"Sora… what exactly did you mean last night?"
Early morning.
By the lake within the Uchiha compound, Shisui Uchiha finally voiced the question that had weighed on him all night.
More than anyone, he wished to see reconciliation between the clan and the village. Uchiha Sora's words during the assembly had left him with an ominous premonition. He had barely slept.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
Sora skipped a stone across the surface of the water.
"I made myself clear," he replied evenly. "I don't believe things will continue in a good direction."
Shisui's brows knitted tightly. "Did you discover something?"
Sora did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Shisui, if the village and the clan went to war… which side would you choose?"
Shisui's pupils shrank violently.
"That's impossible! The village has already accepted us—"
"Accepted?"
Sora let out a faint laugh.
"So you do understand that they've never truly regarded us as part of the village."
He lifted his gaze toward the Hokage Rock in the distance, eyes darkening.
"What are we? Outsiders who joined halfway through? Why should we need their acceptance?"
"But…" Shisui tried to argue.
"That's enough."
Sora cut him off. Their eyes met.
"Shisui, you and I are not the same."
"You're a descendant of Kagami Uchiha. He was guided by Lord Tobirama Senju. His ideals influence you."
"I grew up on the clan's commercial street. I know what ordinary Uchiha are like."
"Uncle Teuchi. Aunt Kome. Brother Yakumi…"
"They don't have grand ambitions. They just want to live peacefully."
The distance between them closed.
It was the first time Shisui had seen his usually gentle friend look at him with such oppressive intensity.
It was the last day.
Sora no longer intended to play the role of the agreeable, harmless youth.
This was his true nature.
Arrogant.
Obsessive.
Proud.
And—
Possessed of a deep, suffocating love.
"Unlike you, who must consider both the village and the clan," Sora said quietly, "I only need to consider our people."
"I also want them to live calm, peaceful lives…"
His finger tapped lightly against Shisui's forehead.
The gesture was unnecessary—the transmission occurred through ocular power alone.
Shisui, never having guarded himself against a clansman, fell into Sora's genjutsu.
He instinctively tried to dispel it—
But the first image he saw froze him in place.
—
A flash of steel.
A young girl's head fell, severed cleanly.
Shisui recognized her. She was the daughter of the tailor's shop on the commercial street.
Then—
A blurred shadow kicked open doors one after another.
Children.
Women.
Elders.
Dragged out.
Slaughtered.
Blood flooded the commercial street. Even the full moon above seemed stained red.
—
The scene shifted.
The Konoha Military Police Force lay dead across the ground.
And finally—
The shadow raised its blade and severed the heads of the clan head and his wife.
—
—
When Shisui broke free from the illusion, he was drenched in sweat. Cold drops slid from his brow. His breathing was ragged.
"What… what was that?!"
"That was… the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, wasn't it? It drew out my deepest fear…"
As a master of genjutsu, Shisui understood.
The Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique could not construct such detailed environments and characters. It merely stimulated fear.
What he had just witnessed…
Was closer to a recorded projection.
He forced a strained smile.
"That's an impressive new technique. But don't use me as a test subject next time. That wasn't amusing…"
"That is the future."
Sora interrupted him again—along with the fragile comfort he was trying to build.
"I've seen what's coming. The village will eventually move against the Uchiha. The clan will be annihilated."
"The Uchiha, whose name has endured for a thousand years… will vanish within a few short years."
…
Shisui shook his head instinctively.
"How could that be? Everything is moving in a better direction. And seeing the future… that's hard to believe."
Plop. Plop. Plop.
Sora tossed the last stone in his hand into the lake and stood.
"Believe it or not—it doesn't matter. We'll know tonight."
"Shisui, your strength is important. But it isn't indispensable."
…
As Sora turned away, Shisui hesitated—then called out despite himself.
"Sora! Who wants to harm the Uchiha? What are you planning to do?!"
—
"You'll know tonight."
"I will carry the Uchiha on my shoulders."
"I will accomplish… what Madara could not."
—
He did not look back.
He walked away, leaving Shisui alone by the water.
Faces drenched in blood replayed in Shisui's mind.
That blurred shadow, blade rising and falling without end.
Who was it?!
Who dared to slaughter the clan?!
Kill him.
He must kill him.
As his emotions surged violently, three black tomoe slowly formed within his crimson eyes.
—
—
The clan training grounds.
Two tomoe spun within Uchiha Sora's Sharingan as he surveyed the area. Finding no anomalies, he bit his fingertip and formed hand seals at high speed before slamming his palm onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique."
Boom!
White smoke dispersed.
Standing upright on two legs was a blue ninja cat, a row of throwing knives strapped around its waist.
When fully upright, it reached Sora's chest. One eye was covered by an eyepatch, giving it the air of a pirate captain.
"Yo, Sora-kun. Lord Garo has arrived!"
"Isn't today not a repayment day? Summoning me now—"
Shhk—
The blue cat, named Garo, produced a cigar from nowhere and lit it, voice dropping into a gravelly tone.
"Go on. Who are we killing?"
Thud!
"Meow—!"
Sora punched Garo squarely on the head. The cigar fell to the ground; the eyepatch flew off.
Crouching down, Sora spoke in a low voice.
"Tell the Cat Granny. The agreed time has come."
Garo retrieved his eyepatch and switched it to the other eye.
"Sora… are you really going to defect?"
Sora shook his head and smiled faintly.
"Watch your wording. I'm not slithering away like some stray snake."
"I'm calling you because moving too many people is troublesome. I'll need help carrying luggage."
Garo was Sora's contracted summon. They had known each other since childhood. He was a true companion—and knew far more than most.
"You're sure anyone will follow you?" Garo asked. "Cat Granny said that back then, no one followed Madara."
…
"The times are different."
"Back then, peace had only just been established. It was normal that no one followed Madara."
"Tonight, I will tear open reality and place it before them."
"I will force them to choose."
…
Garo picked up his fallen cigar, took a drag, and shook his head.
"You're as vicious as ever, Sora-kun."
"Deciding the fate of the clan based on your own judgment."
"Are you certain your choice is correct?"
…
…
The corners of Sora's lips curved upward, his smile bright and unshakable.
"Of course."
"I never doubt my choices. If things turn out otherwise, it simply means my luck was poor."
Uchiha Sora was, at his core, a true Uchiha.
In his view—
If something was wrong, it would be the world.
Never himself.
—
Time slipped quietly away.
Night descended.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi—assisting Minato Namikaze with administrative matters—turned to look at the full moon outside the window.
For reasons he could not name—
A tremor stirred faintly in his heart.