He stood alone in the rain, lightning flickering across the charred mountain ridge above the Akatsuki hideout ruins.
The wind carried a scent he hadn't smelled in years.
Power.
Familiar.
Vengeful.
Alive.
Sasuke's fingers twitched at his side.
So. He really did survive.
Zetsu had whispered the news earlier, sliding from shadows with his typical venom:
"He's back. Floating above Konoha. And he has the Rinnegan."
Sasuke didn't flinch.
Didn't speak.
Just turned his back to the ash-pile of Itachi's old mask.
And walked out into the storm.
He remembered the old days like shards of broken glass:
Naruto's smile.
His fists.
His words.
His loyalty.
His death.
Or what he thought was death.
He remembered standing in the ruins of the Valley of the End, blood drying on his fingers, his body trembling.
He remembered Kakashi's face when they lied to the world.
He remembered how quiet it had gotten.
How cold.
Now, he had power.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan burned in his eyes — Itachi's final gift.He had mastered the Blaze Release, his Cursed Seal Sage Form, and even molded his chakra to bend gravity around him in battle.
And still—
He couldn't stop thinking about Naruto.
Not the boy.
The man.
The legend they whispered about.
The god with crimson eyes and a storm for a heart.
He met Naruto at the Valley of the Wind — a field untouched by war, hidden in a dead zone between lands.
Naruto was already there.
Standing on the water.
Waiting.
He turned slowly when Sasuke landed across from him.
No words.
Just silence.
Rain.
And history.
"You're alive," Sasuke said eventually.
Naruto's eyes didn't change.
"You knew I was."
"I hoped you weren't."
Naruto's mouth twitched — not a smile.
"You've gotten stronger."
"So have you," Sasuke replied, stepping forward. "Rinnegan. Bijū. That new eye…"
Naruto tilted his head.
"You've come to fight?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"No."
He drew his sword, but didn't lift it.
"I came to see what you've become."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Sasuke paused. Then said:
"Because if you've truly become the thing I feared… then I'll have to kill you."
Naruto stepped forward once.
And whispered:
"Try."
They stood in silence.
Two forces.
Two storms.
Sasuke's blade never rose.
His Sharingan spun—but too late.
The moment Naruto's mutated eye met his—
It was over.
The world turned white.
Then green.
Then warm.
Sasuke blinked.
He stood in a hallway.
The Uchiha compound.
Clean. Whole. Unburned.
And ahead of him…
"Itachi?"
Itachi turned slowly, dressed in ANBU black, sword at his side, a tired smile on his face.
"You're home early, little brother."
Sasuke froze.
He looked down.
No blood.
No fire.
No pain.
Itachi walked toward him.
"I've been meaning to train with you again. Father said you've improved."
Sasuke couldn't speak.
His voice caught.
He reached forward.
"Itachi, I…"
The world cracked.
Fire.
Crows.
Darkness.
The sound of laughter—quiet, bitter, distant.
Sasuke fell to his knees, clutching his skull.
When he opened his eyes—
Naruto stood above him.
Not grinning.
Not cruel.
Just amused.
"You still want revenge?" Naruto asked calmly.
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
Naruto's eye glowed once—just a flicker—and then faded.
"You're not ready," Naruto said. "And neither am I interested."
He turned away, cloak billowing behind him.
Before he vanished into the storm, he said without looking back:
"Chase ghosts long enough, and you become one."
And then—
He was gone.