Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 586 Sets a 5-Year Agreement

Sasuke Uchiha's intrusion was completely unexpected; he didn't even knock on the door.

When the studio door was pushed open, Yakumo Kurama's paintbrush stopped in mid-air, and his smile gradually faded.

She put down her pen, took a step back, and the rare moment of relaxation vanished like smoke in the wind.

"Something's up," Sasuke Uchiha said curtly, his gaze toward Yakumo Kurama turning strange.

It was an innate, unfounded aversion, like how pragmatists dislike charlatans.

Naruto stood up from the shelf, his face still flushed. He scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: "Sasuke? How did you find this place—"

"Come with me." Sasuke turned and left, giving him no chance to refuse.

Naruto glanced at Yakumo Kurama. She had already sat back down at her easel, head down, mixing paints, as if nothing had happened.

"Go ahead. You can paint another time."

Her voice was calm, but Naruto could still subtly sense that Yakumo Kurama seemed a little unhappy.

Naruto walked out of the art studio, and the door closed behind him.

Sasuke leaned against the corridor wall, arms crossed, staring at him with those dark eyes for a while before speaking: "You seem to have a lot of free time."

"I just—"

"Never mind," Sasuke interrupted him. "There's something I want to ask you."

They walked to the end of the corridor outside the art studio, where a withered cherry tree stood, its bare branches piercing the gray sky. It was as if the sky over Konoha had never been clear that day.

"You saw what happened today most clearly. Even the doctors at the hospital couldn't control themselves and started to lay their hands on Yamanaka Ino." Uchiha Sasuke crossed his arms, paused, and continued, "I investigated this person. He wasn't very interested in women before; he was a very responsible doctor. But the more someone is like that, the more likely they are to become twisted if they suppress their inner thoughts for too long."

Naruto clenched his fist again, remaining silent. Admittedly, the doctor was despicable, but the reason behind it was even more chilling.

Konoha used to be very friendly, and the people here haven't done anything evil, so why isn't it as peaceful as Villain Valley? They've lived there for decades and haven't found life boring.

The only difference is that there was probably a very, very bad person who eventually redeemed himself, and even died at his own hands.

Sasuke Uchiha continued, seemingly oblivious to Naruto's expression, as he recounted what he saw each day.

"I stayed in the illusion hut for a long time, and different people came every day. Some wanted to see their deceased relatives, some wanted to go back to a certain moment in the past, and some didn't say anything, they just sat there and cried."

"Shikamaru's mother came today, and she told me something. The Ten-Tails is hiding inside the Hokage Rock. Infinite Tsukuyomi is possible."

"..."

She said that perhaps that was Konoha's salvation.

Naruto remained silent for a long time, and the wind blew through the withered branches, making a faint whistling sound.

"What do you think?" Sasuke asked him.

"I don't know." Naruto's voice was a little sore. "But today in the plaza, when I looked at those people... they were actually insane. When they were killed, there was nothing in their eyes, just... blankness. Like something inside their bodies had been severed."

"What are you trying to say?"

Naruto raised his head, and there was a weariness in his blue eyes that Sasuke had never seen before.

"Perhaps... trapping those on the verge of madness, or those already mad, in a permanent illusion is a form of salvation. Perhaps they can even experience happiness within that illusion."

Sasuke Uchiha froze, staring at Naruto for a long time, as if trying to confirm whether the person in front of him was the same Naruto Uzumaki he knew.

"This doesn't sound like something you would say. The old you would just face anything head-on."

Whether you cry, shout, or hit, you never say things like "running away is also an option."

He really wanted to say, "Naruto, when did you become like this?" Just like last time when he suddenly took action and pushed someone who could have been recruited into his camp into the enemy camp.

But he didn't ask any further questions, and Naruto in front of him seemed to be caught in self-blame as well.

Naruto lowered his head, not knowing what was wrong with him today.

"I just..." he began with difficulty, "I just feel that maybe some things really can't be changed by effort. Maybe some people really can't hold on anymore. Watching them run away while I face everything soberly—Sasuke, isn't that another kind of cruelty?"

"You make me face it, but what happens after I face it? What can I do? I can't do anything."

Obito sacrificed everything to become this world, Tsunade became a giant tree, and Kakashi told me today not to believe even his words—then what should I believe?

Naruto's voice trembled, but he held it in. "You're right, this isn't me. But Sasuke, I'm not quite sure what I really am either. I used to be very naive and always thought I knew everything. As I got older, I developed my own ideas and was quite pleased with myself, but now I'm not sure if I'm being controlled by other wills or other thoughts."

"Sasuke, please help me, please help me."

Naruto's voice softened, and tears welled up in his eyes. His tender appearance made one want to protect him and hold him in their arms.

Sasuke Uchiha stopped his outstretched hands, and the two remained silent, neither of them speaking.

A long time passed, perhaps a minute, perhaps half an hour.

Sasuke Uchiha finally spoke: "Five years."

"Five years. If in five years we haven't grown strong enough to defeat Shisei Aburame and change the village's situation, we'll be left with nothing."

If the village doesn't get better, but gets worse, and we're powerless to correct it, then let the villagers choose for themselves.

"Whether they enter the illusion or not is their own decision." Sasuke looked towards the Hokage Rock in the distance, where a giant beast was hidden, and a future unknown to everyone. "We're not choosing for them; they're choosing for themselves."

Naruto looked up at him and nodded emphatically, saying, "Alright, it's a deal then."

Sasuke reached out and held his face, gently wiping away his tears with his thumb. "Don't cry, your face is all messed up."

"No, let me go." Naruto wiped away his tears and smiled again.

But then, a dark thought inexplicably popped into his mind.

Sure enough, crying and playing the victim can get others to make decisions for you. Why didn't he think of such a good method before?

But the next moment, he suppressed the strange thought.

Damn it, don't let yourself become weird.