The sculpture before Sasuke had nearly taken shape.
The lines of the face were clear now, the proportions precise. Only the eyes remained untouched.
A body could be carved by skill alone.But the eyes were different. They carried weight. Presence.
Sasuke raised the short blade, stopping just short of the stone's face.
He stayed there for a long moment.
Then, without cutting, he sheathed the blade.
A faint red glint flashed through his eyes. The world rushed back into focus.
The seal on his sight shattered instantly.
Yakumo Kurama's ability to seal the five senses was extraordinary even within her clan. Where others barely scratched the surface, she stood at the threshold of something far deeper. Yet she had not fully awakened it.
And Sasuke's spirit was no weaker.
The moment his Sharingan stirred, the dense, refined Yin chakra surged outward, tearing through the seal as if it had never existed.
He exhaled slowly.
Stone dust scattered as the sculpture revealed itself fully.
It was a young man with an ordinary face. Nothing striking, nothing memorable. Yet every contour was flawless. The craftsmanship was complete in all but one place.
The eyes were blank.
Without them, the figure felt hollow. Still. Unfinished.
"Won't you finish it?" Yakumo asked softly. She had already packed away her sketchbook and now stood beside him, studying the piece.
Sasuke shook his head. "Not yet. I don't have the confidence to give it what it needs."
Yakumo looked at the sculpture again, then at him. "Is he someone important to you?"
Sasuke smiled faintly. "You could say that. He's… a special existence."
Yakumo nodded, misunderstanding in a gentler direction. She assumed it was someone from the Uchiha. She could never guess the truth.
The man carved from stone did not belong to this world at all.
Sasuke let his gaze linger for a moment longer, then turned to her. "You look better lately. Stronger. Yoga suits you."
Yakumo smiled, her voice light. "That's thanks to you, Sasuke-kun."
The practice had changed her. Slowly, steadily. Her body was more stable. Her mind calmer. Even her genjutsu responded more smoothly now.
Her parents had noticed. They were relieved.
She remembered Sasuke's warning, though. This was a long path, not a shortcut. Her body still needed time. So she waited.
Sasuke had never told her where the method came from. She had never asked. Some things didn't need explanations.
"You've helped me just as much," Sasuke replied.
Yakumo had sealed his senses so he could train without sight. She had guided him through illusion mazes to sharpen his genjutsu. They had exchanged more than words over the past two years.
Sasuke believed in balance. Give what you take.
"Enough talk," he said. "Let's begin."
Yakumo hesitated.
"…Are you sure?"
He met her eyes. Calm. Decided. "I'm asking you."
She sighed quietly, then nodded. "All right."
Her hands formed a seal.
"Genjutsu: Inner Landscape."
The world shifted.
They stood in a barren wasteland under a vast, crimson moon. The ground was cracked and lifeless. Dead trees stood like burned-out husks, their shadows twisting unnaturally under the red light.
The moon was enormous. Wrong.
Yakumo felt it immediately.
Something ancient. Violent. Watching.
The shadows on the ground writhed, slowly forming the vague outline of a massive, many-tailed beast.
The moment Yakumo perceived it, a torrent of emotion crashed into her mind. Rage. Hunger. Madness. An urge to destroy everything.
Her breath hitched. "What… what is that?"
A presence appeared beside her.
"Stay calm," Sasuke said quietly.
Yakumo gasped, forcing herself to breathe. "This… this is your inner world?"
She stopped herself before finishing the thought.
Of course it wasn't calm inside him. No one who had lived through that night could be.
Sasuke shook his head. "Not exactly. It's closer to something buried deeper. A fragment carved into the blood."
He paused, then added, "But its birth wasn't accidental. I pushed it there."
Yakumo stared at him, fear and disbelief tangled together.
Sasuke turned to face her fully, his expression serious. "Yakumo. I need you to use your bloodline ability."
"…For what?"
"To make it real."
Her eyes widened.
"What?"