I Am Uzumaki Menma

The night, as thick as viscous ink, soaked into every corner of Sasuke's small apartment.

The boy on the bed had his brows tightly furrowed, his forehead covered in fine, cold sweat.

The conversation with Gaara during the second exam, those cruel truths about survivors, about his mother, about being deliberately left behind… had continued to ferment and twist in his sleep even after several days, transforming into an even more grotesque nightmare.

Blood.

Blood as far as the eye could see.

The familiar streets of the Uchiha Clan's compound had turned into a living hell.

Corpses lay strewn about… men, women, the elderly, children… faces either familiar or blurred, all submerged in sticky pools of blood that seemed as if they would never dry.

The thick, cloying stench of blood was nauseating.

He stumbled and ran, calling out his parents' names, but only dead silence and the ominous cawing of distant crows answered him.

Then, he saw it.

The sliding door at the entrance was open. Under the dim light, his father, Uchiha Fugaku, and his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, lay collapsed on the tatami mats inside, the bloodstains beneath them blooming like red spider lilies.

The brother he had once admired stood silently beside his parents' bodies, warm droplets of blood dripping from the Ninja Sword in his hand.

Hearing his footsteps, Itachi slowly turned around. Those crimson Sharingan stared coldly at him, as if looking at a weak, insignificant insect.

"Foolish little brother..."

"If you want to kill me... curse me, hate me..."

"And then live on, ugly and pathetic..."

"Run away, run away... live on, dragging out your miserable existence..."

"Right now, you are too weak... too weak to even deserve being killed by me."

Those cold words, like icicles, pierced his heart again and again.

He roared, he struggled, he wanted to rush forward, but his body was pinned in place by invisible fear and weakness.

He could only watch helplessly as Itachi's figure twisted and disappeared in the moonlight, leaving him alone to face his parents' gradually cooling bodies and the room full of blood.

"NO——!!!"

Young Sasuke bolted upright in bed, his chest heaving violently.

He gasped for air, his thin sleepwear soaked through with cold sweat, clinging stickily to his skin, sending waves of chill through him.

His heart hammered wildly in his chest, almost shattering his ribs.

He covered his face forcefully, his fingernails nearly digging into his cheekbones.

In the darkness, only his heavy breathing echoed through the empty room.

"...If..." A hoarse voice squeezed from the depths of his throat, trembling with lingering nightmare. "If... many of the clansmen survived... if Mother... also didn't die..."

"Then what did I see that night?!"

'That's right, the Sharingan!'

'The Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai, its greatest specialty was manipulating vision and constructing illusions!'

'Could it be...'

'Could it be that the bloody carnage that filled the entire clan compound, the sight of Mom and Dad lying in pools of blood, even Itachi's cold words and gaze...'

'Were all an illusion meticulously woven by Itachi using his Sharingan?!'

After all, after waking up, he had never seen the bodies of any clansmen again. It was just that he had been too weak back then to notice.

If that were really the case, then the hatred that had sustained him for six years, all his motivation to grow stronger, every fear that woke him from nightmares in the dead of night... might all be a cruel lie?!

Anger, confusion, the shame of being fooled, and a sliver of hope that his 'mother might still be alive'… a hope he himself didn't want to admit… crashed around inside him like boiling magma.

Instinctively, he tried to activate his Sharingan, as if those eyes could help him see through the falsehood and uncover the truth buried beneath that night.

However, just as the tomoes in his eyes began to emerge—

His Sharingan seemed to glimpse a figure in the shadows of the room.

"Who's there?!" Sasuke barked sharply.

He instantly entered a battle-ready state, his body leaning slightly forward, his hand already on the ninja tool pouch by his pillow, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan nearly bursting from his eyes.

No answer.

The shadow remained silent, as if it had only been an illusion born of his still-unsettled nerves.

But the next second—

A single point of crimson quietly lit up in the dark room.

It was an eye.

Crimson background, three pitch-black tomoes slowly rotating.

'A Three-Tomoe Sharingan!'

Then, under Sasuke's horrified gaze, the rotation of those three tomoes suddenly accelerated, and their form began to undergo a bizarre transformation!

They twisted, stretched, connected...

Finally, they merged to form a six-pointed star pattern, with a deep darkness at its center that seemed capable of devouring the soul.

The Mangekyo Sharingan!

Young Sasuke's pupils trembled slightly, 'A Three-Tomoe Sharingan could evolve even further?!'

And the moment his gaze met that Mangekyo Sharingan, he felt the familiar surroundings of his room shatter and dissipate like a broken mirror, and a dizzying, spinning sensation washed over him!

When Young Sasuke regained his senses, he found himself no longer in that cold, lonely little apartment.

Beneath his feet was dark red, cracked, hard earth, like dried scabs of blood.

The sky was the same oppressive dark red, without sun, moon, or stars, only an endless, suffocating dome.

The air even smelled of rust and ash.

This place... was a mental space.

And not far before him stood a figure, silently.

The person wore a round, wide-brimmed hat, the brim pulled down low, covering most of his face together with his slanted bangs.

He was draped in a simple black cloak, hanging naturally in the windless space.

Most striking was that the sleeve on his right arm hung empty, swaying gently at his side.

His entire being was shrouded in an aura of loneliness, world-weariness, and unfathomable depth.

'Genjutsu... and such a high-level Genjutsu at that!' Sasuke instantly understood his situation.

He tried to mobilize his Sharingan's Ocular Power to break free from the constraints of this Genjutsu Space, but found that his Ocular Power and spiritual strength disappeared without a trace, like mud sinking into the ocean, utterly unable to shake the stability of this space in the slightest.

'The other party's Ocular Power... was unfathomable!'

"Who are you?!" Sasuke forced himself to calm down, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto the other, his voice filled with vigilance and anger. "Did Shisui send you? But I've never seen you in the clan before!"

He rapidly reviewed the face of every clan member in his memory, but found that there was absolutely no such one-armed clansman in his recollection.

'Unless... he had lost his arm on the night of the massacre?'

Facing Young Sasuke's interrogation, Adult Sasuke did not answer directly.

His gaze pierced the shadow of his hat brim, falling upon Young Sasuke's Three-Tomoe Sharingan, which was spinning slightly due to his emotional agitation. A complex feeling of emotion rose in his heart.

In his world, at this age, he had only just awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, still anxiously and painfully struggling to catch up to that man.

But this Space-Time's Sasuke, stimulated by various events, had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan at only twelve years old. His spirit hadn't completely collapsed either... instead, he was thinking, doubting, seeking the truth...

Perhaps the 'himself' of this Space-Time could truly walk a completely different path, avoiding the pain and detours he had experienced.

"You are too cautious." He deliberately altered his voice, making it lower, hoarser, carrying the indifference of someone who had seen too much.

Just four words, but they made Sasuke's heart jolt violently.

"Shisui's appearance means Konoha's higher-ups will be closely monitoring your every move." Adult Sasuke's voice continued to echo through the empty mental space, each word crystal clear, hammering against Sasuke's heart.

"If you, having learned part of the truth, feel doubt but choose silence and inaction out of 'caution', refusing to actively contact Shisui or to question... what do you think... they will think?"

"They?" Young Sasuke's breath stopped instantly.

"They will think you know something and are secretly plotting something. They will think you and Shisui have long had an understanding. They will think that beneath your 'calmness' lies even greater danger." Adult Sasuke's voice was flat, but it dissected the cruelest reality step by step.

"Sometimes, excessive caution only places you under deeper suspicion. An orphan of the Uchiha who has lost all his clansmen and yet shows no reaction upon suddenly seeing surviving clansmen... that in itself is the greatest anomaly."

Young Sasuke felt a chill shoot straight from his spine to the top of his head!

He had previously only thought about investigating secretly, about sorting things out, about avoiding startling the enemy...

He had never considered it from this angle!

That's right, in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, this 'abnormal' calmness of his was probably even more worthy of vigilance than if he had rushed straight to Shisui to cause trouble!

Seeing the flash of realization and lingering fear in Young Sasuke's eyes, Adult Sasuke knew his words had taken effect.

He didn't say anything more. What needed to be pointed out had been pointed out.

Some paths, this boy had to choose for himself... some awakenings, he had to complete on his own.

The next second, Young Sasuke felt another slight mental haze, and the dark red world before him rapidly faded and crumbled.

When he again felt the hardness of the bed beneath him and saw the faint dawn light filtering through the window, that mysterious figure in the black cloak, along with that heart-stopping Mangekyo Sharingan, had vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there.

Only his own rough, unsettled breathing remained in the room.

....

The next morning, thin mist shrouded the village like a light veil, the air carrying the freshness of dew.

Only early-rising shopkeepers were busily preparing on the streets, with the occasional patrolling Ninja team silently passing over the rooftops.

However, this tranquility was broken by a series of urgent, determined footsteps.

Young Sasuke, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, his dark eyes as calm as the sea before a storm, walked directly towards the block of Konoha reserved for hosting foreign dignitaries. He stopped before the courtyard that had been allocated for the Land of Stars' diplomatic mission.

His appearance immediately drew the focus of countless eyes hidden in the shadows.

Inside an attic of a residential building directly across the street from this courtyard, two Konoha's Anbu wearing animal masks simultaneously stiffened.

"It's Uchiha Sasuke!" One of them lowered his voice, his eyes behind the mask wide with surprise. "He actually showed up. Is he here to see Shisui?"

The other was more decisive, quickly ordering his comrade: "You keep watching. Don't let him out of your sight! I'll go report to Hokage-sama immediately!"

As his voice trailed off, his figure vanished from the room.

Sasuke arrived before the imposing gate of the courtyard.

Two Star Ninja, wearing standard gray-blue Chunin vests of the Land of Stars with solemn expressions, were standing guard at the gate.

Seeing Sasuke walking directly towards them, especially the prominent Konoha's forehead protector on his brow, they immediately stepped forward, raising their hands to block him.

"Halt." The older Star Ninja on the left spoke in a steady, neither servile nor overbearing tone: "This is the diplomatic mission compound of the Land of Stars. No entry without invitation. What is your business?"

Sasuke stopped, his gaze sweeping past the two guards towards the tightly shut gate, as if trying to pierce through the door panels to see the person inside.

He did not answer the guard's question. Instead, he took a deep breath, and then, in a clear voice loud enough for half the neighborhood to hear, he shouted towards the interior of the courtyard:

"UCHIHA SHISUI!!"

The voice was particularly jarring in the quiet morning, causing residents in several nearby houses to curiously push open their windows.

"I know you're in there! Get out here!!"

Every word was deafening, filled with six years of suppressed anger and pain.

The expressions of the two Star Ninja changed drastically.

The younger guard on the right barked sternly: "Silence! No shouting here! Leave immediately!"

However, Sasuke paid no heed to their warnings.

His gaze suddenly sharpened like a blade, a crimson glow surging from the depths of his eyes… his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated!

With the superhuman dynamic vision granted by his Sharingan, the movements of the two Chunin seemed to slow down in his eyes.

He suddenly stepped forward, his left hand clamping down like an iron vice on the wrist of the older Star Ninja on the left, who had reached out to stop him. At the same time, he twisted his waist, his right knee driving upwards like a cannonball for a powerful strike!

"Ugh!" The Star Ninja had never expected that this Konoha's Genin would dare to resort to violence right in front of the diplomatic mission's compound, let alone that the other party's speed and strength would be so terrifying. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen, he grunted, and his body involuntarily doubled over.

Almost simultaneously, Sasuke released his left hand, using the reaction force from the knee strike to half-spin his body. His right leg drew a sharp arc, delivering a precise side kick that slammed viciously into the chest of the younger Star Ninja, who had just reacted and was about to attack.

Bang!

Bang!

Two dull thuds sounded almost simultaneously.

The two Land of Stars' Chunin… one kneeling on the ground clutching his stomach, the other stumbling back several steps and crashing into the surrounding wall, his face pale… were both temporarily incapacitated.

Without sparing them a glance, Sasuke stepped forward, intending to force his way through the now-open gate.

But just as his foot touched the stone steps before the gate—

Whoosh—!!

An endless torrent of yellow sand, like a breached river, suddenly surged violently from within the gate!

This flood of golden sand, carrying the force to crush everything in its path, swept straight towards Sasuke!

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply. His Sharingan tracked the trajectory and speed of the approaching sandstorm, and he retreated backwards without a moment's hesitation!

Shasha sha—

The yellow sand, like a living, furious dragon, rushed out of the gate, swirling and condensing on the open ground before it.

Gaara slowly emerged from the gate, the sand swirling around him, his emerald-green eyes indifferently watching Sasuke a few meters away.

The sand flowing around his body gradually calmed, but that suffocating oppressive feeling spread throughout the area.

Deep within Gaara's eyes, a flicker of what seemed almost like 'approval' swiftly passed.

'This kid... he wasn't a blockhead after all.'

And in the shadows of the corridor inside the gate, Shisui leaned quietly against the door frame, his arms crossed, his gaze complex as he observed the two confronting each other outside, and the prying eyes from various Konoha's factions in the distance that were gradually becoming clearer due to the commotion.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen sat behind his large desk, carefully reviewing a thick stack of scrolls in his hand.

They contained the final arrangements for the third exam of the Chunin Exams, including the allocation of viewing seats for the Daimyo, nobles, and business representatives from various countries, venue security levels, contingency plans, and so on… every detail required his final approval as Hokage.

The morning light outside shone through the window, illuminating his graying temples and the deep wrinkles between his brows.

Bang!

"Hokage-sama! Emergency!" An Anbu suddenly appeared in the office, kneeling on one knee, his voice somewhat distorted due to urgency: "Uchiha Sasuke has just arrived at the Land of Stars' diplomatic compound and is shouting Uchiha Shisui's name at the gate! He has already gotten into a physical altercation with the Land of Stars' guards!"

"What?!" Hiruzen shot to his feet, the scroll in his hand slipping from the desk. His eyes behind his reading glasses widened instantly.

What he had feared most had finally happened!

'That child Sasuke, in the end, had been stirred and had chosen the most direct, most dangerous way to seek answers!'

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant: Shisui's reaction? The Land of Stars' attitude? Danzo's potential exploitation of the situation? The attention of the other village diplomatic missions? If the situation spiraled out of control...

"Immediately!" Hiruzen's voice carried an undeniable authority: "Notify Yamato. Have him lead a team to the scene as fast as possible! The top priority is to ensure Uchiha Sasuke's personal safety, remove him from the scene, and contain the situation! Be mindful of the approach, and try to avoid further conflict with the Land of Stars!"

"Yes!" The Anbu acknowledged the order.

But Hiruzen's heart did not settle.

Although Yamato was exceptionally capable, especially skilled in Wood Release for control and defense, against an opponent of Shisui's caliber, and with Sasuke's potentially extremely unstable emotions, the variables were still too great.

Moreover, this matter involved the secrets of the Uchiha Clan and the decisions of Konoha's higher-ups. It required someone more capable of persuading Sasuke to handle it.

"Wait!" He called back the Anbu who was about to deliver the order.

Hiruzen took a deep breath, a look of determination flashing in his eyes: "Go find Kakashi immediately! Have him drop everything he's doing and come see me at once!"

"Yes!"

The Anbu left. The office fell quiet again, but the air was so heavy it could almost drip water.

Hiruzen slowly sat back down in his chair, but no longer had the heart to handle official business.

He gazed out the window at Konoha's buildings, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of structures to land on that courtyard, which must already be in an uproar.

At some point, he had picked up his smoking pipe but had forgotten to light it.

No wisps of smoke rose, only heavy thoughts silently permeated the Hokage's office this early morning.

'The Uchiha Clan, in the end...'

'The seeds sown by that night six years ago were finally going to break through the soil today and be exposed to the sunlight, weren't they?'