Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 318: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

Here's the 2 Extra Chapters!

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Konoha.

Inside the barbecue restaurant, joyous laughter echoed endlessly.

At one side of a long barbecue table, the jonins were cheerfully toasting one another, reminiscing about how much the village had changed over the years.

They were the ones who could feel it most deeply. From the devastation of the Third Shinobi War, when Konoha fell from its pedestal, to now, a mere thirteen years later, when it had once again ascended to the position of the strongest shinobi village in the world.

And this time, it was stronger than ever before.

"In just thirteen years, the changes have been incredible. I heard Kisame has even become a team leader for Genin this time."

"Yeah, back then I thought I wouldn't even survive the Third War, let alone become a jonin."

Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and the other jonin spoke with a mix of nostalgia and amazement.

But while the jonin were caught up in their reflections, the genin at the other table couldn't fully grasp the weight of their words.

"Gaara, don't worry. We're all comrades now. The Hokage himself said that if you ever feel homesick, you can return to the Sand Village anytime."

"Exactly. Plus, there are plenty of escort missions to the Land of Wind. It'd be a convenient trip."

Gaara's face remained cold and expressionless, but in the depths of his eyes, there was a hint of confusion, as if he didn't quite know how to respond to the warmth around him.

Watching this scene, Kankuro couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Gaara wasn't lashing out.

"Kankuro, I heard that Temari is being groomed as the next Kazekage."

"Yeah, Temari is a real genius."

Hearing the group's admiration for his sister, Kankuro's thoughts went deeper than Gaara's. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief—at least Temari's position in Konoha was being treated with sincerity.

"Sasuke, next time, I'm going to beat you!"

Facing Naruto's stubborn challenge, Sasuke smirked slightly, then replied with a touch of arrogance:

"Naruto, you'd better train harder, then."

This version of Sasuke, who had not experienced the Uchiha clan massacre, radiated youthful energy. His demeanor even managed to stir something in Gaara's heart.

As a fellow jinchuriki, Gaara couldn't help but notice how Sasuke had gained so many close friends and how the villagers showed him no hatred or rejection.

After Uchiha Shirou became Hokage, the materials in the ninja academy explicitly described the role of a jinchuriki.

Jinchuriki were ninjas who bore the unimaginable pain and burden of sealing-tailed beasts within themselves to protect the village. They were to be honored as heroes of the village.

With this kind of narrative instilled in children from a young age, Konoha's fear and prejudice toward jinchuriki had been transformed at its root.

Because of this, even though everyone knew Gaara was a jinchuriki, he had experienced equal and respectful gazes during his time in Konoha.

There were still occasional frowns, but those expressions seemed to label him as an outsider rather than the pure hatred and malice he had endured in the Sand Village.

Unconsciously, Gaara began to feel like Konoha was more like home than the Sand Village had ever been.

Amid the laughter and joy, bonds were beginning to form between former enemies from the Mist and Sand Villages.

"Are you not going to join them?"

Outside, in the shadow of a large tree, someone spoke to a lone figure quietly watching the lively barbecue restaurant.

It was Sasuke from another world wearing an ANBU mask. He shook his head and replied, "Not this time. Maybe next time."

Behind him, Uchiha Shirou couldn't help but smile.

"What's the matter? Do you still think of yourself as an outsider?"

"No!" Sasuke denied this decisively, his eyes firm.

Shirou noticed the lingering hesitation in Sasuke's gaze and teased him:

"It seems like you and the younger Sasuke are the same—sensitive and reluctant to face separation."

Caught off guard, Sasuke's lips twitched in resignation. Shirou had a habit of teasing people which always left him speechless.

If he could beat him in a fight, Sasuke would have given him a cold scoff by now.

Instead, his gaze drifted back to the window, where the younger version of himself was laughing and chatting with his friends inside. For a moment, he was mesmerized.

This world was the way things should have been. No burdens of hatred. Surrounded by friends. With higher, more peaceful aspirations.

"If you're not going to join them, let's go. The Dragon Vein is about to activate. Honestly, you surprised me this time—I thought you'd bring more people back with you."

Seeing Sasuke's hesitation, Shirou shrugged with a smile. He knew Sasuke's heart now fully belonged to this world's Konoha.

This Konoha had given him everything he had lost—the smiles of his clan, the warmth of family, harmony with his comrades, and the pursuit of something nobler and more peaceful.

"They..."

At that moment, memories of three faces flashed through Sasuke's mind.

Suigetsu Hozuki's wild laughter as he trained the younger members of the Hozuki clan as ANBU. His counterpart in this world couldn't hide his genuine satisfaction.

Jugo, reunited with Kimimaro, had regained his calm, even though there were now two versions of him. Both shared a love for peace and sought to coexist even better.

Karin wearing a Konoha forehead protector, radiated joy every day as she worked on missions, clocked in at the hospital or the barrier team, and returned home to see her mother.

Thinking of them, Sasuke's lips curled slightly. Though his eyes sparkled with warmth, he still scoffed coldly:

"They're too weak. I don't need them to come back with me."

They had all found what they had lost. But he still had one thing he couldn't leave undone.

Seeing the determination in Sasuke's eyes, Shirou smiled and shook his head.

"Let's go, Sasuke. It won't be long before you can come back."

As the figures on the treetop disappeared, back in the barbecue restaurant, Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha both paused briefly, their expressions unreadable, before resuming their casual chats with the others.

...

Root Division, Secret Research Base.

"Heh heh, the power of the Dragon Vein is almost fully charged. But guess what we've discovered..."

Two Orochimarus grinned wickedly, their sinister expressions mirrored. Seeing them, Shirou's eye twitched, and he sighed helplessly.

"That Orochimaru, you're something."

Even Sasuke fell silent. It wasn't that he lacked composure; it was simply that the pace of this world's development was overwhelming.

The Orochimaru of this world seemed normal enough, but the Orochimaru from another world was perverted as always using a woman's body.

And yet, under the watchful gaze of outsiders, the two Orochimarus seemed utterly unbothered, without the slightest reservation or concern. Instead, they excitedly discussed their research findings.

"The power of the Dragon Vein... What exactly is it? Is it the force of nature, or some kind of powerful man-made forbidden technique...?"

Listening to the two Orochimarus' wild speculations, Shirou shook his head helplessly. It was clear that these Orochimarus were completely consumed by their research.

After all, they didn't have to worry about funding, and if they needed manpower, they had the entire Konoha village as their backing. Over the years, Konoha had certainly not been short of resources.

Seeming to sense Shirou's purpose for coming, the Orochimaru of this world licked his lips with unfulfilled curiosity and said in his raspy voice:

"Then let me tell you about the Sharingan and the Rinnegan that you asked us to study, Hokage-sama!"

At this, Sasuke's expression turned to one of startled surprise. The Rinnegan and the Sharingan—was there some hidden connection between them?

The next words, however, left Sasuke utterly shocked. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"Since the Uchiha, Senju, and other clans are all descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, why is it that they awaken not the Rinnegan, but the Sharingan? Based on our research, it could be attributed to bloodline degradation, mutation, or other factors..."

"The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan isn't the ultimate evolution. There's another level above it—the Rinnegan is the final evolutionary goal of the Sharingan! And even beyond the Rinnegan... what lies there?"

The two Orochimarus, their snake-like eyes gleaming with fanatical excitement, couldn't help but put forth daring hypotheses.

"In that sense, the legends of the Sage of Six Paths, whether true or false, seem to point to his existence. And as his descendants, completing the bloodline, or evolving it further, could potentially awaken the Rinnegan.

Of course, the chances of this are incredibly low. More often, mutated bloodlines form their unique systems. Perhaps it won't even manifest as the Rinnegan—mutation might be the better term. And this might not be limited to the eyes—it could even manifest physically."

At this point, the Orochimaru from the other world licked his lips with greedy excitement.

"Take, for example, the Kaguya clan and the Uzumaki clan—their bloodlines evolve entirely through their physical traits. Their evolutionary paths are completely different, and these cases could be classified as mutations leading to another form of evolution."

At this moment, Shirou was astonished by the sparks of insight generated by the two Orochimarus in just five years.

Bloodline regression! Bloodline mutation as an alternative form of evolution—they had already hypothesized this far?

Indeed, this ninja world needed science!

"And Hokage-sama, you're entirely different from others. Or rather, you are the perfect embodiment of a mutated bloodline."

"Your bloodline is the most perfect we've ever seen. It can absorb and integrate superior genes to complete itself while filtering out unsuitable or inferior traits... Hokage-sama, your mutated bloodline is the most magnificent. You might even surpass the Sage of Six Paths!"

"Okay, stop!"

Seeing how thoroughly the two Orochimarus had researched him, Shirou rubbed his temples and waved a hand in exasperation. He already knew all of this.

"The reason I've come to you this time is to ask about the energy in Sasuke's and Naruto's chakra. Have you made any progress?"

Upon hearing Shirou's question, Uchiha Sasuke, standing to the side, looked utterly stunned. What was going on here? How come he didn't know about this?

The feminine Orochimaru licked his lips and cast Sasuke a meaningful glance before speaking in his raspy voice:

"Sasuke, you have to admit, we are lucky to have come to this world. And what's more, you also possess this kind of chakra inside you..."

"Naruto and Sasuke from this world, and you, Sasuke-kun! Your chakra is fundamentally different from ours. It carries a natural will—like the reincarnation of a divine being from legend."

If anyone else had said this, no one would believe it. But it was Orochimaru speaking, and Sasuke's expression turned grim.

"Just like in mythical legends of reincarnation, Sasuke-kun, you should understand what I mean, right?"

When Orochimaru said this, Sasuke's face darkened. Did this mean he was influenced by this will?

"Of course, Hogake-sama's devouring genes might just be able to consume it... Sasuke and Naruto from this world have already broken free from that influence..."

The more they learned, the more the two Orochimarus realized how small they were. The ninja world held far too many secrets, which was precisely why they were so obsessed with it.

"Of course, it could also be that this is all just a game orchestrated by gods. According to legend, while gods don't appear in the mortal world, they are always watching everything..."

Listening to Orochimaru's depraved, excited laughter, Shirou narrowed his eyes.

"Just like the Forest of Death in the village. The ninjas are periodically monitored, and powerful beasts are placed inside. The beasts are controlled. For the creatures within, we are the gods."

"Heh heh, Hokage-sama, are you saying..." Orochimaru immediately caught the implication in Shirou's words and couldn't help but smile excitedly.

Shirou's lips curled into an equally excited smile as he nodded.

"The Forest of Death is a playground for gods, and the weak ninjas are merely trial subjects. If the strong control this place, then perhaps the gods themselves came from a path of weakness..."

"Fascinating! This is utterly fascinating!" The secret base echoed with the maniacal laughter of the two Orochimarus.

"Haha, Hokage-sama, your analogy is brilliant. Indeed, to the weak, we are gods. And once, we too were merely playthings for the strong."

Uchiha Sasuke, standing to the side, looked at the two maniacs, who had suddenly become three. For some reason, though, he felt both a sense of agitation and an inexplicable urge.

The weaklings undergoing trials in the Forest of Death—wasn't that an analogy for him? Wasn't he, too, just a pawn manipulated by the gods?

Underneath the excited smiles, this ninja world was becoming increasingly intriguing. Though they were growing stronger, the more they uncovered, the more they realized they were always just ants in a larger scheme.

"A god's game, or perhaps a god's conspiracy. Either way as long as we continue to grow stronger, becoming a higher-level god will allow us to peel back layer after layer of the veil."

In the secret base, Uchiha Sasuke lay on a research table, being studied alternately by the two Orochimarus. He was speechless.

"Sasuke, I will use my forbidden technique, the Chimera Jutsu, to draw this will from your body. Do not resist."

"Understood."

At this moment, Uchiha Sasuke was remarkably calm. If Shirou truly harbored ill intent, he had had countless opportunities over the years. There was no way he would wait until now. Thus, Sasuke felt at ease.

"Hokage-sama, it seems you're planning to take Sasuke back with you."

At this point, the two Orochimarus, who were busy taking notes, both flashed raspy, sinister smiles.

And Uchiha Shirou, his Mangekyo spinning in his eyes, returned their smiles with a meaningful one of his own.

"Orochimaru, do you think the two worlds of the Dragon Vein could be a playground for the gods?"

As Shirou voiced this bold speculation, the smile that appeared on his face instantly caused the two Orochimarus to reveal greedy and excited smiles.

Indeed! Only people with such crazy ideas could share a common language.

A playground for the gods, and yet they were the ones exploring it now. Doesn't that mean they were walking the path to becoming gods themselves?