Ren gasped, jolting upright with eyes wide open. Beads of sweat traced a path down his forehead as he clenched his fists, surveying the sterile, empty expanse of a clean white room. A hospital, he surmised, though its unfamiliarity left him bewildered.
'This looks like a hospital? But why does it seem so... backwards?' Ren pondered.
His gaze was drawn to a window at his side, revealing a bright blue sky casting sunlight over streets that resembled an older Japan. Yet, what arrested his attention was a cliffside with four giant faces etched into its surface on the other side of this town.
'What the **** is that? Is that the Hokage Rock from Naruto?'
Ren's mind exclaimed in disbelief.
'Am I in some hardcore anime convention? But then why am I in a hospital?'
'What... what is this?'
As a wave of foreign memories surged through his mind, Ren creased his eyebrows as he tried to make sense of the fragmented memories appearing in his mind.
'Konoha... Uchiha.... Sasuke....'
Before he could untangle the web of thoughts floating in his head, the door burst open, revealing an old man in a red and white robe. The aged figure, almost monkey-like in appearance, looked at Ren and gently asked, "Are you feeling better, Sasuke?"
"Lord Hokage?"
The words slipped out without Ren's conscious effort.
"I understand that what you are going through is quite dreadful, but you must understand that it is not a weakness to show others how you feel," the Hokage continued, but Ren was lost in his inner turmoil.
"I can see that you might still be recovering from 'that' incident, but you should understand that I and your friends back at school are here for you."
Beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, a blond man in his early thirties emerged—a Konoha jonin who introduced himself as Inoichi Yamanaka.
"Hello, Sasuke." Inoichi cheerfully greeted, contrary to the sombre atmosphere in the ward. "Ino speaks of you at home plenty, and she's been rather worried about you. Have you recovered? Do you remember anything that happened?"
Ren replied, "I'm fine, and yes, I remember what happened."
"Fine?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow, unsure if Sasuke meant what he said.
"Well, you should remember what Lord Third said about there being people here for you. You don't need to hold back your pain."
"Pain?" Ren, now Sasuke, uttered in a confused tone, bewildering both men in the room.
Nevertheless, despite their confusion, they soon offered him their condolences and swiftly bid farewell.
After their departure, Ren lay down, hands clutching his head as thoughts constantly assaulted his mind.
'What on earth is going on? Have I reincarnated? Transmigrated? Then... am I Sasuke Uchiha with Ren's memories? Or am I still Ren with Sasuke's memories? Beyond that, what happened to my previous body as well as the original Sasuke?'
Shaking his head, he dismissed the questions floating around in his head.
'Am I here for Sasuke's revenge, or rather my revenge? But then what about returning home? Is there even a need? But then... what else am I going to do here? Die of boredom? There's no anime, no games, nothing of the sort.'
'Regardless.' Sasuke sighed. 'The most important thing right now for me is to grow strong enough to protect myself in this world.'
Sasuke nestled back onto the bed, contemplating his uncertain future.
'Power...'
Sasuke's eyes glowed with newfound determination, marking the beginning of a journey in a world where his goals, though vague, provided a beacon in the darkness that had once swallowed him whole.