The Uchiha Compound was eerily silent. Once a place full of life, where children laughed and shinobi trained with determination, now it was nothing more than a graveyard. The massacre had left behind nothing but ghosts and memories. And in the middle of it all, Sasuke lay unconscious in a hospital bed, his body unresponsive but his mind trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

For a week, he remained in a coma. His mind replayed the horrific scene of his clan's slaughter over and over again. His parents' lifeless bodies. His brother's cold, merciless gaze. The sheer helplessness he felt as his entire world crumbled before him. It was a darkness he couldn't escape.

When he finally woke up, everything was different. The world had moved on, but for Sasuke, time had stopped. The pain, the rage, the burning desire for revenge—it was all-consuming. He barely spoke. He barely ate. And yet, something within him had changed. A power, unfamiliar yet instinctual, had stirred in the depths of his being. But he was unaware of it. His mind had room for only one thought: kill Itachi.

Two weeks later, Sasuke returned to the Ninja Academy. The moment he stepped through the door, the room fell into silence. Every eye was on him. Some filled with pity, others with unease. Whispers soon followed, hushed but loud enough for him to hear.

"I heard his whole clan was wiped out..."

"They say his brother did it. But why?"

"My dad says he spared Sasuke on purpose. Isn't that kinda messed up?"

"He must hate his brother now... I would."

Sasuke ignored them. He walked straight to his seat, his face an unreadable mask. The weight of their words pressed down on him, but he refused to react. He had no time for their sympathy or curiosity. His focus was singular.

At the back of the room, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji sat together. Shikamaru sighed, already feeling the heavy atmosphere. "Man, this is troublesome."

Naruto didn't say anything. He just stared at Sasuke, his face unusually serious. There was no teasing, no loud declarations—just quiet understanding. Naruto, more than anyone, knew what it was like to be alone. And while his loneliness was different from Sasuke's, he still felt a pang of sorrow for him.

Choji, however, had no such filters. "So, uh… I guess things must be weird for him, huh?" he said, stuffing a chip into his mouth.

Both Naruto and Shikamaru turned to him, eyes wide with shock.

"Choji!" Shikamaru hissed.

"What? I was just saying—"

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"Don't." Naruto cut him off, his voice firm. "Just… don't."

Thankfully, no one else seemed to have heard. The rest of the school day passed in a tense, awkward quiet. When the final bell rang, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji left together.

"Next time, think before you speak," Shikamaru muttered.

"No, next time, just don't say anything at all," Naruto added, shaking his head.

Choji looked sheepish but shrugged it off. "Fine, fine. Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's get some food."

Shikamaru sighed. "We have an Ino-Shika-Cho meeting today. Our parents want us home ASAP. Sorry, Naruto, looks like you're on your own."

Naruto forced a grin. "Heh, guess that means more ramen for me, then."

With that, they parted ways. Naruto wandered through the village, heading straight to his favorite spot—the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

"Oi, old man! One miso ramen! No—wait, two!" Naruto called out as he slid onto a stool.

Teuchi, the owner, chuckled warmly. "Naruto, my boy! Take a seat, I'll get your order ready."

Naruto beamed as he waited. Before long, his first bowl was served, and it wasn't long before the second was gone too.

"How much?" Naruto asked, patting his empty wallet with a nervous chuckle.

Teuchi smiled. "This time, it's on the house."

Naruto's eyes widened. "No way! I can't just take it for free."

"Then how about this? Pay me when you become a ninja. I'll keep a tab open for you."

Naruto's face lit up with pure joy. "Really?!"

"Really. Oh, and take this too. Some dango my daughter picked up. Eat it at home, alright?"

Naruto clutched the bag of dango like it was a treasure. "Old man… I swear, I'll pay you back!"

He left the shop, practically skipping. Back at his tiny apartment, he resisted the urge to eat all the dango at once, deciding to save some for the next day. With a full stomach and a rare warmth in his heart, he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Sasuke's evening was starkly different. He went home alone, his house cold and empty. He prepared a simple meal—grilled fish—and ate in silence. The food was tasteless. Everything felt numb. After finishing, he went outside to train, repeating basic exercises until his body ached. Only then did he allow himself to sleep, but even then, his dreams were filled with the blood-stained memories of his past.

Far, far away—beyond the reaches of Konoha, beyond the very universe itself—there was a plane of existence that was both real and unreal. A place where those who had completed their journeys lay in eternal rest. It was a silent, endless expanse where only the most extraordinary of beings found themselves.

Recently, two such beings had arrived. They drifted, sinking deeper into the abyss of eternity. They were powerful, unimaginably so—second only to one who had arrived an eternity ago. But they were unaware of this descent, lost in the pull of the void.

Yet, something stirred.

Within the darkness, a pair of eyes snapped open.

A deep voice rumbled. "Where… am I?"

He took a step forward, feeling his body—still familiar, yet impossibly different. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. A sewer? No, that wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. He had entered the land of eternal rest. He shouldn't be awake. And yet, here he was.

A slow smirk crept onto his face. "Even death couldn't suppress me. How could it?"

As he walked through the endless tunnels, his gaze landed on something intriguing—a massive cage. On the front, a piece of paper was stuck to the bars. Japanese writing.

"A seal…?"

His eyes gleamed with curiosity. He extended his senses, finally realizing the truth.

"Ah… so that's how it is. I'm inside a human body. Again."

From the darkness of the cage, a deep growl echoed. A pair of enormous, crimson eyes opened, staring down at him.

A fox. A beast of immense power. Nine tails curled behind it, flicking restlessly.

"Interesting." The man chuckled. "Very interesting."