Chapter 244: Naruto – My Dream Is to Give Sasuke the Coolest Funeral

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in horror, his face filled with shock. "Crap, I really am about to give Sasuke a flashy funeral!" 

Naruto spoke with a mix of excitem— grief. Deep sorrow. Definitely sorrow. 

Kurama sighed. "If I didn't know you trusted Itachi, I'd think you were completely heartless." 

"Nonsense. My heart is perfectly fine," Naruto replied calmly. 

The massive Rasengan above his head faded away as Naruto slowly landed beside Itachi. 

Itachi's cold gaze remained on Urashiki, who was still impaled on the sword. Chakra quietly swirled around him. "Thanks for creating this chance for me, Naruto." 

Naruto shook his head, his face serious. "I wanted to save Sasuke too." 

Itachi turned to look at Naruto, his expression unreadable. He seemed like he wanted to say something but hesitated and stayed silent. 

The enormous blade had pierced through his chest, but Urashiki didn't seem to feel any pain. He turned his head, looking at the towering Susano'o behind him, before finally setting his gaze on Itachi. "Heh… this isn't my body anyway. So your dear little brother can take this wound for me." 

Urashiki let out a cold laugh as his breath started to fade. The Otsutsuki markings on Sasuke's body also began to retract. 

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "He's retreating into the Kāma." 

Itachi didn't respond. He just continued to stare at Urashiki coldly. 

The next second, Urashiki's expression twisted in fear. His voice trembled with disbelief. "No… this isn't possible! Something's freezing my soul!" 

At that moment, both Urashiki and Naruto turned to Itachi, eyes filled with shock. 

Itachi finally spoke in a calm voice, "The Totsuka Blade—one of the Kusanagi Swords. It's a legendary weapon. In terms of raw power, it's not as strong as other Kusanagi Swords, but its ability is so dangerous that even I hesitate to use it." 

Naruto stared at the glowing red blade extending from Susanoo's gourd, his face filled with shock. "Sealing!" 

"That's right," Itachi nodded. "The Totsuka Blade's power is based on sealing. It traps its target in an illusion of eternal drunkenness. It's both a sealing technique and a Genjutsu. People call my Mangekyou Sharingan the strongest in terms of Genjutsu—not because of Tsukuyomi." 

"It's because of… the Totsuka Blade!" 

Itachi's voice turned cold, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "Just so you know, the Totsuka Blade can seal souls. I originally planned to use it to remove the curse mark on Sasuke and seal Orochimaru away. But after the battle, I realized… Orochimaru's curse mark had already disappeared." 

"I thought the Totsuka Blade would be useless after that, but I didn't expect it to have another use." 

Naruto swallowed hard and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "Itachi-san… don't tell me Sasuke's entire growth was part of your plan all along?" 

Itachi narrowed his eyes and chuckled. "No. The power of the Six Paths was something I didn't foresee." 

In other words, if Naruto hadn't taken Sasuke back to the time of the Sage of Six Paths, then everything about Sasuke's growth—including the curse mark left by Orochimaru—would have been completely within Itachi's calculations. 

Naruto swallowed again. 

Above them, Urashiki, who was trapped by the Totsuka Blade, stared in disbelief. "Impossible! How could you lowly creatures possess a technique that affects the soul?" 

Once again, these "lowly creatures" had shown him something that left him completely stunned. 

Itachi controlled Susanoo, slowly pulling back the Totsuka Blade. As the blade retracted, a white figure was drawn out from Sasuke's body, like a layer of pale skin being peeled away. 

"In fact, one of the techniques I know—'Reaper Death Seal'—could also seal you away permanently." 

"Reaper Death Seal!" 

Naruto's expression darkened. He had heard about this technique countless times— from his father, his mother, from Kurama, and even Kakashi-sensei had mentioned it before. 

Itachi glanced at Naruto but said nothing. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Urashiki, who had been extracted from Sasuke. 

"I don't know how to use the Reaper Death Seal, so the Totsuka Blade is the best option." 

Originally, the Totsuka Blade was meant to deal with Orochimaru. After the previous battle, Itachi had thought it was no longer useful. Now, being able to rid Sasuke of this problem was an unexpected bonus. 

"I won't accept this!" Urashiki howled toward the sky. 

He had barely appeared in this era, only to be mocked by Naruto and then immediately extracted from his vessel. Damn it! 

But no matter how much he screamed, he couldn't change the fact that he was being sealed. As the glowing red blade returned to the gourd, a normal-looking Sasuke was released from it, his body falling toward the ground. 

Naruto rushed forward and caught him just in time. Looking at the unconscious and prideful Sasuke in his arms, he let out a deep sigh. 

A moment later, another thud echoed. Naruto turned in surprise—only to see Itachi collapse onto the ground with a faint smile. His eyes were open, staring at the sky, but the light in them had already faded. 

The rain began to fall, dripping onto the faces of both Sasuke and Itachi, tracing down their cheeks like silent tears. 

The battlefield was a complete mess. The buildings beneath them had crumbled into ruins, and the surrounding forest had suffered heavy damage, losing its once-thriving appearance. Above them, the sky was covered in thick, dark clouds, with not a single ray of light breaking through. 

From a distance, Naruto suddenly spoke. "The sun… has set." 

… 

"You know, that line would be more fitting if you said it at Sasuke's grave," someone muttered. "Like, after the funeral, when you're standing there alone, staring at his tombstone in silence, waiting for everyone to leave, and—" 

"Say that again when the time is right, then turn around and walk away." 

When Sasuke woke up, that was the first thing he heard. 

Judging by the sarcastic tone, it had to be Kurama. 

Without even looking, Sasuke sat up slowly and said, "That idiot Naruto probably loves that line. I think I should try it at his funeral. He'd probably think it looks really cool." 

Kurama crouched in the pouring rain, his face full of regret. "So you're still alive, huh?" 

"I won't let you guys mess around at my funeral, so don't worry. I'll make sure I die after all of you," Sasuke said as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the massive Kurama looming over him. "Then I'll go to your funerals and mess around instead." 

Sitting nearby, Naruto was a little tempted. That scene really would look cool. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're awake, Sasuke." 

Sasuke gave a small nod and looked around. 

Kakashi sat nearby, looking exhausted. Judging by his worn-out state, he must have been through a fierce battle. 

Naruto was sitting close by, a fire burning in front of him. Across from him was Sakura, and next to her lay a barely breathing ninja. Based on the uniform, they were Anbu—probably the one who had been following them from Konohagakure all along. 

Then Sasuke turned his gaze to the person lying right next to him—Itachi, his face still carrying a gentle smile. 

Sasuke stared at his brother's lifeless body, falling into silence. 

Naruto saw this and couldn't bring himself to smile. "I'm sorry, Sasuke… Even with the Sage of Six Paths' power and Sakura's help, we still…" 

"It's fine," Sasuke replied softly. 

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi all looked at him with concern, but Sasuke actually let out a quiet laugh. "He never planned on surviving anyway." 

"Sasuke…" Kakashi hesitated, wanting to say something, but Sasuke cut him off before he could continue. 

With an oddly serious expression, Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura. "Sakura, in this situation, can you perform an eye transplant?" 

Kurama narrowed his eyes but stayed silent. 

Naruto immediately sensed that something was off about Sasuke. He exchanged a look with Kurama, and they both became serious at the same time. 

Sakura also noticed something strange, but she nodded lightly. "Yes. And with Naruto's healing power from the Sage of Six Paths, I can complete the surgery within ten minutes and make sure your eyes are fully usable right after." 

"Then I'll leave it to you." Sasuke gave Sakura a slight bow. 

Kakashi opened his mouth but ended up just letting out a long sigh. 

And just like that, the eye transplant was casually decided. Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on restoring his energy. 

Under Sakura's anesthesia, Sasuke fell asleep again. When he woke up ten minutes later, his eyes… would have evolved.