Mangekyō
After putting his house in order, Sasuke glanced at the darkening sky. After a moment's hesitation, he changed into black clothes and stepped outside.
It was late, but there was somewhere he had to go.
His footsteps eventually carried him to a cemetery filled with rows upon rows of Uchiha graves. He stopped before a larger headstone, the names engraved there painfully familiar.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Mikoto.
Sasuke stood in silence for a long time before finally speaking.
"Father. Mother. Maybe… back then, you chose to die by Itachi's hand."
His voice was steady, but tight.
"But I can't accept it. I can't forgive it. And I can't agree with slaughtering the entire clan."
"The one who truly pushed the Uchiha to ruin, Danzō, has already been punished by my friend, Fujimoto Tōma. He died horribly. And soon… I'll kill Itachi myself. For you. For everyone."
His body trembled slightly as he paused, then continued.
"I know you probably didn't want to see your sons fight to the death. But this is my choice. Please understand."
"This resolve… I've carried it since that night. I've lived for it. No matter what, I won't abandon it."
His emotions finally surged free.
The three-tomoe Sharingan surfaced on their own, spinning violently in his eyes.
After a long while, Sasuke calmed himself and bowed deeply before his parents' grave.
As he turned to leave, he stopped again.
He faced the vast cemetery, closed his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as though countless figures were standing there, watching him.
He bowed once more.
"I swear… I will avenge you all."
A faint breeze brushed past him, carrying away the exhaustion that had weighed on him for days. Sasuke took one last look at the graves, then turned and walked away without looking back.
Back in the Uchiha district, Sasuke walked along a road he had avoided for years.
He used to detour every time, afraid of the memories tied to this place. Especially that utility pole. Under the blood-red moon, the image of a reaper had once been burned into his mind.
But this time, the visions were different.
He saw himself as a child, returning home from school. Elderly neighbors smiling, greeting him warmly. Faces filled with kindness. Even then, he remembered thinking it would be perfect if they didn't always mention Itachi.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Without forming hand seals, his Sharingan emerged. The three tomoe began to rotate slowly, not casting genjutsu, but pulling blurred memories into clarity.
Painful ones. Lonely ones. And happy ones too.
Most of his sadness back then had come from his father. Fugaku's eyes had always followed Itachi, never noticing his own efforts.
Many faces were already fading with time. Sasuke couldn't remember all of them clearly anymore.
"So how could I forgive it?" he whispered.
He recalled the moment he had once tried to force the Mangekyō open, only to be stopped by Tōma.
Now, he was ready.
And this time, he was certain he would succeed.
He had to.
The three-tomoe Sharingan spun faster, his focus reaching its peak.
At the same time, Sasuke pushed open the door to his house.
For an instant, he saw his mother smiling at him, telling him dinner was ready. His father sat at the table, stern as ever, reading the paper.
And finally—
That hated figure.
Itachi stood there, smiling. Or mocking him.
Mocking his weakness. Mocking his attempt to awaken the Mangekyō by force.
"Wait for me," Sasuke said quietly, staring him down. "I'm coming for you."
He closed his eyes.
Blood streamed from them as searing pain tore through his mind, sharper than anything he'd felt before.
But compared to the agony of that night, this was nothing.
He opened his eyes again.
The three tomoe blurred together, the sclera stained red with blood. He ignored the pain and walked deeper into the house.
In his bedroom, he stopped before a collection of photographs.
One showed him with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.
Another lay face-down on the desk.
Sasuke glanced at it, coughed lightly, and pressed it back down.
That photo. The accident. Naruto.
Tōma had given it to him.
Destroying it wouldn't help. Tōma still had the original.
So Sasuke kept it. As long as he didn't look at it.
Then there was one last photo.
Himself and Tōma.
He was younger there, awkward and stiff, while Tōma casually ruffled his hair. His own expression was clearly annoyed… and yet strangely content.
Sasuke smiled.
Tōma's words echoed in his mind.
There were people waiting for him in Konoha.
He wasn't alone anymore.
Which meant he couldn't die here. And he couldn't die against Itachi.
He would awaken the Mangekyō. He would defeat Itachi. And he would return to Konoha changed.
The pain intensified, rattling his mind.
Yet Sasuke had never felt clearer.
He closed his eyes again, letting the blood fall freely. The agony surged higher and higher, daring him to give up.
All he had to do was stop.
But Sasuke never wavered.
His spirit burned, roared, surged—
Then suddenly, he opened his eyes.
The tomoe were gone.
In their place was a pattern impossible to describe, unstable and trembling, as though it might collapse at any moment.
Time seemed to freeze.
The pattern solidified.
The pain vanished in an instant, replaced by something overwhelming.
Sasuke laughed.
He stepped to the mirror, staring at his pale face streaked with dried blood.
And his eyes.
The red had faded to black, marked by crimson six-pointed star patterns.
"So… this is my Mangekyō."
Even without activating its power, he could feel its strength.
Sasuke burst into laughter, unrestrained.
Not just because he had awakened the Mangekyō—but because he had done it his own way.
"Itachi," he said, voice sharp with triumph, "you were wrong. I reject everything you believed in."
When he finally calmed down, the Mangekyō still gleamed ominously.
He knew how close he had come to failure. One moment of hesitation, and he might have lost his Sharingan entirely.
But it was worth it.
He let the Sharingan fade, then formed a seal.
"Mangekyō… activate."
The eyes returned instantly, without pain.
Sasuke smiled.
Once was enough. He would never need to endure that again.
Checking the date mentioned in Itachi's letter, Sasuke calculated the remaining time.
There wasn't much.
He needed to familiarize himself with his Mangekyō.