Chapter 7: "The Truth Beneath the Hate"
Location: Uchiha Compound Ruins – Late Afternoon
The wind moved through the empty halls of the once-proud Uchiha district. The stones were cracked. The silence, oppressive. Even the crows didn't perch here anymore.
Sasuke stood alone, staring at the family shrine.
He didn't turn when he heard Galen approach.
"You shouldn't be here," Sasuke muttered.
"I know," Galen said, stopping a few feet behind him. "But I came anyway."
Sasuke's fists clenched. "You think just because everyone's fawning over you now — the Council, Tsunade, even Naruto — that gives you the right to act like you understand?"
"I don't understand your pain," Galen said calmly. "I never will. But I do know what it means to be lied to your whole life."
Sasuke turned slightly, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Galen took a deep breath.
"You think Itachi killed your clan because he was a monster."
Sasuke's body tensed.
"But he wasn't," Galen continued. "He was forced to."
Sasuke stepped forward, slowly. "…What?"
"He was given a mission," Galen said. "By Danzō. By the Elders. They told him the Uchiha were planning a coup. They said if he didn't act, there would be civil war. Konoha would fall."
"That's a lie."
"No," Galen said quietly. "It's the truth. I saw the orders. I saw the memories in Danzō's mind. I met Itachi."
Sasuke's Sharingan flared instantly. "You WHAT?!"
"He didn't ask for forgiveness," Galen said. "He didn't even defend himself. He just wanted one thing."
Sasuke's voice cracked. "What?"
"For you to live. To grow stronger. To be free of this curse."
Sasuke was trembling now.
"He killed his family to protect the village," Galen said, his voice a whisper. "He left the only person he loved alive — knowing that person would hate him forever — so that you could have a future."
Sasuke looked like the ground was breaking beneath his feet.
"No…"
"He didn't want power," Galen said. "He wanted peace. Even if it meant becoming your demon."
Sasuke dropped to his knees, breath shaking.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he whispered.
"Because they were afraid," Galen said. "Afraid of what you'd do. Of how it would break you."
Silence.
Then:
"…It did break me."
Galen knelt beside him.
"But it doesn't have to define you."
Sasuke looked up at him — eyes filled with tears and fire.
"You expect me to just forgive the village? Forgive HIM?"
"No," Galen said softly. "But I hope you'll forgive yourself."
And for the first time in years… Sasuke cried. Not out of anger. But grief.
Location: The Valley of the End — Twilight
The waterfall roared like thunder, and the sky above burned orange.
Sasuke stood on one statue's head — lightning crackling across his arm.
Naruto stood on the other — wind spiraling around him, eyes full of pain.
They had said everything. Yelled. Fought. Bled.
Now they were about to end it.
Rasengan vs Chidori.
Friendship vs vengeance.
Hope vs rage.
But before they could strike—
A flash.
A single flutter of crows.
And suddenly, Itachi stood between them, arm raised.
Sasuke froze.
"...Brother?"
Naruto gasped. "Itachi?!"
But Itachi didn't speak.
Because someone else stepped from the trees behind him.
Galen Anthony.
Cloak billowing. Lightsaber unlit at his side. Eyes glowing faintly — not with anger, but with something deeper:
A vision.
He raised one hand.
And time slowed.
Water froze mid-air. Leaves stopped falling. Lightning and chakra stilled.
"Enough," Galen said quietly. "You're both too important to die here."
Sasuke growled. "Stay out of this! This is between me and him—!"
"No," Itachi said, voice heavy. "This is bigger than us."
Galen stepped forward and placed a hand between them, palm up.
"I'm going to show you something. Both of you."
He closed his eyes.
And unleashed the Force.
[FORCE VISION: FUTURE OF THE SHINOBI WORLD]
Darkness. Fire. Screaming.
Nations falling. Villages consumed by shadow.
A masked figure controlling beasts of terror.
Madara Uchiha reborn. Eyes glowing with Rinnegan power.
A world war ignites. Allied shinobi fall one by one.
Giant tailed beasts turned into weapons.
Zetsu crawling from the ground like roots of decay.
Naruto, older, bloodied, standing alone.
Sasuke, clad in black — fire in his eyes, lightning in his veins — striking down foes beside him.
But behind it all…
A single figure in white. Kaguya. The end of everything.
And at the heart of it:
Naruto and Sasuke.
Either standing together.
Or dying apart.
[Back to Reality — The Valley of the End]
Naruto collapsed to one knee, sweating.
Sasuke was pale, trembling.
Itachi's eyes were wide — he had seen it too.
"That's… what's coming?" Sasuke whispered.
"If you keep walking this path," Galen said softly, "the world will burn. And everything Itachi died to protect… will be lost."
Naruto looked at Sasuke. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
Sasuke stared into the water.
"…I saw what happens if I don't change."
Galen stepped closer.
"You can run. You can chase power. But it won't stop that future. Only you two together can."
Itachi placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"You don't have to carry this alone anymore."
Sasuke looked up at him — and for the first time in years, his anger broke into something else.
"…I want to believe you."
Galen nodded.
"Then come back. Not just to Konoha — but to the Light."