"I thought of a way to find out the truth."
Li Shang's words echoed through the underground sanctuary. Sasuke stared at him, incredulous. The silence there was too heavy for vague statements.
"Find out the truth about what, exactly?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you can find out the truth about gods?"
Li Shang crossed his arms, looking at the ancient tablet as if it still breathed. "Not completely. Just the first part."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, impatient. "And what would that be?"
"The Uchiha apparently believe that the emotional shock of losing something loved can lead to a power close to that of a god, right?" Li Shang asked naturally.
Sasuke stood still for an instant, his gaze lost in memory. His brother's words echoed in his mind like a scar.
'To awaken these eyes, you need to kill your best friend.'
He took a deep breath. "My brother... once told me that. That I would need to kill my best friend to awaken the true power of these eyes."
Li Shang nodded, as if confirming something he already suspected. "So that's it. The concept of Uchiha ocular evolution revolves around suffering. But if that's a distortion, the wrong path, there's another way to find out."
Sasuke looked away, intrigued. "Another way?"
"We can test the opposite theory."
"Opposite?" Sasuke repeated, frowning.
Li Shang smiled calmly, his blue eyes shining. "Yes. Instead of trying to provoke pain... we'll do the opposite. I'll make you feel a deep positive emotional shock. Something that touches your soul — and then we'll see if the power of your eyes is really a curse... or a blessing."
Sasuke was silent for long seconds. The idea seemed absurd. "And how exactly would I feel that? Do you want to use a genjutsu?"
Li Shang slowly shook his head. "A common genjutsu wouldn't work. The Uchiha live immersed in illusions, and the Sharingan was born to master them. I doubt that, in a thousand years, no one has tried something like that."
He put his hand to his chin, thoughtful. 'If the awakening of the eyes is directly related to the state of the soul, then the answer is not in the brain or superficial emotions. It is in the sea of knowledge, where consciousness and chakra merge.'
Li Shang looked at him again. 'A direct manipulation of the soul... that might work.'
Sasuke frowned, suspicious.
Li Shang sat calmly on the floor, crossing his legs. The air around seemed to vibrate with a subtle energy. He gestured for Sasuke to come closer.
"I'm going to try something. Sit here and relax."
Sasuke hesitated for an instant, observing the Hyuuga with suspicion. "Can you explain what you're trying to do?"
Li Shang looked up and stared at him with a calm, but firm expression. "Sasuke Uchiha..." he pronounced the name slowly, as if evoking something deeper than a simple identity. "Have you forgotten who came to me?"
The words cut through the air like invisible blades. Sasuke froze. For an instant, the pride that always accompanied him dissolved, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability.
'Am I hesitating? When did I become a coward?'
That doubt crossed his mind like lightning. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and forced serenity back into his body. His gaze became calm, determined.
"What do I have to do?" he asked, his voice firm.
Li Shang smiled slightly, satisfied with the answer. "Relax. Don't resist."
He extended his hand and touched Sasuke's forehead.
At the same instant, everything went black. Sound, light, air — everything dissolved into emptiness.
The world collapsed into silence.
"Sasuke! The food is on the table. Come eat!"
The voice cut through the morning silence like a soft blade.
Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes, his body sweaty and his heart racing. For an instant, he didn't recognize where he was. The white ceiling, the smell of rice and grilled fish... nothing made sense. He sat up in bed, panting, trying to understand.
'That voice... it can't be...'
His hands began to tremble. He brought his fingers to his head, pressing his temples. 'What happened...? I dreamed something bad, I'm sure. Is my family okay? The massacre... the Uchiha massacre...'
The memory exploded in his mind — the blood, the ground covered with bodies, Itachi's cold gaze. The sharp pain in his chest made him shiver. 'But... this can't be real. I've seen my parents die so many times. Why now does it seem like it was just a nightmare?'
"Sasuke, did you hear me, son?"
That voice again. Calm, sweet, familiar.
The world stopped. He felt his whole body freeze.
"Mom..."
The word escaped his lips in a hoarse, almost broken whisper. In an instant, he got up. Every step was urgent, desperate — as if his life depended on it. The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he ran down the hallway he knew better than any other place in the world.
And then he saw.
His body froze at the door. Tears came before he could even breathe.
There, before his eyes, was the scene he had most dreamed of reliving. His father, Fugaku Uchiha, was sitting at the table, serious as always, reading a newspaper while drinking tea. Mikoto, his mother, served the meal with a serene smile. And, at the table, Itachi — the brother he loved and hated the most — watched him with a gentle gaze.
"Good morning, Sasuke."
The warm tone, the slight smile... it was the same Itachi from before everything. Before the blood. Before the shadows.
Sasuke didn't answer. He couldn't. His legs weakened, and he seemed to be out of breath.
'M-my parents... Itachi...'
Tears streamed freely. He brought his hand to his mouth, trying to suppress a sob that threatened to escape. His heart beat fast, it hurt, but at the same time... something inside him warmed in a comforting way.
That home. That smell. The sound of cutlery.
Everything he had lost.
"Sasuke?" Mikoto called him, smiling. "Coffee will get cold, dear."
He took a hesitant step, as if he feared that the touch would undo the scene. But the floor was firm, the air warm, the aroma of the tea real.
It was as if time had gone back. As if the nightmare had never happened.
Itachi looked at him with that same serene gaze — no hatred, no distance — just kindness.
"You woke up early today," his brother commented. "Come. Sit down."
Sasuke blinked, trying to hold back the tears. "Brother..."
The sound came out weak, almost a lament. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
For the first time in years, there was no pain. Only peace.
And, in the depths of his mind, Li Shang watched in silence, his consciousness hovering over the flow of spiritual energy.
'His soul is reacting...'
The light surrounding Sasuke was different — not of hatred, but of love. This was what Li Shang wanted to see: if a wounded heart could awaken through hope, not loss.
Sasuke didn't know. But at that moment, as he heard his mother calling and Itachi smiling, he experienced something he had long forgotten.
Something no doujutsu had ever shown him.