Tsuki Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake are childhood sweethearts and best friends. As life grows harder and more of Kakashi's loved ones are ripped from him, he finds himself pushing Tsuki away until they're strangers again.
Tsuki Uchiha battles with the...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I look up, seeing Madara's distant figure across the desert. I feel the heat of the desert air settle on my skin. I look up and see a cloudless sky with the sun blazing causing heat waves to rise and distort my vision as I look further across the endless sand. There's a heavy weight of anxiety weighing on all the shinobi surrounding me. My body feels confident, but my mind is confused. Where am I? I think to myself. I get the feeling that I should know what's going on, but I'm truly at a loss.
I watch as Madara begins walking slowly. Shinobi around me start bouncing on their toes, hyping themselves up, so I do the same. "This is it, guys," I hear my voice say. Madara breaks out into a sprint. "Here he comes!" my voice rings out again. Suddenly, the surrounding shinobi yell with confidence and bravery as they begin to sprint towards Madara.
Instantaneously, he breaks through multiple soldiers, sending their bodies flying in the air. I try to run towards them, but my feet are frozen to the ground; I can't move. I watch as he uses my comrade as a step, launching himself into the air and gliding over half the army. Panic wells in my chest.
Why can't I move? Someone, I scream in my head. I've lost control over my voice. Help me, please! I plead only to myself. My eyes widen and I look around, silently begging for help, but no one meets my gaze.
I watch helplessly as Madara jabs another unknown comrade, knocking him clean out. He picks up the shinobi's body, spinning around, and uses it to knock down five more allies. I can only watch in horror as Madara creates effortless destruction with his bare hands.
I look down at my own shaking hands. I try to pull my legs out of the sand, but I can't. I can feel fear and frustration in my body yet it's distant, as if I'm experiencing this from miles away. Tears of frustration form in my eyes as my body won't do what I want it to do.
I hear more screaming and commotion ahead. I look up and Madara Uchiha is kneeling in front of me, sharingan activated and eyes wide open. My body completely freezes. I'm completely paralyzed.
I watch as Madara slowly lifts two fingers on each hand, coming right for my eyes. "You, Tsuki, have proven to be a disappointment, lacking in intelligence and adequacy. You require a guide to show you purpose," he says while adding pressure to the tops of my eyes. I feel the searing pain of his fingers hooking behind my eyes. I try to scream, but no noise comes. My vision becomes spotty as the blinding pain sends me over the edge. "Let me be the one to show you true purpose."
"MY EYES!" I shriek as I jolt upright, using my hands as covers for my eyes. Suddenly, dry air and blazing sun have been replaced with an air conditioning unit humming softly in a window. I slowly remove my hands from my face to see the fourth Hokage gripping his arm chair with widened eyes in surprise.
"L-lord Hokage," I exhale, stunned. I break eye contact to take in my surroundings. I'm not in the desert fighting a losing battle with Madara; I'm in a hospital bed back in the village face-to-face with Lord Hokage. Heat rises to my cheeks as I blush in embarrassment. I can't believe I scared the Hokage.
