Warning: Sort of, kind of, gory and disturbing. Idk tho, it's really not that bad tbh.
8
The Mindscape From Hell
After a few long minutes, I finally heard a knock on the door. "Come in," the Hokage said and Inoichi Yamanaka walked in.
"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" he asked as he stood beside my chair.
"Yes, Inochi. Thank you for reporting promptly. I have a subject for you to mind walk," the Hokage said and gestured to me with his hand.
Inoichi looked at me and his eyes widened in surprise. I don't know if it was because of the sight of me bound and shirtless, or because of the bandages on my face that Kakashi had wrapped. Injuries, courtesy of the bitchy ANBU.
"Yo," I said with a smile that shot pain all throughout my face.
"Umm… Hokage-sama…" Inoichi began, not knowing what to say.
"Sasuke-kun here is under suspicion of espionage and treason. As such, I need you to investigate his mind as soon as possible," the Hokage said with a no-nonsense tone of voice. Sadly for him, I didn't give a shit whether he wanted nonsense or not.
"Ay, you know that's bullshit!" I yelled. "Bitch-face there is just shitting bricks cuz I spit some harsh truths that the man needed to hear," I said gesturing to Kakashi. "Oh, and did I mention you're a dickhead? Cuz you are. A big, pink, swollen dickhead," I said to Kakashi, adding it just for good measure.
"One thing I definitely admire is how colourful your vocabulary is," replied Kakashi with his eye smile.
"Suck my balls!" I retorted.
The Hokage interrupted me before I could say anything more than that. "Inoichi," he said to the speechless jonin. "Please start with your mind walking before things get out of hand... Again."
"O-Of course, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said and tried to put his hand on my head.
"You do that, and I swear to god it will be the last thing that you will ever do in your life," I said in a quiet, calm, matter-of-factly voice. "You will see things you wish you never did. I swear on my life, you will not come out of this unscathed." I wasn't saying this because I feared he'd find out who I was. I was saying this out of genuine concern. Even though I'm an asshole sometimes, it doesn't mean I'll take pleasure in killing a comrade. But if he doesn't heed my warning, I swear on my life, I'll make sure he becomes a vegetable.
Inoichi's hand paused.
"What is in your mind that is so traumatizing, Sasuke?" the Hokage asked.
"I cannot say. All I can do is promise you, it will not be a nice journey," I replied.
Inoichi looked at the Hokage for further instructions. Hiruzen stared at me and I stared back at him, our gazes unwavering. A minute later, the Hokage nodded. "Continue, Inoichi."
I clenched my jaw. I didn't like what I was about to do, but if I don't follow through with my promise/threat, they'll never take me seriously.
Inoichi put his hand on my head, and ran through some one-handed signs and said, "Saiko Denshin!" and I felt my world go dark. I immediately dug through Sasuke's memories as deep as possible to remember his memories of Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
After what could've been minutes or maybe even hours, the world finally cleared up.
I looked up at the blood-red sky and felt like it was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes upon. The pitch-black clouds that dotted the crimson expanse were like portals to hell itself. I heard a small gasp from behind me and turned around to see Inoichi standing there, eyes wide in disbelief. I looked down at my hands and clothes and found them to be the same as Sasuke. Alright, now that I don't need to worry about becoming my former self in my mindscape, let's proceed with the performance.
"Welcome, Inoichi-san," I said with a wide smile and a mocking bow as if I was an actor in a play. My devious grin was one that would even put Orochimaru's to shame. "To hell!" I gestured to the scene behind me. "Enjoy the show," I said and turned back around to watch it.
Inoichi walked slowly to stand beside me, his feet dragging as if held down by some invisible weight. "T-This…" he tried to say.
"This… is the night of the bloody fountains," I finished for him and watched in silence as Itachi began his dance of death.
He moved like a butterfly, tearing through body after body.
Shuriken ripped through arteries.
Kunai embedded themselves into innocent hearts.
Swords cleaved through brains.
Horrendous genjutsu made children tear their own eyes out.
Mothers shielded their children from the crazed ANBU's wrath, only for both of them to be run through with his sword at once.
One brave soul wove through hand signs for a Katon jutsu, only to find his hands reduced to stumps in a flash.
A child peeked out of a closet and found a woman's head come rolling towards her. Her own scream of terror was instantly silenced by a tanto ramming down into her.
The cries of men, women, and children filled the red sky, as intricate fountains of fresh, hot blood erupted and decorated the walls of shops and homes alike.
An orchestra of screams, a rain of tears, a river of blood… it continued on and on... until it didn't.
And then, it repeated.
Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.And again. And again. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN.
"No… STOP! STOP IT!" Inoichi screamed as he dropped to his knees. He weaved some signs to stop the jutsu, but his efforts were futile. "NO!" he screamed. His hands were gripping his ears while his eyes were clenched hard as if shut out reality itself. But the Tsukuyomi penetrated directly into the watcher's brain.
518,400 times the scene repeated itself. And by the end, Inoichi was lying limp on the floor of my mindscape, a cold, dead look in his eyes. His eyelid flickered a little bit as the scene didn't begin again, but instead, a clearing in a forest with black grass, white glowing trees, and the same blood-red sky as the Tsukuyomi faded into view.
But I couldn't allow that. I had warned him, but he didn't listen.
Now reap what you sow, I thought.
"We're not done yet, Inoichi-san," I said with a sweet sing-song voice. In the back of my mind, I realized that my eyes probably looked similar to his. Crazed, as if tainted by death itself.
I dug through my own memories. All the most violent scenes I had watched resurfaced. I dug up all the videos that I watched throughout my life on bestgore, the eyeblech subreddit, liveleak, saidit dot net, and played it one by one in a long compilation of pure blood, and death.
Inoichi's breathing laboured as he didn't even have the energy to move anymore. I wasn't afraid that some things in the video might reveal that I'm not from this world. He barely had the capacity to breathe; I doubted if he would even be in a functioning state after this was over.
...
As the long torturous session came to an end, I felt myself being forcefully pulled outwards. My eyes opened, and in front of me, I saw Inoichi standing still as a statue.
"Did you like it, Inoichi-san?" I asked with a tired smile as five days of mental stress hit me at once. After all, seventy-two hours of Tsukuyomi torture, plus a two days long traumatizing compilation, all smushed into a span of just a second really takes a toll on your body and mind.
I looked up at him, barely struggling to keep my eyes open at all, and saw his eyes slowly roll back into his head. Like a puppet with his strings cut, Inoichi immediately collapsed to the floor and two ANBU were by his side, already administering first aid.
"Haha, I told you so," I said, keeping a smile plastered on my face. Any weakness I show here will be taken advantage of. I couldn't afford to slip up. Not now.
"Sasuke. What the hell did you do to him?" Kakashi asked from behind me.
I scanned the room with tired eyes and saw the Hokage standing just a couple of metres away from me, looking at me with an angry expression. Ibiki was with the ANBU now, trying to see what was wrong with Inoichi while Anko was back in the room standing beside the Hokage's desk. Kakashi was behind me with a kunai to my throat, and the ANBU – Yugao – was still standing in her previous spot.
"I let him see my memories, Kakashi," I said with a relaxed voice. Of course, that wouldn't be enough of an answer for them so I decided to give them something more. "Do you know what Itachi did to me on the night of the massacre?" I asked and waited for a reply.
Seeing as how no one answered, I decided to tell them.
"He used his Mangekyou Sharingan ability and put me in a genjutsu, making me watch the entire night's massacre again, and again, and again!" I yelled, not even realizing how loud my voice had gotten by the end of my sentence. I calmed myself again. "Five hundred eighteen thousand four hundred. That's how many times I saw my clan and family being slaughtered like pests by the one person I looked up to the most." I turned my head up and back, looking from Hiruzen's wide-eyed expression to Kakashi. "So that's what he saw in my head. Don't blame me; I warned you guys beforehand."
Everyone in the room looked at a loss for words for a while before the Hokage started barking out orders. "ANBU, take Inoichi to the hospital and get him immediate medical attention," he said and the two ANBU disappeared with Inoichi. "Kakashi, stand down," the Hokage ordered, and I felt the cold touch of the kunai leave from my throat.
"Thanks," I said.
Hokage kept his stern visage and went back to sit down behind his desk. "Now Sasuke-kun," he said to me in a tired voice. "I believe this had dragged on long enough."
"I agree," I replied.
"So now we are going to do this the simple way. I will ask you one question. If you lie, or if I suspect you are lying, I will cut you down on the spot, Uchiha clan heir be damned," Hiruzen said and I blinked in surprise. "And if I think you are saying the truth, you will be free to go home. Do you understand?"
I stayed silent for a long minute, just staring at the Hokage with as much hate as I could muster. Finally, I looked at Kakashi. "I told you Konoha's justice system is a fucking joke," I said. "And YOU!" I said, looking at the Hokage and leaning forward so that he was completely focused on me. "Where was this version of you when Naruto was growing up, huh?" I asked, and relished in his utterly confused look. "Where was this strict Hiruzen Sarutobi when Naruto's education was being stunted by the Academy sensei? Where were you when he was denied the very basic of necessities from stores all throughout the village!? Where were you when all the people in this shithole hated the boy that they should be worshipping!? Where were you when he cried himself to sleep every night because of YOUR inaction!? Where were you then, you fucking hypocrite!?
"Oh, Look At ME, I'm HIruzEN SARutoBi. i CaRE sO mUcH ABOuT evERYoNE In THIs viLlAGE. i'M gOIng TO MAKE a LAw tHAT no ONE is AllOwEd to SPEak oF ThE kYuuBi BUT I'LL stIll LeT eVerYONE HAte NArUto. Oh tHE wILL Of FiRe buRNS brIGHtly," I said in the most sarcastic voice ever. "BULL-FUCKING-SHIT, you shrivelled up of pigeon livered swine! Will of Fire my ass! You don't believe in the Will of Fire. No, you believe in only what is advantageous for YOU! And before you ask me, Naruto himself told me and Sakura about his secret.
"Tell me, Hokage-sama," I said, just like how I call Kakashi 'sensei'. "Did you tell Naruto that the Uzumaki clan is the cousin clan of the Senju? Hell, did you even tell Naruto that he was a part of a clan? You KNOW how much he yearns for someone he can call family, and you still let him suffer in isolation. Why huh?" I asked. I saw the Hokage slowly open his mouth to answer but I quickly interrupted him. "Let me answer that for you. It's because you want him to be loyal to you and not the village! It's because you're afraid that one day he'll see what you did and reject you! And this is not even the tip of the iceberg. If I were to recount every single selfish action you took, we'd be here all week. You know what? In the end, you're no better than—" I stopped myself from saying Danzo's name. It wouldn't do me any good to reveal any more than this. I calmed myself and spoke in a level voice. "Instead of my loyalty being questioned, it should be you who's in my position. As for your previous question, yes, I understand. Ask away," I finished and sat there, glaring at the man who could end my life in less than a second.
In the silence that followed, I took a look around the room. Anko had her eyes and mouth both wide open in surprise, Kakashi and Ibiki kept glancing between me and the Hokage, and the ANBU looked just and emotionless as ever. I heard a sigh and looked toward the source of the sound. The Hokage rested his forehead on his hands for a second before looking back at me. "Do you hold any ill intentions toward Konoha, its people, and/or its interests, Sasuke Uchiha?" he asked, and the ANBU put two of her fingers to my neck to check my pulse and tell whether I'm lying or not.
"No, I do not," I answered. "My goal is to make sure that one day Konoha stands on top as the strongest Shinobi village in the world." I was not lying at all, and as such, I did not need to fear anything.
I heard a rustle and saw the ANBU nod from the corner of my eye.
"Very well. Sasuke Uchiha, you are dismissed. Lynx, please drop him off at his house," the Hokage said.
"Don't bother. Just untie me and take the seal from my forehead off. I'll walk home," I replied with a scowl before the ANBU could say anything.
Within a few seconds, with the Hokage's approval, the ANBU had untied me and taken the seal off. I opened the door to leave the office and turned around at the last moment. "You're still a dickhead," I said, pointing at Kakashi. "And you're still a bitch," I said pointing at the ANBU. Instantly, I saw two shurikens come flying at my face… though I stood my ground. They were flying pretty slow, and I could've easily dodged them if I wanted to, yet I stood still. If she thinks she can intimidate me, I'll prove her wrong.
A disturbing 'squelch' sounded as the two deadly weapons embedded themselves solidly into my torso. The force of the throw made me step back a bit. It wasn't too deep, but it sure was painful as hell. Though, it kept my eyes on the ANBU. She abruptly took a step back and slowly looked back at the Hokage as if unsure of what just happened, and then looked back at me. I raised my arm to pull out the two shurikens from my body – I wanted to look badass but then quickly realized I'll probably die of blood loss – but stopped myself as a better idea hit me. I stuck out a thumb in a 'thumbs up' pose and smiled. "Thanks for the free weapons," I said, smiling and left the Hokage's office, closing the door behind me before any of them could say anything.
...
I walked down the main street of Konoha toward the Uchiha clan compound. To say this night was crazy would be one hell of an understatement. It wasn't pleasant, but I truly hoped that this would bring about some major changes in our day-to-day life. The Sandaime's complacency has gone on long enough.
"Ugh," I groaned, as my bare feet dragged on the rough ground and the chilly biting wind pushed against my naked upper body. Add on top of that the two shurikens that were still lodged in my torso, plus the punches that I took from Yugao and I just got the perfect mix for excruciating pain.
Yo guys, I need a good idea for what to do after this, and before the chunin exams cuz otherwise, this will be the end of the quick updates for now and I'll jump straight into the next arc.