Naruto: Dream System

Kakashi's voice was calm but firm. "Sasuke, breathe. I know this is hard for you. But remember—it was just a dream."

But his words passed through Sasuke like a breeze, unable to reach him.

Sasuke's eyes stayed fixed on the screen, unblinking. He knew, logically, that it wasn't real. Yet no amount of reason could suppress the wave of emotion crashing over him.

On the screen, his mother was alive—smiling, gentle, welcoming. And at the door, his older brother stood with a rare warmth, greeting guests with a smile. The peaceful domestic scene was like a kunai plunging deep into his chest, each frame twisting the blade. It hurt so much he could hardly breathe.

And still, he couldn't look away.

Kakashi watched him carefully. Seeing that Sasuke had calmed somewhat and wasn't about to lash out again, he held his silence.

But even Kakashi wasn't at ease.

The sudden appearance of Uchiha Itachi in the dream—the warmth in his smile, the subtle shifts in behavior—and all the other inconsistencies throughout... It wasn't just a dream anymore.

It felt like a glimpse into a parallel world.

A world where things never fell apart. Where Itachi never...

Kakashi didn't finish the thought.

Fragments of what he had seen, what he knew, and what he feared began to connect in his mind like pieces of a puzzle. And the image they formed was unsettling.

If his hunch was right…

This dream wasn't a random illusion. It was something more.

Something dangerous.

If, in that dream world, Minato had managed to eliminate the true mastermind during the Nine-Tails attack, then everything that followed might have changed.

Without the Nine-Tails being manipulated by the Sharingan, the village would have had no reason to suspect the Uchiha clan. There would have been no blame, no distrust aimed at them.

Minato-sensei had a strong bond with Uchiha Fugaku. Kushina and Mikoto were close as sisters. With Minato acting as a mediator, the tension between the Uchiha and the village leadership would never have spiraled out of control.

Minato himself was powerful, a ninja strong enough to command respect from all. With the Third Hokage stepping back and supporting from behind the scenes, that leadership would have been enough to suppress the radical voices within the Uchiha.

The upper ranks of Konoha would also have been influenced. With Minato at the helm, the balance of power and judgment might have shifted toward peace.

In that world, the Uchiha would have stayed in the village peacefully. The tragedy of the massacre would never have taken place.

And Itachi... he would never have needed to stain his hands with blood or shoulder the unbearable burden of betrayal.

He would still be a proud member of the Uchiha clan, standing tall and bringing honor to his family through his own strength.

As these thoughts formed, something in Kakashi's heart stirred.

This dream, however unreal, seemed to give everyone the future they had once longed for.

He looked again at the calm, confident Itachi in the dream. Then his gaze shifted to Sasuke, who stared at the screen, eyes red and filled with silent pain.

Kakashi let out a quiet sigh.

Naruto's dream... it was too reasonable. Too perfect. Too real.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Kakashi wouldn't have believed it. For someone as young as Naruto to imagine a world so complete, so vivid in every detail, was almost unimaginable.

To be honest, when Kakashi first saw Naruto's dream that night, he thought it was nothing more than a childish fantasy.

Maybe just a bit of wild imagination pulled from the depths of the boy's subconscious.

But now, standing here and watching it unfold, he had to admit that this dream was too well-constructed. Too rich. Too coherent. Not a single flaw could be found.

If he didn't already know the truth of their world, he might have believed this was a real memory from some alternate reality.

And thinking about it more, it made perfect sense.

If Minato-sensei had survived that night, Naruto would have grown up surrounded by warmth. He would have received love and guidance from his parents. He wouldn't have suffered years of loneliness, wouldn't have been stared at with fear or contempt because of the Nine-Tails sealed within him.

He would have been celebrated as the son of a hero.

Living in comfort, receiving elite training, it would be natural for him to rise to the top of his class at the Ninja Academy.

Kakashi lowered his head slightly, a faint and bitter smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

This world… it was everything Naruto should have had.

…

In the shadows, Aren watched all of this unfold, a quiet joy bubbling in his heart.

He couldn't help but smile to himself.

After just one night, Sasuke was already shaken. Aren glanced at him again, still frozen in awe, and thought, this kid really didn't let me down.

Itachi's appearance had delivered exactly what he needed.

On the screen, the dream continued to move forward, unfolding bit by bit like a perfect illusion spun from longing.

At the entrance of the Uchiha compound, Naruto and Kushina had already arrived.

"Sasuke, congratulations!"

Kushina's cheerful voice rang out from afar, her face glowing with a warm smile.

She walked forward, arm linked with Naruto's, and greeted the two boys at the gate with enthusiasm.

In the dream, Sasuke stood proudly at the entrance, his posture straight as he helped welcome guests. When he saw Kushina and Naruto, his normally composed expression softened into a rare smile.

"Aunt Kushina. Naruto. You made it."

Beside him, Itachi also smiled and gave a polite nod. "Aunt Kushina. It's been a while."

His voice was calm and respectful, his gaze gentle. "Naruto is here too. Thank you for coming."

"No need to thank us," Kushina laughed, waving her hand playfully. "How could we miss such an important day?"

As they spoke, Itachi and Sasuke stepped forward together.

Itachi gave a small bow and said warmly, "Mother is still inside greeting guests. When she heard Aunt Kushina was coming, she had your favorite osmanthus rice cake prepared ahead of time."

…

…

The next morning, the sun rose over the Hidden Leaf Village.

Naruto arrived at the usual training ground where Team 7 gathered, humming a cheerful tune as he walked.

He was in an unusually good mood. The joyful scenes from last night's dream still lingered in his mind, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Morning—"

He raised his hand and waved from a distance, greeting Sasuke and Sakura, who had already arrived.

But before he could finish speaking, he noticed something strange.

Sasuke turned around sharply, his dark eyes locking onto Naruto with an intensity that sent a chill down his spine.

"Naruto…"

Without warning, Sasuke stepped forward, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and slammed him back against a nearby tree.

"Wha— Sasuke?!"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He had no idea what was happening.

"Hey, what are you—"

"What?"

Sasuke's voice was low and rough, filled with frustration as he clenched his jaw.

"I've been trying to figure out what you did."

Naruto blinked, completely baffled. "I... I didn't do anything!"

He raised both hands in surrender, his expression innocent and confused.

His thoughts were a complete mess.

Why was Sasuke so angry first thing in the morning?

Why had he suddenly rushed over and pinned him to a tree?

Naruto thought back carefully. He had spent the entire day yesterday training. He hadn't done anything to provoke Sasuke.

"Stop it, Sasuke!"

Kakashi appeared beside them without warning. With one hand, he grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and pulled him away from Naruto.

"Calm down. What are you trying to do?"

Sasuke's chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. Though he didn't continue attacking, he roughly shook off Kakashi's hand and turned his face away, clearly agitated.

Naruto let out a breath, only then realizing that his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He reached up and tugged at his crumpled collar, still confused.

"Sensei, is Sasuke alright? He's acting like a completely different person…"

Kakashi raised a hand, motioning for Naruto to calm down. Then he turned to Sasuke.

Sasuke gritted his teeth but kept his gaze averted. He refused to look at either of them.

Kakashi sighed softly, his tone full of restraint. "Sasuke, I understand what you're feeling. But you must have noticed too. So much of that dream couldn't have come from Naruto's mind alone."

He paused for a moment, then continued with care.

"In other words, even though Naruto was the main character in the dream, that doesn't mean he was the one who created it."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He suddenly looked up at Kakashi, his voice sharp.

"You mean…"

Deep down, after cooling off, Sasuke had also sensed something strange about all of it.

The location of the old Uchiha district. The subtle ways his father and mother interacted.

These weren't things Naruto could have made up.

Not only that, Naruto had been part of the dream himself. His reactions throughout had felt spontaneous, even surprised. It didn't seem like someone who had created the dream from scratch.

Logically, Sasuke understood that Naruto might really be innocent.

But emotionally, it was hard to let go. The hope he felt in that dream, followed by the crushing pain of waking up to reality, was unbearable. And because Naruto had been at the center of it all, Sasuke couldn't stop himself from lashing out.

After hearing Kakashi's words, Sasuke finally began to calm down. His fists slowly relaxed, and the fury in his eyes began to fade.

Naruto, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused.

"Wait, wait. Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean by 'protagonist of the dream'? And what's this about stuff I'm not supposed to know? What are you even talking about?"

He scratched his head, eyes squinting in confusion.

All he remembered was that he had a great dream last night. But from the way Kakashi and Sasuke were speaking, it sounded like they had seen it too.

That couldn't be right. Could it?

Kakashi turned toward him and spoke gently.

"Don't worry about it too much, Naruto. For now, just leave this matter alone."

He gave Naruto a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Sasuke acted on impulse. Don't take it personally."

Naruto blinked, clearly still puzzled, but when he saw Kakashi's serious face, he nodded slowly, pretending to understand.

"Oh... alright then."

He was in such a good mood lately that he didn't feel like overthinking something so complicated.

With both of them calmed down, Kakashi hesitated for a moment before making a decision.

"Today's mission is cancelled. You all have the day off. Go home and rest."

"Huh?" Naruto looked stunned. "Why are we getting a holiday all of a sudden?"

"That's right, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura added, also confused.

Kakashi waved his hand.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura. All of you, head home and take some time to reset."

"Whatever."

Sasuke let out a cold snort. Without another word, he turned his back, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked out of the training ground.

His heart was still heavy with frustration and sorrow. Right now, all he wanted was to be alone.

Since Kakashi had said Naruto wasn't responsible, Sasuke didn't feel like confronting him any further. Still, just seeing Naruto's face stirred up complicated emotions, so he took the chance to walk away.

"Sasuke, wait—"

Sakura took a step forward, watching his figure retreat into the shadows of the trees. But in the end, she didn't have the courage to go after him. She could only stand there and watch in silence as he disappeared from view.

Kakashi turned to her with a calm voice.

"Sakura, don't worry too much about Sasuke. Let him cool off on his own. You've worked hard too. Take the rest of the day to rest."

"Sensei, I…"

She wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat. After a moment of hesitation, she gave a quiet nod.

"I understand."

Although the dream hadn't affected her as deeply as it did Sasuke, it still left her shaken. A day off to clear her head and sort out her feelings might not be such a bad idea.

Before long, Sakura also said goodbye and headed off.

Left alone, Naruto scratched his head, a puzzled look on his face.

He still didn't get what had just happened, but since there was no mission, he decided to go find a place to practice ninjutsu and clear his mind.

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