"I would like to report a crime, Danzou-sama."

"A crime, you say?"

"Yes. The murder of Hatake Kakashi and a planned civil war."

"The Uchiha did it, I suppose?"

"How...yes, Danzou-sama."

"Hm. Things are moving quicker than I expected. I had wanted to take them out all out once, but I suppose I could leave them with just a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yes. You see, the Uchiha Shinobi are in a meeting tonight, leaving their house vulnerable to attack."

"Danzou-sama, are you...are you suggesting..."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting, Shisui."

: :

October 1st was supposed to be a happy day.

Minato was given a week long break from the stressful but fufilling work of being Hokage, being temporarily replaced by Hiruzen. He smiled as he remembered the old man giving him a pat on the back, telling him he needed to spend time with his family for a change.

"Naruto's birthday is on the first, correct?" Hiruzen had said as he led Minato out of his office. "Take the week off then. Leave everything to me."

Minato's eyes widened. "HokaㅡSarutobi sama, I can't. We're still recovering from the Konoha Festival, there's the Uchiha Police Force meeting at seven, and the economic dispute between theㅡ"

"It is not up for debate, Minato. Spend some time with your family, and leave the official matters to me." Hiruzen paused. "One day it might be too late, and you'll be regretting every second of their lives you missed."

To soften his ominous words, the ex Hokage smiled.

So, it was settled. Minato would spend the week with his hot-headed wife and his equally hot-headed son, not caring about the village's problems for a passing moment

It was for the best. His son was getting older and Minato feared he was missing out on the best days of his life. His wife was also bearing his second child, and the due date was drawing near. So Minato had to be around them more often, rather than cramped up in his office buried under a stack of papers.

But he couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that he was missing something important.

Perhaps it was just withdrawal symptoms? He was a workaholic, after all.

A loud bang shook Minato back to reality, where he stood in the kitchen setting the table for his son and friends. He was about to go upstairs and check on the unruly gang when he heard the familiar yell of his son as he hurtledㅡ literally hurtled down the stairs.

Minato was by the staircase in a flash, catching his son by the waist before the poor boy banged his head against the wooden floor.

"Aahhh." Naruto's eyes swirled like a black and white lollipop.

"What the..." Minato was utterly confused, until, he heard a familiar bark.

Then he deadpanned.

'That Kiba..'

"SORRY MINATO-SAN!" The Inuzuka stood at the top of the staircase with a sheepish half smile on his face. "We were practicing academy stuff and Sakura opened the door and well I guess I threw him out when I tried  a super cool kick I've been practicing! Also, sorry Naruto! I didn't know I was that awesome."

He finished off with a smirk, and if Minato didn't know Kiba well, he would have been offended that he was smiling after trying to kill his son.

But Kiba was Kiba, so Minato accepted the apology with a chuckle.

"Ah, s'okay, Kiba." Naruto removed himself from his father's grip and dizzily walked up the stairsㅡand ended up falling down three times.

"You have to show me how you did it though! No way you gonna be stronger than me-AH!" Four times.

Kiba smirked, amused by his friend and rival's proclamation. "Even if I showed you you still wouldn't be as good as me. Hokages are the best fighters, remember? And I'm gonna be the Hokage when I grow up."

Akamaru barked in agreement.

Minato grinned, "That's a pretty cool dream."

"Right?!"

"HEY! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TA MEAN?" Naruto interrupted, puffing his cheeks. "Hokage aren't always the strongest!"

"Yes too!"

"No they are't! I can be strong without bein' Hokage."

"You can be strong, but I'm gonna be stronger."

On cue, Ino came out of Naruto's room, resting her palms flat on the railing while she glared at the loud boys.

"Oh pipe down, would you?!"  She rolled her eyes at her dog-loving friend. "Hokage this! Hokage that! Don't you know there's too many boys in there already, huh Kiba?"

She put a hand on her hip and posed dramatically. Kiba made gagging noises.

"If anyone's going to be Hokage, it'll be me, okay? Because I'm the only girl running."

Naruto scratched his head. "You're not runnin', you're standin'."

"Idiot. I mean I'm in the Hokage line too."

"Yeah, at the back."

"Kiba I will punch you ㅡ"

"Ssh." Shikamaru popped his head through the door. "I'm sleeping."

Then he disappeared like he was never there.

The chubbiest of the gang also came out of hiding, but he wasn't bothered about whatever argument was going on between the three kids (and dog).

"Are you okay Naruto?" Chouji's voice was soft like butter. "I heard a noise."

"M'fine." Naruto jumped around to ease the worry of his sweet friend. "See?"

Chouji smiled sweetly and everyone around him practically melted.

(How could one child be so preciousㅡ)

"I just did a number two!"

Out of seemingly nowhere, Naruto's best friend ran up to him and hugged him from behind, giggling uncontrollably. Minato could see Naruto brighten up even more as he joined her in their childish amusement.

"You both are gross." Ino scrunched up her nose. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Naruto and Sakura just kept giggling.

"Remember to wash your hands, Sakura. To keep those evil germs away." Kushina stood next to her husband, looking up at the most adorable group of friends. She looked calm, and Minato knew it was because she was trying her damn hardest to keep life stress-free because of her pregnancy.

"Yes, Kushina-san." Sakura waved her wet hands around, slapping Ino in the face as she did. "Begone germy germs!"

The poor Yamanaka cradled her cheek, darkly announcing, "Sakura is on my to-kill list now."

Minato and Kushina laughed.

If anyone were to look through the window at that moment, they'd see nothing a young Namikaze playing with his friends on one of the best birthdays of his life; the redheaded jinchuuriki rubbing her swollen belly as she gazed adoringly at her son; and the Hokage, looking less like an authority figure and more like a father.

It was October 1st, and it was a happy day for the Namikazes.

How could one have guessed that at the same time, a tragedy had befallen one of the greatest clans of Konoha?

: :

Sasuke was two when he was told to be wary of the people who did not look like him.

Whoever taught him so was still a mystery to him. All he could remember was a hazy figure hovering over him and whispering the words outsider and fear. And since then, Sasuke had used those two words to make sense of the world around him.

There were people who he did not see when he was at home. Those people were different; both physically and mentally. They did not have a red and white fan printed on their clothes; their skin was not as pale as his; they had a free-spirited aura surrounding them at most times; and their smiles were so wide he often feared they might break their cheeks.

Sasuke saw them as outsiders and they were scary.

At the age of three he deciphered the meaning behind a Konohan's smile.

It was a simple association. Whenever he crossed paths with someone outside his family, they spoke to him as if they were trying to disarm a bomb. It was too friendly, even for an adult speaking to a child.

"Aww, is that your son?" He would hear them say, cooing at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. "What's his name?"

"Sasuke." His sweet mother would reply ever so kindly, even though they stared at her son like he was an animal at the zoo.

"How cute. I hope he turns out to be a good kid." There was an underlying message behind their words and Sasuke sensed it long before he could hold a kunai.

  So it didn't take long for Sasuke to realize that their smiles did not mean they were happy to see him, or that they even liked him. Because he'd look back and see the apprehensive glances they'd give him; he'd stop and listen to the words they whispered into their friend's ear; he'd notice how their body language always expressed that they wished to be anywhere but there.

He still remembered two women, one whispering in her friend's ear and glancing at him discreetly.

"I swear I fear for my life whenever one of them is born. He better not turn into another Obitoㅡor, worse...another Madara."

The name Madara was spoken of so highly when he was around his family, but the outsiders spewed out the late Uchiha's name like he was abominable.

When Sasuke was four, he realised Konohans didn't like his family.

It was a hot summer afternoon in the market. Mikoto carried Sasuke along for shopping, and though Sasuke absolutely hated the crowd, he loved spending time with his mother. It was then, in the middle of him jumping and tapping his mother's lap, forgetting there were outsiders near him, that he heard the whispers of the other buyers next to him.

"How cute ! I've never seen an Uchiha male smile before."

Sasuke's smile faltered slightly, confused. He had seen his family members smile plenty of times. It was not like how the outsider's smile, like they were trying to split their face. It was calm, subtle, andㅡto himㅡnormal.

"Of course he smiles. He's just a little boy. He'll stop smiling when he grows up and gets eyes like his father's."

Sasuke was, as usual, baffled by the outsiders' discussion. 'Eyes like my daddy? Daddy has pretty eyes. Why they say it like daddy eyes is bad?'

"Ah, do you mean the rumoursㅡ" She was cut off by the older lady, who slapped her shoulder harshly.

"What else do you think I mean? Now hush before they hear us. I don't want any Uchiha drama today."

Sasuke was five when he realized what everything meant.

The sun was settled on the horizon, lowering as time passed by. Rich caramel and honey colours painted the village and gave citizen's faces a soft glow. The day was coming to an end, and so mothers picked up their children from the playgrounds, workers said goodbye to their offices, and shinobi came back from a long day's training or mission, ready to go to sleep.

Sasuke held on to the ropes of the swing and propelled himself forward slightly, pushing himself back and forth. From the distance, he could hear the soft giggles of some girls his age, and he idly wondered what they were so excited about.

Or were they mocking him for being on a swing all alone, like he always was?

He settled for the latter, because Sasuke didn't trust anyone who wasn't an Uchiha. He reserved his smiles for his family, because Konohans treated him like an anomaly when he showed emotion. He rejected offers from kids his age who wanted to play with him because he did not know what they spoke of about him when they went home. He kept to himself when he was at the Academy, because it was better to view the people around him as strangers, and not fellow comrades.

It was all he ever did. All he ever knew.

Though Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on the ground, he could hear parents calling for their children, picking them up and taking them home. There were nasty comments about him from time to time, but he did not care. After all, they were strangers to him.

Outsiders.

Sasuke rubbed at his eyes, feeling a bit sleepy. The day before he had been training with Fugaku non stop, until he passed out from exhaustionㅡnot that he minded. In fact, he was glad his father were taking his training seriously for the first time in a while. He did not know why, but he was sure it had something to do with that all-Uchiha meeting they conducted a month ago.

Truly, he couldn't wait till he was old enough to partake in those grown-up Uchiha activities.

Sasuke noticed a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips, and he quickly shook the thought away and returned back to his normal poker- faced expression, worried that someone might have noticed.

Then a couple walked past him, gossiping loudly like outsiders normally did. He could make out a few parts of it before they were out of earshot.

"...the Hatake prodigy..."

"...suicide..."

Sasuke stopped swinging for a moment.

'Suicide?''  .Sasuke was sure he had heard a word like that before, but the meaning was a mystery to him. From they way they mentioned the word though, he could make out that it was something bad.

But what kind of bad was it?

'Hatake...'

He was sure he had heard that name before.

'...prodigy...'

They called Itachi that, too. Sasuke hated that word.

'...suicide'

He would ask his father for the meaning when he got home.

'Hatake the prodigy is suicide. I'm sure daddy will explain the meaning of it.'

The thought faded to the back of his mind as seconds passed, for he was satisfied with the conclusions he drew and his questions did not feel as urgent. Sasuke pushed himself forward again, keeping his attention on swinging while he patiently waited for his mother to come and pick him up.

He waited for two hours.

Until the thought crossed that his own mother had probably forgotten about him.

The thought stung.

He tried not to show any emotion as he pushed himself off the swing, landing on the sand. Although he wanted to believe his mother had a perfectly sound reason for leaving him at the playground, the tears threatening to break through his recluse façade stated otherwise.

'Why did mommy forget me?'

At the back of his mind, he wondered if his mother was going to turn into Itachiㅡ

'No.' Sasuke shook his head. 'Mommy's nice. Itachi-san isn't'.

Mikoto had never, ever,  forgotten to pick Sasuke up from the playground. It had become a conditioned reflex, like riding a bike or reciting the three prohibitions of a shinobi. Every Saturday she would drop him off in the afternoon and come pick him up in the evenings. Even when she broke her ankle, she still limped her way to the playground to come pick up her son (which gained a scolding from a worried Fugaku and Sasuke playing mom for the whole week) with that ever-soft smile on her face.

But today, he was walking home alone.

And doing so for the first time in the evening had an eerie feeling to it. Although street lamps were on and people still roamed, his heart hammered against his ribcage and his hairs stood at attention at the back of his neck like he were surrounded by monsters who wanted to eat him alive.

He was not used to being around outsiders alone.

Around him were people he grew up not to trust. The streets were filled with strangers, who gave him odd looks as he passed by(not because he was an Uchiha, but because he was without a guardian, but Sasuke didn't see it that way), either whispering to their friends or ignoring him completely.

Sasuke was fine with them avoiding him; what he was afraid of was a stranger interacting with him.

And that was exactly what happened.

"Hey kid? Are you lost?" Someone came to his side, the lollipop in his lips shaking as he spoke. Sasuke could tell he was a normal shinobi by his attire that didn't resemble Itachi's special kind and because his eyes still had hints of emotion in them.

Sasuke not-so-subtly sped up his pace. He was only in the middle of the street yet he felt like he was the only enemy left in a war.

"No." His voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm going home."

The shinobi matched his fast pace, much to Sasuke's dismay.

'No no! Go away!'

"Oh? Want me to escort youㅡ"

Sasuke was running before the shinobi could finish his sentence, fearing that the outsider might have had malicious intentions.

But the outsider was just Genma. And he scratched his neck as he idly watched the young Uchiha run away from him.

"Ah. Did I scare him?" He wondered aloud. He knew Sasuke was incredibly anti social, but he didn't know it was to the extent where he could not even have a simple conversation with others without being scared shitless. How did he interact with his classmates at the Academy? And how would he function being on a genin team?

''He's gonna have it rough, I can tell."

(If only Genma knew how true his words were.)

Genma shrugged, spinning on his heels and moving to original destination ; his house. But he stopped when he saw a familiar face.

"Ibiki sanㅡwhat brings you out of your cave?" Genma smirked, but it was immediately wiped off when he saw the more-exhausted-than-usual look on Ibiki's face.

"Uh, you okay? You look kind of..." he trailed off, not knowing the right word to describe his state. "Where are you coming from, anyways? The TI building is at three o'lock, not twelve."

"The Hokage's office." The scarred man sighed, shaking his head as if he were disappointed. Genma's brows furrowed at the strange action. What happened at the Hokage Tower and why did it drain him so badly?

"Oh? What happened there?"

Ibiki frowned, remembering the proud smirk on that man's face as he assured them they had done the right thing.

"In a couple of years, you'll all thank me." 

"Nothing much." Ibiki paused. "That was the Sasuke Uchiha boy, right?"

That question, raised suspicions. What did a young boy like Sasuke have to do with the conversation? The younger man scratched his neck once again. "Uhm, yes, it was. Why?"

(He didn't know why, but this discussion sounded strangely ominous.)

The stone faced man stared straight ahead, as if he could still see the young boy who was already out of eyeshot. Something formed at the bottom of his stomach, one he hadn't felt before.

Was it pity? Sadness? Empathy?

Guilt?

"Never mind," Ibiki pushed everything back, like he always did.

"It's not like we can save everybody anyways."

: :

October 1st.

There was not a single grey cloud in sight. The moon was half baked. Stars glittered like specks of diamond on a black canvas. The sky looked beautiful, rich, promising.

October 1st.

It was a night of celebration for the Namikazes. The birthday boy had his friends over, he had family to cut the cake with, and a little sibling who was going to be born into a world filled with people who loved them.

October 1st.

Konoha buried one of the best prodigies in history, who had saved multiple lives and helped many.

October 1st.

The Uchiha Police Force was officially over.

October 1st.

A man betrayed his clan that night.

October 1st.

Sasuke came back home to a massacre of innocents.

The roads were stained with dark red streaks and a bit of pink flesh. Bodies littered the ground like trash thrown out into the open streets. Bodies he knew, bodies he grew up with, bodies he loved.

What does one think when they see that? Was he supposed to cry? Scream out in rage?

Was he supposed to be as blank as he felt now?

Stepping into a compound filled with dead bodies felt like a dream he would wake up from any moment. It felt unreal that the people he saw just this morning were the same people who had blood seeping out of their clothes.

He knew these people. They were not strangers or outsiders. They were his family, they were all he ever knew.

So it had to be a dream.

It was the only explanation his mind could handle.

October 1st.

Thirty two Uchiha died.

Uchiha Setsune. He was the man who treated Sasuke's broken ankle when he fell while trying to climb a tree. Setsune promised to never tell Sasuke's mother what he was doing when he got injured. It became a little inside joke for them, and they'd smile whenever they'd pass each other by.

Ironically, Setsune was slumped against a tree with his two ankles unnaturally bent; blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

Sasuke should have screamed. This was not normal. This was grotesque, sick, disgusting.

"Setsune...Setsune-san?"

It wasn't him.

Setsune would have smiled.

Uchiha Zabu. He hated disturbances in the morning, so he chucked a rock at Sasuke's neck when the kid refused to stop shouting so loudly. Luckily it missed, and Sasuke teased the teenager non stop about his poor throwing skills.

Multiple bruises decorated the boy's towel clad body, with a gaping hole in the middle of his back.

Zabu was a decent guy. There was no way he would walk outside with only a towel on his own will. It just...wasn't him.

Sasuke gulped, forcing his gaze away from the bleeding hole and walking away.

Uchiha Takumi. He wanted his children to become civilian doctors, and was so proud when his daughter Rei was taken under the hospital's wing.

A hole in the head with dried blood painting a path down to his chin. Lifeless eyes met Sasuke's, and the boy felt a shiver run through him even though his mind was void.

Takumi used to have the happiest eyes. This wasn't...

Uchiha Rei. Sasuke gave her a congratulations card last week and she hugged him. Now she laid on the engawa outer corridors, arms spread wide with a large slash from her collarbone to her stomach. Sasuke could see the torn flesh and parts of her internal organs poking through.

He continued walking, nails digging into his skin. The pain was a nice distraction from the bile rising up his throat.

Uchiha Yu. She loved to walk around the compound to stay agile, even if she had to move around with her cane. Sasuke once told her he admired her determination. Now the grass was blotted with splotches of dark red, revealing Yu's struggle till her last breath.

That...that was Yu. There was no mistaking it. Sasuke drew in a shuddering breath as he felt a pang of emotion for the first time since he stepped foot into the compound.

Uchiha Chi. She was Sasuke's cousin and always said she wished her mom would let her become a shinobi so she could protect the clan always. So Sasuke snuck in textbooks from the academy and shinobi tools into her room, just so she could learn one or two.

Her body was hanging off her house's window, blood dripping unto the ground. A glint caught Sasuke's eye, and he neared the dead body cautiously.

A kunai. Sasuke gave her that for her birthday.

Then...this was Chi? But Chi moved. Chi didn't have blood on her face. Chi was happy whenever Sasuke came around. It just didn't make any senseㅡ

Blood dripped down Sasuke's arm and he flinched. His nails' insides were coated with dark red, the same dark red as...

He slammed his nails against the ground. Pain clouded his senses for a short moment and he hissed, cradling his bruised fingers. He wanted to keep that cloud, to shield himself from the inevitable reality that faced him, but instead, he kept walking.

Uchiha Akira. Head missing. Uchiha Bo. Sliced in half. Uchiha Yuri. Slashed across chest. Uchiha Katara. Uchiha Dai. Uchiha Fuunㅡ

Wherever he went, it was all the same.

Dead bodies and lifeless eyes.

They were all gone.

Sasuke almost tripped as he sprinted to the main house, his house.

The shuddering realization was beginning to weigh down on him, that what he saw was not an illusion, nor a dream. That everything was real,  and that only meant one thing.

"Mummy!"

No answer. Sasuke forcefully slid the shoji to his house open. Nothing was out of the ordinary in the house. Her shoes were placed neatly on the welcome home mat, decorations were in place, and Sasuke could even decipher the faint smell of rice.

"Mummy?" He peeked into the kitchen; there was no sign of life there, so Sasuke took a turn to the living room, footsteps just as loud as the thump of his heart.

And when he saw her, he let out a shrill scream.

Sprawled out face up on the wooden floor was his mother, eyes closed as if in prayer. There was a large tear in her unwrinkled clothing, and blood oozed out from her stomach, painting the brown floors red. Sasuke felt something lurch out of his body, spewing out of his mouth and unto the clean floors. He clutched nothing as he emptied his stomach's contents, coughing when it was all over.

When he was done, he slowly looked back at his mother.

Sasuke shook his head, inching closer to the body in front of him.

'No...'

She dropped him off at the playground today.

She wasn't...

"Mummy..." he dropped to his knees. His broken hand reached out unconsciously, hovering over his mother's body. "You...forgot to pick me up from the playground today."

Sasuke grasped her cold hand and cradled it in his chest.

"Mummy..."

She looked so pale.

Sasuke screamed.

"PLEASE WAKE UP!"

The Uchiha manor echoed with the broken sobs of a young boy-a place that would be forever cursed with silence.

Sasuke felt like he was sinking into an abyss where nothing but darkness met him, and  everything good in his mind shifted and painted pictures of nothing but bloodied family members. It went on again and again and again until it was just Mikoto left on his mind's screen. But in the darkness, he couldn't see her smiling face, nor her radiance.

All he saw was the dead body in front of him.

October 1st.

Sasuke eyes burned with hot tears, slipping down his cheeks unto his mother's forehead. A dull throb distracted him momentarily, and he ran a hand over his eye, wincing when the throb turned into a sharp stabbing feeling. He squeezed them shut.

Then he opened them again to an overwhelming surge of chakra.

"Congratulations, kid."

Sasuke flinched, fishing for his kunai immediately and jumping to his feet, though his legs shook.

"You just unlocked your first Sharingan."

A masked man in a black cloak stood right in front of the dead body before him. 

'Who are you?' He wanted to ask, but couldn't. He gave away his voice hours ago, sobbing over the family he just lost.

"This must be hard for you to see. It's hard for me to see, as well, because I didn't kill them." He assured the young boy, whose stance softened a little, albeit still shaking." They left a note for us in Mikoto's pockets."

He waved around a small paper in his hands.

Sasuke breathed heavily. 'They?' 

"I'll show you when I meet you back in Ame. Right now, my priority is getting you out of here."

'Ame?' Sasuke's brows pinched together. 

"All the civilians are dead. You're the only one left to protect from the war." The masked man explained. His pupils spun.

"Who...who..." Sasuke gasped out, then coughed. 

"Who are you?"

Red eyes stared into his own.

"My name is Uchiha Obito."

Sasuke felt like his body was being sucked away, fading into something else he didn't know. The world around him began to disappear in swirls, Mikoto's resting face being the last thing he saw before he was gone.

"Mummy!"

Sasuke ran up to his mother and enveloped her legs in a hug. Mikoto's soft smile appeared, and she patted her son on the head, running a hand through his soft strands.

"I learned so much at the academy today!" Sasuke looked up at her.

"Oh really?" Mikoto chuckled. "You never tell me about what you do in the Academy."

"Oh? Well, I had Itachi to talk to. But Itachi is..." Sasuke trailed off, a frown threatening to break his happy expression as he thought back to the days Itachi actually wished to be around his little brother.

"Itachi is just busy, okay dear?"

"Itachi was my best friend."

Something flashed in Mikoto's eyes and left before Sasuke could decipher it. Then she perked up. "Ah! How about I become your best friend for a while? You can tell me about everything that happened in the Academy while I tell you how my day went too."

Sasuke beamed once again. "Okay, mummy! You're my best friend now!" Sasuke paused. "And not for a while. I want you to be my friend forever!"

October 1st.

Sasuke woke up to the sound of pouring rain.

: :

A/N

Shoutout to my beta reader sayaminie_ for making this way better than the first draft, as she does for all the chapters.

Ty for reading ❤️