Under the setting sun, the orange-yellow streets were serene and peaceful as Yukigetsu walked slowly, his eyes scanning his surroundings. “Where am I?” he wondered.
In the distance, a large fan emblem atop a building caught his attention. “Oh, that’s not a fan… it’s the Uchiha clan emblem.”
Turning a corner, an ordinary small courtyard came into view. A young man in a ninja uniform adorned with the Uchiha emblem sat on the wooden steps. His hair was tied back, perhaps a bit longer than usual.
Yukigetsu furrowed his brows, sensing an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and repression emanating from the young man’s back.
“Brother…”
A young boy’s voice called out, and Yukigetsu looked up, almost spitting out blood in surprise.
“This… is this really the proud and cool Sasuke?” This was clearly a shy little boy!
“Could cute ones really be boys…”
“Will you practice shuriken with me today?” Young Sasuke asked hopefully.
The young man on the steps turned around, revealing a handsome face marked by nasolabial folds but devoid of any expression. “I’m busy… ask Father to teach you.”
“Your shuriken skills are better than Father’s,” young Sasuke pouted. “Even I, a child, can see that.”
“…” The young man remained silent.
Young Sasuke tightened his right hand behind his back and pouted. “Brother, why do you always treat me like a bother?”
Suddenly, the young man extended his left hand, motioning for Sasuke to come closer.
Young Sasuke’s face lit up, and he ran over.
Tap!
“Sasuke, forgive me… I’ll teach you next time…”
A red mark appeared on young Sasuke’s forehead, and his face fell.
The young man looked despondent as he stood up and walked away. “I don’t have time for you today.”
“You always say ‘Sasuke, forgive me…’ and then poke my forehead,” young Sasuke complained, holding his head. “You just don’t want to spend time with me!”
The young man paused briefly, a hint of sadness flashing across his face, then he continued walking, closing the door behind him. He didn’t see young Sasuke’s sneaky smile…
Tap.
Young Sasuke slammed his cup down at the dinner table, filled with resentment, and turned to the middle-aged man sitting beside him. “Father, why does Brother always act like he doesn’t want to be around me? I’m his brother…”
“…” The middle-aged man’s expression changed slightly. “He has changed… he doesn’t like interacting with people…”
“Why?” young Sasuke asked, confused.
“I don’t know…” The middle-aged man frowned. “Even I, his father, can’t understand him…”
“Sasuke, your lunchbox!”
A beautiful woman held out a lunchbox, smiling gently. “If you want to practice shuriken, I’ll practice with you when you get back.”
“It’s not practice, it’s training!” young Sasuke corrected, taking the lunchbox.
“I’m off…”
Young Sasuke ran down the street, and Yukigetsu followed closely, listening to his words. “Brother graduated from the ninja academy at the top of his class at seven, awakened his Sharingan at eight, and became a Chunin at ten…”
“I’m the same age as he was when he graduated, but I…”
“But… like him, I have the blood of the Uchiha clan…”
“I won’t lose to him!”
Yukigetsu chuckled. This guy sure had spirit. Hearing his brother’s record, even he felt unsure about surpassing him at the same age. Maybe in the future…
But was this really Sasuke’s most terrifying memory?
A warm family, loving parents, a doting brother… it couldn’t be that simple, right?
…
Suddenly, it was night. A blood moon hung high, exuding a solemn and silent atmosphere.
The quiet streets were empty as young Sasuke, carrying his small bag, ran home as fast as he could.
Yukigetsu followed closely, his brows furrowing. He suddenly turned, seeing a dark figure squatting atop a tall utility pole. The bright, solitary moon backlit the figure, obscuring features except those eerie, blood-red eyes.
Yukigetsu glanced at young Sasuke, who also sensed something, turning his head.
But the utility pole was empty.
Yukigetsu rubbed his forehead. That hairstyle… was it Sasuke’s brother?
…
Approaching the Uchiha clan compound, both Yukigetsu and young Sasuke froze.
The dim street was filled with corpses, blood flowing like rivers, a stench of death permeating the air.
In the dead silence, the Uchiha emblem swayed sorrowfully.
“This is the night of the Uchiha massacre,” Yukigetsu thought.
“What… what’s happening… what happened?” young Sasuke trembled, sweat dripping down his face.
Tap.
The next moment, he ran, darting through the gruesome alleyways at top speed, the cold wind biting and chilling.
“Father! Mother!”
Reaching his home, young Sasuke, sweating profusely, called out desperately.
“Sasuke… don’t come in!”
A woman’s urgent voice came from behind the closed wooden door, making his fragile heartthrob.
Young Sasuke felt as if he were on the brink of a chasm, shaking uncontrollably.
“Move! Move!” Yukigetsu urged, frustrated. But his voice couldn’t be heard, and he couldn’t alter any scene in Sasuke’s memory, like opening the door.
Creak…
With trembling hands, young Sasuke slowly pushed open the wooden door, the creaking sound amplifying.
Yukigetsu slipped inside and froze…
In the spacious room, two bodies lay on the ground, illuminated by the cold moonlight from the window. Behind them stood the young man, half his body bathed in light, his face shrouded in darkness.
The two bodies still had fresh blood at their lips, evidently killed moments ago. Was it Sasuke’s brother?
“Father! Mother!”
Young Sasuke’s voice echoed through the empty room, filled with fear and desperation.
The young man moved slightly, then turned…
His blood-red eyes lit up, adorned with three tomoe—Sharingan!
“Brother!”
Grasping at his last straw, Young Sasuke saw his brother as his only hope in his panic.
“Brother! Brother… Father and Mother…” he cried out. “Why? Why did this happen… who did this!”
Swish!
A shuriken suddenly flew out, embedding itself in the wooden door. Young Sasuke instinctively closed his eyes, his left shoulder’s clothing tearing.
“Ugh…”
He opened his eyes wide, sweating profusely, staring in disbelief at the figure opposite him, his face filled with shock.
“Foolish little brother…”
The young man with nasolabial folds slowly closed his eyes, his voice calm and indifferent. In the next moment, his eyelids lifted again, revealing those eerie blood-red eyes, now displaying a unique, swirling pattern…
Fragments of memory scattered, and Yukigetsu exclaimed in shock, “Mangekyō Sharingan!”
“Ahhh! Brother! Stop! Don’t show me this! Why! Why did you do this? Ahhhh! Father and Mother were killed by… Ahhhh!”
Young Sasuke clutched his head and fell, screaming in despair…
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