Chapter 156: Nothing but a memory.

A week had passed since Homura entered the Naka Shrine, nothing much happened. 

As Homura had believed, there was no fuss made about anyone entering the Naka shrine. 

It was a Uchiha site, almost no one should even be aware the shrine existed, much less know the secrets held within the shrine. If someone knew that someone entered without permission, what could they do? The people who owned it were gone, the only sole proprietor was Sasuke Uchiha. 

And if the Hokage somewhat found out about it and called Homura, he would only have to show his pair of sharigans to assert his parentage. 

Fortunately, nothing as such had to happen. 

The only crime Homura committed were minor offences when he infiltrated Yakumo Kurama's bedroom and he paid it dearly. 

Besides, it didn't seem that anyone was alerted of the crime, at least nothing seemed to have been reported.

Thus, normal days went by.

Homura spent his days at the academy, training, working part time jobs and as the weekend came by, he could finally unravel the information he had so painfully held back himself from accessing it under fear of not being able to contain himself from digging further.

Homura was the type of person that once he learns of something, he cannot stop himself until he understood all perfectly. Especially when it came to topics he was heavily interested in.

So, on a saturday night, a night that was heavy with silence as Homura delved into the depths of his mind, standing amidst the holographic scrolls in his virtual library. Each scroll contained a wealth of knowledge on genjutsu, and Homura's thirst for understanding was unquenchable.

Rows upon rows of holographic scrolls, and books filling the space. Everything single tidbit of knowledge Homura as gathered within this world and former world are here to be consulted anytime. Though Homura had a good memory, bordering on photographic. It was nonetheless not entirely perfect.

Sometimes, he needed a refresher and gather different knowledge together to see if the principles would align.

Homura was verse, in medicine, ninja arts, crafting, machinery, knitting, mining…and so on and on.

All those different fields rarely intercepted, all the books he read or the memories he compiled from observing craftsmen and science from his modern world had to be compiled together in order to make it more cohesive.

Science or some aspects of physics did not appear to be one to one, after all this universe was rich in life energy, Homura did not know if life energy existed in his previous world, but there certainly was nothing like chakra.

Talking animals or giant insects were normal and rather common within this world, which could only be possible if a major key aspect of reality was different.

Nonetheless, these few discrepancies were little more than an afterthought at this instant to Homura, especially as he read the scroll within his hands.

He gazes around in awe and disbelief.

HOMURA (whispering to himself) This... this can't be real.

Homura reaches out and takes one of the holographic scrolls. As he unfurls it, the text comes to life, floating in the air before him.

HOMURA (amazed) Incredible...

The holographic scrolls contain information about genjutsu, intricate illusions, and their intricate workings. Homura's eyes scan the pages with intense focus.

HOMURA (to himself) Finally, the knowledge I've been searching for.

Homura finds answers to his genjutsu inquiries but decides to move on. He needs information about the Uchiha and their mysterious hideout.

His mission now was to uncover the mysteries of the Uchiha clan, a task that had consumed his thoughts for some time. With swift movements, he scanned through holographic pages, discovering family histories, pacts, and the infamous feud with the Senju clan.

He scrolls through holographic pages until he finds more information related to the Uchiha clan, the secrets he has been craving for.

Information that was not shown in either media the Naruto story was presented.

Sadly, although he was able to find many secrets, he found nothing that would give him the amount of power Homura was truly interested in.

HOMURA (disappointed) They kept so many secrets...

Homura continues searching until he stumbles upon the location of the Uchiha hideout. It's a breakthrough.

HOMURA (excited) Yes, that's it! This definitely has to be the location of The Uchiha hideout.

It matched with the potential areas Homura thought that it would be located towards. Homura tried his best to find places according to the map that were available to him so that he could find ancient and abandoned sites.

Since those places usually carry with them a long amount of history, especially histories that have to do with the land of ancestors.

According to the anime, pieces, or rather remains of the god tree did spill out throughout the land. And since it is said the habitat that those remains were left were dangerous to humans, Homura, tried as hard as he could to find myths or legends that could somewhat align with what he was looking for.

However, the land of Konogakure had restrictions and collected logs on who had access what type of information, thus, he could not openly request or access certain files or scrolls.

But it also lacked much information that belong to the past, Konohagakure was a military village within the land of fire that had not even existed for more than 100 years.

There were far better alternatives within the land of fire and others open or secret libraries.

But Homura eyes widen as he finds even more unexpected information. It's about the ninja cats, the enigmatic feline allies of the Uchiha.

HOMURA (confused) Ninja cats... They were real? I mean…there were an oddly amount of cats there…(But I just thought it was because it was a semi remote area…to think that memory of that filler episode was somewhat true…this puts things into perspective.)

He reads on, discovering that the Uchiha had a unique connection with these feline partners. But something else in the documents catches his attention; as he reads further into the text in front of his eyes.

HOMURA (startled) Patterns of compulsion and obsessiveness?

Homura continues reading, and the descriptions inside remind him of himself in many ways.

Throughout history some members of the Uchiha clan have cause trouble for the overall clan, they were impulsive and had even caused upheaval among the clan, killing clan members for the pursuit of more power.

The Uchiha clan was rather big clan that survived over long periods of time, and like most major clans, they would often split into smaller clans, or equally as powerful clans that differ slightly.

Thus, it was not surprising a few members had misgivings with how the clan was run during their lifetime; in a world under constant war, such upheavals were to be expected, if not understood.

It all seemed more of a cautionary tales than actual factual retellings of history. If those documents were hidden inside the Naka shrine they were probably only to be seen among the clan's higherups.

Nonetheless, story of clan members being emotionally impaired or being driven to madness seemed oddly familiar.

HOMURA (startled) Patterns of compulsion and obsessiveness?

Suddenly an image of Sasuke during the 5 kage submit flashed through Homura's mind. It was a period of Sasuke's life that forced him to become unhinge due to conflicting emotions he was feeling at the time.

He had found out that the man he had hated throughout most of his life was in truth his biggest supporter and had in fact protected him his entire life.

A shocking revelation that would be enough for anyone in a similar position to doubt their entire life, and their actions.

If that were to be true then…the text that Homura read could not only apply to Sasuke but most Uchihas.

Even those who had their blood flowing through ones veins.

Homura recognized the traits described as to some degree… eerily similar to his own. Concern began to gnaw at him.

HOMURA (concerned) This... this sounds familiar.

Homura turns to the AI companion, C, inside his mind.

HOMURA (to C) : Run some tests on me, C. I need to know if I'm suffering from these afflictions.

C responds with a digital nod.

C :Understood. Initiating tests now.

Homura watches as his virtual surroundings change, and a series of diagnostic tests begin to unfold around him.

Hours passed within his mind, and Homura's mind was awash with data. The tests had been comprehensive, delving into the core of his psyche.

Homura reclined within the virtual realm, the echoes of the exhaustive mental tests still fresh in his thoughts. He could hardly believe that the last test had been an 8-hour movie, designed to provoke reactions from him. Yet, to his surprise, nothing within the convoluted tale had stirred him. The movie's mishmash of genres – horror, romance, action, sci-fi – left him utterly unresponsive.

C: Data Analysis for the final test is mostly complete. One final question is needed for the inquiry to end.

Homura: *Sigh* Finally. Was it necessary that I had to watch everything. I don't think A.I.s should write movies for humans.

Seeing the window of progress popping in front of his face, Homura was somewhat relieved though it did not show on his face or tone of voice which were rather monotone.

C: How would the cinematic piece be described to Host's sensibilities?

HOMURA (nonchalant): Well, that was a terrible movie.

C: Please provide more context.

HOMURA: Too many genres all at once, no sense at all and I don't believe runtime for movies should be as long and somehow I could barely understand the movie's story but the reasons of each character and overall premise…Was Impossible to comprehend. Was there truly a theme or overall message?

C, the AI within his mind, responded with its characteristic digital intonation.

C: Negative. The movie was intentionally designed to elicit a reaction, sample for a thousand different films. It was designed amidst the sample to make one feel both duress and joy. It was engineered to cause frustration among parties and the long runtime was to test the normal limits one would accept to absorb as much information a single seating. Host's stoic response and unchanging brain patterns throughout suggests a potential emotional suppression.

Homura's brows furrowed as he contemplated C's words. He had long suspected that something within him was amiss, a consequence of the traumatic events he'd experienced. But hearing it confirmed was disconcerting.

HOMURA (skeptical): Emotional suppression? That sounds... Is that serious or could it be ignored in order to proceed with normal function.

C offered its analysis, a voice of digital reason in the tumult of Homura's thoughts.

C: Not significant data available. However, it is indeed of significant concern. Especially considering your Sharingan, which thrives on strong emotions. Suppressed emotions can hinder your growth as a shinobi.

HOMURA: Tsk! As I thought….

Internally, Homura grappled with the implications. He was at a crossroads, and the path ahead seemed uncertain. He had always seen emotions as a hindrance, something to be controlled. But now, he understood the cost of such control.

He wasn't devoid of emotions otherwise Naruto would not so quickly get under his nerves, but it seemed just a few people were able to get some kind of reaction out of him, the rest of the people he talked to, Homura was more or less putting on an act.

HOMURA (resolute): I won't let this hold me back any longer… I need to get more strength.

Homura had already put himself under a variety of different emotions in order to try to evolve his sharingan further, but it had all fail.

Perhaps because he knew none of it was real was putting a damper under his emotions or how he should feel but now that he had somewhat found a root cause he had no choice but to try to remedy his weaknesses.

At the very least even if he did it or did not, it was unlikely he would ever go as far as the examples written within the scrolls from the Naka shrine he read.

There was no danger of him ever initiating a civil war or kill clan members in order to persue more strength.

Nor did he have a clan or truly living relatives.

Homura's determination rang clear in his mind as he made a choice. If suppressing his emotions hindered him, then he would confront them head-on. His gaze flickered, and he questioned C, seeking guidance.

HOMURA (serious) Can you help me, C? Break through this emotional suppression?

C's virtual surroundings shifted dramatically. Moonlight spilled through the trees, casting eerie shadows upon the forest floor. Homura found himself in a moonlit, dark forest, a tanto blade clutched in each hand.

C (instructive) Homura, I cannot directly remove your emotional suppression. However, I can guide you through the process, step by step.

Homura took a deep breath, the weight of his choices settling upon him. The moon overhead seemed to symbolize his newfound clarity, and the twin blades in his hands became instruments of self-discovery.

HOMURA (determined) Very well, C. Let's begin.

As soon as Homura said those words the environment around him started shifting as a series of blue lights were destroying and recreating everything around him at frightening speed.

It was as if the world spun around, and he had found himself within the middle of a moonlit forest.

In the moonlit forest of his mind, Homura stood bewildered, twin blades gripped tightly in his hands. He turned to C, the artificial intelligence that had led him here, demanding an explanation.

HOMURA (perplexed) C, what's going on? Why am I holding these blades?

C's synthetic voice addressed him as 'Host,' maintaining its clinical tone as it elucidated its purpose.

C (explanatory): I cannot suppress your trauma, Host, but I can give those memories shape. You must confront them yourself.

As C finished its explanation, the image of a masked figure began to take form before Homura.

Shock coursed through his veins.

HOMURA (Shocked):…You…

It was the same figure that had haunted him during the harrowing ordeal in the dark forest when he was a mere seven years old. The memories of that near-fatal encounter had haunted him, even though he had tried to bury them deep within.

The masked figure wasted no time and launched a ferocious attack. Homura's instincts kicked in, and he managed to block the blow. The proximity between them was suffocating, and the masked man's strength was oppressive, reminiscent of the terror Homura had felt during that long-ago encounter.

In their intense face-to-face encounter, Homura was captivated by the remarkably lifelike, featureless mask before him. It was so convincing that he could almost sense the enemy's breath as their faces were mere inches apart. Adding to the ominous atmosphere were the reddish glowing lights emanating from within the eye gaps of the mask, intensifying the menacing presence.

It was a trait that Homura failed to realize on their first encounter, either due to fear or this was purely a manifestation of Homura's fears was beyond his current understanding.

HOMURA(Angered): Grrr!!!!! (I…I… I WON'T LOSE!!!)

Homura clenched his teeth and vowed not to let history repeat itself. Activating his Sharingan, he released the tanto blades and expertly dodged a subsequent strike. In a fluid motion, he executed a spinning kick, sending the figure sprawling backward. With deft agility, he sidestepped another swing of the masked man's blade and reclaimed a dropped weapon from the ground.

With unyielding determination, Homura drove the blade into the masked figure's heart. As the figure knelt, vanishing into nothingness, Homura's eyes bore into it, his voice dripping with cold resolve.

HOMURA (stern) Return to the shadows where you belong.

Homura said before retrieving the sword the masked figure chest and decapitating it in a single but swift motion of his left hand holding his short blade.

The head of the masked man flew and fell to the ground as it watched the rest of their body disappear into nothingness.

The masked figure dissolved, leaving Homura standing alone in the moonlit forest. The weight of his traumatic past felt somewhat lighter, as if he had taken his first steps towards confronting his suppressed emotions.

HOMURA:!!!

Soon, Homura leapt to his left avoiding a incoming projectile directed his way.

In the surreal landscape of Homura's mind, more and more figures materialized. Among them were the two hidden assailants, shrouded in darkness, who had been brutally desecrating the eyes of the Uchiha clan's lifeless members.

Their intentions were clear, and they lunged towards Homura. However, he was not one to back down. With a lightning-fast strike, he severed both their heads in a single fluid motion, silencing their grotesque actions.

The speed of their exchange was so fast that he was unable to be seen when both parties clashed. Only several flashes of light could be seen from afar.

In a shocking turn of events, Homura's left shoulder and lower stomach began to bleed profusely. This sudden surge of blood painted a vivid picture of the severity of his injuries.

HOMURA (Surprised): This pain!

Homura knelt as he felt the pain from the damage he originally ignored, he then found the pain similar to the one he felt when he fought the kunoichi within the backhills.

That he forgot to question as to why he was even feeling pain, the events transpiring were within his mind and he did not start the usual program for sparring.

Nonetheless, he had no time to waste as he suddenly felt more presences, stepping out of the shadows.

Armed figures seemed to be popping out of the void itself, at any moment's notice.

HOMURA(thought): More?…How many of them do I have to face?

Thought Homura as he got up and picked another tanto from one of the figures he had slayed, the only thing that did not disappear it seemed was the weapons the creatures left behind.

In a gripping turn of events, Homura effortlessly dodged an unexpected ambush by swiftly pivoting on his left foot. With precise precision, he swiftly struck the ethereal attacker in the stomach, effectively averting what seemed like an endless nightmare.

More and more came pouncing at him, forcing Homura to run.

HOMURA (gritting his teeth) Not again...

With each defeated foe, Homura's mental anguish intensifies. The recurring flashes of his past and the relentless onslaught of apparitions begin to take a toll.

HOMURA (inwardly) I can't stop now. I have to purge these memories.

As another group of phantom adversaries appears, Homura's exhaustion is palpable. He hacks and slashes, his sharingan whirling in a furious dance of combat.

The forest was unforgiving, and it seemed like there was no end to this nightmarish ordeal. The apparitions of the deceased Uchiha clan members, whose lifeless eyes had haunted Homura's memories, came into view. As he confronted them, his head began to throb with a dull ache, intensifying with each adversary he vanquished. The mental and emotional toll of this confrontation weighed heavily upon him.

It became easier and easier to avoid any restraints Homura had at slicing the faces of people he had somewhat known.

Nonetheless, the encounters grew in number and intensity.

Homura's relentless determination to move forward left his body battered and bruised. He continued to slice through the eerie apparitions, determined to purge these haunting memories.

In the midst of this relentless battle, he decapitated an elderly-looking man.

HOMURA (determined) I won't be haunted by your memory any longer.

This man was rather familiar.

Homura had felt a sense of guilt since it was the same elderly man Homura removed the damaged Sharingan from his dead corpse.

But now, after a slight pain he felt inside his head, he felt nothing more as Homura watched him disappear.

HOMURA:…*Huff* He was tougher than rest…He must have been the last one.

Homura tried to convince himself as he tried to catch his breath and remain sane as his battered body reflected the many scars he had endured.

A pile of weapons were seen everywhere, Homura, couldn't believe he hadn't out right died. He had face more than 50 of those creatures.

And instead of outright killing him, they seem to enjoy causing him pain, which was all the more stressing to fight them.

HOMURA(Surprised): !?

But suddenly a sound that indicated that someone else had spawn, had been heard by Homura who readied his fractured blade once again. His right arm trying its best to stop trembling, after all the injuries it had endured but still function unlike its left counterpart.

Fatigue weighed heavily on Homura as he looked ahead.

??? (softly) You're late… Itsuki.

Hearing the voice of a familiar figure long gone almost plunged Homura into the depth of despair. The pain and confusion well up within Homura, threatening to engulf him.

HOMURA:…No, no, no!

Face to face with a young boy, dark-haired and eerily familiar.

Homura's body tenses, and his vision blurs. Memories of that fateful day flood his mind—the crimson-stained hands, the lifeless gaze of the boy he couldn't save.

HOMURA:…Why? Why?!!!…Did it have to be you now…

Homura's eyes overflowed with an overwhelming sadness that he struggled to conceal. Despite his best efforts to hold them back, tears streamed down his face relentlessly.

The boy addressed him as Itsuki. It was a name he had not heard in a long time.

Memories he had buried deep within him resurfaced, and emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

The vivid recollection of holding the lifeless body of the boy in his arms washed over Homura. The scent of blood, the chilling touch of the body—it all came rushing back, triggering a panic attack.

Soon darkness enveloped him.

INT. HOMURA'S BUNKER - REALITY

In darkly lit room, Homura, started to awaken.

Homura wakes up, disoriented and emotionally drained. His sanctuary feels comforting, a stark contrast to the nightmarish mindscape he just left behind.

However…

Homura: What the? When did I fall asleep?

Homura looks around him, and when he regained consciousness, he found himself in his dimly lit bunker, disoriented and confused.

Homura: That's weird…I don't…??? What was doing again?

The unsettling experience left him searching for answers, but none were forthcoming.

Suddenly a teardrop, ran through his right cheek.

Which Homura proceeded to quickly wipe away the stream of water it left behind.

HOMURA:…A tear? Why?…My body doesn't hurt...Was I sleeping with one eye open? That's concerning.

Homura, couldn't understand as to why he let out a single tear nor what he was doing even prior to falling asleep but he figured that he was probably tired, but now he feels slightly relaxed.

It had been awhile that he felt this good, and at peace. Normally most of his nights include secret training within his head or waking up early to train before dawn.

HOMURA: *Yawn* I must be tired…I will focus on it tomorrow. I'm going home.

Homura extinguished the nearby candle and decided it was time to return home, leaving behind the enigmatic and haunting dreamscape that had taken hold of his mind.

chapter end.