"Lord Third Hokage." Uchiha Itachi forced the words through a throat raw with blood and bile. He took a step forward, his fractured ribs screaming, his hand trembling where it gripped his shattered ANBU blade. "Stop this. I can still—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not look at him. The Third Hokage's eyes remained fixed on the small, floating figure wreathed in indigo chakra, his expression carved from cold marble.
"I am sorry, Itachi," Hiruzen interrupted, his voice devoid of the grandfatherly warmth the boy remembered. It was the voice of the God of Shinobi, heavy with the weight of political necessity. "But I have no choice. The safety of the village comes first."
He raised his hand, the gesture sharp and decisive. "All units. Apprehend the rogue ninja Uchiha Sasuke. Lethal force is authorized if necessary."
The order hung in the sulfurous air like a death knell.
Behind the Hokage, Shimura Danzō stood frozen. The old war hawk's single eye darted between the crater where his body had exploded moments ago and the boy floating in the sky. His breath came in shallow, ragged hitches. The memory of his veins reversing, of his own blood turning into a weapon that popped his chest like a ripe fruit, was seared into his psyche.
He wanted to order an attack. He wanted to demand vengeance for Hōki. But his body refused to move. Every instinct screamed at him to run. Sasuke's combat power was not merely Kage-level; it was an anomaly, a force of nature that defied every rule of ninjutsu and shinobi warfare.
"Hahahaha!"
Sasuke's laughter cut through the tension, high and piercing, dripping with mockery. He looked down at Danzō, his six-pointed Mangekyō spinning with sadistic amusement.
"What's wrong, Lord Danzō? Cat got your tongue? Or are you just wondering how you're still breathing?" Sasuke tilted his head, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper that somehow carried to every ear in the square. "Oh, that's right. It's not a secret to a Sharingan user, is it? The Izanagi. The kinjutsu that rewrites reality at the cost of an Uchiha eye. Tell me, Grandfather, how many members of my clan did you have to slaughter to harvest the stockpile hidden beneath those bandages?"
The accusation struck the gathered ANBU like a physical blow. Several operatives stiffened. Masks shifted as glances were exchanged. The Uchiha were feared, yes, but the implication that the leader of Root was systematically farming their eyes… it ignited a spark of doubt in the loyal hearts of the Konoha ninja. Danzō had always operated in shadows; tonight, Sasuke was dragging those shadows into the light.
"Silence!" Hiruzen barked, though his eye twitched with a flicker of uneasy recognition. "Itachi was forced to act alone. Danzō has served this village faithfully. Do not let the rogue ninja sow discord with his lies!"
"But I'm not even entangled with them," Sasuke drawled, waving a dismissive hand.
Behind him, the two azure arms of his partial Susano'o blurred.
CLANG! CRACK!
The spectral limbs moved faster than the eye could track, striking the flanking ANBU operatives with the flat of their chakra blades. The hits were precise, calculated to shatter guard and send bodies tumbling backward without immediately killing them. A warning. Sasuke wasn't just fighting; he was dismantling their morale, piece by piece.
"I cannot allow a slanderer of the Hokage and the Council to escape!"
The voice came from above. A Cat-masked ANBU Captain materialized from a Body Flicker, his blade already drawn. He wove through the smoke, his movements fluid and lethal.
"Konoha-ryū Kenjutsu: Moonlight Triple Slash!"
Three afterimages of the captain split from the original, flanking Sasuke from the left, right, and center. The strikes converged simultaneously, aiming to sever the spectral arms and decapitate the boy in a single, coordinated motion.
It was a masterful display of kenjutsu. Against any other Genin, or even most Jōnin, it would have been fatal.
Sasuke didn't even raise his hands. He simply stood there, defenseless, his expression bored.
Poof.
The two clones struck his shoulders and exploded into smoke—a desperate attempt by the captain to create an opening. But the real blade, thrusting toward Sasuke's neck, halted in mid-air. It hadn't stopped by choice. The azure Susano'o arm had caught the blade between two spectral fingers, the chakra grip unyielding as titanium.
The Cat-masked Captain's eye widened behind his porcelain mask. "What—?!"
"Wind, don't!"
From the ground, Yūgao Uzuki, her purple hair spilling from beneath a stylized animal mask, watched the struggle with her heart hammering against her ribs. She saw her partner, the Cat-masked Lieutenant she had trained alongside, trapped in the grip of a monster.
"Let him go!" she shrieked, drawing her tanto.
"Xiyan, hold back!" Kakashi's voice cut through her panic. The white-haired ANBU gripped her shoulder, his visible eye narrowed in grim calculation. "If you go up there now, you die. Look at him. He hasn't even moved his body. That construct… it operates on pure reaction."
"Stop!" Yūgao struggled against Kakashi's grip, tears pricking her eyes. "He's choking him! He's killing him!"
"Killing him?" Sasuke murmured, his voice carrying down to the street. "I haven't even begun to apply pressure. I was just considering whether to drop him or squeeze. But since you're so eager to watch…"
Sasuke's fingers twitched.
Vector Manipulation.
The spectral hand released its grip. The Cat-masked Captain fell, gravity reclaiming him. For a fraction of a second, relief washed over Yūgao's face.
But Sasuke's smile was a razor. "Let's see how well your body handles a sudden change in direction."
In mid-air, the Captain's descent halted. His momentum didn't just stop; it inverted. The kinetic vectors of his falling body were seized, compressed, and violently redirected inward.
BOOM.
There was no scream. There was only the wet, sickening sound of a body imploding. The Captain's torso collapsed in on itself, bones pulverized into dust, organs rupturing instantly. A crimson mist sprayed from his armor, painting the smoke-choked sky in a gruesome watercolor.
"Captain!" Yūgao's scream tore her throat.
The mist drifted down, coating the cobblestones in red. Sasuke watched it fall with the detached curiosity of a scientist observing a chemical reaction.
"Look at you all," Sasuke sneered, his Mangekyō sweeping over the frozen ANBU. "The mighty shinobi of Konoha. You cling to this so-called Will of Fire, this belief that the Hokage's words are absolute truth. You don't question. You don't verify. You just obey and die. It's terrifying, really. I'm almost shaking in my boots."
He turned his back on them, the azure Susano'o arms dissolving into motes of indigo light.
"I have business at the top of the mountain. Try not to bleed out before I get there."
Sasuke shot upward, vanishing into the night toward the Hokage Monument.
No one moved.
No one followed.
The terror radiating from the boy was absolute. It was the paralyzing dread of prey realizing the predator is untouchable. Even Hiruzen hesitated, his grip on his staff tightening until his knuckles turned white.
"Itachi…" Hiruzen said quietly, not looking back. "Stand down. If you pursue him, Root and the ANBU will be ordered to subdue you as well. The decision is made."
Itachi stood trembling, his Sharingan staring at the sky where his brother had vanished. Numbness spread through his limbs. The plan was ash. Sasuke was gone, and the village had declared him a demon.
Sasuke… what am I supposed to do now?
Sasuke landed softly on the cobblestone path leading to the Hokage Tower. The night air was cool against his blood-stained face. Behind him, the Uchiha district still smoldered, a funeral pyre for his clan. Ahead, the administrative heart of Konoha stood silent and imposing.
Two Chunin guards stood at the gate, adjusting their headbands. They hadn't sensed the killing intent from the compound. They hadn't felt the tectonic shifts of the battle. To them, it was just another night of patrol duty.
"Hey there, little guy," one of the guards called out, offering a tired but kind smile. He knelt down to Sasuke's eye level. "It's past your bedtime. You shouldn't be wandering around, especially with the noise from the Uchiha sector. You lost?"
Sasuke blinked, his expression shifting instantly. The cold mask of the Accelerator slipped away, replaced by the wide-eyed, innocent demeanor of a seven-year-old boy.
"Two uncles, it's a pity," Sasuke said, his voice trembling slightly, eyes wide with feigned awe. "I wanted to see the Hokage-sama. I heard he was working late. I just wanted to give him something."
The guards exchanged amused glances. "The Hokage Building isn't a playground, kiddo," the second guard chuckled. "Come back tomorrow when the sun is up, and we'll show you around. Deal?"
Just then, a soft rustle of fabric drew their attention. A woman in her mid-twenties walked past them toward the gate. She was heavily pregnant, her hand resting protectively over her swollen belly, her face pale but composed. She wore the formal robes of a noble house.
"Excuse me, guards," she murmured politely, slipping through the gate without a word of challenge.
"Hey! Wait a second!" Sasuke called out, pointing at the woman. "Why did she get to go in? I just wanted to say hello!"
The guards sighed, standing up to pat Sasuke on the shoulder. "That's Shimura Sachiko. She's the assistant advisor's daughter-in-law. When you're family of Shimura Danzō-sama, the rules are a bit… flexible. Don't worry about it, kid."
"Sachiko…" Sasuke tested the name, his mind filing it away instantly. Danzō's daughter-in-law. Carrying the next generation of Root's bloodline.
"If you want," the first guard offered, extending a closed fist toward Sasuke. "How about a promise? You be a good kid, train hard at the Academy, and one day you can become Hokage too. I have a feeling you've got the spark. What do you say? A man-to-man fist bump?"
The second guard joined in, extending his own fist. "To the next generation. To the Will of Fire."
Sasuke looked at the two fists. Then he looked up at their smiling, earnest faces. They truly believed in their innocence. They believed in a future where children were safe.
Sasuke's lips twitched.
"Thank you, uncles," Sasuke whispered. "I really am sorry about this. I didn't want to do it."
He raised his small fists and bumped them gently against theirs.
Vector Manipulation: Kinetic Amplification.
The contact was light. Playful.
But the moment skin touched skin, the vectors of the guards' own nervous system were hijacked. The gentle tap was rewritten into a concussive shockwave, amplified a hundredfold and directed inward.
Their eyes widened. Their smiles froze.
Pop. Pop.
A spray of crimson mist painted the Hokage Tower's stone steps. The two guards didn't even have time to realize they were dead. One moment they were encouraging a child; the next, they were nothing but a wet stain on the granite and two crumpled uniforms collapsing to the ground.
Sasuke wiped a speck of blood from his cheek, his expression returning to that chilling, serene calm. He stepped over the remains without breaking stride, walking into the courtyard.
Ahead, near the entrance, Shimura Sachiko was walking slowly toward the inner doors. She paused at the sound of footsteps, turning to look over her shoulder.
"Oh?" she murmured, her voice gentle, tinged with surprise. "You're a little one. Are you lost? The streets are dangerous tonight."
Sasuke stopped a few feet away, tilting his head. "You're Sachiko-sister? My, my. Danzō really knows how to find them. You're beautiful."
Sachiko blinked, a polite smile gracing her lips. "You have a silver tongue for a child. I'm looking for my husband. He should be inside. Have you seen him?"
"Your husband?" Sasuke asked innocently. "Oh, you mean the one who didn't come back to the compound?"
Sachiko's smile faltered. "Didn't come back? What do you mean?"
Before she could process the tone of his voice, Sasuke moved.
It wasn't a blur. It was a flicker of displacement. One moment he was five feet away; the next, his small hand was pressed firmly against her sternum.
Sachiko gasped, her eyes widening. "Wha—?"
Tap.
Sasuke applied a microscopic burst of kinetic energy, precisely calibrated to sever the connection between her brain and her motor nerves without rupturing her organs. Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled forward. Sasuke caught her effortlessly, lowering her unconscious form to the ground.
He knelled beside her, his hand drifting down to rest on her swollen belly. He could feel the faint, rhythmic pulse of a second heartbeat beneath the fabric.
"A pity," Sasuke whispered, his voice carrying the cold weight of a judge passing sentence. "It's not good to carry anyone else's child, Sachiko-sister. But to be pregnant with the offspring of that old ghost Danzō…"