I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

While Sasuke remained silent, Naruto created a black rod and pierced Itachi's body.

Even though Itachi Uchiha possessed Kage-level strength, he couldn't even walk like a normal person due to the restrictions imposed by the black rods, let alone commit suicide.

Of course, even if Itachi Uchiha manages to commit suicide, Naruto will resurrect him using Edo Tensei and hand him over to Shisui Uchiha.

After the battle between the Uchiha brothers ended, Nagato, Orochimaru, and others came over. Nagato's attention was focused on the black rods that restricted Itachi's movements; these were weapons that could only be created by those who had mastered Yin-Yang Release.

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto possessed strength surpassing his peak.

For the entire ninja world, this was a good thing; finally, someone could deal with Uchiha Madara and his Eye of the Moon Plan. But for Nagato, his feelings were very bitter and complicated.

Orochimaru was increasingly looking forward to his collaboration with Naruto, who alone was enough for him to study for several years.

Kisame, who had been silent all along, looked at Itachi, who had lost his sight, and with Naruto's tacit permission, came to Itachi's side: "Itachi-san, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay by your side anymore."

"This is the fate I deserve..."

Itachi lowered his head and said that he himself intended to atone with his death, but Naruto's words meant that he wanted the clansmen to judge him, and he didn't know how to face the clansmen who had lost their loved ones.

If I can't handle this myself, I'm afraid I'll drag Sasuke down with me.

After Kisame and Itachi finished their chat, everyone's attention turned to Kisame. Kisame was the only one of the masked man's subordinates who had not participated in the battle, and also the only ninja who did not have much connection with the other ninjas present.

After a pause, Naruto looked at Kisame and said, "Kisame, would you like me to send you back to Kirigakure to work under Hozuki Mangetsu, or would you like to stay in my Uzushio Village and become colleagues with Nagato and Konan?"

Kisame stood there, stunned; he hadn't yet figured out his future.

Upon seeing this, Naruto lost interest in chatting with Kisame and said to Nagato, "Nagato, Kisame was originally a member of your Akatsuki organization, so you should continue to manage him."

Nagato nodded slightly; he had little objection to this approach.

Aside from his obedience to Obito, Kisame is really hard to fault. He is one of the few normal people among the Akatsuki's rogue ninjas. His characteristics are that he is a very ninja and very obedient.

Kisame had no objections and stood silently behind Nagato, as if he had rediscovered the meaning of life.

……

A dozen minutes later, Naruto and the others returned to the inn in the town.

After witnessing the battle between the brothers and the masked man's defeat, Orochimaru lost interest in staying any longer. He simply said goodbye to Naruto and disappeared into the night.

However, Orochimaru's trip was not without its rewards; he collected a considerable amount of blood from the ninjas he had fought with.

The only regret is that Naruto wasn't injured at all. All the other ninjas combined are not as valuable for research as Naruto. But he also understands that if Naruto wanted to, he wouldn't be able to collect even a single cell or tissue.

This is the perfect immortal of Ryuchi Cave's control over the earth, a realm he has always dreamed of.

After a while, Nagato knocked on Naruto's door. After receiving permission, he appeared in front of Naruto and, after a few words, said, "Naruto, when do you plan to go and deal with Uchiha Madara?"

Two days later, Nagato brought up Madara Uchiha again.

After realizing that the Eye of the Moon project was a hoax, he was eager to stop the conspiracy.

Naruto glanced at Nagato and asked a question that seemed unrelated: "Nagato, how do you plan to stop Madara Uchiha? What kind of person do you think Madara Uchiha is?"

Naruto's question touched on a blind spot in Nagato's knowledge, and he fell silent.

How could he know what kind of person Madara Uchiha was? He only learned about Madara Uchiha a few days ago.

Naruto didn't keep them in suspense. He picked up the hot milk and said, "Uchiha Madara is an extremely arrogant ninja. He is even more arrogant than you, who once called yourself a god. Ordinary people's talk-no-jutsu is useless against such a ninja."

"We must shatter his confidence with absolute strength when he is at his peak in order to completely defeat him!"

"Otherwise, even if you tell Madara Uchiha that the Eye of the Moon Plan is fake, he will still believe it and insist on implementing the Eye of the Moon Plan."

"Moreover, the most crucial element of the Eye of the Moon Project is not Madara Uchiha and the Rinnegan, but also Black Zetsu."

Chapter 284 Itachi Uchiha and the Uchiha

"Black Zetsu, Zetsu?"

Nagato was clearly taken aback. He couldn't imagine that the person Naruto considered the most dangerous was not himself, not Obito, and not Madara Uchiha, but Zetsu, who was practically nonexistent in the Akatsuki organization.

Naruto smiled and continued, "Nagato, I once told you that most of the White Zetsu controlled by Obito originated from humans who were affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi a thousand years ago. But have you ever wondered why there have been no records of White Zetsu in the past thousand years? Where did they all go?"

"Who controlled them before Obito did?"

"It's Black Zetsu!" Nagato blurted out, then was startled by his own words.

If Black Zetsu has truly lived in the ninja world for over a thousand years, he is indeed more terrifying than Obito and Madara Uchiha. No one knows how many arrangements Black Zetsu has made in those thousand years, or how many trump cards he still holds.

It's likely that Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha were merely pawns of Black Zetsu.

After seeing Nagato out of the room, Naruto wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and looked out at the pitch-black night view, momentarily lost in thought.

For him, stopping Madara Uchiha from collecting the Tailed Beasts was not a difficult task.

Defeating Madara Uchiha was easy, but finding him was quite difficult. He also didn't know the movements of the tailed beasts in Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and the Seven-Tails of Tsurugakure had already been captured by Madara Uchiha.

Instead of aimlessly searching for Uchiha Madara, it would be better to wait for him to come to us.

Moreover, his greatest enemies are not Madara Uchiha, but Isshiki, who is currently hiding in some unknown dimension, and the Sage of Six Paths, who is high above him.

If necessary, he would also consider collecting the nine tailed beasts and becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

According to the memories left by Urashiki, the fighting power of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was not weak in the Otsutsuki main family, so Madara Uchiha's actions were, to some extent, a way of collecting tailed beasts for him.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails and the other tailed beasts within him and began his daily training.

The next morning.

This remote town in the Land of Fire welcomed new guests: Shisui and Naruto's strongest shadow clones appeared on the first floor of the inn, carrying the Dragon Vein Core.

Naruto carefully put away the Dragon Vein Core and shook his head to himself.

He originally planned to stay in Konoha for a while longer, but plans can't keep up with changes. Obito and Black Zetsu resurrected Madara Uchiha ahead of schedule, forcing him to leave Konoha and take Nagato, Konan, and Kisame as his subordinates.

Next, he could only return to Uzushio Village with Nagato and the others, as well as Kakashi and Sasuke.

Shisui, who had just arrived, was also very confused. He had only been away from Konoha for a few days, so how did the leader of Akatsuki join Uzushio Village? Menma-sama truly lived up to his name; his strength was unfathomable.

However, Shisui was more concerned about Sasuke's victory over Itachi Uchiha.

Upon seeing Itachi Uchiha with his eyes wrapped in bandages and hearing the details of the battle between Sasuke and Itachi, Shisui's expression turned extremely solemn. He had many things he wanted to say to Itachi Uchiha, but in the end, they all turned into a sigh.

He didn't know what he was feeling—hatred, anger, or pity for his once close friend.

However, Shisui strongly agreed that Itachi Uchiha should be tried by the entire clan, and that all Uchiha members should participate in this matter, with no one allowed to be absent.

……

A few days later, Naruto and his group arrived in the Land of Whirlpools.

Compared to a few months ago, the Land of Whirlpools has become much more prosperous. What was once just a small fishing village has now transformed into a thriving metropolis, with neat and orderly roads and towering skyscrapers reaching into the clouds.

This made Kakashi and Sasuke, who had only ever seen low-rise houses, feel like country bumpkins visiting the city.

They originally thought the Land of Fire was the wealthiest place in the ninja world.

Looking at the rosy-cheeked people of the Land of Whirlpools, Nagato couldn't help but think of the emaciated commoners back home.

Under Nagato and Konan's rule, the Land of Rain didn't starve, but the food wasn't very oily or flavorful. This was due to the land's environment, as the Land of Rain wasn't suitable for farming or animal husbandry.

It is naturally incomparable to Uzushio Village, which possesses the lands of waves, whirlpools, and rivers and enjoys the advantage of maritime trade.

According to Nagato's inquiries, the reason why Uzushio Village is so wealthy is that it uses chakra for production and has absorbed many ordinary people who are scientific researchers to conduct research in the civilian field.

These experiences helped Nagato and Konan find their direction for the future, but they couldn't return to the Land of Rain for the time being.

Not long after, Naruto and his group arrived at Uzushio Village from the port.

Compared to the port area, this was more like a military stronghold, with strict entry and exit controls and chakra cameras everywhere, making Kakashi and Sasuke somewhat uncomfortable.

Seeing Sasuke's confusion, Naruto smiled and said, "Uzushio Village is a military base, so it's naturally more serious. I've always felt that Konoha's existence is somewhat unreasonable. How can a ninja village that is a military institution live together with ordinary people?"

"A ninja village should be a place where orders are strictly obeyed, and interference from other factors is absolutely not allowed."

After leading the group to the military area, Naruto first had his shadow clones stay behind to introduce Uzushio Village to Nagato and the others, and then his main body led Sasuke and the others to the neighborhood where the Uchiha clan was gathered.

Seeing the familiar house number and the surname Uchiha, Sasuke felt a slight lump in his throat.

Seven years have passed since the Uchiha Night, and he is finally able to see his clansmen.

At this moment, the ninjas in the Uchiha settlement also noticed Naruto and Shisui. After greeting Naruto, they noticed Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha in a wheelchair, and their eyes showed confusion.

"Lord Shisui, who are those two?"

Shisui took a deep breath and then said, "This is Sasuke, and the one in the wheelchair is Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke defeated Uchiha Itachi and brought him back."

Upon hearing the name Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha ninja's expression immediately darkened, only relaxing somewhat after hearing that Uchiha Itachi had been defeated.

Like Madara Uchiha decades ago, Itachi Uchiha's name was also a taboo within the clan. The former led to the Uchiha being targeted by Konoha, while the latter even turned the knife against his own clan.

"Lord Shisui!" The Uchiha ninja was about to say something when Shisui stopped him with a gesture.

Then, Shisui looked at Sasuke and Naruto behind him and said, "Mikoto's residence is not far ahead. I have some matters to attend to within the clan, so I'll have to excuse myself for now."

Sasuke and Itachi roughly guessed why Shisui had left, but with their mother just a short distance ahead, they had no time to think about anything else and only wanted to see Uchiha Mikoto as soon as possible.

Chapter 285 Izanami

Soon, Mikoto, who had just returned from grocery shopping, noticed Naruto standing at the door, as well as the brothers Sasuke and Itachi.

The familiar faces startled Mikoto for a moment. Then, as if doubting she was under a genjutsu, she chanted "release" a few times before excitedly asking, "Sasuke, Itachi, is that you?"

Sasuke nodded. He had imagined this scene countless times in his dreams.

Upon seeing his mother in person, he underestimated his excitement and hesitated whether to rush into her arms, but shame dispelled the thought.

At that moment, Mikoto noticed that Itachi's eyes were covered by bandages, and hesitated before saying, "Lord Menma, thank you so much for sparing Itachi's life. Thank you so much."

Naruto shook his head: "Aunt Mikoto, Itachi was defeated by Sasuke. How you Uchiha deal with this traitor is none of my business. However, if the traitor is not punished, it will breed more betrayals."

After saying that, Naruto left Mikoto's house, not intending to disturb Sasuke Uchiha's family reunion.

After Naruto left, Sasuke let down his guard and squatted down next to Mikoto like a child, explaining to her what had happened over the years, and how he finally found and defeated Itachi Uchiha.

After hearing this, Mikoto remained silent for a long time before saying, "Sasuke, are you planning to join Uzushio Village this time, or will you continue to stay in Konoha as a ninja? Be bold, whatever decision you make, Mom will support you."

"I don't plan to stay in Uzushio Village, nor do I plan to stay in Konoha."

Sasuke seemed to have made up his mind and said, "If Naruto can build a ninja village from scratch, then I can also build a village, a village where only we Uchiha exist."

Mikoto frowned: "Then Sasuke, you'll have to find a few more girls to directly establish an Uchiha clan."