Scared

Akuma made his way toward his usual training area after finishing a tedious day at the Ninja Academy. His mind was already set on refining his techniques, but as he walked, he caught sight of a familiar figure standing in his path. 

Sasuke Uchiha. 

Akuma exhaled sharply, already knowing what was coming. "You've come to challenge me again? You know, I'm getting tired of all this," he said, his voice laced with irritation. He had assumed Sasuke had finally given up after six months of silence. But judging by the determined glint in his eyes, that clearly wasn't the case. 

Sasuke took a step forward, his gaze intense. "For six months, I've trained harder than ever. And now, with this—" His eyes shifted, the pupils swirling as he revealed his fully developed two-tomoe Sharingan. "—I can finally defeat you." 

Akuma narrowed his eyes at the sight. In the original timeline, Sasuke had only awakened an incomplete two-tomoe Sharingan when protecting Naruto. But now, he had a completed version—far earlier than he should have. 

The realization irritated Akuma more than anything else. He was slowly, unintentionally, changing the timeline. That was bad. 

His jaw clenched. Why is this piece of shit still after me? Can he not understand when I say leave me alone? 

The very thought of it made his blood boil. Akuma had no interest in playing along with Sasuke's obsession. He had better things to do than entertain a fool chasing after a fight he could never win. 

Enough was enough. 

If Sasuke refused to back down, Akuma would make sure this was the last time he ever issued a challenge. 

Akuma's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "I won't attack you for one minute. Within that time, defeat me. If you fail—" his eyes gleamed with a sinister red light, "—you'll wish you were dead." 

As the Satsui no Hado surged to life, a crushing aura exploded outward. The very air distorted around him, his red hair lifting as if caught in an invisible storm. The weight of his presence was suffocating—like an unseen force of nature pressing down on everything around him. 

Sasuke's eyes widened. The shift was instant, but it was like staring at something inhuman, something beyond reason. His muscles tensed, an instinctive, primal fear clawing at him. His body screamed at him—Move! Run! But no matter how much he willed it, he couldn't. 

The closer Akuma stepped, the stronger the crushing dread became. His body locked up, frozen in place. It was as if he stood before a bottomless abyss, and at the bottom was only death. His breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. His knees buckled. Before he even realized it, he had dropped to the ground. 

What… is this? 

Sweat dripped down his face. His pulse pounded in his ears. The feeling—this unbearable, suffocating fear—it was worse than anything he had ever experienced. 

Akuma's glowing red eyes bore into him, piercing through him like a blade to the soul. His voice was calm, yet it sent an unnatural chill down Sasuke's spine. 

"Your time is running out. Are you not going to attack? Are you waiting for me to kill you? Or are you just scared?" 

Scared. 

That word—that single word—seared into Sasuke's mind like a brand. 

His vision blurred, not from fear, but from the memories crashing into him. 

That night. 

The massacre. 

His clan. His family. All gone. 

And standing there, amidst the blood and the bodies—him. 

Itachi. 

Those same cold, merciless red eyes had looked down at him that night. Deeming him so insignificant that he wasn't even worth killing. 

The pain. The humiliation. The fear. 

The rage. 

A fire erupted inside him, burning away the fear. 

Sasuke's breathing steadied. His trembling stopped. His jaw clenched, and his Sharingan spun, flaring to life with newfound intensity. The crushing pressure of Akuma's aura no longer mattered—his anger burned hotter. 

With a sharp breath, his hand shot to his kunai. 

And then—he moved. 

With everything he had, he lunged at Akuma, kunai gripped tight, his aim locked on those cold, unfeeling red eyes. 

I'll destroy them. 

I'll destroy all the eyes that look down on me! 

The kunai flew at Akuma with blinding speed, aimed directly for his eye. Without flinching, he tilted his head just enough to let the blade graze the air, its trajectory completely missing him. The attack looked slow in comparison, as if the world had shifted in slow motion, but Akuma's movement was effortless—fluid, calculated. Not a single ounce of energy wasted. 

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He wasn't done yet. 

As the kunai passed, Sasuke's body shifted like a coiled spring, his leg snapping out in a vicious low strike aimed at Akuma's groin. The movement was fast, but before Sasuke's foot could connect, Akuma disappeared in a blur. 

The air shifted around him, and with a step so swift it barely registered, Akuma evaded the strike entirely, his body flowing backward, as if moving through water. Sasuke's kick struck nothing but empty air. 

Without missing a beat, Sasuke threw three shuriken, each one spinning toward Akuma's form with deadly precision. 

Akuma didn't even seem to acknowledge the attack—his body simply flowed through the air with effortless precision, dodging each spinning blade without breaking his stride. It was like the weapons were mere distractions, obstacles that he navigated with barely a thought. 

And then, Sasuke's next move: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! 

A massive sphere of flame erupted from Sasuke's mouth, roaring toward Akuma like an unstoppable force. The heat distorted the air, the ground trembling beneath the sheer power of the technique. 

Akuma didn't flinch. He didn't even step back in panic. 

His body moved like water, swaying to the side, evading the fireball as it crashed into the ground with a deafening explosion. Dirt, rocks, and debris were thrown in every direction, the shockwave rattling the air. But Akuma simply remained calm, as if he had expected it all. 

The dust began to settle, and as it did, a dozen shuriken sliced through the air, all homing in on Akuma with unnatural precision. 

Behind them, Sasuke closed the distance, his speed a blur. 

Akuma's eyes flickered with a hint of recognition. A decent attempt. 

He dodged each shuriken in rapid succession, weaving through them with inhuman grace, his movements so precise they seemed to defy logic. But as he moved, Sasuke was already there—closing the gap with a speed that almost made him a blur. 

Before Akuma could even finish evading the final shuriken, Sasuke was upon him, his leg slamming toward Akuma's abdomen in a vicious kick. 

Akuma's hand shot up without hesitation, blocking the strike effortlessly. Sasuke's kick collided with Akuma's arm, but Akuma didn't budge. The air around them crackled with the force of the blow, but Akuma remained rooted, as though the attack hadn't even phased him. 

But Sasuke wasn't finished. 

Spinning mid-air with the momentum from the blocked kick, Sasuke lashed out with his other leg, aiming for Akuma's head in a follow-up strike. 

Once again, Akuma's second hand came up—grabbing Sasuke's leg mid-air and halting it like it was nothing. 

Sasuke's smirk twisted into something darker, a glint of triumph in his eyes. 

"Got you, bastard!" 

A voice came from behind. 

Sasuke surged forward, Chidori crackling in his hand, its piercing screech splitting the air. The Sasuke in front of Akuma—nothing more than a clone—vanished in a puff of smoke. 

But Akuma didn't turn. 

He didn't even flinch. 

Instead, he stood there, still as a statue, the air around him humming with an eerie calmness. He welcomed the attack. 

"BOOOOM!!!" 

The explosion of raw power detonated on impact, sending a shockwave of lightning tearing through the ground beneath them. The earth cracked, and the sky seemed to tremble with the force of Sasuke's final, desperate strike. Sasuke stumbled backward, panting heavily from exhaustion, the rush of victory nearly overwhelming him. 

I did it... he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. His final trump card—Chidori, the technique he had begged Kakashi-sensei to teach him—had worked. 

But as the smoke began to settle, his breath hitched. His eyes widened in disbelief. 

Akuma stood there—unscathed. 

Not a single scratch. No burn marks. No sign of injury. 

Slowly, deliberately, Akuma turned to face Sasuke. His glowing red eyes locked onto the Uchiha, the crimson light seeming to pierce through the smoke and into Sasuke's soul. 

The air grew colder. The world felt heavier. 

"Your time is up," Akuma's voice was a low, unwavering growl, his tone cold and final. "Now... it is my turn." 

Sasuke's heart froze, the words sinking deep into his bones. 

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