"REVERSE SUMMONING JUTSU... "
Shinnachiku screamed at the absolute top of his lungs, closing his eyes tightly as the monstrous claws hovered inches away from his face.
BOOM!
A massive, violent explosion of white summoning smoke and dirt blasted outward, tearing through the playground air. The force ripped across the dirt, shattering the ground where the black seal had been laid.
In that exact fraction of a second, the clawed, monstrous hands struck. Shinnachiku let out a sharp, agonizing yelp of pure pain as a blinding shockwave hit his small body. The sheer terror, the burning sting on his leg, and the overwhelming blast of chakra became too much for the four-year-old to bear.
His vision swirled into darkness, and his small eyes rolled back as he completely passed out, his limp body falling forward into the thick, blinding smoke.
For a few long seconds, everything was buried in absolute chaos. The dust swirled violently under the golden light of the setting sun, covering the entire center of the playground.
High above the chaos, standing on the very top of a metal street light, a dark figure cut through the evening air.
The brilliant, fiery orange light of the sunset was bleeding from behind him, casting his entire front side in complete, pitch-black shadow. His face was totally invisible, shrouded by the blinding glare of the sun. He stood perfectly balanced, his long arm wrapped securely around the torso of the unconscious, dangling child he had just plucked from the blast.
Looking down at the limp boy in his grip, the figure let out a cold, low chuckle that dripped with dark amusement. "Like mother like son..." he murmured, his voice smooth but sinister. "Always getting into trouble."
Down below, the thick curtain of smoke began to clear, blowing away in the evening wind to finally reveal the identity of the savior.
It was UCHIHA HIKARU.
His dark eyes gleamed with a predatory satisfaction as he looked down at his prize. He had tracked the boy's sudden, massive chakra perfectly, arriving right on time to steal him away. Hikaru opened his both eyes to activate his visual space-time teleportation, Takemikazuchi, ready to vanish from the village entirely.
But just as the space-time portal began to open, twisting the air around him, his sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the creature standing in the clearing below. Hikaru froze. His breath hitched in his throat.
Down in the middle of the playground, the figure that had launched the attack was growling fiercely. It was standing on all four limbs like a feral, wild beast, its knuckles dug deep into the torn earth. The creature had wild, spiky blonde hair that whipped in the wind, but its body was completely encased in a terrifying, boiling, bubbled cloak of dense, reddish-orange chakra.
The hatred radiating from the beastly form was suffocating.
Hikaru's eyes widened in sheer, unexpected shock. His mind stared at the impossible sight.
But before he could realise the dimension had already wrapped around him, ready to take him to the decided place. The light flashed violently, and the street light was instantly left empty.
SHUCK
With a sharp, heavy thud, Hikaru's boots slammed into the rough dirt. The destination was absolutely perfect—exactly where he had planned to retreat.
The air here was completely different from the village, cool, damp, and smelling heavily of pine and fresh earth. Thick, towering trees and wild green grass surrounded him on all sides, stretching out into a deep, dense forest.
Just a few yards behind his heels stood the imposing backside of a massive building.
Hikaru stood perfectly still, letting out a slow breath as his space-time jutsu deactivated. He had acted with absolute, lightning-fast precision, focusing entirely on snatching the child and executing his escape before the hidden Konoha forces could lock down the park.
In the frantic rush, surrounded by the blinding explosion of summoning smoke, he hadn't paid much attention to the feral, growling figure that had launched the attack.
He had simply registered it as a dangerous obstacle, grabbed Shinnachiku, and warped away.
But as the silence of the forest settled around him, his dark eyes suddenly went completely wide. The memory of those final, chaotic seconds flashed violently in his mind.
The pieces fell together, and a wave of absolute, burning shock transformed into anger on across his face.
With a harsh, angry snarl, Hikaru violently dropped the unconscious Shinnachiku onto the grass, letting the small boy thud carelessly against the dirt.
He clutched his own head, his face twisting into a mask of pure, chaotic rage as he stormed a step forward.
"Shit... Shit... SHIT!" Hikaru hissed through his teeth, his voice shaking with absolute anger as he cursed the quiet sky. "I had my chance! Fuck me...!!"
He spun around, glaring back in the empty direction of the village he had just left, his chest heaving with deep, bitter regret. The irony of the situation was suffocating, making his blood boil.
He had been so focused on getting hold of the boy that he had let the greatest prize slip right through his fingers.
'That spiky blonde hair... that bubbling, malicious red chakra...' Hikaru thought, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white.
'It wasn't just a mindless beast. It was him. It was the younger self of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki..."
"UZUMAKI NARUTO—!!'
A dark, twisted grin of pure malice cut across his angry face as the grand realisation of his missed opportunity fully set in.
If he hadn't been in such a rush to escape, if he had just turned his blade and struck down that weak, possessed Genin right there in the dirt... the Uzumaki Naruto in his own timeline would have died instantly. The entire future resistance would have been crushed in a single blow.
"I had him right there..." Hikaru growled into the empty forest, his eyes flashing dangerously as he looked down at the passed-out four-year-old on the ground. "He was right in front of me... and I just walked away."
THE DESERT DIMENSION
The scorching, endless sea of golden sand stretched out as far as the eye could see, burning under a cruel, blinding sun that beat down without mercy. Strong, dry gusts of wind swept across the desert, whipping up waves of dust that blurred the horizon. There were no trees, no water, and no escape.
In the middle of this vast, desolate wasteland stood Adult Uchiha Sasuke.
He was in terrible shape, looking completely beat up from the relentless, agonizing struggle. His dark cloak was heavily torn, shredded at the edges and covered in a thick layer of desert dust.
Dark red blood dripped slowly from his eyes, tracking thin, painful lines down his pale, exhausted face—a clear sign that he had pushed his visual prowess far past its safe limits to rip open the space-time portal and maintain this dimensional barrier.
His breath came in ragged, heavy gasps, his chest heaving as he fought against the absolute exhaustion threatening to pull him under.
But despite his broken state, his single arm was wrapped tightly and protectively around the unconscious woman resting in his grip.
It was MIKOTO.
She lay completely limp against his chest, her eyes closed and her pale face serene, completely cut off from the harsh heat of the desert around them. She was dressed in a striking, pitch-black dress that contrasted sharply against the bright, golden dunes of the wasteland.
Sasuke looked down at her, his heart twisting with a painful mix of sorrow and determination.
She was the exact Mikoto from his own timeline—the mother or rather a teammate who had been cruelly compelled by Hikaru's terrifying mind control. Under that forceful command, she had broken into the space-time portal alongside young Shinnachiku, dragged into this past era against her own free will with the rest of the future group.
'I've got you!' Sasuke thought, his teeth clenching as a drop of blood fell from his eye, splashing onto the hot sand below. 'I won't let him control you anymore, Mikoto. I don't care how much it breaks my body... I will snap you out of his grip.'
He adjusted his hold on her unconscious form, his boots sinking slightly into the shifting, burning sand. The quietness of the desert was suffocating, but he knew the peace wouldn't last the moment those dark eyes opened again under the enemy's influence.
Sasuke slowly knelt down on the shifting, burning ground. Moving with absolute gentleness, he laid Mikoto down onto the warm sand, ensuring her black dress wasn't tangled.
He looked at her quiet face for a split second, his jaw tightening. He couldn't keep her here, and he couldn't risk Hikaru finding her again.
Standing back up to his full height, Sasuke raised his trembling left hand. He reached up and wiped his fingers across his face, gathering the fresh, dark red blood that was still leaking down from his strained eyes. The blood coated his fingertips, perfectly ready to acts as the catalyst.
His fingers blurred into motion, moving through the familiar seals with practiced ease despite his immense exhaustion.
BOAR! His hands slammed together, the blood smearing across his knuckles.
DOG! He shifted the seal rapidly, his chakra forced to spike through his tired veins.
BIRD! The movement was fluid, cutting through the dry desert wind.
MONKEY! His fingers interlocked with a sharp, precise snap.
And finally, RAM! He locked the final seal in front of his chest, channeling every ounce of his remaining strength.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted, his deep voice echoing across the empty wasteland as he violently slammed his blood-covered palm directly down onto the scorching sand.
BOOM!
A massive, towering cloud of white smoke exploded over the sand dune, completely shielding the sun for a brief moment. The heavy smell of old stone and swamp water instantly cut through the dry desert air. As the thick smoke began to clear and blow away in the wind, a giant, sleek, purple scaled form began to unfurl.
It was AODA.
The massive serpent lowered his enormous head, his yellow eyes blinking in surprise as he looked down at his heavily beat-up summoner.
"Sasuke-sama—" Aoda greeted respectfully, his deep, rumbling voice vibrating through the ground. "It has been some time. You look severely wounded... How may I serve you in this desolate place?"
"Aoda!" Sasuke spoke, his breathing still ragged as he gestured down toward the unconscious woman on the sand. "Take Mikoto in your mouth right now and transport her immediately to Ryuchi Cave."
Aoda tilted his massive head down, his slit pupils focusing on the woman in the black dress.
"She is currently being compelled by Hikaru's visual prowess..." Sasuke explained, his voice dropping into a dark, serious tone. "The seal on her mind is volatile. If she stays in the open, Hikaru will track her down using his own snake, BERU. I need you to hide her deep within the cave. Do not let a single trace of her chakra leak out into the open air where BERU can sniff it out."
Aoda nodded his giant head instantly, understanding the high stakes perfectly.
"Understood, Sasuke-sama. I shall protect her with my life. No traces of her energy will leave the hidden depths of the Ryuchi Cave."
The giant snake carefully opened his massive jaws. Sasuke stepped forward, gently lifting Mikoto's limp body from the sand, and carefully placed her inside the secure, protective space of Aoda's mouth.
"May fortune be with you in battle, Sasuke-sama..." Aoda murmured softly as his jaws closed safely. With a sudden, loud PUFF, a fresh cloud of smoke erupted, and the giant purple serpent completely vanished, leaving the desert completely empty once again.
Left all alone in the burning wasteland, Sasuke closed his eyes for a brief second. He forced his chakra into both eye, activating the unique pattern of his Kagutsuchi:Totsuka.
He bathed his Kusanagi sword with Amaterasu and aimed it at the still air.
Space began to distort right in front of him, cracking open like glass to reveal a dark, swirling portal leading straight back to the normal world. Without looking back, Sasuke stepped directly through the void, escaping the desert dimension.
KONOHA:THE CROSSROADS (EVENING)
SHUCK
Sasuke stepped out of the portal, his boots hitting the solid ground as the space-time rift snapped shut behind him. He took a deep breath of the fresh evening air, his eyes scanning his surroundings.
The sun had completely set now, leaving the sky painted in deep shades of twilight, purple and dark blue. He looked to his left and right, checking the quiet alleyways and streets.
Nobody was around. The area was dead silent.
But Sasuke's sensory skills were top-tier. Even without looking, he could feel it—a heavy, compressed cluster of chakra signatures moving not too far away.
It was a large group of about seven to eight powerful shinobi, likely moving out to investigate the massive disturbance from earlier.
'They're searching!' Sasuke thought, his mind perfectly calm despite the danger.
Reaching up, he calmly used the edge of his hand to wipe the remaining, dried blood away from his eyes, clearing his vision completely.
With a smooth, effortless motion, he reached up and casually fixed his messy, dark hair, tossing the stray bangs perfectly back into place over his eye like a person who hadn't just been fighting for his life.
He grabbed the collar of his torn, dusty cloak, pulling it tightly around his shoulders to hide his injuries from any bleeding eyes. Then, reaching down into his leather kunai pouch, his fingers wrapped around a small, sleek glass bottle, pulling it out into the dim twilight light.
Sasuke brought the small glass bottle closer to his face, letting his dark eyes scan the elegant label printed on the smooth glass.
Written across the front in neat, stylized lettering were the words—
ℳ𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾ℊ𝒽𝓉 𝒫ℯ𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓂ℯ
A low, rare amusement cracked through Sasuke's usually stern expression. A faint laugh escaped his lips, shaking his chest slightly as he shook his head. 'Good that I carried it for things like this....' he thought to himself, thoroughly pleased with his own foresight.
Moving with quick, efficient movements, Sasuke unbuckled his heavy, black torn cloak and removed it completely from his shoulders. Holding the fabric out in his hand, he popped the cap off the glass bottle and began to thoroughly spray the strong fragrance all over the dark cloth.
The rich, deep scent of the perfume instantly bloomed into the evening air, masking the metallic smell of his blood and the distinct sweat of battle.
He didn't want a single trace of his original scent to be active or lingering in the air. He knew Konoha's defense systems inside and out, and the moment those sharp-nosed Inuzuka hounds were unleashed to track the commercial district disturbance, they would sniff out any foreign ninja in seconds. The heavy perfume would completely overwhelm their sensitive noses, leaving them entirely confused.
Once the cloak was thoroughly soaked in the fragrance, Sasuke put the small glass bottle back into his kunai pouch, securing it safely. He tossed the cloak back over his shoulders, adjusting it smoothly.
Before moving, he paused and looked up at the vast sky, which had turned into a beautiful, deep shade of purple-blue as the last light of day completely vanished. A small, dry smirk touched his lips as a specific person crossed his mind.
"I hope she won't be looking for it..." Sasuke muttered softly to the empty night, a hint of fondness hidden deep beneath his breath.
Stepping out from the shadows of the alleyway, he kept his head low, his dark hair falling perfectly into place as he blended seamlessly into the twilight.
With long, silent strides, he started walking down the quiet street, leaving the dimension hopping behind as he moved toward his next objective.
THE DARK NARROW ALLEY
The purple-blue twilight had officially swallowed the sky, casting deep, ink-like shadows between the tall stone walls of the narrow passageway. The air here was cool and perfectly quiet, except for the whistling of the wind.
Standing dead center in the darkest shadow of the alley was a mysterious man.
His face was completely hidden by the darkness, but his clothes were crisp and distinct. He wore a sleek, high-collared dark jacket that zipped tightly up his neck, paired with matching dark trousers and standard shinobi gear wrapped neatly around his leg.
He stood perfectly still, his chest heaving with slow, heavy breaths. His knuckles were slightly scraped, and his muscles still burned with exhaustion from the chaotic situation he had just quietly settled moments before.
'Things are moving too fast!' the man thought, his hidden jaw tightening as he pressed his hand against the cold stone wall to steady his breathing.
'I managed to handle that rampaging chakra for now... but the chakra in this era is completely distorted. Where do I even start looking in a place like this?'
Before he could process his thoughts any further, the heavy silence of the alley was violently shattered.
PATTER-PATTER-PATTER!
The sharp, frantic sound of ninja sandals slapping against the dirt ground echoed loudly from the corner. Someone was running for their life. A split second later, a young boy with spiky silver hair and a dark face mask came hurtling around the bend, his breathing ragged and his clothes torn.
It was HATAKE KAKASHI.
He looked incredibly stressed, his lone exposed eye wide with exhaustion. But he wasn't alone. Swooping down from the rooftops right behind him were three masked shinobi wearing the distinct, cold armor of the ROOT ANBU squad.
They descended like shadows, kunai blades gleaming in the dim twilight light, completely cornering the silver-haired boy.
Kakashi skidded to a halt in the dirt, his back slamming against the stone wall right near the mysterious stranger. He drew a kunai, his hands trembling slightly from pure exhaustion as he glared at the approaching Anbus.
The mysterious man in the high-collared jacket didn't move from the shadows, but his eyes locked onto the silver-haired kid.
'Kakashi...?' his mind stalled, a sudden shock running through his veins as he stared at the young boy. 'He's so young... What is going on here?'
One of the ROOT ANBU stepped forward, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "Surrender quietly. You cannot run from the foundation."
The three ROOT ANBU didn't waste another breath. With cold, mechanical precision, they lunged forward simultaneously, their kunai knives aimed directly at the silver-haired boy's vital points. Kakashi braced himself, tightening his grip on his weapon, ready to fight to his absolute limit.
He never got the chance.
Before the assassins could even cover half the distance, the shadow next to Kakashi shifted. The mysterious man in the high-collared jacket stepped forward. He didn't draw a weapon. He didn't even weave a single hand sign.
BOOM
A sudden, invisible shockwave of sheer, raw physical speed erupted from his body. To Kakashi's wide, exposed eye, the stranger simply vanished into thin air.
THWACK! CRASH! BANG!
It happened in the blink of an eye. A blur of dark fabric tore through the narrow passageway. With three incredibly precise, heavy strikes, the mysterious man intercepted every single Anbus mid-air.
His movements were smooth, effortless, and terrifyingly fast. The first ANBU was slammed face-first into the dirt; the second was kicked cleanly through a stack of old wooden crates, fracturing the wood into splinters; and the third was struck hard in the chest, his mask cracking as he flew backward and collapsed into complete unconsciousness.
Silence instantly returned to the alley. Three elite foundation ninja lay completely knocked out on the ground, defeated in less than two seconds.
Kakashi stood frozen against the stone wall, his kunai still raised in mid-air. His breathing completely stopped, his chest locking up from pure, unadulterated shock.
He had never seen someone move like that. Not even the elite Jonin of the village possessed that kind of overwhelming, terrifying speed.
'Who... who the hell is this guy?' Kakashi's mind raced frantically, a cold sweat breaking out under his mask. 'He didn't use ninjutsu. It was pure taijutsu... and he crushed them like they were nothing.'
The mysterious man stood over the fallen ANBU, his back turned to the silver-haired boy. He let out a quiet, heavy sigh, adjusting the stiff, high collar of his jacket. He didn't want to cause a scene in this era, but he couldn't just stand by and watch a kid get slaughtered.
Slowly, the man turned his head slightly, keeping his face hidden in the deep twilight shadows as he looked down at the trembling silver-haired boy.
"Hey—" the mysterious man spoke, his voice deep, calm, and carrying an undeniable weight that instantly made Kakashi tense up.
"Are you alright?"
THE CROSSROADS
A few streets away, the atmosphere was completely different. The crossroads were dead silent, bathed in the soft, dim glow of the early evening paper lanterns. The air was perfectly still, except for the subtle, rich fragrance of Midnight Perfume that trailed smoothly behind a lone traveler.
Sasuke walked calmly down the center of the dirt road. His dark bangs fell perfectly over his face, his single arm hidden beneath his freshly sprayed, torn black cloak. Even though he had just pushed his visual prowess past its limits, he moved with the effortless grace of a master ninja.
He looked like an absolute leader who was simply taking a night stroll, completely blending into the twilight shadows.
'The chakra signatures I sensed earlier are moving in the upper districts....' Sasuke thought, his dark eyes scanning the empty storefronts around him. 'Good. If the main forces are distracted there, I can move without—'
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
The sudden, frantic sound of heavy, uneven footsteps violently shattered the silence of the crossroads.
Before Sasuke could even adjust his collar, a woman burst out from a side street. Her clothes were tangled, her hair flying wildly in every direction, and her face was twisted into a mask of panic and rage.
She was running blindly, completely out of her mind with grief.
The moment her frantic eyes locked onto the tall, dark-cloaked figure standing in the middle of the street, she skidded to a violent halt. Her breath hitched, her eyes going completely wide with absolute hatred.
"YOU!" the woman shrieked, her voice cracking as she sprinted wildly straight at him, reaching out to grab his clothes.""YOU... YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!! YOU MONSTER! YOU DID IT... YOU! YOU! YOU!"
Sasuke didn't flinch. He didn't even take a step back as she violently grabbed at him. His face remained completely cold, a dark, sharp look flashing in his eyes as he instantly snapped at her.
"What are you saying, woman?" Sasuke hissed, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low tone that practically froze the air around them. "Calm down. You have heavily mistaken who I am."
The woman froze, her breath trembling as she stared up into his cold, calm face. The sheer authority and icy composure in his voice made her think her decision twice.
She took a step back, her hands shaking as a sudden realization hit her. 'He's right...' she thought frantically, her mind racing. 'The rumors were true. There are two of them...'
She swallowed hard, trying to stop her tears as she stared at the stranger. "Who... who are you then? What's your name?"
Sasuke didn't hesitate for a single microsecond. He kept his expression perfectly blank, coolly fabricating a fake identity to lower her guard.
"I'm AKITO—" Sasuke lied smoothly, his tone completely convincing.
The woman repeated the name under her breath, her eyes darting wildly. "AKITO... THEN... THEN WHERE IS HIKARU?!"
The name hit Sasuke like a physical jolt.
Hikaru. The very name of the man who had controlled Mikoto and put his entire family in danger.
Inside, Sasuke's blood instantly turned to absolute fire, but on the outside, his chakra only grew darker and more intense. He stepped forward, completely towering over the woman as he demanded answers.
"You..." Sasuke growled, his deep voice carrying a terrifying, suffocating pressure. "You met with Hikaru? Tell me where he is. Right now."
The woman flinched, but the pride of her bloodline suddenly cut through her terror. She pulled her wrists out of his grip, staring up at him with tear-stained, angry eyes. "WHY?" she spat out, her voice trembling but sharp.
"WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU ANYTHING, AKITO? I AM THE NOBLE WOMAN OF THE DECEASED FUMA CLAN HEAD! WHY SHOULD I GIVE SUCH VITAL INFORMATION TO A TOTAL NOBODY LIKE YOU?!"
Sasuke didn't waste a single heartbeat. His dark eye narrowed, flashing with a deadly, crimson promise beneath the shadows of his bangs. The sheer pressure of his chakra flared for a microsecond, making the ground beneath their feet feel incredibly heavy.
"Shut your nonsense, woman!!" Sasuke snapped, his low voice cutting through her words like a frozen blade. He stepped closer, completely overwhelming her space. "Tell me where he is right now. If you want blood for blood, I will take absolute revenge on him on your behalf. Speak!!!"
The woman's breath hitched in her throat, her lips parting in pure shock as she realized this 'nobody' was the most terrifying thing she had ever encountered.
THE DARK NARROW ALLEY
Kakashi stared up at the mysterious man, his mind racing frantically to process the overwhelming chakra radiating from him. The man wasn't attacking, but the raw, desperate urgency in his deep voice was terrifying.
'Shinnachiku?' Kakashi thought, his lone eye narrowing slightly behind his mask. 'Why would a monster like this be frantically searching for a kid?'
The mysterious man took another heavy step forward. The air around him felt incredibly thick, almost suffocating, as his patience began to run completely dry.
"He is not just some random toddler—" the man urged, his deep voice carrying a heavy, protective weight that echoed slightly against the narrow stone walls. "He has spiky blonde hair. Bright green eyes. And is extremely sharp and smart. There was a massive disturbance in the village this evening. He was involved in it."
The man bent his body slightly, bringing himself closer to Kakashi's eye level, though his face remained perfectly hidden in the deep shadows of his high collar.
"I am completely out of time, kid—" the mysterious man demanded, his tone dropping into a deadly serious whisper.
"Think. The village forces are moving. Where is Shinnachiku?"
Kakashi swallowed hard, his knuckles white around his kunai. His sharp, tactical mind instantly began to piece the puzzle together.
The massive, terrifying chakra surge from the playground earlier... the sudden, aggressive movement of the ROOT ANBU squads across the village... and now this insanely powerful stranger demanding to find a blonde kid.
"Wait..." Kakashi muttered, his exposed eye widening slightly as a sudden realization hit him. "The disturbance earlier... I overheard the foundation's sensory unit before those Anbus chased me down..."
Kakashi looked up at the stranger, the pieces finally clicking into place. "They were tracking a high-level target that matches that exact description..."
THE CROSSROADS
The terrifying pressure radiating from the man who called himself Akito completely crushed the woman's remaining pride. She stared up at his cold, unyielding figure and character, her body trembling violently under the suffocating weight of his presence.
There was no doubt in her mind—this stranger possessed the power to actually hunt down the monster who had torn her life apart.
She swallowed hard, her breath hitching as she tightly clutched her hands together against her chest.
"Hikaru..." the woman whispered, her voice shaking with pure, raw hatred. "He was laughing. He stood over my husband's broken body and spoke about his next move with absolute confidence. He said there was a child wandering around this village—a boy who shouldn't exist in this era."
Sasuke's dark eye narrowed even further, his jaw tightening so hard the muscles jumped. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to move, but he forced himself to stay perfectly still, absorbing every single word.
"He called him a brat—" the woman continued, tears finally spilling over her cheeks as the memory burned through her mind.
"Hikaru explicitly stated that his next destination was to go straight after the child. He said... he said he would go directly to Shinnachiku."
The moment the name slipped past the woman's trembling lips, the air around the crossroads completely froze.
Sasuke didn't blink. He didn't even breathe. The name Shinnachiku hit him like a lightning bolt, sending a violent jolt of pure adrenaline straight through his veins.
His sharingan flared behind his dark bangs, his jaw locking so tightly that the bone looked sharp beneath his pale skin. Every calculation, every piece of strategy he had been spinning in his head instantly shattered, replaced by a single, burning purpose: PROTECT THE KID.
He stepped forward, his massive cloak blowing slightly in the evening wind as he completely closed the distance between them.
The luxurious scent of the Midnight Perfume cut through the cold air, but his presence was anything but gentle. He looked down at her with a gaze so incredibly sharp and piercing it could kill.
"YES!!" Sasuke growled, his deep voice dropping into an incredibly low, dangerous frequency that made the woman's knees weak. "Shinnachiku. That is exactly who I am looking for."
He reached out, his hand gripping her shoulder with just enough firm, undeniable pressure to snap her back into focus. He didn't have a single second to waste on her tears anymore.
"WHERE IS HE?" Sasuke demanded, his dark eye locking onto hers with a terrifying, absolute authority. "If Hikaru went after him, where exactly did he go? Tell me the location. Where is he?!"
THE DARK NARROW ALLEYWAY
In the pitch-black shadows of the narrow alley, the mysterious man leaned in, his heavy, overwhelming presence completely crushing the silence as he stared down at Kakashi.
"Speak—!" the man in the high-collared jacket commanded, his voice tight with desperation. "Where is Shinnachiku?"
Kakashi swallowed hard, his knuckles white around his kunai. He looked straight into the darkness of the stranger's collar and parted his lips.
"The sensory units... they tracked the boy's signature," Kakashi breathed out rapidly, his lone eye wide with absolute certainty.
"HE'S AT THE..."
At the exact same microsecond, blocks away at the quiet crossroads, the freezing wind swept across the dirt road, whipping the dark cloak of the man who called himself Akito.
Sasuke's hand tightened firmly on the woman's shoulder, his dark eye flashing with a terrifying, red light that demanded the absolute truth.
"TELL ME!" Sasuke growled, his deep voice carrying a suffocating pressure that shook her to the core. "Where did Hikaru go?!"
The noble woman of the Fuma clan clutched her chest, her tears blurring her vision as she screamed out the final, agonizing words her husband's killer had uttered before vanishing into the night.
"He laughed! He said the boy wouldn't escape him there!" she shrieked in pure terror.""HE'S IN THE...."
"..... HYUGA COMPOUND....!!!"
"..... FOREST BEHIND THE UCHIHA POLICE HEADQUARTERS....!!!"
---