Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 355 Unexpected Changes

"Huff... huff..."

When the [Asura Blade - God-Slaying Thunder Black Flame Scorching Tail Spiral Chaotic Heaven Zero Style], which had merged multiple powers and devoured Urashiki, completely dissipated into the air, Naruto felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion wash over him.

He disengaged from his fighting stance, and the golden chakra around him quickly receded, revealing a slightly pale face. Upon landing, he felt a sudden weakness, and his body uncontrollably staggered forward a few steps, almost losing his balance.

"Smack."

A hand reached out just in time and caught his arm. It was Uchiha Sasuke. He, too, withdrew his remaining power, though his breathing was slightly rapid.

"Well done, Naruto. Now... it's all over."

"...I won." Naruto, supported by his body, repeated the word somewhat blankly, his eyes still a little unfocused. The reality of victory seemed to come slower than the intense battle itself. He really won? Even... easier than he had expected?

The "Otsutsuki" that he had regarded as the ultimate threat since his childhood, representing cosmic-level power, and even once instilled deep fear in him... just now, he was completely defeated and destroyed?

Despite the unexpected events along the way, the final result... he really did it.

"Yes, we won." Sasuke nodded slightly, his tone even gentler. "There's no need to worry anymore. That threat no longer exists."

He helped Naruto up, then stood beside him. He closed his eyes, seemingly gathering his thoughts. After a moment, he opened them again, gazing at the faint outline of Konoha Village in the distance, and said softly.

"It seems... I was worrying for nothing."

"Hmm?" Naruto turned his head. "What are you overthinking?"

Sasuke turned his head, meeting Naruto's still somewhat tired but clear blue eyes. A faint smile appeared on his lips, but his words were anything but polite:

"...Even in a different world, you're still a complete idiot."

"Huh? Idiot? Why are you suddenly saying that?"

Sasuke clearly didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer, and turned his gaze towards the distant cliffs. "Let's not talk about this now. Let's go back together. Those two over there... they must be getting impatient, and probably quite worried."

"Wait a minute. Does having a slightly long name make someone an idiot? Don't you think that kind of naming style is cool?"

------

"Master! And... Naruto! Are you alright?!"

The two supported each other and had not gone far from the core ruins of the main battlefield when two figures, one in gold and one in black, rushed from the direction of the cliff. They were Boruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, who had been waiting anxiously.

"Yeah, it's nothing." Sasuke replied calmly, releasing his hand from Naruto's and gesturing for him to stand up straight. "It's just that my chakra was quite depleted; I'll be fine after a rest. Don't worry, it's all over now."

He paused, then gave the crucial conclusion: "Ura-shiki... has been confirmed dead."

"Really?!" Boruto's eyes lit up. "Then... then that means... all the Otsutsuki who appeared and wanted to harm—uh, harm this era—have been eliminated?!" He almost blurted out "Dad" again, but quickly corrected himself, though his excitement was palpable.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded firmly. "Our mission... is complete."

He looked at Boruto and said, "Tomorrow, we will activate 'The Plow' and return to our own time."

"Huh? Going back tomorrow?!" Boruto was taken aback. He thought he would stay for at least a few more days, after all, there were still so many new and exciting things in this world, or rather, so many shocking things, and they had just experienced a great battle.

"Yes, tomorrow." Sasuke repeated briefly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

His gaze flicked to the side—

Uchiha Satsuki moved swiftly, even with a hint of imperceptible urgency, and almost the instant Sasuke let go, he stepped forward and naturally took over the position of supporting Naruto.

She carefully examined Naruto's face, her voice still cool but revealing obvious concern. "Is it really just chakra depletion? Are there any other hidden injuries? Are you alright?"

Sasuke watched this scene with a mixture of speechlessness, disgust, and a hint of knowing "I knew it."

Why does the "self" in this world have absolutely no idea what "restraint" is?

Of course, Zuo Yue knew what reserve was. Not only did she know, she was the type who had reserve ingrained in her bones—when she cared about others, she always had to find an excuse, such as "I accidentally bought too much" or "I'm worried that you're too weak and will hold us back," and her expressions of goodwill were often wrapped in a cold layer.

That girlish clumsiness and pride completely concealed her true emotions.

However, if you want to see that textbook-perfect, reserved, awkward, and arrogant Uchiha Sasuke, you'd probably have to travel back in time five or six years earlier.

Once the level of affection reached a certain "threshold," and that boundary was crossed, the "reserve" shell used for self-protection and maintaining an image was long gone when facing Naruto.

"I'm really fine, Satsuki." Naruto felt the undeniable support on his arm and the tense aura of the girl beside him, so he tried to stand up straighter. "I just used up a lot of chakra, I'll be fine after a rest. Now, let's go back to Konoha."

He offered words of comfort, but inwardly he sighed. Although the biggest threat, Urashiki, had been dealt with, the subsequent "trouble" would likely be plentiful.

The commotion of this battle far exceeded expectations, almost turning into a "Six Paths level battle" right on Konoha's doorstep. Explaining the origin of the Otsutsuki clan might be relatively easy, but how do you explain Uchiha Sasuke's astonishing power, especially the purple armor covering the Nine-Tails? That can't be easily dismissed as "a street performer with some skills."

"Oh, right."

Just then, Satsuki, who was supporting Naruto, suddenly turned his head and looked straight at Uchiha Sasuke.

"Just now... the power that covered Naruto, was that the power contained within your Sharingan?"

The moment Susanoo appeared, Satsuki clearly sensed that the chakra fluctuations flowing within the purple energy were extremely similar to the origin of her own eye power, even to the point of being from the same source. However, the intensity and scale of the chakra fluctuations were at a level that she could not even imagine at the moment, like fireflies compared to the bright moon.

"Hmm." Sasuke responded calmly, neither denying nor offering a detailed explanation. "That is... one of the powers you will eventually awaken and master in your future."

Will they awaken in the future...?

The power of that force was undeniable, perfectly complementing Naruto to unleash devastating might. Despite sensing the familiarity brought by the shared origin of their eye powers, at this moment, gazing at Sasuke's calm profile and the unspoken understanding between him and Naruto, a burning emotion surged uncontrollably from the deepest recesses of Sasuke's heart—jealousy.

It wasn't jealousy of his power, but rather jealousy that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Naruto in such a powerful and complete form, facing and defeating a formidable enemy that even she found terrifying. She, on the other hand, could only watch from afar on the cliff, without even the right to intervene.

"That eye..." She forced herself to focus on the power itself, "Is it called... the 'Mangekyou Sharingan'?"

"How can I awaken those eyes?"

"..."

Sasuke paused almost imperceptibly. He lowered his head slightly; this question touched upon the heaviest, most painful part of his heart that he least wanted to recall.

"...This," his voice remained calm, but there was a subtle, almost imperceptible lingering emotion, "when the 'time' comes, you will naturally...understand, you will awaken."

He couldn't, and didn't want to, explain in detail the pain that accompanied that immense power, the heavy price that loss was so closely linked to despair. He had tasted that price firsthand and knew its bitterness all too well.

Naruto, who also knew the story behind this power, heard Sasuke's vague answer and saw the desire and obsession for power in Sasuke's eyes. His expression became somewhat strange. He quickly tried to change the subject and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Satsuki, it's okay! That power, when the time is right, you'll naturally feel it..."

The word "awaken" had not yet been uttered—

suddenly!

Naruto's fluent speech suddenly stopped!

His expression froze, and his pupils trembled violently and uncontrollably! Then, he felt as if he had been instantly plunged into an ice cave in the far north.

"Well……!"

A very short, muffled groan, filled with suppressed immense pain, escaped his throat. His eyes remained wide open, staring straight ahead, but his gaze quickly lost focus, becoming empty and unfocused.

He lost control of his body in an instant and fell straight and heavily to the ground!

"Naruto—!!!"

As she felt the weight in his arms suddenly disappear and become weak, Zuo Yue, who was supporting him, almost screamed out his name, her voice filled with unprecedented panic and helplessness! She frantically tried to hold on, but Naruto had completely lost consciousness and his body slumped down.

Satsuki knelt down and frantically half-huddled Naruto in her arms, shaking his shoulders violently. She could feel the unusual stiffness and coldness of his body through her fingertips.

"Naruto?! Naruto! What's wrong with you?! Answer me!!" she called out, but although Naruto's eyes were still open, he did not respond to any sound or touch.

"What's going on?!"

This sudden turn of events caused Sasuke and Boruto's expressions to change drastically! The two immediately rushed forward and knelt beside Naruto. Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan instantly activated, carefully scanning Naruto's entire body, trying to find traces of chakra disorder, internal injuries, or being subjected to some kind of hidden jutsu.

Boruto was also extremely anxious, his mind racing through every detail of the battle—Urashiki had been defeated, could he have left behind some curse or backup plan at the last moment?!

"Was there some hidden injury left from the battle just now? Or is it a backlash from severely overdrawn chakra?" Sasuke frowned and analyzed in a deep voice, but even with his eye power, he couldn't see the obvious source of the abnormality for the time being.

"No...that's not right..." Boruto muttered to himself, his gaze anxiously sweeping over Naruto. Suddenly, he remembered some things that happened after the Ōtsutsuki clan was wiped out.

He suddenly grabbed Naruto's hand, which was hanging limply to the ground, and opened his palm—

Boruto's heart turned ice-cold after just one glance.

In Naruto's outstretched palm, a diamond-shaped black mark slowly emerged and condensed from the inside out, eventually being imprinted on his skin!