Go to Hell, Sasuke

The lanterns came alight, and night fell.

Dusk settled over the entire village like warm tea, while the full moon slowly rose like a silver platter, gently sketching the outline of distant Hokage Rock against the hazy night sky.

A breeze swept by, lifting a few withered leaves and carrying them across the village. They drifted into the Uchiha District and brushed lightly over the familiar fan crest.

The shinobi stationed in the watchtower blended into the dusk. Only the occasional glint off their forehead protectors proved their vigilance had never slackened.

Fireflies began lighting up the grass like little lanterns, while along the streets, lamps blinked awake one after another, casting warm yellow light over the cobblestones.

Uchiha An dragged his weary body home at an unhurried pace.

"I'm home!"

He called out, bent down, and took off his shoes, placing them in the shoe cabinet beside the entrance.

"Oh, Nii-chan's back!"

At the delighted cry, a little boy of five or six came charging out of the room and threw himself into An's arms.

"Haha..."

Seeing his little brother's adorable face, Uchiha An felt all the day's exhaustion melt away.

He bent down and picked up his brother, then lightly tapped him on the nose and asked with a smile:

"Sachi, have you been good today?"

"Of course!" Uchiha Sachi puffed up his rosy cheeks, looking like a ripe little apple. "I've been listening to Mom the whole time. I helped her with chores, and I even practiced throwing shuriken!"

"Oh, that's impressive!" An widened his eyes in mock surprise. "Then I'll have to reward you properly. What would you like?"

"Hmm..." Sachi tilted his head and rested a finger against his cheek, thinking hard. Then his eyes lit up, and he raised both hands. "I want takoyaki! A double portion!"

"Haha... Sure. When we get a day off in a few days, I'll take you out for takoyaki. A double portion!"

"Thanks, Onii-chan!" Sachi cheered and rubbed his face against his brother's neck.

"All right, all right, Sachi. Don't cling to your brother all the time. Go wash your hands. Dinner's ready."

Their mother came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying the dishes. She set them on the table, gave her younger son's back an indulgent tap, and sent him off. Then she turned to remind her elder son:

"And don't spoil him too much! He'll be a shinobi someday, too. He can't grow up soft."

"Your father never learned to endure hardship. He still hasn't awakened his Sharingan, so all he can do is work as a Genin, taking jobs like finding lost cats and dogs. He's left the burden of supporting the family on your shoulders."

"Ahem..." Uchiha Kenki coughed from beside the table, trying to save face. "Awakening the Sharingan depends on talent. Training afterward doesn't make much difference."

"Hmph!" His wife served their elder son a bowl of rice and shot her husband an exasperated look. "Other fathers set an example for their sons. You, on the other hand, can only serve as a cautionary tale."

Seeing his father's pleading look, Uchiha An stepped in to smooth things over.

"Um, Mom, being a Genin is pretty good, actually. Dad doesn't have to take dangerous jobs or worry about all the clan's complicated affairs. And he doesn't have to attend clan meetings and listen to everyone argue."

Her beloved eldest son had spoken, so his mother couldn't keep scolding. She only muttered:

"Being a shinobi is always dangerous. Trouble can strike at any moment."

An quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks, then thumped his chest as he promised his parents:

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad. If we run into danger, I'll be the first to step forward. I'll protect you and Sachi!"

"Count me in! I'll protect Mom and Dad, too!" Little Sachi rushed over after washing his hands and struck a convincing-looking defensive shinobi pose.

"Haha... That's my boy, Sachi. We'll protect Mom and Dad together!"

An smiled and ruffled his little brother's hair until it was a mess. After enduring Sachi's playful complaints, he let go, led him to the table, and sat him down. Then the family began their meal.

Uchiha Kenki served his wife a helping of food and tried to reassure her:

"You don't need to worry yourself all the time. I'm only a Genin, and I never even leave the village. What danger could there be?"

"We're the mighty Uchiha!"

"Who could make it into our district?"

"Unless everyone in Konoha is already dead?"

Uchiha An was about to agree, but suddenly furrowed his brow and warily turned toward the entrance.

The door seemed to sway. His vision blurred, and with a sharp swish, a figure suddenly appeared inside the house.

The speed was incredible. Uchiha An's heart gave a sudden leap, but when he took a closer look, he relaxed. He put away the Kunai he had readied in his hand, stood up, and went forward with a smile.

"Oh, it's Itachi!"

"What brings you here?"

"Does the clan head have a message for us?"

He had taken only a couple of steps when the shinobi instincts honed through years of combat made Uchiha An stop abruptly. His eyes flashed crimson, and three tomoe appeared and began to spin.

But as his gaze met Uchiha Itachi's, his expression turned hazy. When he came to, a chill ran through him. He looked down and saw a short blade being pulled out of his chest.

When had that happened?

Was it Genjutsu?

Why?

An was stunned, but the blood surging up his throat choked off every question.

He collapsed heavily to the floor. He felt all his strength drain out through the gaping hole in his chest, leaving him unable to move. All he could do was watch as his father, mother, and beloved little brother fell into pools of blood one after another.

No!

Don't!

No!

Lying on the floor, An's eyes met his little brother's, frozen open in death. Those once-clear, lovely eyes had lost all their color, dull as ash.

His adorable little face was filled with terror and helplessness. His empty eyes stared at An, as if pleading for help from the all-powerful big brother he believed in—or silently asking him why.

Nii-chan, didn't you say you'd protect us?

No!

In an instant, the pain of helplessness swept through An, more intense than the agony of his shattered heart.

No!

Please don't die!

I have to save you!

Regret, helplessness, confusion, hatred, resentment... wave after wave of negative emotions surged through An's mind in an instant.

His father's warm hand, his mother's caring words, his little brother's healing smile... As he lay dying, every memory of his life flashed through his mind like scenes in a film.

Driven by his fierce resolve and overwhelming emotions, the Three Tomoe Sharingan in An's eyes trembled violently and spun faster and faster. At last, it shattered in a blur of motion, turning into searing black flames that gathered again deep within his pupils. Dark markings sprouted like thorns, finally weaving together into a grotesque yet beautiful pinwheel pattern.

His Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened!

And at the same time, the seal on his memories from the womb was broken.

In an instant, all the Naruto memories he had seen in his previous life surfaced in An's mind.

So this was the Naruto world!

So tonight was the Night of the Massacre!

Damn it!

Why had I only awakened now?!

An roared inwardly. Before his heart had fully healed, he struggled to his feet and stumbled over to the table. He picked up his little brother and tried to bring him back to life.

Perhaps sensing An's desperate wish and resolve to save others even as he lay dying, his Mangekyō ability turned out to be a rare healing power—Inaba's White Rabbit.

According to legend, the white rabbit had tricked crocodiles into helping it cross the sea, only to have its skin stripped off. When it was suffering in agony, it encountered the Eighty Gods, brothers of Okuninushi. They tricked it into washing its wounds with seawater, making them worse. Later, Okuninushi healed the rabbit with fresh water and cattail pollen. In gratitude, the rabbit prophesied that he would win Yakami-hime's heart and become the ruler of the land.

Later, the rabbit became a symbolic messenger of Okuninushi, representing healing and prophecy, loyalty and gratitude. It often appeared on votive plaques and crafts at Izumo Taisha.

Mangekyō abilities really made no sense. Even though the Sharingan was a Yin Release power, its Mangekyō ability could convert it into Yang Release and directly replenish someone's Life Force.

But it was all too late. No matter how recklessly he poured Yang Release Chakra into Sachi, he still couldn't bring the dead back to life.

"No!"

"Please, no!"

An howled through his tears. He set his little brother down and tried to save his parents, too. But Itachi had been far too ruthless. Each of them had been stabbed through the heart, without the slightest chance of survival.

No matter what he did, the three of them remained cold corpses.

He desperately kept trying, though every attempt was futile. He didn't know how much time passed before a Blood Tears slipped from An's left eye, ran down his cheek, and touched his lips, bitter as anything.

Even with Yang Release formed from his Chakra sustaining him, using his Mangekyō so recklessly still placed immense strain on his eyes.

His eyeball throbbed with the searing pain of a red-hot iron, but compared to the hell inside his heart, that pain felt like a kind of salvation.

The blood-red tint in his vision grew deeper until, at last, the entire world was submerged in a sea of blood.

After a long while, An gently laid the three bodies down, then rose numbly to his feet and charged out the door.

Itachi!

You monster!

I'll kill you!

The flames of hatred blazed in An's heart, turning into endless Chakra that drove him forward at a flying pace.

By then, the Uchiha District had already fallen deathly silent. The air was thick with the stench of blood and death.

An knew what had happened here, so he didn't waste time on anything else. He charged straight for the clan head's home.

That was where Itachi would end up!

The wall around the clan head's estate loomed closer and closer. Under the blood-red moon, the fan crest on the gate looked especially sinister. Once a symbol of honor, it was now nothing more than a signpost pointing toward death.

"Itachi!"

An roared and kicked the gate open, charging into the deep, shadowed courtyard.

But the courtyard was silent now, littered with corpses and reeking of blood.

He rushed all the way to the back garden but didn't see Itachi. Instead, he found Uchiha Fugaku and his wife lying on the floor inside the room, and Sasuke unconscious beside them.

"Ah!"

An let out a furious roar, rushed back into the courtyard, and shouted angrily into the darkness.

"Itachi!"

"You monster!"

"Get out here!"

"I'll kill you!"

No matter how much he shouted, the surroundings remained silent. Only the bright moon above watched over the slaughter ground in silence.

"Ah..." An stormed around the courtyard. Seeing no sign of Itachi, he immediately turned and charged back inside.

"Itachi! You killed my little brother, so I'll kill yours!"

"Go to hell, Sasuke!"

An shouted, raised his blade, and cut off Sasuke's head.