Kakashi observed everything with a sharp gaze.
He pushed up his forehead protector slightly and focused on Sasuke, who was now intently learning illusion techniques from his brother. A thoughtful gleam flashed in Kakashi's eye.
The Sharingan... he had always been curious about it.
Even after using the transplanted Sharingan in his left eye for so many years, Kakashi knew his control was still surface-level at best. He lacked the mastery that came with true Uchiha lineage.
Back during the Third Great Ninja War, the Uchiha clan had chosen not to retrieve the Sharingan from him largely out of respect for the Fourth Hokage, and for the sacrifice made by Obito.
And so, the eye remained his.
But being an outsider, Kakashi had never received any systematic training on the Sharingan's usage. Worse, the chakra drain was so immense that he avoided activating it unless absolutely necessary.
But now… this dream was offering him something valuable.
An opportunity to observe a master Itachi Uchiha teaching Sharingan illusions firsthand.
Kakashi crossed his arms, watching with great interest.
If he could pick up even a few insights how to control the Sharingan more efficiently, how to reduce its chakra consumption it would be a huge step forward.
He leaned slightly forward, fully focused.
Onscreen.
At the Uchiha clan's training ground, Itachi was already guiding his younger brother.
"Be ready," he said calmly, tilting his chin slightly.
Before Sasuke could ask what he meant, Itachi's eyes closed briefly then snapped open.
The three tomoe in his scarlet pupils spun rapidly.
In an instant, an invisible wave of spiritual energy surged outward from his body, sweeping across the training ground.
Sasuke's vision warped.
Everything around him shifted and then
His own shadow beneath him suddenly rose, twisting and coiling unnaturally.
With a whip-like snap, it transformed into several pitch-black chains that lashed around his arms and legs, binding him in place.
Clang!
Thick black pillars erupted from the ground behind him. They slammed through his limbs like restraints from some ancient torture device, pinning him immobile on the spot.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke didn't even have time to react before his body was completely restrained.
His heart clenched with cold fear.
Even knowing logically that this was a genjutsu... the sensation was terrifyingly real.
He could feel every tug of the chains.
He could feel the pressure of being held down.
His breath hitched, and cold sweat drenched his back.
This was the power of a true illusionist.
Even when Sasuke tried to resist, his limbs remained frozen.
He struggled in vain, gasping as his eyes widened in alarm.
Sasuke tried to remind himself this is just an illusion. Itachi had cast it. None of this was real.
But the cold, metallic chains and the massive, pitch-black pillars holding him in place felt too lifelike. The pressure, the weight, the helplessness… it overwhelmed him.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears. His limbs wouldn't respond.
Just as panic gripped him completely, a warm, firm hand pressed gently against his forehead.
"Release."
Itachi's deep voice echoed through his mind.
Crack!
In the blink of an eye, the illusion shattered.
The dark chains snapped like glass, the towering black pillars crumbled into nothing, and Sasuke stumbled forward, finally free. His limbs no longer felt paralyzed.
He gasped for air, chest heaving. Cold sweat drenched his back.
In that brief moment, Itachi had taken total control of his mind.
So this... is real Sharingan genjutsu.
"This is the Sharingan's illusion technique Magic: The Art of Shackles," Itachi explained with a gentle smile. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, trying to calm him.
"Don't be nervous. I just wanted you to experience its effect. You weren't actually harmed."
Sasuke gave a small nod, cheeks flushed red.
He was embarrassed he'd lost his composure, completely caught off guard by the illusion. He clenched his fists, annoyed with himself.
"The Shackle Technique," Itachi continued, "is a pupil-based illusion that binds the opponent in place, mentally and physically, using visual chakra transmission."
He paused, his tone slightly more serious.
"What you experienced was the mildest version. If this were used in combat, those black pillars would actually pierce through your limbs inside the illusion. Even though the injuries wouldn't be physical, the pain would feel real and most victims lose the will or ability to continue fighting."
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he listened, taking in every word.
"But remember," Itachi said, meeting his gaze, "illusions work best on those who are significantly weaker than you. Against someone with a strong will or another Sharingan user the effects are less reliable. If they detect the illusion, they can break free or even reverse it onto you."
Sasuke nodded again, this time with greater focus.
He etched the warning into his mind.
"Now, I'll teach you the basics of casting it."
Itachi smiled faintly, satisfied with Sasuke's serious expression.
"Sharingan illusions rely heavily on pupil power. To put it simply, you use visual contact to send chakra directly into the opponent's brain, shaping it into an illusion. But to do that successfully, your control over chakra's nature, flow, and focus must be incredibly precise."
His voice was calm and even as he began his detailed explanation.
He taught Sasuke step-by-step from adjusting chakra flow through the optic nerves, to identifying the best emotional triggers in an opponent's mind.
Every trick, every nuance, every key to successful genjutsu Itachi passed them all on without reservation.
After the lesson, he let Sasuke try it himself.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan again, focused his chakra, and attempted to replicate the technique.
But he failed.
The illusion didn't form.
Sasuke bit his lip, frustration rising in his chest.
Itachi only chuckled softly. "It's okay. No one gets it perfect on their first try."
He ruffled Sasuke's hair gently, as he used to when they were younger.
"Just take it slow. You'll get there."
Sasuke looked up at him and for a moment, it really did feel like old times.
The way Itachi smiled at him.
The warmth in his voice.
His careful explanations.
It was exactly the way things used to be.
If only… all of this were real, Sasuke thought.
If only this could last.
Sasuke's nose twitched slightly, and a faint sting rose in his eyes.
He blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears threatening to fall.
This... this is the brother I remember.
[Ding! Uchiha Sasuke's emotional fluctuations are captured! Emotional value +500! ]
But... why?
He lowered his head, shoulders trembling, unable to hold back the surge of emotions in his chest.
One memory after another flashed through his mind fragments of a childhood that had once been warm and whole.
Before everything was torn apart... Itachi had always been the perfect big brother.
Gentle. Attentive. Always watching over him with a soft gaze and a kind smile.
Even in those final days, when Itachi had grown distant, caught up in missions and duties, he never once treated Sasuke poorly. His warmth never wavered.
Sasuke could still remember that morning burned vividly into his soul.
He had been heading off to the Ninja Academy, and Itachi stood at the gate of their home, one hand gently ruffling his hair.
"Sasuke, see you this evening," he had said, his smile bright beneath the soft morning sun.
But that evening never came.
What waited instead... was a nightmare.
The moment he returned, something felt wrong. The Uchiha district was too quiet. Unnaturally so.
A faint, metallic tang lingered in the air.
Blood.
Unease gripping him, Sasuke had raced through the streets. With each step, dread tightened in his chest.
And then he saw them.
Bodies.
Clan members. Neighbors. Friends. Lifeless. Strewn across the road.
Blood painted the stones. Familiar faces were twisted in frozen terror.
He nearly collapsed then and there.
But some desperate instinct kept him moving, stumbling toward home.
"Dad! Mom!"
His voice cracked as he sprinted through the gates of his own yard.
What he found stopped him cold.
His parents lay motionless on the floor, their expressions forever frozen in peace and standing above them, bathed in shadows, was that tall figure.
Uchiha Itachi.
His older brother.
He turned slowly.
And those eyes cold, crimson, spinning with three tomoe bore down on him like the gaze of a stranger.
Gone was the warmth, the gentleness. What remained was a void of cruelty.
Then came the words, those cursed words, spoken with icy detachment:
"My foolish little brother... if you want to kill me, then hate me. Detest me. And survive in an unsightly way… run, and cling to life."
That moment shattered everything.
From that night on, those words were etched into Sasuke's heart like a brand.
Again and again, he heard them in his nightmares. Again and again, he woke drenched in sweat, panting, lost in the same question.
Why?
Why had Itachi turned against them?
Why had he destroyed everything?
No one ever gave him the answer.
And the more Sasuke remembered, the more the pain twisted inside him. His fists clenched tight, trembling with repressed fury and grief.
Sasuke's chest rose and fell in heavy, uneven bursts. His breathing quickened as if he were drowning in a flood of emotion.
Memories assaulted his mind.
His father's calm, reassuring smile.
His mother's gentle hand patting his head.
And then Itachi's face, the face standing between their lifeless bodies.
Grief, rage, confusion they all erupted at once.
He couldn't hold it back any longer. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. His vision blurred, but the words were clear sharp, cutting.
"I had a dream recently…" Sasuke's voice trembled, cracking under the weight of his emotions. "In that dream… you killed Father. You killed everyone in the Uchiha clan!"
His voice rose, edged with desperation and fury.
"Why?! Why did you do it?!"
The words echoed across the empty training ground like a thunderclap.
Itachi's expression froze.
The warmth in his smile vanished.
His pupils shrank, and a pale shock swept across his usually composed face.
"W-What…?" he stammered, stunned by the sudden outburst. "Why would you dream something like that?"
For a moment, he looked like a man who had been pierced through the heart.
He couldn't comprehend it. Couldn't grasp how Sasuke's mind had conjured such horror.
But Sasuke didn't give him time to recover.
He stepped forward, fists clenched, voice shaking with emotion.
"Answer me! Why, Itachi?! Why did you kill them all?!"
[Ding! Uchiha Sasuke's emotional fluctuations are captured! Emotional value +1000! ]