The incident ends, a new storm

Later, in a ward at Konoha Hospital.

"No!"

Sasuke jolted awake from his dream, drenched in cold sweat.

"A dream? It was a dream..."

He gasped for breath, overwhelmed with relief.

All Sasuke could think about was the nightmare he had just had—he had seen his older brother slaughter his entire clan, even his mom and dad!

How could that possibly happen?

Trying to reassure himself, Sasuke instinctively reached up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, only for a sharp pain to shoot through his arm.

Lying in bed, he glanced over and saw the bandages wrapped around his arm.

When did I get hurt?

But a moment later, he suddenly remembered. That was where Itachi had struck him with a shuriken that night in his "dream."

As though realizing something, his eyes went wide. He hurriedly looked around, only then noticing how unfamiliar his surroundings were.

An unfamiliar ceiling, unfamiliar walls, an unfamiliar bed, and the pungent smell of disinfectant...

"Is this a hospital?"

Sasuke's heartbeat suddenly quickened. Unease brewed into a storm inside him, and he abruptly sat up, threw off the covers, and tried to get out of bed.

Thud!

In his haste, he nearly collided with the foot of the bed, but he had no time to worry about anything else.

Sasuke's bare feet landed on the cold, hard tiles. Pain coursed through every part of his body, but he gritted his teeth and braced himself against the wall as he left the room. Then he heard people talking in the hallway.

"...Yes, the entire clan, all in one night. It's terrifying."

"Was that child the only survivor they found? He had quite a few injuries when they discovered him, too. What's he going to do now...?"

What are they talking about?

Hiding around