In Konohagakure—

Sasuke walked alone through the village, his eyes fixed on the massive Tobirama Fortress, a towering structure looming above the skyline, filling him with confusion.

What… is that thing? I've never seen anything like it.

Even compared to the tech in his own timeline, Tobirama Fortress looked like a marvel of advanced science—something bordering on futuristic.

Wait… did I end up in the future instead of the past?

But as Sasuke kept walking, he passed a familiar storefront—Ichiraku Ramen.

Inside, Teuchi-ojisan was still a youthful middle-aged man, diligently preparing noodles.

Which meant this really was the past.

No… something's off. It is the past, but it's not the same past as my own timeline…

Sasuke's gaze landed on a shop next to Ichiraku Ramen—the Kazuki family's Sanshoku Dango shop.

The place was unusually packed. Yet, in all of Sasuke's memories, not once did he recall such a snack shop ever existing.

"Sanshoku dango… my brother's favorite food…"

Sasuke let out a quiet sigh and stepped into the shop owned by Inada Kojirō. The moment he walked in, his eyes locked onto a familiar figure from his childhood—

His older brother, Uchiha Itachi—still in his youth.

At this moment, the table in front of Itachi was piled high with skewers of dango. His young face wore no expression of joy, but his hands moved rapidly—stuffing one skewer after another into his mouth, chewing nonstop in a frenzy of gluttony...

Sasuke froze.

In his memory, his brother had always been the embodiment of discipline. From a young age, Itachi had been a harsh critic of himself, his training regimen near perfection.

It was part of why their father, Fugaku, often looked at Sasuke with dissatisfaction during his childhood…

Because standing beside the insanely diligent Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke was always overshadowed.

Whatever else might be said of him, in terms of effort, Itachi had trained himself to the point of triggering a bloodline-related illness.

But now, before Sasuke's eyes—

There was no disciplined, self-restrained Uchiha Itachi.

Only a young boy trying to numb his sorrow with food, his eyes glazed with pain and emptiness.

What happened in this timeline?

Everything felt… too different.

And just then—

Sasuke felt someone bump into him. Turning around, he saw… his father!

Uchiha Fugaku stormed toward Itachi, eyes filled with fury. In a fit of frustration, he snatched the dango from Itachi's hands. Though he seemed ready to explode, the crowded shop forced him to lower his voice as he growled through clenched teeth: "Itachi, what do you think you're doing?! Why aren't you training?! Have you forgotten the burden you carry—the hopes and future of our clan?!"

"Yes, that future was confirmed by my dōjutsu—but it still requires your own effort to bring it to pass!"

Itachi looked up at him in despair, but unlike his father, he made no attempt to lower his voice: "It's not because I believe in your dōjutsu and think the future is predetermined that I've relaxed—

It's because I've never believed in it. From the start."

"You've lost your mind—so far gone you think I could surpass Kazuki-sama…"

"I beg you… please, stop this pointless rivalry with Kazuki-sama. No matter what rumors are spreading in the village, whether it's the Second Hokage or Kazuki-sama—how could you possibly rival either of them?"

Fugaku instantly turned red with rage and slapped Itachi hard across the face.

[SMACK!]

The sound echoed through the shop, silencing the once-bustling room.

Inada Kojirō frowned. Even though he was just a dropout who never graduated from the Academy, he stepped forward with full confidence and barked: "Uchiha Fugaku! This is the Kazuki family's Sanshoku Dango shop!"

"What do you think you're doing, hitting someone in here? I don't welcome customers like you. Please leave!"

Kojirō stood face-to-face with Fugaku, completely unafraid.

"And Itachi, you're not going anywhere. I heard everything you said about Kazuki-sama. I'll be reporting your words to the Hokage's office in full…"

"He may be your son, but he's also part of this village's future. This kind of abuse and humiliation goes against the very Will of Fire!"

Fugaku's eyes narrowed coldly as he stared at Kojirō.

Still going on about Kazuki?

These foolish villagers don't even know the truth… Kazuki had already been betrayed by Senju Tobirama!

That wicked Second Hokage had already used Edo Tensei to summon an entire faction of Senju shinobi. Under the cover of lies, he'd mobilized the village's forces to reinforce Uchiha Kazuki's seal…

'I need to back off for now... On paper, Tobirama claims to have a good relationship with Kazuki. If I cause a scene in this shop, it'll only give him an excuse to retaliate.'

With that thought, Fugaku muttered to Itachi in a low voice: "Pull yourself together. Don't say anything you shouldn't. I'll be waiting for you at home."

And upon hearing those words—'waiting at home'…

Uchiha Itachi trembled all over, lowering his head and avoiding his father's piercing gaze.

"Just leave already! As the head of the Konoha Police Force, are you really going to interfere with public order like this?"

A few onlookers couldn't stand it any longer and began speaking up: "We're talking to you, Uchiha Fugaku… At this rate, you're going to drive your own son insane. Sure, he's talented, but pushing him to surpass Kazuki-sama? That's delusional! You've lost your mind trying to force your son into greatness."

Fugaku scanned the room. Surrounded by voices of harsh criticism, he gave a cold flick of his sleeve and stormed out of the shop.

They say he's crazy?

No. It's not him—

It's everyone else in Konoha who's lost their minds.

They'd all been deceived by Senju Tobirama, trapped in a web of lies. Only he—gifted with the Mangekyō Sharingan and a unique dōjutsu—had seen a glimpse of a future still full of hope!

Itachi watched his father's silhouette vanish through the doorway, tears brimming in his eyes. He shoved another skewer of dango into his mouth and chewed furiously.

It was as if only through eating—only through the act of stuffing his face—could he ease the crushing weight on his heart.

Only this could keep him from breaking down entirely.

Sasuke stood frozen, stunned.

What the hell is going on?

What in the world is happening here?

Why was his father in this timeline acting like a man possessed, unloading all his pressure onto Itachi?

And who was this Kazuki?

What kind of person could drive his brother—the most talented Uchiha Sasuke had ever known—to the brink of collapse, reduced to emotional binge-eating in public?

And then—

Suddenly, Sasuke's head snapped toward the Land of Water.

His extraordinary sensory ability had picked up two very familiar chakra signatures.

"Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?!"

Sasuke cried out in disbelief in his heart: 'My brother's still a kid—and those two have already been resurrected and started fighting? This timeline makes no sense!'

'No. I have to get there immediately. What the hell is going on?!'

As the name Kazuki echoed in his thoughts again, a chill ran down Sasuke's spine.

Somehow, deep in his soul, he could feel it—

All of this chaos… all of these changes… were part of a whirlwind stirred up by this mysterious Uchiha.

...

"Kazuki, I'm lending you all of my power for now, alright? I just can't shake the feeling that Isshiki, Hamura, and Hagoromo might erupt at any moment—I can't sense any of them right now..."

Although Kazuki had told Kaguya to focus on observing the battle between the Kage-level shinobi, this Rabbit Goddess couldn't calm herself at all. She was practically yelling, desperate to channel her power to Kazuki.

After sharing a rather strange teacher-student bond with Kazuki, Kaguya had come to a rather clear realization—

Her power, when wielded in her own hands, versus when wielded by Kazuki... it was night and day.

"Kaguya, you have to believe in yourself..."

Kazuki furrowed his brows, waving her off as he rejected her offer flatly: "Your control over chakra has already improved drastically from before. And all those combat techniques—you've trained under me. You're no longer who you once were."

"You'll have to learn how to fight eventually. You're incredibly gifted..."

Seeing how Kazuki refused her power without hesitation—yet still offered words of encouragement—Kaguya felt a whirlwind of emotions.

On the one hand, she was touched that Kazuki truly had no ulterior motives for her chakra. Even with her offering it so readily… he still wouldn't take it.

But on the other hand, she felt incredibly anxious.

Today could mark the outbreak of a full-scale Ōtsutsuki war—and for someone like her, a mere 'genin' who had just graduated from Konohagakure's Ninja Academy, this wasn't a stage she was prepared for!

"Kazuki, more than believing in myself… I believe in you!"

Kaguya pleaded earnestly, almost begging: "Please accept my power! You can keep teaching me afterward—I'll listen to everything you say!"

Kazuki sighed helplessly. "Fine… I get it."

Kaguya beamed with joy and let out a long sigh of relief.

If Kazuki had refused her power just to avoid suspicion, she truly wouldn't have known what to do...

[From the target Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, you get a special talent—Heart of Kaguya!]

[Heart of Kaguya]: You can draw upon the chakra of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya within your body. The strength depends on the target's willingness. When she willingly offers her power, you may briefly surpass your physical limits without consequence!

After reading the description of Heart of Kaguya, Kazuki felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

Heart of Kaguya?

Wasn't this basically a fusion of [Power of Tobirama] and [Bond with Tobirama]?

Kazuki used to jokingly call the Sage of Six Paths 'Ōtsutsuki Hiruzen'...

Now that he thought about it, perhaps Kaguya could be dubbed Ōtsutsuki Tobirama?

From passively to actively offering power, and the appearance of a special trait triggered by a shift in her attitude—they really did have a lot in common.

The moment Kaguya's chakra came fully under Kazuki's control—

The powers of two Kekkei Mōra fused, and all of Kazuki's basic physical parameters surged at a terrifying rate.

That included his sensory abilities...

"These three chakra signatures—who are they?"

Kazuki lifted his gaze, staring at a seemingly empty space high in the sky, his eyes narrowing.

If not for the compounded boost of sensory prowess from Mito, Tobirama, Sage Mode, and now the dual Kekkei Mōra state—

He never would have detected it!

And aside from the three Ōtsutsuki from the other dimension...

Kazuki shifted his gaze again, locking onto a specific point in space-time, as well as two nearby locations.

The Sage of Six Paths hiding within the Pure Land, and the chakra-concealed Isshiki and Hamura observing the battle on-site—he pinpointed them all.

"This chakra… definitely Ōtsutsuki. But why would other Ōtsutsuki show up now, of all times?"

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