Chapter 2) The Binding
Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the glowing interface, his mind buzzing with the overwhelming decision he had just made. The promise of power—unimaginable, boundless power—was now within his reach. He had accepted it, and in that moment, he realized there was no turning back.
His fingers hovered, trembling slightly, before he pressed the word Accept on the interface. The instant he made contact, an ancient and immense force erupted from deep within him. It wasn't just power—it was raw, primal energy, something that hadn't been felt in the world for countless generations.
His heartbeat surged in response, pounding hard against his chest as though it could break free. Each beat reverberated through his entire body. The sound was deafening, a relentless thudding that filled the room and echoed in his skull. It wasn't just his heart that was affected. The very walls around him seemed to tremble under the intensity of the force. His vision blurred, and the room seemed to distort, as if reality itself was bending under the weight of the power surging through him.
Sasuke felt it deep in his chest—the pain. A sharp, intense throb, as if something or someone was carving directly into his soul. He gasped, trying to steady himself, but the pain only worsened. He felt like he was being torn apart, as if his body, his very essence, was being rewritten by an invisible hand.
Desperate for relief, Sasuke ripped his shirt off, revealing his pale, sweating skin. His heart was racing so violently that he could feel it in his throat. Then, he saw it. Golden symbols—ancient, glowing words—began to appear on his chest, seemingly written into his skin. They weren't just marks—they were alive, pulsing with energy as though they were being etched directly into him.
Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. His entire body shook with pain as the symbols twisted and writhed, leaving marks he couldn't understand, ancient characters from a language he'd never seen. Each new symbol felt like a scar, each one carving deeper into his very being. His face twisted with agony. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold back the tears, but they flowed freely, mixing with the sweat on his brow.
He couldn't breathe properly. The air around him felt thick with pressure, as though the weight of the energy was suffocating him. The pain intensified, and Sasuke screamed, his body convulsing as the markings on his chest seemed to burn brighter and brighter. His hands gripped his chest, but the heat was unbearable.
Suddenly, the world outside began to feel the shift. The air grew heavier, charged with an unnatural force that no one could trace back to its source. People throughout Konoha began to feel an odd sensation, a pressure that seemed to press down on them from above. The streets grew eerily quiet as if the very atmosphere had shifted, creating an invisible barrier that made it hard to breathe.
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen froze as the unseen wave swept over the village. For a single heartbeat, time itself seemed to still — leaves paused mid-fall, the breeze held its breath, and every shinobi instinct in him screamed a silent warning.
This was not chakra. This was not a bijuu.
This was something far older, far heavier — a force that warped the very fabric of the world itself.
Without hesitation, his voice snapped out, sharp as a blade, "Mobilize all available ANBU units! Full alert! Prepare defensive formations—treat this as a potential existential threat!"
His personal ANBU flickered into existence before him, awaiting orders, but Hiruzen's gaze was distant, his mind racing.
What is this presence? It isn't human... and yet... it isn't entirely inhuman either.
The Will of Fire within him burned bright with the need to protect the village, but a cold, calculating edge had already begun forming.
Could it be a surviving remnant of the Sage's era? A curse? A god?
The pressure clung to Konoha like an ancient shadow, yet even as it pressed down, Hiruzen felt it lacked true hostility. It was as if something had been awakened... no, unshackled.
Reports came swiftly—no enemy forces detected, no mass destruction. Instead, the epicenter was identified: Sasuke Uchiha.
When the name was uttered, a heavy silence blanketed the room.
Sasuke... the last heir of a shattered clan, already carrying so much burden... and now this?
Hiruzen closed his eyes briefly, the lines on his face deepening.
First Itachi's betrayal, then the massacre... Now this. What cruel fate binds the Uchiha children?
But sentiment could not blind duty. He opened his eyes, steel-hard.
"Sasuke Uchiha is to be placed under immediate surveillance," he ordered. "Discreetly. I want full reports on his condition, mindset, and any further anomalies."
"And if necessary," he murmured under his breath, his heart heavy, "preparations must be made."
For the sake of the village, for the Will of Fire, even a boy might need to be watched, controlled... or in the worst case, eliminated.
He turned back to the window, looking out over his village cloaked under an eerie stillness.
May the gods have mercy... for I fear we have just glimpsed a power that belongs to neither mortal nor shinobi.
The strange feeling still hadn't left him.
The village may have returned to its rhythm, but something had shifted. A new power had entered the world.
And Konoha was not ready for the consequences.
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[Binding with the System aka Origin Rune of Evolution, completed.]
Sasuke had unknowingly taken the first step toward a path no one could predict, and the world around him had already begun to change.
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