Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 343: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

Uchiha Clan Grounds.

As the Naka Shrine crumbled with a thunderous crash, Itachi emerged from within, battered and disheveled. His pupils instantly narrowed as he quickly noticed the barrier surrounding them.

Just then, with a crackle of lightning, Sasuke burst forth from the ruins, his face twisted in anger as he glared at Itachi.

"Itachi! Looks like your body hasn't been doing too well all these years. Your taijutsu is pathetic!"

Moving at lightning speed with his Lightning Release taijutsu, Sasuke forced Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan to spin rapidly. Blood tears streamed down Itachi's face as a red Susanoo skeleton took form around him, offering defense.

"I didn't expect your Lightning Release taijutsu to reach this level, Sasuke."

Itachi, coughing up blood, couldn't hide the shock in his eyes. Sasuke's attack had even cracked Susanoo's skeletal frame.

Such power! And such speed!

Sasuke's growth both shocked and excited him. At the very least, he no longer had to worry about Sasuke's well-being.

"Itachi! This is where your crimes began—and this is where they'll end!"

Sasuke's heart burned with rage. After learning the whole truth, his hatred for Konoha's higher-ups, especially the Third Hokage and his council, had only grown—even though they were already dead, his anger was still uncontrollable.

That fool Itachi!

He let himself be manipulated by a few old geezers and committed such atrocities!

Deep down, Sasuke was still wracked with guilt. Itachi had protected him, after all. Yet the sin of slaughtering the entire clan was a burden Sasuke now also carried.

"Sasuke!"

Seeing Sasuke in such pain and fury, Itachi's expression grew complicated, but the battle between the two did not stop.

Under Itachi's shocked gaze, Sasuke unleashed his Lightning Release taijutsu, powerful Fire Release, and a Mangekyō Sharingan even stronger than Itachi's. Without exception, Sasuke had now surpassed him.

"Itachi!"

With shock in his eyes, Itachi watched as Sasuke activated his Curse Mark. However, this time, it was completely different.

When the first stage Curse Mark's black patterns covered his body, and it suddenly evolved further. The next moment, as Sasuke lifted his head, black markings appeared on his cheeks—completely different from before.

"Sage Mode! Sasuke has mastered this stage already!"

Itachi was astounded. Even he had never mastered such power.

Although Sasuke was still not fully proficient in Sage Mode, he was determined to defeat Itachi completely and unleashed a surge of power.

The Uchiha compound shook with thunderous booms. In the distant forest, birds fled in fright, only to find they couldn't escape the barrier.

Atop the tallest building, Shirou squinted at the battle, nodding in approval.

"Sasuke's strength now far surpasses before, while Itachi's power has greatly diminished due to illness."

Before reaching the full Susanoo, even for someone like Itachi, battles were mostly about intelligence.

Sasuke knew all about Itachi's eye techniques and usual jutsu, but Itachi was unfamiliar with Sasuke's new fighting style.

Plus, Itachi was already resolved to die. The outcome of this battle had been decided from the start.

The difference was, that Itachi just wanted to see with his own eyes how strong Sasuke had become before he died.

So Itachi was mostly fighting defensively, not with killing intent. Subconsciously, he wasn't analyzing Sasuke's fighting data to come up with counterattacks, but rather to understand Sasuke's current strength. That was Itachi's true mindset.

Sasuke, on the other hand, couldn't forgive anything Itachi had done. Even if it was to protect him, killing their parents and the clan was unforgivable.

But it was precisely because he understood Itachi's torment that Sasuke felt a furious urge to send him on his way.

"Mangekyō, huh."

Shirou looked down at a Mangekyō in his hand—the one Sasuke had given him after killing Danzō, Shisui's eye.

Forbidden Technique: Chimera Jutsu!

As the diamond-shaped seal in his palm began to absorb, the Mangekyō's power was gradually consumed, and the eye visibly regressed.

The Mangekyō reverted to three tomoe, then to two, one, and finally turned completely black and lifeless.

This eye had completely lost the Uchiha bloodline.

At the same time, Shirou slowly opened his eyes, revealing a Mangekyō with three black circles inside.

"As expected, devouring a Mangekyō of the same origin can evolve your own—it's much faster than evolving normally."

Feeling his power surge, Shirou smiled in satisfaction.

If he had relied on himself, who knew how long it would have taken? But this world was a perfect hunting ground.

After all, in his original world, all the Uchiha were under his command; he couldn't act recklessly just for power.

"But it seems there are still some stray eyes in this world."

Thinking of this, Shirou smiled. Shisui's other eye was still inside Naruto's belly, hidden in the crow by Itachi.

"Well, it's about time I went to see this world's ultimate Uchiha weapon."

With Konoha's upheaval finally quelled, Shirou squinted, playing with an ancient scroll. "Uchiha Hikari, huh? Might be interesting."

Meanwhile, the brothers' battle was nearing its end.

The two Susanoo giants fought atop the ruins of the Naka Shrine. Itachi's Susanoo wielded two sacred treasures, while Sasuke's Susanoo was strengthened by Sage power.

But overall, Sasuke's strength was now superior—his body and chakra far outmatched the ailing Itachi.

"Itachi! Why!? Why did you slaughter the whole clan so ruthlessly? There were ways! If you and Father joined forces and revealed your true strength, those old geezers would have been afraid.

Even just investigating Danzō's attack on Shisui from within the ANBU would have uncovered more..."

Sasuke screamed in fury, venting years of pain.

Itachi's Susanoo staggered back, as he coughed up more blood, gasping hoarsely:

"Father, Mother... Sasuke already has the power to protect himself. Now he's even Konoha's hero. The Uchiha will bloom again in his hands... cough cough..."

The high-intensity battle had pushed Itachi's body to the limit; his Mangekyō was now blurred.

"Sasuke!"

"Itachi! I prepared this jutsu just for you! Let your sins end here!"

Dark clouds rolled overhead, thunder booming. Sasuke dismissed his Susanoo and leaped to the highest point.

In pain, Sasuke roared as Chidori crackled in his hand.

Sage Art: Lightning Release — Kirin!

Daylight exploded across the land. Even with the barrier, many Konoha jōnin sensed something was happening and turned to look at the lightning at the village's edge.

"What's that?!"

"That's the direction of the old Uchiha compound!"

Many jōnin were shocked, especially Kakashi, whose face became grave.

Sasuke seemed to have disappeared!

Standing atop the Hokage Rock, Jiraiya watched in awe and sighed, "Young people these days are getting wilder—he's even learned Sage Arts and is using the power of nature itself."

Even though many Konoha ninjas noticed the distant lightning, neither the village nor the ANBU mobilized. No one was foolish; they all pretended not to see.

Back in the ruins of the Uchiha compound—

Under the Sage-powered Kirin, even Itachi's Susanoo, going all out this time, was obliterated.

He was covered in blood, coughing uncontrollably, his Mangekyō nearly blind. Yet in such dire straits, he managed a smile of release.

"Sasuke, you have become strong... You've surpassed me..."

His vision was so blurred he could no longer see Sasuke's eyes, only a vague figure approaching.

As a drizzling rain put out the fires of battle, Itachi spoke in a voice full of pain and exhaustion, his bloodied finger poking Sasuke's forehead one last time before all strength left him and he fell.

Under the rain, the battle was finally over.

Worried about Sasuke, Kakashi arrived. The barrier had long since disappeared.

"Sasuke...!"

Seeing Sasuke from a distance, Kakashi's face grew complicated.

The hatred of a destroyed clan—only to learn it was all a conspiracy. Yet the brother he loved most, for whatever reason, still killed their parents and clan. That fact could not be changed.

To Sasuke, Itachi may have been a good brother, but he was never a good Uchiha ninja!

In the rain, Sasuke stared wide-eyed at Itachi's lifeless body, Mangekyō spinning madly as two streams of blood mixed with the rain.

"Itachi... maybe death is your final release, but I will spend my life atoning for our clan and parents..."

Muttering softly, Sasuke felt that, whatever the reason, Itachi's sins were now his own to bear.

"This world's mistakes, the twisted Will of Fire, and the ugly people who forced Itachi and the Uchiha to the brink... all deserve to die!"

Remembering the night of the Nine-Tails attack and the masked man who forced the Uchiha to the village's outskirts, Sasuke's eyes erupted with murderous intent. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Itachi! Father! Clan! Watch me—I will destroy all who oppressed the Uchiha. I will protect the last true Uchiha!"

With determination, Sasuke slowly raised his head, gazing at the now-ruined clan grounds.

The Uchiha aren't extinct! There's still the Uchiha in another world! His wife is there!

He would not only seek revenge but also change this twisted, broken world!

Let the true Will of Fire of the Uchiha spread to every corner of this world.

...

Hokage's Office.

Tsunade looked out the window at the sun breaking through after the rain, as if it were a new beginning. She wore a tired smile.

"It's finally over."

"Yes, the shadow over Konoha's sky has been completely lifted," Shirou teased from the side, causing Tsunade to sigh and shake her head.

Even she hadn't expected Konoha's darkness and corruption to be so shocking.

She couldn't imagine what the Third Hokage and his old cronies were thinking, or how they could be so bold.

Just the exposure of Root's experiments was enough for everyone but their families to oppose them.

Weren't they just asking for trouble?

"These old geezers are insane. I don't believe they didn't know what Danzō was up to!"

Tsunade was at a loss for words. She'd only been Hokage for a few years, but what Root's investigations revealed had started over a decade ago.

To say those old guys knew nothing was nonsense—especially the Third Hokage. If he didn't know, he'd have been replaced long ago.

"Or maybe they knew all along."

Facing Tsunade's shock, Shirou just shook his head indifferently.

"They were so brazen because, in their hearts, they believed they were Konoha, and Konoha had become their private property. So what wouldn't they dare do?"

Tsunade fell silent at this. The more they investigated Root, the more horrifying things they found.

There was no way to whitewash it. The deeper they dug, the worse it got!

"Insane. These old geezers are truly insane!"

Power corrupts. Maybe they started as devoted shinobi for Konoha, but power eventually led them to decay.

Ambition is no match for corruption!

"There's still a mountain of Root's problems left to deal with. It won't be easy to clean up."

Looking at a thick stack of Root files, Shirou looked troubled. Even in his world, it had taken him over three months to handle Root's leftover problems.

Imagine how serious Root's issues were.

"Now the village is stable. Though we lost the power of the three clans, having someone who killed traitors like Shimura Danzō and Uchiha Itachi is enough to offset that loss."

Shirou said calmly, while Tsunade had the formal letter for Sasuke's promotion in front of her.

With the red stamp of the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Sasuke's promotion to jōnin was official.

"It's not just your Uchiha!" Tsunade rolled her eyes at Shirou, then revealed a wanted poster underneath.

The S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru's bounty.

Finally, Tsunade sighed, crossed out the poster, and issued another order.

At the same time, all of Konoha learned two pieces of news.

Former missing-nin Uchiha Sasuke had been acting under the Fifth Hokage's orders all along, and now, having completed his mission, was reinstated as a Konoha ninja and promoted to jōnin.

The second news was even more explosive, and when Jiraiya saw it, he felt complicated and melancholy.

Former S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru, after Root's investigation, was found to have been framed. His S-rank missing-nin status was revoked, and he was now classified as an S-rank dangerous ninja.

In other words, Orochimaru was no longer a missing-nin, but he was also not reinstated as a Konoha ninja—rather, he was now listed as a dangerous ninja.

After everything Orochimaru had done over the years, regardless of the reasons, no longer being wanted was already the best possible outcome.

With this move, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade overturned the problems left by the Third Hokage and truly took control of Konoha.