Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Lord Black Zetsu said that the condition for awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan is—

"Are you wondering how we opened our eyes?"

The sound of still water came from beside him, neither too close nor too far, like friends chatting casually.

Lan suddenly turned her head.

Shisui stood three steps away, his short black hair swaying slightly in the night breeze, his clean-looking eyes, unlike those of a ninja, calmly watching him.

There was no murderous intent or hostility.

Shisui's kaleidoscope had been retracted, and his pupils had returned to normal black.

This composure sent chills down Lan's spine more than any deadly move.

Zhi Shui said, "You only need to know one thing—you've been deceived."

"Shut up!"

Uchiha Ran roared, formed hand seals, and swung the giant arm of Susanoo toward Shisui.

A giant black chakra fist slammed down with howling wind pressure, and the ground caved in with the shockwave.

The water remained still.

Because he doesn't need to do anything at all.

A deep blue Susanoo hand reached out from the side, its five fingers gripping the wrist of the black giant fist.

De Guang.

At the same time, another crimson Susanoo hand grabbed the black giant's shoulder from the other side.

Night Strings.

With forces exerted from both directions simultaneously, Lan's Susanoo was violently pulled and staggered in mid-air.

Fugaku moved.

His Susanoo simply raised its right fist and casually punched it.

One punch.

Lan's black Susanoo had its entire left ribs shattered, and he and the chakra giant were sent flying, crashing through the only remaining wall on the east side of the courtyard.

Before the rubble even hit the ground, another Susanoo-like fist slammed down from above his flight path.

Then came the third punch, and the fourth punch.

One after another, Susanoo's giant fists came from different angles, without any fancy ninjutsu, just the most basic physical output.

One after another, Susanoo lined up, treating Uchiha Ran's black giant like a pinball.

They fought from the east to the west, and then withdrew from the west back to the east.

His Susanoo would shatter a layer with each hit, then reform and shatter again.

His chakra was being depleted at a visible rate, draining his body.

boom.

The final punch slammed him into the ground, shattering the bluestone slabs into dust, the resulting cloud of dust obscuring half the courtyard.

Susanoo has dispersed.

"Well....."

Uchiha Ran lay sprawled at the bottom of the pit, not a single patch of his body unscathed.

He tried to get up by supporting himself on his arms, but his arms trembled twice and he fell back down.

Blood trickled down his forehead and into his eyes, deepening the crimson of the kaleidoscope.

Footsteps.

They walked slowly and deliberately on the gravel, making a soft crunching sound.

Uchiha Kagami walked to the edge of the pit and looked down at him.

There was no anger, no disdain, not even condescending condescension on that face. There was only an indescribable peace.

"Lan".

Jing crouched down, her voice as soft as if she were soothing a child who had a nightmare.

"The Hokage knew who you were and what happened to you from the very first day you stepped into Konoha."

Lan's body stiffened.

"The reason I kept you in the village wasn't because of negligence." Jing's gaze fell on his blood-stained face, "but because I wanted to see what that thing behind you was plotting."

"Now, that thing is gone."

Is gone.

These three words carry more weight than any fist.

Lan's lips trembled, and the voice squeezed out from between her teeth, like a broken bellows: "Impossible...impossible..."

He shook his head frantically, the wound on his forehead tearing open with the movement, and blood dripped down his nose.

"Why...why you..."

He had so much to say.

Why could Kaleidoscope awaken like this? Why could he become so powerful? Why did he lie low for so long, only to end up as a pawn manipulated on someone else's chessboard?

All the words stuck in his throat, and in the end, they only turned into a hoarse roar.

"Why should I?!"

The water stopped at the edge of the pit.

He did not answer the question.

He simply squatted down, standing next to Jing, looking directly at Lan's bloodshot kaleidoscope-like eyes.

"Because we've found the true purpose of the eye."

The sound of still water is very soft.

"It's not hatred."

In his pupils, the four windmill patterns at the corners began to rotate.

A soft light spread out from the still water's kaleidoscope, like the first ray of light breaking through the horizon before dawn—warm, quiet, yet irresistible.

Farewell God.

The light fell into Lan's eyes.

His body writhed violently for a moment, his back arched, and his fingers dug into the cracks in the broken stone slabs.

Then, the struggle slowly subsided.

Like a string that had been stretched for too long, it finally snapped.

The crimson hue gradually faded from his kaleidoscope, revealing the deep black pupils beneath, the pupils belonging to a young boy.

The image flooded in.

It wasn't what Black Zetsu had instilled in him—the things about decay, lies, and the Eye of the Moon.

It's something from earlier.

It was when he was still called Uchiha Ran, on the border of the Land of Lightning, that dusk when he pushed his comrades behind him and charged towards the enemy.

He remembers what he was thinking at the time.

Very simple.

Just two words.

"guard."

Tears slid down his cheeks. Not tears of blood, but clean, transparent tears.

"I was wrong……"

The sound was so fragmented that it was almost inaudible.

"I was wrong about everything..."

His hand slipped out from the crack in the stone slab, and he collapsed limply at the bottom of the pit, as if everything that had sustained him to this day had been taken away.

Fugaku stood on the edge of the pit and put away his Susanoo.

He glanced at the clan chief.

Uchiha Kagami nodded slightly.

"Take him away."

Fugaku's voice returned to its usual cold, businesslike tone. "Lock him in the special detention cell."

"Repair the best medical seal for him as well."

Jing added, "Don't let him die."

Two ANBU silently fell into the pit and lifted the limp Uchiha Ran up.

The night wind blew through the courtyard that had been wrecked beyond recognition. The remnants of Susanoo's chakra slowly dissipated in the air like fireflies. The newly laid bluestone slabs of Fugaku were now shattered beyond recognition.

He stared at the pile of rubble for two seconds.

A voice came from the side: "Lord Fugaku, should we notify the construction team to come and make repairs?"

"...No need." Fugaku rubbed his temples. "I'll talk to Lord Danzo myself later."

Before he could finish speaking, the communicator on his waist vibrated.

Fugaku glanced down and paused for a moment.

Then he took off running.

Shisui was still squatting by the pit, his hair blowing askew in the wind. He looked up and watched Fugaku's figure disappear into the outline of the rooftops.

Jing walked over and patted Shisui on the shoulder.

"Haha, looks like Misaka is about to give birth."

Shisui paused for a moment, then the corners of his mouth curved up.

On the other side of the night, the corridor on the third floor of Konoha Hospital was brightly lit.

"Why go in and cause trouble? Just wait outside."

"Can--"

"Wait."

The door closed.

Fugaku Uchiha stood in the corridor, his body still covered in lime dust and chakra residue. His hands, which had been clenching and unclenching so fiercely just moments before, were now repeatedly clenching and unclenching, unsure of where to put them.

Deguang and Yexian arrived one after the other. They exchanged a glance and stood at the end of the corridor without disturbing each other.

Time passes slowly.

It was so slow that Fugaku felt that the ten minutes he spent dealing with Uchiha Ran just now were not as agonizing as this wait.

Then, a cry pierced through the door of the delivery room.

Loud and crisp.

Fugaku's hand stopped.

The delivery room door opened a crack from the inside, and a nurse poked half her body out. She hadn't taken off her mask yet, but her eyes, which were visible, were curved.

"Boy, mother and child are safe."

When Fugaku Uchiha took that first step, his knees buckled.

Mikoto leaned against the bed, her face covered in sweat, her hair sticking wetly to her forehead.

She held a tiny swaddled baby in her arms, with a wrinkled red face, eyes closed, and little mouth still unconsciously pouting.

Fugaku Uchiha walked over and stood by the bed for several seconds before reaching out his hand.

His hands were still shaking.

The Susanoo that had just shattered the traitor's body was now so delicate that it was afraid of using too much force even to touch the corner of the swaddling clothes.

Mikoto looked up at him, a weak smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Give your son a hug."

Fugaku Uchiha took the child.

It was so light that he almost dared not breathe.

The baby in the swaddling clothes stirred, and its little hand emerged from the cloth. Its five fingers were thinner than bean sprouts, and it grasped one of Fugaku's fingers.

At the other end of the corridor, Tokumitsu nudged Yoru's arm and whispered, "Fugaku... did he cry?"

Ye Xian glanced in the direction of the delivery room, then turned his head back expressionlessly.

"I didn't see it."

In the dead of night at Konoha Hospital, the light from the delivery room shone through the crack in the door, illuminating a small patch of floor in the corridor.

Fugaku Uchiha lowered his head, his forehead resting against the edge of the swaddling clothes, his shoulders trembling slightly.

The tiny life in my arms yawned and continued to sleep peacefully.

He had already decided on his name, Fugaku, though he was puzzled as to how the Hokage had guessed his thoughts.

In short—his name is Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke.