Chapter 66

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Chapter 66: Knowing Konoha's Collapse Plan in Advance, Uzumaki's Orphan

Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Sound Village? Orochimaru, you established Sound Village?"

Orochimaru replied with a chuckle, "Hehe, Sarutobi-sensei, you're just finding out now."

Previously, he had announced the start of Konoha's collapse plan and was embarrassed by the live comparison room. The ninjas of Yinnin Village and Sunagakure had no time to act. Furthermore, the ninjas of Zhiren Village had not been exposed in this world before.

Uchiha Sasuke mentioned, "I see. It's no wonder those guys attacked us out of nowhere."

Jiraiya confessed, "I found some clues earlier, but I didn't think that you, Orochimaru, had actually established Sound Village!"

Rasa hoped silently, "I hope that the Double Sasuke in another world won't be killed by a surprise attack from Orochimaru."

Onoki commented, "For Double Sasuke, knowing this kind of news may just be a happy coincidence."

The Fourth Raikage added, "I mean, before he had the chance to take revenge on Konoha, someone else wanted to attack it. Isn't that just great?"

Uchiha Madara pointed out, "The Konoha collapse plan could definitely add another player, Sunagakure, plus Orochimaru's sound ninja village. That makes two villages, and the Sasuke in the parallel world won't be alone."

Senju Tobirama cursed, "Damn it! That kid who hates Konoha should have reported this news."

Jiraiya questioned, "...Did Naruto and that little girl named Haruno Sakura hear it too? What will Double Sasuke do?"

["Konoha crash plan!" Sasuke's pupils are trembling.]

["Konoha's traitor built a village outside, and now, along with the Sand Shinobi, he plans to attack during the Chūnin exams." ]

["This is huge news!" ]

["Sasuke, what shall we do next?" ]

[Sakura stutters a bit when speaking.]

["The next step is to report to Mr. Kakashi, then to Mr. Hokage, right?" ]

[Sasuke turned his head to look at Sakura and Naruto. ]

["Why are you looking at me like that?" ]

[Naruto is dazed.]

["Sorry, Naruto."]

Sasuke knocks Naruto unconscious with a blow. 

["Sasuke, Sasuke?!" Sakura is even more confused. 

"Sasuke knocked out Naruto, but why?"

"Sakura, I'm sorry, please forget about what happened," Sasuke says as he uses his Sharingan to control Sakura. He intends to erase this memory from Naruto and Sakura. Fortunately, he learned this technique from Mr. Kakashi.]

Senju Tobirama exclaims, "Evil Uchiha kid, I should have known!"

Ohnoki laughs, "Hahahaha, it's just like Double Sasuke to do this!"

The Fourth Raikage states, "Konoha collapse plan, what was meant to happen is happening, Third Hokage."

Orochimaru muses, "Hehe, maybe I can expect to partner with Double Sasuke in the Konoha collapse plan."

Rasa just hopes, "I hope I won't die again. Whether Konoha falls doesn't matter to me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen rebukes, "You bastards!"

Uzumaki Naruto vents, "Damn Sasuke! A direct stun for me and Sharingan control for Sakura!"

Uchiha Sasuke wonders, "...Naruto, do you still care about that?"

Haruno Sakura suggests, "After all, she's Sasuke-kun's girlfriend in the parallel world. It's normal for Sasuke-kun to be more gentle with her."

Senju Tobirama accuses, "That Hatake Kakashi! You are Uchiha Sasuke's guide jōnin, aren't you? You're irresponsible! What are you teaching—memory deletion?"

Hatake Kakashi responds, "Second Generation, that's in another world..."

Namikaze Minato adds, "Speaking of which, even Kakashi learned that from me..."

After controlling Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke continues to interrogate the three Sounds thoroughly, extracting all the information he can, even though these three are not privy to the details of Konoha's collapse plan due to their lower status in Yinnin Village.

For Sasuke, however, this information is invaluable. "Orochimaru and Sunagakure, Konoha Crash Plan... By the way, Gaara, One Tail!" Sasuke realizes that the Sand Shinobi sent the One Tail Doublechūriki to the Chūnin exams likely because of this plan. He ponders what his role in the Konoha collapse plan could be.

Sasuke has no thoughts of reporting the news to prevent the plan. What does it matter to him? His care for people in Konoha is limited to Hinata, Ino, and Sakura. Naruto is a friend, Kakashi a teacher, and the others are mere acquaintances. With this in mind, it seems the one who actually needs his protection is Sakura, an ordinary family girl.

After reflecting on this, Sasuke touches Naruto's forehead and enters the sealed space where the Nine Tails resides. He confronts the Nine Tails, "You must have seen what happened outside, right?"

The Nine Tails snorts in disdain and refuses to engage. The crafty Uchiha has angered it before, and it won't fall for it again. Sasuke taunts the creature, knowing it cannot forget what it has seen and probably relishes the thought of Konoha's downfall. The Nine Tails snorts once more, remaining aloof.

"Nonsense!"

"Whether Konoha collapses or not, what does it have to do with me?"

"It's good if it collapses, darn Konoha! Darn First Hokage! Darn Fourth Hokage!"

"It seems that we have reached a consensus. Very good, let us look forward to the splendid drama of Konoha's collapse plan, which will be staged in this village," Sasuke said with a smile.

Exiting the sealed space, Sasuke began sealing the memories of Naruto and Sakura.

"Then, kill all three sound ninjas and use Fire Style to destroy them," Sasuke determined decisively.

Orochimaru commented, "That's right, it's prudent enough to consider Nine Tails and prevent those three weaklings from leaking the news."

Orochimaru didn't mind that Sasuke killed three of his underlings—they were just tools to him.

Ohnoki remarked, ""Konoha is really troublesome. Orochimaru and the Sand Shinobi are plotting its downfall, and Double Sasuke might also take this chance to exact his revenge on Konoha. Tsk tsk, how interesting."

Senju Tobirama exclaimed, "Damn it! I think we should add a rule to the Chunin exam in the future. Those from other villages who come to take the exam must be tortured first to prevent this kind of situation from happening again!"

Senju Hashirama responded, "? Tobirama, your way of thinking is a little too extreme!"

Sasuke took Naruto and Sakura to another location and then set them down.

[Not long after, Naruto woke up, looking around in confusion.

"We... where is this?" he asked.

He felt like his memory was fragmented.

"We were going to the central tower, and we stopped for a while to rest, but you fell asleep, Naruto," Sasuke lied casually.

"Is that so?" Naruto looked suspicious, wondering if Sasuke was lying to him again.

"Of course it is. Now, don't worry about it, let's continue on our way," Sasuke said perfunctorily.

Actually, Sakura also had her doubts since she woke up before Naruto. However, she was quickly enchanted by Sasuke's gentle manner and pushed her concerns to the back of her mind.]

Next, the three of them continued on their way.

Suddenly, they heard a terrifying roar from ahead, accompanied by a girl's cry for help.

At first, Sasuke didn't intend to get involved, but after noticing the person calling for help seemed familiar, he took a closer look and decided to act. During the first exam, he had noticed the girl. She had red hair, wore glasses, and possessed a significant amount of chakra; she seemed quite capable.

Watching the girl being chased by a giant bear, Sasuke was puzzled. Was it a trap? Was the girl deliberately luring someone in to save her, only to steal their scroll afterward? It seemed like a good strategy.

However, after observing for a while, Sasuke realized the girl genuinely appeared to be in trouble.

"What is going on? You have so much chakra!" Sasuke thought.

"Sakura, Naruto, wait here a moment," Sasuke told them as he approached the scene. He extended his hand, and a lightning spear shot out, piercing through the giant bear's head with a boom! The bear's massive body collapsed.

"... Am I saved?" Karin was stunned to find the bear behind her dead.

She quickly retrieved the eyepiece she had dropped and, upon putting it back on, she saw someone standing atop the giant bear. "Wow, he's so handsome! Did he save me?" Karin's heart began to race.

"Are you from the Hidden Grass Village? What's your name?" Sasuke asked, looking at Karin.

"I... my name is Karin," she replied with a quivering voice, sensing the coldness in his tone.

"Last name?" Sasuke inquired, noting her red hair.

"Huh? Oh yes, my name is Karin. I'm an ordinary civilian without a last name," she said, her body shaking slightly.

"Are you an orphan of the Uzumaki clan?" Sasuke asked, already confirming his guess by her trembles.

Red hair and abundant chakra were common traits of the Uzumaki family, though not everyone with these traits was a member. Gaara of the Sand Shinobi also had red hair, but his chakra was mostly because of the One-Tail.

"Why don't you admit your lineage? You should be a descendant of the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumakis and Konoha were allies back then. Why are you in the Hidden Grass Village? Look into my eyes, if you have common sense, you should know that they're called Sharingan. If you lie to me, I can torture you until you reveal the truth, and then kill you after 0.7 of the torture," Sasuke said, opening his Sharingan.

Karin, trembling, decided not to hide the truth any longer and confessed, "I am a descendant of the Uzumaki clan. My mother was exiled to the Hidden Grass Village after the Uzumaki country fell, and we settled there."

"My mother told me not to trust Konoha..."

Sasuke, expressionless, glanced at Karin's arm and inquired, "Have you awakened the healing talent of the Uzumaki?"

"Yes," Karin answered.

"So the Hidden Grass Village uses you as a handy medical ninja, is that right?"

"...That's right."

"You have a lot of chakra, but your strength is very weak. Hasn't anyone in the Hidden Grass Village taught you how to master your vast chakra?"

"No... For them, I only need to help heal injuries," she disclosed, slowly opening up and sharing her pent-up frustrations.

In the chatroom,

Senju Hashirama said, "The Uzumaki country has perished? What happened?"

Senju Tobirama asked, "During my lifetime, the Uzumaki Kingdom was still intact. When did this occur?"

Uzumaki Mito revealed, "This happened in my later years. The Uzumaki country was attacked by other ninja villages. Konoha's reinforcements only managed to rescue Kushina. I don't know what else happened."

Uzumaki Kushina added, "I was too young at that time and didn't understand much. I only knew that the Uzumaki country was invaded, and much later, Konoha's ninjas rescued me."