Standing atop a rooftop, Akira Uchiha gazed over the entirety of Konoha Village.
Though it was nighttime, with his enhanced vision, the difference between day and night was negligible. The village had certainly changed quite a bit.
Beyond the usual architecture that matched the traditional style of Konoha, Akira noticed a large area on the Hokage Rock that now housed numerous buildings.
These new structures had a distinctly modern look, with tall buildings rising up in a style that resembled something straight out of the 21st century.
In fact, Akira could even see a vehicle moving across the Hokage Rock—something that looked suspiciously like a train or maybe even a light rail system.
"Is that... a train? Or light rail?" Akira rubbed his eyes, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.
He knew that the world of Naruto had some degree of technology. The original series featured televisions, air conditioning, refrigerators, radios, and even laptops.
But overall, the world focused on personal power and supernatural abilities, making these bits of technology seem oddly placed.
Despite having such advanced tech, they lacked firearms, missiles, and satellites—all the weapons you'd expect from a modern society.
But now? After seven years of being on autopilot, Konoha Village even had a train running through it?
This kind of change was something that hadn't existed in the original Shippuden series at all!
"So... does that mean Konoha has grown even stronger over the past seven years? The village has expanded so much that they've had to build a whole new district on the Hokage Rock?" Akira thought to himself as he surveyed the familiar yet somewhat alien landscape.
It seemed like this level of development was something that wouldn't have happened until the Boruto timeline, which was supposed to be a decade or so in the future.
Boruto?
As a fan of the original series, Akira didn't really consider Boruto to be a true continuation of Naruto.
But let's not dwell on that.
As Akira was lost in his thoughts, marveling at the changes in the village, a few figures swiftly appeared and surrounded him on the rooftop.
These were Konoha shinobi, all dressed in the standard green flak jackets, and they quickly formed a tight circle around him.
"Who are you? You don't look familiar," said the lead shinobi, a man with his face painted in war colors, who seemed to carry himself with a bit of arrogance.
Before Akira could answer, the shinobi's eyes glanced at the pair of antler-like horns on Akira's forehead. "Or should I ask, what are you? Never mind, that's not important. What's important is why you're sneaking into Konoha Village."
"You're from the Inuzuka clan, aren't you?" Akira asked, noticing that the man seemed to be about his age.
The man snorted, "So you've got some knowledge, huh? But right now, I'm the one asking the questions, not you!" His tone was still arrogant, and the other shinobi around him remained on high alert.
A person with horns on their head was certainly not your average individual, and caution was definitely warranted.
"I didn't expect this," Akira thought with a wry smile. "After seven years away from Konoha, no one even recognizes me anymore."
"I'm Akira Uchiha," he said, deciding to state his identity directly.
"Akira Uchiha!?" The group of Konoha shinobi exchanged shocked glances.
Although seven years had passed, and Akira's fame had somewhat faded in the wider shinobi world, the people of Konoha still knew his name.
"Don't be ridiculous. I met Akira Uchiha years ago, and he didn't have a pair of branches growing out of his head like you do!" the lead shinobi sneered, clearly not buying Akira's claim.
"Branches?" Akira blinked, momentarily taken aback. He wasn't surprised that the man had met him before, but to describe his dragon horns as branches? That was just plain insulting.
"Wait a minute, you say you're Akira Uchiha? Can you prove it? Like with a Sharingan, maybe?" a female shinobi asked, her tone more curious than accusatory.
If this guy was lying about being Akira Uchiha, he'd have to be a pretty bold fraud to claim something so easily disproven.
Without a word, Akira closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them, revealing his golden Sharingan.
While the base color of his eyes was now a shimmering gold, the three tomoe of the Sharingan were unmistakable.
"It... it does look like a Sharingan," one of the shinobi murmured, as they all stared at the golden eyes in disbelief.
Verifying Akira's identity wasn't difficult. All they needed to do was find someone who knew him well enough to confirm it. After a brief discussion, the group decided to keep a close eye on Akira while one of the shinobi went to fetch someone.
It wasn't long before another young shinobi arrived, this one dressed in the distinctive attire of the Uchiha clan, complete with the clan's crest on his back.
"Sasuke, take a look at him. He claims to be Akira Uchiha," said the Inuzuka shinobi, pointing at Akira.
"Akira!?"
Sasuke, now fourteen and looking every bit the part of a handsome young shinobi, studied Akira closely.
Seven years might not change an adult much, but for a child, going from seven to fourteen years old meant significant changes in appearance.
And now Akira even had a pair of horns on his forehead!
Sasuke stared at Akira, a mix of curiosity and doubt in his eyes.
Akira had been gone for seven years, and honestly, Sasuke's memories of him had grown a bit hazy. But looking at this face, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.
Still, the horns on Akira's head made Sasuke hesitate to confirm his identity right away.
"What's wrong, Second Pillar? Seven years away and you don't even recognize me?" Akira teased, smiling as he greeted Sasuke.
At these words, Sasuke's expression immediately lit up with recognition.
Ever since he was a child, Sasuke had never liked the nickname "Second Pillar" that Akira had given him. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but he was sure it wasn't flattering.
Moreover, Akira was the only person who had ever called him that.
Now, hearing that familiar nickname again after so many years, Sasuke knew for sure that this was indeed Akira Uchiha.
His age matched up as well, but... how had Akira changed so much in seven years? How did his Sharingan turn gold? And what were those horns?
"Sasuke? Is he really Akira Uchiha?" the Inuzuka shinobi asked, noticing that Sasuke had been silent for a while without confirming Akira's identity.
Sasuke opened his mouth to confirm it, but just as the words were about to come out, his expression shifted, and the joy in his eyes faded. He shook his head.
"No, he's not Akira Uchiha," Sasuke said, his voice flat.
"What!?" Akira blinked in surprise.
What the heck was going on?
From Sasuke's earlier reaction, it was clear he had recognized Akira. So why was he denying it now?
"What did you expect? This guy's an intruder in the village!" With Sasuke's denial, the other shinobi immediately became more vigilant, and the Inuzuka shinobi prepared to make a move.
"Step back, Kiba. This guy dared to impersonate Akira. I'll take him down myself!" Sasuke declared, stepping forward and stopping his comrade.
As he spoke, Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and his Sharingan activated, the three tomoe spinning in his blood-red eyes.
Tomoe against tomoe—only this time, one Sharingan was gold, the other crimson.
"So, Sasuke thinks he's strong enough to take me on now, huh?" Akira thought, a smile creeping onto his face as he realized what was happening.
He remembered how, even as a child, Sasuke had always tried to catch up to him after Akira's early successes.
Now, seven years later, Sasuke had unlocked his own three-tomoe Sharingan and actually dared to challenge him. Did Sasuke really think that Akira's seven years on autopilot meant they were equals now?
Back in his previous life, Akira had seen fans joking about Sasuke's tendency to overestimate his own strength, getting into fights he couldn't win.
"Talking big, only to get beaten down hard," they'd say. Akira had always thought of Sasuke as someone who didn't just have the "Pretend" technique—he mastered the "Getting Slapped in the Face" technique too.
And now? This was that same old Sasuke, up to his usual tricks.
The wind had stilled, the rain had cleared, and Sasuke thought he was ready again, huh?
But before Akira could dwell on it too much, Sasuke had already made his move. His body blurred as he closed the distance between them, launching a barrage of strikes with his fists.
Sasuke was fast, his movements fluid and precise, but to Akira, it all seemed almost slow-motion.
Even in his base form, Akira's combat prowess was far beyond what it had been seven years ago, putting him comfortably at the mid-to-upper range of Kage-level shinobi.
With a calm and steady stance, Akira didn't even need to shift his feet as he effortlessly blocked or parried every single one of Sasuke's attacks.
After several dozen exchanges, Sasuke realized he was completely outmatched in taijutsu. Akira's physical prowess was simply too overwhelming.
Seeing that hand-to-hand combat wasn't working, Sasuke quickly leaped back, forming a series of hand seals with impressive speed.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he called out, unleashing a massive fireball that roared towards Akira.
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 188 at patreon.com/Emik01.
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