Ok, ok I know it's been a…while (06/08/2019 since it was updated hmmm) but in my defense I had a lot going on with Uni and personal problems, also admittedly a bad lack of motivation to keep doing this since it does not help to pay rent and put food in my belly. But oh well, with Corona sweeping the world and everyone being advised to shield themselves from the outside world I might as well update this little passion project I promised myself and everyone else I'd get back to and see if this at least helps keep someone's spirits up, no time like an epidemic I'm I right? But seriously stay safe, wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face and be careful what you touch when out and about and good luck.
Naruto CH61: Tsukuyomi
Sasuke couldn't speak, all he could do was shiver, like the chill of winter upon midnight, nipping at his regressed skin. He stared up at the dark writhing visage of his grandfather, an effigy of shadow that behaved like calm a fire in this nightmare, gutted empty for Sasuke's sake before it's ill intent could go any further. Sasuke shifted his gaze to Itachi standing up high on a power line, cast in crimson moonlight in all the dreadful ways that he could imagine. There was a chilling light now gleaming in his eyes that Sasuke has never once seen, the younger brother would almost identify it as excitement, but he is not certain if his brother is even capable of a feeling so human.
Not certain at all.
Itachi himself didn't think he was still capable of that feeling either, he thought it long since lost to him but here in this moment he felt intrigued by the predicament that would require the utilisation of his skills in Genjutsu to overcome. There were Genjutsu masters then there was Itachi Uchiha, a genius in a class of his own and in all his time there has only been a small handful that could rival his Genjutsu prowess but now, here, there seems to be a new challenger.
Itachi began to crouch on the power line, his eyes a glow on his target and it was in that moment that Sasuke found his voice again "behind you!".
Hiro zipped around and saw four Itachis' brandishing gleaming blades that sliced through the ghosts form like dough, leaving him to fall to the ground in a dozen or so featureless pieces. The pieces of Hirofumi hit the ground, not like meat but more like goo or sludge, losing all shape on impact and in the next instant coming to life and bouncing right at all the Itachis' who had just attacked. The blobs transformed into spikes that stabbed into the elder Uchiha's' and like a rapid infection consumed them, turning them into black featureless effigies. All was silent for a moment until the four black bodies twitched and their forms began to passively flicker with life and stood straight.
"I hope that isn't the best you can do" spoke the voice of Hirofumi from all four of the former Itachis' "if it is, I am very disappointed".
Itachi didn't so much as blink at the questioning of his competence as master illusions or at the swift counter of his assault, though he'd be lying if it was said he was not the least bit shocked by it. Itachi knew his skill at Genjutsu, at least he beliefs he has an accurate assessment but the trouble is that he had no real encounter with another master of the art on or above his level so he doesn't know where his current ceiling is and it was something that always bothered him deep down. But here there seems to be something that might be able to unveil, even just a little, the truth of his proficiency.
Itachi jumped down from the power line to the floor of his construction, now he was outnumbered... kind of, it was all subjective and relative, there was and was not four of this stranger, he was still one just occupying multiple spots in this abstract mishmash of minds. Itachi flashed through signs with barely the slightest physical cue prior and was already spitting out a fireball. The shadows jumped away, one taking a moment longer than the rest as it rushed to remove Sasuke away from danger.
Itachi struck with grace and merciless precession as he drew four shurikens and flicked them each out just as the fire struck a wall and began to demolish it, one shuriken struck home, sticking into the back of the neck of one of the shadows, leaving it to eventually thud onto the floor. The rest sailed passed the other shadows but were far from done each failed shuriken morphed suddenly into a crow, black wings flapping as they turned and soared faster than any naturally born crow possibly could at the remaining shadows. As suddenly as they changed into birds, they returned back into ninja weapons but of a different class, no longer just shuriken but now fuma-shuriken. They sliced right through two of the shadows even the one that was carrying Sasuke not before it threw the boy on a course to safety. The last shadow though managed to stop his slaying by throwing a foot out and managing to slip it into the hole of the weapon stopping it only inches from its face. Hiro's head snapped around and spotted Itachi on a beeline for the descending Sasuke, with a mixture of creative thinking and urgency he summoned a giant root from the ground and had it catch the fuma-shuriken that slew the him that was protecting Sasuke and brought it down on Itachi.
Itachi skipped back at the last moment as the armed root slammed down on the ground between him and his little brother, Itachi's eyes narrowed, this time noticeably so and he drew his tanto in the next instant and bent backwards at ninety degrees and as the weapon missed removing his upper body he disarmed the root by removing its tip.
Itachi stood straight and like a machine sliced more of the root away whenever it attempted to attack with seemingly little effort, he'd grown used to this already to the point of boring him, eventually, it was reduced to little but wood filings. Itachi looked at the shadow with placid eyes "disappointing, I hope that's not all you have".
Hirofumi sighed, stood up, cracked his knuckles and neck "well, don't blame me if I break your psyche".
Hinata Hyuga felt lonely, her two best friends had gone off on a quest with the infamous Sannin Jiraya to find a new candidate for the Hokages vacant seat and she felt sadness at not being able to be out there with them on this journey. No, she was stuck here, in this rough bed, within sprinting distance of doctors and nurses, her heart now walking a tight rope between functional and dysfunctional it made her feel frustrated and angry being in this lousy state.
The doctors had told her, with her father present, that the chances of her making a full natural recovery were minimal at best, it was enough to make her cry but for reasons unknown she did not shed a tear at the news, her father had more of an emotional reaction to this than she did, hammering the doctors with questions on ways she could be helped. The doctor knew of none. Maybe her reason for not initially reacting was due to her father being present or perhaps it was just easier to shut down than actually deal with the crushing tsunami of horror that it really was to her.
Now though, in her solitude, it was all slowly beginning to catch up. Every once and a while after certain thoughts enter her mind she'd have to fight back tears as she thought of what her life might now be or more like not be going forward. None of it was stuff she liked. She tried seeing some positives, like she wouldn't have to worry about becoming a great Kunoichi...but that was now the thing, at some point down her young road of life her feelings on being a ninja had changed, she wanted to be a ninja, now more than ever before!
Now that newly realised dream was smouldering and soon its embers look destined to grow cold and all she can do is watch.
Apart of her wanted to blame someone but she couldn't, it wasn't like there was no one she couldn't potentially put the blame on for all this.
Neji for being the one who wounded her, but even now she could not blame him, especially after he pledged himself to right his wrongs against her.
Her father, for he kept the letter written by her uncle away from Neji for so long and even as clan head had done little if nothing to remove the use of the curse mark. But she couldn't find it in her to do that either.
Hanabi maybe, that brief thought fluttered away as quickly as it suddenly appeared.
Naruto, for cheering her on, for telling her she could win, for making her feel like she could do anything, for making her feel stronger than she really was...she felt like she was about to cry for even imaging feeling anything other than LO-!...
Hinata rapidly shook her head and slapped her cheeks, knocking that one word out of her thoughts. Did she really nearly just put that word in with the same thought as Naruto...no, no! NO!...no.
She groaned and bowed her head really low, wondering what was wrong with her these days, why her thoughts were more and more drifting to her yellow-haired friend and why they always seemed slightly less normal every day. She's known him for so long and yet when she sees him it feels so new like it's the first time.
What was this that's she's feeling for him? Why only him? Why not Sasuke as well? She's known him just as long, or Kiba or Shino? Why was what she's feeling so exclusively brought on by Naruto?
She wrestled with these questions and could only reach one answer "because he's Naruto" and that thought made her smile in what felt like forever, not even trying to stop the heat that flooded her pale cheeks.
So feeling courageous and not having anything else better to do than look in on herself she decided to ride that Naruto themed train of thought further. Asking herself what it is about Naruto that could have her thinking about him so much?
Well, he is one of her two best friends...so she'd naturally think about him quite a bit but no, how's she's been thinking about him lately is totally different to how she thinks about Sasuke or anyone else.
There's something about him now that sets him apart from anyone else in her mind.
Could it be the new hairstyle he's got going on lately? No, even though it looks ok on him but however he had his hair she thinks he'd look good anyway
His attitude, he seems, though vaguely, to have matured a little bit, he seems extra focused these days, especially when she saw him at the exams she'd never seen the fire in those deep blue eye burn so brightly before. She felt her face heat up slightly remembering them.
She wanted to back off from her bizarre thoughts of Naruto but she even less wanted to start dwelling on her high chance of forever being crippled.
So she decided to continue
Sasuke was watching a clash of madness made manifest. The boy could hardly wrap his mind around what he was seeing unfolding, all he knew was that one moment he was falling, next he hit the ground barely catching himself and then everything fell into pure raging insanity too fast for him to realise.
Right now he was looking up into the blood moon sky, but that was merely a direction, not the focus, no that was the giant version of both his grandfather and most hated brother currently trying to kill each other. In the next moment, Sasuke watched as his brother rammed a tanto proportional to his giant form through Hiro's black chest just as the ghost got his hands on his head, with one swift and forceful motion snapped Itachi's neck, an audible twist that was deafening at that size.
But as it seemed to be with a battle of imagination and sheer will the death of a manifestation only resulted in the birth of something new. Like a roller-coaster ride of death and rebirth slammed together with evolution.
From the punctured chest of Hiro there was an eruption, an eruption of black, something between tar and ink, to thin to be the former yet too vicious to be the latter. With Itachi his neck did not go quiet after being broken, now making a horrid crunching noise along with something distinctly out of place, a rustling noise that was being followed by the noise of tearing. Itachi's huge pale neck was ripped open by what might have been hundreds of ebony beaks as crows came rushing out from beneath his skin in a night coloured tide.
The black eruption that left Hiro's chest continued until the body of the giant was used up leaving nothing behind while the form of Itachi seemed to deflate from crows exiting out of his neck. The black substance that left Hiro hung in the air, splitting into thousands of chunks that didn't remain formless for long. In a moments breath, the formless liquid pieces took on the shapes of bats.
Now filling the sky, in what was mere moments later, was an army of featureless bats staring down an army of red-eyed crows. Not a titan insight.
For a second the two armies of airborne creatures just stared at each other before they were swarming one another, becoming one near indistinguishable thrashing mass of beating wings. There was far too much chaos for the young Uchiha to work out what was going and he hadn't the will to even attempt to even see if he could pull out his Sharingan. Though what he could tell was that the ball was getting smaller as bats and crows alike fell from the maelstrom, sliced to bits or clawed to ribbons. Sasuke watched for what felts like ages as the violent storm cloud shrank until two flocks came falling down like a pair of droplets, hitting the ground like ash.
Sasuke waited with bated breath for whatever could possibly come next.
Almost as if they were reflections Hirofumi and Itachi rose up out of their respective cloudy drop zones with one keen difference, Itachi was now older, no longer the age he'd been when he'd committed his crime, black and red clouded cloak and all. Hirofumi hummed at the change "so, what does this mean? Perhaps to say that you're taking me seriously?".
Itachi wasn't interested in answering such a question "in a battle of Genjutsu there are countless factors that can work for and against one's chances of obtaining victory" he said suddenly without seemingly any prompting, as if he was recalling something said or read long ago. He closed his eyes making Hiro frown at the look of almost meditative concentration written on his face. "Belief" he then next said "in a battle of Genjutsu belief is perhaps the most powerful weapon, one single, well-honed belief can crumble even the mightiest of wills" with that said Itachi opened his left eye.
AMATERASU!
It washed over Hirofumi like the rising light of the sun, black fire manifesting on him without need of any kind of kindle, in a mere moment he was completely consumed by the dark fire and screaming, screaming in true pain, his mental defences breached. It was not simply because Itachi had somehow tricked Hiro into thinking this was real, it was as Itachi had said, belief, the Uchiha believed strongly in the power of this technique, in the power of AMATERASU, enough to make its potency as an attack on Hiro beyond that of anything else used thus far. It was one thing to attack someone with an idea but it was something else entirely to attack someone with a belief.
Sasuke didn't know what to say as he fell to his knees in horror, he wanted to scream, cry and beg for his Grandfather to...do...something, he didn't know what would happen if he lost here, would he die? Or just go back to the garden and recover? What would happen to him? What would Itachi do to him if he lost? Sasuke didn't want to see all that again, he couldn't bear to watch that night again? Not again, No!
Sasuke saw a rock next to him, a little rough-edged rock and he grabbed it, he looked at Itachi starring with one eye closed, feeding the black fire with a bleeding glare and he threw the stone. A half-foot from the side of his head and Itachi caught it, his right eye relaxing while his other too opened and he turned to Sasuke, he then looked at the stone that he caught "is this all the will you can muster up, little brother, a small rock?" then with a single tightening of his fist dust dropped from his palm "I truly expected better from you".
Sasuke shouldn't have felt anything from being chastised by this murderer, but something inside him couldn't help feeling shame in himself as they were said. His head fell as he saw his attempt at reclaiming some foothold in this battle wither away "I'm so weak, not just outside but here too, I'm so...pathetic, Itachi was right about me all along"
"Do not bow your head Sasuke! Never bow your head to him!" Sasuke and Itachi alike turned to the form of Hirofumi, still consumed in the AMATERASU, though the thrashing of the man it was over had now, against all sense, ceased.
For once Itachi looked truly shocked and perplexed "impossible, how can you be-".
"I am a pretty stubborn man, I've been told multiple times in my life that I'm quite hard-headed you see" there was a pause as behind Hiro a blinding white light began to break over the Horizon "but that is not simply what this is, that's quite a strong belief you have there in this technique but I, myself, am a man who has acquired beliefs too, I've come to strongly believe in things beyond even the likes of this power". The blinding light washed over everything, causing the two Uchiha's to have to squint to continue looking.
From what they could barely make out they saw a second figure, they heard the sound of a woman humming a song that was then followed by some words,
"Come with me young flame, come home to the warmth of the sun"
And with that, the light vanished leaving Hirofumi standing, a writhing shadowy figure but now free of the black fire.
Hirofumi sighed in relief "that's better" he spoke as if almost completely unaffected by the AMATERASU, which to Itachi should've been impossible because even if he has overcome the flame the damaged sustained by such an assault on his mind could not possibly be so easily ignored unless this man had both an absurdly high mental integrity and strength of spirit that such a powerful attack was somehow nothing to him. Itachi has seen and used Genjutsu half that strength with opportunity narrower than that and has left seasoned veterans comatose for weeks! How? How is he still standing as if nothing happened!?
"My turn" said Hiro to Itachi as he pointed behind the Uchiha. The elder Uchiha's eyes widened as time starting crawling at a snail's pace, he watched as the shadow that was once behind him appeared before him and stretched far into the distance. Itachi was quick to turn around but at the level in which his senses were compressing time it felt like it was taking forever to turn around to face the source of the light behind him and when he did he could only begin gasping at the terrible beauty of it.
It was so clearly feminine, its eyes blinding to look into as was all of it, impossible it was to make out tiny details, its hair flowed like ribbons on the wind but had the power of fire behind it, it wore robes and jewellery and had a beautiful face but even with his powerful eyes Itachi still couldn't make out much more than this. Other than one last thing. It smiled, soft and gentle, yet merciless in its judgement before it reached out and tapped his chest with a delicate-looking finger, only saying one thing when it.
BURN
And so he did.
From the point of contact Itachi began to burn away like paper, everything hurt and he couldn't ignore it nor separate himself from it, everything just burned. But he didn't scream or beg, he did nothing that would damage his dignity he just fought back and kept on doing so until he was nothing but embers being blown away by the wind.
"Hmm, he didn't make a sound" commented Hirofumi "takes someone really hardened to do that" he looked around and then over to Sasuke, his eyes asking if it was over "not just yet" he said before looking over to a shadowy spot expectantly. He was not disappointed as Itachi came out, the flawless grace he would so usually walk with now not so graceful, his form usually perfect in its posture and nobility was now sagging a bit, all details that only veteran eyes would probably pick up on. Hirofumi chuckled "I got you better than you got me it seems".
To the surprise of Sasuke but more so Itachi himself a grunt of agitation left his throat "did I just really do that?" thought Itachi to himself. Itachi cannot recall a time in his adult life when he's been...bested, even for a moment, in Genjutsu.
"I'll let you have one more crack at me" offered Hirofumi.
Itachi perked up slightly "excuse me?" he said in a tone that almost seemed like outrage "is he offering me a handout? Does he really believe he's that above me?"
Hirofumi tilted his head in question "well?"
Involuntarily Itachi felt frustration begin to course up through him and down his right arm, crawling into his right hand where for the first time into a long time he formed a shaking fist of anger. "I cannot lose" he thought, for a brief moment his evolved Sharingan turning to look upon his little brother "I must not lose this". An orange and reddish aura rose up around Itachi, skeletal arms formed with a giant sword formed from flowing energy, all forming into the blink of a moment and attacking in that same moment it thrust the weapon out.
There was an eerie quiet that followed the attack as Itachi starred with wide eyes filled with amounting shock at the sight before him, the shadow had caught the blade with his bare hands! "no way, to do that he'd have to believe himself capable of catching it more than I believed myself able to hit him with it! Who is possibly conceited enough to believe themselves capable of such a feat!?"
Hiro's eyes glowed "now you've shown me another one of yours let me introduce to something we all one way another belief exists within us, everyone and everything around us".
With those words said an invisible terror seemed to envelop the world, Itachi and Sasuke felt themselves beginning to sweat, all their primal instincts screaming as they felt something...ancient and eternal was near them, it was not a feeling unfamiliar either. It was like something that they usually passively ignored but were are always weary off, something that was always asleep inside them and everything around them but now...it was awake and coming here.
"It's behind me!" Thought Itachi, turning on pure unadulterated instinct and gazed up at it, it burned to look at, not his eyes but his mind, no..his very sanity.
Sasuke didn't dare to look upon whatever it was that had shown up, his other senses were already on fire from its presence, hearing it breathe, picking up it's brimstone like scent, feeling its presence prickle at his skin, he could very well taste it was not far from him and what he tasted was nothing short of blood.
"Ain't it a sight to behold" commented Hiro casually, seemingly unfazed by what manifested before Itachi.
Itachi though could not control the trembling in his voice "wha-what is this?"
"Oh? I thought you of all people would know what this is" said Hiro with mock surprise making Itachi turn to look at him, sweat crawling down his face, Hiro's eye narrowed and his voice was like cruel reality "this is the demon who dwells within us all, the monster inside everything".
Itachi had only a moment to gaze up at the form looming over him he fought the burning it's visage did to his mind. A massive beast it was, vaguely human-looking, muscle, bone, fur, shadow and fire all seemed to be the building blocks of this thing but what seemed to hold it all together was one overarching thing.
HATE
That is what Itachi was standing before, this was hate, this was madness, this was a soul void of virtue and given over to hate and violence. "how does one come to believe in such a thing so vividly?"
It's chest rose, it's sunken eyes glowed red from within their pits and it's mouth opened wide with saliva and inhuman teeth and it roared down at the Uchiha. It came down on him like a hurricane, the wind seemed heated, the aura of his Susanoo began to sizzle away like vaper leaving him exposed, his mind felt it was nothing short of being set on fire, being eaten away by this monster's presence and there was not a thing he could do to stop it
He was falling, trying to hold onto himself, everything of him being lost to the fire filling his mind and heart, his teeth clenched tight to the point of snapping. "Why am I even here? Why do I even bother doing what I do? Why? I can't remember" his hands found it's way to his arching head there he found the cold feel of metal, the metal plate of his former village.
Itachi's form stopped short of crumpling to the floor and he stood straight again, the roar of the beat seeming no longer to have any power over him and it steadily returned to being a background noise of life. Itachi turned, his face showing that of someone with a firm grip on his sanity but also of someone very much beat.
Hirofumi's eyes narrowed at this change in the elder Uchiha's demeanour "I think we are done here" the ghost suddenly announced to the shock of everyone.
Itachi...frowned, full and true "what do you mean done? this ain't over yet!" he said with a...tone, a real tone.
"Oh but we are, I've been playing with you, trying to get a feel for this infamous Itachi Uchiha. I've heard so many horrible things about you and I must say...you're good but no match for me, especially here of all places".
Itachi's stare narrowed "what's that supposed to mean?"
"I could have broken this Genjutsu whenever I wanted"
Itachi's face twitched with brief shock before he smirked "heh" a malformed chuckle leaving him "you almost made me believe that, no one can break the Tsukuyomi, it's never been done".
"Just because it hasn't doesn't mean it can't be, I knew the moment I asserted my place in this Genjutsu that I could tear it apart at any time I wanted" Hirofumi shrugged "sure it's a particularly strong Genjutsu but I'm a particularly strong guy you see" he said, bumping himself on the chest.
Itachi was now really frowning, no glaring, that's what he was doing now "lies".
Hiro chuckled "your brother could do it" this made Itachi flinch back somewhat and look over to Sasuke who was looking like a deer being stared at by a wolf "maybe not as he is now, in my honest assessment, I'd say the real power this Jutsu has on him is emotional leverage if that were to be overcome coupled with a bit of training and maturity he'd be able to get himself out of this as well".
Itachi looked back at the ghost "you must be joking".
Hirofumi sighed "enough of this" with that, in a single motion he crouched and jumped, he was at the top of his tree in a single fluent bound.
At the top of the tree he was in line with the moon possessed by Itachi's Mangekou. Now Itachi's mind was racing as he stared up at the shadowy figure, wondering if it was actually possible, even asking himself if he was just being arrogant in believing it was not. Sasuke too was wondering, if his Grandfather could break through such a Genjutsu as this one, he knew him to be strong but he'd never let himself wonder who was stronger in any aspect between Itachi and Hirofumi. But right now, all Sasuke could think was that he hopes his Grandfather isn't bluffing.
Hirofumi's right hand formed a single seal and his Sharingan glowed and then...nothing happened.
Itachi smirked.
Sasuke despaired.
CRACK!
A noise akin to glass being stepped on rung through the air and Itachi watched with wide eyes as his moon began to change. The sign of his hold on this world was begin replaced, his Mangykou's unique design being slowly broken down into a regular Sharingan form, but not his, no the Shadow man's Sharingan, that's what it was. He was seizing the Genjutsu! And as he was the world was breaking, from the moon cracks were springing out into the air, like a mirror on the verge of shattering.
Itachi bit down and mustered all his strength, he now saw, clear as day that this man was not at all bluffing about breaking his seemingly inescapable Genjutsu and so he needed to act fast. He kicked off, pulled out shuriken which he threw, they double, tripled then quadrupled, then blew fire, sheathing them in it. Itachi then broke up into a flock of crows that flew toward Hiro at breakneck speed all the while changing themselves into dozens of Fuma-shuriken.
The wave of finely sharpened and burning edges came hurtling at the ghost who simply stood there until they got in well beyond arms reach to which his Sharingan completely conquered the moon and he spoke "release" and the world shattered like glass.
As far as Sasuke could see everything was white, without shape or form, just an endless nothing now. It was a welcome change from the horror he was gonna be reacquainted with. As he let that settle in he breathed a sigh of relief, he looked at his hands and the rest of himself and saw that he was him again, the present him, that was good, yeah that was definitely good. "He really did it, didn't he?" Sasuke thought as he looked around, but then, if his Grandfather had broken the Genjutsu then "why am I still here?".
"Because I think you and I could use a moment" Sasuke whipped around and saw Hirofumi standing there, his shadowy cover peeling away to reveal his true self "I'm holding a sliver of the Tsukuyomi together so we can have a moment".
Sasuke didn't really want to talk "Gramps I'm not really sure this is the-".
"Time?" interrupted the ghost "oh don't worry about time here Sasuke, time is adjustable here, so we have time".
Sasuke tensed up, he really didn't want to have a talk of any sort revolving around his brother right now, not when he was here, likely still with his fingers around Sasuke's throat.
"I wasn't bluffing you know" said Hiro, grabbing Sasuke's attention "about breaking out"
"Well, clearly you weren't" pointed out Sasuke.
Hiro smirked, "I meant about you breaking out".
Sasuke's placid look turned to one of shock and disbelief when he looked up at Hiro "i-impossible".
Hirofumi tilted his head "now you sound like him, guess you and him really are brothers".
Sasuke was left frowning at that comment, it now felt like a real insult to be reminded of his relation to Itachi but at the same time, he knew he really couldn't avoid acknowledging it. Sasuke sighed and looked away from his Grandfather "I never knew" he said low.
Hirofumi raised and eyebrow "that it could be broken out of? As powerful as it is it's still just a Genjutsu, sure it's very esoteric and can perhaps only be overcome ninety per cent of the time by those few gifted and the other ten per cent by the straight-up strong of mind and heart, but my point was to show that it's not flawless, nothing is".
"No, it's not that" whispered Sasuke before turning around to look up at Hiro "it's just, I knew you were strong the day you fought Zabuza and won, all while as a spirit clone, same again when you fought Orochimaru but...today, you beat my brother and that's...something that I thought couldn't be done and now I don't know what that means, is he weaker than I thought or are you stronger than I understand?"
Hirofumi sighed in a way that seemed like he was ready to bang his head against a wall. "you and strength honestly, quit trying to measure and understand this, don't overestimate or underestimate get as strong as you can and cease trying to meet some exact measurement you've set for yourself, also stop trying to measure up to him, me or anyone else focus on you, you are your enemy, you are the one you should be trying to surpass everyday" he grabbed the boys shoulder and stared him dead in the eyes "you got that". "Don't strive to be better than Itachi or me or your father or whoever else you trying to measure up to in that head of yours, try to be the greatest version of yourself and I guarantee you'll have something to surpass every day".
Sasuke couldn't help what came next, Hiro's words stirred something inside him he forgot was there ever since that night, something he desired to hear from his parents but never did. It was something that he was never told he had to be but was also never told he shouldn't be and that was like Itachi. All his childhood Itachi got praise after praise but what came with that was a large shadow that Sasuke found himself feeling trapped in. Everyone would always ask Sasuke if he was gonna follow in Itachi's footsteps, to which Sasuke was happy to do at first until it felt like people were seeing him more like Itachi's clone than his younger brother.
But nowhere he was, hearing words he forgot he longed to hear and he began to cry, this more than anything shocked Hirofumi but he became even further shocked when the Uchiha boy suddenly hugged him, trembling. "T-thank you" he stuttered out before pulling away and whipping his eyes clean of tears.
Hirofumi was puzzled until it struck him "oh, oh I see, no one has ever told you that have they?" the single look he got was the confirmation he needed "I see, just be yourself, Sasuke, no one else".
"Yeah" said Sasuke in a stronger than ever voice as he turned to Hirofumi "from now on, I strive to surpass myself".
To that, Hirofumi smirked proudly "look at you, who is this boy turning into a man?" Sasuke smirked, pride blooming in his chest before it was quickly ruined as Hiro shoved a hand down on his head and began ruffling his black hair "hahaha, but for now you're still just a runt I can do this too! Hahahah!".
Sasuke growled and tried pushing his Grandfathers hand away "hey stop that! Get off will you! Stop it this is humiliating!"
"I know! Can't have you getting too full of yourself now can we!?" said Hiro before finally pulling his hand away, leaving Sasuke's hair a mess and him looking thoroughly irked and ready to kill. Hirofumi's proud smirk fell away for a sombre and apprehensive look "attack" he said, confusing Sasuke "when I release the Genjutsu, don't hesitate, attack, he should be left seriously reeling back from my breaking of this Genjutsu, so you'll have an opening, take it and whatever you do don't hesitate".
Sasuke brow furrowed which was followed by a firm nod.
"But also know this, there is no shame in running from a fight you can't win, but that is for you to decide, if you need time to mentally prepare yourself I can keep this going a little longer, but know this is a window and it is closing, albeit slower than normal".
Sasuke shook his head "no, release the Jutsu, if I think about it too much I might just seize up and then what good will I be?".
Hiro nodded "understood, sometimes it's better to just do it" Hiro held a single hand seal and before fully breaking the Tsukuyomi said one last thing "good luck".
With that everything faded away and Sasuke returned to the forefront of his mind once again and didn't hesitate.
End of Chapter
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