Chapter 21: Listen to Your Mother and I’ll Be the Best in the School?

The screen lit up again.

Under Kushina's guidance, Naruto followed the winding path into the heart of the Uchiha compound. The air was filled with subtle excitement, and before long, they spotted a spacious estate up ahead.

That was Sasuke's home.

Unlike its usual quiet and solemn atmosphere, today the house was adorned with colorful streamers and paper lanterns. Red-and-white banners fluttered gently at the gates, giving off a festive glow. Laughter and chatter echoed from inside as the whole clan seemed to be gathering.

"Whoa—look at all the people!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled as he stared ahead in awe.

He knew the Uchiha were one of Konoha's most powerful clans, but this was the first time he had seen such a grand occasion firsthand.

Kushina chuckled softly beside him. "The Uchiha are the largest clan in the village. When the clan head hosts a banquet, everyone comes out to celebrate."

Naruto nodded slowly, taking it all in.

At the entrance to the courtyard stood two people greeting guests. One was a slender youth, the other noticeably taller. The late morning sun made it hard to see their faces clearly from a distance.

Naruto tilted his head. "Is that Sasuke? The short one, I mean?"

He didn't wait for an answer. "This celebration is probably for him, right? He did just graduate."

But then his gaze shifted to the taller figure standing next to Sasuke.

"…And who's that other guy?"

His curiosity swelled as they continued to approach.

At the same time, small groups of guests were murmuring among themselves near the banquet entrance. Their voices, though hushed, carried through the air.

"I heard that Clan Leader Fugaku is planning to step back from his duties. He might hand over the Chief of Police position to his eldest son."

"Seriously? Isn't he going to announce it today at the banquet?"

"Well, I heard his eldest son awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan recently. Sounds like a double celebration!"

"Fugaku's really blessed. Two outstanding sons!"

"No kidding. The older one's already awakened the Mangekyō, and the younger one graduated second in his class from the Academy. The Uchiha clan's future looks brighter than ever."

The whispers drifted toward Naruto and Kushina as they approached, weaving in and out of Naruto's ears like floating leaves in the wind.

Naruto, walking just ahead of his mother, only caught parts of the conversations. He didn't understand the full meaning of terms like Mangekyō Sharingan or "Chief of Police," but one sentence caught his attention like a thrown shuriken:

"The youngest son graduated with the second-best score in the school…"

"Hmm?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, a puzzled look crossing his face.

"Second in the school?" he muttered under his breath, eyebrows drawing together.

Sasuke?

He frowned slightly, staring into the crowd.

He clearly remembered the graduation rankings. Sasuke had gotten top marks. No question.

"Second place…?"

His thoughts tumbled around in confusion. Where had that come from?

Unable to hold back, he looked up at Kushina. "Mom, did Sasuke only get second place? Then… who got first?"

Kushina blinked, clearly caught off guard.

"Huh?" she said, turning to her son with a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

Who would've thought—

Kushina's eyebrows shot up the very next second. She flicked Naruto's forehead with her finger, her tone turning sharp and motherly.

"You brat! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!"

"Ow—!"

Naruto winced, clutching his forehead as he stumbled back half a step, eyes brimming with injustice.

"Mom! What was that for?!"

He looked up at her, blinking in confusion, genuinely clueless about what he'd done wrong.

Kushina put her hands on her hips, glaring at him like a storm about to break loose.

"Don't give me that look! What kind of tone was that? Asking who the top student was, like it wasn't you! Do you think that's modest? That's called being smug! Who taught you to talk like that?!"

"W-Wait, huh?!" Naruto blinked hard. "Me?! You're saying I was first?!"

He pointed at himself in utter disbelief, mouth hanging open.

"You're joking, right?!"

[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations are captured! Emotional value +200! ]

…

In the Dream Theater audience—

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes and scoff.

"Tch. Naruto's always daydreaming like this…"

In her mind, the idea of Naruto ranking higher than Sasuke was so ridiculous it could only be the fantasy of a brainless show-off.

It was just like Naruto to make himself the star of his own imaginary world.

Kakashi didn't respond. He didn't even glance at Sakura.

His eye was fixed on the screen, expression unreadable, thoughts running deeper than ever.

On the surface, Naruto making himself the top of the class might seem like wishful dreaming—but everything about this dream had already proven too intricate and too real to dismiss as simple fantasy.

There was a strange truth hiding beneath it all.

Kakashi rubbed his chin with one gloved hand, eyes narrowing slightly.

Was there something more to this dream than met the eye?

Meanwhile, Sasuke wasn't paying the slightest attention to Naruto's sudden top-ranking status.

His eyes were fixed on the two figures standing at the entrance to the Uchiha residence on screen.

As Naruto and Kushina drew closer, the blurry outlines of the two people began to sharpen.

One was indeed his younger self.

But the other—

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

One of the figures standing at the gate was indeed the younger version of Uchiha Sasuke—his dream self—politely bowing and greeting arriving guests.

But the person standing beside him…

Sasuke's breath hitched, his entire body going rigid. His gaze locked onto the man's face, as if his very soul was being sucked into the screen.

There, under the warm morning light, stood a young man with jet-black hair tied into a low ponytail. A Konoha forehead protector rested proudly on his brow. His eyes were calm, gentle, and composed, like a still lake untouched by wind.

He wore the traditional Uchiha clan uniform, with the unmistakable red-and-white fan crest emblazoned on his chest.

Elegant features. Serene bearing.

No mistake.

It was him.

Sasuke's pupils shrank sharply. His legs threatened to give out beneath him. It felt like thunder had struck directly through his chest.

Even after all these years—even after the pain, the hatred—Sasuke could recognize that face in an instant.

"…?!"

He made a strangled sound, breath catching as his eyes widened to their limits.

That person… That calm, smiling man welcoming guests beside him in the dream…

Was Uchiha Itachi.

His older brother.

[Ding! Uchiha Sasuke's emotional fluctuations were captured! Emotional value +2000! ]

Sasuke staggered back a step.

"This is impossible!"

His voice cracked and broke with emotion, louder than anyone had ever heard from him before.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen, where his brother—that man—stood casually among family and friends, smiling with warmth and pride as if none of the tragedy had ever happened.

The traitor.

The butcher of their clan.

The murderer of their parents.

And yet here he was—in Naruto's dream—standing in broad daylight, side by side with the Uchiha… greeting guests with the calm dignity of a respected heir.

"No… No! This can't be real!" Sasuke shouted again, fists trembling at his sides.

"Why… why would he be here?!"

His heart pounded violently, his entire world spiraling into chaos.

Sasuke's breath came in ragged gasps. His fists trembled, his shoulders quaked. The pain was raw—far beyond what anyone around him could comprehend.

His voice cracked with emotion as he shouted again, "It's fake! All of it's fake!"

He wanted to believe it was a lie. That the smiling man on the screen wasn't real. That this dream wasn't trying to peel open the wounds he'd buried deep for years.

But his eyes… they betrayed him.

The faint shimmer of crimson bled into his irises, the tomoe of his Sharingan swirling with pain and confusion. It wasn't battle fury. It was grief—pure, suffocating grief.

[Ding! Uchiha Sasuke's emotional fluctuations are captured! Emotional value +1000! ]

In the audience, the silence was thick.

Sakura shrank back, startled and afraid. "S-Sasuke… who is that?"

She looked helplessly between him and the screen, having never seen Sasuke lose control like this. The calm, aloof boy she'd always admired was unraveling before her eyes.

Kakashi stayed quiet.

He didn't answer Sakura's question. He didn't have to.

He knew.

That young man—Uchiha Itachi—meant everything to Sasuke. Love. Hate. Regret. Revenge. All tangled in a single, unreachable figure.

And now, that figure was alive, well, and smiling in Naruto's dream. As if nothing had ever gone wrong.

As if the Uchiha clan had never fallen.

Kakashi finally spoke, his voice low and steady, "Sasuke… I don't know how or why this is happening. But what you're seeing isn't fake."

He turned toward the screen, eyes narrowed.

"There's something about this dream. Something deeper than illusion."

But Sasuke couldn't hear him anymore.

His world was a blur of color and memory. His mind was drowning in a storm of past and present.

The screen continued.

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