The Overlooked Heart

The boy running through the woods was, of course, not the real Uchiha Sasuke.

That was Satsuki.

She was getting closer.

That chakra grew clearer and clearer.

It was the chakra of the Uchiha Clan, with the unique quality she had known since birth. It was a presence she had sensed countless times in another world, too.

Only in that world, it wasn't her brother, but her sister. A relative who had made mistakes but had ultimately been protected by their mother. Not an enemy she had to kill, but someone who left her feeling stifled and yet whom she could do nothing about.

But in this world-in this world, Uchiha Itachi was a man whose hands were truly stained with his clan's blood.

Satsuki didn't slow down. She sped up, charging toward the chakra that was growing clearer by the moment.

Just as she was getting closer to that chakra-

"Sasuke... run..."

A weak yet familiar voice suddenly came from somewhere nearby.

Satsuki stopped abruptly.

She stood still, scanning the surrounding woods.

Then she saw them.

Not far away, two figures lay in a pool of blood. The blood spread out from beneath their bodies, staining the withered leaves a shocking dark red, until it reached her feet.

They were Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha.

They lay in the pool of blood, their bodies twitching faintly. Their eyes were still barely open, and they looked at her with fear and worry.

"Sasuke... run... run..."

Satsuki fell silent.

If a real Sasuke, a boy of this age, stood here and faced this scene, what would happen?

He'd probably break down.

But-

Satsuki wasn't this world's Sasuke.

To her, the scene before her was just... too fake.

It was so fake that she could easily see through the truth of it,