22: Bound by Fate, Denied by Words (Sasuke's POV)

The Line He Couldn't Cross (Sasuke's POV)

Sasuke wasn't a fool.

He knew the way his gaze lingered too long on Naruto, how his body tensed at the thought of him disappearing again. It wasn't just loyalty. It wasn't just friendship.

But acknowledging it—letting it become real—was a line he couldn't cross.

Because if he did, there would be no turning back.

And Sasuke had never been one to let himself want things.

"You ever wonder what would've happened if I never chased after you?"

Naruto's voice was quiet, thoughtful, as they walked side by side through the outskirts of Konoha.

Sasuke didn't look at him. "No."

Naruto let out a short laugh. "Liar."

Sasuke's fingers twitched at his side. Naruto always saw through him.

"If you hadn't chased me, you would've died that day," Sasuke said simply. "I would've killed you."

Naruto hummed. "Maybe. But if I hadn't chased you… we wouldn't be here now, would we?"

Sasuke's stomach twisted.

No.

If Naruto hadn't chased him, if he hadn't been so stubborn, Sasuke wouldn't have returned. Wouldn't have found a reason to keep going. Wouldn't be standing here now.

Wouldn't be drowning in feelings he had no right to have.

"Tch. Always looking for meaning in everything," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto grinned. "That's 'cause everything has meaning, bastard."

You do.

The words rose up in Sasuke's throat before he crushed them.

Instead, he said nothing.

They stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking Konoha. The wind was strong here, rustling Naruto's hair, making his cloak billow.

He looked peaceful. Content.

Sasuke hated it.

Because Naruto should have had this life.

Not this ghost existence, where no one remembered him.

Not a world where he had given up everything.

Not for him.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned, blinking at him. "Huh?"

Sasuke wanted to say something—anything.

Wanted to tell him that this wasn't fair.

That it should have been him erased instead.

That he had no right to matter this much.

That Sasuke had spent years running, but Naruto had always been the one thing he could never outrun.

But he said none of it.

Because Sasuke didn't do feelings.

So instead, he did the only thing he could.

He turned away. "Forget it."

Naruto laughed. "You're weird, bastard."

Sasuke smirked. "And you're still an idiot."

And with that, they stood in silence, watching the village they had both given up so much for.

Neither of them saying what truly mattered.

The Shadow Realm was a place of distortion, where time unraveled and memories became ghosts. But even among the chaos, Sasuke could focus on only one thing—Naruto.

The idiot was ahead of him, standing toe-to-toe with the Erased Naruto, fists clenched, golden hair glowing under the eerie darkened sky.

Sasuke's heart twisted.

It wasn't fair.

Naruto had already given everything—his family, his legacy, his very existence—just to bring him back. And now, fate demanded more?

No.

Sasuke wouldn't allow it.

Not this time.

Not when he had only just gotten Naruto back.

"You don't belong here."

The Erased Naruto moved first, faster than thought, striking with a speed that even Sasuke's Sharingan struggled to track.

Naruto barely dodged, countering with a Rasengan that shattered the air. The force should have sent the Erased Naruto flying—but instead, the shadowy double caught it with his bare hand.

The chakra fizzled. Disintegrated.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What the—?"

Sasuke didn't hesitate.

He lunged, his blade flashing. But the moment his sword touched the Erased Naruto's skin, it vanished—as if he had just tried to cut through smoke.

A voice, hauntingly familiar, whispered:

"You can't kill what was never meant to exist."

Then, the shadows struck back.

A wave of suffocating darkness exploded outward, swallowing them both.

The darkness was not just an attack—it was memories rewritten.

For a moment, Sasuke was somewhere else.

A Konoha without Naruto.

A world where he had never known the warmth of a rival, where he had never been pulled from his hatred, where the village was nothing but a cold, empty battlefield.

He saw himself standing on the rubble of Konoha—alone.

No idiot yelling his name. No dobe chasing after him.

No one left to save him.

And for the first time, Sasuke felt it—the true weight of Naruto's absence.

It wasn't just the world that had forgotten Naruto.

It was him.

"No."

Sasuke clenched his fists.

He wouldn't accept this.

He wouldn't allow time—or fate—to erase the one person who had mattered most.

His Rinnegan flared. The illusion cracked. And suddenly—

He was back in the Shadow Realm.

Naruto was still fighting, breathless but unyielding, facing the Erased version of himself.

Sasuke's heart clenched.

"Damn it, Naruto."

Even when the world had abandoned him, Naruto still fought to protect it.

How was he supposed to not love him?

Sasuke wouldn't let history repeat.

He wouldn't let Naruto carry this alone.

The Rinnegan in his left eye burned, power flooding his limbs. The space around him warped.

"Enough."

He appeared beside Naruto in an instant, catching him before he could stumble. Naruto blinked up at him, stunned.

"Sasuke—"

Sasuke didn't let him finish. He pulled Naruto behind him and turned to face the shadow.

"I won't let you take him." His voice was low, dangerous. "I won't let time steal him from me again."

The Erased Naruto tilted his head, something almost amused in his hollow gaze.

"You love him."

The words struck like lightning.

Naruto stiffened behind him.

Sasuke's throat tightened.

The Erased Naruto smirked.

"That's why you remember. That's why you came after him."

The shadows curled, whispering secrets that had never been spoken aloud.

"Because you were never able to let him go."

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

He didn't deny it.

Couldn't.

Because in that moment—watching Naruto, knowing he had nearly lost him forever—there was no point in lying to himself anymore.

Naruto was his weakness.

His greatest regret.

His only reason.

And if time itself wanted to take him—

Then Sasuke would tear time apart.