"Then let's begin."
As Sasuke's words fell, the Sharingan in Kabuto's eyes began to spin.
The stone chamber vanished.
Sasuke stood in a cramped room. Old wooden beds from the Orphanage lined the wall, rain leaked through the roof, and several battered medicine bottles lay scattered across the floor.
Kabuto stood in the doorway. The snake patterns on his body had receded, and he had returned to his teenage appearance.
"This is my memory."
"What do you want me to see?"
"See yourself clearly."
"You haven't even seen yourself clearly. What makes you fit to teach anyone else?"
Kabuto raised a hand, and the scene inside the room began to repeat.
The director bent down to collect the medicine bottles. The children hid behind the door, while young Kabuto stood in a corner, reaching for that coat washed pale with wear.
The next moment, the scene returned to the doorway.
The director bent down, the children hid behind the door, and Kabuto reached for the coat.
The third time was no different.
Kabuto looked at Sasuke.
"You'll keep repeating this until you acknowledge who you are."
Sasuke scanned every corner of the room.
"This is your technique?"
"This is the loop you must face."
"The director's position changed."
Kabuto's expression shifted.
"You saw wrong."
"The first time, she stood beside the bed. The second time, she stood in the doorway. The third time, she blocked the window."
Sasuke walked to the window and reached out to touch the wooden frame.
"Your memory is unstable."
"Memories change."
"Izanami doesn't win through changes in memory."
Sasuke turned and looked at Kabuto.
"It requires the target to acknowledge themselves, to acknowledge that they're repeating the same thing. You dragged me in here because you wanted me to admit that hatred is all I