Yamanaka Inoichi was in the middle of speaking when his voice suddenly cut off. It was as if his brain had exploded. The instant he cast the Mind Body Switch Technique and his consciousness entered Sasuke's, he was overwhelmed by a barrage of terrifying imagery. Though none of it seemed to be intentionally harming him, the sheer volume of chaotic information surged into his mind like a tidal wave.
He couldn't handle it.
It was like his CPU fried on the spot.
"This kind of mental jutsu is incredibly dangerous," Sasuke commented calmly.
In truth, many jutsu in the shinobi world that looked simple on the surface carried hidden risks of losing control—Shadow Clones, for instance.
When the demon created clones, he always placed strict limitations on their power, prepared countermeasures in advance, and never allowed them to share all his memories. Even the powerful figures he'd encountered in the past never made clones with the same strength as their original selves—some outright forbade the use of clones altogether.
Once a being reached a certain level of existence, maintaining the singularity of "self" became critical.
Clones, after all, had different experiences. Given enough time, they'd slowly evolve into entirely separate individuals.
He remembered being imprisoned in a certain world as a "contained entity." The demon had formed a clone there and sent it to infiltrate a team of D-class personnel to stir up trouble.
When it came out again... it was unrecognizable.
The demon's pitch-black soul had been tainted—defiled—by cheap romance and melodrama!
Enraged, the demon immediately destroyed his own clone.
...
A thick mist spread silently, enveloping the entire city. From the cracks in the ground, countless black lines writhed like stitching thread, weaving the split earth back together, slowly restoring it to its original form.
It looked as though time itself was reversing—everything returning to a tranquil, undisturbed state.
"Tch. The storage room for meat got wrecked. Now I have to waste energy fixing it. Can't you guys be more careful next time?"
The complaining voice came from nowhere.
Terror.
Silence.
As if the world had hit pause, no one dared dwell on the meaning of those words.
The genin gathered near Ichiraku Ramen stood paralyzed in fear. Their hairs stood on end, cold sweat dripped down their backs, and their limbs trembled uncontrollably.
Once, they had been the pride of their village—promising young elites. They had killed, bled, buried bodies in hidden pits. But what had just happened was far beyond anything they could endure.
The more they thought, the more horrifying it became.
The sky was shrouded in mist. The young shinobi stood rooted in place, their worldview shattered, dread radiating from deep within their souls, chilling every fiber of their being. Their brains seemed to activate some kind of self-preservation mode, going completely blank—refusing to process the truth before them.
The suffocating fear was suddenly pierced by a sharp, blood-curdling scream.
"Papa!!"
Yamanaka Ino's face was pale as paper, her pupils constricted to pinpoints, her body trembling violently. In the distance, her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, lay collapsed on the ground. His eyes had burst, leaking a vile, oozing fluid. He was completely still—clearly beyond saving.
Ino's scream snapped her companions out of their stunned daze.
Shikamaru grabbed Ino tightly, stopping her from rushing to her father.
His heart ached too—his own father was gone. But Shikamaru's sharp mind knew exactly what needed to be done.
"Negotiation's a bust. We have to figure out how to escape!"
Rock Lee, already overcome by emotion, activated the Eight Gates and charged straight at Sasuke. Shikamaru didn't bother stopping him—he could barely protect Ino and Chōji. No... even protecting himself would be difficult.
He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth nearly cracked. Forcing down the despair rising in his chest, Shikamaru whispered to Ino and Chōji,
"Konoha's fallen. Now this city's going down too. A ninja needs intel to fight—but we know nothing about Sasuke or Neji. I doubt they're even the real Sasuke and Neji anymore. Who knows what's hiding beneath those skins? We can't find their weaknesses."
He didn't wait for a reply.
Tears streamed from his eyes as he looked at the corpses of the two elders in the distance. His voice was hoarse.
"Our fathers lost. If we rush in, we're just throwing our lives away. Let's run—together."
...
Inuzuka Kiba clutched his dog tightly. Akamaru trembled in his arms, not making a sound. Kiba had lost the ability to think. He'd always believed this spot was the safest. Ichiraku Ramen had survived so many disasters—Kurama's rampage, the chaos after the Uchiha Massacre, even the tailed beast bombings during Konoha's fall.
But now he realized... that had all been a lie.
A group of injured shinobi in flak jackets came running from another direction. One of the women grabbed Kiba and yanked him into a sprint.
"Onee-chan!? ...Mom's still back there!" Kiba shouted.
Inuzuka Hana said nothing. She didn't stop running. Tears poured down her face, completely uncontrollable.
Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi rallied their respective clans' ninja and formed a protective vanguard in front of the children.
"You're the last hope! You must escape!" Tsume barked.
A scornful laugh echoed from within the mist, followed by a sharp shriek as something tore through the air. A tendril of mist lashed out like a whip, aiming straight at Shikamaru.
Chōji reacted instantly, yanking Shikamaru out of harm's way.
The rotting stench nearly invaded his nose. Shikamaru's skin crawled as he twisted his head and hissed to the group,
"Run. Split up!"
They were just a bunch of Konoha genin. Forget saving the world—they'd be lucky to save themselves. Just run. If even one of them lived, it would be enough.
...
Akimichi Chōji tossed aside his precious bag of chips, grabbed the hands of Shikamaru and Ino, and dashed forward. Behind them, Akimichi Chōza used his massive frame to clear a path through the mist.
In moments like this, people could display speeds no one thought possible. The mist surged like a phantom tide, crashing down around them. Occasionally, a few shinobi would volunteer to stay behind. They pushed their chakra to the limit, draining every last drop of their life force to hold off the mist.
In less than a few moments, those brave souls would fall—lifeless.
The number of survivors dwindled.
Outside the so-called "City of Peace," the fog still roiled. This would be a path to survival paved with corpses. And yet, countless ninja willingly gave their lives without hesitation.
Sasuke stood watching, expression complicated.
"Konoha wasn't completely worthless after all. At least... these shinobi have the true Will of Fire etched into their hearts."
Then his expression suddenly twisted.
"Damn it—what the hell am I doing feeling compassion and sympathy!?"
...
Sasuke gritted his teeth, steeling his resolve.
Never again. He had to correct his mistake. He couldn't let his wicked heart be tainted by things like conscience or pity!
----------------
I recommend that you check out my new fanfic "The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release". It's really good. In short, the protagonist is Danzo's son, so Danzo supports him, he has good mentors, bloodline limit and so on, I won't say much about his background, the fanfic will explain it in the first chapters. I would recommend to check it out, quite a nice fanfic, no system, no harem, no excessive power, I like his backstory, especially that he has support, so his power has backup, and the relationship with Danzo without much emotion, more like Danzo's dream of becoming a Hokage, transforming to make his son a Hokage.
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (160 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)