"Stand up," Byakuya said. "Is this all your resolve amounts to? Your hatred, your anger, your determination-is this all they amount to?"
Sasuke tightened his grip on his sword.
He remembered the Uchiha's blood, Itachi's retreating figure, and the instant Liuyu's hand pierced his chest.
Anger burned, hatred seethed, and his Mangekyō spun.
But he did not move.
Because Byakuya was right.
Anger and hatred had limits. Power driven by those emotions could never surpass the limits of the emotions themselves.
He needed something else.
Something deeper, more fundamental, more real.
He closed his eyes.
Images flooded his mind.
The warmth he had felt as a child when Itachi patted his head and said with a smile, "That's my little brother."
The night Uchiha Ryūha culled the Uchiha, Itachi had not disputed Liuyu's words. He had wanted the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
The... happiness he had felt on Team Seven, going on missions, eating, and training with Naruto and Sakura.
The... despair he had felt upon learning the truth about the Uchiha, upon learning that everything had been an experiment.
Then there was Liuyu.
Liuyu had said, "This world is distorted. I'll shatter it and forge it anew."
Liuyu had said, "Do you hate me? Good. Hate me, then grow stronger, then come kill me."
Liuyu had said, "You're a pawn, but even a pawn can escape the board, if you have the strength."
A pawn...
A test subject...
A puppet...
No.
I'm not.
Sasuke opened his eyes.
His Mangekyō spun, but the way it spun had changed. It was no longer angry or hateful, but... calm, cold, resolute.
"I'm not a pawn," he said quietly.
The Asauchi in his hand began to glow.
"I'm not a test subject."
The light grew brighter and brighter. The blade trembled, responding to him.