Night again.
But it wasn't quiet.
Something in the air kept shifting.
Like the sky itself was… unstable.
He lay in bed. Awake. Staring at the ceiling.
His eye—hidden beneath a cold cloth—burned beneath it.
He didn't remove the cloth.
Not yet.
The moment he did, he knew something would change.
The Third Crack was near.
Too near.
And he still didn't know what it meant.
Dreams came again.
This time... not his own.
He stood inside someone else's house.
Old. Dusty.
A baby was crying.
A mother screamed.
Someone banged at the door.
He walked forward. But his feet didn't touch the floor.
This was a memory.
A buried moment.
Someone else's pain.
Then the scene shattered like glass.
Everything darkened.
A mirror floated in front of him.
Cracked. Old.
In the mirror—himself.
But not as he was now.
His eye was black.
His smile twisted.
Blood ran down his chin.
And then the mirror whispered.
"Break it."
The crack exploded across his vision.
He sat up in bed—
Gasping.
Sweating.
His eye fully active now.
The Third Crack had opened.
The next morning...
He didn't go to the Academy.
He needed space.
He needed control.
He went outside the village walls.
Alone.
He walked through the woods.
Birds flew away as he stepped near.
Even nature sensed the shift.
He found a lake.
Silent. Still.
Sat down.
Closed his eyes.
And tried to listen.
To himself.
To the ring.
To whatever was inside his head.
Then...
A voice.
But this time—it was his own.
"You're not strong enough."
He opened his eyes.
A second version of him stood across the lake.
Same clothes.
Same face.
But darker.
The other him smirked.
"You let them slow you down."
"What are you?"
The reflection shrugged.
"The part of you that will survive."
He got up.
So did the reflection.
Both stepped forward.
One step at a time.
Then ran—
And clashed.
It wasn't sparring.
It wasn't training.
It was war.
Each movement was perfect.
Identical.
Counter for counter.
Fist for fist.
They bled.
They laughed.
They screamed.
"You're still soft," the dark version said. "Still trying to protect people."
"I have to."
"They'll betray you."
"Then I'll face it."
"You'll die."
"I'd rather die than become you."
The reflection stopped.
Smiled.
And shattered like glass.
He fell to his knees.
Breathing heavy.
The eye flickered.
And stopped glowing.
But deep inside it—A third crack now ran along the ring in his iris.
Not visible to others.
But clear to him.
It had changed something.
He could now hear… whispers.
Everywhere.
From trees.
From people.
From the dead.
He walked back to the village.
Passed by the old shrine near the edge of the Uchiha district.
No one visited it anymore.
But someone was there today.
A boy.
Quiet. Standing still.
Sasuke.
Looking at the stone wall.
The one with all the names.
Names of the dead.
Sasuke didn't turn.
"You ever wonder what it's like to be alone forever?"
He didn't reply.
Sasuke's voice dropped lower.
"I do."
Silence.
Then Sasuke turned.
His eyes locked with his.
"You've changed."
He didn't deny it.
Sasuke took a step closer.
"Whatever's inside you… it's dangerous."
"You're not wrong."
Sasuke stared at him for a moment longer.
Then walked away.
No words of warning.
No threats.
Just a quiet glance that said:I'm watching you.
At home…
He sat near the window.
Watched people walk by below.
Smiling.
Laughing.
Living.
He felt distant.
Disconnected.
The Third Crack had taken something.
He just didn't know what.
Then—
The scroll began to glow.
The one from Anko.
New words appeared on its surface.
A message.
"You are being observed. Do not trust shadows."
He stared at it.
Then flipped it over.
A second line now appeared.
"Midnight. Come alone. Training Ground 13."
Midnight.
He arrived at the location.
Fog covered the ground.
Moon barely visible.
He stepped in quietly.
Heart steady.
Then he heard the sound of a kunai slicing air.
He dodged.
Barely.
It scraped past his cheek.
Blood ran.
Then—Anko appeared.
No smile this time.
She looked furious.
"You opened the Third Crack?"
He nodded.
She walked closer.
"I told you not to rush."
"I didn't choose it."
She stared into his eye.
Saw the new fracture.
Then sighed.
"You're hearing voices now, aren't you?"
He hesitated.
"…Yes."
She looked away.
"You're not supposed to get this far. Not this fast."
He asked quietly, "Why not?"
"Because by the Fifth Crack… your mind begins to split."
She stepped even closer now.
Put a hand on his shoulder.
"You need to stop using it."
He looked away. "I can't."
Anko tightened her grip.
"Then start choosing what's worth breaking for."
Far away…
A red-robed figure stood atop the Hokage mountain.
Eyes glowing with ancient chakra.
Behind him—seven others in similar robes.
Symbols carved across their skin.
One of them whispered.
"The boy has cracked again."
Another replied, "Third seal breached. Soon… he'll be one of us."
The leader didn't blink.
Just stared at the sky.
And said:
"Then we begin. Phase One."