"Father, Mother, Itachi, I'm home." Sasuke tried his best to make his voice sound normal.
"Sasuke, come here." Fugaku's voice was steady, but it brooked no argument.
He motioned for Sasuke to approach.
Sasuke did as he was told. Fugaku stood, gently rested a hand on his shoulder, and sent a mild current of probing chakra into him.
He examined him carefully, paying particular attention to the area around Sasuke's eyes.
A moment later, Fugaku withdrew his hand. A rare look of barely concealed shock appeared on his usually composed, stern face.
As the head of the Uchiha, he understood the demanding conditions for awakening the Sharingan better than anyone.
It required a powerful emotional shock, usually an extreme negative emotion, such as grief, anger, hatred, or despair...
He had once hardened his heart and taken his eldest son, Itachi, onto a dangerous battlefield before the war had fully subsided, hoping to help him gain power sooner. Though it had led to Itachi awakening his Sharingan, it had also left an indelible scar on his young mind. That incident had always remained a thorn in Fugaku's heart.
So, with his second son, Sasuke, who had been born in a relatively peaceful era, Fugaku had quietly resolved to give him a more normal, carefree childhood. Whether he awakened his Sharingan would be left to nature. Perhaps living a safe, peaceful life without ever awakening it would be a blessing, too.
Yet the reality before him had completely overturned his understanding and expectations.
Sasuke had indeed awakened his Sharingan! And according to the rumors and Iruka-sensei's brief report afterward that day, the trigger had actually been his love for that girl, Naruko Uzumaki?
*Could this child's feelings for Naruko already run so deep that they transcended life and death, rivaling the extreme