A Few Months Later
Konoha-
Time had passed.
Wounds, at least on the surface, had begun to close. People spoke of Koji less. His name had faded from the streets, replaced by quiet looks and unspoken guilt. Everyone moved forward, because they had to.
But healing is a fragile thing.
And peace, in Konoha, never stayed long.
It came like a whisper in the night. Then a scream.
The Uchiha clan, one of the founding pillars of Konoha was gone.
Massacred.
Every man, woman, and child.
All except one.
Sasuke Uchiha.
A boy no older than Johan.
The killer?
Itachi Uchiha.
Their own.
A prodigy. A shinobi of unmatched promise, gone in a single night, leaving only blood and silence behind him.
The village didn't know how to breathe.
The streets filled with rumors, fear, paranoia. Whispers echoed through markets and training fields. People spoke softly, as if afraid to wake the dead.
Children were kept indoors. ANBU patrolled in pairs now. And everywhere, eyes turned toward the Hokage Tower, seeking answers no one could give.
It felt like war, like something had cracked deep within the village's heart.
No one said it, but they all felt it:
If Konoha could lose the Uchihas, what else could it lose?
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood heavier now. Older. The lines on his face deeper, not from time, but from burden.
And in the academy, the younger generation walked quieter, trained harder. Some out of fear. Some out of grief.
Others… out of something darker.
---
Johan – POV
So… the Uchiha are finally gone.
It's happening faster than I thought. I don't have time. I need to grow stronger, faster. The academy? It's a waste of time. I've already learned everything they have to offer.
I need something more.
My sensing technique is improving. Sharper. Deeper. That's good. But it's not enough.
What should I learn next?
Sealing jutsu… maybe. But where would I even find them?
Ninjutsu? Not a problem. I can learn that later.
No... I need something different. Something most ignore.
Genjutsu.
Yes. That's it. A field few ever master. And Itachi… he is the best in it.
That's where I'll start.
There should be some scrolls on it in the library. From there, I'll build my own techniques.
After all, illusions… the manipulation of the mind…
That's my art... twisting hearts with truths they're not ready to hear, and lies they're desperate to believe.
---
Johan – POV
Konoha Library – Public Section – Evening
The lights buzzed softly overhead, casting a pale hue over the worn wooden shelves. It smelled of old paper and dust, forgotten knowledge.
Johan sat alone at the far corner of the room, where the windows stretched high and the silence felt heavier. A single book lay open before him. Its spine was cracked, pages thin and yellowing.
"Introduction to Genjutsu: The Art of Illusions."
He hadn't touched the academy's recommended scrolls in weeks. He didn't need them. They taught basics, movements, chakra control, teamwork. But none of that reached the rot underneath.
This… this did.
His eyes scanned the words, each one sinking into him like a needle.
"Genjutsu attacks perception, twisting what is seen, heard, felt. Reality becomes suggestion. Suggestion becomes truth."
He paused. Reread it.
"Truth…" he whispered. "Or whatever you make them believe."
A faint smile touched his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.
Page after page detailed methods of distortion. Not advanced, not forbidden. Just enough to understand the foundation: create dissonance. Break the brain's sense of safety. Confuse it. Fracture it. Then control it.
It wasn't flashy. It wasn't loud. It was quiet. Slow. Precise.
And it was everything he wanted.
He closed the book for a moment and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling as thoughts swirled like storm clouds.
He remembered Koji's eyes. Empty. Hollow. Screaming without sound. That wasn't chakra. That wasn't power.
That was the mind breaking itself.
And Johan understand that greatly. You didn't have to touch someone to destroy them. You just had to understand them.
"Fear isn't loud. It whispers."
He opened the book again. Slowly.
He didn't care how long it took. He would learn this. Every word. Every concept. And one day, when the world looked at him, it wouldn't see a boy anymore.
It would see something it couldn't explain.
He wouldn't need to shout to be feared. He would only need them to look into his eyes, and doubt what they saw.