Chapter 1: Die, Sasuke
Evening descended over the village as lanterns flickered to life one by one. The full moon rose like a silver disk, casting gentle shadows across the distant Hokage Monument. A late breeze stirred through the streets, carrying dried leaves across the Uchiha compound where they drifted past the familiar fan emblems.
Watchtower sentries merged with the twilight, only the occasional glint from their headbands proving the vigil never ceased.
Fireflies began illuminating the grass as street lamps awakened along the cobblestone paths, painting everything in warm amber light.
Uchiha Yasushi dragged his exhausted body home at last.
"I'm back," he called out, bending to remove his shoes and place them neatly by the entrance.
"Oh, big brother's home!"
With a joyful cry, a five or six year old boy burst from the inner room and threw himself into Yasushi's arms.
"Haha..." Seeing his little brother's adorable face instantly dissolved the day's exhaustion. Yasushi scooped the child up and tapped his nose playfully. "Sachi, were you good today?"
"Of course I was!" Uchiha Sachi puffed out his rosy cheeks like a ripe apple. "I listened to mom all day, helped with chores, and even practiced my shuriken throws!"
"Oh, that impressive?" Yasushi widened his eyes in exaggerated surprise. "Then we definitely need to reward you! What would you like?"
"Um..." Sachi tilted his head, finger to his cheek in serious contemplation, then his eyes lit up as he threw both hands in the air. "I want takoyaki! Double portions!"
"Haha... alright, on my next day off, big brother will take you for takoyaki. Double portions!"
"Thank you, big brother!" Sachi cheered, hugging his brother's neck tightly.
"Okay, okay, Sachi, don't monopolize your brother. Go wash your hands, it's time to eat."
Their mother emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron, setting dishes on the table. She gave her younger son a playful swat on the back, shooing him away before turning to her eldest with a gentle scold.
"Don't spoil him too much. He's going to be a shinobi someday too. Can't let him get soft."
"Your father never could handle hardship. Never even awakened his Sharingan, stuck as a genin doing cat-finding missions, leaving all the family burden on your shoulders."
"Ahem..." Uchiha Takeshi coughed from his seat at the table, trying to preserve some dignity. "Awakening the Sharingan depends on talent. Hard work doesn't affect it much."
"Hmph!" Their mother ladled rice for her eldest while shooting her husband an unimpressed look. "Other fathers set examples for their sons. You can only serve as a cautionary tale."
Seeing his father's pleading glance, Yasushi intervened diplomatically.
"Actually, mom, being a genin isn't so bad. No dangerous missions, no clan politics to worry about, no endless meetings listening to everyone argue."
With her prized eldest son speaking up, their mother couldn't continue her tirade, only muttering, "There's no such thing as a safe shinobi. Danger can strike anytime."
Yasushi quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks, patting his chest confidently. "Mom, dad, don't worry. If danger comes, I'll be at the front protecting all of you and Sachi!"
"Count me in too! I'll protect mom and dad!" Little Sachi rushed over after washing his hands, striking a defensive ninja pose with surprising authenticity.
"Haha... that's my brother! Together we'll protect mom and dad!"
Yasushi ruffled his brother's hair into a mess, earning an indignant protest, before laughing and pulling him to the table where the family began their meal.
Takeshi served his wife some vegetables while consoling her. "Stop worrying so much. I'm just a genin who never leaves the village. What danger could there possibly be?"
"We're the mighty Uchiha clan!"
"Who could possibly attack us in our own compound?"
"Would they have to kill every shinobi in Konoha first?"
Yasushi started to agree when his brows suddenly furrowed. He turned sharply toward the entrance.
The door seemed to flicker. His vision blurred. In an instant, a figure materialized inside their home.
So fast. Yasushi's heart jumped, but recognizing the arrival, he relaxed and released the kunai he'd instinctively gripped. He stood, approaching with a smile.
"Oh, Itachi! What brings you here? Does the clan head need something?"
He'd barely taken two steps when years of combat honed instinct made him freeze. His eyes flashed crimson as three tomoe spun into existence.
But the moment his gaze met Uchiha Itachi's, his consciousness wavered. When awareness returned, coldness bloomed in his chest. Looking down, he saw a blade withdrawing from his heart.
When did he...?
Genjutsu?
Why?
Yasushi's mind filled with questions, but surging blood choked them all in his throat.
He collapsed heavily, feeling all his strength pour from the gaping wound in his chest. Paralyzed, he could only watch helplessly as his father, mother, and beloved little brother fell one after another into spreading pools of blood.
No!
No, please!
Not them!
Yasushi lay there, his dying eyes meeting his brother's. Those once clear, beautiful eyes had lost all color, dull as ash. That adorable little face frozen in terror and helplessness, empty eyes staring at him as if asking his supposedly invincible big brother for rescue, or perhaps silently accusing him.
Big brother, didn't you promise to protect us?
No!
The agony of absolute helplessness consumed Yasushi entirely, exceeding even the physical pain of his shattered heart.
Don't die!
I have to save you!
Regret, helplessness, confusion, hatred, unwillingness... negative emotions swarmed like locusts, churning violently through his fading consciousness.
His father's warm hands. His mother's caring questions. His brother's healing smile. In his final moments, every memory flashed before him like a macabre slideshow.
Under intense obsession and violent emotional turmoil, Yasushi's three tomoe Sharingan trembled and spun wildly before disintegrating into blazing black flames that reformed in his pupils. Dark patterns grew like thorns, weaving together into a fierce yet beautiful windmill design.
His Mangekyo Sharingan had awakened!
And with the Mangekyo's awakening, memories from his previous life flooded back. Everything he'd watched in the Naruto series crystallized in his mind.
This is the Naruto world!
Today is the Uchiha Massacre!
Damn it!
Why did I only remember now!
Yasushi screamed internally. Before his heart fully ceased, he dragged himself up and stumbled to the table, gathering his brother into his arms, desperately trying to save him.
As if responding to his dying wish to heal, his Mangekyo ability manifested as a rare healing power: Inaba's White Rabbit.
Legend told of a rabbit who deceived crocodiles to cross the sea, only to be skinned alive. The rabbit encountered the Eighty Gods who tricked it into washing its wounds with seawater, worsening its agony. Later, the Great Lord of the Land healed the rabbit with fresh water and cattail pollen. The grateful rabbit prophesied his destined marriage and divine ascension.
The White Rabbit became the Great Lord's symbolic messenger, representing healing and prophecy, loyalty and gratitude, adorning Izumo Shrine's votive tablets and crafts.
Mangekyo abilities truly defied reason. Though the Sharingan wielded Yin Release, his ability converted it to Yang Release, directly replenishing life force.
But it was far too late. No matter how recklessly he poured Yang Release chakra into Sachi's body, he couldn't resurrect the dead.
"No! Please, no!"
Yasushi sobbed violently, setting his brother down to try saving his parents. But Itachi had been merciless, every strike piercing the heart with no margin for survival.
Nothing he did could warm their cooling bodies.
He made desperate, futile attempts until blood tears streaked from his left eye, crossing his cheek to his lips, unbearably bitter.
Even with chakra-converted Yang Release sustaining him, such frenzied Mangekyo usage inflicted tremendous strain on his eyes.
His eyeball burned like molten iron, but compared to the hell in his heart, this pain felt almost like salvation.
Red tinted his vision deeper and deeper until the entire world drowned in blood.
After an eternity, Yasushi gently laid the three bodies down, rose mechanically, and burst through the door.
Itachi!
You monster!
I'll kill you!
Hatred blazed through Yasushi's heart, transforming into boundless chakra that propelled him forward like flying.
The Uchiha compound had fallen deathly silent, the air thick with blood and death.
Yasushi knew exactly what had happened. He wasted no time on anything else, charging straight toward the clan head's residence.
That would be Itachi's final destination.
The clan head's compound wall loomed closer. The fan emblem on the gate looked particularly vicious beneath the blood moon. This symbol of honor had become nothing but a signpost to death.
"Itachi!"
Yasushi roared, kicking the gate open and rushing into the deep courtyard.
But the grounds lay silent, littered with corpses and gore.
He charged through to the rear courtyard without finding Itachi, discovering only the bodies of Uchiha Fugaku and his wife on the floor, with Sasuke unconscious nearby.
"Ahhh!"
Yasushi screamed in rage, spinning back to the courtyard and bellowing at the empty air.
"Itachi! You bastard! Come out! I'll kill you!"
His curses echoed unanswered. Only the moon above bore silent witness to this killing field.
"Ahh..." Yasushi raged through the courtyard once more, and seeing no sign of Itachi, he wheeled around again.
"Itachi! You killed my brother, so I'll kill yours!"
"Die, Sasuke!"
Yasushi shouted, raising his blade and severing Sasuke's head in one stroke.