Chapter 1: The Fusion of Two Souls
Aargh! Pain!
The boy woke up with a scream, his body drenched in cold sweat, hands clutching his head that throbbed as if it were about to explode. His vision was blurry as memories crashed into his mind like violent waves—two lives, two identities painfully merging into one.
It felt like his brain was being squeezed, forced to comprehend both identities at once. His nose began to bleed, and his eyes turned blood-red.
Finally, after a few seconds, the pain started to subside, and he began to regain his senses.
"Who... am I?" he murmured.
One set of memories belonged to a twenty-year-old from Earth—a normal life watching anime, working in a supermarket, surrounded by family and friends. The other was the life of Izuna Uchiha, the forgotten survivor of the Uchiha massacre, living in the shadows of a once-great clan, alongside Sasuke.
His trembling hands touched his own face, feeling the smooth skin, the sharper jawline—different from what he remembered. He staggered to a cracked mirror hanging on the wall and froze.
Dark, piercing eyes stared back at him—the Sharingan spinning faintly, still activated from the shock. In the reflection, three tomoe swirled in both eyes.
"This isn't a dream... I'm really here. In the world of Naruto, but... who am I? I don't remember anyone else named Izuna besides Madara's brother."
Digging into his memories, he found something.
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Flashback
The smell of iron burned in the air.
Eight-year-old Izuna saw everything through the slits of the closet door, his eyes wide with terror. His mother, the gentle woman who had never wanted to be a ninja, collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, her neck sliced clean. She didn't even have time to scream. Itachi didn't allow it.
His father, a retired ninja who could barely walk without a cane, roared like a wounded beast. His eyes changed instantly—the Mangekyou Sharingan pattern blooming in a swirl of pain and fury. In a moment of pure rage and hatred, the eyes that had never evolved finally reached their peak.
"ITACHI!" he screamed, lunging toward the man who had slaughtered his family.
The strike was fast. Too fast.
Unfortunately, Itachi was faster.
A precise stab to the heart, and another Uchiha fell.
Before his eyes closed, his Mangekyou turned toward the closet—and for a moment, a faint glow appeared before fading.
Inside the closet, Izuna felt something inside him shatter. An agonizing heat surged through his eyes, his vision dyed in red. When he blinked, he saw the world with supernatural clarity—the two-tomoe Sharingan shining in his sockets.
He didn't cry. He didn't scream. He just stayed there, frozen, until the sound of Itachi's footsteps faded.
Only then did he step out.
The smell of blood was even stronger now. The bodies were still warm. Without thinking, his small trembling hands moved on their own. An ancestral instinct guided his fingers as he...
Plop.
Plop.
Two pairs of Sharingan eyes rested in his bloody hand. Walking over, he took out a medicinal cleaning and preservation kit and placed the two pairs of eyes inside.
He buried them in the backyard, along with the rest of his childhood.
End of Flashback
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"That memory... four years ago? The night of the Uchiha massacre..." Izuna sighed, staring into his red eyes.
A fully matured Sharingan, one step away from evolving into the Mangekyou.
Speaking of Mangekyou, Izuna staggered slightly, still adjusting to the body. He reached under an old piece of furniture and pulled out a cylinder filled with a green liquid.
Inside were a pair of two-tomoe Sharingans—and another pair: Mangekyou.
This Mangekyou looked strikingly similar to the one Sasuke would eventually awaken.
---
In the center of the eye, a six-pointed star formed from curved blades, like sharp petals or interlocked claws, spun gently toward the core. Between the points of this star, symmetrical black circles were set into the negative space, reinforcing a sense of balance and contained power.
---
Izuna looked at those eyes and sighed. He knew why Itachi had done it, and he didn't blame him. He may have inherited the body and memories of their son, but not the feelings. Not exactly. He wasn't heartless—but at most, he felt pity.
On the other hand, even if he didn't seek revenge, Sasuke certainly would. That was Itachi's plan, after all.
What Izuna truly wondered now was whether it was still wise to stay in Konoha.
Sasuke had the protection of Itachi and Hiruzen, who knew the entire plan and had agreed to it. But Izuna wasn't sure if he was also part of that plan. So far, Danzō hadn't shown any interest in him—not that he'd noticed—but what if that changed? The risk was too great, especially before awakening his own Mangekyou, and even then, it wouldn't mean safety.
---
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The loud banging on the door cut through his thoughts like a blade.
"Izuna! If you don't come out now, we're going to be late for the academy!"
Sasuke's voice came with its usual cold, impatient tone. Outside the door, he stood with crossed arms, unaware of what was happening inside.
Inside the room, Izuna closed his fingers around the glass cylinder. The preserving liquid shimmered, the eyes of his parents floating in the fluorescent fluid.
For a moment, the Sharingan pulsed in his sockets, reflecting on the surface of the glass.
He sighed and twisted the cap shut with a muffled click.
He hid the container beneath the loose floorboards, under the same old piece of furniture where he'd kept his secrets since the night of the massacre.
When the door opened, only a twelve-year-old boy with dark, empty eyes stepped out to meet Sasuke.
Izuna had black hair with rear spikes and side bangs framing his face. He was slightly taller than Sasuke.
He wore black shinobi pants, high sandals, and a gray shirt under an open black vest. He was very handsome and stylish.
"Finally," Sasuke muttered, turning away. "You think just because you're an Uchiha, you can take your time like some girl?"
Izuna didn't answer. He simply followed, hands in his pockets, fingers still cold from the glass.
His dark eyes hid the truth, keeping the same blank expression, uninterested in conversation.
As they walked, Sasuke glanced sideways.
"You're acting weird. Even quieter than usual today." He said, not quite sure why he cared.
Izuna shrugged.
"Had a nightmare."
Sasuke laughed dryly, without humor.
"I know what that's like. You're not the only one."
Izuna paused for a moment, understanding what Sasuke meant. And indeed, compared to him, who saw the clan die over and over again, the original Izuna's pain was nothing.
With a bitter smile, he kept walking, Sasuke beside him.
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