(could be considered torturous and somewhat disgusting. They will begin when the worms are first mentioned, and you can skip to the break after that part.)
The sky was dark, leaning toward blue, with stars twinkling, and the full moon hung high in the sky.
The oval moon hung amidst the glittering stars.
The white moon contrasted sharply with the red of my clothes.
The moon gave off an aura of peace, calm, and tranquility, oblivious to the blood spilling beneath it.
White doves were scattered everywhere, giving a sense of peace, even though they were here in response to their summoner and their bleeding master.
Bound to their master by a summoning scroll, which bore the name Uchiha Inabi at the bottom, the doves hovered nearby.
The mask of their pursuer gleamed in the moonlight—one mask belonged to an Anbu, shaped like a weasel, worn with Anbu clothing, and a tanto sword strapped to his back. His hair was tied in a low ponytail.
The other figure was a masked man wearing what seemed to be a closed robe or an unusual yukata, with black pants and a black shirt underneath. A katana was strapped to his waist, and his hair was long and spiked, like a hedgehog.
Finishing his appearance with a yellow mask, one eye slit formed the center of many concentric lines, both long and short, surrounding it.
The design's lines bent as if the hands holding something were placed along the sides of the mask, near the eye slit, with a crescent shape positioned right next to it. The half-circles extended along the main lines.
Uchiha Inabi was on patrol around the Uchiha clan compound.
Unusually, he ignored the clan leader's orders to rest in preparation for the coup tomorrow.
In another world, Uchiha Inabi would follow the orders, and he would die along with the rest of the Uchiha clan in what would later be called the Uchiha massacre, known as the day the proud clan fell at the hands of their brilliant betrayer.
But in this world, Uchiha Inabi defied the orders, possibly altering his and his clan's fate, changing the name of this day forever.
Inabi gasped heavily, pushing chakra into his legs, attempting to escape while bleeding from a long wound along his side.
In another world, he would wake up with his wife, Mito, in bed, a tanto sword piercing her chest by the clan's genius, confused, without weapons within reach, stunned.
All he could do was stammer out the word "traitor," as his fingers traced the hand signs for Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, which he died before completing.
But in this world, where he was patrolling the compound fully equipped, prepared for battle, he was attacked by the masked clan genius, cloaked in Anbu garb.
He had time to perform Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb.
That technique, of course, was not enough to stop them, but it gave him time to summon his summoned birds, using their initial shock to place them in a Genjutsu.
He was no match for either of them individually, let alone both.
So, as they pursued him without a doubt, with his bleeding wound stretching from his chest to his stomach, he made the only decision he could: he scattered his summoned doves around the compound.
When they finally reached him, and the chains of the masked man wrapped around his waist, his hands tied, Inabi used what little chakra remained to cast a Genjutsu on everyone in the compound, with the help of his summoned doves, delivering four words and waking everyone from their sleep:
Masked, Anbu, Attack, Traitor.
He could only convey those words before waking everyone, or at least every shinobi.
In his last breath, he noticed the elite Uchiha emerging from their homes, surrounding the Anbu and the masked man.
Inabi's long hair fell to the ground, tangled in his blood, but he was the only one to die that night.
Inabi did not know what happened next; he was dead. But anyone with half a mind would have hesitated when seeing the Uchiha elite surrounding him, their red eyes spinning with three tomoe, and their leader, Uchiha Fugaku, activating his Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Uchiha clan did not know who the Anbu was. It was unclear in the night whether it was a weasel, a ferret, a cat, or even a dog mask.
But what they did know was that Konoha attacked with Anbu and a masked man they attributed to Konoha.
Because of this, that night was not a tragedy of genocide by their genius, but the night that openly ignited a civil war.
The day the rebellion emerged from the shadows to stand beneath the sunlight.
This day would not later be known as the Uchiha Massacre, but the night before the beginning of the war between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
The flickering of my eyes in the shrine, and silence reigned supreme.
Not a word had been spoken yet, but perhaps that was unnecessary.
Everyone knew what the next step was, and what would happen after that.
Like a hunter who has trapped his prey, with only the pressure of the trigger left, or perhaps like a lion who has only one chance to kill the hunter who traps it.
Everything or nothing.
Death or glory.
Greatness or execution.
What was to begin would later be called either the revolution that led them to greatness or the betrayal of a noble clan that led to its fall.
My eyes are fixed on my people, my clan.
Sharingan eyes stare at me, and I stand, with the stone slab behind me.
The fire torches gleam, illuminating the dark temple.
The Nakano Temple, beneath the seventh straw mat, to the right.
Directly beneath it, the secret meeting place where every discussion of the coup was held.
But now, the stone slab is moved from hiding into the light, positioned directly behind me in the shrine.
Tonight, the Uchiha clan was attacked by Anbu and an unknown enemy, according to the village.
In the center of the Nakano shrine, we were blessed by the deity.
Every man and woman wearing a Konoha headband stands before me, and their Sharingan eyes meet mine, eyes that Uchiha Madara himself glorified for.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Only my eldest son, Itachi, was missing.
The pipes that connect the clan to the village, the pipes through which information flows, our spy.
I close my eyes and turn off my Mangekyō Sharingan.
For some reason, the whispers start, growing louder slowly.
Tomorrow was supposed to be the promised day, the day of the coup.
I had ordered every man and woman to prepare for tomorrow.
But it seems that Inabi, with his fiery blood and unyielding loyalty to the clan, decided to defy my orders and patrol the clan.
And I had never been happier with his disobedience. He saved the clan from what could have been its death.
Using his special summoning, he sent a message in four words and woke the clan.
Masked, Anbu, Attack, Traitor.
The meaning of the first three words was clear, but the fourth...
Traitor.
Itachi had not attended the clan meetings for months, and Inabi suspected him, along with officers Tika and Yashiro, of killing Uchiha Shisui and faking his suicide.
On top of that, the last thing the clan didn't know was that Itachi's mask was a weasel.
And given his use of the Mangekyō, the Anbu mask was clearer to most of the clan—it was definitely a weasel mask.
So, one of two things happened: either Itachi's identity was compromised and attacked or misled before the attack, or, most likely, given all that had happened, Itachi was the one intended by the fourth word:
Traitor.
This conclusion was as clear as the sun to me, and considering the way the elders looked at him, I wasn't the only one who realized this.
Even if Itachi's mask wasn't known to them.
So when the suggestion was made to expedite the graduation request for Sasuke, my youngest son, I didn't stir up trouble; I agreed.
Because, while his duty required him to execute Itachi for his position, as a father, a head of the household, I simply could not execute my son. I would not execute a member of my family—not again.
Isn't his execution enough for his younger brother?
Isn't it enough?
So, despite the position I would place my youngest son in, one that is unfair, exhausting, and deadly, I will do it.
Because I am too cowardly to kill my child.
I know this is hypocrisy. If anyone else were in Itachi's place, I wouldn't hesitate to execute them.
But when I think of his small hands, his chubby child's face, and his twelve years of age, I cannot find the courage to tell the clan my final conclusions.
And because of that, I am about to put my youngest son into hell.
Is that a mistake because I am cowardly?
Or is it Itachi's mistake for siding with something other than the clan that raised him?
Or maybe it's the village's mistake in indoctrinating a child?
Or is it his fault for teaching him to be a soldier before being a human, a member of the clan before being a person, and a shinobi before being a child?
[Or maybe it's the system's fault that caused all of this.]
*Gasping*
Inhale,
exhale,
inhale,
exhale
, inhale,
exhale.
I try to control my breath and hide its sound, which is difficult with the fever and the chakra exhaustion I'm experiencing.
I am now trapped between doors, inside the tomb—more specifically, if I'm not mistaken—
the Nakano mansion has double doors that require you to open one after another, with narrow spaces in between, barely wide enough for a seven-year-old.
But in reality, these are the back doors of the tomb, which were built this way with a total of seven consecutive doors.
At the beginning of Konoha's founding, in case the Senju clan turned on them, or if this was a trap,
those doors were infused with Genjutsu, and the design was such that it resembled a labyrinth.
While anyone can enter from the main door, the current Uchiha clan head activates the seals preventing entry on the doors.
But these seals won't stop anyone, given the deep alliance between the Senju and Uzumaki clans, who were famous for their knowledge of seals.
However, these back doors were supposedly built by Madara, with the blessing of Amaterasu-sama, the Uchiha clan goddess.
Some others say that Uchiha Heikaku used his Mangekyō ability to construct them.
Though the exact construction method is unclear, as there are hundreds—if not thousands—of rumored ways they were built, one thing is certain and agreed upon:
It is impossible to break the Genjutsu on these back doors, and anyone who tries to pass without pure and sincere intentions will be lost forever.
Only those who wish good for the Uchiha clan in their hearts can pass, and even then, it prevents entry to those deemed unworthy.
It has become a near legend, with no one having passed through for decades.
And now, this brings us to my current predicament:
Trapped between the sixth and seventh doors, the space is tight, and it's unbearably hot, with my breath growing louder.
Father is at a meeting with the clan to discuss a potential coup against their village, while my older brother is crying at home in a panic attack. Meanwhile, an attack on the compound has taken place.
And I?
I swear by the gods, when I woke up this morning, my biggest worry was whether Itachi-niisan would have time to train with me or not.
In the midst of all this chaos,
Two hours ago
The Genjutsu of Inabi Uchiha was supposed to affect all the shinobi in the compound—
the Uchiha clan compound.
But Inabi wasn't a sorcerer to know every shinobi in the compound.
Therefore, the Genjutsu mechanism had a simple but clever principle:
In fact, everyone has chakra, whether they are civilians or shinobi, which is well-known.
But what some overlook is that chakra increases with use and age.
Shinobi activate their chakra often, helping it grow in the process.
As is well known, "the unused muscle atrophies,"
or in this case, when a shinobi uses chakra for anything, it moves through their body, becoming more synchronized with them.
At certain stages, it begins to move unconsciously within the body.
Thus, the shinobi can be distinguished from civilians by the amount of chakra reserves they have and how harmonized it is with their spirit.
Inabi targeted the minimal reserves and harmony of a Genin's level with his Genjutsu,
which led Sasuke to his current situation. He spent the entire past week training on
Fire Technique: Fireball Jutsu.
And well, because Sasuke is either lucky or unlucky, with his inherited large chakra reserves from his parents and his week of training, he barely met the low requirements of Inabi's Genjutsu.
So while the civilians and children slept, Sasuke woke up to an odd Genjutsu with four words echoing in the black void of space. When he opened his eyes, he found the adults fully armed and in a panic, though subtly...
One hour and forty minutes ago
"Ni-san, Father, Mother, anyone, please help me!"
Tears pour from my eyes as I turn around, not knowing where I am or how I got here. All I remember is sleeping in my bed.
I'm in the middle of nowhere, with the blackness of eternal darkness having no beginning or end.
In the middle of nothing, I was there.
And in the middle of that nothing, something appeared. And that something was me, curled in a fetal position.
What seemed like eternity could have been seconds, or maybe truly forever.
In that timeless void, something emerged.
And it wasn't me.
It was a crimson eye with three tomoe. The veins around the eye were visible, and the eye wasn't flat, but three-dimensional.
A spherical eye staring at me, focused on me, giving me its full attention.
I could see the veins—blue, green, and red.
I hear a distorted voice, as if a hundred thousand birds' wings formed words.
Four words, in fact.
Masked, ANBU, attack, traitor.
The voice was completely distorted, sounding like a thorn being dragged across a plate.
I don't know what I'm thinking, my mind is foggy and I can't focus, yet empty enough to not think of anything.
I don't know if I'll survive, maybe death is waiting for me, maybe this is the afterlife. My body may be decaying...
Or maybe I'll stay here in this endless darkness forever...
Maybe I'll stay until I become one with it.
Maybe Itachi-niisan is crying now, maybe he's missing me.
In this emptiness, I didn't even notice that I was using the dome I had rejected earlier because I thought it was "too childish."
I'm scared. No, I'm terrified.
The blood-red eye continues to gaze at me, circling around me.
Suddenly, the eye bursts into a wave of blood, and worms twist out of it.
The void is no longer a dark, eternal blackness, but a dark void filled with worms.
Where are you, Itachi-niisan?
I struggle, but there's no use. I feel the worms burrowing into my body, traveling through my bloodstream.
They crawl to my face, enter my nose, and burrow deep into my brain, twisting and moving until they reach my cerebellum.
Please, Itachi-niisan... help me...
More and more worms crawl into my mouth, reaching my intestines, and emerging from my insides.
I feel violated, disgusted.
Please, my older brother.
I feel filth, and self-hatred burns within me.
...I feel tainted.
Itachi-niisan!!
Only then do I open my eyes, gasping heavily, drenched in sweat, the blankets thrown on the floor.
My arms are in strange positions, as is my entire body—probably from struggling.
I jump out of bed quickly, causing black voids in my vision as the blood rushes to my feet.
I stagger and barely manage to open the door without collapsing.
I hurry down the hall as fast as I can.
For some reason, I feel sick, and my vision is barely clear.
I stop in front of Itachi-niisan's door, and before I can reach for the handle, the sickness overtakes me.
I think I'm sick?
I collapse against the door, forcing it open.
What's happening?
I think, as I lean against the wall, and ahead of me is the following:
Itachi-niisan, kneeling on the floor, his hands pressed to the ground to raise his face to the earth, his feet sprawled behind him, as if he had fallen.
In front of him, on the floor, there's an ANBU mask shaped like a weasel, fitting Itachi perfectly.
I can guess.
And his ANBU outfit is thrown carelessly on the bed, the blood staining the mask and outfit.
When Itachi pauses his contemplation of the bloodied mask to look at me, tears fall from his eyes, staining his face.
One hour and twenty-four minutes ago
Itachi lifts his gaze from his ANBU mask, stained with the blood of a man who shares his blood.
Itachi knows he has failed. He knows it. Instead of preventing the military coup, instead of protecting his beloved younger brother...
Itachi was the last straw for the coup.
Now, his seven-year-old brother, still with cheeks full of baby fat, still needing a chair to use the water faucet...
Will have to kill, and perhaps even be killed himself.
His small hands will have to be washed in blood.
He will have to take a child's mother from them while hearing her beg for mercy.
He will kill children while they call for their mothers.
And his comrades will die before his eyes.
Exactly... as it happened with Itachi.
When Itachi crawls on his knees to reach Sasuke...
A single sentence echoes in his mind.
Sasuke, I have failed you.
It was his job as the older brother to protect the younger one.
Itachi believes in this.
And now...
...Now, Sasuke will share the same fate as Jirō.
When Itachi grabs Sasuke firmly...
He doesn't see Sasuke's pale, cold, lifeless face.
This isn't real… Itachi repeats to himself.
When he touches Sasuke's face with his hand, he doesn't feel the warmth of his body but the coldness of his face.
This isn't real.
Itachi doesn't know when he started speaking out loud or if he was speaking loudly from the start.
"You won't die, right? For your older brother, right?"
"Right!? Right?!"
Sasuke stares in fear at his older brother, who is kneeling in front of him, gripping his shoulders tightly, leaving a bruise for sure, shaking him back and forth forcefully, repeating those words hysterically.
Sasuke gazes intently at his older brother, and now he notices the sweat all over his visible body and the redness of his face.
And suddenly, realization strikes Sasuke in a panic.
Sasuke doesn't know much about it, but he's seen his older brother calm Shisui in a panic. Ironically, what Itachi did to calm Shisui will now be used on him.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here. I'm alive."
"Focus on my words. Inhale, exhale."
"Inhale."
"Exhale."
Itachi doesn't know how many times Sasuke repeated those two words, but at some point, he began to hear them.
And Sasuke started doing them hesitantly.
But what good is it now? He couldn't kill them. He couldn't complete the mission, and now Konoha is going to participate in a civil war.
Without meaning to, Itachi speaks his thoughts out loud.
Sasuke makes an unreadable expression on his face.
Itachi tries to organize his breathing, but it's getting harder. He collapses on the ground, a mass of tears, and...vomit?
Itachi doesn't know when he vomited, but he did.
With blurry eyes, Itachi sees Sasuke closing the door to his room and running outside the house.
Itachi doesn't know how much time has passed, but eventually, he feels better, and it becomes easier to control his breathing.
With the help of his summoned crow, Itachi doesn't even remember summoning it.
But well, the crow is a mysterious creature, so maybe it wasn't because Itachi didn't remember. Maybe it came when it sensed its master's illness, mourning the peace that was lost.
Or maybe it came as a harbinger of chaos and death, or maybe it came for the bodies that will soon fall.
In the end, I find myself standing before the Nakano shrine, which certainly wasn't my first, second, or even my fifth choice.
I wasted forty-four minutes, goddamn it, while Itachi-niisan was in the middle of a panic attack, curled up in a fetal position, with vomit and tears stuck to his face and hair, a puddle beneath his head.
I had to search all around the complex for anyone.
And when I didn't find anyone—hell, I didn't even come here because this was the only place with this many Uchiha willingly inside.
All that remains is for me to send a pulse of chakra to the door to alert whoever is inside of my presence, then grab the nearest person and bring them to Itachi-niisan to help him. Easy, right?
Wrong. My chakra was so low that, looking back now, it explains the nausea, the weakness, and the headache I was feeling.
Because chakra is a combination of physical and spiritual energy, when the chakra is low, both physical and spiritual energy decrease in direct correlation, and it's not uncommon for someone to get a fever or suffer from auditory and visual hallucinations.
When chakra decreases, not when it's exhausted—when chakra is exhausted, the person dies.
I think the dream, the hallucinations—whatever that was—must have drained my chakra.
Which brings me to my current problem: how am I supposed to get into the shrine?
I try knocking, shouting, and calling, but nothing works with all these Uchiha inside.
With all the chaos, it would be a miracle if they heard each other inside at this point.
Let alone me, a seven-year-old child suffering from chakra exhaustion.
I knock on the door until my joints bleed, and I scream until my throat hurts.
At some point, fever and chakra depletion catch up to me, and my knees start to shake, unable to carry me.
I fall to the ground, trying to push myself up with my hands, but every attempt ends in failure.
Finally, my hands give up. My face falls into the mud, and my eyes start to close.
And all I can think about...
Is that in the end, I was useless.
Sasuke wakes up with his face in the mud, quickly lifting himself up while coughing, trying to clear the mud from his mouth as he stands on his feet.
He looks at the shrine and remembers his older brother at home. Because of the memory, his brother's tears and hysteria, which were etched in Sasuke's mind forever, he finds his desire to struggle and try again.
Sasuke tries to circle around the shrine, hoping to find a back door or perhaps someone who can help him, or something.
He searches as fast as he can, though his legs are trembling and his body is feverish.
Sasuke searches repeatedly, but finds nothing—no weak spot, no person, or anything of that kind.
And just as Sasuke's will arrived swiftly, it fades just as fast, not because of a lack of love for his older brother or a weakness in his resolve, but because his body is exhausted and feverish.
While Sasuke rests his small hands on his knees, panting and bending over, enlightenment comes in the form of two doors opening together—one black with a white handle and a white spot around it, and the other silver with a crimson handle and a crimson spot around it.
Both are adorned with a mixture of flowers and thorns.
Sasuke knows that this is the first of the seven doors, and it is the only one with intricate decorations. The rest are white, except for the seventh and final door, which is red with white spots.
It is supposed to symbolize something, but Sasuke won't know what it represents until the end of his journey and his path in the world of ninjas...
Sasuke gazes at the doors, unaware of what fate has planned for him.
He walks towards them, knowing that this is his last chance to help his older brother, to be useful just once instead of a burden on someone he loves.
He approaches and touches the door with his hand. If the rumors are true, this door will push away anyone who is deemed unworthy.
Sasuke is not ignorant of his appearance—his clothes are soaked with sweat, his hair and face are covered in mud, and there's dry vomit on his arm from Itachi, in addition to his sickly, pale face.
He looks like a curse—like utter trash.
And for some reason, he turns the handle of the door, which has remained shut for decades.
Sasuke continues to open the doors until he reaches the sixth door, and the seventh door refuses to open before all the doors close behind him with a loud sound.
And for some reason, when everyone begins talking about things Sasuke clearly shouldn't know, he listens intently.
إليك ترجمة القصة إلى اللغة الإنجليزية:
--
"Fugaku-dono, no, Fugaku-sama, what happened cannot be ignored!!"
A woman's voice says, and normally Sasuke wouldn't have been able to understand her hints. But then again, Sasuke wouldn't normally be trapped between two doors said to be blessed by the gods themselves.
Perhaps it was due to all the chaos that happened today, or maybe the god's blessing had extended to him.
But Sasuke understood the hint.
She had changed "dono" to "sama" because while the title "dono" signifies someone of higher rank whom you respect, like your superior or the clan leader in this case, "sama" is used for someone with great authority, like a daimyo or a Hokage.
So, given the current context, the true message was:
{Fugaku-sama, we won't settle for anything less than you becoming Hokage, and if it can't be peaceful, then so be it.}
Sasuke feels the heat as if he's at the bottom of hell and hears the howling wind before his father replies, a bit late:
"Fugaku-dono is fine for now, and we won't be silent, certainly."
His father's voice is calm and deep, and the unspoken message is clear:
{No, I won't become Hokage, not like this, at least. That doesn't mean we won't respond.}
"But Fugaku-dono, with the unknown attacker who happened to be wearing official ANBU attire, I think no one deserves to be called 'dono' more than you."
A bitter voice from a man interrupts. If Sasuke had to guess, he would say he was in his mid-years.
An attacker? Sasuke tries to analyze the situation... perhaps it was related to the Genjutsu he was trapped in?
And what about the ANBU? Could they be involved in the attack?
Masked, ANBU, attack, traitor.
Without permission, the words from the previous Genjutsu echo in Sasuke's mind. But was the traitor referring to the ANBU... or...?
Sasuke's blood runs cold, and his feeling of heat turns into a chill, and this time, it has nothing to do with temperature.
Or even... Konoha.
And despite Sasuke's confusion, the true message still comes through, even if it's more of a guess than certainty:
{But Fugaku-dono, you attacked Konoha first. Either we strike now and you become Hokage, or we wait for death.}
Sasuke hears the voice of Uchiha Tika, whom he remembers as one of the three men who accused Nii-san of killing cousin Shisui:
"Fugaku!! This is not the time for politics and hidden talks. ANBU and a masked man attacked the clan, and if it weren't for the warning Genjutsu from Inabi, we might all be dead!"
Tika says angrily, and Sasuke barely begins to understand the context.
He was right. Konoha attacked the Uchiha clan, and the Genjutsu was interpreted.
Uchiha Inabi, the other man who accused Nii-san of killing Shisui.
His father responds:
"Then, do you propose we launch the coup now instead of tomorrow as planned?"
Sasuke's first thought is 'Damn it,' and his second is 'How did my life get this bad?'
So, a coup was planned against the village, and ANBU attacked the compound, killing Uchiha Inabi, who did something with Genjutsu to warn everyone and suffered for it.
And finally, his older brother was crying, vomiting, and lamenting... peace.
Oh, hell no.
Every part of Sasuke and every piece of his soul hopes he's wrong.
Then Uchiha Yashiro, as if sensing his thoughts—who Sasuke vaguely notices was the last of the three who accused Nii-san of killing Shisui—interjects into the conversation between his father and Tika:
"No, they know about the attack now. We've lost the element of surprise if the attacking ANBU says anything."
Murmurs of agreement ripple through the clan.
He continues:
"So we need to strike when they least expect it. We need a spy."
His father responds in a harsh, balanced tone:
"We already have Itachi there as a spy."
Before Sasuke can understand the full implications of that statement, Yashiro has already answered:
"Inabi's last words were 'Traitor,' and there was no one other than the Uchihas who knew about the coup. Plus, Itachi didn't appear during the attack and his clear opposition to the coup, not to mention he was the last to be seen with Shisui before his supposed suicide."
His father responds angrily and accusingly, like a predator addressing its prey:
"Are you accusing my son of betrayal and alignment, Uchiha Yashiro?"
With his father's angry voice promising pain, Yashiro has no choice but to back down:
"No, certainly not, Fugaku-sama. It's just safer to be safe than sorry. Perhaps they are targeting Itachi. We don't know yet, and they can't target him and our other spy without exposing themselves."
Now it's time for his father to make concessions, so he asks more calmly than before:
"And who do you suggest then?"
Uchiha Yashiro replies confidently:
"Your youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke."
Suddenly, the situation seems less logical and realistic. Itachi a traitor? He's an ANBU? He attacked the compound...
Wait a minute...
This cuts Sasuke's train of thought suddenly as the image of Itachi's mask covered in blood and his ANBU clothes soaked in it flashes before him, with his teary eyes.
The words that have been spoken throughout the day echo as if pieces of a puzzle are coming together.
"But what good is it now? I couldn't kill them. I couldn't complete the mission, and now Konoha is going to be involved in a civil war."
That was the last thing Itachi said to him before he left him there
"Fugaku!! This is not the time for politics and hidden talks. ANBU and a masked man attacked the clan, and if it weren't for Inabi's warning Genjutsu, we might all be dead."
"We already have Itachi there as a spy."
"Inabi's last words were 'Traitor,' and no one other than the Uchihas knew about the coup. Plus, Itachi didn't appear during the attack and his clear opposition to the coup, not to mention he was the last to be seen with Shisui before his supposed suicide."
Itachi... Nii-san is kneeling on the ground, his hands on the earth, lifting them so his face faces the ground, his feet lying behind him, indicating he fell.
Right in front of him, on the ground, there's a bloodstained ANBU mask shaped like a weasel, fitting Itachi perfectly.
Maybe I can guess.
His ANBU uniform is carelessly thrown on the bed, and blood clings to the mask and the outfit.
When Itachi stops gazing at the bloody mask to look up, there are tears falling from his eyes, staining his face.
The bloody mask...
Masked, ANBU, attack, traitor.
Sasuke realizes in horror that Itachi didn't betray the clan and warn the village about the coup to send ANBU. No, they ordered him to slaughter the clan.
Itachi was the traitor. Itachi killed Uchiha Inabi, and he almost killed the clan.
Without warning, the six doors behind Sasuke open, allowing him to leave. He casts a final glance at the seventh door in front of him, which seems completely crimson, splattered with random white spots, before he turns and runs.
He runs, or maybe walks, Sasuke isn't sure, but he eventually reaches home.
His feet can't carry him anymore, and he collapses to the floor, focusing on the tiles which seem clearer now.
And that was the position Uchiha Mikoto found him in later.
She found him.
Kneeling on the wood in the middle of the living room, his face covered in mud, his clothes too.
And a puddle of vomit beneath him, as if he hadn't stopped vomiting for a while. He trembles violently, his eyes red, spinning with two spirals in each.
Activating the crimson eye famous in their clan.
Title: Song About December
(Verse 1)
There's something hidden within me
But I can't remember
A melody
A mournful voice
A song about December
Always around me, before sleep
But it feels real today
Whenever it crosses my mind
(Verse 2)
It ignites my feelings
Always around me
And before sleep
But it feels real today
Whenever it crosses my mind
It ignites my feelings
Like longing and tenderness
More than this and more
Behind the forehead
Above the tongue
But I can't remember
A melody
A mournful voice
A song about December
Explanation of the Symbols in This Chapter:
(Remember, just because something is symbolic doesn't mean it's not present in the story or intangible. It simply carries a dual meaning. Any character used as a symbol is still real and entirely present in the narrative.)
The White Dove: Peace, and it was used in the context of violence, highlighting the contradiction and hypocrisy of the shinobi world.
Emerging from Below the Shrine and Existing Above: Refusing to hide, an open objection.
The Flames in the Shrine: Violence and the blood of the coming one, aimed at protection.
The Shrine's Door: I cannot answer; it would be a spoiler.
And the rest is clear.
Author's Notes:
Hello again, guys! I mean, it's only been a week, but I missed you all so much! meow meow~~
This is a joke to make someone laugh.
clears throat coughs
Anyway, what do you think about and how do you feel towards relationships like polyamory, homosexuality, harems, lesbians, etc.? I'm just wondering. Personally, I believe everyone is free, and I might write a queer relationship one day. But I asked this question on a writing platform in my native language, and the responses were negative and even incited hate.
Oh, and would you mind reading about relationships between cousins, like Hinata and Neji—this is just a random example— I mean, I heard it's forbidden in Christianity, but I'm an atheist, and the religion I was born into doesn't forbid it, kind of.
Anyway, I came back quickly because this chapter was already written, and I only needed to translate it. Usually, though, I take at least a month for a chapter. It took me two months to write the first chapter, a month for the second, and I've already completed more than half of the third, by the way. I've been writing it for almost a month and a day, so don't get used to weekly updates.
See you, guys~~