I woke up with Naruto staring at me; he was seated on the ground, hands over his legs. His gaze was gloomy, eyes wandering over me in…frustration, maybe? When he saw my eyes flutter open, he looked even more annoyed.

"Where are we, Naruto?" I asked him, looking at the earthen walls around us. We seemed to be underground. "I don't think we are back in the village."

Somehow, his expression became even more annoyed. A scowl filtered over his mouth as he looked away from me. Naruto harrumphed and avoided my gaze.

I sighed. "What'd I do to you, Naruto?"

"You kicked me out of my own mind!" Naruto hissed, finally meeting my eyes. "You kicked me out!"

"Oh." I blinked, surprised that that was what he was mad about. "I didn't need you distracting me at the moment."

That seemed to be the worst thing to possibly say, Naruto openly glaring at me now. "I've read hundreds of stupid books on strategy and tactics because of you! You were making strategies and didn't include me! You planned in my own head and did not include me!"

"...ah. Well, Naruto…you have no training in strategy, only tactics. I needed a plan of immediate action and I didn't think you'd be able to…well…help…" I awkwardly said.

Naruto huffed and puffed, crossing his arms and frowning. "And I couldn't listen? I'm super good at listening, you know! You yammer on all the time, Sasuke! You're so preachy and stuff, it made me good at listening!"

"Preachy?" I mouthed the word again, momentarily stunned. "...yeah, that's accurate."

"And—and—and—!" Naruto struggled over his words, anger rendering his tongue inert and scrambled. "And you're such a bastard! You always have us do what you think is best, you know! You're so manipulative and controlling—what you want us to do doesn't even seem to connect with what we want to do!"

"...also accurate. I won't deny being manipulative, Naruto." I sighed, shaking my head. "But you have to trust me—"

"—I don't trust you." Naruto interjected. My mouth shut, tongue going dry. "I don't! If you let me help you plan, maybe Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be as hurt as he is! Or—or Sakura wouldn't be like she is!"

"Like Sakura is?"

"She is being weird! She doesn't even seem to notice anyone exists anymore…" Naruto frowned, forehead creasing. He leaned back, arms planting on the ground behind him. "I don't know what is wrong with her…she's been different since the battle…and it is your fault!"

I closed my eyes, breathing out of my nose softly. I stood up and pressed my back against the wall of dirty stone. "Yeah, it is my fault. It all is."

Naruto opened and closed his mouth. He pushed himself off of the ground, pupils shrinking as he glared harshly. "You aren't supposed to agree! That—everything is wrong and—and—" He stuttered, searching for words. "I feel useless…I thought that once people liked me, things would be better…but then you were as still as a corpse and Kakashi-sensei was near death." Naruto's voice went quiet, legs taking weak steps backwards. "I can't lose any of you…"

And I had recently seen all of them dead. I know far too well what he feels.

"When a man learns to feel love, he must also bear the risk of feeling hate." I quote softly. "Love is addictive, it truly is. It is why it hurts so much to lose it, to lose bonds that you hold so dear. Naruto, in one night, I lost every person I loved to one person, my own brother. I know how much it hurts to feel loss…but if you only live in fear and rage, you will never live at all."

"...preachy bastard." Naruto mumbled, earning a snort from me. "I still don't trust you, though. You don't trust me."

That was…fair of him. I mean, how much about Naruto do I know that I haven't told him? I know who his parents are, I know who killed them, and I know who named him. There are relatives of his who I know the locations of. I trusted him with none of that information.

Naruto grumbled, still looking remarkably frustrated. "You won't even deny it, you bastard."

"I haven't been trusting towards you, have I?" I mused quietly, thinking it over. Is it fair for me to withhold the knowledge of his parents from him? If he died during the battle, he'd never be able to learn who his mom and dad were…and, to make matters worse, I have the ability to let him meet them. "It hasn't been fair to you—you are right about that. I haven't been trusting towards anyone on our team."

"Why do you have to agree with me, you ass?" Naruto groaned, looking upwards. "It's so much easier to be mad at you when you don't agree, you know!"

"Poor you." I dryly say, shaking my head. "But how about I trust you, Naruto…let us enter your seal."

Naruto yelped, moving backwards a step. "No! You don't get to go in there after last time!"

"Please?" I ask, eyes turning red and evolving into the Mangekyou.

"What's wrong with your freaky eyes?" Naruto wondered, blinking slowly. He huffed, a pout crossing over his lips. "Fine…but you better not kick me out, you bastard."

I met his eyes and pulled us into Naruto's seal, the world shifting around us. "I won't kick you out…but how would you like to meet your parents?"

Naruto went quiet, mouth becoming ajar. He closed it quickly and shot me a glare, hands balling. "That isn't funny!" He hissed, gaze icy. "You—"

"—so, the Uchiha and my jailer return." The Kyubi said, head resting on his paws.

"Afraid so, fox. It won't be for long, but I imagine this will be an enlightening visit for you." My Mangekyou stared into red eyes, Kurama flinching at my bloodline.

Kurama growled, head lifting upwards. "Those wretched eyes, so like Madara Uchiha…your chakra has only gotten more repugnant since we last spoke, Uchiha brat. You are nothing but an upstart riding on the coattails of a grand legacy."

"Enough of that." I calmly said, sparring Naruto a quick glance. He still seemed furious, but there was a layer of bafflement that muddled his energy. I looked back towards the Kyubi. "But your obstinance needs to go, Kyubi. Tsukuyomi."

I was pulled into an infinitely flat field of grass with the massive Tailed Beast. Kurama tried to swat a claw at me, but chains climbed from out of the ground and bound him downwards. "Enough of that, Kurama."

"You mongrel! How do you know that name!" Kurama thrashed against the chains binding him, seeking to break free from his prison. "I will kill you, eat the marrow from your bones and crush those filthy eyes!"

"Indra left a record for the Uchiha Clan, Kurama. You will be spending a long time here, fox. You have lost your father's vision." I shook my head, ignoring the enraged thrashes and growls from the beast.

"You will not—!"

I flicked my hand, sending Kurama away. In Tsukuyomi, I am God. Itachi so rarely used this power, and that was a true tragedy. The real power of Tsukuyomi was not torture—it was conversion.

Kurama was going to be spending years going through impossible scenarios which were only solvable by working with the Tsukuyomi-Naruto.

Kurama would be forced to do it over and over and over again. He would spend decades going through impossible tasks. Kurama would be forced to recognize that cooperation is the only path forward.

Tsukuyomi is truly a powerful ability…Itachi wastes it, he truly does. Perhaps Kakashi-sensei was right in claiming that Itachi refuses to think laterally.

While no Mangekyou-wielding Uchiha could fall to the ability, everyone else was up for grabs. With one glance at the Hokage's eyes, I could make him live through centuries of following me. The same goes for any shinobi…but I probably won't use it again; my vision will fail if I keep using Tsukuyuomi at the rate I have been using it at.

But…if I manage to ever meet Orochimaru's eyes? I will happily drive myself blind by trapping him in centuries worth of time following me loyally. Not like it would drive me blind—after all, it is only in casting the jutsu that my eye gets damaged. Whatever I do in it does not matter.

"Huh." That was surprising. Kurama went with cooperation over petulant refusal in only eight years. I waved my hand forward, pulling the fox out of the separate time-space he was in within the Tsukuyomi realm.

Kurama fell to the ground in front of me, looking confused for several seconds before understanding filtered over his face. "You—Uchiha…"

"Madara Uchiha plans to resurrect the Ten Tails and you need to work with Naruto in order for that to not happen." I don't censor myself, enjoying the look of shock on the fox's face. Kurama was surprisingly emotive for an animal. "Cooperation is the only path forward. You will not reveal this knowledge to Naruto. You will work with Naruto."

"Your eyes—Madara had no ability such as your own." Kurama was oddly quiet, seemingly contemplative. "Nor did my father…I will work with the boy, but you must swear to bring back my spiritual energy."

"It will take some time."

"As I expected, Uchiha." Kurama shook his head, letting out a breath of air. "But there is no choice here, is there? You'd control me with those damned eyes if I refused."

I didn't deny his accusations. "You're right, Kurama. I would. Madara plans to destroy the world; your free will is something I am fully willing to sacrifice if it means saving the planet."

"Leave. I will work with the brat when the seal is undone. I swear this by my father's name." Kurama then glared at me, eyes full of hate. "But I will never willingly work with you, filthy Uchiha."

"That is fine." I ended the technique, pulling us out of the genjutsu. Instantly, I felt the hit to my chakra reserves. I had half of my total chakra left. I looked towards Naruto, no time having passed for him at all. "Undo the seal, Naruto."

'"W—what!?" Naruto's head snapped towards me at the speed of light. "No! I can't do that!"

"Your mom's name was Kushina Uzumaki and your father was Minato Namikaze. The seal has a safety that will release embers of your father's chakra to close the seal if it is opened. You will be fine."

Naruto froze, face filtering through emotions: joy, anger, rage, confusion, and far too many emotions ran across his face. "My dad is the fourth hokage? Why then…why would he seal the Kyubi in me, his own son! That is—"

"Ask him yourself. Go pull off the seal." I ordered him. Naruto looked towards the seal and back to me, struggling to come to a decision. "Remember, it won't free the fox."

Those last words seemed to seal the deal. "Fine." Naruto bit with determination, walking forward towards the bars of the cage. He marched to the bars and stopped, looking upwards at the slip of paper far above him. Naruto kept walking on the bars and, eventually, wrapped his fingers around the paper.

Naruto started to tear downwards, but a man slammed into Naruto, wrapping the small blond in his arms. Minato, the fourth hokage, landed in front of me casually, Naruto held in his grip.

I gave the legendary ninja a small smile. "Hello, Lord Fourth."

"Fugaku and Mikoto's son." The man instantly could tell who I was. "You are bigger than when I last saw you."

"You saw me as a child?" I asked in wonder, voice full of shock. "I never knew that."

Minato's face lit up, a casual grin crossing over his lips. "Kushina loved to pinch your cheeks; you always would get so—" He cut himself off and looked down at Naruto, the boy still standing right in front of him. "We will be back."

Minato and Naruto vanished, leaving me alone with the fox. "Just you and me again, huh, Kurama?" I laughed. That was three times now that I was left alone with the Tailed Beast. "Well, let's get you out of that cage…"

With a great leap, I launched myself up towards the seal and wrapped my fingers around it…only to find a chain clamped to my foot and yanking me to the ground. I thumped against the ground with a groan. "Have faith in your best friend's son." I coughed out, lying on the nasty ground of the seal. "The Kyubi has agreed to help fight the Masked Man."

I saw Kushina standing above me, chains coiling behind her. Then, they fell. She reached down and pinched my cheeks, a massive smile on her face. "It has been so long, Sasuke-chan! You were such a cute little baby, but now you're an adorable little boy, ya know!" She cooed, brutalizing my face.

"...how about you let me open the seal and you can go talk to your husband and son?" I offer, trying to bat away one of her hands. "Also, tell Minato to not use up all of his chakra in that conversation—I need him for something."

She stopped pinching my cheeks and violently pulled me up. "You talked about the Masked Man? The bastard that got Minato-chan and myself killed, ya know?"

"Him, yes." I nodded my head. "He is Madara Uchiha. The Kyubi hates Madara more than anyone else…with Madara planning to end the world, he will work with Naruto."

Kushina bit her lower lip, looking up at Kurama, the fox remaining quiet. "Madara plans to end the world?"

"And we need Naruto to work with the Kyubi to stop that. If you have seen any of Naruto's memories, you know that I would not hurt him." I earnestly say, practically pleading with her. "Please, go talk to your son and let me do this."

"...you look too much like Mikoto. If the Kyubi gets out…" She muttered, shaking her head. She glanced at my Sharingan as a pout crossed over her lips. "Fiiiine. And you better hit Kakashi and Jiraiya for me, okay?!"

"Yes ma'am!" I say as she vanished to…somewhere else in the seal. Take three, I suppose. With one final leap, I reach the paper of the seal. I grasp it tightly, fingers clenching onto it. With one hard tug, it comes straight off.

The bars vanished, the part of the seal binding Kurama completely disappearing. A look of utter glee shown on the fox's face. "I am free!"

"From the seal. If you leave, I will trap you in an eternity of hell and then enslave you." I forcefully say, stepping backwards due to the sheer force of the Bijuu's chakra.

The look of glee did not disappear from Kurama's face. "Regardless of that, the seal is gone." He sounded like he was going to start dancing. "A hundred years in chains! Nothing binds me any longer, Uchiha, and you can not take that away from me."

"And you will work with Naruto?"

Kurama scoffed. "I am not a fool."

"Good." I sat on the ground and waited for two blonds and a redhead to appear. Kurama just curled up into a ball and napped. It wasn't a very long wait, but there was one blond noticeably missing. "What happened to Naruto?"

Minato had a melancholic expression on his face that soon devolved into a much more serious look. "Madara…Naruto doesn't know, does he?"

"No." I stood up from the ground, my own face becoming steely. "Some things need to wait their time to be revealed—Naruto is already in a mental tizzy, he doesn't need to be sent on a quest for revenge."

"Like yourself?" Kushina asked me as she watched me carefully. "That is what you want to do against Itachi-chan, right?"

"Yes, that is what I want to do. Itachi will die by my hand, whether it be in a day or three years…he will die." I rubbed my forehead, a frown creasing my face. "It isn't for noble reasons; hell, it isn't for anything but greed. Did you know he made me watch the clan die five hundred thousand times?"

Both of their faces paled, a look of visible horror filling in their expressions. Kushina took a step back, mouth wide open. "Five—five hundred thousand? How…why would he…" Her mind seemed to be having trouble processing the fact that the cute little boy she had known as a child became what he is today.

"Yes, that many times. The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup d'etat against the village. Itachi, under Danzo's orders and with the help of Madara, slaughtered the clan. The only rationalization I can find for the torture he put me through was that he wanted to try and force my Mangekyou to activate…he failed that time." Venom poured from my voice in a venerable waterfall. I hate Itachi, there are not enough words to express my hatred towards him.

If I were to compose a book of vitriol which spat at Itachi, the pages in the book would be more numerous than the stars in the sky. I despise him; there is no word to describe my feelings towards him besides utter contempt.

"While this is important, Sasuke…" Minato trailed off, a mildly disturbed look on his face. Impressive, given the fact that he had killed thousands of men. "We lack time. What did you need?"

I had to bite my tongue to avoid saying anything I didn't want to. I forced myself to be calm. "Seal your chakra in me, put the very last pieces into me. I plan to create a jutsu which will allow me to take the knowledge stored within spiritual energy into myself." I look towards Minato, a near-pleading glance cast at him. "Lord Fourth, I plan to become the fifth hokage. To protect the Leaf, your knowledge would be incredibly valuable. And you, Kushina." I look towards her. "You have knowledge of several old Uzumaki Clan ruins. There exists a mask which allows for the Shinigami's stomach to be pierced, freeing the souls inside of it. I plan to free the Kyubi's other half."

The pair shared a glance, a very brief one at that. They seemed to come to a conclusion at that moment. Minato played spokesperson. "The Flying Thunder God Jutsu would help you defeat Madara…" He beamed at me, a bright look on his face. "I put my faith into you and my son. We do. Your parents would be proud of you, traitors or not. As long as Naruto can be the sixth hokage, we will assist you."

Air left my lungs, air I hadn't even known I was holding in. The sigh of relief released innumerous amounts of stress from my body. "Thank you, Lord Fourth, Kushina. Naruto will be the sixth."

Kushina walked up to me, an open palm planting into my stomach. "Be the brother to Naruto that we were never able to give him, Sasuke-chan…and call me Aunty Kushina!"

A small smile clung to my face as I found myself flung out of the seal, a heat lightly pulsing on my stomach. I looked down at my gut, feeling the remnants of their chakra sealed inside of me. Thank you…Aunty Kushina and Uncle Minato.

The earthen room I was in before we went into the seal felt serene now, a radiant aura of sanctity emanating inside of it. I'd like to claim it was from the somber, yet melancholic conversation I just had with Kushina and Minato…but it was Naruto. He was radiant.

As in, Naruto was actually radiant. He is quite literally glowing yellow. Magatama marks were bright on his neck and dark on his collar, a cloak trailing down his figure. Golden fox ears trailed from his head into the air, the chakra blowing away into wisps in the air.

I would claim Naruto looked badass if he wasn't…well…still fairly short. Regardless, the Kyubi Chakra Mode version two made for an impressive visage. "Had a good conversation, Naruto?"

Naruto sniffled, looking away. Tears were trailing onto his glowing cheeks "They love me, Sasuke…" He sniffled again, droplets of water falling onto the ground. "I—all my life, I thought my parents hated me like all of the villagers did. They love me. They believe in me! They said I'd become the hokage, Sasuke."

"Of course they love you, Naruto. You're probably the friendliest, nicest person I have ever met." I gave him a weak smile, thrown off by his tears.

At a pace that would take me too much training to match, Naruto bolted into me, swooping me into a hug. He held back more sniffles. "Thank you…bastard."

"You're the only brother I have, Naruto." I patted him on the head. The feeling of the purified Kyubi chakra was…it was what I'd imagine being in the presence of a holy object would be like. It felt pure, almost sanctifying. "What kind of brother would I be if I didn't care for you?"

Technically, he and I were brothers by soul. He is the closest person in the world to being considered my brother. The Bijuu don't count, they aren't humans. Itachi obviously doesn't count.

"My dad said he sealed the Kyubi into me 'cause he believes in me, ya know? That—that I was meant to be a hero to the village. And my mom had been the Jinchuriki before me!" Naruto sounded giddy, letting me go as he stepped back. "And my dad was the hokage! He is a badass! Ima be just like him, Sasuke! You better not fall behind, because I need to make my parents proud, you better believe it!"

I shook my head, Naruto's joy contagious. "They already are proud of you, Naruto. And…can I make a strange request?"

"Eh? I don't swing that way, you sissy bastard." He stepped back again, waving his hands in front of himself.

A groan tore through my mouth. "You have a talent for killing a serious mood, Naruto. No, I need a skin graft and blood transplant from you."

"...why?"

"Just—please trust me, Naruto." I begged him. "Sakura should be able to heal any damage to you and do the procedure. Have faith in me, please?"

Naruto stayed quiet, gold eyes meeting my Sharingan. The glowing boy grinned. "I trust you, Sasuke. I'll do it, but you have to tell me one day why you need it, ya know?"

"That's fine." I easily agreed. "And where is Sakura?"

"Sleeping, probably." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, looking around. "She has been by Kakashi-sensei's side ever since she stabilized you a week ago."

A week! Wow, I was out for too damn long. "And how has Kakashi-sensei been? Is he stable now? And his eye…?"

"Sakura took one of the dead bandit's eyes and gave it to Sensei. He was worse than you were, though."

"Well, we can get Sakura to do that tomorrow—actually, can you fill me in on everything that happened when I was unconscious?" I look around the room, making a show of eyeing the dirt walls. "For example, where are we?"

"You like it? I did it myself! I used some of the earth-style techniques that Kakashi-sensei had taught me to dig out a hole in the ground a mile-ish from where the battle had been!" He gleamed with pride, chest puffing out.

"And what about food? Did you or Sakura go hunting?"

Naruto nodded. "Mhm. I went fishing and she killed a rabbit. But I got way more fish than she got rabbits! Then she used some creepy jutsu to feed you and Kakashi-sensei."

"Some creepy juts—no, nope." I shook my head side-to-side. "Don't tell me. I do not need to know what happened to me. Blegh. No."

Naruto, the golden cloak of his disappearing, had a mischievous grin. "I don't know…it was really freaky! The food got turned down to mush and then you—"

"Nope! Lalalala, I'm not listening." I plugged my ears, trying to ignore the blond.

Naruto kept speaking, and I kept trying to not hear him. Unfortunately, I got to hear about the disgusting methods by which Kakashi and I were given nutrients.

It really was creepy.

AN: Usually, making characters too strong too fast is an issue...but, tbh, combat isn't the main focus of the story. Philosophy, morality, and the human condition are. And it isn't like they are S-rank yet.