The final battle at the Valley of the End had been fierce beyond measure.
Sasuke Uchiha, desperate and unyielding, had forced the full might of his Rinnegan in an attempt to divert a portion of Naruto's Senjutsu-enhanced Rasengan. The clash of their powers tore at reality itself, ripping open a distortion of time and space.
The backlash was instant and merciless. His body had reached its limit, his eye throbbed with unbearable pain, and before he could stabilize himself, the world dissolved into a violent whirl of light and shadow. He was dragged helplessly into the vortex.
When the dizziness subsided, he found himself lying on a rough, narrow bed inside a dim, run-down cabin. The wooden walls were thin and weathered, and the air smelled faintly of river water and damp straw.
Outside, voices were raised in an argument.
"Hey! How long are you going to stall? Come with us already!"
"You haven't even paid me!" A young girl's voice rang out, shaking with both anger and despair. "Why should I go with you? Father… I've failed you! I can't even gather enough money for your burial. You won't even have a proper resting place when you die!"
The noise finally pulled Sasuke from his haze. He sat up slowly, eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. Where is this…?
Then, a stabbing pain flared in his left eye. Memories slammed back into place—the clash with Naruto, the strain of the Rinnegan, the distortion, the unbearable pull into the void.
So… this was another place entirely.
He rose to his feet and stepped outside, his hand resting loosely near the hilt of his weapon.
A small clearing lay before the cabin. In it, several rough-looking men loomed over a little girl no older than ten. Her clothes were ragged, her hair unkempt, but her eyes—bright and defiant—were fixed on her harassers. They laughed with crude amusement.
Sasuke's voice cut through the air like a blade."Where is this place?"
The men froze, startled by the sudden appearance of the dark-haired stranger.
The girl's eyes widened in recognition. "Big brother…!" She scrambled to her feet and dashed behind him, clutching the back of his shirt. This was the man she had pulled from the river the day before.
"How far is this place from the Valley of the End?" Sasuke asked, his tone as cold and still as winter water.
"We've never heard of that," sneered a bearded man. "But if you think you can stop us from working for the Bishop, you're not long for this world!" He reached out, aiming a finger at Sasuke's forehead in a mocking gesture.
It was the last move he would make that day.
In less than a second, Sasuke had seized the man's hand, snapping his fingers like brittle twigs, and driven a crushing kick into his knee. The man crumpled with a howl.
"Get lost," Sasuke said flatly.
The bearded man spat a curse, retreating with the help of his companions. "You'll pay for this! The Bishop of the Spirit Hall will hear of it—he won't let you go!"
When they were gone, Sasuke looked down. The girl's wide eyes glistened with tears, her small face flushed from the encounter.
"Where is your family?" he asked.
"They're all gone. It's just me now." Her voice cracked. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing into his shirt.
Sasuke hesitated, then lifted a hand and rested it gently on her head.
That evening, a small fire crackled in the cabin. The scent of roasted rabbit filled the air.
"What's your name?" Sasuke asked, his gaze fixed on the flames.
"Mu Qing," she replied, smiling shyly. "What's yours, big brother?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"That's a long name. It's hard to remember," she teased softly.
"Sasuke," he corrected.
"Alright, Brother Sasuke," she said with a bright grin—only for tears to slip down her cheeks.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
"I have a family again. I have a brother," she whispered, wiping her eyes. Then she looked at him with innocent wonder. "Brother Sasuke… you have such beautiful eyes."
The next morning, Sasuke attempted to open a portal to another dimension. He focused, straining—but the space before him remained still. His Rinnegan's tomoe were gone, his ocular power too depleted to function.
It'll be some time before I recover enough to try again.
He stood outside, looking at the river where Mu Qing was splashing, trying to catch fish with her small hands. The mountains were green, the waters crystal clear, the sunlight warm.
It felt… empty.
Revenge, power, betrayal, battle, glory, hatred—he had borne them all for years. Now they were gone, leaving only a hollow peace that felt almost unreal. And peace was not something a man cursed like him should dare to long for.
A harsh voice shattered the calm."There he is! The man who stopped us from hiring servants for the Bishop!"
The same ruffians from yesterday had returned, but this time they were flanked by armored soldiers and an older man with gray hair.
"You insolent fool," the man barked. "How dare you defy my men and offend the Spirit Hall? Do you understand the crime you've committed?"
"I've never heard of your Spirit Hall," Sasuke replied, his gaze sharp as a blade. "What do you want?"
The gray-haired man smirked. "I thought you might be worth sparing, given your looks. But ignorance of the Spirit Hall? That's a capital offense."
Sasuke turned to Mu Qing. "Go inside."
She obeyed, still clutching her fish. But curiosity made her linger at the doorway, peeking out just in time to see the soldiers collapse one after another, too fast for her eyes to follow.
"Brother Sasuke!" she whispered urgently. "If you beat them, we won't be able to live here anymore!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Spirit Hall, huh?" He summoned the Kusanagi sword from the seal on his wrist. In one swift motion, he drove the blade through the gray-haired man's hand, pinning it to the earth.
"Remember my name—Uchiha Sasuke."
The man screamed. He was a Soul Master, yet he hadn't even managed to summon his martial spirit before being struck down.
"You'd better not let me live," the man spat through clenched teeth. "I'll report you to the Bishop himself. You'll be charged with blasphemy against the Pope!"
Sasuke's voice was calm, but his words carried the weight of ice. "I spared you on a whim. I could just as easily kill you on one."
The man looked up—straight into the scarlet whirl of Sasuke's Sharingan. His vision warped into a nightmare: his body nailed to a stake by countless golden spikes, his screams echoing into an endless void.
When Sasuke released him, the man was trembling, eyes wide with terror.
Sasuke glanced at the unconscious soldiers littering the ground, then at the shabby little cabin where Mu Qing waited. Without looking back, he sheathed the Kusanagi.
"Let's go."
Mu Qing hesitated for only a moment. She looked back at the cabin one last time, then ran to catch up, clutching her fish tightly in both hands.