Massacre

Months had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already the 5th month of the school year. The past 5 months had been progressing smoothly. I was constantly training, meaning that my time with friends had shrunk. However, I knew it was all worth it so that in the future I could protect them. I was making great strides in my combat instincts and my kunai techniques, mainly because I had Sasuke to provide me with competition and pressure. Even though I had Lee to help me with sparring, combatting someone on my level was much more suitable.

I had a better body than Sasuke, but he had the Uchiha taijutsu, which compensated for his disadvantage and then some. Having a good martial art was a key advantage in taijutsu after all. We were pretty equal during our fights though. Sasuke was faster than me and had a better fighting style, while I was stronger and more durable so I could take more blows than him. All of my training wasn't going to waste, my body was tough and refined, while Sasuke mostly focused on improving his speed to counterattack using his taijutsu. This led to most of our spars being close calls, which considerably improved both our combat abilities since we needed to continually grow to keep up with each other.

Observing Sasuke's martial arts also aided me a lot, especially in developing a counter-offensive part of my taijutsu. The Uchiha Taijutsu was focused on their Sharingan, more specifically the Sharingan's ability to predict someone's movement. They would then use this advantage to counter-strike, which is why speed was another part of their focus. A person without the Sharingan can also do this, especially with ample combat experience, but generally, it was for the Uchiha clan to master. During our spars, I would occasionally test out a new technique or move against him, resulting in me getting pummeled as he specialized in finding loopholes. This also led to me finding loopholes in my technique, and fixing them, while he got a greater insight into how to dismantle a technique. Win-win.

Though I stopped branching my time towards developing a unique Taijutsu style, pondering on the matter did me no harm. And now, with the extra hours going towards training, I could be a bit more lenient in exploring my interests and paths.

One of the paths I intended to take was genjutsu. Genjutsu was the most interesting jutsu style, in my opinion. Against ordinary ninjas, genjutsu was arguably the most lethal. As long as someone was caught in one for a second, their head would promptly be separated from their body in a fight. Also, since I possessed stronger yin chakra than yang, I was more suited for genjutsu techniques in the first place, not to mention my stellar chakra control as well. Genjutsu was just a given with my skillset, especially seeing how underutilized it was. Almost everyone used genjutsu as their main attacking point, but I could see it playing a wonderful supplementary role in my battles. I wouldn't have to compromise on my attacks and instead will incorporate them together.

I had no teacher to learn from, however, but Iruka-sensei mentioned that we would start learning about genjutsu and how to dispel it by the third year of the academy. I was somewhat disappointed, though there was nothing to do on the matter.

I had been keeping with my plans to split my time into three things, my body training, my combat training, and my ninjutsu. After months of training, I can now do more than 300 pushups before exhausting myself. My body could barely count in the ranks of Genin at this point. I had only barely just achieved a Genin body though since I needed all my attributes such as speed, strength, reaction speed, durability, etc... to reach that level as well. I had of course reached Genin rank in some physical aspects, like durability and strength, but things like speed were still below, which is why I had only just entered the physique of a Genin.

My talent was not low, and with the amount of work I put in, having the combat strength of a normal Genin before the end of my third year was very likely. I would be around 9 years old at that time. Given that Itachi reached genin by 7 years old and chunin by 10, I would consider myself talented but not monstrous.

The other focus of my training, combat experience, was going spectacularly as with the addition of sparring with Sasuke, I was getting in plenty of experience. I was gaining a better understanding of my capabilities and how to link my attacks. My kunai technique had gone from rough to pretty good, and I was confident that if I was put in the same situation with that woman, I would be able to counterattack way before she exhausted herself.

After my encounter with the woman, I temporarily became much more paranoid and wary. I would always be looking out for enemies, especially while walking home. I don't know how much that event impacted me, but it was certainly more than I thought. My mental state was a little off, and my meditations were hitting a block. Usually, I could clear my mind easily, and my meditations helped me organize my thoughts. But after my block, I couldn't clear my mind as easily, and my thoughts were scattered.

After months of meditation, however, I was able to overcome that experience and went back to normal. My mental state was back to its peak, I would say even more stable than before. The more a person sees and experiences, the more stable their mind is. After killing my first enemy, my mind was stronger after overcoming that experience. If I were to kill again, I would still be impacted, but not as significantly as before. At least, my meditations would not be affected anymore.

Those months of hindered meditation meant the training of my mind, or my yin chakra, had been delayed as well. With all that time, my yang chakra had started to catch up, resulting in my chakra being more balanced than before. Of course, I still possessed a lot more yin chakra than yang, but at least I wouldn't be affected by it since it was in the normal range. I would say about 60-40, with the yin being 60 of course.

Achieving a balanced chakra meant that my Jutsu in both yang releases and yin releases would be equally powerful. If my chakra was leaning too much to one side, the other side would suffer and my arsenal would become limited. That was why I wanted to keep my chakra balanced, that way I could use all techniques instead of only half of them.

I still didn't know how much chakra I possessed, but I felt that I had at least reached Genin aspect in it. I was constantly expending and recovering my chakra with the Leaf Concentration Method, so it grew all the time. Along with my jutsu training, I was using chakra every single day. My chakra coils had gotten significantly sturdier, and the amount of chakra I could release had increased by a good amount. There was no concrete way of checking though, without having someone assess me or seeing a Genin's chakra reserves for myself.

The final part of my training, ninjutsu training, was also going well. I had now mastered the three basic jutsu to the point of using them in battle. I needed but a hand seal with a single hand now to substitute, my clones were exact copies of me bar some minuscule features, and my transformations were fairly perfect. Even a Chuunin would be fooled if they didn't check the chakra signature. Of course, if they did sense for the chakra, my chakra would still be displayed, so it was not much of a disguise if a sensor was around.

Back to the present though, school had just finished, and we started exiting the building. The moment I went outside I could sense a thick tension in the air. Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto felt it as well, and after a short discussion, we decided to go home. I had a guess as to what was happening since the bloodlust in the air gave me literal palpitations. Shikamaru and Choji left together, leaving Naruto and me to head home.

"We should hurry on home Naruto"

"Un, it feels weird out here, believe it"

We quickly headed home and he came over to my apartment for a while. The tension was somewhat lost, but it was still there in the back of our minds. After talking and playing poker with him, he eventually headed home crying about his loss of Ryo. Whenever the chance came, I would milk Shikamaru and Choji of their money, while I would let Naruto keep most of his. After all, us orphans have to stick together.

After meditating, I headed to bed, putting the matter of the bloodlust in the back of my mind. Even if I guessed correctly about the matter, involving myself anywhere near this was the stupidest decision I could make. My power was nowhere near the level of getting myself involved with the strongest people in the Village.

The night passed, eerily, and the sun quickly rose. After training and doing some stretches, I left my house and headed to Naruto's. I had to wake Naruto every day so he could go to school on time, but this time I was in for a surprise.

"Naruto? Why are you awake already?"

"I don't know why I woke up early, ya know? I just did. I just couldn't sleep well tonight"

"Sure Naruto, anyway, we should start heading to school"

"Yeah I guess"

As we started walking towards the Academy, the atmosphere of the Village was much different than anything I had seen before. It was solemn and heavy, no one was courageous enough to breathe too loudly in this atmosphere. Even Naruto was quiet today, something as impossible as Hashirama being killed by a kunai. I could hear people whispering all around us, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying. With all the things happening around me, I was pretty sure that I knew what had happened. Given the timeline, I knew there was only one big event that happened at this time that could invoke such an ambiance.

When we got to school, the final nail was put in the coffin, and I confirmed my speculations. Sasuke was absent from school today, and the children around us were talking about what happened the night before.

"Did you hear about what happened?"

"Yeah, I heard that the entire Uchiha clan was murdered yesterday"

"Whattt?? Are you serious right now??"

"Yeah! My dad is a jonin and I heard him talk to my mom about it. Apparently, everyone was massacred!"

"I heard that all of them died too! Except for Sasuke"

"Sasuke? Is he the only surviving one??"

"Yeah he is"

It was true. The Uchiha Massacre happened yesterday. Naruto, who was next to me and had heard the kids too, adopted a solemn look on his face.

Naruto was the only one who could truly relate to Sasuke right now. Naruto and Sasuke were fated together, and this was one of the events that strengthened their relationship to what it was in the future. Naruto didn't have anyone to lose, but he was also talked about by everyone in the Village. Sasuke's experiences were similar in that everyone in the village also knew what happened to him.

Of course, one had gotten glares and the other had gotten sympathy looks, but the feelings experienced by the two of them were the same. They were both alone at this point. It was just the outcomes that were different. Naruto wanted to prove himself and looked to build bonds, while Sasuke had come to hate the Village itself and looked to cast all his bonds away.

At this point, I could tell that the link between Sasuke and Naruto would begin to develop. They had the link initially due to being the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura respectively, but only throughout their lives do they grow more into these roles and fulfill the fate they hold. The link that binds them also grows with them. Right now, Naruto had probably developed feelings of interest and sympathy towards Sasuke, considering that they were both alone and essentially isolated from the rest of the villagers.

I, on the other hand, adopted a melancholic look. This part of the timeline was particularly heart-wrenching, especially considering the future implications. The pain this would bring upon Sasuke, and the pain he would spread among others, there was nothing but pain brought by this massacre. Seeing the series, though, I knew there was not much else that could happen.

Unless Hiruzen was replaced by someone more understanding and supportive of the Uchiha, and someone who was willing to keep Danzo in check, there was no reconciliation between the two sides. That person was supposed to be Minato, but he perished too early to bring about any real change. Itachi was eventually forced to choose the greater good, even if that meant throwing away his life. Itachi was a man worthy of admiration for his work as a shinobi, but I don't know about anything else. Other than a brother of course.

The day passed slowly, and everyone was occupied with thoughts other than the lectures. Iruka-sensei also seemed absentminded, but he did his best to pacify the class and continue about the day as usual. There was no quelling such a huge event however, and the day proceeded with the whispering of students.

Eventually, school ended, and all of the students were dismissed. I met up with Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, as well as Lee, and the first topic was elicited by Lee himself.

"Have you all heard of the news?"

"Yeah Lee, it'd be pretty hard not to"

"Omnomnom, yeah the whole class was talking about it the entire time!"

Naruto was surprisingly quiet during our discussion, opting to instead listen.

"I feel bad for Sasuke"

"Yes, I have heard that his entire family has perished"

"Poor guy"

I didn't know what to add to this, especially since I knew the ins and outs of the entire event. I was more of a listener anyway, so my silence did not bring about much reaction. Naruto's silence however, elicited a different reaction...

"Naruto, why are you being so quiet today"

"Yeah, this is troublesome to say, but you're usually a lot more talkative than this"

"Sorry guys, I just have something on my mind."

Seeing Naruto looking down, I gave a suggestion to the group to try and cheer him up.

"Why don't we go for some Ichiraku Ramen. We haven't been there in a while"

Naruto visibly brightened up, but on the way, he still seemed occupied by some thoughts. We got to Ichiraku's quickly, and Naruto scarfed down a couple of bowls. It was usually agreed upon that everyone would pay for their own meal, but this time Shikamaru paid for Naruto's meal too.

After finishing the meal and thanking Teuchi, we started walking around the Village. The previous atmosphere had somewhat lifted, and now the civilians were gossiping among themselves

"I heard that it was all done by one person"

"Yeah, I heard that as well"

"My brother is an Anbu, and he told me that it was all done by Itachi Uchiha"

"Itachi? How could one Uchiha massacre the rest of the clan?"

"Hmph, even with how arrogant they used to be they were still wiped out in one night"

"Hey, we don't know the whole matter yet. You shouldn't say that stuff in public"

Conversations like these were happening all around us, and it brought the mood of the group down quite a bit. Some were devastated by the news, some were gloating, but most only had a curious look on the matter.

Seeing all this gossip, I made another suggestion to go watch some clouds. I figured we needed to be away from the rest of the people right now.

We headed to our usual spot on the roof of a building and proceeded to lie and watch the clouds. After a while though, the weather started taking a turn for the worse. The weather in Konoha was usually stable, with clear skies and warm temperatures, but today was different. The sky was gloomy, full of dark clouds gathering above the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And as if the Heavens themselves were mourning for the loss of the Uchiha, rain started pouring from the sky. Lightning followed shortly after, and now it seemed like the Heavens were upset by the massacre, dishing divine punishment onto the mortals.

We all quickly took cover and decided to quickly head back home before the storm got any worse. As Naruto and I walked back to our building, I thought about what would happen next. I knew that Sasuke would be different from now on, no longer the rival that I once viewed him as, from today forwards Sasuke would dedicate his life to being an avenger. His life goal was to kill Itachi, no matter how he needed to acquire that power.

We arrived at the building in a matter of minutes and I bade Naruto farewell.

"Goodbye, Naruto. Make sure you change out of your clothes when you get home so you don't get sick"

"Yeah yeah I know. Thank you, Aizen. See ya later"

With that, I made my way back to my house and entered. I put on a fresh set of clothes and began training to take my mind off of Sasuke for the moment. No matter how much I wanted to help, what else could I do but increase my strength at the moment? This was Sasuke's path, and I had no right to interfere with what he wanted. I also had no intention of putting myself in harm's way by telling him of Itachi's secrets either, so Sasuke was fated to follow the same path he took in the anime.

I knew that Naruto would eventually make him see the right path and that Sasuke would change his ways and overcome his trauma, but that was a long time from now on. His experiences made him the man he is in the future, however, and that was a reliable shinobi willing to lay his life for the village, and more importantly for his in-all but blood brother.

The only thing I could do is try to increase my strength to where I could stand with them in the future, battling against enemies and preparing for the future.

I started with body conditioning, and since we all went home early I had extra time today. I trained until I was exhausted and then proceeded to train in my jutsu. I needed to be able to eventually substitute without the need for hand seals, that was the most important goal at the moment. Once I could forgo the hand seals, the substitution jutsu would become one of my top survival and surprise elements in the future.

The rain eventually passed, and the lightning had vanished, but the sky remained gloomy and upset. Nothing but dark grey clouds covered the sky, and I was sure that this was a day not many will forget. The day that one of the founding clans of the Leaf Village, was extinguished.

I ended my training and moved on to meditations. I sat on a mat and began my meditations once more. This time, I didn't want to try and recollect my thoughts, I only sought to clear my mind completely. I entered a sort of zen state, my mind completely empty. In this state, I was completely calm and free of emotions. It was a very freeing fleeing, casting away all your troubles and stress, but it was also frightening how senseless you can become in this state.

After some duration, I began noticing something. I could feel a chakra signature burning about a foot away from me. I quickly opened my eyes and gazed at the area, only to find a wet stray cat that had entered my house. I got a towel and dried it off, much to its protest. I put out some meat for it as well, and it quickly lost interest in me and began devouring the food.

Wait.

Chakra signature? How did I sense that??

I quickly closed my eyes and made the ram seal, and I could sense the cat once again, even with my eyes closed. It had a chakra signature, and I knew that this chakra signature was unique to it alone.

"Amazing" I couldn't help but exclaim

I always had some talent for sensing others, but I always attributed that to my heightened instinct. Instead, it seemed that I had a talent for being a sensor ninja as well. My current radius was about 10 feet, or 3 meters, but still, the fact that I had this technique was amazing! I could sense other chakra signatures within this radius, unless they suppressed their chakra with the Chakra Suppression Technique.

Awakening as a sensor ninja was a massive advantage. I would be able to identify others by their chakra signatures, sense their chakra completely, be able to tell if someone was lying or not by the fluctuations in their chakra, etc... The practicality was virtually endless.

I had gotten an amazing power, but I still needed to train it from now on. This would be the fourth item on my training plan. I couldn't neglect my sensory training, it was simply too useful for the present and future. For the present, I could use it to sense a Genin's chakra and finally be able to tell how much chakra I have compared to the average Genin. As for the future, being able to sense kilometers away wouldn't be a problem, and tracking would become much easier.

I reveled in my newfound power for a bit, and then I started heading to bed. I could only sense about 3 meters away from me after all, the cat was the only visible chakra signature in my range. My body hit the mattress and I let myself drift to sleep.

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(Sasuke POV)

At Konoha Hospital,

a young boy with long black/blue hair awakens in his bed. Looking around the room, I see that I am in a hospital room. I try to remember what happened but a headache assaults my mind. I decide to go outside the room and look around. I walk out of the room, and I come across a couple of nurses conversing,

"I can't believe it"

"Yeah, all of the elite Uchiha clan was massacred in a single day"

"I heard that boy is the only one who survived the massacre"

"Poor boy"

"He has a brother too, but nobody knows where he is"

My chest tightens, and hatred fills my being. My breath quickens, my fists clench, and the mere mention of HIM fills me with nothing but an overwhelming amount of resentment. How dare they talk about ME like that! How dare they talk about my CLAN like that!

I started walking away from them and made my way out of the hospital. The weather outside is gloomy, the sky filled with dim depressing clouds. I start sprinting towards my compound, hoping, WISHING, that all of this was only a dream.

That I would see all my clansmen again, see my parents again. That I could go back to how it was.

I get to the entrance and see it cautioned with yellow tape. My illusion starts shattering, but I desperately clutch onto it, proceeding to make my way inside.

I see the kind old lady who always offered me food, and my body washes over with relief and happiness. It was all a dream. The shattered pieces quickly reassembled, and I feel hope burn so brightly that it seemed to light up the world around me. I was so scared, but it was all a dream. Everyone was still there, everyone was ok.

The moment I start thinking that, however, my vision blurred and I woke up to the reality in front of me. Broken stores and glass litter the entirety of the road. The kind old lady wasn't there. It was all in my head. The reality I had so desperately been putting together, shatters like the glass around me.

All my relief turns into coldness, and I start walking again in hopes of seeing something, anything that will fill the void in my heart.

Rain starts pouring on me, but I can't register that right now. Walking through the streets, I see all the interactions I had with my clansmen, memories flashing by as if to TAUNT what I don't have anymore. Times I took for granted, times that were gone forever.

I arrive at my house, and a feeling of dread fills me as I try to open the door. Eventually though, my need to confirm everything urges me and I slide the door across. The house is empty, so, so empty and cold. More memories start flashing of my mom... She would give me a warm welcome every time I came home, but now... Now I heard nothing but the rain outside and the sound of my shallow breathing.

I start making my way across the house, glimpses of the past streaking past me. Now, nothing but the deafening silence was present. I made my way to the living room, only to find a blood stain littering the floor and a chalk outline of a human body.

Tears start streaming down my face as I collapse on the floor. My parents, my family, my world. I start sobbing, wailing about the hole that takes place where my heart used to be.

"AHhHhhHhhhHHh"

...

The only sound left was the sound of the rain hitting the house. Every drop was like an echo of my loneliness. I had no one left. Nothing left. Nothing but hate and pain. Hatred towards HIM for doing this, hatred towards myself for being so weak. Hatred starts to fill the hole, pure unadulterated hatred.

After an eternity, my tears stop flowing, all dried up. I start losing consciousness still on the floor, too tired to keep my eyes open any longer. I embrace the unconsciousness. It was my only escape from this reality.

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(Naruto POV)

At the same time,

a boy with blond spiky hair, bright blue eyes, and a dazed look on his face was laying in his bed. I stared at the rain pouring outside, feeling my chest tighten and a pain in my heart. I didn't know why but looking at the sky right now... It was unbearable.

I turn in my bed, instead, I looked at my apartment. It was filled with nothing but garbage, garbage, and nothing else. There was no trace of warmth here. The feeling in my chest got worse. I've always wanted a family, but every time I turn my head and look at my house... I always ask the old man where my parents are, but he never gives me an answer. I really hated when he did that.

Ever since I made friends with Aizen and the rest of the group, the pain in my heart had gotten better. They didn't leave even after all the people would look at us down the street, even when the people would call me names. They stayed by my side.

But every time I come back home, the feeling comes back. It's like there's no escape from it. I HATE IT. It just gets worse and worse and there's nothing I could do about it.

I thought about that bastard Sasuke. He was always acting so cool, and everyone in the class liked him. Even Sakura. Aizen was friends with him too.

He was strong, smart, and popular. Everything I wanted to be! But he was so annoying!

But today, I found out that his entire family had just been killed...

He was alone too, just like me…

Eventually, I got tired and started heading to sleep. I liked sleeping. It was the only time when I couldn't feel that pain in my chest anymore.

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