A squad of ANBU arrived swiftly on the scene, dispatched to investigate the source of the massive chakra explosion that had lit up the night sky. This wasn't a natural event. It was an artificial calamity—a creation forged from chakra. A jutsu of immense power. Someone had unleashed this destruction. Someone dangerous.
The devastation that greeted the ANBU was total. A significant portion of the mansion had been obliterated, reduced to a barren stretch of lifeless debris.
Scattered kunai littered the area. Craters marred the earth, and scorch marks etched the broken landscape. Shattered wood and fragmented walls crunched underfoot. Small, eerie purple flames flickered stubbornly in the rain, refusing to die out. Their unnatural hue spoke volumes—this wasn't just a random attack. This was a battlefield. And to Kakashi Hatake, the sight was painfully familiar.
"Captain, what do you think happened here?" asked Tenzo, his second-in-command, his voice grave.
Kakashi crouched, picking up a charred kunai from the mud. His visible eye narrowed as he turned it over. "I don't know, Tenzo... but this wasn't an accident."
Another ANBU flickered into view, kneeling before Kakashi. "Captain, we've located a potential survivor. A young girl—she's unconscious."
Kakashi dropped the kunai back to the earth. "Take me to her."
They moved quickly, navigating through the maze of wreckage. Judging by the blast radius and destruction pattern, the location was near the epicenter of the explosion.
The metallic scent of blood hung thick in the air—death lingered here. In the ruins, they found a girl. A child no older than six, lying motionless and soaked in blood, clinging with desperate strength to the lifeless body of a woman—her mother. Her small arms refused to let go, wrapped tightly around her mother's torso in a final, loving embrace.
Kakashi's breath caught, but his expression remained composed. "Yugao, her condition?"
Yugao knelt beside the girl, her hands glowing green as she examined the child. "No deep lacerations. No broken bones. Just minor bruising and a few abrasions. But what's strange... there's no trauma that explains why she's unconscious. It's a miracle she survived in this condition."
"A miracle indeed," Kakashi murmured, crouching beside them.
Yugao's medical chakra continued flowing. "She's suffering from chakra exhaustion. Severe. Her reserves are fully depleted."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
Yugao continued, "Her chakra pool is... abnormally large. High-chunin level at least, and that's being conservative. For someone so young, that's unheard of."
"..." Kakashi said nothing, his gaze fixed on the unconscious child. An explosion of this magnitude. Clear signs of combat. A dead mother. An untouched child with depleted chakra. The picture was forming clearly in his mind. The only logical explanation—she was the epicenter. He would have to report this to the Hokage immediately.
Asami slowly opened her heavy eyelids, her pupils shrinking as light flooded her vision. The sunlight beamed down upon her, and she groaned, turning away from the intrusive brightness. Stupid sun...
She stirred groggily on an unfamiliar bed. The mattress beneath her was firm and uncomfortable. Yet otherwise, she felt fine—except for her eyes, which tingled incessantly.
Asami rubbed at her eyes, but the discomfort persisted. She gave up and instead turned her attention to the room.
The sterile white walls, the clean sheets, the smell of antiseptic—it was a hospital. That much was obvious. Given what had happened, it wasn't surprising.
"What... happened?" she murmured aloud, tilting her head. The memory was like smoke—present, but intangible. Something important had occurred, something she couldn't quite recall. A haze covered her thoughts, frustratingly elusive.
...
...
...
Where was she?
Asami blinked, confused. Her memory offered no answers. She was lost in a fog of confusion, her thoughts scattered like fallen leaves. The dull ache in her head didn't help. She tried to recall what brought her here. Had she been injured? Fallen ill?
She had no idea. She felt okay, didn't she? So why was she in a hospital?
She turned to the window. The sky was painted with the colors of early dawn. The sun had just begun its rise, casting soft rays through the glass. Morning had come. Asami smiled faintly.
She waved lazily at the sun. Again. And again. And again. Over and over.
It was then clear—something was off.
She wasn't just tired. She was disoriented. Detached. Airheaded wasn't new for her, but this... this was different. She was trapped in a stupor. Something had shaken her to the core.
She yawned, exhaustion overtaking her, and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Sleep returned easily.
Hours passed before Asami awoke again. This time, her mind felt clearer, as though the fog had lifted.
And with clarity came memory.
The night before.
The screams.
The fire.
Her mother.
Gone.
Okaa-san was gone...
Tears streamed silently down her face. The sharp sting of loss pierced her chest, but she didn't sob. She didn't scream. She endured. She was strong. Strong girls didn't cry.
...
...
...
Did they?
She closed her eyes again and turned inward, focusing on her body. It ached. Her arms, legs—they felt numb, heavy. Chakra exhaustion, maybe even muscular damage. She'd pushed herself far past her limits.
She clenched her hand into a fist. Her knuckles whitened. She had failed. She had been powerless. Useless. When it mattered most, she had lacked the strength to protect the one person who mattered. Her weakness had cost her dearly.
Never again.
She wiped her tears, though her eyes still itched. They had betrayed her the night before, blurring her vision mid-battle. Her focus, her timing, her aim—everything had been thrown into chaos.
Her eyes...
Asami spotted a small hand mirror placed on the bedside table. Her lips curled into a grin. "Speak of the devil."
She reached for the mirror and stared into its reflective surface. Her gaze held steady. She waited, observing.
Nothing.
She tilted her head. Maybe she was missing something. A trigger. A memory. A jutsu. A sacrifice?
And then—
Her eyes widened.
Two tomoe swirled into view—black against a glowing red backdrop, with a faint halo of violet glimmering in the center.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes... her Sharingan had awakened.
Not just a normal Sharingan.
There was something else—something different. The color. The aura. The resonance.
Unseen by anyone, a smile tugged at her lips. Her heart beat faster.
Okaa-san had always said she was special. And now, she understood.
She wasn't just any child.
She was Uchiha.
And she had awakened.