Fourth War
Naruto's eyes reddened slightly. He was so happy to see Izumi again. He had so many questions and so many things he wanted to say, but seeing the gentle smile on her face, he couldn't say a word.
It's good that you're alive!
He knew his sister was still alive.
"Wow, what's that?" Luffy looked up at the enormous wooden figure battling a dark blue armored warrior. Their height was even greater than a giant's, and their collision caused the heavens and earth to tremble.
Ace and Zoro were also drawn in. When those two godlike behemoths appeared on the earth, the first thing you lost was your sense of distance. Even though you were still relatively far apart, the ground kept humming and vibrating, the sound coming from deep within the earth, impacting your chest and eardrums.
"That's called Susanoo. It's a very energy-consuming technique. If you don't have enough power, you can easily be drained," Luna explained softly. The armor's lines were sharp, and its outline swayed slightly in the energy flow, as if it might collapse at any moment, yet it contained an absolute will to destroy. Every swing of the lightsaber in its hand caused damage that directly crushed the will of the onlookers.
Of course, Luffy was an exception; his eyes sparkled, and he jumped around as if he wanted to run over: "Amazing!"
"That's Wood Release, a bloodline limit. As long as the main force still has power, it will continue to regenerate." It stood as tall as a mountain, with thousands of arms spreading out behind it like a forest, moving slowly and rhythmically, carrying a breathtaking, mechanical, and precise solemnity.
It doesn't roar, only emits a deep, somber rumble as the wood squeezes and grows, like the earth taking a deep breath. That overwhelming, almost despairing vitality offers no solace, but instead becomes the heaviest shackle, making you feel as insignificant as a mayfly that lives only a day, witnessing the ecosystem itself raging.
"Makes you want to set it on fire." Ace chuckled as a flame flickered from his finger.
"Haha, then we won't be short of firewood, will we?" Zoro laughed heartily beside him, completely unaffected.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi: ...
Luna smiled but didn't speak. Regarding why she had been summoned back, she could only think of Indra, the progenitor. Who else but him had tampered with her vision? Judging from the situation, it might be the Fourth World War now. She hadn't had anyone to properly ask what had actually happened here.
Luna smiled slightly and beckoned to Naruto: "Naruto, come here."
"Oh!" Naruto ran over excitedly, looking curiously at his much shorter sister, and chuckled to himself.
"Try this, it's sushi made from fish that live in the White Sea." Luna took out a snack box from her pocket, which Sanji had just given her.
"Sushi? I want some too." As soon as Luffy heard there was food, he reached into her pocket.
"There's only one. If you want to eat it, go back and find Sanji."
“…Okay.” Luffy was unhappy, his mouth pouting.
Naruto was a little confused. What kind of fish was this "white sea fish"? Could the sea even be white? But the sushi looked so good that he stuffed it into his mouth without a second thought. The texture of the hollow fish was extremely unique, as if it exploded in his mouth. The unprecedented sensation was enough to send him soaring to the heavens.
He chewed with delight, savoring the taste before speaking: "It's delicious, Sister Quan, what kind of fish is this? I've never eaten it before."
"Right? The sea over there is white, it's a beautiful and interesting place." Luna smiled, her innocent childlike charm still endearing.
"Wow, have you been overseas all these years, sister?" Naruto was happy to see her doing well, though a little bittersweet. "Sasuke and I looked for you for so long. We found Orochimaru, but he said you left a long time ago. You even learned the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and wanted to..."
At this point, Naruto glanced at Itachi, as Izumi used to adore Itachi.
"What are you thinking about?" Luna raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting in that direction. She wondered if Sasuke knew she had orchestrated Itachi's death, but he hadn't yet charged at her with murderous intent; perhaps he didn't know yet?
If you want to kill me, then kill me with one decisive blow.
[Our progenitor, please don't cause trouble.]
Indra: ...
Seeing that she didn't intend to answer, Naruto changed his tone and asked, "Why don't you go back to Konoha? Auntie is so worried about you. She would be so happy to know you're alive."
“o(*￣︶￣*)o Hehe, Naruto has grown up too.” Luna smiled knowingly at his words. She didn’t believe that Naruto hadn’t met Uchiha Hazuki, so it was impossible that he hadn’t met another Uchiha Izumi.
"..."
Naruto stiffened, his cheeks flushing red. His face was bright red; for some reason… he couldn't lie with conviction anymore.
They had certainly seen Uchiha Izumi before; she was an Edo Tensei resurrected person disguised as a living person. He and Sasuke were startled when they discovered her, thinking that Izumi had indeed met with misfortune. But later, after meeting Orochimaru and hearing that Izumi had learned Edo Tensei, they felt that something was definitely wrong.
They tried to find out the truth about what happened back then, but Izumi only said that she died at the hands of Orochimaru and stayed behind to stay with her mother, and that she would never return to Konoha.
Sasuke believed it at the time, but Naruto didn't. He felt that this Izumi-neechan was a complete stranger, not the person he knew. And indeed, she wasn't the same person.
But how should I ask?
He didn't know how to find out the truth without hurting his sister.
"I'm serious, Naruto, you've grown up. You look so cool in this form!" Luna gave Naruto a thumbs up, praising him in his Nine-Tails form.
She could clearly recognize that this Naruto was different from the original Naruto; the feeling of disregarding the lives of others and wanting them to live according to his own ideas was gone.
If it were the original Naruto, he would jump up and demand, "Why did you do this?!" and so on. Indeed, children who learn to love and treat themselves well tend to have healthier minds.
"o(*￣︶￣*)o Hehe." Naruto's cheeks flushed even more, and he couldn't help but raise his head and puff out his chest like a proud peacock.
Nine-year-old man, Sister Quan praised me.
Nine-Lama: Hmph!
Under his brother's watchful gaze, Itachi took a few steps forward, but didn't get too close. He had been summoned and awakened by Kabuto Yakushi not long ago. He didn't know what Kabuto was up to, but he released the control halfway through, which allowed him to finally speak with his brother.
By inquiring about what happened after Sasuke's death, she learned that the Fifth Hokage would soon ascend to power in Konoha. Tsunade, the First Hokage's granddaughter, was magnanimous and treated the Uchiha clan well. Furthermore, because the Uchiha had suffered persecution from Konoha's higher-ups, resulting in the death of their youngest Mangekyou Sharingan user, many members of the clan finally saw the light of day.
With the information left behind by Izumi, the Uchiha clan helped Konoha develop and increase its economic income. Now the village's wealth, population, and trade have all increased significantly. My father has also finally risen through the ranks, successfully climbing into the upper echelons thanks to his connections in trade.
So, replacing the higher-ups really did preserve the Uchiha clan and even allowed Konoha to develop better. But even if it was true, he still found it hard to believe.
He had feared that the absence of the Third Hokage and Danzo would lead to the Uchiha clan's rampant selfishness and even internal strife, but that never happened. It seems that from beginning to end, he had trusted the wrong people; it was the Third Hokage and Danzo who disliked the Uchiha.
It was he, the son of the Uchiha clan leader, who failed to trust his clan members and failed to make any positive changes.
"It's been a long time. Is that your new companion?" Itachi's gaze fell on Luna, who exuded confidence and a willingness to resist.
She dared to criticize the Third Hokage, believing he shouldn't have been biased and that Danzo's malice was unfounded. Her attitude of treating the Hokage as an equal, reflecting her views on leadership, was something most people in Konoha lacked.
Even when she encountered setbacks and misfortunes, she never blamed herself. What kind of feeling was that? It was probably like... I'm not wrong, you made my life difficult, it's your fault, without you, look how well I'm doing.
[To be honest... I still can't agree.] Itachi looked away again. Even though the facts proved that Luna hadn't done anything wrong, her thinking was still unacceptable to Itachi.
"Itachi-kun isn't as tall as his little brother anymore," Luna greeted lazily, a charming smile playing on her lips. Her undisguised arrogance carried a carefree air uncommon among ninjas.
Sasuke's expression froze for a moment. He glanced at his brother's height, pursed his thin lips, and remained silent. Originally, his brother could still grow taller, but he had stopped at this age.
Luna just smiled faintly, making no attempt to introduce her friends and family: "Sigh, even Sasuke isn't fun anymore."
"Right? Your face is getting sullen more and more." Naruto nodded in deep agreement, while Sasuke had a blank expression on his face.
Sasuke silently looked up, only to ask Luna, "Why did you make an imposter?"
"..." Is it possible that I am the imposter?
Luna didn't want to say too much to Sasuke. She looked at her three eager friends and asked if they would be willing to help her end the war.
"Of course, you should know when to stop. If you can't win, run away."
"No problem." Luffy was the first to agree; he couldn't wait to explore this place. If it weren't for the two people over there who seemed to be relatives of Yunxiu and weren't very friendly or even hostile towards her, he would have already gone to explore.
"Alright then." Luna casually borrowed a belt from Ace; after all, young people's pants wouldn't fall down without a belt. She used the belt to tie Zoro's wrists up.
What are you doing?
"To prevent you from getting lost."
"Who would know how!"
"Hahahaha!" Luffy burst out laughing first, and Ace chuckled softly beside him.
The two brothers ran ahead, Luna chased after them, and Zoro, who was furious, trailed behind. The four of them were having a great time, completely unlike the atmosphere of ninjas, laughing and joking happily.
"That's great." Naruto glanced at them with a hint of envy, feeling that the atmosphere in Team 7 was still lacking.
"Don't try to learn everything." Sasuke was extremely disgusted; he wouldn't stoop to that level.
Naruto and Sasuke also rushed to the battlefield. The enemies of the Fourth Shinobi World War included: a masked man impersonating Madara, Edo Tensei Madara, and Kabuto Yakushi.
So, why did Kabuto release his control over Itachi?
He remembered that Sasuke had seemingly killed Orochimaru, and then Kabuto was left to fend for himself. Now, Orochimaru was alive again and had even summoned four former Hokage. Those things were too complicated; he just felt like he was overthinking things and his head was aching.
Ahhh!
Where is Kakashi-sensei?
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