Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Upon receiving a definite answer, Sasuke's breath hitched.

He turned back, casting his gaze upon the rolling green hills in the distance, his eyelids lowered, his voice devoid of emotion.

"That was just an illusion."

His voice was very soft, as if he was trying to convince himself, "No matter how much I resemble my mother, I am still not her."

“She won’t see me either…” Sasuke’s voice trailed off, “the me now.”

That loneliness, unseen by loved ones, is far more piercing than any pain.

Sasuke looked at him quietly, observing Sasuke's tense profile and the meaningful curve of his lips.

"Do you really think that's an illusion?"

"..."

Sasuke's body jolted violently. He turned around in horror, his crimson Sharingan fixed on the young face before him, his voice becoming hoarse.

Is it not an illusion?

"you......"

Sasuke's lips trembled, and almost instinctively he asked, "You mean...?"

"Is that true?!"

How can it be? !

How can this be? !

My mother is clearly dead! She died on that blood-soaked night, by that guy's own hands...

Even her soul had long since returned to that place called "Pure Land".

But that warmth just now, that word of advice...

How could that be fake?!

Sasuke was torn apart by a tremendous sense of contradiction at this moment, and his eyes, which had just regained their calm, were once again uncontrollably replaced by a crimson hue.

However, his younger self did not give him an answer immediately. Instead, he lay down lazily on the grass, put his hands behind his head, and crossed one leg, looking relaxed.

Before I answer you, I'd like to ask you something first.

Young Sasuke turned his head to the side, his face reflected in the mirror, and calmly asked, "Do you remember what the true purpose of the 'True Waterfall' is?"

"..."

This irrelevant question was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing Sasuke's rekindled fervor.

Not getting the answer he wanted, his Sharingan eyes grew even redder.

But he forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and went through the description of the "True Waterfall" by the Cloud Village ninja in his mind again.

“...Confront the deepest darkness within yourself,” he replied, his voice hoarse.

"is it?"

Sasuke let out a soft hum, neither confirming nor denying the answer, but continued to ask, "So, what did you think of that 'illusion' just now?"

how about it?

Sasuke's eyes became somewhat dazed at that moment.

He remembered the warmth of his brother carrying him on his back, his father's rare gentleness, and the birthday cake his mother cut for him while holding his hand.

I remembered that last hug and the words, "Mom really loves you."

"...It's wonderful."

After a long pause, he answered in a low voice, as if saying to himself, "It's so beautiful that you want to be immersed in it forever."

Little Sasuke lay on his side, gazing at Sasuke.

"Do you remember what happened after you blew out the candles?"

This question caused Sasuke's eyes to narrow instantly, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

Of course he remembers.

At the very moment when happiness reached its peak, everything was ruthlessly stripped away.

All warmth and light vanished in an instant, turning into cold darkness and deathly silence.

The extreme contrast between heaven and hell, the secondary trauma of losing and regaining, is the most real and cruel undertone of that illusion.

He even became so delirious that he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion, and began to deceive himself, believing that the extermination of his clan was the ugly reality of the illusion.

"It seems you've remembered."

Sasuke remained lying there, his voice calm, "That's the darkest thing it wanted you to see."

He looked at Sasuke's tense profile and continued, "Then do you remember what happened after that?"

"After that?" Sasuke murmured.

My memory has become somewhat hazy.

All he remembers is falling into madness in utter darkness, beginning to deceive himself, and even trying to rebuild his already broken home.

Then......

A burning pain came from deep within my eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a completely new power surged from his eyes.

Then, the pitch-black world was torn apart, and the warm candlelight reappeared.

After that, I became completely immersed in that false warmth.

Now it seems that the force is very likely...

“It’s the Mangekyou Sharingan,” Sasuke calmly gave him the answer.

Sasuke's body jolted violently. "...What did you say?"

“I said, in the instant you thought you were about to be completely consumed by that pain, you activated it.”

Young Sasuke slowly sat up, calmly meeting Sasuke's gaze. "The extreme pain and despair that comes from losing what you cherish most..."

"This is the only key for our Uchiha clan to unlock those eyes."

"At that moment, you blew out the candle that symbolized 'home' with your own hands, and lost everything once again."

"That pain is enough to be the key."

"..."

Sasuke froze, then subconsciously raised his hand and gently brushed his fingertips across the corner of his eye.

kaleidoscope......

Is that how it is?

So, after losing that happiness, I also touched that power?

He knew that to activate the kaleidoscope, he needed to kill the person closest to him...

He learned this from the stone tablet.

But now it seems that it wasn't the only way.

Perhaps the ultimate source of sorrow is the loss of the most intense love.

So......

"Everyone's kaleidoscope is unique in that it houses unique abilities."

Just as Sasuke was deep in thought, the voice of the younger Sasuke rang out again, diverting his thoughts to another place.

Do you know why?

"I don't know." Sasuke shook his head, answering crisply and decisively.

This question was never mentioned, neither by the future "self" nor by the stone tablet.

"It's very simple."

A meaningful smile curved at the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

"The Sharingan is known as the eye of the soul. Its ability is often a concrete manifestation of the 'desire' and 'fear' deepest in the holder's heart at the moment of awakening."

"Like a mirror, it reflects the truest appearance of your soul."

He looked at Sasuke, his dark eyes seeming to see through everything.

"So, please think about it carefully now."

"At that time, in that collapsing illusion, amidst the pain of losing everything again..."

What do you desire most?

"Or what are you most afraid of?"

"What I desire and what I fear?" Sasuke repeated the question in a low voice.

He didn't urge him on, but simply lay calmly on the grass, as if none of this concerned him.

Sasuke's thoughts were involuntarily drawn back to that chaotic time and space.

That incongruous "future," that self with a missing arm.

A slight smile appeared on Sasuke's lips.

"It seems you've remembered."

He slowly sat up and sat down next to Sasuke. "Back then, in the future you went to by accident."

"That future self shatters the truth you've always been chasing and the truth you've relied on for survival."

“...Shut up.” Sasuke’s voice became hoarse.

“Itachi’s love, the darkness of the village, the helplessness of the clan’s extermination…” Sasuke ignored his attempts to stop him and calmly stated, “Your worldview, built on ‘revenge,’ collapsed for the first time at that moment.”

That was the moment your world was first torn apart.

Sasuke turned his head to the side, a deeper look appearing in his eyes. "That pain was far more profound than when my soul was burned by Tsukuyomi in Nakagawa, wasn't it?"