Half an hour later.
The surrounding trees had collapsed, and the ground was pitted and scorched.
A figure walked over leisurely and stopped by Naruto, who was lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face.
Naruto felt weak all over, he didn't know how many bones he had broken. His vision was blurry, but he could vaguely see who it was.
"Orochimaru..."
"Hehehe, you got beaten up badly."
Orochimaru stood by his side, laughing, with no intention of helping him up.
Naruto didn't respond but instead looked with difficulty in the direction Sasuke had left, his heart filled with pain.
"Why did Sasuke suddenly become like this?"
He couldn't understand.
"Power is the easiest thing to make someone lose their way." Orochimaru said.
"Do you know why?" Naruto moved his head with difficulty to look at Orochimaru.
"Hehehe." Orochimaru didn't answer.
The reason was actually quite simple. Strength made Sasuke feel that he should receive the respect he deserved and that he shouldn't be manipulated. Now, he only wanted to make Hiromi and Shisui, who had calculated and tested him, pay the price.
In other words, he failed to act cool and suffered a mental breakdown. Or to put it another way, it was the angry outburst of a Chunibyo who decided to go his own way. But saying it like that to Sasuke wouldn't help, it would only aggravate him further. Because the current Sasuke could no longer listen to any words.
But in the final analysis, there was still one reason.
"Naruto, you're too weak." Orochimaru chuckled.
Naruto trembled all over, clutching the soil on the ground mixed with his blood, filled with resentment.
He knew!
He knew he was weak!
Too weak!
"Orochimaru..."
"Hehehe, let me help you become stronger."
After saying that, Orochimaru picked up the unconscious Naruto, heading toward the Uchiha Imperial City.
On the way, he saw Itachi leaning against a tree trunk, clearly having waited for him for a long time.
"What do you want to do?" Itachi asked.
Orochimaru's smile was gentle as he rasped, "The child is injured, and I want to treat him. Is that not allowed?"
"Orochimaru." Itachi turned and looked directly at Orochimaru. "Don't underestimate the Uchiha."
Orochimaru laughed and said, "What if this is Hiromi's plan?"
"Hiromi won't care about Naruto and Sasuke, nor will he care about you."
After Itachi finished speaking, he turned and left.
Orochimaru stood there, holding the unconscious Naruto, watching Itachi leave with the same smile still on his face.
"So, since he is already invincible, shouldn't he be looking for even stronger opponents?"
"Let me add a bit more excitement for you, Hiromi-kun."
"Hehehe."
—
Sasuke's sudden departure from the clan caused Itachi's nickname, 'Traitor Itachi,' to skyrocket in fame.
Because of this, a Mangekyo Meeting was convened. The discussion was held on the topic of 'whether to label Sasuke as a clan traitor.'
"Sasuke treats the Uchiha clan's rules as if they are nothing, he must be severely punished."
"He's twelve years old and was lost in power, perhaps it's excusable."
"This has nothing to do with age. Just because one is powerful, can they override the Uchiha clan?"
"But he is still young after all, it's understandable that he doesn't know his limits."
"Does being young mean you can do whatever you want?"
Neither side would give in, and the discussion became exceptionally heated.
While they said it was about Sasuke's matter, it was actually about setting the rules.
Should a young age lead to lenient treatment, or should matters be handled ruthlessly according to the rules?
After arguing for ten minutes, both sides were in even better spirits.
Shisui was feeling drowsy.
After five hours of arguing, both sides had become listless. On the contrary, Shisui was full of energy after waking up from his nap. This made them dissatisfied.
"Shisui, say something."
"Exactly, you're just sitting there in the center stage watching the show."
"Believe it or not, I'll impeach you."
"Don't think you can be arrogant just because you're Hiromi's brother."
Shisui habitually ignored their trash talk and said, "Sasuke is also a Mangekyo user, young and capable. For geniuses, we should be more tolerant, let's just let him go."
Instantly, question marks popped up in the minds of all the Mangekyo users on both sides.
Let him go? Without even a single disciplinary action?
In the next moment, everyone turned their intense dissatisfaction toward Shisui.
"Wait, is this how you make a ruling?"
"Let him go?"
"If clan members die because of this, will you take responsibility for the consequences?"
Shisui waved his hand and said, "Hiromi said so."
Mangekyo Clan Members: "..."
"Any more objections?" Shisui looked at them with a teasing gaze.
The Mangekyo Clan Members lowered their heads.
"Then that's that."
"Wait!" Raichi immediately jumped out.
"What is it?" Shisui asked with interest.
"So Hiromi had arrangements all along, and you just sat up there watching the show? Watching us argue?"
With one sentence, Raichi once again stirred up everyone's dissatisfaction with Shisui.
"Exactly! How could you do this?:
"Doing this is basically playing with people."
"Is this fun?"
But Shisui countered with a question, "Arguing more equals using your brain more, isn't that good?"
"..."
The Mangekyo Clan Members were a bit uncertain.
"Did Hiromi say that too?" Raichi asked cautiously.
"No..."
Before Shisui could finish his sentence, Raichi charged forward, her body crackling with lightning.
"Get him!"
With a shout, a group of eyes turned blood-red as they charged at him. Today, they were determined to beat Shisui so badly he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for three months.
This scene even startled Itachi and Fugaku, who thought Shisui was in for it.
But in the next second, Shisui showed a look of disdain and said with a chuckle, "Hiromi said that the clan members are too stupid and he wants to split the clan."
"..."
In an instant, the dozen or so Mangekyo Clan Members froze.
Amidst everyone's attempts to beat him up, he smiled and pointed a finger at his own head, saying, "Use your brain more."
Then, he turned and left.
The clan members clenched their fists, feeling very stifled and wanting to give Shisui a beating.
At that moment, Raichi erupted with powerful Lightning Chakra and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my! I haven't brought in my laundry yet!"
Before her words even landed, she charged straight out.
Shisui had great eyesight and powerful Body Flicker Technique. Facing such a formidable speed charging directly at him, he hastily dodged and was successful.
He wanted to say something, but Raichi charged at him once again. Fortunately, Shisui's skills were extraordinary, and he still managed to dodge.
Only on the third time, he was knocked flying.
"Raichi!" Shisui scrambled up from the ground, clenching his fists.
"Eh? Did I hit something? Sorry, I have to hurry home and bring in the laundry!" Raichi ran off without looking back, her voice sounding quite gleeful.
Shisui was still thinking about how to get revenge when he suddenly felt waves of cold air rising behind him. Anxious, he hastily turned his head to look and saw the group of Mangekyo Clan Members exclaiming in surprise one after another.
"Ah! I forgot to feed the stray cats!"
"Oh! I forgot to find a girlfriend!"
"Whoops! I forgot to sleep!"
Then, they excitedly charged over, with several clan members specifically aiming for his lower body.
Shisui's alertness rose to a hundred and twenty percent as he hastily dodged. But even as Shisui of the Body Flicker, he was still bumped five or six times. He ended up lying on the ground, covered in various footprints, looking extremely pathetic.
"Actually playing dirty!!!"
Shisui scrambled up from the ground and looked at the backs of these clan members, gnashing his teeth.
"After all, they themselves are rogues." Itachi joked.
"Clearly, you miscalculated this time." Fugaku laughed.
"Shisui, you... sigh." Kazuto patted his shoulder.
Shizuka, on the other hand, carefully helped him tidy up his appearance and smiled gently. "You've also started to become quite the rogue yourself."
"?"
Shisui didn't quite understand what Shizuka meant.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that he understood.
'Is she saying that I've started acting like a rogue just like that bunch of clan members?' Shisui fell into deep reflection.
***
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