Sasuke's descent into darkness

Konoha, at the training ground in the afternoon.

The sun shone warmly, and crowds bustled about. Countless Genin and Chunin trained hard, making their final push for the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.

Naruto remained full of energy, practicing the rudimentary form of the Rasengan over and over. Sweat soaked his clothes, his eyes shone with fervor, and he eagerly anticipated the exams, wanting to prove how much he had grown.

Sakura quietly refined the precision of her chakra control and worked through tactical details, steadily improving her strength in hopes of standing out in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Only Sasuke Uchiha stood alone beneath a secluded patch of shade, his presence cold and oppressive, as though a pall of deathly gloom had enveloped him. His back was rigid, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened and jutted out. Even the veins along his arms stood taut, the tremendous force almost crushing the flesh of his palms.

His black eyes, once clear and defiant, were now densely bloodshot, their depths churning with endless humiliation, resentment, and an obsession on the verge of collapse.

Every battle report from the Sunagakure border, every piece of battlefield footage, struck his heart like a searing branding iron, repeatedly crushing what little pride he had left.

They were both twelve, both teammates who had started out side by side in Team 7.

Yet Lin Chen had already single-handedly razed a level-three world-destroying Rift, crushed several Kage-level overlords, and taken command of the Shinobi World's chessboard. The Five Kage bowed before him, ten thousand villages revered him, and he stood at a pinnacle of the myriad realms that others could never reach in their entire lives.

And him?

These past days, he had gone without sleep day and night, overtaxing his body and pushing his chakra to its limits. He repeated the same monotonous training, forcing his way past his bottlenecks again and again, refusing to stop even when his chakra pathways ached and swelled and his strength was exhausted. He had thought that if he worked hard enough, fought desperately enough, he could narrow the gap little by little, preserve his dignity as an Uchiha prodigy, and draw closer to that ever more distant figure.

But reality brutally shattered every last one of his hopes.

The ceiling he had given everything to break through was merely Lin Chen's effortless starting baseline; the Sharingan kekkei genkai and clan secret techniques he treasured were as insignificant as child's play before the other's power over rules that transcended the Shinobi World; the Kage-level threshold he desperately pursued was something the other had long since crossed, even reaching the intermediate stage and looking down upon all other contenders.

Effort was useless.

Talent was useless.

Obsession was still useless.

What lay between them was no longer an impassable chasm, but two completely disconnected dimensions. Another had been born to command the world, while he remained trapped in mundane struggles, even his right to look up being stripped away bit by bit.

The former pride of the Uchiha Clan, his conceit as a genius, and his confidence in taking revenge were torn to pieces before this absolute, overwhelming strength, leaving only a bone-chilling sense of his own lowliness and absurdity.

The battle reports from the Sunagakure border had long since spread throughout Konoha.

Twelve years old, at the Kage level intermediate stage, quelling a world-destroying catastrophe with a flick of his fingers, subduing ten thousand villages alone, and commanding the Shinobi World's chessboard.

These days, he had squeezed every last bit of chakra from himself and overtaxed his body training in ninjutsu, hoping vainly to close the gap between himself and Lin Chen. Yet now, all his efforts seemed utterly laughable, utterly hollow.

The endpoint he had pushed himself to his limits to pursue was merely Lin Chen's effortless starting point.

The gap between people could actually be this vast.

"Sasuke, don't push yourself too hard." Kakashi walked over slowly, looking at the dispirited boy and his deep obsession, and sighed softly. "Everyone follows a different path. You don't have to force comparisons."

Sasuke slowly raised his bloodshot eyes, his voice dry and hoarse. "Sensei, the gap between him and me... do I really still have a chance to catch up?"

Kakashi remained silent for a long time. In the end, he merely shook his head gently, offering no comforting lies, only the truth:

"No."

That single word completely shattered the last trace of obsession and wishful hope in Sasuke's heart.

In an instant, a cold, deathly stillness swept through his entire body.

All the conviction, effort, and self-respect that had sustained him until now came crashing down.

If the most grueling training was useless, if the Uchiha bloodline was useless, if giving everything could not bring him even a fraction closer... then what did it mean to be strong? What did revenge mean? What was the path he had held to all this time?

Hatred for his clan's massacre still ran deep in his bones, yet he could not even reach the back of a peer right before him. How could he speak of defeating Itachi, of restoring the Uchiha?

An immense sense of powerlessness ate madly away at his mind, completely twisting the boy's once-clear nature.

He looked at his slightly trembling, lightly callused palms. These hands had practiced techniques, formed hand seals, and tempered his body day and night, giving everything to escape mediocrity, yet in the end it had all been a joke.

Konoha's stability, the orthodox ninja way, gradual cultivation... these righteous paths everyone followed could never reach true power!

Lin Chen's strength had never come from obeying Konoha's rules or clinging to the Shinobi World's system.

It was supreme power that transcended the mundane, broke free of constraints, and plundered the myriad realms-a shortcut outside the Shinobi World's orthodoxy, the ultimate authority that shattered every shackle.

At that thought, the scarlet in Sasuke's eyes abruptly deepened. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan silently began to turn, and the final glimmer of light in his eyes went out completely, giving rise to a pitch-black, extreme obsession.

The righteous path offered no hope. He could only go against the current.

Since the path of light would never let him catch up, he would abandon the light, cast aside the righteous path, and plunge into darkness.

As long as he could gain power, whatever the price, whether the road ahead led to hell or the abyss, he would proceed without hesitation.

Orochimaru's forbidden techniques, taboo experiments, the power of corruption... those dark powers he had once despised, which the world feared, had now become his only lifeline, his only hope of breaking through the gap between dimensions.

The boy's proud spirit shattered completely. The seed of darkness quietly took root and sprouted wildly.

Kakashi saw the entire dark transformation in his eyes. His heart suddenly clenched, and a powerful sense of danger arose. He wanted to offer counsel, but ultimately could not find the words.

No one could resolve or soothe such an overwhelming sense of disparity and despair.

Just then, a white-clad figure slowly descended at the edge of the training ground, a gentle breeze stirring his clothes, his bearing pure and aloof, composed and unruffled.

Lin Chen had returned.

In an instant, every trace of noise in the training ground vanished. All the ninja instinctively stopped what they were doing, their gazes converging on that figure, their eyes filled with awe and reverence.

Naruto excitedly tried to approach, only to be slightly held back by an invisible presence. He instinctively stopped, his eyes full of admiration.

Sakura stared blankly at the figure who held everyone's attention, the sense of disparity within her growing ever clearer.

Sasuke stared fixedly at Lin Chen as he slowly approached. The pride, obsession, and resentment in his eyes were all drowned beneath utter powerlessness.

Every gaze was on him, everyone filled with awe.

Lin Chen's gaze swept indifferently across the training ground before settling in the direction of the distant venue for the soon-to-begin Chunin Ninja Exams, a faint light shifting in his eyes.

The Myriad Realms Rifts had temporarily subsided, and the catastrophe from beyond their world lay briefly dormant.

Next came the final farce native to the Shinobi World.

The Chunin Ninja Exams: geniuses gathered, conspiracies lurked, and a storm approached.

Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back and murmured to himself, settling the entire game:

"Since the whole world is already astounded."

"Then let this final farce see clearly what it means to reign supreme alone."