Chapter 308: A Resonance of Sharingans & Urashiki's Arrival

Adult Sasuke was still thinking, what memories should he show to the younger Sasuke? After all, he didn't know exactly which experiences they had in common and which were different.

However, there was one arc he was sure young Sasuke hadn't experienced: since this Sasuke never went to Orochimaru, it was clear their timelines had diverged there. So, adult Sasuke chose to begin with the Chūnin Exams.

It wasn't that he didn't want to share everything, just that it would take too much time. Even though time inside a genjutsu passed faster than in reality, viewing his entire life would still take several days.

And in that time, Urashiki Ōtsutsuki could already have made his move.

So, adult Sasuke selectively revealed parts of his memory to young Sasuke.

As young Sasuke watched, starting from the Chūnin Exams, he felt like he was seeing an alternate version of himself. Though there were differences, the person in those memories was undeniably still "him."

He observed closely and noticed: the Sasuke in the vision was colder, more arrogant.

That Sasuke often called Naruto "dead last," whereas in this world, Naruto, while not academically strong, wasn't the worst. In fact, after Natsuro graduated early, Naruto had been the strongest in their class physically.

As he continued watching, young Sasuke's brows furrowed.

Unknowingly, he had activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

And more strangely, his ocular power surged forth and began to resonate with that of the adult Sasuke.

At that moment, he completely believed the man in front of him.Because their chakra, and even their ocular energy, was identical.The only difference was intensity.

Feeling the shift in his Sharingan, he told adult Sasuke what was happening.

The older Sasuke frowned, he hadn't expected this.

Since the genjutsu world was built from his chakra, and their Mangekyō powers were so similar, some kind of feedback loop was occurring.

"Let it flow naturally," he said. "Maybe it's not a bad thing."

Young Sasuke nodded and let his chakra merge with the older version's. Two identical ocular powers. The same frequency and same wavelength but from two different people. What would happen when they fused?

Suddenly, Sasuke noticed a change: the illusion around him became more vivid, more detailed.

More surprisingly, his vision changed to that of a newborn baby being brought into the world.

Normally, genjutsu only created scenes based on the user's memories. But no one remembered their own birth. So how was this possible?

It had to be the result of their ocular fusion.

And Sasuke could now feel it: not only could he see adult Sasuke's memories, adult Sasuke could now see his as well.

Still, he didn't resist. If the other Sasuke was willing to share, he'd share too.

He fast-forwarded through his early years, things neither of them cared to revisit, and paused once they reached the Academy.

Sure enough, in the classroom... there was no Natsuro.

Sasuke went silent.

He continued watching: graduation, Team 7, the Land of Waves mission, Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru's curse mark, the traumatic encounter with Itachi, defection from Konoha, time with Orochimaru, the final battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End, joining Akatsuki, hunting the Eight-Tails...

It was a lonely, painful life.

This Sasuke had gained strength through isolation. Not because no one helped him, but because the help was never enough.

Kakashi's failure against Orochimaru, Orochimaru's fear of Itachi... All of it pushed him down the darkest path.

Eventually, the playback stopped. Adult Sasuke had only shared up to that point, he didn't want to show future events, and young Sasuke respected that. After all, some things were best experienced firsthand.

They both emerged from the genjutsu at the same time.

Adult Sasuke turned toward him with a bitter smile."...I'm honestly a little jealous of you."

Young Sasuke nodded silently. There was no need to console him. This version of him had already walked through those flames and come out whole.

And now, he understood just how much Natsuro had changed his life.

"It's getting late. We should head out," adult Sasuke said.

"Yeah." Sasuke agreed, and moved to withdraw his chakra and froze.

Adult Sasuke's face also changed.

Because somehow, their ocular powers had completely merged.

They were now so intertwined that it was impossible to tell whose chakra was whose.

After exchanging glances, they began retrieving their own energy. Not that it mattered much anymore, their chakra was the same.

Then came the real shock.

Sasuke raised a hand to his bleeding right eye.

"Amaterasu."

Pitch-black flames ignited on the ground nearby.

He continued watching the flames, and soon, they began changing shape. That was the power of Kagutsuchi.

He smiled, wiping the blood from his eye, hardly able to believe it.

It was true.

He could now use the Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.

He turned to adult Sasuke."Looks like I got your abilities."

Adult Sasuke nodded. "And I got yours. Although… I don't think I can use your Tsukuyomi quite like you do. At most, it's just a basic version."

That made sense. Sasuke's Tsukuyomi was unique to his experiences. Even if adult Sasuke had seen those memories, he hadn't lived them, so he couldn't replicate the same emotional effect.

Still, this was a massive win for young Sasuke. He had gained two Mangekyō abilities, and had even partially unlocked higher stages of Susanoo.

He couldn't form the full-body version yet, but he was getting there.

He was beaming.

And then, "Awake already?" Natsuro appeared at the edge of the training field.

"Huh? Natsuro—we were asleep?" Sasuke blinked, startled.

Adult Sasuke also looked surprised. He suddenly realized… had Urashiki shown up while they were unconscious?!

"You've been out for around three days," Natsuro said casually."But relax, Urashiki hasn't shown up yet."

"It was the ANBU who reported to me that you skipped your duties," Natsuro said, "so I came to the Uchiha compound and saw you two in some strange state. But it seemed like a good thing, so I didn't disturb you, nor let anyone else disturb you."

Both Sasuke and the older Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. Then Sasuke explained what had happened during their ocular fusion.

"That really happened?" Natsuro was a little surprised.

This was the first time he'd heard that Mangekyō Sharingan powers could be added through fusion. But he figured it must be a special case.

Under normal conditions, even if someone were to transplant Mangekyō Sharingan, they wouldn't gain extra abilities. Transplanting the eyes of a close relative might upgrade the eyes to Eternal Mangekyō, but not add new powers.

Replacing them with regular Mangekyō would overwrite your old abilities with the new ones.

So, the truth was, Mangekyō abilities were determined at the moment of awakening, and could not be "respecced" later. This kind of event, like what just happened, was practically a miracle.

"Sharingan really is something magical," Natsuro mused.

Both Sasukes nodded.

Just then, two stomachs grumbled loudly. Natsuro looked over at them, amused.

Sasuke and the older Sasuke both looked a bit embarrassed.

"Heh, well, you two haven't eaten in three days. Let's go, my treat. We'll head to Choji's family barbecue place," Natsuro said with a smile.

Neither Sasuke had any objections.

Soon, at Choji's family restaurant, Natsuro looked around at the huge crowd and felt a little helpless…

On the way over, he'd run into Ino-Shika-Cho returning from training, who were planning to eat at the BBQ place. Naruto and Boruto naturally got invited too, and then somehow, everyone showed up.

The full Konoha 12, plus the two time travelers and Natsuro himself. Fifteen people in total.

Even as Hokage, Natsuro sighed, this meal was going to be expensive.

First, the older Sasuke and Boruto were introduced to the Konoha 12. Boruto could use his real name, but the older Sasuke used an alias (not that he minded).

Boruto took the opportunity to sneak glances at the Konoha 12, mentally comparing each of them to his future-era comrades.

"Sensei Sasuke, Konoha is really different now compared to the future," Boruto said quietly to the older Sasuke.

Over the past few days, Naruto had been taking him around to see the village, and eat everything, so Boruto suspected his weight had already gone up.

"I know," older Sasuke replied.

"Huh? You were sightseeing too? But I didn't see you anywhere…" Boruto asked curiously.

"I learned in a different way," Sasuke replied, glancing at Boruto. He'd absorbed it all straight from young Sasuke's memories, after all.

Looking at the smiling faces of the Konoha 12, seeing how Sasuke and Naruto had both integrated into the group…

A smile tugged at his lips.It had been a long time since he'd seen the Konoha 12 looking this young. It felt strange, and kind of nice.

"This really… is pretty great," he thought.

"Hey, Natsuro, you're using shadow clones to work again, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked with a grin.

Natsuro nodded.

"Knew it. You've been doing that since class. My poor old man's still toiling away in the Hokage office…" Shikamaru smirked knowingly.

"Well, even as Hokage, you can't stop leveling up," Natsuro replied.

"Jeez… You're already strong enough. I don't know why you're always so obsessed with getting stronger…" Shikamaru muttered.

"Do you really need a reason to grow stronger?" Natsuro raised an eyebrow. He might've started down this path to prepare for the Fourth Great War, but by now, he was kind of addicted to the process.

That feeling of tangible improvement… he was hooked.

"Maybe not… Guess that's why you're so powerful," Shikamaru muttered.

"Anyway, when are you going to take over for your dad? I can assign you a position now if you'd like," Natsuro asked.

"Nooo thanks. Spare me. I'm not ready to dive into the grave known as 'career life' just yet," Shikamaru said lazily, waving it off.

"I'll be sure to pass that along to your dad," Natsuro said, smirking.

"…Tch. You win." Shikamaru chomped aggressively into a piece of grilled meat, like he was trying to get his money's worth out of revenge.

Ino sat beside them, smiling gently at the exchange.

After dinner, the group began to split off.

Natsuro and Ino walked hand in hand, strolling through the village. Along the way, he greeted passersby warmly.

As the Sixth Hokage, he was well-known, most villagers recognized him immediately.

"We haven't gone on a walk like this in a long time, have we?" Natsuro asked.

"Yeah… Every time we do, too many people recognize us. That's why we stopped," Ino replied.

"Let's find a quieter time next time. By the way, how's your mom doing?" Natsuro asked.

"I had Tsunade-sensei check her. She's in great health. So even though she's a bit older now, this pregnancy shouldn't be dangerous as long as we're careful," Ino said with a soft smile, clearly looking forward to gaining a younger sibling.

"Good," Natsuro nodded. After a moment of thought, he suddenly vanished with Ino from the village.

"Where are we…?" Ino looked around in surprise at the change in scenery.

"Kumo, the Land of Lightning," Natsuro grinned. "This time, no one's going to recognize us."

"You're seriously skipping work just to come all the way here?" Ino laughed, half exasperated.

"Hey, I'm not skipping. My shadow clone's still back there doing all the paperwork. Besides, spending time with you is official business," Natsuro said.

Ino didn't argue anymore. Instead, she clutched his hand tighter and looked around with bright eyes.

They strolled through the unfamiliar sights and sounds of Kumo, happily immersed in each other's company.

....

Above a forest in Konoha, a sudden burst of light appeared out of nowhere in the sky.

As the light faded, a strangely dressed figure emerged.

His skin was extremely pale, almost as if he suffered from albinism. He had long blue hair tied up in a high ponytail.

From head to toe, he stood out. A single horn shaped like a forehead protector protruded from one side of his head, while the other side seemed as if something had forcibly broken off the counterpart. Just beneath his horn, two circular marks adorned his forehead. His eyes bore a strong resemblance to the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.

This man was none other than Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.

At that moment, Urashiki sensed the chakra signature of the Nine-Tails from afar, and a smile crept onto his face.

"Yare yare… I didn't expect the plan to get completely disrupted like this. But no matter, the Nine-Tails' chakra will be mine."

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