Sakura

Uchiha Sasuke was born into the splendour of Konoha Village, yet from the very beginning, he stood beneath an immense shadow. As the second son of the Uchiha clan, he grew up within a family environment that commanded respect, inspired fear, and was regarded as a breeding ground for bloodline-level geniuses. The clan was stern and rigidly ordered, yet amidst these rules and expectations, the only person Sasuke truly cared about was his elder brother, Uchiha Itachi. Itachi was the pride of the entire clan, the village's hope, an undisputed genius, and the one Sasuke trusted most, depended on most, and yearned to be close to. In Sasuke's childhood, nearly every memory of happiness was intertwined with his brother. Whether it was the gentle hand guiding him during shuriken practice or the figure accompanying him on rare strolls during respite, Itachi's presence shone like a beacon, illuminating Sasuke's path to adulthood. The young Sasuke once believed that through sheer effort, he could one day stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother, perhaps even earn that same tender recognition. Yet as time passed, he found Itachi's figure receding ever further. The gulf between geniuses proved too vast; however hard he pushed, he was perpetually left with a crushing sense of being cast behind. Still, Sasuke never doubted his brother's love. He merely trained with redoubled ferocity, hoping one day to truly catch up. Until that night arrived—the night all warmth and support shattered in an instant. The Uchiha clan was slaughtered. The clan grounds lay eerily silent, the stench of blood suffocating. Stumbling over fallen kin, Sasuke searched for his sole anchor—only to find Itachi, his hands stained red, having ended their parents' lives. In that instant, his world shattered completely. He could neither comprehend nor breathe, left only with despair, terror, and a soul-tearing agony. ‘If you wish to hate me, then hate me... If you wish to kill me, then live on and grow stronger.’ Itachi's declaration, cold as a blade, became the incantation for the rest of Sasuke's life. From that day forth, Sasuke ceased to be an innocent youth. He became a man sustained by hatred. His silence and coldness at the Ninja Academy were not pride, but seclusion; his refusal to draw close to others was not heartlessness, but a fear of losing again. Yet fate proved far more complex. The encounter with Team 7—Naruto's clamour, Sakura's concern, Kakashi's guidance—gradually chipped away at the walls he'd erected. He began to understand that bonds weren't merely weaknesses, but also a force that could make one truly human. He learned to stand shoulder to shoulder with others, to trust, to place his life in the hands of his comrades. Yet simultaneously, he saw himself still suffocating beneath the shadow of “that person”. Naruto relentlessly pursued him, Sakura steadfastly watched over him, but they could not heal the immense wound in Sasuke's heart. Whenever he neared the light, the nightmares of the past would drag him back into the abyss. Especially when he faced Itachi once more, the terror and helplessness convinced him that remaining in Konoha would only keep him forever stagnant. Ultimately, Sasuke chose to betray Konoha. It was not an impulse, but a desperate struggle. He would rather embrace the darkness than remain the boy who could only look up, unable to exact his vengeance. After leaving, his path grew even more brutal. Within Orochimaru's domain, he tempered himself through near-torturous methods, compressing every agony into raw power. He lost warmth, lost friendship, yet gained a deeper ‘awareness’: for vengeance, he would sacrifice everything—including his own life and humanity. When he finally slew Itachi, fulfilling his lifelong quest for revenge, what greeted him was not liberation, but deeper despair. Itachi was no traitor, but a hero. The Uchiha clan's annihilation stemmed not from Itachi's betrayal, but from a forced sacrifice; what Sasuke ended with his own hands was the life of the man who had striven to protect him. Deprived of truth, Sasuke was driven by hatred; upon learning the truth, he was consumed by anguish and fury. He began to re-examine the true target of his ‘revenge,’ coming to despise Konoha, despise the system, despise those who determined Itachi's fate. He sought to rebuild the world through destruction, to repay pain with pain, to sever the ninja world's long-standing cycle of darkness by extreme means. Yet Naruto still pursued him. That companion he once deemed a ‘fool’ persisted in pulling him back towards the light. Naruto's persistence, bonds, and conviction repeatedly pierced Sasuke's heart, reminding him that someone in this world still believed in him unconditionally. Ultimately, the two ended their years-long conflict of bonds with fists and tears. Amidst blood and dust, Sasuke acknowledged his weakness for the first time and truly understood Itachi's tenderness—a love willing to bear suffering alone. After the war, he chose to leave Konoha—not to flee, but to atone. Wandering the world, he investigated darkness and guarded peace, striving in his own way to protect the new ninja world Naruto had built. He was no longer merely a seeker of vengeance, nor a youth bound by hatred. He became a guardian bearing the world's shadows, yet never seeking reward. The life of Uchiha Sasuke is a journey from light into the abyss, and from the abyss back into the light. He was tormented and despairing, yet never utterly abandoned hope; he was solitary yet resolute; he grew through loss and sought meaning within darkness. His story is the most complex, the most agonising, and the most powerful arc of growth in the entire Naruto saga. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)