After a brief moment of silence, the real shinobi world erupted into even fiercer debate.
"Damn it!" a shinobi cursed. "That Uchiha brat—why did he hesitate at the critical moment?" soft at the critical moment? If he'd just finished Naruto off right there, wouldn't that have been the end of it? All those future disasters—gone at the root!"
That sentiment immediately found supporters.
"Exactly! Indecision never leads to greatness!"
"Mercy toward an enemy is cruelty toward yourself—doesn't he understand that?"
"If Naruto Uzumaki had died there, maybe tens of thousands of shinobi wouldn't have had to die later!"
These voices—cold, outcome-driven, and seemingly "rational"—began to spread, arguing that Sasuke's moment of hesitation had planted the seeds for the future catastrophe.
But opposing voices quickly rose, carrying far deeper reflection.
"Do you people even remember what Sasuke Uchiha himself said in the last Sky Screen?!"
"He said—'Naruto is the one who pulled me out of the darkness!'"
"If Sasuke had truly killed Naruto at the Valley of the End, he would have severed his own last chance at returning to the light!"
"He would have sunk forever into hatred and darkness—maybe even faster and more thoroughly than that so-called 'world-destroying Naruto'!"
"A Sasuke Uchiha completely consumed by hatred, with no one left who could restrain him—do you really think he'd be easier to deal with than Naruto?"
Those words were like cold water splashed over the crowd.
Yes—if Sasuke had crossed that final line, could he still have become the man who later stood beside the Five Kage, trying to prevent the destruction of the world?
Almost certainly not.
He would have become something far worse—more obsessive, more ruthless, with no light left in his heart.
Such an Sasuke Uchiha might well have posed an even greater threat to the shinobi world than the "world-destroying Naruto."
Every critical choice leads to a completely different future.
By not killing Naruto at the Valley of the End, Sasuke preserved the last faint spark of humanity within himself—and with it, a slim hope for redemption.
And Naruto's all-out attempt to hold him back, though it failed, planted the seed of bond deep in Sasuke's heart.
Perhaps, in some future moment of absolute despair, it would be that very seed that finally pulled him back from the abyss.
The Hokage's Office
Listening to the outside discussions relayed through the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe.
He was wrestling with the same question.
To strangle danger in its cradle—or to leave room for redemption?
The balance between the two was unbearably difficult.
Tsunade crossed her arms and snorted at the Sky Screen.
"Idiots. They only look at the surface. True darkness is when someone completely gives up on themselves."
Jiraiya sighed deeply, his gaze complicated.
"Bonds… they can be a lifeline that saves you… or a noose that tightens around your neck. Naruto. Sasuke. Which path will you really walk in the end?"
The Sky Screen Continues
On one side—
Sasuke Uchiha, after countless hardships, finally arrived at Orochimaru's hideout. Facing Orochimaru's undisguised greed and scrutiny, he lowered his proud head. For the sake of revenge, he began tempering himself inside a devil's den.
On the other—
Inside Konoha Hospital, Naruto awoke.
Holding the Konoha forehead protector in his hand, he felt no anger. No resentment.
Instead, he carefully wiped it clean and solemnly put it away.
His eyes burned with determination as he made a vow to himself.
"Sasuke… you didn't kill me. You even left the headband with me…"
"That means… deep down, you acknowledge me as your friend too, right?"
"Just wait for me. I'll get stronger—much stronger."
"Then I'll find you myself and bring you back!"
"And when that day comes, I'll personally put this headband back on your head!"
That pure, sincere emotion—the unwavering belief in bonds even after betrayal and devastating defeat—spread clearly through the Sky Screen.
Many viewers who had earlier argued that "Sasuke should have killed Naruto to eliminate future trouble" now unconsciously looked away, cheeks burning.
Compared to Naruto's crystal-clear conviction, their cold calculations of profit and loss felt shallow—and dirty.
But the emotion didn't last long.
It was quickly replaced by something stronger—rage directed squarely at Konoha.
"Why?!"
A shinobi from Sunagakure roared at the sky.
"Such a good kid! A child who values bonds so deeply! Why was he pushed so far in Konoha that he ends up wanting to destroy the world?!"
"What did Konoha do to him?!"
"Exactly! One boy willing to die for a friend, another who still believes in friendship after 'betrayal'—how does Konoha manage to turn one into a rogue ninja and the other into a world destroyer?!"
The waves of questioning and condemnation surged toward Konoha once more.
If earlier it had been mockery of Konoha's governance—
Now it was outright moral indictment.
Konoha, you're the problem.
Go on—try to deny it.
And then, the Fourth Raikage, A, spoke with brutal directness, issuing a declaration to the entire shinobi world:
"Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha—and all of Konoha's higher-ups! Listen up!"
"If you Leaf folks don't know how to raise kids, then send them to us sooner rather than later! Let Kumogakure teach them!"
"Our Cloud Village—never produces rogue ninja!"
This was a public slap to Konoha's face.
And not a subtle one.
"Raikage-sama is right!"
"Exactly! Kumogakure stands united!"
"Konoha only wastes geniuses!"
Cheers erupted throughout Kumogakure.
Other villages, while shocked, were more than happy to watch Konoha be humiliated—and some were already quietly calculating how they might profit from the situation.
Back in the Hokage's Office
When the reports reached him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face could no longer be described as merely grim.
It was pale—an ugly mixture of rage, humiliation, and an inability to refute the accusations.
The Raikage's words were practically grinding both him and Konoha's dignity into the dirt.
Tsunade glanced at the ANBU report and said coldly,
"Don't look so upset. He's not wrong. You really didn't raise them well."
Hiruzen's face stiffened. He almost blurted out "Insolent disciple!"
But he held it back.
Because if he said it out loud… wouldn't that just further prove her point?
Jiraiya hurriedly tried to smooth things over, laughing awkwardly.
"L-Let's keep watching the Sky Screen… yeah, the Sky Screen…"
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