Over a dozen shadow clones vanished into smoke as Sasuke landed in front of Black-Robed Naruto and Black-Robed Sasuke, looking down at them from above.
"This is your last chance," he said. "Explain to me—what do you mean by 'We will never let you destroy this world'?"
From the distance, the enormous Nine-Tails leaped forward, a Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth, charging straight at Sasuke.
Sasuke glanced up, his face completely unchanged. "I've had enough fun. It's time you were put on a leash."
The moment he finished speaking, Sasuke's Rinnegan glowed faintly. The massive Nine-Tails suddenly crashed to the ground, its eyes turning into the pattern of the Rinnegan. The Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth dissolved back into chakra, and the giant fox just stood there, completely frozen.
Black-Robed Sasuke stared in disbelief, as if his entire understanding of the world had just been shattered.
Black-Robed Naruto clenched his fists, his teeth grinding in frustration. "Are you messing with us?"
"I am. So what?" Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at him.
He wasn't wrong—this was basically toying with them. The Rinnegan had an overwhelming advantage against Tailed Beasts. Not everyone had the kind of power Kurama did with the Six Paths chakra. Right now, besides Kurama, none of the other nine Tailed Beasts could resist Sasuke's Genjutsu.
This was the power of the Rinnegan.
Black-Robed Sasuke lowered his head in silence, lost in thought.
Sasuke looked at him, his tone turning firm. "Tell me—who told you that we would destroy this world?"
That was the only thing he wanted to know.
Black-Robed Naruto bit his lip, his eyes filled with hatred. He didn't say a word.
Seeing this, Black-Robed Sasuke let out a quiet sigh. Then, with an almost resigned expression, he sat down on the ground and spoke in a sorrowful tone.
"A masked man… He wasn't a real person, just a lingering will. He had no body, but he had a mind. He told us…"
Black-Robed Sasuke paused.
"Obito…" Sasuke frowned and took a deep breath. "Go on."
Black-Robed Sasuke closed his eyes. "He told us… that our world is just a Genjutsu world he created. If the Genjutsu is undone, our world will be destroyed, and everything will disappear. And the ones who can break the Genjutsu… are you and Naruto, the versions of us from another world."
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Black-Robed Sasuke saw his reaction and let out a bitter chuckle. "So it's true… That guy was right. Just looking at your face… I can tell. You're going to break the Genjutsu, aren't you?"
Sasuke stayed silent.
They had to return to their own world. And to do that, they needed to break the Genjutsu Kurama called 'Limited Tsukuyomi.' But no one knew if this world would still exist once it was undone.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "Creating an entire world… Just how strong is this Obito—the masked man?"
"I don't know." Black-Robed Sasuke shook his head. "He only appeared before us as a lingering will. According to him, even he can't interfere with this world he created. He also can't break the Genjutsu himself. The only ones who can… are you, Naruto, and your Kurama."
He lowered his head, his expression full of bitterness. "We don't want to die… We don't want to disappear… Even if… we're just people who exist inside a Genjutsu."
No wonder… No wonder these two kept saying they wanted to attack Konohagakure but only ever talked about the two of us.
Sasuke closed his eyes.
Even the information Kurama got from the Nine-Tails earlier… It was probably fake.
Their goal was never to destroy Konohagakure.
It was to kill him and Naruto.
Because to them, that was the only way to save this world.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, anger rising in his heart—anger directed at Uchiha Obito.
"He created a world just to throw it away like it was nothing… Does he think people's lives are just playthings?"
Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at the two in front of him. A strange emotion welled up inside him.
Black-Robed Sasuke slowly lifted his head and locked eyes with his counterpart from another world. His face was filled with bitterness and uncertainty.
"Another me… Can I call you that?"
"You can."
Sasuke's gaze softened, his Mangekyou Sharingan fading away, and even his voice lost its usual sharpness.
"So, the other me..." Black-Robed Sasuke looked at him. "Are we... real?"
Sasuke: "..."
He... couldn't answer that question.
"I see..." Black-Robed Sasuke let out a bitter sigh. "We lost. Then we're willing to accept our fate, whether it's disappearing or dying. Do whatever you want. And honestly, with your strength, unless every single person in our world joined forces..."
"No." Sasuke interrupted him. "You're wrong. Fate is—"
"The most unreliable thing there is. Nothing is set in stone—not even fate itself."
"Don't accept a fate you don't want." Sasuke clenched his fists, his tone firm and serious.
He had once accepted his so-called fate. He hated Itachi, just as Itachi had planned. He grew up in despair and fear, becoming stronger with only one goal—to make Itachi regret everything he had done.
But in the end, even if Sasuke had killed Itachi without knowing the truth, he would've still been walking the path Itachi had set for him. He wouldn't have realized there was anything he could change.
But that was wrong.
Following the fate Itachi had written for him, becoming the person Itachi had expected, killing him, and growing stronger—none of that had ever been *his* choice. It was all arranged by Itachi.
Sasuke... no longer believed in fate.
The only real path is the one you choose for yourself. He had broken away from the future Itachi had planned, changed the version of him that existed in Itachi's mind. Now, he had a better choice—maybe not the best one, but definitely not the worst.
This was the path *he* had carved out, and fate had nothing to do with it.
"Fate will say all kinds of things to you, but you don't have to listen." Sasuke spoke softly.
"But what can we do now?" Black-Robed Sasuke looked up at the sky. "We lost. You won. You'll break this Genjutsu, and everyone inside it will disappear. That's just how it is."
Sasuke opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly, no words came out.
For a moment, silence filled the space between them. The only sound left was the occasional chirping of insects.
Then, a voice came from above.
"Well, why can't you just believe that *we're* the ones who aren't real?"
Sasuke looked up. A massive shadow loomed over them as Kurama descended from the sky, his enormous figure impossible to miss. He landed slowly, a faint smile on his face.
Black-Robed Sasuke stared in shock.
Kurama crouched down, pointing a clawed finger at him. "Why can't you just believe that we are the illusions? We're just outsiders from a world you don't understand, watching from the sidelines. And once we leave, your life will go back to normal, as if nothing ever changed."
"So why doubt whether you're real or not?" Kurama tilted his head, looking confused.
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