Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

"And you, Uchiha Sasuke..."

The middle-aged Sasuke looked at the boy in front of him, who was completely different from himself, at the two swords at his waist that he had never seen before, and at the sharpness that he himself had long lost.

"The road beneath your feet is one we have never seen before."

"For whom will you choose, and what path will you take?"

Sasuke's calm questioning in his middle age was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Young Sasuke lowered his head, his body trembling uncontrollably, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning wildly, almost merging into one.

"I can't tell..."

He suddenly raised his head, his face showing a bewildered look that bordered on madness.

Love and hate... protection and destruction... I can't tell the difference!!!

He seemed to be questioning the man in front of him, or perhaps questioning this absurd world.

"I really..."

"I can't tell the difference—!!!"

With that final, heart-wrenching roar, a chaotic spatial fluctuation erupted from the center of young Sasuke's body.

The scenery around him began to distort violently, like a reflection on the water's surface. His black shihaka uniform and the twin swords at his waist became blurred in this unstable power.

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly, and he instinctively reached out his hand, but it was too late.

The figure enveloped in chaotic energy vanished silently amidst a piercing buzz.

Silence returned to the rooftop once more.

The middle-aged Sasuke stood there quietly alone for a long time before closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh.

A moment later, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

"Got you!"

Boruto leaped off the roof from the other side and landed steadily not far from middle-aged Sasuke, his face filled with undisguised excitement and admiration.

"Seriously, Sasuke-san, you're so fast! I chased you for ages!"

He complained, rushed forward in two strides, stopped abruptly in front of the tall figure, and then bowed deeply in an extremely solemn manner.

"Please accept me as your apprentice!"

The middle-aged Sasuke opened his eyes, his gaze calmly falling on the blond boy in front of him.

That face, that hair color, and that familiar chakra...

"Are you Naruto's son?" he asked.

"Yes!"

Boruto suddenly raised his head, "I am Uzumaki Boruto!"

The middle-aged Sasuke's eyes softened almost imperceptibly for a moment, but quickly returned to calm.

Do you know the Rasengan?

"Rasengan?"

Boruto froze, scratching his head instinctively. "Dad's ninjutsu? I haven't learned it, but..."

As if wanting to show off his talent, he immediately stretched out his hand and said excitedly, "But I can create shadow clones! And three of them at that! Pretty amazing, right!"

However, the middle-aged Sasuke simply shook his head calmly.

"Then you are not qualified to become my disciple."

"Eh?!"

Boruto's smile froze instantly as he stared incredulously at the departing figure. "W-why?! Just because I don't know how to do that Rasengan?! I can learn it! You could have just taught me!"

The middle-aged Sasuke did not stop walking.

"Come find me again when you've learned it."

"..."

Boruto Uzumaki stood there alone, frozen in place.

why?

Why does it have to be that technique called "Rasengan"?

Isn't that the ninja technique of that stinky old man?

A strange sense of resentment and anger surged into his heart in an instant.

"hateful......"

Boruto clenched his fist and slammed it hard onto the roof tile beneath his feet.

"What's so great about it!"

He roared with all his might towards the now empty direction, a roar of defiance that seemed to come from nowhere.

"It's just a Rasengan?! Just you wait and see, Uncle Sasuke!"

Boruto's voice echoed across the empty rooftop, filled with the stubbornness and determination unique to a young man.

"I'll learn Rasengan and all that in no time!"

"You must keep your promise and accept me as your apprentice!"

Chapter 120 If it were the old him, he would have unleashed an Amaterasu even on a roadside stall.

The dizzying sensation of the space being torn apart receded like the tide, replaced by the solid, cold touch beneath my feet.

Sasuke Uchiha appeared at the top of the Hokage Rock, right above the Fourth Hokage's face.

A fierce wind howled, blowing his already tattered shihaka outfit, the hem of which fluttered loudly.

He knelt on one knee, one hand bracing against the rocky ground, breathing heavily, his crimson Sharingan eyes spinning wildly in their sockets.

After a long while, the chaotic pupil energy gradually subsided, returning to a bottomless darkness.

I've calmed down.

He slowly stood up and looked down at the village that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

The conversation with his future self overturned all his understanding, like a nightmare yet terrifyingly real.

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the turmoil of grief and anger surging within him.

lie......

It turns out that everything I had been chasing from beginning to end was just a lie woven with the blood of my loved ones, full of what I thought was "love".

Sasuke's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.

But so what?

He slowly raised his head, his eyes eerily calm.

Even if it was "love," it was a twisted and unforgivable "love" stained with the blood of the Uchiha.

Itachi killed his parents and slaughtered his entire clan with his own hands; this fact will not change for any reason.

He chose that decaying village, betraying the Uchiha clan who gave him birth and raised him.

That sin must be repaid with his life.

Itachi Uchiha should still be killed.

This determination gave his heart, which was almost torn apart by the truth, a new foothold.

But this is not enough.

Sasuke's gaze slowly moved down, landing on the bustling village.

Itachi is nothing more than a sword.

What truly compelled him to wield his sword was this ninja system that was already rotten to the core.

He recalled Aizen Sousuke's profound words on the White Bridge.

The order of this world is too outdated, and too... arrogant.

Even the Soul Society is no different from this world.

They are all the same, a false peace built on lies and sacrifice.

"..."

Sasuke's breath hitched at that moment.

He remembered what his future "self" had said.

But I failed.

This arm is the price I paid for my arrogance.

"fail......"

Sasuke murmured to himself, his gaze once again falling upon the towering Hokage Rock below.

The fifth generation, the sixth generation... and the seventh generation.

That idiot, Naruto Uzumaki.

A hint of understanding flashed in Sasuke's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a cold expression.

It turned out to be the case.

The "me" of the future was defeated by that guy.

He was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki.

So, this seemingly peaceful and tranquil Konoha, the world where Naruto became the Seventh Hokage...

It is a product built upon the failure of "me".

"How could I lose to someone like that?" He let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.