Soul Land: I am Uchiha Sasuke

"I said, how long do you plan to delay? Come with us quickly!" Several large men gathered around, shouting loudly.

"You didn't give me any money at all! Why should I go with you?" A girl in tattered clothes cried out. "Father! I am unfilial! I can't even afford your funeral expenses! Even in death, you will have no proper resting place!"

In the room behind her, a 17-year-old boy wearing a light gray, short-sleeved shirt with a stand-up collar lay unconscious.

The noise outside finally woke him up.

"What's going on?" The young man stood up, looking around in confusion. Where is this place?

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his left eye jolted his memories awake.

That's right—during his final battle with Naruto, he had forcibly activated the Rinnegan, attempting to divert part of the power from the Six Paths: Ultra Big Ball Rasenshuriken. However, the strain from overusing his ocular abilities overwhelmed him, and he was pulled into a distortion in time and space.

Had he been transported somewhere else?

Sasuke stood up and opened the door of the dilapidated cabin.

Outside, several sleazy-looking men were surrounding a little girl, about ten years old, making disgusting laughter.

"Where is this?" Sasuke asked coldly.

The group of men flinched in surprise at his sudden appearance.

Seeing that the older brother she had rescued from the river was now awake, the little girl immediately got up and hid behind Sasuke.

Sasuke remained expressionless and repeated his question, "How far is it from the Valley of the End?"

"I don't know how far the Valley of the End is," one bearded man sneered. "But if you dare to interfere with the Bishop's affairs, you won't live to see another day!" He reached out, intending to jab Sasuke's forehead.

A broken finger. A kicked knee.

In less than a second, Sasuke executed both moves, his voice icy as he said, "Get lost."

"You brat! Just wait! The Bishop of Spirit Hall will not let you go!" the bearded man shouted as he was helped away by his companions.

As the group retreated, Sasuke turned around to find the little girl staring up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes and a flushed face.

"Where is your family?" Sasuke asked.

"They're all dead… I'm the only one left," the girl said, her voice trembling as she clung to Sasuke's waist, sobbing.

Sasuke's heart clenched slightly. Slowly, he raised a hand and gently placed it on her head.

…

"What's your name?" Sasuke asked later that night by the fire in the cabin.

"My name is Mu Qing. Big brother, what about you?" she asked while eating the roasted rabbit Sasuke had prepared.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied.

"Big brother, your name is weird," Mu Qing pouted. "It's hard to remember."

"Sasuke," he said again.

"Alright, Brother Sasuke," Mu Qing beamed, smiling through her tears. "I have a family again. I have a big brother now!" She sniffled and added, "Brother Sasuke, your eyes are so pretty!"

The Next Day

Sasuke attempted to open a wormhole in a different space but was forced to give up. His excessive use of ocular power had taken a toll—his left eye had lost its magatama completely.

He would have to wait for his eye's power to recover before trying again.

Looking out at the lush green mountains and rivers, Sasuke watched as Mu Qing struggled to catch fish. A strange feeling washed over him—one he hadn't experienced in a long time.

He had spent his life consumed by revenge, power, betrayal, battles, glory, and hatred. Now, for the first time, he was… empty.

This unexpected sense of inner peace felt like a dream. But for someone like him, cursed and stained with blood, could he ever truly hope for a peaceful life?

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud, crude voice.

"There he is! That brat from nowhere who dared to interfere with the Bishop's affairs!"

Sasuke looked up to see the group of hooligans from the previous day. This time, they had brought several armored soldiers and an older man with gray hair.

"You dare hinder my men and offend Spirit Hall? Do you know your crime?" the gray-haired man sneered, eyeing Sasuke's worn-out clothing with disdain.

"I've never heard of Spirit Hall or whatever that is," Sasuke replied coldly.

The older man chuckled. "I originally thought of sparing your life because of your good looks, but if you don't even know about the Spirit Hall, then this will be serious!"

Sasuke turned to Mu Qing. "Go inside."

Mu Qing nodded, clutching her fish tightly, and hid in the cabin.

Barely half a moment later, the soldiers and thugs lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

"Brother Sasuke! If you keep fighting them, we won't be able to live here anymore," Mu Qing said, tugging at his sleeve.

"So this is the Spirit Hall?" Sasuke muttered, summoning his Kusanagi sword from the seal on his wrist. With a single motion, he stabbed the gray-haired man's hand into the ground. "Listen carefully. My name is Uchiha Sasuke remember that."

The man let out a pained scream. He was a soul master, yet he hadn't even had the chance to unleash his martial soul before being subdued.

"You'd better hope I never return!" he spat. "Once I report this to the Bishop, you'll be branded as a blasphemer against the Pope!"

Sasuke twisted the Kusanagi blade deeper into the man's flesh. "I let you keep your life on a whim. I can just as easily take it away."

The man gasped, his vision blurring. Suddenly, he found himself staring into a pair of scarlet eyes—eyes with strange patterns that pulled him into an illusion. In his mind, countless golden spikes emerged from a wooden stake, surrounding him in terror.

His screams were cut off as he fell unconscious.

Sasuke looked down at the fallen soldiers of Spirit Hall, then at the small, broken-down cabin where Mu Qing was waiting. Without another word, he pulled out his sword and turned away.

"Let's go," he said.

Mu Qing hesitated for only a moment, glancing back at the cabin before looking up at Sasuke. Then, hugging her fish tightly, she quickly followed behind him.