Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

"..."

Sasuke remained silent.

How could he possibly forget?

When you learn that everything you've hated your whole life was nothing but a loving, self-righteous lie, the absurdity and pain are enough to tear your soul apart.

At that moment, his world truly collapsed.

"So, that was the moment the key was first inserted into the lock," Sasuke concluded.

Sasuke slowly raised his head, his crimson Sharingan subtly appearing in his eye sockets. Looking at his younger self beside him, his voice was hoarse: "If that's the case, why didn't I awaken back then?"

"Because that's not enough."

Sasuke shook his head, a knowing smile on his face. "That pain only opened that door a crack."

"But the one who truly pushes that door open completely is yourself."

"After being forcibly stripped away from that blissful illusion."

Sasuke's breath hitched again.

"You've gone mad. You can't accept the pain of losing it, getting it back, and then losing it again. You start deceiving yourself and even try to use your own strength to rebuild that already broken home."

"At that moment, in that absolute darkness, what were you most 'afraid' of?"

Fear……

Sasuke's eyes became somewhat unfocused.

He was afraid of losing it again, afraid of going back to being alone.

I'm afraid that the happy world I'm talking about is a lie.

He feared that once he woke up from that dream, he would return to that cold reality filled with hatred.

That's why he deceived himself.

“Then, what about ‘desire’?” Sasuke’s voice rang out again.

eager.....

Do I even need to ask?

Sasuke's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.

He longed for that illusion, for that "home" with a father, a mother, and a gentle older brother, for that "ideal world" he could never return to.

They yearned for it so much that they were even willing to be forever consumed by it.

"You understand?"

"Hmm." Sasuke nodded slightly.

"so......"

Sasuke slowly stood up, brushing the grass clippings off his clothes. "The power of your eyes comes from this."

"It stems from your deepest longing for 'ideals' and your most profound fear of 'reality'."

The moment the words fell, this vibrant grassland world began to dissipate little by little, becoming blurry and transparent.

"and many more."

Sasuke suddenly remembered the question from the beginning and stood up abruptly. "You just said that Mother is real, what do you mean by that?"

The younger version of himself calmly raised his head and looked up at the azure sky that was about to collapse.

A breeze blew by, causing the hem of his blue shirt to flutter slightly, making his figure appear even more transparent.

"Don't you understand?"

Sasuke finally spoke softly, "After you fell into that warmth a second time..."

“My mother has always been real.”

"...Why?" Sasuke's voice trembled.

Faced with his questioning, Sasuke finally turned around slowly, "Because of you."

"I?"

"The real waterfall serves to reflect your inner self, allowing you to confront your deepest darkness. It is a mirror, a stage."

Sasuke slowly raised his hand and tapped his left eye.

"And your newly born eyes have the power to 'distort reality,' representing hatred for the abhorrent reality and the determination to change it."

Sasuke's breathing stopped completely.

He got it.

It was his kaleidoscope that, without his own awareness, combined his most intense longing for the "ideal future" with the power of the "real waterfall," forcibly connecting the Pure Land and briefly pulling his mother's pure "love" and "obsession" back to reality.

That was not an illusion.

That really was... my mother's final farewell.

"..."

Sasuke's body swayed back and forth for a moment.

The pain he had forcibly suppressed surged up uncontrollably once again.

At that moment, Sasuke's body finally began its final dissipation.

His feet were the first to transform into countless specks of light, followed by his calves, then his torso...

"Where are you going?!" Sasuke instinctively reached out his hand.

Sasuke Jr. did not answer.

Just before it was about to completely dissipate, it inserted its finger into its eye and then removed the eyeball that had gathered all the light and shadow from its socket.

The moment the eyeball detached, half of Sasuke's body also completely turned into dust.

At the same time, all the points of light that had previously dissipated from the entire grassland world converged on this eye.

With his only remaining right hand, he slowly pushed the radiant eyeball toward Sasuke.

"I am your left eye."

"I was born from the deepest part of your heart, from your most intense longing for that 'ideal future'."

"And you are the cold 'reality' that bears all the hatred and pain."

"We were born together in the space between 'reality' and 'ideal'."

Little Sasuke looked at Sasuke and gave him a relieved smile.

The floating eyeball, propelled by him, drew ever closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke stared blankly at it, at the six-pointed star pattern within, his mind completely blank.

"The power of these eyes exists to turn 'ideals' into 'reality'."

"Go..."

"Go and create a world where even your mother would be proud of you."

The moment the words fell, that last afterimage completely transformed into countless points of light, leaving only a faintly glowing eyeball.

Then, as if drawn by some irresistible force, it went straight into Sasuke's left eye.

Chapter 173 Gao Yu’s birth day

In the real world, beneath a real waterfall.

The water continued to crash into the deep pool with a thunderous roar, creating a hazy mist.

Sasuke Uchiha slowly opened his eyes, and the weariness in his eyes was easily seen.

"It seems that Sasuke-kun has already finished."

A hoarse voice came from not far away, and Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows with unhurried steps.

As he walked, he observed Sasuke with great interest, as if trying to discern some changes in him.

"In that so-called darkness within your heart, Sasuke-kun, what interesting sights did you see?"

"The trial grounds for Jinchūriki must be..."

His words came to an abrupt halt, and he stopped abruptly in his tracks.

He stared blankly into Sasuke's eyes, his face full of shock.

The Sharingan, which had previously displayed three tomoe, now bore a complex six-pointed star pattern, spinning silently and emanating an ominous aura that sent chills down one's spine.

"..."

Of course he recognized those eyes.

That was the strongest "bloodline limit" he had pursued his entire life, which resulted in a crushing defeat before that person, and ultimately forced him to flee in a sorry state.

It can almost surpass all other eye techniques...

Kaleidoscope Sharingan.

Orochimaru's breathing became somewhat rapid at this moment.

He was once obsessed with Itachi Uchiha's eyes and had deduced the power of those eyes countless times.

That's why he's always had a great deal of confusion.

This boy, whose talent and strength far surpassed Itachi's back then, should have possessed these eyes long ago, but alas...

He originally thought that the waterfall was just a special place used by Kumogakure to train Jinchūriki, but Sasuke's change completely changed his opinion.

"what happened?"

Sasuke finally came to his senses, looked at Orochimaru's ghost-like expression, and then at his hand frozen in mid-air, and asked coldly.

"Sasuke-kun, your eyes..." Orochimaru's voice was a little hoarse, his snake eyes gleaming with greed, "They are so beautiful."

He approached step by step, as if trying to etch every detail of those eyes into his mind.