Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 439 Changes

Tobirama didn't believe that changing eyes was a necessary condition for breaking the curse, but Naruto's preparations were far too thorough. He not only saved Itachi, but also saved a pair of eyes that could be given to the two brothers.

Fugaku's eyes.

Those were eyes retrieved at the risk of being discovered, preserved in a seal for ten years, and still look brand new without any change.

Nowadays, none of them know Yin-Yang Release, and they don't have time to research new treatment methods. After all, there are very few cases of Mangekyou Sharingan users, with only Itachi, who wasn't very cooperative, serving as a research subject for ten years. In order not to arouse Itachi's suspicion and alienate him, Shisui didn't dare to use many more radical methods.

"Actually, eye transplants are a good thing. The fusion of their pupil powers can help them advance further," Izuna, who had his eyes transplanted, commented.

Tobirama could say nothing but glare, and in the end, he could only make thorough preparations.

The two brothers were initially in very different situations. Itachi's eyes had been used for over ten years, and he was teetering on the brink of blindness, urgently needing surgery. However, Tobirama truly hadn't expected that Sasuke, this brat, would be so reckless. Being able to use Susanoo on the second day after awakening his Sharingan would be considered genius by others, but in Tobirama's eyes, it was a rapidly shortening countdown to blindness.

As expected, the meridians around the boy's eyes were severely damaged, and even if he recovers, some of them will likely atrophy.

Just as Tobirama was worrying, a power he was quite familiar with emerged from Sasuke's body. To his surprise, Naruto's chakra could flow freely within Sasuke's body, quickly enveloping Sasuke's eyes. That chakra seemed to possess a life force even more vigorous than the Nine-Tails' chakra, quickly soothing Sasuke's symptoms and even slightly opening up his meridians.

So that's how it is? Shisui's eyes must have received the same gift during the reconstruction, which is why they are no longer troubled by the Uchiha curse.

I don't know if Naruto's chakra will last long enough to fully heal Sasuke, so I'd better remind the kid to be careful.

In short, Sasuke's identity could no longer be kept secret at Mount Myōboku. Regarding Naruto's death, the two adults didn't mention Sasuke's name. In truth, Sasuke was just an unlucky chosen one, who happened to deliver the final blow. Adults don't have the right to grieve or vent their anger; they must immediately discuss a plan to deal with Pain and ensure that Akatsuki cannot harm Konoha or Sasuke.

As for Sasuke, all they hope for now is that he becomes stronger, so that he won't be immediately defeated by Akatsuki in a skirmish.

"Little Sasuke, would you like to try learning Sage Mode?" Fukasaku had seen countless deaths. He liked Naruto very much, but after the boy's passing, he only sighed a few times and decided to go back and add a note to his secret notebook, placing it alongside Minato's biography. Whether human or frog, since the hope of resurrection is slim, one must look forward.

Unfortunately, Sasuke hasn't learned that kind of clarity yet, and he may never find peace again until Naruto returns.

To master the art of perception, one must become one with nature, and the prerequisite for this is a calm mind. He could sit motionless in meditation for most of the day, but a suppressed undercurrent always surged within him, making it impossible for him to truly become one with nature.

With the help of toad oil, he could barely maintain Sage Mode by controlling his own chakra, but once he lost the support, those ethereal energies would disappear without a trace.

"Sigh, he's clearly a promising talent, but he just can't grasp it." Fukasaku sighed helplessly. He saw Sasuke's stubborn problem, and perhaps Sasuke himself was well aware of it, but he just didn't want to change.

"If I can't learn it, so be it. I can just research my own new technique." Sasuke nonchalantly decided to abandon this unusable technique.

"Wait! Sasuke, although you can't absorb natural chakra, you can control and use it. Why don't we try connecting our chakra..."

"No need," Sasuke refused again. After the chakra connection was established, Fukasaku might be able to see his mental space, and he inexplicably didn't want anyone else to disturb him; Kurama was already troublesome enough.

"Maybe I can give it a try..." The voice in my mind rang again, but it was quickly drowned out by another voice.

"With an old man like me here, what need is there for a toad?"

For the first time, Sasuke found Kurama's voice quite pleasant.

While Sasuke was undergoing intensive self-training at Mount Myōboku, the atmosphere between Hokushin and Konoha was also quite tense. Both sides strengthened the power of their barriers. However, Hokushin quickly dispatched a group of core members to Konoha as the East Wind Mission during this sensitive period.

At this time, the apparent leader of the East Wind was conducting final negotiations in the capital of the Land of Fire. To avoid influencing his judgment, the North Star side only reported good news, stating that his two brothers had been persuaded to return to North Star, and refusing to mention Naruto's death. The East Wind, as a caravan company, had an intelligence advantage and deliberately leaked information to the Daimyo that Akatsuki was active in the Land of Fire. The Daimyo, who hadn't received any intelligence from Konoha, was skeptical, but then he remembered being attacked by Akatsuki at the Fire Temple—the heart of the Land of Fire—while Konoha only discovered the situation when they were close.

What does this mean? It means... Konoha needs such a powerful "intelligence network".

Therefore, the daimyo quickly opened the door for the Dongfeng delegation, allowing them to enter Konoha openly with the daimyo's orders. As to whether this was to deliver intelligence to Konoha or to warn certain individuals, that remains to be seen.

“Without Naruto, we really can’t monitor all the movements of Konoha’s higher-ups in real time. Fortunately, Jiraiya has agreed to cooperate, and he will bring us the final decision from Konoha’s higher-ups.” Tobirama had already started to have other ideas.

They've been able to hold back for so many years entirely because of Naruto's decisions. Admittedly, those decisions were better than a complete extermination, preserving more talent beneficial to Konoha. But... Naruto is gone. If these brats don't cooperate and insist on plotting, then... he probably won't be able to stop them all. It's better to take matters into his own hands; at least that way, he can leave fewer identifiable traces.

“Three days have passed, and our people still haven’t seen Pain leave Amegakure. Is that guy even going to make it or not? He’s so slow.” Izuna was in charge of keeping watch on Amegakure and the vicinity of Konoha, but things had remained calm on both sides.

"With only Pain, Tobi, Zetsu, and Kisame remaining in Akatsuki, the pressure on us is much less. Let's hold on a little longer. If we can get Pain's eyes, we'll be halfway to victory."

Without Naruto, Hashirama became the one who encouraged everyone.

Without Naruto, their sensory network in Konoha would have to rely on sheer numbers to cover it, which would be quite troublesome and prone to vulnerabilities.

Without Naruto, they couldn't even imagine whether, after this battle, they would directly attack the Land of Frost's stronghold or continue to lie low and wait for changes in the ninja world.

The world seemed to have suddenly slipped out of their control, and everything was heading in an unknown direction.