Regelation - cyan_bunny - Naruto [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter Text

Fear.

That was what ruled the people of Konoha.

No one questions it, or rather, didn't dare to. Their leader was the most powerful man alive in the world after all. He could have conquered the entire world if he wanted to, but he chose to not. He had once said it was pointless, and his interests lay within Konoha. He had also stated he did not want to start another senseless war over something so trivial.

His name was Uchiha Sasuke, the Sixth Hokage of the city of Konoha, previously a village. He was known worldwide as a criminal and the last descendant of one of the strongest shinobi clans that had walked on Earth. He was not a child of war, he was war, born to battle, and people who have seen him have also seen bloodshed, then the blood of their own from themselves.

No one has seen his eyes. Some believe he has no eyes at all, just empty sockets, that Uzumaki Naruto had gouged them out as a last resort to stop his opponent during their battle to the death. But it had been futile, the one that was supposed to come back alive didn't. Instead, a monster drenched in blood did.

His body was not found in their final battlefield, neither Hatake Kakashi's nor Haruno Sakura's. Only ashes and black flames. The Earth had claimed their ashes by rain.

Citizens did not have the freedom of speech, but they always thanked their fallen hero in their prayers for destroying his’ eyes and fighting for them until his last breath. They did not want to imagine how much more powerful he could have been if he still had those accursed eyes.

They were just rumours, but still, it was their hope, and they did not mind clinging to it as long as it gives them strength to live even if it was just a lie. The Tsukuyomi dream was nicer, but that was not their reality.

When the world awoke from their Tsukuyomi dreams, they had believed their heroes had finally won their battle. As they came back to their senses, they found Uchiha Sasuke, his silhouette standing on top of a cliff where once Uchiha Madara stood, making a unique hand seal, undoing the lunar jutsu that they were under.

A crescendo of cheers erupted from the shinobi alliance, as they thanked and praised him for defeating Madara. But then suddenly, thunder cackled, the blood-red sky of dawn darkened, and their cheers slowly died down.

Ino Yamanaka jerked her head up in horror, “H-his chakra…”

Another sensory shinobi's face paled “What in the sage’s name…”

Jaws dropping, many gazes locked with the lightning zigzags cutting through the sky, and the storm clouds swirling wildly in it.

“He’s manipulating the-” Omoi was gawking.

“H-how!?” Karui was speechless.

“Wow…” Darui couldn't help but stare.

Lightning took the form of a dragon high up in the sky, and it roared. It was the size of a tailed beast.

“The Kirin…” Somewhere in the distance, a lone man whispered, looking up in the sky, a coffee mug in his hands. He had just woken up from his dream.

A split second was all it took, and it descended, but instead of the targeted place, it hit the faraway sea, and waves clashed together, a tsunami engulfed an island amid the sea, no one knew about it so that went unnoticed.

They all felt the impact, a gush of salty moisture mixed with the smell of ozone and iron.

They all had been one second away from getting burnt to a crisp. Something prompted him to divert his attack, some concluded. It was a last-minute adjustment, and that much was clear.

“If it wasn't for him, all of you would be dead by now.” The fiend finally spoke. His voice was composed and impossibly powerful for a seventeen-year-old.

A few still hadn't let out the breaths they were holding, An Iwa shinobi with a bandana fainted.

Uchiha Madara be damned, this is even worse.

“Step out of the shadows, Uchiha”, the commanding voice of the Raikage boomed. He was weakened, but that didn't stop him. Shrouded in his armour of lightning, he stepped forward. His feat might have not been that intimidating after the Uchiha demonstrated power, but to be able to speak with an unwavering voice after all this was still impressive nonetheless.

But he was stopped by the sensation of a palm on his shoulder.

“I don't sense him. Where is he?” Tsunade’s weary voice coerced him to turn off his lightning armour. He turned around and found a devastated sannin with her eyes up at the Uchiha. Then he realized she was holding onto his shoulder for support. Never in his life, had he imagined he would see this woman this weakened. He looked back up at the Uchiha. His face was still invisible due to the lighting and the distance between them. It irked him.

“He’s Dead.”

The wind stopped howling. The world went still.

Gaara then stepped forward, and he asked, his voice grim. “Did you kill him?”

Silence lingered.

Then he answered.

“Yes.”

He didn't step out of the shadows. Instead, he withdrew himself from the face of the alliance, turned around, and walked away.

She fell on her knees, bereaved, as the darkest chakra signature she had ever perceived in her life disappeared from the battlefield.

Senju Tsunade was their previous Hokage, who was feared yet adored at the same time. She was quite accomplished as a kunoichi, their first female Hokage, and women aspired to become like her. Civilians knew of her as the drinking gambler and made fun of her for her huge assets, but men who had seen her battle prowess, wouldn't dare to stand with their egos up, they know she's more accomplished than that, as her sheer presence made most of them tremble in fear and bow their heads in absolute respect.

She had clashed with the Uchiha in an attempt to stop him from taking over their village, after he showed up unexpectedly in a council meeting a month after his disappearance after the war, and burned the council members in his wrath. They had battled him until their leader finally fell. She didn't die from the battle, but it showed they stood no chance against him. He was one man, but he had the power of countless armies.

She had fallen into a coma after that, and Uchiha Sasuke announced he would be taking charge of their village as their new Hokage.

The first thing he had done was to find the headquarters of the root, it was situated underground in the heart of Konoha.

“Those who are still loyal to Danzo may step forward,” He had said.

More than half of them did, their heads held up high.

“Remove your masks.”

None of them did.

A blue flash. Forty-three heads detached from their bodies and fell, along with their masks, and his sword now red was dripping droplets of fresh blood. The bandage covering his eyes had splatters of blood too. His porcelain face was serene and blank.

It had been a silent, painless end for those wasted shinobi.

“The rest of you may either live as civilians or serve under me.” With that, he melted back into the shadows.

That was kind of him, the remaining thought. But he was still a criminal.

Many wished it was Danzo instead. At least he wasn't a threat to the village.

Or so they thought. Then the truth behind the Uchiha massacre was later revealed, and Danzo’s true intentions. None of them could believe it at first, but then the proof was publicized, then Uchiha Itachi’s sacrifice, his unwavering loyalty to the village.

“...and this will be why I, an Uchiha, will be leading this corrupted village. As one of the last of the founding clans of this village, I believe it is my duty to right the wrongs that had corrupted this land. Those who oppose me may step forward. They shall be punished accordingly.”

None of the spectators did. They were shinobi of Konoha, and he was now their leader. So they were obliged to follow him, they had no other purpose to live.

A few defected and became rogue nin, but they were not hunted down by Konoha. But they were hunted by other nations, as they believed anyone from Konoha, even a rogue, was a threat to them, as it was a nation ruled by their enemy. So shinobi stopped defecting.

Peace was not established between nations. But there was some sort of "peace" inside Konoha.

And this was why, no one questioned it.