Chapter 245: Akira Uchiha, The Key Difference Between Two Timelines

"Isn't she... Konan from the Akatsuki?" Sasuke was shocked to see Konan here in Akira's house. What was going on in this timeline?

Moments ago, he had heard about the Five Kage Summit planning to take down the Akatsuki, yet now he was seeing Konan, an Akatsuki member, casually sitting here?

"Oh, her? You could say she's my captive," Akira explained casually.

With that, he sat across from Konan.

"So? Here to make another deal today?" Konan asked as she handed Akira and Sasuke each a cup of tea.

"Indeed, ten thousand explosive tags," Akira nodded.

"Alright then, in return, you can tell me why Madara Uchiha gave his Rinnegan to Nagato. What was his true goal?" Konan said. Since Akira had already hinted that Nagato was merely a pawn in Madara's plans, she was determined to learn Madara's real motives.

"It's simple. As I mentioned before, only Nagato, with his Uzumaki lineage, could bear the burden of the Rinnegan," Akira replied. "Madara's ultimate goal was to have Nagato use the Rinne Tensei Jutsu to bring him back to life in his peak condition."

"That's Madara's objective!" Akira concluded, confident that this piece of information was worth ten thousand explosive tags.

"Madara Uchiha wanted to be revived in his prime?" Konan was visibly shaken by this revelation. Madara—the legendary man who ended the Warring States Period—wanted to be resurrected?

So that was the real reason behind everything, from the beginning until now. The Akatsuki had been dancing in the palm of Madara's hand the entire time.

Konan suddenly felt an urgent need to return to the Akatsuki and inform Nagato of all this. That masked man was not truly Madara Uchiha. The real mastermind, the one who transplanted the Mangekyō Sharingan into the masked man, was Madara himself.

And now she knew Madara's true objective—he needed Nagato to bring him back to life. The truth was far more alarming than she had imagined.

"This information is not insignificant," Konan admitted, "but who is the hidden figure behind everything, the one even Madara doesn't know about? How is he hiding, and what is his goal? That... we can save for another deal later."

Judging by Konan's reaction, Akira could tell she thought she had finally understood the truth. He decided to tease her with more information, leaving her curiosity piqued.

Indeed, Akira's words shook Konan to her core. There was someone else, even deeper in the shadows, who had deceived even Madara?

She had initially assumed that Akira was the one orchestrating everything behind the scenes, but now he was claiming that there was someone else—a true mastermind hiding behind it all, even beyond Madara?

The revelation was truly stunning.

Konan had originally thought that the masked man claiming to be Madara was the real mastermind. But now it turned out that the masked man was merely Madara's pawn, and Madara was the true mastermind.

However, after learning about Madara's actual intentions, she thought she finally knew the whole story, only for Akira to drop another bombshell—there was someone behind Madara all along?

And this person was hidden within the Akatsuki, a true ultimate boss that even Madara didn't know about?

Konan, now having learned these unsettling truths, felt compelled to investigate further.

The "leader" of the Akatsuki was Deva Path Pain. However, behind the scenes, it was actually Nagato pulling the strings. Then came the masked man, whom everyone believed to be Madara. And behind him was the real Madara Uchiha, who had been manipulating everything from the shadows.

But even beyond Madara was yet another mysterious figure? Someone hiding even deeper?

Konan, who had always believed herself to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the Akatsuki, now felt that the organization was far more complex than she ever imagined—so deep that it was frightening.

Listening to the conversation between Akira and Konan, Sasuke could somewhat understand their current dynamic, so he didn't say much.

After Akira and Konan finished their conversation, Konan quickly created ten thousand explosive tags for Akira.

Akira took them, then headed to bed.

The next morning, Akira opened his eyes and immediately initiated another life simulation. Ten million ryo vanished in an instant, and the simulation began.

[Six days later, Urashiki attacked Iwagakure, successfully capturing the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails.]

[Ten days later, you secretly infiltrated Kumogakure.]

[Iwagakure approached Konoha, demanding answers regarding Urashiki's possession of the Byakugan.]

[After six months of effort, you successfully stole the Heavenly Transport Jutsu from Kumogakure.]

[Urashiki attacked Konoha in search of the Nine-Tails while you trained in the Snow Country.]

[Seven months later, Urashiki gathered all nine Tailed Beasts and extracted their chakra, forming a chakra fruit and consuming it.]

[Nine months later, Madara Uchiha was revived and battled Urashiki but was defeated.]

[Ten months later, two versions of Sasuke, along with Naruto and others, fought Urashiki and were severely injured.]

[With help from the Sage of Six Paths, they gained Six Paths power and defeated Urashiki.]

[Due to your absence during these battles, your reputation was tarnished, but you continued focusing solely on mastering the Heavenly Transport Jutsu.]

[Two days later, Toneri Otsutsuki descended from the moon, successfully kidnapping Hinata.]

[Although you wanted to continue training in seclusion, you found yourself returning to Konoha.]

[Despite being disappointed in you, Sasuke and Naruto agreed to help you rescue Hinata.]

[You died under the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.]

After that round of life simulation, Akira had managed to survive for two years. During that time, he focused solely on mastering the Heavenly Transport Jutsu.

Akira had steeled himself to ignore the revival of Madara and Urashiki. But losing his wife? That was something he could not tolerate.

Among the choices he had for extraction, Akira chose to extract the progress he had made in mastering the Heavenly Transport Jutsu.

Spatial jutsu like the Heavenly Transport were indeed complex. Despite training for over a year, Akira had barely scratched the surface, progressing only about 20%.

With a sigh of frustration, Akira extracted what he could and headed to the Hokage's office, delivering the ten thousand explosive tags to Fugaku in exchange for a billion ryo. It gave him a bit of financial relief.

Sasuke and Boruto, meanwhile, wandered around Konoha, gathering information about the Uchiha coup from years ago. They finally understood the significant role Akira had played, and it left them both stunned.

At the mere age of six, he became famous throughout the ninja world, and at seven, he had killed the Third Hokage on the Night of the Massacre, ensuring the success of the Uchiha coup?

Was this something a six- or seven-year-old child could actually do?

Moreover, at only seven, he had traveled to the border of the Land of Earth to deter other villages and had even severed the leg of the Third Tsuchikage?

"This guy named Akira Uchiha is incredibly powerful. Why haven't I ever heard of him?" Boruto said, filled with admiration as he turned to Sasuke.

"In our timeline, there is no Akira Uchiha—at least, I've never heard of him," Sasuke replied after a moment.

"What? There's no Akira?" Boruto was stunned. "Even though this Konoha is so different from the one we know, everything seems to have changed only after the Uchiha Massacre seven or eight years ago."

"The relationships and dynamics are different, but there were no entirely new, significant individuals added," Boruto added.

"Exactly. There is no Akira Uchiha in our timeline," Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "If he had existed, I would have known him—he's the grandson of the clan elder. There's no way I wouldn't have recognized him."

In this timeline, Akira was the clan elder's grandson, practically growing up alongside Sasuke. But Sasuke had no memory of any elder's grandson.

Knowing the close relationship between Sasuke in this timeline and the Uchiha clan, Boruto understood Sasuke's point well.

Boruto then spoke with a look of astonishment on his face, "So, what you're saying, Sensei, is that Akira Uchiha is the key to all these changes?"

"Exactly. If there was no Akira Uchiha in this timeline, everything would have likely unfolded just as it did in ours," Sasuke confirmed.

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POWER STONE!!!

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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.