter Coming out Today...

If you want to read more...

Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 326 - The Ryuuchi Cave and A Surpising New Cast